~road trip

going on a road trip . . to VERMONT.
back in 5.
5 days.
artlovers will resume posting WED 23, 2013




~ARCADE FIRE .. REFLEKTOR .. SIMON CERIGO

DEDICATED TO: SIMON CERIGO, our music reviewer supremo, and big art buddy ..
who sadly left us, meaning earthly life in bio form .. this past Jan 2013.

SIMON was a big fan of ARCADE FIRE, and wrote up a definitive review for us, that posted on MAY 7 of 2007.
as you can see from the essay, Simon held a lot of oral history in his big, round, often .. partied-out, but way friendly .. head.

ARCADE FIRE is a Montreal based-band, and me and Simon both grew up on those long Montreal winter-time streets, too.

read: ARCADE FIRE – by SIMON CERIGO . . . including, images of the original graphics

ARCADE FIRE is making ‘waves’ . . this weekend, it’s a nautical weekend.
what can I tell you, Manhattan is an island !! and so is .. Montreal !!

because they are playing ‘underground’ under a barley disguised ‘nom de band’ – the REFLEKTORS, at a Bushwick, Brooklyn underground arts venue – 299 Meserole St, which only opened last November 2012. apparently tickets went on sale this past Wed to fans, who had pre-ordered the new album, but opened up to the general public yesterday. Formal attire or costume .. mandatory.

some background from yesterday’s WALL STREET JOURNAL . .
“Three years ago, the ARCADE FIRE, the Grammy-winning Canadian Indie rock band, released their album ‘The Suburbs’ with much fanfare, playing to a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

This weekend, they are taking a different approach. The band is planning to introduce New Yorkers to their new double album, ‘Reflektor’, with a pair of lightly publicized concerts, played under a false name, in a former sheet-metal and plastics factory in an industrial pocket of Brooklyn with enough room for just 3,000 people . . .”

see: The Arcade Fire, Far From the Maddening Crowd, WALL STREET JOURNAL
note: re-paste the link in your browser, if necessary.

see: 299 MESEROLE ST, BUSHWICK


check it out: ARCADE FIRE, ‘RFLEKTOR’ . . the first song, on their new album . . is posted to YouTube

interestingly, esp for ‘small’ social media sites, like this one . .
the WALL STREET JOURNAL goes on to state:
“The Arcade Fire has taken a calculated, low-key guerrilla marketing approach to promoting ‘Reflektor’ and the band’s coming world tour. Interviews with the band have been extremely limited and despite a few positive early reviews, the album – one of the most anticipated of the year – hasn’t yet leaked on the Internet.”


SIMON would have swooned over the music and driven us all crazy playing it endlessly – at top volume.
but, he also would have been crazy – for the video, and so am I.


mostly what’s so great, are the BIG IDEAS !! but also that the production is so low-key, and as Simon would have stressed: authentic.


but what really freaked me out, was the poignant subject line.
they are transporting a coffin, the dead . . to the country, and we are doing just that, this weekend !!
we are taking a road trip . . to Vermont, and finally letting go of the ghost, Simon’s ashes . . into a rushing . . autumn fast turning winter – rural stream. in fact, as we found out, Simon’s last wish, as told to each one of us – at different times.


rural, inland water . . plays a big part in this video, and so does .. dancing !!
and I guess, celebrating the dead.
so, this is a nice send-off, or what.

“just a reflector ..
we all have things to hide,
see you on the other side.”

“we’re so connected ..
but are we even friends ?
see you on the other side.”


if you knew Simon, this will be a familiar pose . . he did dance like this, with his hands in the air.


our ‘REFLEKTOR’ . . sets off on .. his next journey.
Simon would have liked the metaphor of the mirrored man, the ‘reflektor’ !! – for the artist, the musician, the soul man, the time traveler, in all of us.

he esp prided himself, not just .. on being a natural born ‘mirror man’, but on being able .. to pinpoint a ‘mirror man’, for the rest of us.
Jack Goldstein, ca 1986 . . . anybody ?

P.S.

I did, incredibly . . cross paths with Hash Halper’s brother, astrologer OMKAR LEWIS last night, who actually told me: “WATCH OUT FOR VOICES WITH NO .. BODIES” !!!

hey, you know what they say: no man is . . an island.


SIMON and KATE, at the last band concert . . .


SIMON and THEO . . note the rubber admittance .. wrist bands.




~NAUTICAL SATURDAY . . at PIONEER WORKS

meanwhile back on Earth, or is that: back to EARTH !!

er, SEA . . better yet, RED HOOK !!

PIONEER WORKS is presenting their first annual . . MARITIME FILM FESTIVAL

AN EVENING of LIFE & EXPEDITION on the WATER – SAT, OCT 19, 2013 / 4PM – 12AM

it looks to be a great classical nautical line-up – documentary-wise, 3 cheers for that. but also, not to fear . . this is an artist-run joint, and the evening will also run full sail ahead . . into the wide open sea adventure fantastical, while ‘tacking’ into some mighty fun, and mighty serious DIY . . contemporary Maritime folk art & folklore – with the inclusion of featured artists,
such as . . SWOON and DUKE RILEY.

see: the full line-up

reserve tix: suggested donation, here

some highlights:


BOTTLED HISTORY
a SMITH JOURNAL and Melbourne-based COMMONER Production.
SMITH JOURNAL is a quarterly Australian magazine, for guys (?!!)
MUSIC by BEN YARDLEY.

“RAY GASCIOGNE has been around boats his whole life, as a shipwright, a merchant sailor, and now as a shipbuilder on the on the smallest dry dock there is, a bottle . . .”
read more . . .


MARIANA
a film by ROMAN WOLTER

“tells the the story of DON WALSH and JACQUES PICCARD’S diving mission to the deepest point on earth in 1960. The film is based on real events and features original film material from the 1960s.
The graphic style of the film is inspired by popular science magazines of the the time. One of the last interviews with JACQUES PICCARD in 2003 forms a voice-over that accompanies the viwer throughout the the film.”
see more . . .


OYSTER HARVESTING
Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters

“there’s a man in Prince Edward Island, whose passion for oysters has him out at sea at the age of 82 …”
read more


see: DUKE RILEY: ARTIST & PATRIOT


DUKE RILEY: BATLLE FOR BROOKLYN

looks to be . . that short film the DUKE made about his great homemade submersible adventure .. a few years back. you could subtitle it: THE ACORN MEETS THE NYPD – IN NYC HARBOR.

see: DUKE RILEY artist statement




~BIG, PINK . . FUZZY !!

what’s up with the BIG, PINK .. FUZZY ?

haha, the girls – have it all over the guys this season.

if the summer of 2013 was the SEASON of the UNKNOWN, the FALL is . . the SEASON of the ABSURD !!

3 smart chicks: TWO EYE-TALIANS, and ONE JAP !! got the beat !!

we are talking . . PAOLA PIVI, LAURINA PAPERINA, both born in Italy – and, now up pops . . MISAKI KAWAI !!


MISAKI KAWAI at MALMO KONSTHALL, PHOTO via CONTEMPORARY ART DAILY

MISAKI KAWAI, opens at the HOLE, don’t get me started !! apt name, and let’s leave it at that – to-nite.

see: MISAKI KAWAI .. fluorodigital

see: MISAKI KAWAI .. OHIO

check out: MISAKI KAWAI .. artist website


PAOLA PIVI . . and her ‘bears’ were the debut show at the new GALERIE PERROTIN, NYC outpost.
in fact the show . . is still up !!
SEPT 18 – OCT 26, 26, 2013
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

see: PERROTIN .. NYC DEBUT


well, LAURINA PAPERINA .. isn’t quite as fuzzy. would that be: deadly / hysterical ?

same diff: ABSURDIST.

LAURINA PAPERINA, image from the short animation, ‘How to Kill the Artists’, episode 7, 2010.
the RONI HORN .. sequence,
at FREIGHT+VOLUME, THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD, PART II: THE OTHER 99%
SEPT 12 – OCT 12, 2013
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

see: THE DECLINE & FALL – F+V

see: more LAURINA PAPERINA

see: RICHARD PRINCE .. CLOBBERED by a NURSE




~HOW TO KILL . . THE MOVIE, GRAVITY

add a ridiculous over-blown symphonic sound track . . to a sci-fi flick that is hyped as cutting edge . . and taking place in the deep silence of outer space . . “where sound doesn’t exist”.

witness the start of the trailer, beautifully, starkly . . awesomely, silent.

I bet the Cuaron father/son team’s original draft . . . had no musical ‘background’.

my gut feeling is, my bet is . . some dumb suit – in the back office made them add it.

see: GRAVITY




~HOW TO .. KILL THE ARTISTS by LAURINA PAPERINA, and BANKSY

LAURINA PAPERINA also had a absolute Hysterical short animation in .. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD, PART II: THE OTHER 99%, at FREIGHT+VOLUME.

titled, ‘How to Kill the Artists’, Episode 7 – Edition of 15 ($2,500) . . it was a total RIOT.


my personal fave – was RICHARD PRINCE, farting so bad he had to rush to the hospital . . .


running a close second, was the way crazy, even ‘shocking’ .. demise of MARTIN CREED . . .


playing with a light switch .. I guess a metaphor for ‘ideas’.
you get the message !!


MARTIN CREED has a show coming up in NYC, opens at GAVIN BROWN, NOV 8, 2013.
his photo realist ‘dick rising’ video loop – at the debut installation of that then, newly expanded space .. was pretty ‘hairy’.
really, actually: awesome.


the captive and captivated .. gallery audience.
SUSIE Q .. ?
well, that pretty much says it .. all.


PHOTO: banksyny.com via the NEW YORK POST

meanwhile BANKSY put up a one-off pop-up ‘SPRAY ART’ stall – amidst the rows of cheezy art sellers, who cater to tourists – at Central Park, this weekend. key to the prank was the old guy, probably a regular – manning the booth.
and omg, some lucky ‘faynshmeker’* from Chicago – made off with a couple of big canvases, for $60 a pop !!
am I jealous, or what ?!!!

*Faynshmeker .. “faux-connoisseur” in Yiddish. and, no it’s NOT a compliment.
“used sarcastically to imply somebody with high-falutin’ ways: the guy (from Chicago !!) whose suddenly an expert on polo ponies” (street art).
source: DIRTY YIDDISH by ADRIENNE GUSOFF

see: TOURISTS BUY $31 K BANKSY ART for just $60 each .. NEW YORK POST

follow BANKSY’s antics in NYC: BETTER OUT THAN IN

ps:

actually what I’d personally really like to see, is BANKSY cross paths .. with ALFREDO Martinez !! .. haha, now there’s a thought .. worth thinking.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, except where noted.




~a little more LAURINA PAPERINA, please.

apparently, just can’t get . . enough !!

from the . . .
FREIGHT+VOLUME catalog: ‘THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD.’

“Laurina Paperina paints, draws, creates installations, video animations and photographs. Over the past years, Paperina has created artworks that present an iconic commentary in response to current events related to the art world. Born in 1980 in Roverto, Italy, she currently lives and works in Trento, Italy.”

“… I love horror movies of the years ’80 ’90. as Braindead movie of Peter Jackson. The irony is fundamental in my life and consequently also in my work. In recent years my works took a darker path than my beginning works: there is always the struggle between good and evil and therefore violence is often present, even if I try to represent it in a bizarre way and not dramatic.

I grew up watching television and eating pizza. I have read many comic books and watched hundreds of cartoons and animations: they have influenced my ideas and my artworks, sure. My works are mostly simple but vivid, and filled with humorous and joyful; I want that my work’s message can be accessible to all as the cartoons style is.”

Q: Do you consider yourself a conceptual artist ?

“It is a fun question. Usually I define my works as the opposite of the conceptual art, but probably my works have a little bit of conceptual at least in the initial creating process (when I got the idea …).

Sometimes I think that art world is boring, too serious, there are too many prejudices; so I put this ideas in my artworks and the victims are famous artists or artist that are very cool in the art world, or artists that I really admire: so it is like saying, ‘Yes, I love You, but I kill You.’ It’s a joke .. It’s a way to ironize on the ‘holiness’ of art world.”


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’.

IF YOU ARE A BAD PERSON I CUT YOUR FINGER. BELIVE ME . THE ARTISTS GET MAD.


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’.

FUCK BANKSY.

p.s.
just sayin’, so in the animal world . . who is rated smarter, the rat or the crow ?

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~THE DECLINE & FALL, PART II . . THE EXHIBIT

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD, PART II: THE OTHER 99%
DAMIEN CRISP, NOAH LYON, CRISTINA de MIGUEL, and LAURINA PAPERINA
SEPT 12 – OCT 12, 2013
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 W 24 ST – CHELSEA, NYC

THE OTHER 99% . . WANTS TO BE . . . HEARD !!


DAMIEN CRISP’s work – that small array of framed work, on your right – just when you enter the gallery. he seems to be the ‘theorist’ for . . the gang.


DAMIEN CRISP, ‘Untitled from the 21st Century Series’, 2013.
acrylic and oil pastel on paper. 12 x 9 in.
($1,000)


DAMIEN CRISP, ‘Untitled from the 21st Century’, 2013.
acrylic and oil pastel on paper. 12 x 9 in.
($1,000)


large painting by CRISTINA de MIGUEL. ‘Patatia o Don Simon’, 2012.
acrylic on canvas, 96 x 84 in.
($10,000)

Simon ?

Ghost in the Machine ?


CRISTINA de MIGUEL, ‘My Artist Statement’, 2013.
acrylic and pastel on canvas, 24 x 18 in.
($1,000)

love the young turks – trooping by, in a line !!
they got the – message.


CRISTINA de MIGUEL, ‘Graduate Students in a Critique’, 2012.
acrylic, oil and asphaltum on canvas, 60 x 48 in.
($7,500)

haha.
dedicated to JERRY BLACKMAN, NICHOLAS STEINDORF & all . . my young friends at YALE.
all I can say is: you’re gonna miss me – when I’m gone.


NOAH LYON, from left:
‘Duck Nein Augen’, 2013. acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
(SOLD)
‘Just One of Those days’, 2013. acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
($5,000)
‘A Pigeon Landed on My Brain’, 2013. mixed media on canvas. 36 x 36 in.
($4,000)


NOAH LYON, from left:
‘Want It’, 2013. acrylic on canvas, 36 x 356 in.
($4,000)
‘Please Don’t Touch the Art, Jeff Koons’, 2013. acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
($4,000)
‘Major Breakthrough’, 2011. acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 in.
($5,000)

ps: NOAH LYON (b. 1979) has one of the more vibrant Q+A bios in the catalog.
“.. we lived on Chrystie St in the early 80’s when it was all drug dealers, junkies and prostitutes, but there was all this amazing art on the street and music in the air. I literally learned to walk on the streets that Haring and Basquait were painting on .. I really remember RICHARD HAMBELTON’S ‘Shadowman’ paintings. Those were fucking crazy. Punk flyers were everywhere.”

yeah. those were the days. we were there.
Kate and Theo were born at the same time – in an illegal storefront just around the corner, 5 Rivington St, just 2 doors up from the Bowery. Richard Hambelton sublet the place to us – he collected the rent, but stiffed the landlord. end of long story .. we went to landlord tenant court and lived there for 8 years (!!) rent free. with only a hotplate.
Richard used to make his girlfriend, Bonnie – hook johns on the corner .. in black fishnet stockings.
Keith Haring gave us a huge cardboard chalk piece, and Jean Michel used to coo to Kate in her stroller.


just when you . . thought you’ve seen it all .. WTF !!


LAURINA PAPERINA, drawing on the wall …

like I said .. at the corner of ‘street smart’ and ‘art savvy’ – C-R-A-S-H !!


LAURINA PAPERINA, ‘BAD’, 2009-13, mixed media on Post it Notes
approx 47.2 x 114.17 in.
($12,000)


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’, ‘GARY HUME’.


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’, ‘DAVID SHRIGLEY’


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’, JONATHAN MEESE, JIMMY DURHAN, SIMON STARLING, KEITH HARING.


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’, TRACY EMIN.

I KNOW, I KNOW !! haha – love how Laurina goes for the – NEON !!
you can even call up the effect on Instagram.
anybody else catch . . Khloe Kardashian’s Instagram – ode to crackhead hubby Lamar ?

ps: it’s TRACEY, not Tracy.


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’, YOKO ONO, meh. but what’s with . . that CROW ?!!!


LAURINA PAPERINA, detail, ‘BAD’, ‘FUCK .. KIKI SMITH’
amen.

KIKI SMITH: the biggest snob, and ripper off of .. other people’s mojo !!
on the Lower East Side .. from day one. trust me – I know.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~THE DECLINE & FALL OF THE ART WORLD / F+V

in a subtitle: CRASHING MTYHS & BUILDING THEM BACK-UP, ART WORK by ART WORK.

I hardly know where to begin. this a 2 part show – that asks a lot of questions re the state of the art world.
everyone knows it’s kind of a big mess. and that’s not necessarily . . as in: a big hot mess.
everyone just hopes as I do, that eventually – the great genuine authentic art will . . out.
will win. will be recognized.
hopefully – you get to live . . to see the day, the grapes on the vine drop into your hands.
and, hopefully it’s not a springboard to fame – caused by your sudden, too early death.

the show is called .. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD.
presented & curated by the hyper dynamic, deeply ambitious, and I mean that in a good way (!!) NICK LAWRENCE, who wears many hats . . at his 24th St NYC gallery . . FREIGHT+VOLUME.
the topic was so vast and reached so deep – it was broken down into 2 shows, and is accompanied by a full color, thought. & art packed . . catalog.

PART I: THE ONE-PERCENTERS . . featured ALEX GINGROW, KAREN FINLEY, LOREN MUNK, MICHAEL SCOGGINS, and WILLIAM POWHIDA & JADE TOWNSEND. it ran JULY 11 – SEPT 13, 2013.
see: DECLINE & FALL, PART I

PART II: THE OTHER 99% . . features DAMIEN CRISP, NOAH LYON, CRISTINA de MIGUEL, and LAURINA PAPERINA.
it opened SEPT 12, and the exhibit is still up.

. . thru this SAT OCT 12, 2013.

so, you still have a chance to catch it, and you should.
esp, as this second part aspires . . to give us some answers – and the main one seems to be, a sense of humor gets you through the day, and just maybe through another art season !!

I didn’t make it to Part I, as I was kinda not making it .. thru the summer in art mode. probably due to all the questions – this show poses !!
my bad !!

but I did make it to PART II – and I was NOT DISAPPOINTED.

it was a bit of an Alice in Wonderland road map. the gallery was divided into separate viewing partitions for each artist – which was very effective, in this case .. and very cool.

the exhibit started off, very serious, with art ‘statements’ by DAMIEN CRISP, and moved onto ‘painting’ that was a tiny bit whiny, but perhaps deservedly so, by Cristina de Miguel. but that stance .. was just a necessary cog, presented some thinking, in short: was the . . set-up, for moving on.

you then progress through NOAH LYON’s retard riot – gone serious straight man, as IF !! room, glimpses of which did post on artlovers in the past month.

and then . . you hit LAURINA PAPERINA in the last room, like a car crash !!
a SOUTH PARK-LIKE . . CAR CRASH !!
SPLATT !! the icons go tumbling to their extreme death demises.

see: DECLINE & FALL, PART II

I’ll get into all of the above in a little more detail, but here’s a heads-up, if you can make it to the show .. PICK UP A COPY OF THE SHOW’S CATALOG !!

a gem of a printed publication . . it is chock-full of .. not only full color illustrations of some very diverse cutting edge art, but also puts on paper .. interesting thoughts. put forward by writers, and the artists themselves. this is important because this is not just an exhibit of art, but an ‘outpouring’ of thought . . by a very diverse and really remarkable group of visual artists who walk the art scene pretty much 24-7.

the show is very much, not just about art, but the thinking behind – the art. this small book – helps put the artists on the ‘map’, and our ‘times’ on the table. it’s both a great ‘flip book’ of images, and a very enjoyable read, Q+A to your heart’s . . content. information at your fingertips.

plus a couple of down right surprises.

the biggest one for me being . . what a great painter LOREN MUNK, aka street & art videographer JAMES KALM is.
it is his . . I’m thinking: art world street map on crack, painting . . that graces the cover !!

and then, being a total moronic fan of the outrageous, and comic book art, hitting LAURINA PAPERINA’S twisted-out cartoons . . at the end of the tunnel – was a great . . head-on collision .. at the corner of ‘street smart’ and ‘art savvy’.

and guess what: she’s even trending !!
got BANKSY .. anybody ?


the front cover of the catalog: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD.
PUBLISHED by FREIGHT+VOLUME, SUMMER 2013. NYC.
artwork, detail by . . LOREN MONK, ‘THE EAST VILLAGE 1979-1989’, 2011-2013.
Oil on linen, 84 x 145 in.


pg 145 in the catalog
LAURINA PAPERINA, ‘Kill Banksy’, 2013
mixed media om wood, 20 x 30 centimeters
as in .. KILL ALL ARTISTS, dummy.
and if the art world keeps it up, yes – you will !!

and, further: there’s nobody who does talk about the DECLINE & FALL of the art world and the REAL WORLD . . more than BANKSY, bless his little street art . . heart.
not for naught . . is he a living, bleeding legend.

ps

and, about that . . BANKSY !!
leave it to tenacious New Yorkers, fans fans and more fans !! to hunt him down !!
hope Bansky doe NOT become . . the next Lady Di.
I mean seriously, he might have under-estimated this town, or what.


IS THIS THE FAMOUSLY RECLUSIVE, NEVER BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED . . BANKSY ?
the DAILY MAIL is saying .. YES !!
PHOTO: THOMAS McKEAN via THE DAILY MAIL
see: Is This Banksy ?




~NEW MYTHS: THE DECLINE & FALL of the ART WORLD / F+V: NYC & TEXAS

so, apparently . . MYTHS are trending.

what bigger myth is there . . than the one about . . MONEY !!!!$$

well, maybe the one about the . . ART WORLD !!


DAMIEN CRISP, ‘Untitled from 21st Century Series (detail), 2013. mixed media on paper, 8 x 8 in.
image: FREIGHT+VOLUME

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ART WORLD,
PART II: THE OTHER 99%

Featuring DAMIEN CRISP, NOAH LYON, CRISTINA de MIGUEL, and LAURINA PAPERINA

it’s a great show . . .

see: the GALLERY WEBSITE !!

more info: NEW MYTHS: PART II – THE OTHER 99%

the show went up: SEPT 12, 2013

and runs thru: this SAT OCT 12, 2013 – THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE – TO SEE IT.

FREIGHT+VOLUME, 530 WEST 24th ST – CHELSEA, NYC

TO BE CONTINUED – !!

P.S.

FREIGHT+ VOLUME is at . . the TEXAS CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR
BOOTH # 207
THURS OCT 10 – SUN OCT 13, 1013
GEORGE R. BROWN CONVENTION CENTER, HALL A – 1001 AVENIDA De LAS AMERICAS, HOUSTON, TEXAS