LEVI HASKE in his studio, with his work behind him – Greenpoint Open Studio Weekend, BROOKLYN, NYC.
OCT 4-5, 2014.
LEVI HASKE’S works, acrylic paint on plywood, were (relatively) small in scale, but a had large generous feeling.
although non-objective, and without repeated patterns either – some of them did have a atmospheric landscape narrative, one could get lost in, if one wanted to visually ‘travel’, ‘trip’ or . . ‘dream’.
just so you can get a sense of the scale of the works . . Levi’s studio was longer and more on the narrow side.
that’s a slice of NICHOLAS STEINDORF, at the right – in this slice of a studio, slice of a photo.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF was artlovers’ tour conductor / curator for the weekend, where an overwhelming number of artists had generously thrown open their studios to the public, and they did indeed attract quite a good crowd on both days. I found it really interesting that Nicholas brought forward just 2 studios for us focus on, well, time was also a factor – those of JAENA KWON and LEVI HASKE. and now at Levi’s studio, I realized he had also set up a small sub-text: non-objective works on wood, where the painted surface was the main focal point, muted tones ruled – and the ‘shape’ of the wood was just as important – as the manipulated, almost waxy, painted surfaces – in both cases. though the 2 artists’ works – couldn’t be further apart . . on all other (over-all) factors.
if pressed, I would say, in a nutshell: Jaena’s work was more sculptural, often large scale and that a sense of craftsmanship and patina – was a big part of the ‘experience’. Levi’s work on the other hand was more atmospheric and compact – it brought the viewer a dreamy narrative that was both inward and outward, a pictorial fluctuation, rather than a tactile sculptural state, even though his work did also depend on (sculptural) cut-out wood, which made the perceived contrast even more interesting.
Levi’s ‘wall works’ were flat cut-outs, almost like puzzle pieces. some of which contained inner “negative” or open spaces, as part of the composition.
muted color was key. but true tonal contrasts were in play – though they were soft and organic. reminded me of late stage Turner sky scapes. Jaena’s work also had color as a key element – but Levi’s were ‘colorful’ in contrast to her minimalist surface-of-a-polished-rock sensibility. having just come from Jaena’s studio made it much more easier to appreciate what was going down in both artist’s works.
thanks, Nicholas !!
a larger and more ‘colorful’ work by LEVI, with more complex sculptural wooden elements worked into the dynamic . . very Turner-esque pushed to the 21st Century, or what ?
or maybe that’s a riff on the American landscape painters, you know, a Hudson Valley School of painters type sunset ? anyways, I was thinking, that pink and blue is a classic early American quilt / needle arts color combo – esp of the folk art of the North East, the earliest colonists. if you have ever stopped to watch a sunset over NYC, even today – you know why !!
pink and blue – just like this.
looking around his studio, a work in progress !!
also looking around the Levi Haske studio, photographer PIPPA DRUMMOND.
Levi’s studio got great natural light flooding in from that one key window.
but wait a minute.
I knew it !! – American folk art was indeed a part of the larger picture in Levi’s work !!
this was indeed, as Levi told me, a pastel transfer he had made, and re-colored !! of an early 19th century American hand-embroidered coverlet.
the most striking detail / clue which immediately gave away its origins, was that the corner blocks at the very top and bottom edge of the borders – were inverted. the right side block reads correctly, look at the eagle – while the left side images were like . . reversed stencils.
and that’s – that’s just what they were.
early American folk artists, esp quilters, or in this case a coverlet embroidery mistress – were very aware of ‘hubris’. one can take pride in one’s handiwork, but not too much.
PRIDE COMES BEFORE THE FALL.
even the very skilled . . must bow humble in the presence of the larger maker of the Universe, God. the father of all. the Puritans, the Colonists, onto the Amish, etc – retained this respect and reverence by deliberately making a ‘mistake’ in their patterns – it was their way of stating and reminding all who viewed their work – that man was not perfect, or alone. that there was a higher power. religious expression / experience was the center of their life experience as they lived it, in all ways and being.
you’ll also note, the maker’s initials, ‘E.E.’ – are stitched into the bottom left border ‘hubris’ inverted pattern block. ‘E.E.’ whoever she was, though proud enough of her work to ‘sign it’ was well aware that . . tis better to be humble in the face of God, and the greater universe / creation. she was happy to have made this piece, and to put her name, her initials on it – but she brought her ‘respectful’ world view to the process.
the stencil block ‘inversion’ or ‘mistake’ – that is, a deliberate skip in the pattern, has roots in all handiwork, but esp weaving, going all way back – in all cultures through-out the world, where a small slip in concentration, that one could not go back and fix – did not ruin the piece – but was said to be placed there – by the very hand of God. a mistake was a sign of God. and that we are only human. so a work with a mistake came to be seen as very special, blessed, as opposed to driving the weavers to endless frustration. as there is always a slip of the hand.
HUBRIS . . is a very interesting concept, esp for governments as a whole, to ponder.
as concerns military superiority supposedly based on advanced technology.
as in advanced / sophisticated American & European medical superiority vs ‘backwards’ Africa and a tiny little virus running rampant in the age of globalization.
yep, all ‘quilters’ and hand-stitchers, (just like bloggers in some big sense too), contemplate their world, as they stitch away those endless hours.
although the work says ‘DELHI’ (1847) in the right-hand bottom block, that might NOT be the local/place of origin, though it well could be .. but it also likely refers to the coverlet’s ‘format pattern’ which was derived from: Jacquard all-over pattern – repeating . . weaving.
apparently back in the day, the early 1800s – a skilled Scottish JACQUARD weaver settled in DELHI, NY.
this pattern is based on Jacquard over-all effects.
see: DELHI
though, changing the colors of the coverlet as LEVI HASKE has done, makes a . . very big big difference. in the content, re a contemporary art piece vs. the original. and in fact, even in real time / technical / digital formats. if you try to google-image the work – you see that google-image is solely based on color !! and you can get no further historically, than to pull up other images with the same ombre shades of blue !!
google-image is not subject matter – oriented. damn. and hard to believe.
the exact historical nature of this quilt is therefore not ‘fingertip’ easy to find, and – as well by changing the original colors, which would have been key to its meaning, Levi has transformed it.
for example, red and green would signify a Christmas quilt, etc. etc. pink is for (marital) engagement, yellow for happy and sunny . . red is sometimes a signifier for: danger.
just looking at the coverlet, and being influenced by the way it’s color scheme is ‘leaning’ now, which might be deceiving, but still . . I would take a leap of faith and imagine this quilt might be a ‘death’ or ‘bereavement’ coverlet. witness the somber tree of life, witness the somberness of the pattern as a whole. perhaps those birds, unlike the eagles in the end blocks – are crows or ravens, early folk art symbols of earthly ties to the dead.
see: CROW POEM
but at the end, there is renewal.
the pineapple stands for hospitality, and thus . . rooted in home, and family – the circle of life, goes on.
just like the seasons. let the circle be unbroken.
hubris, death and the eternal circle . . the tree of life. I’m on it.
folk art.
count me – in.
it struck me as as very ironic – how a visit to see cutting edge new work in Greenpoint – esp of a very abstract nature – had brought me back to my – quilt-maker ways.
something about a pineapple (open studios – !!) and . . the circle of life.
and I do mean circle of life,
quilting, and all.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. OCT 5, 2014
~LEVI HASKE . . GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 10th, 2014, 9:44am
JAENA KWON opens her studio, Greenpoint Open Studio Weekend, OCT 4-5, 2014.
this is the piece behind her. her works are both paintings, and shallow wall sculptures.
the questions she asks, are purely theoretic – the manipulated boundaries, and plasticity games that manipulated mediums i.e. paint and wood – can play, and ultimately warp, and otherwise engage . . spatial dynamics.
fellow artist and friend, JAMES MILLER drops by – and helps the camera ‘orient’ the manipulation of space, on a more deeply curved wall ‘structure’ by JAENA KWON.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF in front of an all-white, more shallow . . ‘staging’ by JANA KWON.
Nicholas brought me over to meet Jaena, and in that sense he curated this little weekend excursion. a visit with his friend – Levi Haske – is up next.
JAENA also had pieces that were more formally ‘sculptures’ in that they stood on the floor and claimed 3-D space.
Jaena’s works are based on wooden forms that she first makes, then she paints them in mute tones with acrylic paint, and then she waxes the surface, I think ? and then finally she sands and polish rubs them into a waxy, epoxy-like, almost buttery muted leather surface.
the finished pieces look very worked, and yet not quite what they should be, re: your typical painted surface.
they definitely ‘transform’.
Jaena’s work station.
I (personally) experienced Jaena’s work, and her studio space – as very much as that of an artisan, as well as an artist – at work, in that the resultant work felt so ‘hands-on’ . . and was made so ‘hands-on’. despite the advanced minimalist theory that hung in the room, and I mean that in a good way. it’s my thinking, and most likely, not just mine – – that it’s always good when the sensuality of the materials, and the way they are worked . . overtakes the thoughts & concepts – I mean, isn’t that the point ?
whether it’s the intellectual passion in Nicholas’ work, or the workmanship passion – in Jaena’s.
JAENA KWON, hardly looking like paint and wood – by any means. I almost got the feeling, the metaphor that came to mind, was of a highly accomplished ‘shoe maker’ presenting the most fabulous pair of butter soft custom-made leather boots, that would fit like a glove. I guess the parallel is, these are objects to marvel at, to behold and wonder about . . meditate on.
and despite all the hallowed ‘formalism’ – me being me – I did spot a little bit of other-worldly ‘magic’ – !!
anybody else see those two faces, the ghostly profiles . . on the left.
not sure if that’s deliberate, or just a stage of a work in progress – guess that’s the excitement of being inside a working studio – process, thought, future – all about to take shape.
up close and personal.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. OCT 5, 2014
~JAENA KWON . . GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 9th, 2014, 12:20pm
UP-DATE: just after I posted this, there was a New York Post newsflash: 2 young boys had just died in Queens, they had fallen victim to a house fire / caused by ‘unattended’ lit candles.
this severely spooked me.
and not only because it’s supposed to be ‘Fire Safety’ week here in NYC, seriously !!
but I had just posted a studio visit with Nicholas . . that featured his digital image of a boy playing with a lit candle !!
with the accompanying words:
“yeah, Nicholas . . go set that house on Fire !! break down the status quo walls.”
!! !! !! !!
GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS vs SOTHEBY’S ?!!
I thought it was a pretty fun coincidence to open the Wall St. Journal the very Monday after I went to Greenpoint, to see this ‘4 square’ screen print by ANDY WARHOL pop up, coming hot on the heels of just catching NICHOLAS STEINDORF’S 4 square digital image of a ‘boy with man head playing with fire’, a lit candle. a lit pipe, in his studio.
and, also in almost the very same color range – bye the way.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, 4 square composition, digital imagery, approx 13 x 19 in. FALL 2014.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
ANDY WARHOL, 1974 – 4 square composition, silk-screen of SAO SCHLUMBRGER . . to be auctioned off by SOTHEBY’S this fall. it has a pre-sale estimate of $2-3 million.
first off:
who the hell paints . . SOCIALITES any more ?
I mean, not even JEFF KOONS does.
don’t mention current affairs either, the biggest fear Andy and his pals had . . was passing out at Studio 54. don’t even bring up . . Ebola & the top-notch Dallas confidence-inspiring hospital ER response, NOT. making news headlines – this week.
hmm, ANDY died from medical incompetence too, during what should have been routine gall bladder surgery.
but Andy loved reading the NEW YORK POST.
it was his favorite read. no doubt, he would have loved this recent headline: SHARPTON LAWYER “HUNG LIKE A CASHEW” – !!
damn, that Warhol was such a modern guy, up on the tabloids – and killed off by medical incompetence.
p.s. it’s interesting to remember Andy’s stats: born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – in 1928, and died in New York City, in 1987. Andy actually died, 59 years old !! – probably just before, or maybe in fact . . just when Nicholas was born !! in Wisconsin.
p.s.s. of course, the ‘4-square’ – is a basic quilt pattern, called the ‘4 patch’ – it is essentially, the mother of all quilt invention !!
a basic 4 patch.
and, it just keeps on – evolving !!
~NICHOLAS STEINDORF vs ANDY WARHOL . . / up-date |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 8th, 2014, 3:52pm
NICHOLAS STEINDORF.
I’ve been following Nicholas’ work for about 3 years now. I would place his work in the roughly defined category of those 2 crazy smart guys, ROB PRUITT and ANDREW GUENTHER. except, although this is also art made for thinking people . . Nicholas’ work diverges in the sense that he is not so much (pop) media-driven, as he is . . asking questions.
and not so much, is anybody out there listening, but more, where am I, where are we – going ?
it is soul-searching, and deeply other-wise, more internal and poetic.
the view from Greenpoint. wow, if you squint, it even looks like . . Miami ?!!
palm trees, not. but still very pretty.
there’s still a big sky left to ponder out there in Greenpoint, Brooklyn – though gentrification is making inroads slowly but surely.
Nicholas’ studio is in his floor-thru-apt. he gets more real estate for the $$$, but you also get the feeling he’s a 24/7 kind of always-on-call artist type guy. and apparently when he’s not working up his art projects, he’s cooking.
so that works well.
oh oh, out peeks a little – magic !!
whether deliberate, I’m thinking . . no, or ‘found’ I’m thinking . . yes – it’s nice to see ‘magic’ is still alive and kicking, even in Greenpoint.
in fact that unicorn storage ‘locker’ is an interesting metaphor for the artist himself. and NICHOLAS in general, in that Nicholas is unique in that he seems to be the focal point of a big new scene . . the newest wave of talent to hit our small island’s shores, and they are hitting hard. the newest wave of talent & ambition wants to definite make its mark, and take over NYC, so watch out.
ok just joking, NOT.
but seriously what I mean is, it seems in every generation of artists – there are one or two individuals who aren’t so much / as in, only . . self-involved, as they are interested in, and in dialog with their surrounding community of artists, new and established – and for sure . . for this newest generation, this is Nicholas.
whenever I bump into him, I’m sure to hear about at least 3 other young artists in shows down the street, and in fact . . we did a nice trade-off this GOS/GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIO weekend. he took me to the studios of 2 of his friends: JAENA KWON and LEVI HASKE, and I took him over to meet ANDREW GUENTHER.
for sure, that’s how I like to work artlovers – it’s pretty much, I think the only way to really break down the huge & very complicated art scene . . that is NYC.
big, pink and fluffy ?!!!!
it’s so fun to walk thru someone’s studio, as opposed to the gallery setting, as opposed to the finished ‘product’ – it’s like looking into their future arc. their inner thinking, past projects stored away, new projects just taking shape. it’s akin to entering their sketchbooks, the sketchbooks of their minds, and peeking into . . the secret closets. the ‘found’ things, and the other assorted images . . that inspire them.
as Nicholas’ work is very digital projection centered, it’s a very funny Kodak moment – to catch sight of such a funny fuzzy sharply pink – tactile thing.
I guess that was just the point, witness the background here.
another ‘working’ image – either for a projection, or an installation . . of a projection ?
SATAN CERAMICS !!
Nicholas has been out and about on the . . scene.
actually, there’s a nice background story to this. the t shirt was scored from the opening, via PAT McCARTHY, who gave it to Nancy who gave it to Nicholas. that’s the way the pigeons fly !!
we outta here, or what !!
talk about . . Satan, and the dark arts, dark magic . . delving into the dark side inside / outside.
my very favorite piece by NICHOLAS STEINDORF – was just sitting nonchalantly on the wall, nearby.
it’s funny how art is just like writing a ‘blog’. you know, you just put the stuff up, never knowing where it will land. and, on the other side – you feel so lucky to have caught a ‘flicker’ of a thought, a (created) image . . in the (casual) moment.
turns out to be a grown man’s head, smoking a pipe, seamlessly morphed onto a young boy’s body.
well, the metaphors abound aplenty – and I’m sure you can come up with your own.
what I love most – is how mysterious and profound, and questioning and internal – it all is.
no words, strong muted opaque colors and a candle flame, that catches the ‘spell’ of the very moment of physical ‘illumination’. so scientific in a real world sense, and yet so rich with narrative, it is suffused with ‘atmosphere’, and . . storyline. the word self-examination, does come to mind.
such a (serialized) walk on the dark side, the unknown of my life, is such a . . THRILLER.
visually, it’s very curious, because it is so ‘muted’, and yet so . . 3-D.
I guess it’s the extreme contrasts, the lighting that creates this illusion.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF seems to be saying, playing with ART, is like playing with FIRE.
the SATAN CERAMICS crew would be sure . . . to agree.
a little bit of fire, and a little bit of darkness go a long way, clay or paper.
no diff. big diff. go figure.
translation: no diff creatively, philosophically / big diff (fired) clay makes pottery vs paper and this is probably going on a digital non-tactile route eventually.
go figure . . read a book with a candle under the covers at night & you might just burn the house down.
ps:
file under: SAD
oops, so sad. I meant that . . as a good metaphor, as in burn down the house, as in set the world on fire, with your new ideas !! think outside the box.
not the breaking news story: 2 young boys die, unattended candles set their house on fire in Queens.
pss:
I did once buy a beautiful early American / late 1880’s quilt, cheap – because it had a big burn hole in the center. it was obviously set on fire by a kid, I’m guessing, but it was prob a boy, it was stitched in a classic boy’s bed cover pattern – a boy who had been reading in bed by the flame light of a candle. you could put the quilt over your head, and by the burn hole’s position – it became obvious what had happened. Nicholas’ use of a curious boy playing with fire – made me think on this.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. SUNDAY OCT 5, 2014
~NICHOLAS STEINDORF . . GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 7th, 2014, 11:29am
you can catch more of ANDREW GUENTHER’s work, and meet him – at his open studio . . today SUN, OCT 4, 2014 / 12 – 6pm as part of the GOS/GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS WEEKEND.
his studio address: 228A N. HENRY ST. between Nassau & Norman.
ANDREW GUENTHER, ‘Gesture’, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 in.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~ANDREW GUENTHER . . GREENPOINT OPEN STUDIOS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 5th, 2014, 10:26am
OPENS . . TO-NIGHT: FRI, OCT 3, 2014 / 6-10 PM
the show runs thru OCT 17, 2014
MUDDGUTS – 41 MONTROSE AVE / LORIMER – BROOKLYN, NYC
from the MUDDGUTS PRESS RELEASE:
~JIM MANGAN, PETER SUTHERLAND . . ‘FLASH FLOOD’ |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 3rd, 2014, 10:47am
GOING, GOING, gone.
forget GONE GIRL, it’s pretty much . . gone planet.
say good bye to life . . as we knew it.
MICHAEL BELL-SMITH – ‘RABBIT SEASON, DUCK SEASON’
OPENS NEXT FRI, OCT 10, 2014 / 6-8 PM
the show runs thru NOV 26, 2014
FOXY PRODUCTION – 623 W 27 ST, CHELSEA, NYC
~MICHAEL BELL-SMITH . . ‘RABBIT SEASON, DUCK SEASON’ |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 3rd, 2014, 10:21am
SPACE 1026 – WE ARE POLITICALLY INCORRECT . . and PROUD OF IT.
we are – as a bio-people residing on this increasingly fragile bio-sphere, ENVIRONMENTALLY . . INCORRECT !!
MUCHO – !!
I noticed this lead item in the SPACE 1026 Store, PHILLY
gotta love it.
I wonder if ANDREW JEFFREY WRIGHT is behind this ? in some zany, super consciousness way, for sure. that guy as I re-call times I’ve seen him and /or his work in NYC – has a wicked sly sense of humor, and in fact many of his art pieces – did involve animal illustrations – in ridiculous situations ?
the drawing, the cuteness of the line quality defies verbalization – is just as impressive as the subversive but eloquent message – it just screams ‘dark humor’, but so low-key. so off the wall, so politically incorrect.
JACOB MARCINER, ‘Pizza Squirrel Coasters’ – image: SPACE 1026
a little more searching in the store – reveals JACOB MARCINER to be the comicbook-leaning ‘smart-ass’ artist behind the ‘chic-est’ 4 pack coaster set, I’ve seen in along time.
it’s yours for all of $18 – set of 4.
that’s a nice punch for $18. they are screen printed on reclaimed wood paneling and there are only 5 left (!!) in stock – so go for it.
I say . . Politically Incorrect, because in reality – that cute & cuddly image is both friendly . . feed your local wildlife a slice of pizza (?) but, ultimately heart-breaking.
esp in light of how desperate things are in the world, as a whole – where we don’t feel safe anymore. and we might just regress back to placating the (Greek) gods. I was going to say, riding the subway in NYC is such a rush. like playing Russian Roulette big-time, but I mean – that is really really POLITICALLY INCORRECT !!
but also more specific to the animal world. talking about endangered PANDAS (Rob Pruitt) and sick DOLPHINS (Andrew Guenther).
the world does so dig AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, or what !!
see: Ice Melting – forces 35,000 stranded WALRUS to gather on shore neat Point lay, ALASKA – in absence of their natural habitat at this time of year: sea ice.
my . . how things have changed.
this used to be the face of POLITICALLY INCORRECT !!
vintage ‘MEXICAN’ souvenir – coasters.
bought at my local thrift shop, ($1.99 for a set of 4 in mint condition), a big ole Salvation Army a few years back, and treasured ever since. for what it says about the world we live in & how we use everyday art to express our feelings.
and NO, THIS WAS NOT . . IRONY.
just an aside:
and yep, they finally found a way to deal with all those scrappy undocumented ‘aliens’ – thank you ISIS, for the opportunity to build up our army again.
and by so doing, finally solve the thorny issue of a Path to Citizenship for all the (prob millions) young, strong-bodied South American immigrants who came here as children – with no paperwork !!
see, there always is a SILVER LINING in the . . cloud.
I’m showing you the reverse, for 3 reasons.
1. no, I did not photoshop that image – truth is stranger than fiction.
2. it’s got a great vintage background (floral) pattern.
3. and, insult to injury – it’s . . MADE IN TAIWAN.
PHOTOS Of VINTAGE COASTER: NANCY SMITH
~SPACE 1026 – JACOB MARCINER . . ‘PIZZA SQUIRREL’ |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 1st, 2014, 9:16am
I SEE PHILLY IS TRENDING . . . !!
‘DESCRIBE THE PHENOMENA’ – Paintings and Sculptures by BEN FURGAL
SEPT 15 – SEPT 28, 2014
SPACE 1026 – 1026 ARCH ST 2nd Fl – PHILADELPHIA, PA
and check out: MAGIC PICTURES !!
BEN FURGAL SENT IN SOME PIX OF THE INSTALLATION.
BLACK LIGHT, or what !!!!!!!
GORGEOUS, SUBVERSIVE, OTHER-WORLDLY, PSYCHEDELIC, MIND-ALTERING, VISION-ALTERING & JUST PLAIN: FULL OUT – MYSTERIOUS.
PHOTOS: BEN FURGAL
as for: ANYBODY OUT THERE ?
also trending this week.
see: the ‘CURIOSITY’ rover on Mars has spotted a rock . . . .
what’s so interesting is not so much that it looks like an earth-based ‘traffic light’, but that the ‘rock’ and the vertically (perfectly) sliced rock formations behind – look manipulated, hand-made, in effect: DIY !! organic erosion, not !!
I don’t think it looks so much like a traffic light as it does a piece of spaceship hardware – that fell off.
as for terrorism, it was just such a beautiful gorgeous light-filled, sunny, fresh Fall day, in 2001 – where you woke up, and felt anything was possible, that the Twin Towers pancaked down.
life is reading more & more . . like a 70s comic book, Moebius . . desert rats, outer space, and all.
listen, if you couldn’t play around with ‘black light’, and all your future was about, was being held back, and selling trinkets in a hot dusty flea market, with goat bells tinkling in the background & fed extremist religious tracts with no room for questioning – while jet-setting Dubai / Saudi sheiks party on . . you might be brandishing a gun too. is being able to ‘dialog’, question, confront, seek freedom – a cultural trait ? a universal aspect of humanity, a basic tenet of civilization. or is it learnt. are we hard-wired . . as much for freedom of thought, as for fighting over territory. I don’t think so.
big questions. well, at any rate comic books were in on this – forever. I was going to say comic books are so under-rated, but from a tiny comic book a huge film industry did grow.
if you ever think about how we got here, and ok there was a big bang, but where did that come from, at this point – you might be tempted to revive the ancient Greek thinking on this. like maybe we are comic (!!) cosmic ‘gladiators’ – put on this planet to battle it out – for the sake of some god’s merriment, or gambling bet.
space travel vs terrorism . . the stuff of comic books, yeah. and I hate to say this, but also if the that earlier page turner, the Bible. it’s really friggin hard to get your head around the dual polarity of the excitement of space exploration vs the primal tragedy of terrorism.
yin yang – old Chinese proverb.
something about the 2 opposing forces that makes an (infinite) CIRCLE !!
I love black light, so . . FAR OUT !!!
~BEN FURGAL . . sent in some pix !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 26th, 2014, 7:44am
‘DESCRIBE the PHENOMENA’
PAINTINGS & DRAWINGS by BEN FURGAL
SEPT 5 thru SEPT 28, 2014
SPACE 1026 – 1026 ARCH ST, 2nd FL – PHILADELPHIA, PA
heads up, all you thinkers, dreamers, and SCIENTISTS !!
and, PLEASE PLEASE remain . . CALM, & OBJECTIVE !!
whilst retaining the MAGICAL !!
artist, curator, musician (EVIL SWORD) & co-director of MAGIC PICTURES BEN FURGAL is on the loose and playing with fire, er UFO’S . .
and, damn it – if he ain’t talkin . . BLACK LIGHT !!
and . . DIAGRAMS !!
for sure, BEN’S got a foot in the ANDREW GUENTHER / ROB PRUITT camp, or what / !!
anybody . . out there ?!!!!!!!
we’ll let BEN tell you all about the show – in his own words via his MAGIC PICTURES SITE.
check it out for the full text.
nice texting – BEN.
SPACE 1026 & BEN FURGAL . . also produced some great limited edition BLACK LIGHT POSTERS for the show . .
designed by BEN & printed by EMILIA BRINTNALL, it’s a limited edition of 50, with each & every poster signed by each artist.
at $25 a pop – that’s a steal. or in other words: a whole lotta BIG MAGIC !!
available online from MAGIC PICTURES/store.
REMAIN CALM & OBJECTIVE – MY NEW PASSWORD, my new MANTRA for – life !!
that should last me a day or so,
or at least until the next time I see a mushroom-shaped UFO, and all the time/space traveler/tourists inside are waving hello !! at me !! must have been a CRUISE SHIP, UFO.
yeah, instead of scribbling in black sharpie on my brand new white nylon hoodie bomber jacket,
“I just saw a UFO and so did JOHN LENNON”, I’ll definite try to remember those cautionary words, well mostly because, who knew . . black sharpie runs – in the rain on nylon !!
actually, true story: I once wore the jacket to a Rob Pruitt opening, in fact the one before his iPhoto show – and he actually asked my friend . . “who did the writing on her jacket” ?!!!!
I almost died for . . happiness.
oh yes, a little recognition goes a long way.
see – everything comes round, eventually.
life is one big hook-up – even in the Big Apple.
UP-DATE: 1:31 PM – NYC
I think Joan Rivers was right, you still gotta laugh, god forbid . . you should have to cry.
Joan Rivers, RIP. I’d like to hear her take on this.
(Kathy Griffin – a very bad idea, bye the way. just let KELLY OSBOURNE run the show, for awhile and have a lot of guests, like Jesse J and show some respect . . for one-of-a-kind talent.
E channel . . take it slow. don’t be so damn desperate.)
the next Julian Schnabel isn’t a pseduo-Julian guy’s guy, it’s . . Jean Michel. the next Jean Michel isn’t the next cute Basquiat look-alike, it’s Sean Vegezzi.
funny how the more magic the world gets, in the face of darkness.
just get . . your magic on.
I just want to have this on the record.
just to show you what kind of world we live in,
ISIS plotting . . SUBWAY ATTACK/NYC & PARIS – NYPOST
I guess it isn’t funny to say, when the going gets tough think: magical. this is,
well, this is what you get when you hard-wire a species to territorial violence. I mean these guys have nothing to do over there. no science, no music, no art. no no nada. fascist mindset.
while we are . . all culture. 110%.
as they say, big gap. big problem.
anybody listening, out there.
the fascist mindset. all black and white, no imagination – locked into a corner, cornered is not a good thing. sounds like a ROB PRUITT scenario I just saw, with the little black cat trying to get down.
in fact.
I had a cat when I was growing up, she was all black, with one white paw, and I named her ISIS after the Egyptian goddess. I was like, 7. so, boo ya. so, all my secret answers to my all os / password questions are: what was the name of your first pet, and . . you know it.
everything comes round. if NSA is scanning for passwords . . they got me.
I wanna say, maybe that’s the first step in really comprehending: the infinite. infinity.
truly thinking past the diminished ‘secular’ dimensions of the truly shallow 3-D ‘bio’ plane we currently inhabit, even though all basic cultures on this planet believe/d in other-ly spirits, ghosts, and afterlife, of some sort.
but it’s too optimistic.
I will be eating my words like a sad Joan Rivers, making fun of North West – the cutest baby on the face of the earth. knock on wood. if anything goes wrong. my kids saw the World Trade Centers go down, now they gotta send me links to this . . scheisse ?!!
I bet every parent in NYC – is thinking this.
so uncool. so un-evolved.
I brought kids into the world . . for this ?
I wanna say, where’s my ghost army.
but look what China did to Tibet.
can’t the opposing ghost armies just fight it out, among themselves – up there in the 4th dimension.
of course Bob Marley’s ghost army is gonna win ?!!
damn, I knew the taliban blowing up those 2 huge ancient rock Buddhas in Afghanistan, was a BAD IDEA.
where’s that god damn UFO tourist ship ?
come on, suck up those bad dudes, already.
or do we all look the same from a distance. we all suck, basically. art world included.
I mean come on . . 3/4 of it is a mean & nasty scam.
otherwise you would NOT be reading this.
as for the the most intimate ‘bio’ unit.
I could personally kill my thieving Aunt Piggy . . don’t get me started.
as for marriage. don’t get me started, either. we all know you kill the one you love.
don’t wish for . . does come to mind.
on a happier, more pro-‘creatives’, creativity . . note,
I wanna say look what the black slaves did here, I mean they were brought here against, AGAINST their will and mistreated beyond the beyond, but they had music, ok trite but I’m trying to say it in a nutshell / blogger time . . and, they believed in God perhaps even more than their ‘oppressors’, they sought refuge in that spirituality, and expressed themselves in that powerful music – that begat SISTER ROSETTA, and JAMES BROWN . . and we all know America runs on the power, the legacy of their blues, gospel . . their music. I mean . . they became our strength. seriously.
who would have known when we brought them here. kicking and screaming, in chains.
I mean white American culture was the SHAKERS, the AMISH, the Puritans think on that !!
the mind-set of the witch hunters. the scarlet letter. repression, and hypocrisy with a capital, R and H.
the Shakers, nice artifacts, great art on many levels. but no sex, not even for reproduction. never mind no music. talk about your ‘literal ‘bio’ dead end.
so thank god for Black Americana. just compare the archival photos of Shaker elders to the ole time Br’er Rabbit folks. Shaker ‘shaking’ vs. the cake walk. jumping the broomstick. if you study quilts – you can really understand how the ‘improvisation’ mindset, in a word: Jazz, juke . . how it shook up, enriched the whole European straight-lace right angle edge thing, seriously those guys over there need a little more rock and roll, and whole lot less repression.
hey.
you said, DESCRIBE THE PHENOMENA !!
ok so, I took it for a . . a little, ok, a long and personal walk around the block, so sue me.
I’m a New Yorker.
~BEN FURGAL . . SPACE 1026 / PHILLY / last weekend to catch . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 25th, 2014, 11:14am
