‘This little piggy went to market . . .’ /
or: is Netflix – the new Artforum ?
I’ve got a . . . . ‘POCKET ALFREDO’ !!
and, it’s the real deal, too. no fakes here.
it’s still aluminum, it’s still light-weight, small scale, and it’s still easily . . portable.
even though it was made more than 20 years go,
it’s still metal reflective, it’s still vernacular relevant, and more importantly, it’s still also a reflection / a signifier . . on the times / and it, still, can be – YOURS !!!
in a TIME Magazine article in 1967, ANDY WARHOL predicted the future as a time . .
“when everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.”
flash forward to . . 2022,
and, looks like Andy was close, but not fully prepared – for exactly just how fast, social media would propel . .
the world & in particular, those seeking celebrity fame /
a mere 55 years later !! and, we see, it’s more like:
everyone can catch 5 mins. of fame / on the back of someone else’s . . 15 minutes !!
we should just plain out call it – for what it is: ‘piggy-back fame’, and, that’s piggy – in all senses. but mostly, piggy, piggy all the way – to the bank / spin doctors, rejoice !!
GO FOR IT . . . ALFIE !!!!!
of course !!
I’m talking about my good friend, ALFREDO MARTINEZ, aka the ‘NOTORIOUS BASQUIAT FORGER’.
though, we just used to call him, the plain ole . . . ‘REAL FAKE BASQUIAT’ . . !!
and, his (virtual) jailhouse squeeze, the equally notorious . . . THE (REAL) ANNA DELVEY !!
and wouldn’t you know it, they are . . our real day Bonnie & Clyde,
because apparently, nothing beats an outlaw – than an outlaw couple !!
seems, Alfredo developed a real,’we-are-both-thieves’, (is ‘scammer’ – a cuter way of putting it?) real real, heavy-duty crush on the ‘flirtatious-takes-you-to-the-top’ fake heiress, and last week’s headlines . . were a riot !! it was like watching a never-ending story / on repeat.
the various media posts just absolutely parroted each other, not a one had anything original or substantial to say – but who cared !!
by the end of last week, it was, wait / is AI writing the news, now too ? but it just added to the fun.
the coverage . . ran right up through the established art world, and then, even hit the mainstream /
and all the while – nobody cried wolf !!
and pretty quickly, and, pretty much – without changing a word, a sentence.
lord have mercy, have we really become a nation of morons ?
one weird post – had a totally wrong Alfredo Martinez in the photos / and, one of the big German tabloids, pegged NOAH BECKER, publisher of Whitehot Magazine, a big Alfie & Anna fan & co-promoter, written up – as the son of Boris Becker, the famous tennis player.
too fun !! forget about fake news, you couldn’t make this up – in your dreams.
I do declare . . . Andy – would have loved this.
nothing like a fast-talking, heavily-accented, German-Russian honey-trap of a young fake heiress / and, a big goofball of a street smart ‘gun’ artist, (of whom, even his best friends will tell you, you can’t believe a word he says), who both in their own way, conned a whole bunch of pretentious culture & institutional snobs, (got to love the art world) / to progress from a Netflix series, and go on to . . to ‘steal’ / the media-loving, iPhone hearts, of our war-weary world.
I have always said, especially when viewing the art world, it’s either the very top crust, or the very gritty bottom / and, nothing in-between, (is of any interest).
I guess the same rules – apply to the broader society.
it’s either . . total moronic destruction, untold human misery on a vast scale, impending global food ‘insecurity’, (yikes – will I be able to feed my 120 lb. dog ? ) and the usual – though unimaginable nuclear threats, with flying nuke headquarters / coming out of 70s mothballs, and, the totally nuts North Koreans thrown into the mix, just for fun, as per usual / samo, samo, indeed.
who doesn’t love, a Joker wild card /
vs.
the other extreme, the proverbial, gritty, often dark, street-wise bottom / that what we proudly call, the ‘underground’ art scene, the ‘downtown’ New Edge City / in the you-gotta-love-it . . New York City !!
and, still apparently – the capital of the global art world, and this – is why.
where a jail time ‘crush’, & resultant artistic collaboration, between 2 convicted cons / who played many, and not so nicely by the way / while all the while . . aiming / consciously or not, to … ‘revive’ the now, way dead art form – that we used to call . . . ‘Performance Art’ !!
(before it unfortunately morphed, rather horribly into ‘Food Art’, remember that ?)
well, this is ‘Performance Art 2022’, and, it’s subtitled:
‘Get-Over Artists – The Alf & Anna Show’ . . . !!!
so, ‘forgery’ is in vogue. who would have thought ?
in a rather charming ‘twist’ on the narrative / Alfredo is said to actually ‘reproduce’ Anna’s jailhouse drawings, as well as, blow them up, and color them / in fact, he is actually a pretty good colorist – that’s part of what’s actually help drive all the press, that superbly ‘colored’ – now famous, ‘Send Me Bitcoin’, – the Anna illustration, an otherwise crudely drawn sketch, but not without a dry humor & of course, detailed fashion notes / that’s always accompanying, the endless, no real ‘insight’ – press !!).
what ?
so the works you might be buying, (and, is anybody ?) – aren’t really her’s ?!! they are fakes, Alfredo fakes ??!!
in the art world, that’s more properly known as . . ‘collabs’, short for collaborations, and – that’s . . . ok.
but, it should be noted on the price list !!
unless of course, if it’s just a lowly studio assistant / fabricator . . some blue chip artist is taking advantage of / a lot of my young artist readers will know – exactly what I mean.
then it’s not acknowledged, and: well, end of story. but, sad.
anyway, ‘collab’ – is way better than ‘appropriation’ / or, just any other outright smart-ass, intellectual theft, ala Richard Prince, etc.
‘collab’ is ok. just, put it – in print.
it’s just even the faintest whiff of ‘forgery’ . . must have all the big wig collectors quaking, and, well they should be, letters of authenticity, or not. Alfredo’s history goes back at least 20 years. I also heard some wild rumors about all those silkscreen Andy Warhols that keep popping up in Britain, speaking of the darling undead – but, that’s filed away under: better keep – my big mouth shut.
spending time in the Big House, NYC slang for prison . . for fraud, let alone art fraud, isn’t exactly golden music to the well-heeled, but high-priced / street art chasing denizens of those other big houses: the Auction Big Houses !!
most whom probably employ an army of lawyers to keep them ‘clean’, let’s keep it real / though we could drop a few names I suppose, how’s Steinhardt & Sackler, for starters.
so, it’s a kind of . . . great Netflix-to-Artforum joke / the scrappy, street-smart con artists in the (penal) Big House vs. the corporate raiders & UBS fat cats / the phony auction riggers, Paris does jump to mind / & the serious tax haven seekers – in the (legal) Auction Big House !!
and, that’s what makes . . being an art world con – kind of . . well, GROOVY !!
WAY to GO, ALFIE !!!!!!!!!
so, I have a . . . ‘POCKET ALFREDO’ – for sale !!
it’s made to mimic the old school cigarette packs – that cool dudes, like James Dean ? used to shove into their shirt pockets !!
MARK & MATT ENGER / aka THE ENGER TWINS / aka EXPLODING SKY, the (truly) downtown / master silk-screeners – made them.
sad to say, Mark has done & gone R.I.P. / but he was brilliant – case-in-hand /
and, if you ever wonder – how an art photographer slash paparazzi / and,
that would be me . . .
who started publishing photos at Artnet in 2002, then turned art writer in 2005 / while all the while painting smallish watercolors, and hand-stitching repairs of old quilts, among other creative vernacular pursuits / in complete obscurity / knows what’s going on in the flitter-y, flicking art scene of now, well – now you know.
this is the art we, my friends, and I made – 20+ years ago / all hail . . . WLIP / WE LIVE IN PUBLIC.
we are talking: DIY, aluminum, mobile, small scale, silkscreen, reflective, and with a creative narrative – well worth it’s weight in gold, many times over !!
FYI:
shout to JOSH HARRIS / of ‘QUIET’ & the rough & mighty raw documentary it birthed: the now infamous . . . ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ (2009) / who rounded us up . . Alfredo, the Enger Bros., and me / and a few some others, & kept us happily playing for keeps / while totally outside the commercial art scene – proper.
how’s that for true gritty glory ? well, for a little while, anyways !!
Josh was worth $82 million, an early 80s tech entrepreneur / huge party thrower / and, the well acknowledged . . father of all social media,
for real – way ahead of his time. everybody wanted to be him, but they wouldn’t give him – the time of day. we all could paint ‘circles’ – around y’all !!
that’s – for sure. we were – the hardcore / downtown frontier.
MARK & MATT ENGER / EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE, ‘POCKET ALFREDO’, 2000.
reverse.
aluminum, 3-D, free-standing. silk-screened, one-tone.
photo of ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ca. 1999-2000.
3 x 3 in.
originally in an edition of 96.
but, I’ve got the only 4 that have survived.
this one is 90 out 96 / it is hand-numbered, and signed, in black sharpie – by Mark and Matt Enger – on the bottom.
it says / meaning . . in ‘fabricated’ pocket format:
Gauranteed (sic) to NOT:
~Eat your Food`
~Steal
~Lie
~Forge Paintings
~Borrow Money
EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE – 2000
NOTE: I was asking $950 for it, back in 2017,
on my . . ‘IF I HAD $200’ category. see, top navigator bar.
I guess I would want at least . . . $5 grand – now.
see contact / at left, top of page. NANCY SMITH.
WAY TO GO – ALFIE !!!!!!!!!!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~’POCKET ALFREDO’ . . ALFREDO MARTINEZ – THE NOTORIOUS BASQUIAT FORGER !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 24th, 2022, 4:58pm
‘Jack be nimble, Jack – be quick /
Jack jump over – the candlestick.’
‘BIG COUNTRY’ . . .
a group show featuring the work of 5 artists /
is up thru . . . SUN APRIL 17, 2022
HYACINTH GALLERY, LOWER EAST SIDE
read: ‘BIG COUNTRY’ / HYACINTH GALLERY
RYAN KITSON, ‘Shot, Tipped, Flipped, and Flopped’, 2021.
Painted aluminum / 18 x 21 x 1 in.
photo via Instagram @hyacinthgallery
RYAN KITSON: another one / Mt. Ashland, Oregon / posted June 2021
photo via Instagram @ryankitson
I like small pieces.
especially . . . those that are curious. original. often light-reflecting, and definite striking,
within different contexts, and places. functional, or pseudo . . they carry more resonance than their size would belie. it’s like a bite of divine sushi, a poetic phrase, and a tiny revelation – without a huge reveal.
it’s so . . . underground.
it makes the mainstream art world look ridiculous, pompous & over-wrought.
it’s kind of like . . artlovers !!
if you’re small enough – you are always on the thin / cutting edge.
my latest epiphany – on the matter is:
the current rapper ‘style’ war / regarding whether to wrap colorful plastic / craft bead necklaces – around one’s neck, as opposed to the heavy duty diamond spectacle / or serious also heavy, gold chain.
obviously, I’m coming down on the side of the . . light-to-wear, and, who-gives-a-care / about-your-or-mine – damn-wallet / pretty, and pretty much low-fi neck adornments of . . JUSTIN BEIBER, PETE DAVIDSON, and, even this week: A$AP ROCKY !! showing up with his $50 green plastic Tamagotchi / dangling from a longish plastic chain. low-key creativity, apparently still a big shock / even after, that thrift shop vintage 70s popcorn bubble quilt- he wrapped himself up in, for the Met Gala runway / just another way low fi & crafts say: check out your world, dude.
as opposed to the stodgy, look-at-me dude / million dollar, million-and-a-half dollar ? heavy anchor-around-your-neck, chain, that Drake looked so dumb in / photographed at a recent basketball game, sitting court-side, of course.
surrounded by security, btw.
dressed as friends, as if.
what’s really to ponder in art, I mean / sometimes we /or . . really, 3/4 of the rest of the art world forgets /
is . . that it’s not the million dollar ‘price’ tag, the ‘established’ status, or the so-called, & definitely in-house manipulated ‘value’ of the blue-chip art market / which is obviously a kind of legal ‘con’ game for sure, though sometimes – it is nice to see ‘history’ in the flesh, no doubt.
but, what’s really to ponder, is how a small piece of colored, common metal, maybe just a few dollars of materials, if that / and, definite with no real ‘retail’ past history / can reflect so beautifully – the shifting light of the sky above a mountain, as well as the mountain, itself.
and, in doing so / in that tiny moment: voice a ‘concern’, an ‘awareness’ / of that mountain, and the society as whole which surrounds it.
our culture, our urbanization. our natural poetry – or, what there is that is left of it, and our need, whether we know it, or not . . . for that very connected-ness.
and then, just as simply – one day / pick up, and join an edgy, but truly heart-borne, group show in the deepest gritty heart of NYC, Canal St., and still come up . . dancing. reflecting, causing . . . pause to ponder.
to tip-toe into the world / as light on your feet, as you can be / that, is the real potency of the art world, today.
good night, pre-ponderous art.
good night, moon. and, watch out for crashing space junk, yikes,
I think I can see 3 eyes up there on your face now ?!!
and it’s not – the 3rd eye, either.
and, if you can really connect-the-dots, and the bullet-holes, when . . they say: space exploration . . “is to find life on Mars”, nope. it is – not.
it is – a search for minerals, to mine.
check out: RYAN KITSON / Instagram @ryankitson
~RYAN KITSON . . ‘BIG COUNTRY’ / HYACINTH GALLERY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 22nd, 2022, 4:22pm
TO-NIGHT !!
FRI MARCH 18, 2022 / 10 PM EST / 7PM MST
on their YouTube . . . YouTube.com/user/TheSMoCA
in conjunction with:
‘PIXEL-by-PIXEL: Interventions by LUKE MURPHY’ / OCT 30, 2021 – APRIL 10, 2022
SMoCA / SCOTTSDALE MUSEUM of CONTEMPORARY ART
7374 E 2nd St, Scottsdale, Arizona
check out: ‘PIXEL-by-PIXEL’ – intro, essay & install photos – SMoCa
check out: LUKE MURPHY on INSTAGRAM @lukemurphy49
~LUKE MURPHY . . . Q & A / SMoCA / FRI MARCH 18 / To-NIGHT !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 18th, 2022, 4:13pm
the very perfection of: NEW EDGE CITY
TOM FORKIN . . . ‘The Electrician’ – a solo exhibition of new work !!
opened Feb 19th
runs thru . . . SAT, MARCH 19, 2022
SOMEDAY GALLERY
120 Walker St., #3R / TRIBECA, DOWNTOWN NYC 10013
HRS: THURS – SAT / 11am – 6 PM
TOM FORKIN installation shot via Instagram @someday_gal
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
I’m sure as hell, don’t know what the fig, oops fungii – it’s all about, and that . . intrigues me. though, I’m also sure as hell, that plenty people: poets & academics alike / could write scads of paper on the show’s ultimate meaning.
the title: ‘The Electrician’ – is brilliant, though don’t ask me to explain that, either !!
and, make a note: of the actual scale of the watercolors, up on the wall / just to the right of center. (on the wall).
I guess we can chalk this one up to: m-y-s-t-e-r-y brought upon by via hyper, over-sized realism.
sheer poetry of skills, and of course – dig those small watercolors !!
they seem to be romantic city-scapes / imbued with turn-of-the-century Victorian . . ‘vapors’ & haunting illumination.
of a fleeting, realist – nature.
strange bed-fellows . huge, meticulous 3-D mushrooms vs. tiny, dreamy streets, parks – caught on the flimiest of brushwork.
note: watercolor – seems to be in a huge revival – these days.
I find that very interesting.
ok, so: unlike the brief text above – I can actually address that thought block – most, definitively !!
contrarian-born person that I am, born under the sign of Aires ignited by flames / I almost got kicked out of my MFA Studio grad program in Montreal, in the 70’s / the era of huge, color-field painting & dry, minimalist Agnes Martin type pencil rulings / with my self-taught, strong-willed, but way dreamy . . small scale watercolors, greatly influenced by Edo period Japanese woodblock prints & poetry. they were also quick in spirit too, fast brushwork & thin wash . . very much like these, in technique.
I must have been the only person in the entire painting program – if, not the greater art scene in general, who knew what Windsor Newton meant, knew how to care for fine-tipped sable brushes, & how to tell the difference between hot vs. cold press Arches paper.
TOM FORKIN, Mushroom.
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
I’m thinking: very much . . a small, realist watercolor – come to life / as a huge sculpture.
“Six large sculptures, six small watercolors, six main sources of electrical energy. The sculptures – paper-skinned mushrooms shaped from wire mesh – are staged in a frozen choreography.”
~gallery essay
TOM FORKIN – ‘The Electrian’/ installation shot
via SOMEDAY GALLERY
“The watercolors depict the warm glow of street lamps, composed with a snapshot vernacular and repeated obsessively from different perspectives. / There are many forms of illumination – industrial, chemical, intellectual, spiritual. A lot of the built world mimics sources of light seen in nature. Most mushrooms are known for their superior light-absorption capabilities – able to soak up & store large amounts of vitamin D from the sun . . . .
Other species of fungi appeal to a different kind of illumination – capable of breaking down the rational mind, dissolving the ego, and stimulating spiritual enlightenment.”
ahhhh: “Psilocybin can identified by a set of distinct physical characteristics: plump, golden caps, purple gils, bluish flesh and stems that, once dried, appear flakey, likestrands of hair when observed under a microscope.”
~both quotes: gallery essay
TOM FORKIN, detail mushroom sculpture
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
“The sculptures – paper-skinned mushrooms shaped from wire mesh” /
“In Gifu Japan, a region dense with luciferin fungi, fireflies, and other bioluminescent organisms, artisans have perfected the craft of hand-made lanterns formed from rice paper & bamboo, that seek to similarly capture the weightlessness of light.”
~gallery essay
TOM FORKIN, watercolor, in ‘The Electrician’
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
so, huh: is God – the master Electrician ?
(my son would love that . . word play, Not.)
TOM FORKIN, watercolor – street lamps.
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
“The watercolors depict the warm glow of street lamps . . ”
~gallery essay
read: the entire essay here, & see more pix / SOMEDAY GALLERY
check out: SOMEDAY GALLERY on Instagram @someday_gal
check out: TOM FORKIN on Instagram @fork_in_tom
~TOM FORKIN . . ‘THE ELECTRICIAN’ / SOMEDAY / up thru MARCH 19 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 10th, 2022, 10:25am
talkin’ about – NEW EDGE CITY !!!
NOAH BECKER . . Publisher of WHITEHOT MAGAZINE /
interviews . . ANNA DELVEY – of ‘INVENTING ANNA’,
on his podcast !!
“JOINS US – FROM PRISON” . . . . . ??!!!!!
P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S . . . . . !!!!!!!
WHITEHOT ART WORLD PODCAST – DROPS: WED MARCH 9, 2022
with HOST: NOAH BECKER – via APPLE & SPOTIFY Podcasts
~NOAH BECKER INTERVIEWS . . ANNA DELVEY !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 8th, 2022, 10:46am
BE STILL . . MY BLEEDING, BEATING HEART !!!!
A GROUP SHOW / OF 5 . . JUST-OFF-THE-STARTING-MARK / NEW, EDGE-CITY !! ARTISTS.
& ALREADY IN – A BIG, BIG . . SPRINT !!
MARK – MY WORDS.
& MARK – YOUR . . CALENDARS !!
‘BIG COUNTRY’ – A 5 PERSON GROUP SHOW
OPENS . . FRI MARCH 11 / 6 – 8 PM
& RUNS THRU . . APRIL 17, 2022
HYACINTH, 179 CANAL ST., #4B, DOWNTOWN / CHINATOWN, NYC 10013
HRS: FRI, SAT & SUN / 12 – 6 PM / or by appointment
WITH NEW WORK BY:
PEGGY CHIANG, BEN DUAX, GENEVIEVE GOFFMAN, RYAN KITSON, and CLAIRE LACHOW
POSTER IMAGE: RYAN KITSON, CERAMIC HEART CAST – FROM A DEER HEART.
~’BIG COUNTRY’ . . GROUP SHOW / HYACINTH / OPENS . . FRI MARCH 11 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 7th, 2022, 11:49am
a ‘Dejuener sur l’herbe’ . . for our times / so, are we on the – eve of global destruction ?
up thru . . . SUN MARCH 6, 2022
‘BEN DUAX: Lon air an Fheur’
Jan 19 – March 6, 2022
HYACINTH, 179 Canal St., #48, Tribeca, NYC 10013
HRS: FRI, SAT & SUN: 12 pm – 6 pm
see: BEN DUAX PRESS RELEASE – HYACINTH
FRUITS are falling – like bombs.
a dysfunctional destruction of pattern / shatters the visual plane.
a furtive smoke of explosion erupts, and rot seeps out from behind smiling skins & over-ripe berries.
cigarettes are the ‘cynical’ . . tip-off.
well, at least they aren’t / “strange fruit – hanging from the trees” /
i.e. African American lynchings . . during Jim Crow.
but close enough, just in another language & still signaling . . human distress, at the hands, of others.
BEN DUAX, ‘Sunflowers & Pineapple Sage II’, 2022.
acrylic on reactive dye canvas / 17.75 x 14 in.
image via Instagram @hyacinthgallery
a little bit of Instagram Direct Message / Q & A . . . with BEN DUAX:
Ben Duax: Lon Air An Fheur . . is Gaelic for ‘luncheon on the grass’.
Nancy Smith: unspoken thought bubble / it’s so interesting to see some ancient linguistic roots / Fleur is flower in French / dejuener is late breakfast/brunch / so, picnic among the flowers / picnic on the grass . . but not, such a happy time, & above all, nowhere close to the ‘stylistic’ narrative – re the French Impressionists, who were so radical in their own time.
guess, I’m just a history/literary/source nerd / maybe, because I grew up in Montreal, Quebec / French Canada.
Ben Duax: ‘But the idea is that the work is engaged with the question of reproduction or versimilitude, and the significance of the Gaelic language is because I live in Scotland,
and this kind of trashy casual picnic for me . . [signifies] an autobiographical context.”
N: who are the people who run HYANCINTH, & how do you know them ?
Ben Duax: The gallery is owned by a guy named WILLIAM NANCE.
N: How do you know him if you are based in Scotland ?
BD: I know him from when I lived in New York before, I used to have a studio at SLEEP CENTER in Chinatown.
N: oh, I know the place, it had an ‘advanced’ digital – light animation projection / sculpture focus,
deep, deep down in a windowless, super dark Chinatown basement, on Monroe St., near Essex Flowers.
BD: I am also in the next group show at HYANCINTH – that opens FRI MARCH 11th.
a few notes for the show’s PRESS RELEASE:
~”Enough scholarly attention paid to the canvases of Ben Daux would probably uncover a plethora of art-historical signifiers. Flashes of Matisse’s sunbathers or the weighty carcasses of Francis Bacon and Schiele’s skeletal linearity may appear in Duax’s compositions alongside the destructive adolescent gestures of Appel or Jorn.”
~”the title itself translates as the famed ‘Le Dejuener sur L’herbe’ expressed in Gaelic, a nearly disused language salvaged from the brink of obscurity . . .
Inspired by the bilingual subway and parking signage of Glasgow’s ancient streets . . .
(this show) meanders the curiously mundane, beautiful, and sometimes absurd icons that populate this, (still standing !! historic – Nancy) urban architecture.”
~”a multitude of imaging techniques . . including traditional photography, risograph duplications, digital wand scans, and reactive dye prints . . are often overlaid by conventional painting.”
(contemporary / digital impressionism ? – Nancy)
~”(the show) . . presents a data-sphere of painterly gestures that necessitate a more grandiose project than simply digging up the . . . (academic) art historic references /
it poses an opportunity to reinvent the principles of taste, manners, and culture embedded in the visual history of modern life – itself suddenly on the threshold of an unimaginable degree of digital immersion.”
(and, real life / destruction – Nancy)
~”Originally from the Bay Area in California, BEN DUAX works out of New York, and Glasgow.
he graduated with a BFA from Hunter College, NYC / in Painting, and an MFA from the University of Glasgow in Fine Art.”
check out: HYACINTH GALLERY on Instagram @hyacinthgallery
check out: BEN DUAX on Instagram @ben_duax
~BEN DUAX . . ‘Lon air an Fheur’ / HYACINTH / last weekend !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 4th, 2022, 11:38am
KIM & KANYE SPLIT – CUSTOM PRINTED ‘PRO’ SOCKS !!
KIM & KANYE SPLIT – IT SUCKS . . !!
but, not as bad . . . as real WAR.
damn, can’t we just go back to the good ole . . . ways & days ?!!
yeah. things definite went real south, and even more tragic – in just the last 2 days.
how much worse, can it get ?
I turn for comfort and ‘jokes’ – to a new gen of NYC artists unleashing their creativity, and WIT !!
upon some very common, and unassuming . . . utilitarian objects.
ANDREW FRANCIS . . ‘KIM & KANYE SPLIT’, 2021.
open edition, custom printed Pro ‘Soccer’ Socks.
several styles available. all current event / media – news related.
14-1/2 in. x 3-1/2 in. each sock / sold in pairs.
$40 a pair.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH / top: front, bottom: back.
order yours now !! – via Andrew’s Instagram:
check out: ANDREW MERIWTHER FRANCIS on Instagram @andrewmeriwetherfrancis
~ANDREW FRANCIS . . ‘KIM & KANYE SPLIT’ / SOCKS |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2022, 9:33am
it was hard enough to write about art . . . in the age of Covid /
but, now – in the poo poo poop Putin war on Ukraine, it’s even even harder.
it only leads one to the horrifying conclusion – that things can go – even worse.
even though I like to joke a lot, or maybe because I like to joke a lot / you know the maxim:
the tears of the clown / it’s looking pretty sad for humanity – though the creativity, heart & brains exist . . damn !!
it’s real bad . . . when the bullies – persist !!
when the bullie win out over the creatives / it’s not a good – look for world survival.
I had personal experience of this during Covid, don’t ever, ever talk to me – about corrupt ESU cops in Jersey City,
or, elsewhere . . for that matter !!
and, now just like the rest of the world, I watch the blue & yellow vs. red / news with huge horror, and dismay.
I hate to say this, but I definite believe in pinpoint death squads & drones.
and way, way earlier, as opposed to . . . later. I know it raises issues, but seriously !!?
so, much for your . . artist – pie – in – the – sky . . take.
not, me !!
& #metoo !! & #resist !!
funny how, the LUKE MURPHY created – LED DELI animated, ‘RESIST’ banner / at the top of this page,
just keeps on giving.
keeps on being relevant – as the tears / I mean . . years, go by.
RUI TENREIRO . . . the currently Stockholm-based, multi-talented illustrator,
storyteller, and filmmaker /
just posted this grave & solemn illustration – to his Instagram page.
this other maxim . . is totally true too: pictures speak louder than words.
RUI TENREIRO: “Front cover (without text) of my book ‘Lanterns of Nedzu’ for Sanatorium Forlag,
Publishing House, Sweden / ‘Lanterns of Nedzu’ is a (possibly weird) adaption of the ‘Kaidan Botan Doro’,
a story which has never been 100% successfully adapted, in my opinion, as the story itself is cursed, just
like its characters.”
image & text via Instagram @rui.tenreiro
RUI TENREIRO, was born 1979 (he’s 43),
and, grew up in Mozambique / during the horrific civil war there, which only ended in 1992.
he later moved to Oslo, Norway. and seems currently / re his online bio . . based in Stockholm, Sweden.
source: LAMBIEK COMICLOPEDIA
check out: RUI TENREIRO / Instagram @rui.tenreiro
notes on: ‘KAIDAN BOTAN DORO’
~’Botan Doro’ . . is a Japanese ghost story that is both romantic & horrific /
it is one of most famous of the ancient Kaidan / ghost stories . . .
the plot involves sex with the dead, and the consequences (apparently really really bad) of loving a ghost.
~it is summed up in 3 words: beauty and fear /
~the ghost of Otsuyu, a beautiful lady who died pining of love /visits her beloved every night, intersects
with a horrendous clan of betraying & betrayed characters, in a tale of “sordid human relationships, revenge & retribution.”
~source: ‘KAIDAN BOTAN DORO – Beauty & Fear’, 2019 – mydramalist.com
there’s also . . .
a striking clip / of a graphic visually minimal short film, that Rui wrote & directed / a few years back, 2013 /
& it seems particularly . . . haunting / futuristic.
‘MOSHANYANA’ – by RIU TENREIRO / on VIMEO – click here for link
all 3 in mages via VIMEO – MOSHANYANA – VIMEO
~RUI TENREIRO . . ‘Lanterns of Nedzu’ |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2022, 12:08pm
almost 20 years ago – to the day !!!!
that’s FAITH RINGGOLD . . on the right,
at the landmark . . . ‘Quilts of Gee’s Bend’ opening – at the Whitney Museum when it was uptown (!!)
on the left, is the exhibit’s curator . . . ALVIA WARDLAW. NOV 21, 2002.
ARCHIVAL PHOTO: NANCY SMITH . . & probably one of my most important – art-wise & historically !!
it was first published on artnet, in the ‘People’ section of the Magazine,
under then-editor, WALTER ROBINSON.
see the original report: ‘ART LOVERS NEW YORK – PHOTOS by NANCY SMITH’ – FALL 2002
note: FAITH RINGGOLD, born Oct 1930, in Harlem, NYC – was a very robust, vivid strong woman,
when I took that photo on NOV 21, 2002 – & that would make her . . almost 70 in my photo !!
just pushing 90 now, she was in attendance at the New Museum private & press opening, last night.
THE NEW MUSEUM NYC PRESENTS:
‘FAITH RINGGOLD: AMERICAN PEOPLE’ / FEB 17 – JUNE 5, 2022
check out: ‘FAITH RINGGOLD’ EXHIBIT via Instagram @newmuseum
note: The New Museum will present a “VIRTUAL – LIVE TOUR of the EXHIBIT” /
with GARY CARRION-MURAYARI / a live=stream open to all – via that same Instagram link . . !!
on . . . WED FEB 23, 2022 at 2 PM
note: the public opening is tomorrow night, THURS FEB 17, 2022 / 7 – 9 PM
pay what you wish / register . . for timed admission tickets
~FAITH RINGGOLD . . GEE’S BEND QUILT SURVEY OPENING / WHITNEY MUSEUM / NOV 2002 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 16th, 2022, 10:26am
