
SEAN VEGEZZI, OLMO SCHNABEL, and PARIS VENTURE . . .
at the JIM JOE opening, at THE HOLE, NYC. April 28, 2016.

MERCER TULLIS, ANDREW KASS, and SPENCER TULLIS . . .
JIM JOE opning, THE HOLE, NYC. April 28, 2016.

MERCER TULLIS . . did the awesome, ghostly-realistic pencil line drawing on my copy of the ’34 JOEY’ BOOKLET. Put out last DEC 2015, along with the crew’s short film: WWW.34JOEY.COM – the ad hoc booklet, was a hand-published, DIY limited edition of 40, with each cover a unique drawing by different members of the crew & their friends/collaborators – at the time. it’s kind of a fluid, floating scene. hooray.
very . . born & breed downtown local, Tribeca NYC scene.
tight knit, but fluid. always, right on the – mark.

34JOEY BOOKLETS on display, just outside the 34 Street – Hudson Yards Subway Station, West Side, NYC.
Photo: Dec 12. 2015

ANDREW KASS and SPENCER TULLIS, with the pop-up display of 34JOEY BOOKLETS.
note . . the new building construction – going up behind them !!
Photo: Dec 12, 2015

which meant . . real time / real life – ‘Joeys’ – as construction workers are fondly known as in NYC – were watching the action, but without knowing . . they were indeed – the focus of attention.
Photo: Dec 12, 2015
see: WWW.34JOEY.COM
ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SEAN VEGEZZI, OLMO SCHNABEL, PARIS VENTURE, MERCER TULLIS, ANDREW KASS & SPENCER TULLIS & even some 34JOEY !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 10th, 2016, 12:51pm
up-date: SUN, JUNE 12, 2016 – biggest, mass killing in the USA – homophobic/terrorist.
“The whole narrative of ‘Snow Cab’ is to comment on the commercialization / monetization / ownership at work around us – specifically to do with terror attacks, pain, anxierty, etc.” ~ SEAN VEGEZZI, via email.June 10, 2016.
end – update.
also – last, ok a few . . weekends ago:
NYC-based SEAN VEGEZZI . . launched a new indie book, ‘SNOW CAB’ . .
with LOOSE JOINTS, a cutting edge publishing house and design studio in London, UK.
the launch took place last Thursday, May 27, 2016 – in a suitably vacant, retro-commercial space.
you can just file it under: industrial & raw, urban exploration art !!

this was the flyer for the launch . . .
“SEAN VEGEZZI . . . selected One Crown Court as the location to for his book launch, due to its versatility, clean lines, excellent natural light and interesting floor plate.”
do they mean . . floor plan ?
knowing Sean well, I would also add, that he was most likely attracted as well – to the ‘outsize’ retail dimensions, the now vacant barrenness, and the outmoded interior look – which is actually quite ‘sweet’ meaning slick and scary !! – looking back, with newborn industrial post-modern eyes.

“Classic Sean Vegezzi being a flirt at our Studio with the wet proof of Snow Cab book available next week @offprint.projects.”
image & text via LOOSE JOINTS – @jointsloose
yes, see: OFF PRINT LIBRARY – LONDON 2016
which happens to be . . an ‘avant garde’ art publishing fair – featuring books & items on art, photo, design, music, architecture @PalazzoClerci, Milano & Tate, London.
this is the 2nd edition – and it looks totally happening.
GO, SEAN !!
the book is also available online at LOOSE JOINTS . . .

LOOSE JOINTS is . . . LEWIS CHAPLIN . . & SARAH P-ESPENON.
(with a most minimal style approach, btw)

love their home page !!
super classic.

the SEAN VEGEZZI book . . is currently the 2nd box in from the left – on the top line.
here’s the specific link to the book: SEAN VEGEZZI – SNOW CAB
~SEAN VEGEZZI – LAUNCHES NEW BOOK, SNOW CAB . . LOOSE JOINTS, LONDON ………… UP-DATE: JUNE 12, 2016/2:03 PM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 9th, 2016, 9:53am
NYC-based DREW MILLER . .
was in a pop-up group show last weekend in SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.
ok, so the show is down. damn, blinked and missed it, but the poster is GREAT !!
and looks like the show – was too.
so . . here it is:

see: Common AREA Maintenance – fb
~DREW MILLER, ESSENTIAL SKIMMING . . SEATTLE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 9th, 2016, 9:32am

ps: that’s SAMMY, on the right.
CHESTER BROWN and SAMMY HARKHAM – IN CONVERSATION
(ART, GOD, MOTHERS, TOM DEVLIN)
AT CAKE, SUNDAY, JUNE 12th at 11:30am
– COFFEE & DONUTS A POSSIBILITY TOO –
CAKECHICAGO.COM

from the artlovers archive:

SAMMY HARKHAM . .
at the ‘KRAMERS ERGOT 7’ book release party, Desert Island, Brooklyn, NY.
DEC 8, 2008.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

the cover of ‘KRAMERS ERGOT – 7’
image: artlovers archive.
lol:
the book listed for $125 – when it first came out in 2008, and there was a lot of bitching back then – about the ‘high’ price . . . even though it was a huge 16 x 21 in. coffee table sized hardcover, a very high quality / full color production . . and an amazingly hard-core, cutting edge, curated anthology – with many, very talented contributors.
it now lists, used . . for $268.99 on amazon.
I believe SAMMY HARKHAM did the cover art.
~CHESTER BROWN & SAMMY HARKHAM, CAKE . . CHICAGO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 8th, 2016, 11:12am

ANYA DAVIDSON . . . ‘PLANET GLOOM’
“FRONT COVER for a new 14 page riso zine about street harassment, misanthropy & robotics engineering I’m working on for CAKE – printed by MATT DAVIS of PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE PRESS”.
see: ANYA DAVIDSON – tumblr
http://anyaisdead.tumblr.com/
(lol, Anya .. is dead !!)
CAKE – CHICAGO ALTERNATIVE COMICS / is this weekend / JUNE 11 & 12, 2016 / 11am – 6pm
cakechicago.com

from the artlovers archive:

ANYA DAVIDSON . . .
at the (now defunct) BROOKLYN COMICS and GRAPHICS FESTIVAL, Brooklyn, NY.
DEC 3, 2011.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~ANYA DAVIDSON, CAKE . . CHICAGO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 8th, 2016, 10:23am
Summer in the city . . . can’t take the heat ?
Finger by . . Abe.

Abe Lincoln Jr, ‘city intervention’ – photo image by @BKLenny / @BKLENNY – via Instagram
#streetart #nyc #streetartnyc
nice light bouncing off the hot steel, or what.
black & white: rules. urban hieroglphs. code for civilized/non-civilized . . behavior ?
industrial chic – too. not too shabby, either.
& file under: epiphany
It suddenly struck me that Abe Lincoln Jr is the great anti-Schulz. Charles M. Schulz; the Peanuts, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, even Peppermint Patty and all – of street art & this generation’s answer . . to the demise of comics in the dailies / newspapers.
and, the M stands for Monroe.
Monroe, Lincoln, get it ?

arrgh . . can’t take the heat.
I’m melting, melting, melting – I tell ya.
sticker art by ABE LINCOLN JR – via Instagram @abelincolnjr
@abelincolnjr: ‘#finalmeltdown”.

sticker art by ABE LINCOLN JR via Instagram @abelincolnjr
“Put this up by a bougie outdoor cafe at Lincoln Jr Center”.
haha. your mom’s Charlie Brown, not.
~ABE LINCOLN Jr. . . NYC / Charlie Brown ? not. |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 7th, 2016, 2:56pm
INFINITY PACKAGE !!
meaning . . . ?
it’s a . . . TIE !!
A ‘TIE’ . . . TO DIE FOR.
PIX FROM THE OPENING OF:
‘JIM JOE – LOOK MEANS MEMORIZE’, APRIL 28 – MAY 22, 2016
THE HOLE, 312 BOWERY. DOWNTOWN, NYC

JIM JOE, ‘ALWAYS RETURN TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME’, 2016
INK ON CANVAS*, 20 x 16 INCHES
($3,000)
*mostly poorly stretched canvases – part of the charm, no doubt.
don’t laugh, if you have any of JOE BRADLEY’S . . early, cheaply made, & most definite poorly stretched human ‘geo’ ‘segment’ canvases, you are laughing all the way to the bank.
at any rate as you can see, I’m pretty much very bored with what’s out there, right now. and, it’s most definite turning into a summer of . . returning to the ‘scene of the crime’.
(just like the presidential race, don’t get me started.)

oh oh, I SPY a . . TAYLOR McKIMENS PAINTING !!

the money . . shot !!
did that narrative go by – too fast ?
ok, here’s the long version:

I believe that should read, ‘PICTURES ARE WORTH MORE THAN WORDS’- and, IF you do not believe that, then;
‘VISIT THE IMPRISONED’ . . . of, their own imagination.

pretty straightforward.
I, myself wear a gold charm that says: ALREADY DEAD.
@eattheleaf aka ANDREW GUENTHER made it.

doggie days of summer.
and of course, my . . #puppylove ZORA.

oh, yeah.

TAYLOR McKIMEN’S (desolate) bar narrative – up for sale, in the back office.

detail.
#mood

lol, how did that run of pix work . . for ya ?
no joke, though about Taylor’s paintings becoming . . “increasingly un-affordable”, after his blockbuster show of . . ‘heads’, also at THE HOLE – this past FALL 2015, titled:
‘STOIC YOUTH’, running SEPT – OCT 2015.
see: TAYLOR McKIMENS – ‘STOIC YOUTH’ / THE HOLE
Taylor McKimens

TAYLOR McKIMENS. ‘Sundown Somewhere’, 2012
acrylic on canvas, 60 x 84 in.
($17,500).
I first saw, and was absolutely STUNNED BY . . this TAYLOR McKIMENS beaut – at the intense but brief snowflake of a pop-up, PAUL BRIGHT . . did for Taylor back in the winter of 2015.
‘TAYLOR McKIMENS COMMISSIONS BY BRIGHT LYONS, 2008 – 2015’ / OPENING FEB 17, 2015
POP-UP – WEST 19th St, CHELSEA, NYC / FEB 3 – 17, 2015.
that’s only about a year and a half ago. if you had half a brain, (or if I had half your dough) somebody else, would be laughing very very heartily all the way to the bank. as it is, it seems to have remained in Paul’s . . bright, and prescient hands, and it is now up for sale.
the price is SO way up there, nobody wants to divulge it. haha.
yep that high. I’d guess easily over $60, $80,000. maybe even more.
and deservedly, so.

TAYLOR McKIMENS . . with one of his paintings behind him.
‘TAYLOR McKIMENS COMMISSIONS BY BRIGHT LYONS, 2008-2015’ . . OPENING, CHELSEA POP-UP, NYC.
FEB 3, 2015
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
if you want to see more pix from that opening,
check out: ARTLOVERS: TAYLOR McKIMENS . . PIX FROM THE OPENING: ‘COMMISSIONS BY BRIGHT LYONS’, FEB 3, 2015
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~JIM JOE VS . . TAYLOR McKIMENS ?? / no brainer: WIN WIN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 3rd, 2016, 11:30am

somebody . . caught me at the JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘PIECE OF DIRT’ opening, NYC. April 1, 2016.
haha, April Fools !!
the hipster on the right, in orange plaid – be . . me.
NANCY SMITH . . at the JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘PIECE OF DIRT’ OPENING, CHINATOWN POP-UP, NYC.
APRIL 1, 2016.
image via Instagram . . @rossnzkiwi
ps: have No idea who he is, except he’s prob from New Zealand, but love the beauty & randomness of . . the photo. nice photo, dude.
~busted . . NANCY SMITH at JIM JOE VS LEWY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 31st, 2016, 9:30am
DIARY / AN 800 PAGE INDEX OF COLLABORATIVE DRAWINGS BY JIM JOE & LEWY / LIMITED EDITION OF 100 / EACH WITH A UNIQUE DRAWING AS THE COVER / EACH SIGNED & NUMBERED ON THE BACK PAGE / $250 EACH
PS: JUST SOLD OUT – IT WAS AVAILABLE LAST TIME I LOOKED (LAST WEEK).
btw: 100 x $250 = $25,000.
check it out: JIM JOE VS LEWY WEBSITE / DIARY
one of the more interesting & original ‘statements’ of the JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘PIECE OF DIRT’ POP-UP SHOW – was the book. if you couldn’t spring for a drawing, (line painting ?) on canvas
. . maybe you could peel off enough greenbacks – for a limited edition, signed & numbered, very large, DIY, almost BIBLICAL . . . book of drawings ?!!
I did.

the ‘book’ – was on the ‘sales’ desk as you entered the show.
but you couldn’t flip through that one – it was being kept in mint condition – as in, FOR SALE.

but there was one you could freely rifle through – hanging by chain, in a back corner of the room.

it was kind of a communal vs dominant bully kind of thing. no. really, everyone was very polite about taking turns, but some dedicated followers insisted on perusing the entire 800 pages. really.

it was like a giant – flip book.

inside, it was very straight-forward, with minimal fuss. a great lay-out, great graphics, font, etc. gray tones, frame on page, etc etc.
just like everything in this show: absolutely on point.
trend setter.
ahead of the curve.

DIY. LOW-FI.
but definite the image was . . KING.

lol, the pages were . . numbered.
oh gawd, love that. the placement, the scale/size. the font.
the sheer audacity, scale & . . irony.
800 pages.

429.
do I have to spell it – love how it’s . . TYPE FONT !!
you have to know . . when to fold.

action.
kinetic sculpture – in another era ?
also totally dug that any ‘conceptualism’ was treated – as just another part of the game.
a design / production decision. aka . . the way things were. that made the show pop. the totality.
in, and of itself – a radical decision.
also: vs. the ZINE !! that slim red-headed DIY art book . . stepson.

hand-written, hand-formed . . letters – rule. year of the monkey.
somebody will write the paper, no doubt: digital computers & the renaissance of the DIY script / calligraphy.
small gestures – that really really count.

this book – has heft.
ball . . and chain ?
(ever get an email . . from SEAN VEGEZZI ?!!)

yes, that is: JOWY ROMANO . . of subway art blog . .

shadows, too.
ghost army.

I went back to see the show again the next day, and to buy a book.
BENEDICT was manning the sales desk.

there were two copies on the desk, numbers 28 & 29.

I picked the one on the right.
besides having the most minimal of all dragon-y scrawls, it proclaimed:
YOURE NOT PERFECT EITHER.
take that (fill in the blank) haters.
go find . . your own ghost army.

plus, a little doggie – in the corner !!

29/100.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘PIECE OF DIRT’, 148 BOWERY, CHINATOWN, NYC. POP-UP, APRIL 2-10, 2016.
OPENED APRIL 1, 2016
PHOTOS TAKEN: APRIL 1 & 2, 2016.
~JIM JOE VS LEWY: THE BOOK |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 27th, 2016, 9:14am
somehow, that brings us full circle.
rebel, rebel.
and yes: DOGGIES . . are the new mirror.
JIM JOE VS LEWY: ‘PIECE OF DIRT’
CHINATOWN POP-UP / 48 BOWERY, NYC
APRIL 2 – 12, 2016
MORE PIX – FROM THE OPENING – APRIL 1, 2016

JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘LEFT VS RIGHT’
OIL ON CANVAS, 36 x 48 INCHES
($4,500 USD)
yep, that’s . . my shadow.

not that I want to cast any shade, lol.
but, I’ll say it again: VIRGINIA DWAN VS ELI BROAD ?
VIRGINIA DWAN . . wins.
hands down.

I really related to this drawing – it’s kind of a mirror, and a . . metaphor for my mood, my life, whatever.
it’s been hard knock – fer sure.
if I had had the dough, or leverage to buy the work I loved the most, and in some cases I did (JOE BRADLEY) . . I’d be a millionaire, prob even a billionaire, by now.
maybe even many times over.
well, right after JJEAN-MICHEL, who was my friend, in passing in the hood on the Bowery, I learnt my lesson.
if you can’t grab the work LONG STORY, but he signed posters for me, grab the pix.
because talk is cheap. get that marker – that says: YES – you were there.

hard knock, but passionate.
pass-ion=ate.
you know, I didn’t call myself: artlovers !!
that’s just the name I picked up – and, WALTER ROBINSON made it formal: and made it stick. like gum.
personally I liked my other nickname better: CRACKULA, lol.
what me – throw: shade ?

there were a lot of dog drawings in the show, which I found endlessly fascinating – as I just got a dog !!
my first ever – and she’s gonna be huge. literally, not auction-wise.
she’s an American Akita. she’s 4 mos. old and she’s already well over 38 pounds, and counting.
prob gonna go . . past 100, 120 ?
her name is: ZORA. and I love her, . . and she totally, totally loves me.
F the art world.
and yes, I named her after my hero: ZORA NEALE HURSTON, take that whitey haters. and, shove it.
lol. cultural appropriation. I mean, what’s in my blood – only Bob Marley knows for sure.
talk about crazy Rastafarian locks. talking to the dead, (and the . . don’t know they are dead, lol, too)
JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘DOG VS RAT’
OIL ON CANVAS, 36 X 48 INCHES
($4,500 USD)

oh gawd, don’t you love that: DOG VS RAT
and, RAT spells ART – BACKWARDS, of course. was gonna make a joke, but thought better of it.
well, dog days of summer – anyways.

JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘CRIME VS PUNISHMENT’
OIL ON CANVAS, 36 X 48 INCHES
($4,500 USD)
!!!!!! X !!!!!! ‘PUNISHMENT’ – !!

JIM JOE VS LEWY, ‘GREED VS BREED’
OIL ON CANVAS, 36 x 48 INCHES,
($4,500 USD)
!!!!!!! X !!!!!! ‘GREED’ – !!

TAROT DRAWING – DOGGY, DOG ?
GYPSY PALM READER ? DOGGY, DOG ?
SHAMAN DECK OF CARDS – DOGGY, DOG ?
GAME OF THRONES, DOGGY DOG ?
CHUBBY DOGGY . . HAS A GHOST ARMY ?
AND THEY ARE STILL,
S-T-I-L-L . . THE LIVING DEAD.
WAITING FOR THEIR DAY IN THE SUN: MARK ENGER, DAN ASHER, & SIMON CERIGO.
LOS DEAD ONES.
I GUESS THIS IS AS CLOSE AS I CAN GET – TO A ‘MUSEUM’, MY ‘MUSEUM/foundation’, for . . now.
and, hell yah.
forget . ‘contemporary’, I’m going call it straight: MUSEUM OF THE DEAD, but not forgotten.

this one makes me what to say: THE LADY WAS A TRAMP ?
a Disney doggy animation – prob way before your time. or maybe not, if you are a collector.
JIM JOE, ‘VANITY VS SANITY’
OIL ON CANVAS, 36 x 48 INCHES
($4,500 USD)
what: you be calling my name . . boy ?
VANITY – lol VS SANITY – lol

ARF, ARF.
FUN FACT: AKITAS DON’T BARK. & THEY DON’T RUN AROUND – ALL HYPER, EITHER.
BUT WATCH OUT – POWERFUL & CAN VIBE YA. BEFORE YOU SEE HER, SHE SEES . . YOU.
SHE CAN SEE YOU THRU A DOOR, EVEN A MILE AWAY. PICKS UP ON YOUR VIBE. ALL RADAR, MY GHOST DOG.
AND FAST AS LIGHTNING.
and, if you be bad, then she bark . . a deep, super badass scary bark.
my . . Zo-ra.
my . . love.

ZORA – my American Akita puppy. long coat.
art world vs chipmunk. don’t ask. don’t care.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~JIM JOE: LEFT VS RIGHT -&- IT’S A DOGGY . . DOG EAT DOG / HOT WORLD, after all. |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 25th, 2016, 2:22pm