or: speaking of which . . . food.
FILE UNDER: FAMOUS DELI-MEN – I HAVE KNOWN . . . NYC STYLE !!
artist RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA and, at right, gallery owner GAVIN BROWN – !! – dish – soup and bbq pork !!
at the big, huge RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA opening reception – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – Gavin Brown’s enterprise, MARCH 5, 2011.
ha. from now on – when we want to get something out – about MR. MOJO – Gavin Brown to you – under the radar. we’re gonna call him: deli boy !!
as in, hey dude. get this: deli boy just . . . took over.
nice hat bye the way. you should keep it.
STEVE VAN DOREN of VANS, center – dishes in the same month – !! – at the WAFFLE TRUCK – at the big, huge VANS WARPED TOUR – NYC KICK-OFF. MARCH 25, 2011 – at the new HOUSE OF VANS, in BROOKLYN. oh yeah.
STEVE VAN DOREN, DELI-MAN SUPREME, not to mention VICE PRESIDENT OF VANS and son of co-founder PAUL VAN DOREN !!
ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
oh yeah. and pretty much nobody knew the diff. in either of the food lines. all for the good.
or: hosts with the most, win.
or: a-c-t-i-o-n, gimme some of that – as the reggae man sing.
. . . of course I knew Gavin, though catching him at the game – was the trick.
with Steve it was new territory for me. and no, nobody dropped the dime. I just do my goddamn homework !!
in fact I sampled a couple of kids in the crowd, including some working photogs, with VANS sponsorship by the way !! (just sayin..) to see if they recognized anybody behind the food table – and they just looked at me like I was nuts.
hey. crazy as a fox, dude.
that’s why he gave me such a big smile !! busted. I got him.
yeah, ya just gotta love the life. NYC STYLE 2011.
SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL STARS – HOUSE OF VANS, BROOKLYN – VANS WARPED TOUR 2011 – NYC KICK-OFF
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
OK, SPEAKING OF WHICH – MOST DEF – YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS OUT, YOU LAZY, YOU KNOW WHAT !!
FOR A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE & SOME LOCAL COLOR, read this: HOUSE OF VANS OPENING – OCT 18, 2010/HYPEBEAST !!
and yo !! – do NOT forget to read the reader responses – priceless – make that – PEERLESSS – NYC shit – if I ever did read some !! oh, yeah.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH – HOUSE OF VANS, BROOKLYN. MARCH 25, 2011
~FAMOUS DELI-MEN I HAVE KNOWN !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2011, 2:45pm
HOT SOUP – HOLY SKATE BOWL !! NO DIFF !! ALL GOOD !!
HOLY SKATEBOWL – MORE VANS WARPED TOUR 2011 – NYC – PIX !!
THE NEW HOUSE OF VANS – in BROOKLYN – 25 FRANKLIN ST at MESEOROLE
this huge venue – marks the first VANS exhibition, conference & par-tay, not to mention band stage & skateboard bowl – on the East Coast – in glorious Brooklyn, aka New York City !!
dig that mosaic tile edge – just like a swimming pool finish, or what. nice touch.
what with the softly florescent colored lights, and all . . . these guys pick up some serious speed.
. . . spectators can stand up close and personal. on the thin edge.
oh, yeah . . .
legendary graf artist – ROYCE BANNON.
ROYCE BANNON has work in the new – ‘PANTHEON – A HISTORY OF ART FROM THE STREETS OF NYC’ – WINDOW DISPLAY THAT JUST WENT UP – DONNELL PUBLIC LIBRARY 20 WEST 53rd St – OPPOSITE MoMA.
the window exhibit runs APRIL 2 – 17, 2011 – 24/7 access
(yeah, I got pix – coming up next, so to speak !!)
SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL STARS – WARM-UP !!
SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL STARS . . .
SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL STARS . . .
SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL STARS . . .
SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL STARS . . .
LIONIZE plays the VANS WARPED TOUR 2011 – NYC KICK-OFF PARTY, BROOKLYN. MARCH 25, 2011
LIONIZE . . . outta SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND !!
LIONIZE . . . yes, they were that good.
oh, yeah. awesome live. just heavy driving – something awesome.
sample: LIONIZE/myspace !!
LIONIZE !!
KAVES !! making some NYC/BROOKLYN MAGIC !!
KAVES with his host, STEVE VAN DOREN of VANS . . .
KAVES – how sweet it it !!
the new HOUSE Of VANS, in BROOKLYN. oh yeah.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH – VANS WARPED TOUR 2011 KICK-OFF PARTY, the new HOUSE OF VANS, BROOKLYN.
MARCH 25, 2011
~HOLY SKATE BOWL/THE NEW HOUSE OF VANS/BROOKLYN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2011, 2:42pm
Soup Kitchen at Gavin Brown’s enterprise – Leroy Street at Washington
MENU – THURS, FRI & SAT – MARCH 31, APRIL 1 & 2/2011
TRINI CORN SOUP
SOUPNOSOUP.COM
and yeah RIRKRIT did show up – last week in person – to dish it out, late afternoon Sat !!
heard it was, the soup – delish – as ever !!
~HOT SOUP/THURS FRI & SAT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2011, 2:07pm
man, is everybody thinking food in this town or what ?
soup (RIRKRIT), candy (JON COHEN) and pie (BORIS) – there ya go, NYC in a nutshell !!
not to mention HESH – with the grapes. and JOMO with the brownies.
not to mention those dark dudes above, do they look like they just skinned something evil or what. skull bones and all. all that’s left. see no evil. hear no evil – but you know – they did it !!
just look at those dudes on the right. they look, well: well-fed. evil, but well-fed, suits and all, or what ?
and those are our founding fathers, dude !! or some of them. damn.
BORIS RASIN – WILL BE EXHIBITING HIS – ‘CREEPY LODGE PORTRAITS’ – !! – IN A SOLO SHOW at the DOWN UNDER BAKERY PIE SHOP in the PARK SLOPE/WINDSOR TERRACE NEIGHBORHOOD . . . .
the OPENING RECEPTION is also tomorrow – FRI APRIL 1, 2011 from 7 – 8:30 PM
BORIS RASIN – ‘CREEPY LODGE PORTRAITS’ – DUBART (PIE SHOP) EXHIBITION
211 PROSPECT PARK WEST – CORNER OF 16th – WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN
F TRAIN TO 15th St.
the show runs for about a week – so don’t blink !!
COME FOR THE ART – STAY FOR THE PIES !!
from left: BORIS RASIN and WALKER FEE at the OLD STONE HOUSE/G-TRAIN SALON ‘NEW HISTORIES’ GROUP SHOW. FEB 1, 2011
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
check out: OLD STONE HOUSE GROUP SHOW !! on artlovers !!
check out: BORIS RASIN
check out: WALKER FEE
and don’t miss his: tape lesson !!
~BORIS RASIN/DUBART PIE SHOP/FRI APRIL 1/7-8:30 !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2011, 1:25pm
from the left: MATTHEW ENGER, MARK’S TWIN BRO. good pal RICK RODINE at center, and MARK’S OLDER BROTHER – DAN ENGER.
RICK delivered the very moving eulogy.
MARK ENGER – 1963-2011 – MEMORIAL CELEBRATION – SAT MARCH 26, 2011
ST. MARK’S CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY
MARK’S ASHES – REST IN A CUSTOM-SCREENED NEON ORANGE PLEXI-URN . . .
MADE BY MATT.
if you ever visited Mark – the multi-color Mexican blanket – brought a nod of recognition.
his screened face – seemed to flicker with life. and sadness. to leave behind his friends so sad, and too soon.
you can see the ashes – better from this angle.
yep, that’s all we – all – come down to – earth to earth. dust to dust.
but not quite all – finally resting in a translucent neon orange plexi . . . urn. and silk screened, at that . . .
MARK ENGER signature – along the one side . .
MARK N. ENGER 1963- 2011.
MATT ENGER, Mark’s twin bro – was holding up – though often you could sense, understandably – how overpowered by grief and loss he was at times – in brief flickers. Matt said he and Mark was born “in the old hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma – where Geronimo – died”. for real.
MATT ENGER – looks just like Mark from this angle.
in his eulogy, Rick Rodine related how even their mom had to tie a red string around one of them – in their early years – so she could tell them apart.
in later life they kept some distance stylistically – but many present remarked how Matt has let his Mark side shine.
there was a small selection of photos – that spoke to Mark’s quick-to-grin love – for life . . .
yo. Mark Enger in beloved bike gear . . .
the grin . . .
from left: MATT with MARK in happier days . . . f*#k you world – we win.
yep. MATT. MARK ?
MATT !! . . . you did your bro proud with the memorial.
it was so friggin right on. military precision, music, words, sparse imagery, neon orange hand-screened urn – and all . . .
everyone present – was mighty moved.
hey, if you lost your twin bro – you’d morph too.
their older bro – DAN ENGER – also an artist – was in town for the memorial . . . too.
DAN ENGER got to meet & greet Mark’s NYC friends . . .
DAN ENGER’S – memorial poster for Mark.
he was actually talking with KIKI SMITH – when we caught the photo.
RICK RODINE spoke the eulogy and he did a damn great job. he kinda got teary & shaken at times – and looked like he could not go on – he was so moved with grief and emotion . . . but the audience backed-up him up, whenever he faltered: “you can do it, bro !! – go for it.”
Mark’s dear friend, N. HENRY JONES who made that great videotape of Mark at work in his silkscreen shop.
foreground: JOSH HARRIS.
in the row behind him, from left: KIKI SMITH, THEO CERIGO, and KATE CERIGO.
Mark taught Theo how to shoot a rifle – when he was something like 10 yrs old. Kate would be the first to tell you – her visit to Mark’s studio last April 2010 – was a highlite of her life – and what an amazing artist she thought Mark to be.
JOHNATHAN MORPURGO – JOMO !!- a big WE LIVE IN PUBLIC fan – got to meet – JOSH HARRIS.
JOSH and Mark had a long and colorful history together – they collaborated on many projects, and Mark lived up on the farm.
one day – it will all come together, for sure.
it was Josh, who first pointed out, how Matt had morphed into Mark.
‘the coop’ aka CHRIS COOPER with Stephanie – came in from Chicago, I think.
big ENGER fan – JON COUSSENS flew in from out of town, too.
Jon meet the Enger Bros – the first week of college – art school – back in the day when they were all of 18 !!
Jon’s words say it all:
“I’ve never seen such a bond and . . . how the collaboration created such great art.”
art mover and groover – HASH HALPER, everybody calls him ‘Hesh’ – new to the crew . . .
we’ll let the future speak to the past: to life !!
Hesh and Josh – the Quiet legacy lives on.
MARK ENGER – SELF PORTRAIT. UNIQUE SILKSCREEN on CANVAS.
FAREWELL, RIP sweet cowboy – we all loved ya.
not to fear. we will keep your memory, and your art – alive forever.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~MARK ENGER MEMORIAL PIX |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 30th, 2011, 9:48am
MARK ENGER – MEMORIAL CELEBRATION
SAT – MARCH 26, 2011 – FROM 2-4 PM
St. MARK’S CHURCH – 131 EAST 10th St at 2nd Ave – NYC
MARK ENGER 1963 – 2011.
I’m thinking maybe – just maybe – RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA throws the occasional glance or two – at artlovers – and was moved to include – a silkscreen-artist-at-work installation at – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – by our recent coverage of the worldly departing of our dear friend and silkscreen artist – supremo – MARK ENGER – who called his studio . . . which he ran with his identical twin brother MATT . . . EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE . . . and which Matt continues to run.
MARK ENGER – in his studio just about one year ago – a true American hero.
an amazing super talented artist who silkscreened on canvas – as well as on pretty much everything else.
T-shirts included. He died sadly this past January 2011, not quite 48 yrs old. after a long and brave battle with throat cancer.
yeah. smokin’ too many of those damn ciggies – brought this sweet cowboy down.
MARK was a master silkscreener – you can watch him at work, here: MARK ENGER AT WORK/YouTube !!
and yeah, Mark also printed in-your-face slogans . . . but more about the art world – than the world at large.
ALL ARTISTS ARE WHORES
ALL CRITICS ARE LIARS
ALL DEALERS ARE PIMPS
ALL COLLECTORS ARE PIGS
FASCIST. ARTIST – DEALER – COLLECTOR – ON A MYLAR SCREEN.
Mark really liked to screen on utility jackets.
in fact, I first met him at PSEUDO – where he was silk screen artist-in-residence for JOSH HARRIS. he silkscreened our in-house crew work shirts at QUIET – and he plays a cameo role in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – yep, he is the drunken cowboy. who couldn’t get back in the party.
yeah. his imagery got a little more aggressive – in the face of death. I guess that will do it to, ya.
talk about walking around – and maybe having your silkscreened message – provoke an attack.
liberal society or not.
but he also addressed the American past . . .
the Revolutionary War, the Civil War. cowboys . . .
and Native American Indians.
an army brat, born in FORT SILL, Oklahoma – he came by his imagery – from the ground up.
to visit Mark in his studio . . .
was truly to see . . .
poetry – in action.
he was definitely into making one-off – ‘unique’ – images from the ‘press’.
Mark Enger, gone – but not forgotten.
REST IN PEACE.
ONLY THE GOOD – DIE YOUNG.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH.
STUDIO VISIT. EXPLODING SKY, Newark, N.J. APRIL 2010.
~MARK ENGER MEMORIAL CELEBRATION |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 24th, 2011, 9:36pm
FILE UNDER: RIRKRIT GIVES NEW MEANING TO: YOU ARE – WHAT YOU EAT ??!!
OR: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME – IF YOU LIVE IN LIBYA, CHINA . . . ARIZONA ?
IN HIS T-SHIRT SHOP – WHAT YOU WEAR – IS WHAT YOU THINK. AND THOSE ARE – FIGHTING WORDS.
IT’S NOT SO MUCH A CLOTHING SHOP – AS A WALKING TABLOID – A PRINTING PRESS DISSEMINATING REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT.
WHAT THEY USED TO CALL – A BROADSHEET.
WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN & RESOURCES ARE SCARCE – THE T-SHIRT – IS A GOOD USE OF MATERIAL – JUST BETTER MAKE SURE – THE SOCIETY WHOSE DAYS ARE NUMBERED – HAS FREEDOM OF SPEECH . . . AND A SENSE OF HUMOR.
JUST IMAGINE IF THE CONCEPT OF A SLOGAN-PRINTED T-SHIRT – EXISTED in 1776 . . .
THAT’D BE SO FUNNY – TO SEE GEO. WASHINGTON IN A T-SHIRT – THAT PROCLAIMED: ‘OUT WITH THE BRITS’ !!
FEAR EATS THE SOUL – HOT OFF THE PRESS !!
not to mention – its also nice to see a real live artisan – at work . . . and, on an ancient form of mass communication, to boot.
silkscreen printing first surfaced in CHINA’S – SONG DYNASTY (960-1279AD).
and yes. when the power grid goes down – the old ways will re-surface.
(THINK . . . ON THAT – ONE. HA.)
who knew. the beauty of plywood. and the make-shift – sink . . .
the triumph of the white-wall break-down . . . not to mention that incredible plywood – golden hue.
ironically so suited for – the digital camera era.
oh, what a low-rent material – can do – when processed through the hands of a real artist.
on the left, RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA rests against his de-constructionist cube. yeah. gimme more of that big box take-down . . .
gallery shake-down. global shake-down. mind-set shake-down.
c’mon world get over – the ‘get-over’. the greed. the reign by terror . . . downscale and survival – is where it’s at.
T-SHIRT NO T-SHIRT – SHOP HRS/INFO
MORE PIX FROM THE OPENING – ‘FEAR EATS SOUL’ – RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA – GAVIN BROWN’S enterprise – MARCH 5, 2011.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
UP-DATE: FRI MARCH 25, 2011 – 1:08 PM
p.s. I heard on the grapevine that RIRKRIT will be at the installation – serving up Chicken Soup in person. tomorrow Sat March 26.
I would bet on the late afternoon, as the best window of time to catch him.
yeah, I’m agonna try to catch him after the ENGER MEMORIAL – ask him a few qusstiosn, you bet !!
~FEAR EATS THE SOUL/THEM BE FIGHTING WORDS . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 24th, 2011, 6:55pm
for my sm(art) money – RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA’S – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – is not only the best show in town – it is so good – and, on so many levels – and says all this, and more, with such grace and absolute newness – it is almost the ONLY show in town. period.
you can always see work on walls – but rarely do you get to walk through it.
it’s all gonna be downhill after this. until Gavin lets somebody else do something truly drastic – to his space, again.
it’s on par with that URS FISCHER pit, no doubt about it.
its really so bad that triple whammy disaster in Japan happened. literally. and within a week of this show’s opening. the photos and coverage – did you see the young elementary school survivors celebrating their graduation. a rite of passage – which until just a week ago would have been attended by family and friends in joyfulness. the young graduates struggling to hold back their tears now. heartbreaking. Diplomas and Uncertainty/NYT
uncertainty = fear eats the soul.
it gets sadder and sadder. but art-world wise in NYC – this is especially so. the ties that bind Japan and NYC art-wise are like none other in the world. they are truly yin to yang. brother and sister.
so, it was really sad and shocking to see ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – take on an eerie afterlife. a kind of ‘hipster’ blueprint for a communal disaster ‘shelter’. . . that was supposed to be for the future, not exactly, now. as in right now.
at any rate – wipe-out disaster, real-time or not – Rirkrit’s presentient, not to mention provocative, white wall throw-down – can stand alone as a testament – to where we are going globally . . . without having had the shock – of being proved to be so authentic – in real time.
an emergency pit stop – if I ever did see one.
a 7-eleven for the soul. with warm food and a place to gather. and some real tough art – to think about too, to boot. just my kind of way station, no doubt.
the unwinding reality shouldn’t eclipse – the imaging . . . and for sure, this was one unique vision come to life. and not one gun in sight, bye the way. big wok. no gun. signifies . . . what ?
peaceful society I dunno.
maybe in the east – there is no looting /
maybe the society is too polite. just saying . . . I mean what does that reference mean re: Chairman Mao – and the great violence his (peaceful) revolutionary thought – wrought ?
it’s part of the great integral beauty of Rirkrit’s vision – that he will supply fighting words. communal tables, and free food.
but, no guns.
soup, yes. east meets west. go figure. the specter of violence is not part of the Tiravanija dialog.
his is a very soothing vision. ladling out free soup, just in case the message escaped ya.
item: the enclosed plywood cube of a free-standing makeshift gallery. not only is this humble viewing space so superior to the standard white box – as an experience – but, who knew plywood could cast such a beautiful hue ?
but it also speaks to the role of culture in a degrading and crumbling society. as well as addressing the role of art – vis a vie investment commodity and form of currency. hence: art ‘bank’.
when the urban structures we are used to – go down – for sure new ones will spring up. nomadic and tent-like. plywood cube-like.
make-shift. there will always be trade in precious commodity and . . . ideas.
and this one is just about the size of your standard atm lobby.
and when the atms are down, you sure do wish – you can chip a little piece off that gold chip art – don’t ya ?
this gallery ‘bank’ has got the free-wheeling feel of a frontier trading post – set up in a hurry.
but it’s loaded with heavy-duty context.
and no doubt addresses the fact – that these days, its pretty much, the other way around . . . nice big bright walls, no meaning in sight.
CHAIRMAN MAO – MEETS ANDY WARHOL – CONTEMPLATE THAT, FOR YOURSELF.
wok vs brillo box . . . why isn’t the art world lexicon more global ? what’s art got to do with food. plenty. food is survival.
untainted food – that is. FEAR EATS THE SOUL – on that nuke melt-down thought – doesn’t it . . .
the first man-made paintings were bison – on the caveman’s wall. magic talismans – as they say.
not to mention art + ideas + beauty = commerce. as in: wanting it, at least to behold it, if not to actually own it – creates a marketplace. creativity is the human spark. is this is a mini-bodega for the mind ?
next to the soup kitchen = you find a place to buy food for the mind ?
art + ideas + beauty = inspiration = food for the soul = hope = thought. when it lifts off – the magic = is the power of being.
being human in the face of an earth we cannot control – is simply just making . . . a mark ? an image. a story in shape and form.
a narrative about east meets west .
commerce + magic = human nature in a nutshell.
but maybe its just as simple as: wok needs brillo pad = to stay clean.
love the part about Mao in his sleeping bag on the trail – I know there are some creation myths there – though personally it reminds me of my friend Alfredo being incarcerated in Chinese secret detention, and dreaming of TV . . .
or is that TV over . . . books. I guess that’s up for grabs.
but again – no gun in sight. instead we get the coke bottles, or is that beer, no diff.
in a crate – a brilliant footnote – if I ever did see one. a brilliant graphic.
and if I could only write, as plainspoken as this art speaks – I’d be alright.
the back room. natch.
I keep thinking how fun, to come around that plywood partition wall – and find Gavin at work.
NICOLAI OUROUSSROFF – should review this show.
big question: I guess my big question would be whether Gavin will maintain this brilliant break-down – as his exhibition space proper, going forward ?
I mean the whole entire block-thru installation – rather than pull it down for the next artist ?
I’m gonna cry rivers, come April 16th – if he does.
I mean, even that huge empty communal ‘dining’ hall – would make a great viewing space – and the little plywood cube spaces – could be re-fashioned to any number of future errands ?
it’s also a great relief to escape from the over-exposure of the typical gallery – front office – endless 3 ring binders and girls on phones – which like a boiler room on a cruise ship – should be outta sight, enough already. enough with the post-modern realism.
if you aren’t familiar with the gallery – you aren’t even gonna miss it. let alone have a clue how to reach it !!
Rirkrit and Gavin have stashed it away, behind a flush wall pretty much inaccessible. that super rude engine of modern art commerce – finally out of sight, where it belongs. if not totally lost, at least forgotten.
but I guess still purring on. sight unseen . . .
RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – GAVIN BROWN’S enterprise – MARCH 5-APRIL 16, 2011
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FEAR EATS THE SOUL/ART BANK (PLYWOOD) |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 22nd, 2011, 4:39pm
FILE UNDER: BRING ME A WITNESS . . .
more pix from the RIKRIT TIRAVANIJA OPENING . . . ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – GBE. MARCH 5, 2011.
on the right: gallerist ALICE VAN DEN ABEELE – of ALICE GALLERY in Brussels, BELGIUM, in town for the art fair weekend – with her pal – AUGUSTIN.
also visiting NYC, center, artist MAURICIO LIMON, of MEXICO – with his hosts: local artist REMY AMEZCUA and his lovely wife, LAURENCE (LOLA) FAYARD – who is a custom bookbinder – LAURENCE FAYARD STUDIO.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~THE DAYS OF THIS SOCIETY IS NUMBERED |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 22nd, 2011, 3:11pm
HELLO KITTY, “Say cheese!”. p-a-p-a-r-a-z-z-i.
HELLO KITTY – Coloring & Activity Book – SANRIO – copyright 1967, 2009
for sure I saw that big write-up in this weekend’s NEW YORK TIMES on the big ‘blockbuster’ show that just opened (MARCH 18, 2011) at the Japan Society entitled: ‘BYE BYE KITTY !!!!’.
I dunno, but I think we must be living in amazingly powerful times for the art and the real world to come down together – with such force. and in New York, no less. my favorite art town. not LA. not London. not Paris.
smack down upfront & street-smart in gritty New York City.
had they produced this show any later – and missed getting it up before the catastrophic events of last week – of course it would have been canceled or censored. the person who thought up the title would have been fired. but what can they do now – but be amazed, along with the rest of us.
‘BYE BYE KITTY’ – more like, BYE BYE KITTY – WIPE-OUT. Oh my lordy.
and is it possible – I’m thinking, yes. that it is the lightning speed of the internet and its often irreverent, snarky snarly scribblers – that has contributed to the popularity of such punchy titles ? that are fun – if you don’t really think about the real meanings. and consequences . . . amid the shocking immediacy of this one.
which translates as: DEATH TO CUTE & INNOCENCE. DEATH TO CHILDHOOD HAPPY. AS WE KNEW IT – PRE-JAPAN 2011.
it’s almost supernatural.
timing wise: maybe it is – supernatural. the stuff myths are made of – centuries down the road.
not to forget that Japanese culture itself, has a very long, ancient and rich tradition of ghosts, goblins, witches, fortune tellers, warriors and shamans – in short: eerie goings on – all the way back to day one ?
one has to stop and give credit immediately to the show’s curator, DAVID ELLIOTT for his vision – !! – and title – that thrust the JAPAN SOCIETY – an institutional cultural & exhibition hall – into the excruciatingly precise pinpoint – where art and reality – became one.
and while a whole range of media personalities took some heat, if they were not downright right fired, for their irreverent tone on twitter regarding the catastrophic news when it first broke – here was this august institution – founded in 1907 – coming in – with such an audacious title – and end-of-the-world take.
really it’s quite astounding, and there was no denying what had already been put in motion.
smart cracks and all. it must be a huge shock for the administrators over there.
about: the JAPAN SOCIETY
GILBERT GOTTFRIED – VOICE OF THE AFLAC DUCK – NO MORE !!!/PHOTO: SYKES/AP and AFLAC
I mean, is the show’s title – ‘BYE BYE KITTY!!!’ – let alone its dire and graphic content (!!!) – any less shocking than what GILBERT GOTTFRIED twitted, I mean twittered – in complete 100% American wise-cracking idiocy – as the triple whammy – earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown – disaster in Japan – crashed world headlines:
“I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, ‘They’ll be another one floating by any day'” !!
omg – he got canned. then if you look into it – surprise surprise, not – 1 in 4 Japanese households buys AFLAC insurance products and Japan represents 3/4 of their business !! no wonder he got the chop.
see: GILBERT GOTTFRIED FIRED AS THE VOICE OF THE AFLAC DUCK – FOR IRREVERENT TWITTER JOKES . . .
which just goes to show – yep. t-i-m-i-n-g is everything !!
YAMAGUCHI AKIRA, ‘Narita International Airport: Various Scenes of Airplanes, 2005’ at BYE BYE KITTY!!! – JAPAN SOCIETY.
THE FRONT PAGE – THE WEEKEND ARTS – THE NEW YORK TIMES – THIS WEEKEND/FRI MARCH 18, 2011.
the NEW YORK TIMES titled their review of the show: ‘ANXIETY ON THE FAULT LINE’ !! – what a metaphor – !!
talk about trying to straddle the uncomfortable line of when tastefulness meets the rudeness of reality – head-on.
it was up to HOLLAND COTTER to maintain the standard New York Times chit-chat casual – as opposed to heavy and dour – arts coverage that had somehow this weekend come to feast at a head-on collision – a delicate balancing act, no doubt. esp considering the dark futuristic tone, and grim imagery of the work itself, never mind the grimace-inducing no-holds bared title.
‘BYE BYE KITTY’ – indeed.
wow. they couldn’t have wished upon a star and got it – better.
KOHEI NAWA, ‘PixCell – Elk No. 2’, taxidermied (Elk) specimen covered with translucent plastic globes . . . in ‘BYE BYE KITTY’. PHOTO CREDIT: OZIER MUHAMMEAD/THE NEW YORK TIMES
. . . good bye, Hello Kitty – hello Nuclear mutation ?
the whole title of the show is: ‘Bye Bye Kitty!!! Between Heaven and Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art’ – go figure.
it is up at the JAPAN SOCIETY – 333 EAST 47th STREET – thru JUNE 12, 2011.
like I said, it was up to HOLLAND COTTER to do the dirty deed. the review. he did a pretty good job. he stayed pretty calm. it was an awkward position for an (institutional) arts critic to be in – the wipe-out of cute !!
when it had – just – actually happened . . .
he began:
” . . a piquant exhibition of dark-minded work at Japan Society . . was conceived as a sharp counterweight to the cult of cuteness – kawaii – that has been Japan’s dominant aesthetic for decades. No one of course could have known that the show’s images of fragility and decay would end up being seen in the light of real-life disaster . . . .
Some people have long viewed the cuteness craze, exemplified in the “Hello Kitty” commercial logo – a blank-faced cartoon cat with a bow in her hair – and filtering into the work of art-stars like TAKASHI MURAKAMI, as a symptom of cultural malaise, a stress reaction on the part of a nation living with chronic uncertainty.
As DAVID ELLIOTT, the independent curator who organized the show, writes in the catalog, ‘In a densely urbanized, highly stratified society situated in the heart of an earthquake zone, the fear that the worst could easily happen lies at the back of many minds’.
By that view, images associated with very early childhood, a stage of life traditionally free of pressures in Japan, feed into a desire for communal security. And feel-good art, of the kind produced by artists like Mr. Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara is yet another way to market that sensation.”
(I think I would not be alone in questioning that specific artist-choice conclusion – there is also – and always was something too over-the-top and waiting for the other shoe to drop – in all of Japan’s ‘cute’ art, but esp in his two references – but it’s a good point to beg further discussion . . . )
Mr. Holland continues:
“In a way utterly foreign to the plastic Hello Kitty universe, much of what’s in the Japan Society show is, for better and worse, about organic change. You see this in the scarred faces of MOTOHIKO ODANI’S wooden Noh masks, and in KOHEI NAWA’S ‘PixCell-Elk No. 2’ – a taxidermied specimen covered with translucent plastic globes that look luminous but also pathological, like growths from genetic experiments or excessive radiation.”
and concludes:
“Not everything is wonderful. . . But a lot of what’s here carries a strain of critical fierceness and existential seriousness that has been absent from Japanese work for some time. And with the hellish natural and nuclear catastrophe Japan is now suffering, this is likely to be the way at least some new art will continue to go.”
read his whole article: ANXIETY ON THE FAULT LINE/HOLLAND COTTER/THE NEW YORK TIMES/ MARCH 18, 2011
Personally – I’d slightly disagree with his projection . . .
I’d venture to say, just off the top of my head – along with art about ‘mutation’ – and no ‘cute’ in sight – I bet a new folk art emerges. quilt-making, shelter-making, and a return to simple folk art, like carved ‘icons’ – such as totems and masks – as well as communal survival narratives, such as renewed theater fables. and maybe, just maybe in the face of so much tragedy – there will even be – a return to cute – !! – from the grassroots-up art vs. commercial-driven art.
cute art – maybe even with smiley faces this time – you know real home-made dolls – instead of those blank ones – with no mouths. I mean, looking back those HELLO KITTY cats – were kinda scary. cute but scary. but maybe that was their wide appeal – weren’t they having a hey day – waiting for it all to end. join in the fun. life. it’s all one big fairy tale . . . ca 1976.
so, watch out – new generation – HELLO Mr. MUTATION – coloring books – ala KUMI MACHIDA – coming your way soon . . . I don’t think so. but hey, the ways things are going, maybe its not so far off.
MOTOHIKO ODANI, wooden Noh masks in ‘BYE BYE KITTY!!!’
PHOTO: YAMAMOTO GENDAI/THE NEW YORK TIMES
. . . . a (nuke) mutated – Noh mask ??!!
KUMI MACHIDA, ‘Relation’ – in ‘BYE BYE KITTY!!!’
PHOTO: KUMI MACHIDA/COURTESY: THE NEW YORK TIMES
and the nuke-mutated babies – of the future ??? – new age coloring books – here we come !!
KUMI MACHIDA (1970 – ), ‘Visitor’, 2004 – in ‘BYE BYE KITTY!!!’/IMAGE COURTESY: JAPAN SOCIETY
unbelievably there was an exhibition-linked event, titled ‘Cordoning the Child, Killing the Kawaii’ – (Kawaii – meaning cute . . and over-the-top innocent and happy !!) scheduled for yesterday, Sat March 19, 2011 – a discussion by the show’s curator DAVID ELLIOTT – which addressed this topic: “In recent years, Japanese contemporary art has too often confined itself to the restrictive hierarchies of the antique, the childish or the ‘cute’.”
“THIS talk …. examines the ways many young Japanese artists have confronted cultural stereotypes, digesting, and re-imaging tradition in a challenging and at times visceral exposition of contemporary experience.”
BOY – did they get a wake-up call or, what ?
I guess the odds were running out and maybe – they just saw it coming.
reality bite: JAPAN-style. or what.
HELLO KITTY, “SPENDING THE DAY – WITH NATURE” !!
HELLO KITTY COLORING & ACTIVITY BOOK – SANRIO 1976, 2009.
~BYE BYE KITTY !!! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 20th, 2011, 12:59pm
