speaking about: MAGIC . . . !!
there’s LIGHT & SOUND / in them there, plants & water !!
ESTEBAN CABEZA de BACA, HEIDI HOWARD / WAVE HILL AQUATIC GARDEN
photo via Instagram @wavehill
‘LIGHT FROM WATER’ . . .
WAVE HILL’S next exhibit, begins – this SAT AUG 19, 2023 /
the exhibit, in Wave Hill’s GLYNDOR GALLERY, “features collaborative works by artists HEIDI HOWARD & ESTEBAN CABEZA de BACA, some inspired by Wave Hill’s stunning Aquatic Garden.”I have always been fascinated by ponds,” comments Howard about the experience of creating work in that serene garden space, “My mother – LIZ PHILLIPS, also in the show – grew up next to a pond and spoke about it as if it were her best friend.” For Cabeza de Baca, the Aquatic Garden is special “because of how it reflects light in water and water buoyantly refracts light, which became the guiding principle for the exhibition.”
the exhibit runs thru . . NOV 26, 2023.
def, see: WAVE HILL PUBLIC GARDEN and CULTURAL CENTER
4900 Independence Ave., BRONX, NY 10471
see: more about: ‘Light from Water’ – WAVE HILL WEBSITE
note: the ‘ARTISTS RECEPTION’ is on – SUN SEPT 17, 2023 / 1-4 PM
~HEIDI HOWARD, ESTEBAN CABEZA de BACA, with LIZ PHILLIPS / ‘LIGHT FROM WATER’ / WAVE HILL / BRONX NY / SAT AUG 19 – NOV 26, 2023 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 18th, 2023, 12:27pm
there’s magic – in them, there . . . weavings !!
one of the reasons I’m so attracted to SAMANTHA BITTMAN’s current weavings,
apart from the incredible . . color-ways !!!!
is because they are based on, or more properly: inspired by . . !!
traditional, early American weaving, specifically, utilitarian / bedspread coverlets.
as I repair early American quilts, and completely by hand-stitch by the way; the history and development of early American textile handicraft – is obviously of great interest to me, just as say; Shaker sweater knitting is – to Emily Bode.
Samantha’s weaving style predates Shaker times, and goes all the way back to – colonial times.
SAMANTHA BITTMAN, Large Weaving, ca. 2023
image via Instagram @forelandcatskill / Catskill Weaving School
Samantha’s recent series of loom-based artwork, are . .
“Block Double Weave” in structure, which was used in early American coverlets.”
“detail of an Overshot coverlet. Courtesy RUTH BIGEL ANTIQUES, New York City” /
photo illustration in: ‘The Knopf Collectors’ Guides to American Antiques’, ‘QUILTS, with Coverlets, Rugs & Samplers’, A Borzoi Book / Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc / First Printing, 1982.
(in my personal vintage crafts book collection).
above: Above is a traditional Colonial ‘Overshot’ woven coverlet, which was also produced in Colonial times.
here is the brief text / from the ‘The Knopf Collectors’ Guide’:
OVERSHOT WEAVING:
“Made on four-harness looms, Overshot coverlets are among the earliest American woven bedcovers. The name ‘overshot’ describes the weaving technique. The horizontal, or weft, threads were allowed to skip, or ‘overshoot’ three or more vertical, or warp, threads at a time, giving the coverlet a thick but loosely woven appearance . . . The warp threads were generally made of natural, undyed cotton, and the weft of dyed wool. The cotton added strength to the textile while the wool gave warmth. Overshot coverlets made after 1830 used a colored warp as well as multicolored wefts. Patterns usually combine stripes, squares, and diamonds, using a ‘floating’ weft of colored thread over the plain background. Because of the narrow (home) loom frame, (then in use), these coverlets were always made of two pieces, (which were then attached, by being ..) seamed up through the middle.
In the South it was believed that an uneven seam would turn away evil spirits, and insure good luck for the person who used the spread.”
FYI:
that’s something akin to the early (universal & colonial) quilters’ belief . . that an ‘error’ showed the hand of G-d was present in the quilt / if you can’t celebrate a tiny mistake in a patchwork quilt, or it seems, in a hand-woven coverlet, you shouldn’t be a quilter, nor it seems – a weaver / as mistakes happen, on all hand-made items, and you can’t just unravel the whole thing, and start again / it’s too laborious, especially for a utilitarian object / and who knows !!!! / the next piece – might have even bigger mistakes.
plus, it’s also the universal, but especially early American Puritan colonist / crafts persons’ concept of needing humility vs. vain pride / only G-d is perfect. sometimes you will even come upon old patchwork quilts that have an obvious ‘mistakes’, such as an inverted shape, wrong color, or totally ‘off-the-grid’ patch – that was deliberately placed / so as to insure divine presence and a plea for humility. inspiration is bigger – than ‘utilitarian’.
creation is a – lofty endeavor.
and, just because . . . !!
I came across this image – while doing research for the above.
nevermind divine, skilled, and magical / I would call this: ECSTATIC.
“Detail of an overshot coverlet (indigo blue wool and white cotton) found at Pleasant Hill, Shaker Village”.
‘Shaker Textile Arts’, Beverly Gordon, 1983.
Published by the University Press of New England,
with the Cooperation of the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum and Shaker Community, Inc.
Hanover, New Hampshire and London, England.
(in my personal vintage crafts book collection).
~Traditional American COVERLETS / Colonial Era Weaving / SAMANTHA BITTMAN / with a side of . . SHAKER !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 18th, 2023, 11:06am
looking – right on point . . . !!!
seems SAMANTHA BITTMAN . . .
is the artist-founder of @catskill_weaving_school, with a new branch at FORELAND CATSKILL, UPSTATE NY,
as well as an associate branch in E. Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY.
FALL CLASSES ARE – NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION . . . !!!
see: CATSKILL WEAVING SCHOOL
CATSKILL WEAVING SCHOOL . . . is an artist-run weaving school based in Catskill,
at Foreland Catskill /
and will occupy gallery space on Water St. – in the Foreland Catskill Flagship Building /
110 Water ST., Catskill, NY. 12414
CATSKILL WEAVING SCHOOL at FORELAND CATSKILL
image via Instagram @forelandcatskill
Large weaving by – SAMANTHA BITTMAN
image via Instagram @forelandcatskill
~SAMANTHA BITTMAN . . CATSKILL WEAVING SCHOOL / FORELAND CATSKILL, UPSTATE NY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 17th, 2023, 12:44pm
thru . . SEPT 16th !!
Various Small Fires, Los Angeles . . .
“is pleased to announce the opening of a group show curated by Los Angeles-based textile artist DIEDRICK BRAKENS,
on August 12, 2023. The exhibition ‘Shaping Color’ brings together 6 artists to explore the relationships between color and process in their respective practices.”
Various Small Fires, 812 N. Highland Ave, LA, CA 90038
hrs: Tues-Sat / 10am – 6pm
featuring artists: ZALIKA AZIM, OLIVER STRAND, SARAH CROWNER, SAMANTHA BITTMAN, DONALD MOFFET, BAKARI AINYELE
SARAH BITTMAN, ‘Untitled’, 2023.
image via Instagram @vsf
installation shot, for scale
image via Instagram@vsf
VSF, LA
image via Various Small Fires
~SAMANTHA BITTMAN . . included in ‘Shaping Color’ / CURATED BY DIEDRICK BRAKENS / VSF / VARIOUS MALL FIRES, LA / |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 16th, 2023, 3:54pm
so, I’m posting monthly throw-back photos – on WHITEHOT MAGAZINE . . !!
the title: ‘Art Lovers New York: Trippin’ Down Memory Lane with __________’ . . !!
last month I did . . NATE LOWMAN / Episode 1: Tombstone Nate !!
see: Episode 1: Tombstone Nate
this week I posted: ‘Art Lovers New York: Trippin Down Memory Lane with Billy Grant’ /
Episode 2: Billy Be Good !!
see: Episode 2: Billy Be Good
above: that would be . . . . BILLY GRANT
at the opening of ‘Riddle of the Sphinx’, Dearraindrop’s huge, blow-out show, at Deitch Projects,
Soho, NYC. June 2004
I think that’s his mom – in the background.
archival / copyright photo: Nancy Smith
read: the Whitehot article – for all the info.
****************************************************************************************************************
above: that would be: JEFFREY DEITCH . . . almost 20 years ago !!
attends the Dearraindrop opening of ‘Riddle of the Sphinx’, in a Dearraindrop custom patched / Prada suit.
Deitch Projects, Soho, NYC. June 2004.
archival / copyright photo: Nancy Smith
read: the Whitehot article for all the info.
and, YES !!
you’ve seen that DEITCH photo circulating all over the web . . and, even in a few unauthorized MFA thesis papers btw, which wrongly claim authorship, and, yes at Yale !!
unbelievable, and, absolutely unacceptable /seriously.
it’s been a big money-maker for me, as I most definite go after – unauthorized use. and big time.
& I assure you I have the 35mm negative – to prove it’s mine.
so don’t you be lifting my pix, losers.
~VINTAGE BILLY GRANT & JEFFREY DEITCH / WHITEHOT MAG / PHOTOS BY NANCY SMITH |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 11th, 2023, 8:59am
one of my very fave photos of the summer . . . !!!!
SHILOH BLUE (left), and EMERSON BORAKOVE . . .
of the 2 person band: Untitled Noise Night, performing at Stone Circle Theatre,
Ridgewood, Queens, N.Y., July 15, 2023.
image via Instagram Story @pleather_mommy
Photo: Emily Janowick (@pleather_mommy)
check out: Untitled Noise Night on IG / @untitled.noise.night
~UNTITLED NOISE NIGHT / SHILOH BLUE & EMERSON BORAKOVE / STONE CIRCLE THEATRE / PHOTO by EMILY JANOWICK |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 9th, 2023, 10:00am
speaking of SHILOH . .
“LET US IMMORTALIZE THE IMPULSE” . . . . . !! !! !!
SHILOH BLUE . . designed the cover art for her 2 person band / untitled noise night / first published project
‘UNTITLED NOISE NIGHT: AMERICA’S NEW FAVORITE PAST TIME’ – NOW OUT ON BANDCAMP & STREAMING SERVICES
INCL. YOUTUBE – LET US IMMORTALIZE THE IMPULSE
‘UNTITLED NOISE NIGHT’ is: “shi and em’s very loud band” & the category is: “angrient’ . . . (!!!)
all photos via Instagram @untitled.noise.night
also, check out: Shiloh Blue / IG @mtavictim
@untitled.noise.night: “IN APRIL of 2023, two functioning power outlets were discovered to be attached to the base of the scoreboard at the very edge of the SUNY Purchase baseball field. Untouched by anybody but the wasps living in the rain-cover, the outlets vibrated with life and potential.
Less than a day later, Untitled Noise Night carted & carried the most powerful sound equipment we could access across the length of campus, landing at the scoreboard. And as the sun set overhead, we plugged in, turning everything up as high as it could go. The resulting sound traveled about halfway across campus, flooding dorm rooms and outdoor quads with the textures and tones we were creating from our nest in the baseball field. It was the loudest thing any of us had ever done in our entire lives, and suddenly every moment was worth twice its weight in gold.
The album is a full recording of that performance, ending with campus police (and 4 RAs) making an irate appearance after about a half hour.”
@untitled.noise.night: “The goal of this performance was to replace America’s favorite pastime, baseball, with something that more accurately reflected the American identity. Our notion is that baseball with its rules and clear cut steps to follow doesn’t match the aimlessness of living in the modern United States. By performing improvised drones on a baseball field turned stage, we supplant the past notions of American prosperity with the current American reality of aimless insanity.
The Big Nothing aesthetic, associated with endless highways, dilapidated infrastructure, gentrified real estate hubs filled with colored facade apartment buildings, dried out truck stops, and corporatized agriculture growing food exclusively for animal feed is the overpowering atmosphere of the modern United States. Therefore we present a new national anthem, a new favorite pastime, a new clarity with which we can learn to love the mini mall even for all its faults. And what is being more American than being harassed by law enforcement purely for self expression? Proof that we had achieved in creating America’s
new favorite pastime.”
TEXT: BY ‘UNITLED NIGHT NOISE’ BANDMATES: SHILOH BLUE & EMERSON BORAKOVE
~SHILOH BLUE / UNTITLED NOISE NIGHT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 7th, 2023, 5:21pm
‘EXHIBITIONISTS: Art By Artists Who Curate’ – OPENS SAT AUG 5 / 4 – 7 PM . . . !!!!
WALTER’S / WALTER ELWOOD MUSEUM
100 CHURCH ST., AMSTERDAM, N.Y. 12010
HRS: TUES – THURS / 9am-3pm
or call for evening or weekend appts.
with: JOSHUA ABELOW, BRENT BIRNBAUM, BERLY BROWN, TREY BURNS, ANTHONY DISCENZA, NATE HEIGES, PHILIP HINGE, KEGAN HOLLIS, EMILY JANOWICK, BUTT JOHNSON, TAMARA JOHNSON, BEN KINSLEY, JESSICA LANGLEY, ARNELA MAHMUTOVIC, CATHERINE McTAGUE, PATRICK CARLO MOHUNDRO, MYLES STARN, MATT TABER, TRANG TRAN, MATTHEW WILLIAMS
EMILY & SHILOH
Photo via Instagram @pleather_mommy
@pleather_mommy: “hi! I have another collaboration with my daughter SHILOH BLUE, opening this weekend at WALTER’S in AMSTERDAM, N.Y. MIDDLE PART is a record of the precious banal moments of our life together that we humans tend to forget as time passes. What if we could keep all that ?”
Photo c/o EMILY JANOWICK
@pleather_mommy: “it’s a 12 part sound piece and here are all the mp3 players charging :) !!!!”
~EMILY JANOWICK, SHILOH BLUE & OTHERS / ‘EXHIBITIONISTS’ / WALTER’S / AMSTERDAM, NY / OPENS SAT AUG 5 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 4th, 2023, 11:57am
how fun . . another generational show, that skewed young / even if just by happenstance,
that’s the way it is / the kids & their mind-set !!! are . . very much PRESENT !!
KING’S LEAP & FREDDY PRESENT: A CO-CURATED SHOW of 34 ARTISTS
KING’S LEAP / FREDDY GALLERY / HARRIS, UPSTATE NY
on view by appointment . . . thru AUGUST 13, 2023
left: MONSIEUR ZOHORE, ‘Double Dates are Cute or Whatever’, 1889 – 2022 (I kid you, not !!!!)
mixed media on canvas / 72 x 33 in.
above the door: GENE BEERY, ‘Tra Rats!’, 2009.
acrylic on canvas / 16 x 12 in.
on the door: ‘WIZARD’ hanging banner-sign / by Freddybiz son: LEV, who is all of 8 !!
(that’s his bedroom door).
photo via Instagram @freddybiz
AUDREY GAIR, ‘Representing’, 2023.
oil on linen / 36 x 48 in.
photo via Instagram @freddybiz
now, that’s what I call a killer / combo . . !!
~MONSIEUR ZOHORE, GENE BERRY, AUDREY GAIR & LEV / KING’S LEAP & FREDDY / FREDDY GALLERY / HARRIS, NY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 28th, 2023, 8:54am
featuring . . CONNOR LANG, ELOISE LANG, and DEVON LOWMAN
organized by . . ELOISE LANG !! You Go Girl !!
the worst part of writing an Indie blog are the low level scavengers who make a pretty pretty nice
salary, chasing you – to work, for free of course, on their clients’ behalf.
so yeah if I could go away to the countryside, it sure wouldn’t be to that played-out & ticketed !! NADA – FORELAND !!
and, hell no, it definite would not be – to that nursing home center of worn-out scenic aesthetics . . NADA – MAINE, either.
FORELAND ?
FORECLOSURE is more like it – thanks to these art world vultures, and more importantly, the people who sponsor them.
“Dear Nancy, if you happen to be in Maine . . ?” / are you kidding me.
I can’t even afford an Uber to Marvin Gardens, apparently.
and, I mean Marvin Gardens, Ridgewood NY, not Monopoly.
because, seriously what’s the diff / it’s Pass Go & lose . . $200 in NYC / IRL.
nope.
Apparently, I was born to be hard-core Indie, and way ahead of the middling crowd, and probably will be, til the day I die.
timing is everything, and trust me when I say, being way ahead of the pack – is NOT the best kind of timing re your bank account.
slow and stupid – wins in this town.
well, maybe it’s not so stupid, to be able to get your little gallery-opening-ready black dress off the hard work – of someone else ?
nope, if I could get to the country, it would be somewhere . . raw, authentic, and totally off-the-beaten-track. where the talent, and the long summer days float up to that big summer sky, in perfect harmony.
nope, I’m going to – Wichita, if only in my dreams.
SPIDER GALLERY, Wichita, Kansas.
note: all photos courtesy of the gallery via Instagram @spider.gallery
yikes !!
did you notice the ‘detail’ of the scenic photo above ?
that’s what I mean, authentic & crushing it . . SPIDER, you lovely true-blue / hard-core Indie Rebel !!
just born that way, and nothing contrived.
this is what real creative community – comes down to.
take that, all you poser NYC art dealer wannabe . . bros.
the artist is . . PATTY MULLEN, who had the Spring 2023 show at SPIDER.
and, just in case you are a big-time artlovers fan from Japan – yes !!
we are talking Dorothy, the Wizard of Oz, and the fab fab Wicked Witch of the West – sprung from Depression era / mid-west America – and, that is spelt: K-a-n-s-a-s /
‘The Wizard of Oz’ – by L. FRANK BAUM.
which was actually written to address / expose . . . government corruption, and posers of all genres !!
YEP, I’LL BE FLYING IN ON MY VIRTUAL, TALENT-SEEKING, TWITCHY BROOMSTICK . . . TO SEE:
‘TIDUS GROUP SHOW 1’ – SUMMER 2023
FEATURING: CONNOR LANG, ELOISE LANG, AND DEVON LOWMAN
ORGANIZED BY: ELOISE LANG
SPIDER GALLERY – A DOMESTIC EXHIBITION SPACE IN WICHITA, KS / KANSAS.
PS: CONNOR AND CHLOE LANG,
EX-PATS . . from let me guess: Capital M F A / North East art schools & circles ?!!
run Spider, “out of our garage turned gallery space in Wichita, Kansas. We moved to Wichita about 4 years ago right before our now 4 year old daughter, Eloise was born . . .
We appreciate staying connected with artist friends and highlighting their work.”
PS: CONNOR LANG – designs those incredible awesome exhibition ‘posters’, and the logo spiders, which I first noticed on their BILLY GRANT / solo exhibition IG posts, March of 2021.
all I can say is: BILLY BE . . GOOD !!!!
the other thing I really REALLY like about this show,
and that I consider to be very brilliant, and of unique, cutting-edge rebel / forward-Indie vision / is that this is a GENERATIONAL SHOW / but, unlike your average run on-and-on, boring by now / multi-generational art shows in NYC, and probably around the world, in a ‘new’ (ugh) drive to be ‘inclusive . . which only leans to older / this one, ‘TIDUS GROUP SHOW 1’ . . . skews YOUNG !!
and I mean, young.
yes. their afore-mentioned daughter – Eloise Lang all of 4 years old, ‘organized’ the exhibit, and proudly displays her work too. I dare you to guess which piece . . is hers !!
hint: it’s yellow, abstract expressionist – and really ‘hugs’ the ‘plastic’ compositional borders of the surface.
the bright-eyed, drop-dead-comic, realist / ‘SUPER MARIO’ – is by DEVON LOWMAN, currently based in NY/CT.
DEVON LOWMAN, ‘SUPER MARIO’, 2023.
‘realist’ / animation game character – painting / with just the perfect amount of ‘bold’, and great diy humor in the details. and texture, heavy. just so you know, it’s ‘human-made’.
what could be better – than a fierce flying, almost one-eyed . . Mario /
counter-intuitively installed on a fabulous-in-its-own-right / wooden, barn-like, garage shed, in deep south-central Kansas ?!!
CONNOR LANG, CHLOE LANG, ELOISE LANG, ‘COLLABORATION’, 2023.
MIXED MEDIA.
GREAT FREE – FALL PAINTING / ESP INSTALLED ON THAT GREAT INTERIOR WALL.
detail, ‘Banana Dude’ / Chloe, Connor, and Eloise Lang.
Eloise !! hello !!
so fun, I’m going to be the very first line – in your CV / ‘Exhibits’ !!!!
best of luck, in all your future endeavors . . !!
all photos: Spider Gallery on Instagram @spider.gallery
~’TIDUS GROUP SHOW 1′ . . SPIDER GALLERY, WICHITA / with a side of . . PATTY MULLEN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 26th, 2023, 11:26am
