15 WARREN STREET . . .
opened last SAT DEC 28, 2013 and as promised . . it was a BLAST.
a furnace of the new, young, and . . hopeful.
a spectacle, a journey into the night. the New York City nite . . at its best.
as ephemeral as a firecracker’s shooting light !!
and . . just as brilliant.
I heard it got shut down by the cops, in the proud tradition of the very best NYC openings.
I heard it runs for one more week, but . . maybe not.
at least up . . until this Sunday.
ha, when social media hits New Year’s Eve . . everything comes to a full stop.
I mean, those guys are still out there . . p-a-r-t-y-i-n-g !!
but they gave the city a great NEW YEAR. 2014.
heading into the YEAR OF THE HORSE, you can see . . it’s gonna be a non-stop gallop all the way.
jump on, or fall . . off.
the very definition of pop-up, or what.
the green light, on the left – was the doorway . . in.
yeah, it was a bit like Alice in Wonderland. you entered a tunnel into a timeless timeline.
things were big, things were small. there were dark warrens, creaky stairs, and holes in the floor.
caves in the walls. ad hoc wiring. improvised lighting, rainbow painted walls.
art and color and explosions of sheer untested, unnamed talent .. everywhere.
as a pop-up, it was the ultimate pop-up.
catch it as it happens, because when it’s done, it’s a dance in the mind’s eyeball, is all.
the show made it’s most ‘overt’ political stand, in the front window . . the ‘frontispiece’.
and what it said, was . .
these 3 friends, the show’s young 20 something curators: SEAN VEGEZZI, ABELINE COHEN, and ANDREW KASS . . grew up in this neighborhood, Tribeca, and saw the World Trade Center, aka the Twin Towers come down.
they couldn’t have been more than 10 or so, and it made a big big impact.
a deep desire, not to turn to the dark, but to defy. to heat seek to the core of this great grit of a free state city, and tear away the layers, and love it to death. and in so doing, make their mark.
a creative mark. a chaotic mark, a spark to the future, a gorgeous wild raw . . burn mark. just anything but a narrow ‘route’ defined by other peoples’ warring. in fact, I NO gun images in the entire show, plenty of shooting flames. and no doubt . . ‘messages’. but no guns. no bombs. no images of mass destruction. no body parts.
like the press release said: this was a place of INQUIRY.
this was a place of art.
this was a place that stood up to SUITS !!
suits of art .. go f-ck yourself.
terrorists, fascists. you don’t define us. either.
maybe make that . . 2 sides of the same coin.
and, well. o.k. the corporate suits are taking over.
the mom & pop shops down there are going the way of the seedy dives, dirty egg shipping docks, and even the pool hall that used to line Duane St. New York City kids know the true meaning of the word ‘gentrification’, and not just how . . to spell it.
it happens that fast. it happens before they even hit their stride, as the next generation.
but they owned a piece of it, and don’t you . . forget it.
HELLO, MY NAME IS KATE, and I WAS BORN . . on FRANKLIN ST. top floor of a fabric warehouse. 1986.
long gone, turned into a big $$ lala condo land before I hit . . 2.
Rivington & the BOWERY, up next. 10 years later, same story. whoosh.
inside 15 WARREN . .
it was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. KIDS GROWING UP . . IN NYC.
no diff.
SURE, statements were there, for the taking . . if you wanted.
philosophy. inquiry. metaphor . . .
I’ve seen the (unhappy) cube face, on the (unstable) tower. and I’m so digging it. I’m digging the raw space.
I’m feeling it.
I’m filing . . my report.
damn . . what’s under that skirt ?
NYC . . the mother of us all.
god is in the . . the details.
ad hoc sculptures leaning into raw walls, arrows and lit-up coffins, no guns.
burning cars, white chicks, black comic book heros ?
Grecian oracles meet shaft ?
painted flames, hero chicks, politically incorrect ?
in a totally raw space . . awesome.
ancient history / myths, storefront history / architecture, and just the . . magnetism of men vs women ?
what it ultimately meant didn’t really matter, it was just great to see this huge painted, cut-out explosion of energy come to life, and flame-out in this raw space, in a substantial, but contradictory ‘flat’ imagery format.
a comic book frame . . come to life.
move over, RICHARD SERRA.
POP POP POP and more POP.
Canal St. water ?
define: true grit !!
define: finesse. touche. voila. plus, I see the l-i-g-h-t ?
define: perfection / art . . in a row.
perfection / thought.
perfection / impulse brought to 3D.
the red bottle tops, are wicked good. they say it all. POP POP POP.
POP-UP !!
RAW CELEBRATION, WICKED GOOD CURAT-ION.
step back, and get the full picture, as in . . never-ending.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, NEW YORK CITY.
15 WARREN STREET, 10007
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 2nd, 2014, 1:40pm
j-u-s-t, when you thought it was all over !!
the true grit . . gets back on the horse !!
damn !!
looks like the NEW YEAR is ahappenin’ early . . here in NYC !!
SEAN VEGEZZZI . . and 2 FRIENDS, ABELINE COHEN and ANDREW KASS are staging a huge, BLOW-OUT PARTY & ‘true grit’ ART EXHIBIT . . .
OPENING TO-NITE: SAT, DEC 28, 2013 / 6 – 11 PM
15 WARREN ST . . . in TRIBECA, LOWER MANHATTAN. NYC. OPEN TO ALL.
the show will run for ONE WEEK – thru JAN 4, 2014 / MON-SAT: 10 AM – 6 PM
see: FIFTEENWARREN.COM
IMAGE via FIFTEENWARREN
from SEAN:
. . an exhibition that I curated with two of my closest friends opens tonight. We were lucky enough to get full control (!!) over a disused retail space in the neighborhood in which we grew up.
I HOPE YOU ALL CAN MAKE IT.
from the press release:
THREE YOUNG ARTISTS, SEAN VEGEZZI, ABELINE COHEN and ANDREW KASS . . .
have curated an exhibition that represents perspectives not often championed by the art world, presented in a disused retail space that still holds vestiges of its history. On December 28, paintings, installations, photographs, videos, sculptures and live performances will be on display for ONE week before the interior is demolished and becomes corporate office space.
The participants’ diversity is a piece in itself – works will be shown from artists of all ages and backgrounds: some contributors have gallery representation, while others have never formally engaged with the art world before. This unprecedented collaboration is possible because the gutted tri-level space on 15 Warren Street was provided for free just before its renovation. By holding the show in 15 Warren, the curators and participants seek to create an environment where art is divorced from financial market-pressures.
Participants had a week to confirm their involvement, then another two to create before installation. Because 15 Warren offers a rare opportunity for artists to experiment without the pressure of making a sale, the curators encouraged participants to challenge themselves and use a medium they had never worked in or shown before.
An emerging voice in the NEW YORK art world, artist and first-time curator . . .
SEAN VEGEZZI highlights the importance of this opportunity:
“I know how difficult it is to find safe places for self-inquiry in New York; I’ve always worked hard to find them – with or without permission. We finally get the chance to create our own and it’s been interesting to see what people do when they’re free of financial and social pressure.”
“We’re creating an exhibition that will stop people from writing off NEW YORK in an obituary.”
amen . . . !!
for sure, this IS one art party . . . that GONNA ROCK !!!!!!!
talk about a . . . POP-UP !!!!!!
damn, we gonna be lucky if that little west side ‘bite’ of the Big Apple / island doesn’t rock and roll . . and tip over all of Manhattan . . .
into the Hudson river.
yeah, that good.
that rockin’.
that g-r-i-t-t-y.
F R O M . . . THE A R T L O V E R S ARCHIVE:
check out: PIX FROM THE OPENING . . SEAN VEGEZZI – ‘BEFORE I DIE’ / FEB 6, 2009
yeah, THE SWEETEST, TOUGHEST SHOW on the FACE of the EARTH !!
SEAN VEGEZZI – the card for his 2009 show, ‘BEFORE I DIE’. STANTON CHAPTER POP-UP. NYC.
~THE WORLD OF SUITS / SEAN VEGEZZI CALLING !! !! !! !! 15 WARREN OPENS TO-NITE !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 28th, 2013, 11:24am
FILE UNDER: GEORGIE PORGY, just took the DEFINITIVE .. DIVE.
so,
it’s worth repeating.
from the SUBLIME . . to the downright CRASS !!
well, that’s how the ART WORLD, REALLY ROCKS !!
the extremes of the scene are: that amazing.
the HAVES who ‘think’ they are, are usually outed eventually, as the far . . bigger ‘HAVE-NOTS’.
esp when it comes to trying to claim a bonafide ‘creativity’ title.
you know, that three pointed ‘crown’ of which . . BASQUIAT always painted.
PHOTO: KIM KARDASHIAN via USMAGAZINE.COM
in another huge, myth-busting reality bites !! mis-step, KANYE WEST had GEORGE CONDO custom paint a huge BIRKIN bag for Kim, for Xmas.
so, yeah . .
if you were sitting on the fence regarding GEORGE CONDO, the definitive balancing act / has finally dropped to one side, and it’s NOT GOOD.
the other shoe has finally dropped,
and surprise, surprise . . NOT.
GEORGE CONDO is a FAKE.
George Condo . . is SO over now, it isn’t even funny.
he would have done better to paint a random cartoon face . . but ultimately all ‘posers’ reach the end of their rope, when the creative power just doesn’t match . . the hype.
if you live in NYC, you know only the real-ist losers . . walk around in their ‘selfies’ !!
i.e. hand-painted clothes or accessories with their own ‘art’, self-painted on it.
desperate or what. they pop-up at all kinds of openings . . . looking like art-bag ladies.
but, haha.
likewise, art blogs can also veer from the generous to the mean . . . !!
looking up GEORGE CONDO, I found a hilarious archival photo by WALTER ROBINSON . . .
I’m calling it: two fakes in one frame.
what . . CECILY, done with the transparent blouses ?!!
CECILY BROWN and GEORGE CONDO. . JULY 2000.
PHOTO BY WALTER ROBINSON, in artnet.
talk about REVENGE of the NERDS !!
when I ‘worked’ at artnet, every now and then .. they, meaning WALTER ROBINSON and CHARLIE FINCH . . would throw these intimate little gatherings to ‘celebrate’ Cecily, and her arrival in the Big Apple.
Cecily, never one to disappoint an art critic . . . always, but ALWAYS !! showed up in 100% sheer transparent blouses with absolutely no undergarments at all.
all I can say is, little ‘piggy snout’ nipples, was the definitive after word, and let’s leave it at that.
all the artnet ‘boys’, oftentimes including a few ‘lucky’ guests, like maybe ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST, would then be herded into a more private room, and I, would be left outside, wandering: wtf !!
I heard a few times that Anthony Haden-Guest had to be actually restrained by physical force, from ripping the sheer material to shreds. if you know the players at all, you know how right I am.
in fact, just between the two of us, ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST is a FAKE, too.
well, like I said.
that’s the art world, for ya.
don’t be having any illusions. rolls from sublime . . to pretty damn ugly, on a dime.
but, it’s fun to lift the curtains sometimes, if you’ve got the ‘goods’.
don’t believe me ?
CECILY BROWN – PHOTO BY PAUL LASTER via artnet
~from the SUBLIME . . to the downright CRASS / two fakes in one frame |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 27th, 2013, 12:13pm
on the brighter side of things, uh . . maybe.
after all it’s a weird dark world, out there in comic book land.
here’s a little more f-e-s-t-i-v-e reading for all ye unbound, starved for original content . . thinkers & seekers !!
ART WORK & STORY BY – DREW MILLER
FROM: ‘POOR THING’, NUMBER ONE
an original comic book by DREW MILLER, printed on recycled paper with vegetable based inks by NEOGLYPHIC MEDIA.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: CULLEN (FUTUREMAN) BECKHORN
PRINTED IN CASCADIA BROWN PRINTING, PORTLAND OREGON.
DREW MILLER WAS BORN IN 1989.
HE CURRENTLY LIVES IN WASHINGTON.
so: KEENAN REID . . . of WHAT’S UP! posted a great Q+A with DREW MILLER.
I OFFER IT UP, as a great respite from life as usual, and all the other general merry-making going on, this time of year.
yep, READ: ‘POOR THING .. ALL IN BALLPOINT !!’ – WHAT’S UP
note: we first meet up with DREW MILLER at YALE ?!!!
from our archives: JAMES MILLER . . DREW MILLER / AUG 31, 2013
WE WILL RESUME OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING . . SHORTLY.
~MERRY XMAS . . DREW MILLER |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 25th, 2013, 11:33am
MERRY XMAS TO y’ALL. but esp all ya . . HAVE NOTS !!
and you damn well KNOW !! . . who you are !!
damn, I sure as hell know . . I’m one.
I post a piece on DUKE RILEY’S . . ‘TO HAVE NOT’. and, I get wiped out ?!!
what can I say . . NOT BAD.
in the poetry department (?)
so, MERRY XMAS and here’s a little festive reading, for all your unbound brains starving for some real intel, hot off the mainstream presses of the world:
KANYE WEST is getting sued big time for ripping off . . BOUND 2.
ha ha !!
bow down before the copyright gods of the 21st century . . !!
all ye fakes, frauds, posers, and no-brains.
I mean, we get that you won’t pay for original content.
but, that doesn’t mean you can just steal .. it.
it’s great holiday reading: “KANYE WEST sued by former child soul singer, RICKY SPICER . .” / MAIL ONLINE
it’s an amazing production, RICKY SPICER was all of 12 at the time. it was way back, deep back . . in the 70’s.
the summer of love and all . . AL GREEN, anybody ?
and it’s a . . beaut.
simulated waterfalls, and all.
plus dig that concept, 2 sets of twins !! and a lead singer. damn.
definite, hit: ‘BOUND’ by THE PONDEROSA TWINS PLUS ONE
oh yeah. bound . . to fall in love.
if writing “to have Not’ gets me wiped out, hey .. you never know !!
~MERRY XMAS . . RICKY SPICER |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 25th, 2013, 11:00am
MON DEC 23, 2013: OK !!
the REV LUKE MURPHY . . has got the site back up and running !!
coverage continues, later to-nite.
thanks for your patience, all.
and for sure, lots of new pix – to post thru the holidays !!
FRI DEC 13, 2013: sorry, the site just went through a server upgrade & is experiencing technical difficulty. is saying it politely. damn, crashed … is more like it.
hope to be back up & running soon.
haha that’s rich. NOT !!
I just post ‘TO HAVE NOT’, and the site .. crashes / ?!!!
what ? can my server .. read !! for god’s sake ?
what’s . . this world coming to.
I feel like a living, breathing . . comic book.
ps: note, FRI the 13th !!
MORE PIX . . FROM THE OPENING – PENDING.
DUKE RILEY – ‘See You At The Finish Line’
opened NOV 1, 2013
the show runs thru JAN 11, 2014
MAGNAN METZ GALLERY – 521 West 26th St, Chelsea, NYC
more info: DUKE RILEY EXHIBIT
DUKE RILEY, ‘TO HAVE NOT’, 2013. found seashells and wood, 96 x 96 in.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~DUKE RILEY . . TO HAVE NOT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 13th, 2013, 1:13am
DUKE RILEY – ‘See You At The Finish Line’
opened NOV 1, 2013
the show runs thru JAN 11, 2014
MAGNAN METZ GALLERY – 521 West 26th St, CHELSEA, NYC.
a picturesque MARY GO ROUND played the accordion and sang sad sea-worthy ditties, whilst, DUKE RILEY, walked through the opening crowd . . anonymous.
DUKE RILEY, in full face ‘mask. I mean, it was the night after Halloween !!
but strangely, even though he was the only one in ‘costume’, and perhaps the only one in full dress shirt and bright blue tie (!!) – that only seemed to make him blend more, into . . the crowd.
the opening was so crowded, it was hard to see the art, in full. but no worries, it resonated throughout. there were large scale wall pieces, smaller drawings, ‘bird-eye’ view videos, artifact display tables, two charts of tiny pigeon ‘backpacks’, large scale fantasy Chinese zodiac animal masks, and more . . .
DUKE RILEY, look closely !!
it’s . . . ‘shell’ art. DUKE has exhibited large scale mosaic murals before, which were made with small ceramic tiles, but these gorgeous things, were composed entirely . . of seashells. and they were very mandala-like.
as opposed to ‘narrative’.
though come to think of it, they all did bear messages, as in, ‘letters’ / ‘words’.
oh, yeah. give me NEW YORK CITY over MIAMI, any day.
gritty over sandy, is my motto.
gritty vs sandy ?
gritty wins.
MORE OPENING PIX – TO FOLLOW.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~DUKE RILEY . . OPENING PIX |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 7th, 2013, 8:26am
DUKE RILEY – ‘See You At The Finish Line’
opened Nov 1, 2013
the show runs thru JAN 11, 2014
MAGNAN METZ GALLERY – 521 West 26th St, Chelsea, NYC
the scene on the street – outside the Nov 1, 2013 opening of . . DUKE RILEY, ‘See You at the Finish Line’.
nice hat trick . .
from paste art . . to WINDOW ART !!
close-up . . banner drawing for: DUKE RILEY, ‘See You at the Finish Line’.
Duke has the most graceful line drawing around, yet it also rings true . . to its nautical roots.
definite more folk art, than comic art . . that’s for sure, stylistically speaking.
and, that’s so, even with the very apparent sense of humor, and narrative storyline, that is imbedded in the work.
and, thus makes for a very intriguing, and . . interesting, dynamic.
I would also venture, it’s absolutely correct to say, that DUKE RILEY is truly the only working tattoo artist, in the world . . who can claim a bonafide role in the contemporary art world.
he’s the consummate insider/outsider.
MORE PIX FROM THE OPENING . . TOMORROW.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~DUKE RILEY . . WINDOW ART |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 6th, 2013, 8:00am
hold on to that . . DUKE RILEY, PATRIOT thought for a moment.
BREAKING NEWS: NORMAN ROCKWELL PAINTING BREAKS ALL RECORDS & SELLS FOR $46 MILLION at AUCTION.
NORMAN ROCKWELL, ‘SAYING GRACE’ / IMAGE: SOTHEBY’S
Did we see that coming, or what ? for sure !!!!!
NORMAN ROCKWELL’S . . ‘SAYING GRACE’, sold at auction, yesterday, Dec 4, 2013, at SOTHEBY’S . . here in NYC, for $46 million dollars, setting a record for the artist & an auction record for the category ‘American Art’, as a whole.
the category is roughly defined as . . American art between 1850 and 1950.
the painting, some call it an “illustration”, appeared on the cover of the SATURDAY EVENING POST in 1951. it was sold by the family of KENNETH J. STUART Sr, Rockwell’s friend and art editor at the Post.
POST, post, and more . . post !!
according to the Daily News: Rockwell was paid $3,500 for ‘Saving Grace’ which appeared on the 1951 Thanksgiving issue, and . . the idea for the painting came from a “reader who saw a Mennonite family praying in a restaurant.”
apparently the bidding was quite fierce and fantastic, as the painting “blew” past the $20 million top estimate that the auction house had put on it.
the final price more than doubled the previous Rockwell high of $15.4 million paid for another post cover, ‘Breaking Home Ties’, which was set at Sotheby’s in 2006.
read more & see another great Rockwell, ‘THE GOSSIPS’: Norman Rockwell Painting .. Daily News
~NORMAN ROCKWELL . . ROCKETS $$ |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 5th, 2013, 9:02am
well, there’s being ripped off (!!), and then, there’s no . . . ripping off.
it’s interesting to contemplate the differences between ‘digital’ art, i.e. photos posted on the web vs paste art, drawings on paper that are pasted to the wall.
quelle funnie, how ‘paste’ and ‘post’ . . ‘rhyme’ !!
and then of course, when you get your mind around that a bit, you can contemplate:
roller, as in roof and pole art vs. paste and paper . . at street level.
somebody wanted this DUKE RILEY PASTE ART, but there was no way, it was gonna happen.
DUKE RILEY PASTE ART
24th St. below 10th Ave, Chelsea, NYC
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NOV 21, 2013
the low-fi ‘poster’ invites you to his current show,
DUKE RILEY, ‘See You At The Finish Line’
Magnan Metz – 521 West 26th St, Chelsea, NYC
the show opened Nov 1, 2013 and runs thru JAN 11, 2014.
yes !!
but of course I was at the opening. the lovely and sea-worthy MARY GO-ROUND sang nautical ditties, whilst accompanying herself with a soulful accordion, and DUKE was serving drinks at the bar in the back, in full ‘mask’. (it was the night after Halloween.)
photos coming up . . next.
in the meantime, check out: DUKE’S online portfolio.
and remember, paws off other people’s work !!
or, as this piece is aply titled: BE GOOD, or BE GONE !!
DUKE RILEY, ‘Be Good or Be Gone’, 2008 / IMAGE: DUKE RILEY FLAT FILE / ARTIST+PATRIOT
~DUKE RILEY . . PASTE ART |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 3rd, 2013, 8:07am
