FUTOSHI MIYAGI – ‘THE COCKTAIL PARTY’
APRIL 10 thru May 2009
DANIEL REICH GALLERY – 537 A WEST 23rd St – CHELSEA – NYC
. . . oh, that color red – signifier !! oh, for hand-knit – code.
FUTOSHI MIYAGI, ‘AWOL (Gloves for Him)’, 2009. acrylic wool, wooden knitting sticks
‘The Cocktail Party’ is titled “after a story by OSHIRO TATSUHIRO … about the rape of an Okinawan girl by an American soldier stationed at a military base where her father attends a cocktail party, a mark of his post-war upwardly mobile national identity. Miyagi was intrigued by the story’s use of female characters or more broadly the feminine to denote powerlessness and abjection and parallel chosen states of masochism and abasement in relation to race and the homosexual.”
” … Miyagi’s ‘The Cocktail Party’ is about the floating, diffuse and painful yet still experimental nature of identity so that in the face of reticence, one becomes a brief description.” – GALLERY PRESS RELEASE/ESSAY
it’s also extremely visual, to a point of silence.
man-made materials are deconstructed. to re-become a re-definition of craft. in reverse.
and therefore – emerges – as a visual clue to the sad story that Futoshi tells, or fashions, really – out of .. small tell-tale 3-D tableaus.
that are beautiful in their own right. just as is – even, if there there were no binding story line.
a feeling of snakes, and evil charm overwhelms the fabric’s original function and gaiety.
capture and trailing submission.
bottomline: headless – animal vases.
FUTOSHI MIYAGI, ‘Welcome’, 2009. Ceramic figures, flowers.
let’s step back in time, in a real sense:
FUTOSHI MIYAGI and DANIEL REICH welcomed us to ‘The Cocktail Party’ installation – a couple of days before the actual opening !!
FUTOSHI MIYAGI, ‘Cocktail Party’, glasses, ceramics.
amidst the small installation chaos – a simple wooden table with a selection of glassware – strikes a pose.
a contrarian in spirit – I’m always attracted to situations that challenge photographic rendering !!
and the beauty of contrasts. glass surfaces and varied vessel shapes. refraction and the holding volume. the sense of a fleeting moment – a fleeting beauty. how is it conveyed by such a simple arrangement?
how does a small array of glassware say something about hospitality ? vulnerability. sexuality.
the tiniest moments in the day. the frailest transparencies/the chime of visual codes and relationships.
Futoshi Miyagi, ‘Heiwa Street #1 (Sensei)’, 2009. polyester, cotton.
at first encounter, I perceived these displays as simply visual ‘wonderments’, oddities on the on-going road of new art experience. a kind of craft curiosity – a backwards, decontructed, ‘reverse’ craft !! for strange times – then I realized, as clues of the sad narrative seeped in – they were much more loaded, emotive symbols.
they were about cultural experience, gone haywire.
personal experience, societal clash. prejudice, “rural mythology and American occupiers” – Japan and the USA – domination/isolation – war history – cultural history interwoven – deconstructed !! silently. softly. but completely shredded. while alive. and pinned down.
REESE’S – American commercial candy product. deconstructed. ironically into a contemporary Japanese craft form ?
or, at any rate a visual symbol.
FUTOSHI MIYAGI, ‘Untitled (Dad)’, 2009. Gum (paper, tin foil).
FUTOSHI MIYAGI, ‘To Where Spider Flies’, 2009
wooden frame, glass, digital print.
FUTOSHI MIYAGI, ‘Five-Year-Old’s Engagement Ring’, 2009
Ryukyu glass, flower chafer, string
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FUTOSHI MIYAGI/THE COCKTAIL PARTY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 7th, 2009, 2:29pm
. . . a few more pix from the opening of:
MARNIE WEBER – ‘The Bondage of Decay’ – April 23, 2009
the show runs April 23 – June 6, 2009
MARC JANCOU CONTEMPORARY – Great Jones Alley – NOHO – NYC
MARC JANCOU, JUSTIN LIEBERMAN and MARNIE WEBER.
JUSTIN LIEBERMAN and MICHAEL CLINE.
long-time DANIEL REICH artist MICHAEL CLINE – will open the FALL 2009 ART SEASON, with a one-person show at both galleries, DANIEL REICH & MARC JANCOU. something to look forward to.
the life-size clowns are upstairs.
all of the clowns, reminded us of – someone we had crossed paths with – in real life !!
MARC JANCOU and his young daughter ELROSE – she was a little frightened by the clowns.
no joke !! they were more harsh commentary, than fun times – even to a grown-up !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~MARNIE WEBER |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 7th, 2009, 11:42am
LANE TWITCHELL – we’ve been running into him, a lot – lately.
He is a study in contradiction – he wants to see his photos, but he doesn’t want to have his picture taken !!
the buzz is – he twitters a mean streak.
LANE TWITCHELL at the BEN JONES opening, ‘The New Dark Age’, DEITCH PROJECTS, FEB 5, 2009.
BEN JONES – that was actually a pretty good show, for personal demons, I mean, reasons, I didn’t get those pix up – probably will post them – as the best of 2009 – that never posted – nancy/time Jan 2010 !!
more recently we caught, NOT !! LANE at the MARNIE WEBER – MARC JANCOU opening, April 22, 2009.
LANE TWITCHELL, MARNIE WEBER opening.
LANE TWITCHELL and JUSTIN LIEBERMAN, MARNIE WEBER opening.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
you can check Lane out: on his website !!
where his polarity – is equally revealed !! amidst the beautiful stencil work.
LANE TWITCHELLL, ‘Smoghead’, 2005-2006, 72 x 72 in.
cut paper and acrylic polymers on plexi mounted to acrylic on panel.
LANE TWITCHELL, ‘Cheer Up (Blue and Brown)’, 2008, 48 x 48 in.
oil on cut film mounted on plexi over pigment on panel.
LANE TWITCHELL ART WORK/PHOTOS: COURTESY THE ARTIST
~LANE TWITCHELL !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 7th, 2009, 12:15am
GELITIN/’Klunck buddhism’/PHOTO COURTESY: TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY
(does this image – remind anybody else of: RY ROCKLEN’S “metal mattress”, ‘Refuge’ 2007 – shown at THE STATION/Miami 2008. ?!!)
another, older, or rather more established German art collective, with a bonafide international following – GELITIN – !! – looks to be making waves – make that STONES !! – in JAPAN !!
this news recently in from TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY, in TOKYO:
a note on ‘Klunck buddhism’ by Gelitin:
“currently we are having a solo show by Gelitin with a huge installation, paintings and sculptures.
The huge installation was made based on the Japanese stone garden. The garden will be completed with the 7 persons who change themselves into stones. At the opening night, 11th of April 2009, the members of Gelitin, their friends and Japanese volunteers became stones and completed the garden.” The live performance was repeated on April 18, 25, & May 2 and 9th.
you can see more pix: here, GELITIN/KOYAMA GALLERY BLOG !!, and here, opening pix !!
GELITIN/’Klunck buddhism’/PHOTO COURTESY: TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY
GELITIN ‘Klunck buddhism’ opening photo/COURTESY: TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY.
NAOMI FISHER, center, in black suit jacket – appears to have been present at the opening.
wonder if she got a turn – of being turned into – a zen garden stone ?
Naomi Fisher was part of Gelitin’s (then also known as Gelatin) ‘Tantamounter 24/7’ in-house replication performance
at LEO KOENIG, weekend of Nov 16, 2005.
see: TANTAMOUNTER !! (& then hit that 2nd link provided there, for more pix !!)
~GELITIN/KLUNCK BUDDHISM/TOKYO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 6th, 2009, 11:23pm
this enigmatic message came in from our friend LARS MONRAD VAAGE of NATIONALMUSEUM !!
‘WHORISZONT’ – LASZLO GIRGASZ
THURSDAY, APRIL 30th 1900-2200
NATIONALMUSEUM – Dieffenbachstrasse 37, HH, U8 Schonleinstrasse, BERLIN
LARS MONRAD VAAGE curated the show.
ERLEND HAMMER wrote the accompanying press release/essay:
“LASZLO GIRGASZ’S works are marked by a systemic and insisting exploration of a world that is uncovered, part by part, through a slow removal of layers that eventually reveals hidden connections that may be actual or may simply be the result of the imagination of a paranoid mind. While not formally trained as an artist, his works show both a keen analytical mind and a clear understanding of formal qualities.
Girgasz works with a combination of found and original material and what binds his images together is a sense of puzzling familiarity with content matter that is consistently foreign to most of us, not only because we don’t look for it, but because it simply isn’t available. It is unclear exactly how Girgasz has gained access, but it’s clear that he somehow sees things the rest of us don’t. His images are uncovered both through the intense study of material on the internet and more random encounters throughout his extensive traveling around the world.
In the series of works presented at Nationalmuseum, Girgasz starts out with the most fundamental of all artistic forms: the circle or, more specifically, the ball. Found images are manipulated to highlight the formal qualities that function as the spectator’s point of entry into a thematic web of meaning that is as puzzling as it is rewarding. Binding them together is an underlying realization that although we may not unconsciously understand what we are seeing, there is always some sensation of recognition. Beneath what we are aware of there is a tension, something that is constantly trying to find new ways of freaking us out. Laszlo Girgasz works with poking around in the grey matter that most often achieves such freak-outs in those who study it.”
YO !!
LARS !! – WHAT THE HELL – !! – SEND SOME PIX – !! ASAP !!
(ASAP – translates as: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE !!)
UP-DATE: WED MAY 27, 2009
Lars sent in some great pix.
he also sent in some (very !!) brief – INFO ABOUT LASZLO GIRGASZ:
Born 1973, Oslo. Lives and works in Hanoi, where he is setting up a project-space for contemporary International and Vietnamese art.
No education in Arts.
“And we got wasted as well”.
that’s the curator, Nationalmuseum’s LARS MONRAD VAAGE on the left, LASZLO GIRGASZ is on the right.
“Happy artist LASZLO GIRGASZ in the middle, painter EVA GROTTUM to the left, ERLEND HAMMER to the right.”
“The opening turned into a party.”
“LASZLO did a couple of talks about his works. Smiling in the right of the picture are painters EVA GROTTUM and OLAV CHRISTOPHER JENSSEN, it looks like they just got it.”
“Former art critic ERLEND HAMMER, (now a curator), searching for another layer in Laszlo’s art.
Erlend wrote the cryptic press release (above !!) for Laszlo’s show. He is currently traveling around USA for a month, to see the major land-art sights.”
“The All-seeing-eye, the object of worship of some freshly made religion that is growing fast, Hanoi.”
“A stranded project from the sixties, also Sudan, lots of Pan-African symbolism.”
“The world’s most bouncy ball.”
“Leonid Brezhnev’s belly.”
“Shiny ass.”
“On the other wall in the show Laszlo had his mysterious theme with balls or spheres.”
“In Sudan the gangsters have horses, and this is the typical cool pose.”
“Peeing Yakuza in Hanoi, notice the girly handbag.”
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY: LARS MONRAD VAAGE
wow – thanks, LARS !! its great to see what else is going on in the world.
~NATIONALMUSEUM/WHORISZONT/LASZLO GIRGASZ/BERLIN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 6th, 2009, 10:44pm
. . . talking about ATM & TOMOO GOKITA !!
ATM’s current show – Tomoo Gokita’s – ‘Champion Carnival’ – up until MAY 2, 2009 – recently scored a really nice write-up in the New York Times.
ATM – 621 West 27th St – Chelsea – NYC
reviewed by KAREN ROSENBERG – it begins:
“If you think that black-and-white painting is the province of minimal and conceptual artists, Tomoo Gokita’s strong second solo show in Chelsea will shatter your illusion.”
read the rest: NEW YORK TIMES/ART REVIEWS/APRIL 24. 2009 !!
on the right, TOMOO GOKITA at the ATM opening.
with him, independent curator TAKA KAWACHI, and painter ERIK PARKER.
TOMOO GOKITA. ‘Night and Day’, 2009. acrylic gouache on linen.
63.8 x 63.8 in. ($25,000)
detail, TOMOO GOKITA, ‘Night and Day’.
TOMOO GOKITA, ‘Solid State Survivor’, acrylic gouache on linen.
76.4 x 63.8 in.
TOMOO GOKITA. sculpture. a small edition multiple . . . about 3 or 4 feet in height . .
actually its 27 in. in height. It’s called ‘Super Model’ and is in an edition of 8.
Black Nanny dolls – watch out !!
TOMOO GOKITA, small figurine multiple, under a ft. in height.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
see: more pix from the ‘Champion Carnival’ opening !!
see: pix from the after-party !!
~TOMOO GOKITA/ATM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 29th, 2009, 12:38pm
. . . something about the figures, in the artwork in the bottom posts, reminded us of the ‘zombie’, or really ‘black nanny’ dolls of JEFF HARGRAVE – who we happened to run into recently !!
JEFF HARGRAVE.
he recently dropped by ATM GALLERY, that’s a TOMOO GOKITA painting behind him !!
JEFF HARGRAVE, has a pretty funny sense of humor, (unlike a few others, I won’t mention, in this stressed-out town !!), so, when we told him – he looked like a – black snowman – he lightened up !!
among other kinds of more traditional artwork – like painting and collage – Jeff, who hails from somewhere around New Orleans, makes his own contemporary versions of ‘Black Nanny’ dolls. this one – is the devil with voodoo pins !!
sexuality ? – well, y-o-u call it !!
one thing’s for sure – it’s on fire !!
actually, ‘Black Nanny’ dolls are traditional, traditional ole-time African American folk art – a combination of being too poor to buy store-bought dolls, and who wants store-bought white dolls, to hug & cherish – anyways, when that was your oppressor ?
the little doll, top center, with the white bonnet & red necklace (both – added after the fact) is a classic antique American black Nanny Doll, from the south – and made much the same way Jeff’s are. hand-sewn and then turned inside-out, and painted black.
ok. yep that’s (just a small part) of my black nanny doll collection, with a few little white dolls, thrown in, just to keep the conversation in the bookcase – lively !! the big one at the right is a souvenir doll – what you might buy if you visited the Caribbean islands, later half of the last century. I stitched the fabric doll ‘heart’ head – that’s peeking through !!
NANCY SMITH, stitched doll head. 1996. ok I made that.
a vintage souvenir Black Nanny doll from Bermuda, – made much the same way as Jeff makes his.
he picked up the tradition & skills from his surroundings, growing up in the south.
ok. we let the little devil out for some fresh air.
BLACK NANNY/VOODOO DOLL made by JEFF HARGRAVE ca. 2002.
Collection: Nancy Smith
JEFF HARGRAVE, Black Nanny voodoo ‘devil’ doll. Jeff stuck the pins in, not I !!
Black Nanny dolls were made at the same time that white folks, and black folks – were making quilts.
but, they were nowhere as scary as this.
JEFF HARGRAVE – detail. contemporary, hand-painted face Black Nanny voodoo ‘devil’ doll – very traditional in the rendering & materials !!
not as scary ? take that back !!
well, sometimes she looks mad and angry, and then sometimes – if you hold her just so, she is quite endearing ??
American antique hand-sewn Black Nanny doll. The body of the doll is based on an old & very worn-out !! pair of commercially made (store-bought) black mens socks – stuffed with raw cotton. The face, the red nostrils and red mouth, with white teeth, is hand-embroidered, while the eyes are (real abalone) & I guess therefore store bought – shell buttons, what buttons used to be made of, before plastics.
Collection: Nancy Smith
. . . think on, what the maker of this doll – was feeling !!
sitting up, feeling the homey vibes – she seems to strike a happier countenance !!
. . . dig that bosom !! and, the hands posed just so, on the hips !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
you can see JEFF HARGRAVE with a few more of his contemporary Black Nanny dolls, in 2005: here !!
(you’ll have to scroll down a bit)
we first saw Jeff’s Black Nanny dolls at a small exhibit way – back in the day, at ATM gallery, when it was on Ave B in the East Village. Jeff says he doesn’t make too many any more – if any !! – he says – he hates doing all that tiny stitching !!
~JEFF HARGRAVE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 29th, 2009, 11:29am
. . . here’s some more pix from that C.H.U.D.Z. – ALEX BARRY, RICHARD COLMAN, JOSH SLATER – OPENING !!
C.H.U.D.Z. / ALEX BARRY, RICHARD COLMAN & JOSH SLATER
APRIL 24 – MAY 24, 2009
the show runs thru MAY 24, 2009
CINDERS – 103 HAVEMEYER ST – WILLIAMSBURG – BROOKLYN
HRS: WED-SUN 1-7PM
at the opening, ALEX BARRY, JOSH SLATER and RICHARD COLMAN, in front of RICHARD COLMAN’s mural,
‘Untitled’, (opera pink)’. it’s actually gouache & ink on a series of wood panels, total area: 10 x 24 ft.
detail, RICHARD COLMAN, mural (opera pink).
detail, RICHARD COLMAN, mural (opera pink).
a selection of drawings, in sumi ink, by JOSH SLATER
JOSH SLATER, ‘(Untitled) Built Upon’, sumi ink, 9 x 12 in. ($800)
ALEX BARRY, ‘Untitled (Ant Hill)’, ink on paper, 20 x 30 in. ($1,500)
detail, ALEX BARRY, ‘Untitled (Ant Farm)’.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~C.H.U.D.Z. |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 29th, 2009, 11:02am
BOW RIBBONS – PETE VOGL and WILLOW GIBBONS – play ZEBULON to-nite – WED APRIL 29, 2009
the show starts at 9PM sharp & is free.
the night’s line-up: WILL SHINE, CORRIDORS, BOW RIBBONS & UP DIED SOUND.
ZEBULON – 258 WYTHE AVE – bet METROPOLITAN & N. 3rd – BROOKLYN
. . . we caught up with PETE VOGL recently at the ‘C.H.U.D.Z.’ OPENING – ALEX BARRY, RICHARD COLMAN & JOSH SLATER – at CINDERS,
APRIL 24, 2009. behind Pete is a large wall mural by RICHARD COLMAN.
in case you’re curious, here’s the detail of Richard Colman’s mural – that – Pete was standing in front of !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~BOW RIBBONS plays ZEBULON to-nite !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 29th, 2009, 9:43am
“Mary-Kate Olsen and boyfriend Nate Lowman go biking in Manhattan . . . .”
NEW YORK POST – PAGE SIX, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009 – pg 13.
PHOTO CREDIT: SPLASH NEWS
‘Tombstone’ Nate made the tabloids – PAGE SIX – !!
~MARY-KATE & NATE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 29th, 2009, 9:36am
