and, then there’s . . . LIGHT-NESS !!
lightness . . . of BEING !!!!!!!
JACOB JACKMAUH . . . has new sculptural work in:
‘SONGS FROM MEMORY’
A GROUP SHOW – CURATED BY JAMIESON EDSON
up thru . . . DEC 3, 2022.
THE DISTILLERY GALLERY, 516 E. 2nd St., SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
HRS: MON – FRI / 9am-6pm or by app’t
THE DISTILLERY GALLERY . . is an artist-run Gallery & Project Space in South Boston. MA.
JAMIESON EDSON . . is an artist-curator.
JACOB JACKMAUH . . is currently a co-director of ART LOT BROOKLYN, here in NYC.
JACOB JACKMAUH, ‘Civic Virtue’, 2022.
biodegradable paper straws, brass plated paper fasteners, sugar free chewing gum, saliva.
22 x 23 x 23 in.
image via Instagram @jacob_jackmauh
detail . . JACOB JACKMAUH, ‘Civic Virtue’
image via Instagram @jacob_jackmauh
~JACOB JACKMAUH . . in ‘SONGS FROM MEMORY’ / THE DISTILLERY GALLERY / BOSTON |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 19th, 2022, 10:22am
the thing about ‘light’ . . .
is that, more than its myriad manifestations, infinite meanings & fabulous range of radiance /
as well as: motion, fluidity, and don’t forget . . . shadows !!
is the fact that it both . . propels, informs & yet foils – the would-be photographer.
this is a show – to view in person.
‘MORE LIGHT !’ / CHART GALLERY, TRIBECA . . . up thru JAN 7, 2023.
case in point: LUKE MURPHY vs. MARIKO MORI.
I know Luke’s piece, ‘STARLIGHT, WARM AND COOL’, must twinkle, rumble, roam, flood, and flicker,
because I know his work very, very well / but, a still photo – leaves us confronting a big, big mystery as to how this piece is ‘programmed’, how it ‘plays’ out – on its computer coded animated matrix.
even a video clip – doesn’t truly capture the work, as the LED color fights the camera all the way.
this is a world of condensed, animated, literal light – and, it doesn’t hold its breath for no one.
“warm and cool” . . is a hint of the incandescent color burst journey.
so is . . ‘starlight’ /
but with its finite, straight mechanical borders / those real-world hard steel edges,
it’s more like a ‘slice of sky’ – than a . . cosmos.
more a signal – than a planetary pulse.
which compels the comparison – to Mariko Mori.
her work in a strange, curious way, is not animated – and yet it speaks to cosmic vision /
bubbling up . . new baby planets ? cosmic plant life ?
“genesis” . . is surely a clue.
so, do I mean: Luke Murphy / signals vs Mariko Mori / conception ?
all I know is, I see: YIN YANG.
straight vs round.
the animated LED light pulses of Luke’s work – are contained, both by their programmed matrix, and steel structure, even repeating – in a loop.
whereas, the stationary composition of Mariko’s ‘painting’ / ironically conjures up: infinite motion. birth. and cosmos.
YIN YANG. as surely as the cat chases – its tail.
if anything ‘cosmic’, is to be said about Luke’s work, his LED creation of ‘scripted’ light / resembles more a man-made, or another unknown ‘sentient’ . . . construction:
I’m thinking a huge, huge spinning spacecraft / angular and skinny, far far off in the deep deep sky.
whereas Mariko is all femme: round, and organic . . as a pregnant belly.
with a chaotic, infinite illusion / vision . . radiatng from the stationary painted surface . .
Mariko’s piece feels more organic in nature / its light is . . plastic: opalescence.
an artist’s . . . skillful conjuring.
a planet’s surface – close up & personal ?
this painterly dome – ‘feels’ no more man-made / than a bubble on the surface of a pond.
there is serenity here, but it feels deceptive to me.
in a word: bubble bubble / trouble trouble.
it feels so minute, and yet so vast – and it can burst in the very next frame.
and, yet Luke’s ‘Starlight’ – also comes – home to us /
LED deli signs, neon signs . . light up every major city / and metropolis.
as well as, stadiums, concert venues etc. etc. /
projecting text info, typefaces, and the intermediate abstract ‘patterns’ swirling, a visual necessity for the comprehension of the ‘message’ /
pulsing colored light to capture – your mind, and mind-set.
look at the Luke Murphy LED DELI digital banner, ‘RESIST’ – that plays across the top of this page: and, blow it up – as big as your mind can imagine.
and, then take one minute . . to ponder how I can make colors light up, and patterns twirl, and words flow: words of action, no less !! that play across YOUR screen / via Luke’s technical magic / no matter where I am, and no matter where you are.
I guess one could conclude that LIGHT – is as elusive as a poem, and moves with the power of a ‘song’.
as NASA keeps on showing us / and, as the Bible told us: it all comes down to . . colored, moving ‘light’.
MARIKO MORI, ‘Genesis IV’, 2022.
UV cured pigment, dibond and aluminum / 63-1/2 x 3 in.
edition of 5 plus 2AP
image courtesy CHART GALLERY
~LUKE MURPHY vs MORIKO MORI . . ‘MORE LIGHT !’ / CHART |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 18th, 2022, 9:58am
looks to be such a wondrous, enchanting show / shot thru & thru / with all kinds — of light !!
just like a far-off . . . starry sky.
I was all set to make the opening, but it just wasn’t in the cards / stars (?!!)
but, there’s still – a couple more weeks !!
‘MORE LIGHT !’
NOV 10, 2022 – JAN 7, 2023.
CHART GALLERY, TRIBECA
see: works in the exhibit
LUKE MURPHY, ‘STARLIGHT, WARM AND COOL’, 2022
Steel studs, LED matrix panels, video driver, hardware, software, power supplies, PC, code.
93 x 32 x 28 in.
image courtesy CHART GALLERY
YES,
damn the reality bites !!
I want so much, to see – that baby / shimmer. shimmy, and shake.
~LUKE MURPHY . . ‘MORE LIGHT !’ / CHART |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 17th, 2022, 2:50pm
LUKE MURPHY . . . !!!
has new work . . . .
in what looks to be a wildly diverse / group show of fired-up . . incandescent / inspiration.
‘MORE LIGHT !’
OPENS THURS NOV 10 / 6 – 8 PM
& runs thru . . . JAN 7, 2023.
CHART GALLERY, 74 FRANKLIN ST., TRIBECA, NEW YORK, NY 10013
HRS: TUES-SAT / 10am – 6 pm
poster image: KARIN DAVIE, ‘Beam Me Up no. 3 (Small)’, 2022.
oil on canvas over wood, 30 x 24 x 7/8 in. / each panel 30 x 12 x 7/8 in.
image courtesy of the gallery & artist / Photo by RIPPLE FANG
“More light, more light! Open the window so that more light may come in.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe via Chart Gallery
“The exhibition whose title comes from the famed last words (above) of German poet, philosopher, & color theorist JOHANN WOLFGANG von GOETH, features artworks that range from technical explorations of optical effects to . . efforts rooted in spirituality and metaphysical realms.”
~CHART GALLERY PRESS RELEASE
with works by: LARRY BELL, MARSHA COTTRELL, RYAN CROTTY, KARIN DAVIE, ADAM HENRY, YAYOI KUSAMA, MARIKO MORI, LUKE MURPHY, IVAN NAVARRO, HELEN PASHIGAN, CHARLES ROSS, ESTHER RUIZ, DAVID SHAW, ALYSON SHOTZ, HIROSHI SUGIMOTO, and LAUREN VINCIARELLI.
OM / Oh My . .
on a personal note: love how Luke Murphy comes right after . . . Mariko Mori /
what an awesome – yin yang pairing.
alphabetical lists – seemingly so straightforward, apparently . . can be quite the magical, too.
so, be there / or be square, as opposed to full on . . . lit !!!!
~’MORE LIGHT !’ . . CHART / TRIBECA / OPENING THURS NOV 10 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 9th, 2022, 1:53pm
‘GROUP SHOW’ – a short documentary, curatorial project . . film by PETER SUTHERLAND
SHOT in NY & CALIFORNIA / 2020-2022 / RT 48 MINS
WILL HAVE IT’S NYC PREMIERE TODAY – SUN NOV 5, 2022 / 6 PM
DAKOTA, 110 BOWERY #3, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC
~PETER SUTHERLAND . . ‘GROUP SHOW’ / NYC PREMIERE / DAKOTA / SUN NOV 6 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 6th, 2022, 10:09am
also opening today . . .
‘SCULPTURE GARDEN’, with:
STEPH GONZALEZ-TURNER, ANTONE KONST, MARIE LORENZ, and ROBERT ZEHNDER
CURATED BY ANTONE KONST
OPENS SAT NOV 5 / 4 – 6 PM
and runs thru DEC 4, 2022
24/7 visible from the street
ART LOT BROOKLYN, 206 Columbia St., BROOKLYN, NY 11231 / Red Hook
sculpture by MARIE LORENZ, built to withstand the outdoors, and yet, yes !!
it does ‘play’ . . . music.
and who, doesn’t love . . translucent plastic, esp against – a natural backdrop.
~’SCULPTURE GARDEN’ . . ART LOT BROOKLYN / OPENS SAT NOV 5 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 5th, 2022, 8:30am
probably the most hardcore, and toughest . . opening of them all /
Francisco Correa Cordero presents:
‘COVEY GONG & ELI PING’
OPENING . . . . SAT NOV 5 / 6 – 8 PM
& runs thru . . . JAN 8, 2023 / !!
LUBOV, 5 E. Broadway, 4th fl, L.E.S. / NY NY 10038
HRS: WED-SUN / 12 noon – 6 pm
& by app’t
“As materials can conform to a body, a body may adapt to the systems it lives in.”
~Covey Gong
read: artist statement by COVEY GONG, Oct 2022
~COVEY GONG, ELI PING . . LUBOV / OPENING SAT NOV 5 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 4th, 2022, 4:22pm
as fresh as you can get, straight outta – the wrapper !!
trick ?
or treat ?!!!!
ORLANDO ESTRADA, ‘Void’, 2013-2022 / looks like a chocolate bar – to me ?!!!
soil, water / 73 x 26 in.
image via Instagram @jeffsgallerydetroit
currently on exhibit in . . .
ORLANDO ESTRADA, ‘THE MODERN WORLD’ . . .
JEFFS GALLERY DETROIT / Instagram @jeffsgallerydetroit
~HAPPY HALLOWEEN . . from ORLANDO ESTRADA & JEFFS GALLERY DETROIT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 31st, 2022, 4:13pm
from . . the Art Lot Nancy !!
Rivington & The Bowery / Archive.
Scissors, paper, SOUL.
Photos: NANCY SMITH, NYC 1994.
NANCY SMITH, DIY PAPER CUT-OUT / SKELETON, 1994.
brown paper bag, shipping paper, black craft paper, scissors, string, and glue.
unique & . . lost to the elements – a long time ago.
hanging in my gritty backyard,
at 5 Rivington St., we lived in the East Storefront, half a block up / from the Bowery.
on the deep deep and raw LES / Lower East Side.
ca. 1987-1996.
when drug & gun battles erupted on the roof, like pop corn,
and bums set fire to trash cans – for sport.
in a time of big project / big ambition 90’s art – think: JEFF KOONS, and CINDY SHERMAN / ELI BROAD & Co.
I was cutting paper, making fragile one-of-a kind banners, as well as delicate Japanese-inspired ink line drawings on glassine tissue, which also wavered mighty – in the slightest breeze.
some paper lanterns, too.
always contrarian / to the last drop. that’s me.
and, so why did I feel like such an outsider, who everyone overlooked ?
hmmmm ???? / I wonder.
but it’s funny, because that’s when I met Josh / Josh Harris of WE LIVE IN PUBLIC / the Andy Warhol of the new digital web / and of course, (initially) / he only wanted artists who weren’t in galleries !! go figure !!
so in the end – it pretty worked out . .
if . . ‘experience’ also known as ‘the journey’ / vs. the ‘anointed’ walls / are everything ?!!
though as you can see – the going was a little rough.
I was always very ‘light-handed’- with my art projects /
not, just in terms of materials, but re: ‘scale’, scale of size, and scale of . . ‘permanence’.
I absolutely hate the word . . studio ‘practice’ /
give me: skills !!!! vision. expression. folk art ? street art ? Edo period Japan ?
a little later on, like 10 years later – I figured out I could glue stick my paper designs . . to mylar / in sheet format, they would still flutter and still be light-weight / but be more permanent, and perhaps – more collectable ?
not that, that helped much . . .
art people especially . . were so staid, and close-minded / in that not so long ago past / where the lines between outsider art vs. formal ‘practice’ / ‘studio’ art – were so rigid /
esp right before everything – totally, totally changed . . and, that would be – about 2002.
DIY broke so free and so big !! – just about the same time / as indie galleries & pop-ups – took over.
graffiti, esp on subways and plastered to traffic poles, Gee’s Bend quilts at the Whitney in 2002 / Keith Haring & even Jean-Michel (painted refrigerator doors, anybody) . . helped put that revolution – over the top.
just at the same time as nascent social media / iPhones, and of course: self-publishing !!
put DIY – both indie art, galleries, and collabs / on speed dial.
I mean, it used to be: is there a sound of hands clapping / if you are alone in a forest /
now, it’s: is it art – if there’s no photo / never mind the gallery wall.
I was always, and still am – very light-handed in my art projects, but also, in my art – musings !!
but, as you can plainly see from the Halloween skeleton hanging above . . :
‘ethereal’ doesn’t rule out . . . sinister, and foreboding /
my inner artist hardcore / true grit soul – twisting in the wind /
and wondering, whatever was – to become of me ?
ps: I still don’t have a gallery, not even of my photos ?!!!!
though Jeffrey Tranchell, now of JEFF’S GALLERY, DETROIT . . has exhibited some of my work (quilts & paper pieces / light switches), here and there.
and, come to think of it – I did back into a starring role . in ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’. through no choice of my own, bye the way.
in fact my best buddy – from that time, Alfredo Martinez aka the Notorious Basquiat Forger – just might be my most mainstream claim to fame ?
talk about .. wondering what the future – holds.
don’t ask.
~HAPPY HALLOWEEN . . from 28 years ago !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 31st, 2022, 3:11pm
scarecrow, scarecrow – do tell /
PETER SUTHERLAND,’BUTTON SMASHER’, published by Salt and Pepper, TOKYO. 2022.
200 pp, soft cover, limited edition of 500.
image via Instagram @petersutherland
~PETER SUTHERLAND, HAPPY HALLOWEEN . . from ‘BUTTON SMASHER’ !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 31st, 2022, 12:43pm
