happy APRIL FOOL’S DAY !!
PHOTO: Image by JAMES CORNER FIELD OPERATIONS, DILLER, SCOFIDIO + RENFRO, and JEFF KOONS. COURTESY of Friends of the High Line. c/o NEW YORK TIMES
read all about it: ‘High Line May Mix . . .’, NEW YORK TIMES. MARCH 26, 2012.
they’ve got to be joking, right ?
UP-DATE: MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012
JEFF KOONS wants to hang a full-scale, steel and carbon fiber replica of a 1943 steam locomotive, weighing several tons – near the High Line park, so . . . no – it’s NOT an inflatable. and, no – not even a transparent one at that. too bad.
but for some commonsense – there goes the inspired respite of the High Line.
forget the swinging baby metaphor, it’s more like: take down a tree, and put up a parking lot.
(or, as they like to update it in Brooklyn: take down a Cinders and put up a nail salon.)
the Koons’ train that is – not the High Line, which is subtle and sublime, welding visionary design with function. all the while keeping it low-key enough to give its park goers true respite, delight, inspired greenery, and open vistas – which is the right direction to go – fast forward into the city’s future, while guarding it’s historic past.
. . . the last thing this city needs is a threatening, over-size heavy metal urban metaphor dominating the landscape, and upside down to boot … you done seen one too many Independence Day movies, Jeff. put it in the desert, or put a lid on it.
and enough with the hangings already, CATTELAN opened and closed the book, and most charmingly, on that. it’s not a genre. if you really want a train museum, take it down from that dumbest-idea-ever crane – and install it on a barge, floating off the Chelsea piers – and charge people a dollar and a half – to see it. and why replicate it, don’t they have any real ones lying around somewhere crying: help ? it’s so pumped-up artificial, conceptually backwards, not to mention basically uncrass, un-green, and really non-lyrical, what could anybody ‘crushing’ on it – be thinking ? so much so . . . one’s tempted to say, must be the money.
Koons might be thinking big, but it sure ain’t smart. whatever happened to gigantic hush puppies built on the thinnest of infrastructures – filled with flowering plants, once so ahead of the game, you look to be bounced off the tarmac. yo, keep it light, it’s the only way to hang, I mean fly !! . . . into the future.
UP-DATE: TUES APRIL 3, 2012
they’ve got be joking, TAKE TWO.
or: FILE UNDER – OOPS, DID I DO THAT ?
omg, does a little bit of art world joking invoke a thunderstorm these days, or what. who knew there were so many art world aficionados out there, beyond the usual suspects, like Williamsburg, Bushwick . . . and San Francisco ?
I mean seriously, I did just crow about having ‘radar’, an original ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ co-pilot – but I’d really hate to think these guys would pick up on such small ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’-like oneliners coming out of NYC, and what happened to artistic originality anyways ? you’re stepping on my copyright, dude.
oh man. if it wasn’t too sick for words, I’d be laughing.
“CHILLING: This bizarre announcement is appearing in several Arabic Web Forums”, is the caption under this image – published in the NEW YORK POST, on pg 31. today APRIL 3, 2012.
see: ‘THEY’RE BA-ACK – COPS PROBE SPOOKY QAEDA ‘THREAT’, by JAMIE SCHRAM, NEW YORK POST, APRIL 3, 2012
guess there is no joking these days – that’s the scary thought. you’ve got to ask yourself: is the New York City art world the last bastion of humor – ? there are some serious haters out there in the world, and I guess the sad conclusion is: don’t ever forget it.
on the other hand, I guess it’s fair to say, wiseguy – watch the rhetoric, it’s a tinderbox world, and the old rules are out whack with the ways & reach of the web ?
someone tell me this is just my imagination – please.
well so much for the power of an image. no, the hanging train was not a good idea. and apparently making fun of it – was not either.
and I don’t think it’s just my imagination.
so, time to re-consider art criticism ? how about freedom of speech ? how about giant suspicious hanging packages ?
no jokes – and no bullying . . . in the brave new internet world, we are gonna have to learn a new language: bland speak.
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC. no joke.
and I thought my biggest problem was having my hip hop graffiti artist pix – lifted by 3rd language websites, and re-published without my permission, no original source photo credits, and NO good way to resolve – now that’s copyright violation. and that’s the future for original content providers – that’s where web pirating is heading: into the void of global babel. you think it’s bad now, just wait. though apparently an image can still speak a thousand words.
guess it could be worse – I could be talking about the upcoming art ‘fairs’.
b-o-r-i-n-g.
or joking. is there no middle ground anymore ? nope, not that I can see.
~JEFF KOONS, no no no . . . & OMG, did I do that !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 1st, 2012, 11:05am
so, where are you now, ONDI TIMONER, the ONLY (!!) 2 time winner at SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, ever, with:
‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ – winning the GRAND JURY PRIZE, DOCUMENTARY in 2009, and . . . ‘DIG!’ winning the same award, GRAND JURY PRIZE, DOCUMENTARY, SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, in 2004.
‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’, 2009 – WRITTEN & DIRECTED by ONDI TIMONER.
‘DIG!’, 2004 – WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ONDI TIMONER.
LOOK NO FURTHER, FIND OUT RIGHT HERE: . . . and, yes it is !! – JAMES FRANCO as MAPPLETHORPE !!
ONDI !! SHE DIG! DONE DID IT.
Indiewire:
“ONDI TIMONER’S ‘MAPPLETHORPE’ starring JAMES FRANCO Tops Tribeca Institute’s All Access grants for 2012”.
The Hollywood Reporter:
“MAPPLETHORPE” in which FRANCO would play the artist who defied censors and died of AIDS in 1989 is to be the narrative film debut of ONDI TIMONER, best known for directing “WE LIVE IN PUBLIC”.
GREETINGS (!!) friends of Interloper . . .
It’s been a long time . . . over a year since we last filled you in.
In January 2011, we had a great trip to our snow-filled second home at the Sundance Film Festival, beckoned by the inimitable JAMES FRANCO who had just signed on to star in Ondi’s first pre-scripted actor film . . . James asked Ondi to film the installment of his ode to Three’s Company at the fabulous New Frontiers exhibition. Actor & director had an opportunity to spend time together at his 70s style bash.
JAMES rocked the Suzanne Somers look, and Ondi, well, she rocked Ondi.
JAMES FRANCO & ONDI TIMONER at SUNDANCE 2012 – PHOTOS COURTESY INTERLOPER.
INTERLOPER continues:
The long hours of writing … have passed and the result is a highly visual and detailed portrait of one of America’s most revolutionary photographic artists. Ondi’s next film is an intimate portrait of ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, a visionary whose controversial photography electrified the contemporary art world and immortalized a generation ravaged by AIDS.
A two-part love story, ‘MAPPLETHORPE’ explores Robert’s attempt to reconcile his homosexuality with his Catholic upbringing through his artistic expression . . . .
The feature-to-be was recently awarded a Tribeca All-Access Grant, where it swept the headlines in over 100 publications around the world. Working with her fellow producers, ELIZA and NATE DUSHKU and MILES LEVY, the Mapplethorpe team is moving full speed ahead towards getting their goal of shooting ‘MAPPLETHORPE’ this summer.
you can follow: Ondi on Facebook, here.
rocker PATTI SMITH and ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE in New York, 1970 – PHOTO: NORMAN SEEF/Artinfo
read all about it: ‘Robert Mapplethorpe Biopic Starring JAMES FRANCO…’ by GRAHAM FULLER/Artinfo
so, what I want to know is: WHO in THE WORLD – IS GONNA PLAY – PATTI !!!!!!!
~ONDI TIMONER, where are you now ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2012, 5:23pm
yep, 12 years after the fact, cutting edge, NOT!! Artforum has finally caught up with JOSH HARRIS.
LORETTA FAHRENHOZ, “an artist and filmmaker who lives and works in Berlin and New York” . . . put JOSH HARRIS on her TOP TEN list – in the mag’s MARCH 2012 issue.
‘View from within JOSH HARRIS’S QUIET: We Live In Public, New York, December 31, 1999.’
Photo: DONNA FERRATO, c/o Artforum
that’s the photo that accompanied the article.
JEFF GOMPERTZ, now based in Thailand, designed and built that pod hotel structure – which housed 99 artists over the 2 week run of this huge million dollar+ blast-out millennium 2000 artist party / installation – which was open to the public 24/7.
that’s JUDGECAL, mostly know as CAL – the (now) deceased king of the Vampires, in the gas mask. and yes, that is the ubiquitous party crasher and long time art world fan, STEVE KAPLAN, bottom right. guess we’ll never stop hearing about how he made Artforum, from now on. he is wearing an in-house crew work shirt that had been silkscreened with a red ‘target’ by the, also now deceased, and much missed artist, MARK ENGER of EXPLODING SKY.
this the article’s text:
see: Loretta Fahrenholz, ‘Top Ten’, Artforum, MARCH 2012
in fact, QUIET does not QUITE just live on as: “clips of undressed, drugged-up subjects in baby pools humming off-key tunes (which) haunt the Web like howling ghosts of the prophecy QUIET performed.” In fact it became the ‘hard’ core of a widely, as in globally, acclaimed documentary: the notorious ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’, (2009). Written and directed by ONDI TOMINER, the feature-length film kick-started its run with a huge huge win – a coveted SUNDANCE GRAND JURY PRIZE DOCUMENTARY, in 2009. ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ then went on to have its New York City premiere at the MUSEUM of MODERN ART/MOMA, in the spring of 2010, and was later honored by that museum by being formally added to their prestigious film collection.
After the huge Sundance win, it beat out “THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE” the heavily publicized doc on Anna Wintour and her Vogue magazine (!!), ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ toured the globe, hitting all the top film festivals – and every small indie one in between !! – all over the world – to much popular and critical fanfare, generating tons of international press and discussion. In fact, ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ still pops up in cutting edge film, technology, future science, social networking conferences, and art festivals. About the only place it didn’t blow up big, despite the MOMA premiere – was it’s hometown – NYC, and this likewise despite a huge series of glowing write-ups in the New York Times. don’t even get me started on that. you know, the same old same old – the mainstream art press here can’t seem to make the intellectual leap to the top 1%. let’s just say, 12 years after the fact in Artforum ? ghost clips on the web ? and leave it at that.
or we could re-direct back to Ms. Fahrenholz herself, with her ‘last words’ reference to “the prophecy QUIET performed”. what’s that they say, about the prophet never being recognized in his own homeland. some (Biblical) truths never die. and now you know why. circa 2012.
you can watch ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ . . . for free on Hulu, now !! . . . and it’s also out there everywhere else, from iTunes to Netflix.
you can also browse the film’s official website: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – where there are some fun photos, including these:
JOSH HARRIS, at ‘QUIET’ – the artist/producer, money-man, and founder of ‘QUIET’ & the then evolving ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ concept, 24/7 surveillance projects – live streamed to the web.
when the web was not quite so much yet, circa year 2000 !!
ONDI TIMONER, the film’s writer and director – built up on a ton of archival footage of JOSH HARRIS, starting with ‘QUIET’ – his blow-out million dollar+ year 2000 millennium NYC downtown artist party, and on through the next 7 years – to bring his story to the big screen – as ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ – “the story of the most famous web entrepreneur you never heard of”.
ONDI TIMONER is distinguished by being the only filmmaker, so far, man or woman, in the entire history of Sundance to win the Grand Jury Documentary Prize – twice. She won with ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ in 2009, and, earlier in 2004 with ‘DIG!’ the story of the American-as-pie rock’nroll bands, the Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre – focusing on the rivalry/friendship between their two, super intense, frontmen: COURTNEY TAYLOR of the Dandies, and ANTON NEWCOMBE of the Brian Jonestown.
NANCY SMITH at ‘QUIET’.
yep, that be me and my kid in the pod hotel – in the top row of photos offered up on the ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ website. I wore many hats in the ‘QUIET’ game, and the JOSH HARRIS universe, just like I do now. artist, archivist, art world liaison, talent scout, production crew member, canary bird. you name it. I actually got a starring role in the film, because I’m the rowdy one – who got in a fight, and kicked out. what else is new . . .
I guess it was my MOEBIUS moment – come true, and as such, I’m super proud of the digital scars my photo seems to have accrued on the right side (photo-wise) of my brain – so graphic !! almost looking like for real: hi-tech in-brain wiring, but just the apt, but very accidental result of so much popular uploading, I guess !! but a good MOEBIUS-like metaphor, for the advance radar, I bring as a co-pilot. yeah, they used to call me “canary bird”, among other things. you know, like the small bird they used to bring into underground mines to advance signal, small, but essential issues, like: losing oxygen.
this image was used as the full screen poster for the film’s MOMA premiere – which was pretty freaky for me, sitting in the audience . . . how stunned I was. believe it.
the MOMA/MUSEUM OF MODERN ART programs brochure for JULY 2010 – with Josh’s photo on it, he’s in the public, communal, and very transparent shower at ‘QUIET’ !! it had super nice hot water, and tons of it, bye the way. and yes, it was on 24/7 live streaming surveillance – the whole 2 week party run.
I know for a fact – this MOMA brochure is Josh’s most prized possession – hey, why not !!
leave it to Artforum to come up with a brief paragraph on JOSH HARRIS, in an obscure Euro filmmaker’s top ten list – 12 years after the fact.
as the father of a ‘ghost’ clip, no less !!
well, I guess better late – than never.
the mothership comes in.
~JOSH HARRIS makes ARTFORUM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2012, 10:31am
. . . so I see CHARLIE BROWN, oops I mean CHARLIE FINCH !! is in fine form . . . he wrote up quite the charming review of MELISSA BROWN’S painting show – at the newish KANSAS GALLERY – on artnet.
see: ‘GETTIN’ DOWN WITH MELISSA BROWN’ by CHARLIE FINCH on artnet/3-6-12
I did cruise by the show – and also found it to be – quite wonderful. though unlike Charlie I felt the underlying impulses and theory – did help the paintings – jump the landscape shark !!
see: previous post – ‘MELISSA BROWN: Palisades’
MELISSA BROWN beside her ‘Transport’, 2011 – in ‘Melissa Brown: Palisades’, Feb 25-March 31, 2012. KANSAS.
Oil, Spray paint and dye on canvas. 32 x 42 in.
detail, ‘Transport’.
detail, ‘Transport’.
MELISSA BROWN, ‘Parvenu View’, 2011.
Oil and dye on canvas. 48 x 48 in.
detail, ‘Parvenu View’.
detail, ‘Parvenu View’.
detail, ‘Parvenu View’.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. MARCH 3, 2012
NOTE: this is the last weekend to catch the show, it’s up thru this Sunday March 31, 2012.
KANSAS – 59 Franklin St. in Tribeca, close to Canal and Lafayette.
~CHARLIE GETS DOWN – FOR MELISSA BROWN !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 28th, 2012, 10:57pm
. . . talking about mortal (!!) portals !!
sadly, the great French comic book artist MOEBIUS, born JEAN GIRAUD, died this past Saturday March 10, 2012 at his home outside Paris, he was 73.
MOEBIUS 1979 / from MOEBIUS 3: THE COLLECTED FANTASIES of JEAN GIRAUD – ‘THE AIR TIGHT GARAGE’.
an inspiration, source of wonder, and influence on many, reaching way way beyond the comic book and graphic novel fields – into the realms of modern movie making, story-telling, animation, fine art, graphic design, you name it . . . all done with a wry sense of humor, and a far-flying imagination – he was, and remains a hero to many, myself included.
MOEBIUS / JEAN GIRAUD in 2008.
PHOTO: ALAIN JOCARD/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES – c/o NEW YORK TIMES, MARCH 15, 2012
THE NEW YORK TIMES carried an extensive obituary for him, written by PAUL VITELLO, which was published on Monday March 19, 2012. Apparently he died of cancer, with no other details made public – on that final portal.
Mr. Vitello writes that: “Mr. Giraud, who used the pen name Moebius in much of his work, was seen in the comic-book world as a kind of artist-avatar of the unbounded interior human landscape.” this is so (!!) true – it’s worth repeating.
although of course, long a huge national icon in his native France, ironically Moebius first made his name in 1963 – with ‘Les Adventures de Blueberry’ – a comic book series based on our US of A – specifically the wild wild west that was still in play and going on strong – at the time of our (savage) Civil War. A war that not incidentily – was won by the gun. Mr. Vitello makes an interesting note:
“His densely packed panels (which followed a fugitive Union Army lieutenant running from the law) depicted an American West he knew mainly from the movies.” (and they didn’t have spaghetti westerns, yet. in fact that’s probably one genre he greatly influenced.)
the obit continues: “but the drawings conveyed both the the minutest details and an outsider’s (!!) sense of the meancne lurking in the vast badlands – a combination that later came to define his science fiction work as well.”
also of note: “. . . his reputation for translating dystopian visions into artistic imagery led the director RODLEY SCOTT to hire him to draw the preliminary designs for his 1979 film, “ALIEN”. In interviews at the time, Mr. Giraud said he was not really sure how he came to be involved in the making of what came to be a science-fiction horror classic. ‘I do everything with no premeditation,’ he said. ‘The things just happen to me.'”
“He adopted the pen name Moebius in 1963, when he began drawing the Lieutenant Blueberry stories.”
“In ‘The Masters of Comic Book Art’ a 1987 documentary . . . Mr. Giraud said he had turned to comic strips as a young man too escape what he considered the shackles imposed on graphic artists by the conventions of commercial art.”
“Comics gives to the artist a very interesting field of exploration and research,” he said. “Everything is possible. You can be very small or very big or very modest or very ambitious. You can stay in a regular style like everybody else, or you can escape and be completely unusual and incredible. You can give more to the world, more to drawing. Everything.”
see: JEAN GIRAUD, COMICS ARTIST KNOWN as MOEBIUS, Dies at 73/NEW YORK TIMES
MOEBIUS – FROM: ‘THE HERMETIC GARAGE OF LEWIS CARNELIAN’/MOEBIUS 3 – THE COLLECTED FANTASIES OF JEAN GIRAUD
the COVER – MOEBIUS 3 – THe COLLECTED FANTASIES OF JEAN GIRAUD – ‘THE AIRTIGHT GARAGE’
EPIC GRAPHIC NOVEL – $12.95 (in 1987) (now it’s a couple of $100 at least)
PUBLISHED BY THE MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, NYC, NY.
images from this American edition, published 1987, courtesy: NANCY SMITH
~THE DEATH of MOEBIUS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 26th, 2012, 11:42am
ok. here’s a closer look – as is, and re-imagined !!
FILE UNDER: WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN.
HESH’S HEAVY METAL / MORTAL ‘PORTAL’ – with RE-ADJUSTMENT – for easier entry !!
the original – with a golden ‘H’ entryway – you know, kinda like the golden arches of MacDonalds ?!!
note: the touch of anthropomorphic symbolism. walk like an Egyptian, or what !!
‘PORTALS’ – by HESH aka HASH HALPER. exhibited by stealth at the Brucennial 2012. NYC.
looks to be a found metal plate, 6 x 6 ins sq.
signed & dated 2/12/12 on the reverse, upside down, natch. with what looks to be a found photo, tape, and black paint.
the front is painted, in high caligraphic style – with gold and black enamel (?) paint.
the re-adjustment is simply a black business card attached by way of a double sided tape.
wow – whoever scored this piece, because it had disappeared by the night’s close is either way out in space by now, and looking back with a laugh, or just one plain lucky, ole collector. ain’t that the truth.
PHOTO IMAGES – COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH
~HESH’S BRUCENNIAL 2012 PORTAL |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 25th, 2012, 12:06pm
oh yeah, so where were we . . . oh, yeah: THE CAKE WAR.
THE CAKE WAR, BRUCENNIAL 2012.
which can be broken down further, as:
1. art vs. infanticide (FLORIDA/NEIGHBORHOOD PATROL / AFGHANISTAN/SARGENT SLAUGHTER / FRANCE/TERRORIST MANIAC)
2. TERRENCE KOH vs. HESH / HASH HALPER
3. ON THE GUEST LIST vs. UNINVITED . . . TO THE PARTY
4. (real) food cake vs. (assumed) mortal portal
5. construction-ism vs. deconstruction-ism
and how an art work, and a cake – can have a life of their own.
meet the players. TERRENCE KOH.
on the right: HESH aka HASH HALPER
with MARI, left, and OMKAR LEWIS.
the line up. ok: TERRENCE is dressed in trademark power white and is a genuine celeb, but HESH comes accompanied by a power bro in his corner, as in his real-life sibling, OMKAR LEWIS who just happens to be a genuine VEDIC SCIENCE consultant and serious student of Indian Astrology (Jyotisha) and if you recall, it was he who initially alerted us to the very auspicious return of SATURN. so I’d call that: a match.
just waiting to be lit.
the conceptual conflict began innocently enough. I note a flat square metal artwork – that looks to be a slightly oversize CD from an alien planet – that is all the more striking for the handmade ambiance it radiates – despite its metallic origin.
the hand penciled artist credit – on the lower left says: GFY H.
go fuck yourself ? could that H mean the notorious Mr. H is lurking about. I’m betting: yes !!
and yes. it’s a ‘smart’ piece, alright !! it proclaims: PORTALS and in the center, there’s a black rectangle ‘door’. ok, it’s really a large golden capital ‘H’ – no diff. and where it’s leading – I want to go . . . esp with those 2 sun signs bookending the top edges. mental, spiritual, digital. planetary. who cares. portals, plural even ? I’m in. earth’s a goner.
ever the curiouser-er I go in for a closer look-see. is it attached to the art stand / pedestal ? like pure magic, outta nowhere a hand swoops in and picks it up. yes. it is just barely free form, unattached, and 3d !!
there is a mysterious ‘stairway to heaven’ photo . . .
and it’s signed on the reverse: HASH HALPER and dated 2/12/12 . . upside down of course. and the hand ? the hand belongs to HESH, who else !!
not too soon afterward, the CAKE arrives. it’s not so hard to put two and two together. the cake bearer wears all white, and the cake is all white and super lush, smart, and high end. it even has white birthday candles and they are lit. it’s gotta be TERRENCE KOH. it’s leap year night baby – this has to say: happy birthday . . . to all ya leapers !!
and I don’t give it a second thought. except of course a mental nod to: one super slick mysterious lude. I mean dude.
the CLASH of the cultures.
the CLASH of the INVITED vs. the UNINTENDED SPONTANEOUS.
the ultimate ‘mash-up’ between a cake and a concept ?
next I know: well a picture is worth a thousand words, what happened ?
long story short: seems that the empty pedestal where Hesh had parked his ‘portal’ was too good to be true. it was empty for a reason – it was waiting for that tour de force cake of Mr. Koh’s, it wasn’t just any pedestal – it was a (designated) cake stand !!
and nobody, but nobody owned up to any actions, like ? such as sweeping the interloper art work off the pedestal, or taking revenge and picking that piece of art off the ground . . . and back at ya !!
it was as if Mr. K meets Mr. H and voila: volatile, is the word. like flame to fire. “let it burn.”
and yeah, metal takes down cake.
but what a beautiful war.
if only all wars could be fought like that.
and in a way . . it had a happy ending.
somewhere along the way of the dirty deed, someone had licked their fingers, and realized not only was it a real cake. (you never know). but it was a REAL REAL REALLY GOOD !! CAKE !!
(looks they even used the enemy ‘portal’ to cut the cake, too. ha.)
word spread, and that cake got devoured. and I mean d-e-v-o-u-r-e-d. despite the lack of utensils or napkins. and polite company all around. I mean it could have just sat there throughout the entire exhibit and slowly decomposed and gone rancid – which would have been a shame. and probably what I’m thinking Terrence originally envisioned ? but then, I ask myself why did he get such a great cake. maybe that’s the irony of it ?
it’s been done plenty times before.
name one time ? my very fav !! STEFAN SAGMEISTER and his wall quilt made of yellow bananas left to slowly rot . . .
see: STEFAN SAGMEISTER, DEITCH PROJECTS, JAN 2008.
the end.
and then just as quick as it had happened, the drama was done and over, and completely forgotten. in a blink. everybody just walked away. no bloodshed. no bouncing. no curator hysterics. (I think they missed the action, truthfully, just as well) . . . no finger pointing. Mr. H was all smiles – his caper had had real finesse. as for Mr. Koh – well his cake had a story line. all was good in the world again, just no more cake. and the cake eaters, well they were happy too.
yeah, for sure, one look at their grinning faces, and I swiped a fingerful too. camera in hand and all. where did he score that cake ? it was top flight – yum.
I never saw so much satisfaction – come out of such complete destruction. what a night.
depressing ? NOT !! no way. quelle fun.
it’s funny. the ‘portal’ ended back up on the cake stand / pedestal . . . full circle. I guess metal trumps cake.
and then Hesh picks up his ‘portal’ like as if it were a remote controlled ‘art’ drone, after a successful strike… even he, is amazed at the run.
Mr. H meets Mr. K – and it’s win win. They both win… hey, like the unhappy art critic at the NEW YORK TIMES called it, there is nobody cooler than these dudes. Terrence Koh walks on water. he’s so cool. well at least this time. go easy on the knees, man. and I mean that in a good way. he is lighter than air, just like his cake. and way smarter than you – any day. look at how he just let his piece . . take off and have a life of its own. lit candles and all.
hats off . . . to hands off. I’m serious. you gotta be a feather. you gotta fly light.
there should only be more wars that end with sugar icing on your fingers, as opposed to bloodshed on the ground.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, Brucennial 2012, NYC. Feb 29, 2012
~THE TALE of the WHITE CAKE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 24th, 2012, 8:41pm
PIX – FROM THE OPENING NITE – BRUCENNIAL 2012 – FEB 29, 2012
A LARGE GROUP SHOW – GOING HEAD-to-HEAD with the WHITNEY BIENNIAL – PRESENTED BY THE BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION & VITO SCHNABEL
in a pop-up space at 159 BLEECKER ST – in GREENWICH VILLAGE
the show runs thru APRIL 20, 2012 / HRS: WED-SUN 12-6 PM
key Bruce High Quality Foundation player, RHYS, with FRANCESCO CLEMTENTE.
co-curator / co-producer – VITO SCHNABEL.
DAVID SALLE.
DAVID SALLE’S painting in the show. and to my mind the most exquisitely beautiful and hard painted ‘realist’ piece in the whole show.
what is about ‘realism’ that always (!!) yells: mystery ?
JULIAN had a piece in the show, too – though I did not see him at the opening . . .
JULIAN SCHNABEL – ‘GOODBYE MIKE KELLEY’.
close-up, JULIAN SCHNABEL, ‘GOODBYE MIKE KELLEY. is that a ram ? if so, quelle fun – heading into the AIRES house of cards.
artist RAY SMITH, he of the reconstituted black & white Picassos !! and a member of the BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION – crew.
DUSTIN YELLIN, artist & one-man ‘Red Hook’ preservationist (!!).
DUSTIN YELLIN had one of his newest multiple glass ‘plate’ pieces in the show.
close-up, large scale multiple glass ‘plate’ – work by DUSTIN YELLIN. it looks like Chinese brush calligraphy and goes A-Z, on the ‘evolutionary’ smoke trail of mankind. (!!)
TERRENCE KOH.
TERRENCE KOH’s piece arrives. a ‘white’ birthday cake, candles and all – I guess for all the people born on a leap year, because this night was one !!
despite being white, classy, and yummy, bye the way !! – the Terrence Koh cake had a ‘stormy’ & short-lived – opening night story, all its own – maybe, O.K. yes !! – we’ll get around to that – next post . . .
all I will say for now is: where there is a ‘play’ for art – could Mr. H – be far behind ?
MIKE AVEDON and HESH aka HASH HALPER.
YVONNE FORCE VILLAREAL.
gallerist CHRISTOPHER HENRY.
RAINGER PINNEY of BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION with BRIAN MESENBOURG.
RAINGER PINNEY’s newest piece had people coming to the ‘basement’ and hanging around. it was a time-delayed on-site streaming camera – with the black & white image stream projected onto a semi-transparent scrim. it had an ambiance all its own.
ELLIOT ARKIN beside his small-scaled 4 artist inhabited – ‘backyard’. at the first Brucennial (2010) he exhibited Picasso with the lawn mower pretty much life-size.
ELLIOT ARKIN. Andy Warhol’s pool even had a tiny live goldfish swimming around in it . . .
while IVAN GOODMAN exhibited an LED lightbox – with a front of beeswax – harvested from his very own bee colony !!
HARIET, originally hailing from NEW ZEALAND – had work in the show.
HILDE COTTON stands beside surely one of the smallest pieces in the show, that digitally animated spinning prism of light, just to the right. you know, like the spinning icon when your computer starts to freeze. subtly placed as it is, at pretty much eye level, right into the wall, with no frame, no fuss – it’s certainly intriguing !! esp for it’s title, which I later found out was: ‘spinning beach ball of death’ !! the inset, animated ‘infinity’ piece, including its concept – is by REVEL WOODARD.
good question: do death and infinity – rhyme ? and what’s a ‘rainbow’ colored beach ball, got to do with it anyway. . . that’s the irony of it all. ain’t life a mystery, even on the smallest bio-sphere.
while RACHEL ROSSIN had a more traditional painting of a ‘rainbow’ hued woven blanket or shawl.
JENNY, you might remember her from the DANIEL REICH GALLERY days, where she worked, and DEREK WEISBERG.
DEREK has a show up of his cutting edge porcelain ‘portraits’, called ‘Porcelain Promises’ – that just opened at GREENWICH HOUSE POTTERY, and which is most def worth a stroll by.
plus you can also get an idea of how huge the event venue was, it was in fact multi-storied.
ERIN JONES, HEIDI HAHN, and JERRY BLACKMAN. Heidi has work in the show. JERRY BLACKMAN is in a small group show of abstract work – that just coincidently opened last night in the old DANIEL REICH gallery space – now: J. CACCIOLA GALLERY, on 23rd st.
in the show – hanging against a pillar – a trademark self-portrait by AUREL SCMIDT.
and yes, AUREL SCMIDT, center, . . . made the opening.
a steeley alphabet ‘DRUGS > JUDD’ by JONAH EMMERSON-BELL, a key BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION player – made an impression.
this reveler got a little too much into the spirit of the ‘revolution’ – he was bounced not too soon after.
a big lively crowd – celebrating the anti-institution – art mash-up !!
the place was huge . . .
in fact it had once been a theater, from the looks of it.. . in this way historic district of blues and jazz clubs. this was at the start of the night. half hour later the lines formed and squirreled down the block – and a lot of people who couldn’t do the 30 min plus wait left. but then, just like the night’s soft rain – things lightened up and entry was easy to gain, once again.
I guess the big question is: what about 2014 ?
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. FEB 29, 2012
~2012 BRUCENNIAL – OPENING NITE PIX !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 2nd, 2012, 9:12am
BRUCENNIAL 2012 – OPENS TO-NITE !! – WED FEB 29, 2012 / 6-9 PM
CURATED BY THE BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION & VITO SCHNABEL
159 BLEECKER ST – BET THOMPSON & SULLIVAN – GREENWICH VILLAGE, NYC
the show runs MARCH 1 – APRIL 20, 2012
HRS: WED – SUN / 12-6 PM
and if it’s anything like the first one in 2010 – it’s gonna be one wild and crazy party, while serving up a huge blast – of cutting edge art !!
yep, not only am I’m betting it can live up to its credo: HARDERER. BETTERER. FASTERER. STRONGERER. (!!) but just like in 2010 – it’s gonna bring that ole dying thing of a Whitney Biennial to the mat.
~2012 BRUCENNIAL – OPENS TO-NITE !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 29th, 2012, 4:30am
some archival pix – from the artlovers photo vault !!
the opening night . . . of the first ever . . . BRUCENNIAL (2010) – a hyper lively, widely diverse, and cutting edge accurate !! group exhibit presented by the BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION – in collaboration with VITO SCHNABEL – that went head-to-head with the 2010 WHITNEY BIENNIAL – and came out on top – in many people’s minds, and not just mine !!
the opening took place on FEB 26, 2010 – at a pop-up space on West Broadway in Soho.
JONAH EMMERSON-BELL of BHQF/BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION – puts some last minute touches into the show – just before the doors opened . . .
RAINGER PINNEY.
RAINGER PINNEY . . in his one person mobile ‘isolation’ tent.
(ha. do I want one !!)
a set of work by RAINGER PINNEY . . .
‘UTOPIA IS GAY’ . . . right on.
JONAH EMMERSON-BELL, 2008, neon, 36 x 36 ins.
VITO arrives . . .
VITO SCHNABEL – at the inaugural BRUCENNIAL 2010 – which he co-presented & curated with the BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION.
ARTURO VIDICH . . with his one person wooden cabin. (!!)
one person tent, one person cabin. standing room only. what is it, they say, about ‘like’ minds ? you just can’t beat that – for 21st C. social observation !! the absolute invert of facebook. the one man in his own mind, or: your ‘isolation’ home – is your castle !!
‘HOLY BIBLE’ – by THE SPECIALIST.
in the background, Arturo Vidich on his hands and knees, putting the finishing touches on his ‘one man’ cabin – and yes, you gotta to be ‘upright’ – to fit in it. yes, pun intended !! it was on wheels, so I guess you could pull it along behind you, and bring it with you anywhere, the cabin, not the bible . . . though it, the Bible – looks pretty functional (!!) too. full of metal tools in custom carved-out slots.
framed drawing by HARMONY KORINE.
it was a huge sprawling blast of high energy . . looking out onto the art world ghosts of West Broadway . . . past, most notably in the early 1980s: LEO CASTELLI, and the first big MARY BOONE gallery.
some corners were pristine and stark … hyper bold. quiet. mysterious. realist and fanciful.
others were just outright unpredictable and crazy wild in a quiet way !! in a 3D space – mind-thought driven way.
ha. a piece by RAMBO / Lance.
featuring an archival photo of a young Rambo . . . and a young Vito.
LUKE JOHNSON . . .
brought along some of his home-brew.
though there was plenty of the store-bought kind too. and outside: there was snow and deep deep water, those super inner-city kind, that made oceans at every street corner – and defied all footwear.
ok – they sure know how to throw an art show, and a party. a few more shots – BRUCENNIAL 2010, BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION with VITO SCHNABEL, SOHO, NYC. FEB 26, 2010.
one “Bruce”.
two “Bruce” . . .
three “Bruce”.
you know: one for all, and all for one. damn straight, one “Bruce” means . . . a whole pack of “Bruces” !!
artist, Bruce. no diff. same thing. it’s all just words, anyways.
(uber conceptualist Gerald Ferguson, are you smiling down ?)
and hell, yes. there were girls . . .
and, muses.
so, not all that surprising . . . even a re-consitituted “Picasso” made the scene.
painting by RAY SMITH.
as did everybody’s favorite papa bear – JULIAN. (Schnabel)
Picasso . . . , Julian, no diff.
. . . so that’s just a little ‘look-back’ snapshot of the inaugural BRUCENNIAL 2010 – little did the conventional art world know – what had been unleashed . . . or that it would continue. the guts and verve of the city’s raw talent – knock knock knocking down all those proverbial institutional walls. all those played-out, way past expired reputations, just big pr, big budget, professional ‘curator’, no real content, all pretension, no real hoopla museum survey shows – trying to sell us, oops I mean, tell us – they’ve caught the city’s, (or the world’s !!) cutting edge. NOT!!
way to go, true sons of New York City. let’s see if you can double it up – this time around. (and bet the opening night crowd for 2012 !! – is gonna be huge . . .)
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. FEB 26, 2010.
~BRUCENNIAL 2010 – A QUICK LOOK BACK !! – ARCHIVAL PIX – FROM THE INAUGURAL OPENING . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 29th, 2012, 4:00am
