SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH
MARCH 15 – AUGUST 4, 2013
THE JEWISH MUSEUM – 1109 FIFTH AVE, NYC
FEEL OTHERS FEEL, text & water fountain .. the water, quote: liquid .. is activated by a piped-in sound.
IN COLLABORATION WITH SANTIAGO CARRASQUILLA
SOUND DESIGN BY FRIENDLY GHOST
(yes, GHOST…)
the text reads:
“Sympathetic empathy is central to most people’s understanding of love and happiness. I feel I’m somehow not all that good at it.
Everything that happens to me is immediate, while everything that does not happen to me needs to be mediated: There tends to be a difference between the way I process my own experiences vs. those of someone else.
The typography contains liquid activated by sound waves connecting each letter to the other and each word to the first.”
what .. the first sign of TROUBLE ?
TROUBLE TROUBLE, in the BUBBLE BUBBLE ?
of HAPPINESS.
it’s also referred to as: alienation, and being an ‘outsider’. a common creative driving force – the experience of the self, vs. the experience/struggle of the other.
well, at least he’s honest. in his sign making.
I struggle with this too. no, not being honest. being alienated
always being .. the ‘outsider’.
the consummate insider/outsider, what could be worse ?
the ‘fountain’ was flat on the floor, bubbles of water .. that bubbled up and went quiet, contained by bubble .. letters.
it was quite beautiful, and serene. but it was also .. w-i-r-e-d !!
trouble in the bubble ?!!
I don’t think that was the intention .. but, I found disquiet in spite of the harmless play of shape, movement and sound.
I dunno. beauty really IS in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it.
maybe beauty REALLY isn’t the point of these ‘signs’. maybe thought/communication .. is ?
OR: maybe it’s because I ‘talk’ to so many strangers, reach out on the web with this ‘blog’ .. go round and round .. wired, but have a hard time being engaged by single walking talking living specimens ?
the text is important in this show.
the text – is just as important as the ‘fonts’.
you can just .. see the how the water ripples to the sound.
but the letter shape is ominous. out of context. bland. a dish. an “o”.
I wanted to lean over, and fall head-first right into it. do an .. Alice-in-Wonderland thing.
grow big. grow small.
I didn’t want to think about others. I didn’t even want to contemplate my OWN reflection, which was impossible anyways. technically. the water did not reflect.
I just wanted to fall in, head-first. impossible technically, too. (too small) (too shallow)
though a security guard did have to tell me .. to step back. (for real)
somehow .. it made me think of .. LENA DUNHAM ?
in shape, and substance ?
ok.
with all due respect: the water ripples .. look just like the cellulite on your ‘gorgeous’, lumpy thighs.
I dunno, maybe it was that ‘friendly ghost’ – that spooked me.
FRIENDLY GHOST, that be .. NATHAN RITHOLZ and ARY WARNAAR, did the sound.
they are friends of SANTIAGO CARRASQUILLA, who did that FRIENDLY GHOST card/logo for them .. and who works in the SAGMMEISTER & WALSH studio, and who collaborated on this piece,
YES !! SEE: FRIENDLY GHOST COMMENTARY/SANTIAGO CARRASQUILLA
yes !! check out: FRIENDLY GHOST – love how that image wavers, on their website.
the ‘marbled’ header on the FRIENDLY GHOST website is by .. Luck You Collective
yep, for sure you want to check out: LUCK YOU
all of a sudden .. it’s lookin’ good !!
the wires connected !!
the dots got connected .. a new world IS just around, the corner.
the golden age of sign making – is US !!
well, ok. maybe it’s the second golden age of sign making, ever since those monks illustrated & calligraphed those ancient illuminated pages, of course. how VASARI skipped that, I don’t know.
I guess it was just .. folk art, back then ?
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH .. FEEL |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 7th, 2013, 9:37am
FILE UNDER: didn’t KIM JONG UN .. get the memo ?
SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH
MARCH 15 – AUGUST 4, 2013
THE JEWISH MUSEUM – 1109 FIFTH AVE, NYC
STEFAN SAGMEISTER, ‘Keeping a Diary’, 2006. HD video, 1 min.
in collaboration with MATTHIAS ERNSTBERGER and STEPHAN WALTER. copyright STEFAN SAGMEISTER
on the road to .. PERSONAL HAPPINESS.
KEEP A DIARY !!
I remembered this short film from when it was first screened to a large public .. at DEITCH PROJECTS back in JAN 2008. a big, bold blow-out show, and a first, or a rare … and a major hit, for a quote ‘graphic designer’ in the art world proper, it was a SAGMWEISTER sampler titled: ‘THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN MY LIFE SO FAR’. it was designed to make waves; SAGMEISTER, you got your one big chance .. make that shot count !! and as such, this truly beautiful dream-like loop .. read like a fleeting afterthought. not that that is a bad thing, but it was up against a big big gallery chock full of bolder callers .. including being festooned with a huge live/living, and then degrading .. banana wall/quilt .. that spelled out: “Self-confidence produces fine results”, and a huge blow-up 2 story chimp on the gallery’s roof.
the one page title graphics .. of this project were so fine .. though, that I had kept them in my mental file, and how nice to see them again. they are still a beautiful, even meditative study in black and white, west meets east decoration/information composition/label.
and so was .. the poetic narrative .. esp how it unfolded.
what a pleasing, inviting and gentle way to say: get over it. get on it. WRITE.
like the ‘If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get’ video that fronts the exhibit, this video, which comes to view, when you round the next corner .. projects large, almost life-size, and since the physical space allotted to the show, and this is NOT a bad thing .. is small, you have to view it in a shallow up-close and personal/personal space. which is a good thing. but also a kind of, gets you-off-your-comfort-zone shock, as it creates/forces immersion. it subconsciously attacks your habitual inner space and it gets you to ‘share’. experience and feel. not just view.
a rare plane for graphics . . . the least revered of all art genres, but apparently not for long, the way things have been shaping up.
VASARI, we love ya .. but come on .. get up to speed.
so a man appears, and he pulls a bamboo structure, and as it progresses forward it says: KEEP. KEEPING …
I do love how that initial black and white title page .. leads into such a rural pastoral landscape. it ‘twerks’ the senses, that for sure.
I just got the perfect metaphor: it’s the visual equivalent of an ironwork gate .. that opens, onto a garden.
KEEP. that’s a big thought, just all on its own.
as opposed to .. destroy ?
its also interesting to think on .. what it means, to go from expressing KEEP .. to KEEP-ING.
visually, a box-like font devised physically out of bamboo – that’s .. a big thought, too.
civilization, creativity .. in a nutshell.
and, all just – just in one man-made .. image.
now you know why graphic designer/artists, have dropped the ‘graphics’ part, and just call themselves ‘designers’ .. today.
SUPPORTS .. is a throw-back/celebration to the ‘host’ country, and its culture. new meets old, too.
PERSONAL.
it kinda strikes you .. ‘personal’, is such a banner word ?!!
plus it’s so .. well, FRAGILE.
it brings up; competition, survival. even the greasy rat who won the Chinese horoscope race. I’m meaning: ethics.
it’s also a feel for how quiet and dreamy, this little ditty of a lifestyle quest is.
I mean that could be, in another lifetime, in anothers hands .. shooting sparking fizzing whizzing blazing fireworks, no ?
or even, electric neon. but it’s wood. yes, I find that: significant.
DEVELOPMENT.
well, lookie here .. there are fireworks, but it’s more like .. being / on fire.
write a diary.
I write a diary, I keep a blog.
ugly word. damn those early computer geeks.
if only words could be modified .. like fonts.
BUT: diary to blog.
now .. that’s talking about .. setting BIG conceptual/fires.
ps: re those ancient terracotta warriors just visible in the background . . .
apart from the greater concepts of civilization, war and personal territory . .
clay pots and sculptures, are pretty much the only thing, esp man-made – that will survive fire.
I know some artists in NYC, whose dad was pretty high-up in the American chain of command in wartime Korea, as a matter of fact, just saying because .. if you go visit their studio, ok they were twins, you can see this amazing stash of ancient ancient Korean pottery that the GIs made off with, and took back home.
can’t help but think .. that kind of attitude might be coming back . to haunt us, now.
he who takes ancient pots, offends old ancestors ?
MORE PIX – FROM THE OPENING .. POST SOON.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH .. WRITE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 5th, 2013, 9:19am
SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH
MARCH 15, 2013 – AUGUST 4, 2013
THE JEWISH MUSEUM – 1109 FIFTH AVE, NYC
as in, designers: STEFAN SAGMEISTER, and his new business/creative partner .. JESSICA WALSH.
and that’s REALLY (!!)
SIX THINGS to do . . . on the path to HAPPINESS.
with the way the New Year started for me, sudden death to put it bluntly – I was so .. on it !!
the show opened on Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
I had heard about it just a few hours earlier that very same day, but like I said: sad things were calling for big change, and I was on it !! I was a seeker.
and as it turns out, I would be .. a believer.
what could be better than that. and, yeah I do call that .. HAPPINESS.
esp in the big city that can let you down, and .. eat you up.
truthfully, I approached the opening .. a little dark on the inside, with even a touch more skepticism . . . than usual.
though I had heard the museum, under new guidance .. was reaching for a new cutting edge, I wasn’t sure just how much they were prepared .. to ‘bleed’ !!
and those purple balloons with hand-painted white fonts .. the show’s first step forward, so to speak .. well, I dunno.
but not to fear . . . SAGMEISTER weaves his magic, as ever.
from the very moment you turn the institutional corner and come face-to-face, with what is really, in physical fact a small exhibit; large ideas and wonderful things … bloom irrepressibly into life. graphics animate & ideas: pop.
it’s an ‘art’ experience . . . that crosses many borders, and just for that very fact alone, is not to miss.
an oasis of thought, and super creative, yet mostly simple .. production values, ‘SIX THINGS’ is guaranteed to still even the most hyper-maniacs among us, and touch under even the most hardened skins.
in other words:
in this super-charged city of constant images but very little real substance.
let the Sagmeister Game of Substance … begin.
STEFAN SAGMEISTER, ‘If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get’, short video in collaboration with STEVE ROMANO.
damn, NEVER JUDGE A ‘FONT’ . . . out of context !!
whoa, black hand-drawn oriental calligraphy-like .. single letter fonts – on balloons, way to .. go.
way to .. think.
way to .. fly !!
GET, IT ?!!
ideas .. take off, like balloons, and ideas / thoughts: like bubbles burst.
in your head.
connect . . the dots !!
wipe-out, wash-out. be born.
from left to right, that’s
SANTIAGO CARRASQUILLA, STEFAN SAGMEISTER, and JESSICA WALSH.
Santiago Carrasquilla is a designer in the new Sagmeister & Walsh studio, who worked on several of the concepts in the show, in particular .. the bubbling (!!) water ‘fountain’ .. in bubble letters (!!) on the floor. more on that, soon.
Jessica Walsh is Stefan Sagmeister’s new business partner.
this exhibit, ‘Six Things’ .. “marks the the first exhibition of their newly founded design firm, Sagmeister & Walsh”.
I have to tell you, I cannot lie – the moment I turned the stereotypical & proverbial (!!) museum corner and immediately faced up with this large scale video, my heart skipped a beat, and life was changed f-o-r-e-v-e-r. shock & awe.
what a rush.
literally you feel like you are 2 inches away from the the creative process, upfront & personal.
the word: exuberance does come to mind. so does, immersion.
so does: sharing.
the short .. visual attack / film’s premise is:
“If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get.”
think on it. and if the bubble bursts .. so, what.
blow up another, and ask .. again.
persistence.
reaching. the hardness of a hand-made steel nail (the font) .. combined with the fragile pop / short span .. life of a balloon. the infinite potential of a momentary thought, desire, want, and .. need.
ps: the texts that accompany the pieces .. are very good too, illuminating without being draining. plenty of thought pathways, but no information-overload on Sagmeister’s dime, that for sure.
naked in the water, naked in your thoughts.
ASK.
apparently the first step on the road to .. HAPPINESS.
SO: what I also liked about the video, on a purely technical tangent . . was how it caught the ‘state’ of photography today, and the implicit potential for ‘pure’ & universal visual communication.
going even more technical .. it also gets in-your-face technical about the essential difference between say, old school 35 mm film and digital photography, which was a little hard to get used to in the beginning but now, as obvious .. here, reigns supreme – and that would be: the loss of ‘depth of field’, if not the concept of ‘background’, altogether.
in short: auto-focus. face/subject forward, background: wipe-out.
flat screen, white field, big energy. high def.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH .. ASK |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 4th, 2013, 8:25am
. . . will the REAL . . . NICK CAVE – PLEASE STAND UP !!
FILE UNDER:
he’s a god, he’s a man, he’s a ghost, he’s a guru
you’ll see him in your nightmares
you’ll see him in your dreams,
but he’s not what he seems . . .
watch: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS .. RED RIGHT HAND
this seems to be the original 1994 soundtrack – I know because, it was the sound track to my life . . . for a long long time. it’s the true, driving .. birth.
yes, I was living off the Bowery, at the time.
listen to the man: “Play it LOUD”.
this is also a GREAT GREAT TAKE, just more recent & live !!
it’s slightly slowed down, and more to the edge of sexy, than deathly.
like … when the musicians push against the drive, and .. tease ya.
but it’s also better tech-wise – so, you can get it to go really loud.
watch: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS / live
DEDICATED TO YOU KNOW WHO . . . ghostman, SIMON.
some people have their dark sides, but then some people have their really, REALLY dark .. sides.
some people are called .. crack, for being right .. on.
right on the razor’s edge, the red right hand. aka .. crash smart.
some people ride the white death train ..
and don’t come back.
~NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 30th, 2013, 10:58am
ELIZABETH PEYTON
March 29 – May 13, 2013
Gavin Brown’s enterprise – 620 Greenwich St, West Village NYC
the show opened last nite, THURS MARCH 28, 2013 . . .
ELIZABETH PEYTON. the opening was pretty low key, at least the public face of it was.
I’m thinking that there was some serious action .. that had already gone on,
.. behind the scenes.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann, March 2013, NYC’, 2013.
oil on panel, 23-1/4 x 18-1/4 in.
detail, ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann’.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann’ watercolor.
detail, ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann, March 2013, NYC’, 2013.
watercolor on paper, 12 x 9 in.
the front surface of the frames – was silver leafed. n-i-c-e.
a less typical work .. in this show.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Elias, Elias Bender Ronnenfelt (Leipzig)’, 2013
color pencil & pastel pencil on paper, 8-3/4 x 6 in.
also unusual . . in the color palette and composition.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Elias Bender Ronnefelt’, 2013
oil on canvas, 10 x 8 in.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Var’.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Var’, 2013.
oil on panel, 15-1/4 x 12 in.
MICHAEL STIPE
see: MoMA PS1 and MICHAEL STIPE bring a geodesic dome to .. ROCKAWAYS. GOTHAMIST MARCH 9, 2013
JESSICA BAJOROS . . .
we did a studio visit with her, a little while back . . . HESH introduced us.
see: JESSICA BAJOROS
see: more JESSICA BAJOROS
Jessica told us that, JASON BANKER, who we meet on that 2012 studio visit – has just completed a new documentary feature, which he directed .. along with TIFFANY SUDELA-JUNKER and JORGE TORRES-TORRES .. titled ‘My Name is Faith’, 2012 .. about the hardships of rescuing a child born into a meth ‘lifestyle’ .. and, it is getting some serious buzz.
see: MY NAME IS FAITH
she also asked us if we had seen Hesh’s new haircut .. yes we did !!
and looking g-o-o-d !!
in fact, HESH is putting up a new group show, ‘MIRARE’ .. opening soon !!
in fact, this soon:
THURS APRIL 11th from 6-9 PM at COACHMAKERS GALLERY on MOTT ST, between BROOME & KENMARE .. should be a big par-tay, to say the least.
see: HH PRODUCTIONS/facebook for list of participating artists.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~ELIZABETH PEYTON |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 29th, 2013, 7:45am
GREGORY CREWDSON, somewhere around YALE, MARCH 25, 2013.
PHOTO: ARTLOVERS ARCHIVE
damn, the OSCARS ..
and even Yale’s dumb red tape ?!! .. they won’t show ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’, the a-m-a-z-i-n-g film by BEN SHAPIRO .. on GREGORY CREWDSON, and his work .. to the students there .. because it’s not his own work, (the film itself ?) or something REALLY REALLY stupid .. like that.
if anything makes you REALLY REALLY wonder about really really goes on up there .. that runs counter-intuitive to all things good, and ..smart .. this would be it.
CHECK OUT: ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’ .. a film on and about GREGORY CREWDSON – by BEN SHAPIRO (2012).
be warned, though the TRAILER is good, it’s NOWHERE as GOOD AS THE FILM. so see the film, duh !!
a frame from GREGORY CREWDSON – ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’ a film by BEN SHAPIRO ..
still one of the best images ever, and the entire sequence, narration, and background of the snowy street shot – is one of our cinematic all time faves .. ever.
read: GREGORY CREWDSON – ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’ premieres in NYC, NOV 11, 2012
~GREGORY CREWDSON |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 27th, 2013, 8:54am
NEW ART – IN BROOKLYN: POSTED BY KATE CERIGO, THURS MARCH 21, 2013 / 5:33 PM
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY ?
A BRIEF HISTORY of the FIRST SIX MONTHS at 109 . . .
OPENED SAT MARCH 9, 2013 / 6-10 PM
the show ran thru MARCH 17, 2013
109 GALLERY – 109 BROADWAY – SOUTH WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN, NY
the show’s ‘poster’ image . . .
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, ‘Green Corner’, 2012
25 x 27 in. digital inkjet print.
($750)
JERRY BLACKMAN, ‘Lance1’, 2013
18 x 12 x 12 in. ceramic.
($1,200)
LAUREN SEIDEN, ‘Untitled Wrap’, 2013
16 x26 in. graphite and pencil shavings on paper wrapped on stretchers.
($1,700)
HEIDI HAHN, ‘I Can’t Believe I’m Just a Painting’, 2013
32 x 26 in. oil on canvas.
($1,900)
PHOTOS AND REPORTING: KATE CERIGO
~WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY .. PART II |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 21st, 2013, 4:25pm
NEW ART – IN BROOKLYN: POSTED BY KATE CERIGO, WED MARCH 20, 2013 / 3:40 PM
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY ?
A BRIEF HISTORY of THE FIRST SIX MONTHS at 109 . . .
OPENED SAT MARCH 9, 3013 / 6-10 PM
the show ran thru MARCH 17, 2013
109 GALLERY – 109 BROADWAY – SOUTH WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN, NY
PIX FROM THE OPENING RECEPTION:
BORIS RASIN
top:
‘Brawl at the Parliament, Kuwait City, May 18 (2011)’
11.5 x 8.2 in. watercolor. ($450)
bottom:
‘Brawl at the Rada, Kiev, Ukraine, May 24 (2012)’
12 x 8.25 in. watercolor. ($450)
ADAM WISSING, ‘Untitled (cloudscape)’, 2013
72 x 48 in. pigment print & mounted projector.
($3,000)
ADAM WISSING, ‘Untitled (cloudscape)’, 2013
ADAM WISSING, ‘Untitled (cloudscape)’, 2013
JAMES MILLER, ‘Untitled’, 2013.
16 x 21 in. oil on panel.
($1,900)
CLAUDIA CORTINEZ, detail, ‘Viewfinder’, 2013. 46 x 38 in.
mounted inkjet print in wood frame.
($1,500)
CLAUDIA CORTINEZ, ‘Viewfinder’, in background.
back wall:
HANNAH RAWE, L: ‘Cherry Bunnies’, R: ‘Say Sorry’.
linoleum prints on newsprint, aqua resin, wood & acrylic.
($700 ea.)
at right:
CLAUDIA CORTINEZ, ‘Viewfinder’, 2013.
MORE PIX – FROM THE OPENING – POST: THURS MARCH 20, 2013
PHOTOS & REPORTING: KATE CERIGO
~WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY, PART I |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 20th, 2013, 2:38pm
the WALL STREET JOURNAL also likes .. ANTONY HEGARTY .. of ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS.
ANDY BETA mentions him in that recent DEVENDRA BANHART interview, writing . . .
re DEVENDRA: “In 2002, around the time his debut album was released, he moved to New York and became a figurehead in the ‘freak-folk’ movement, along with other outre musicians like harpist JOANNA NEWSOM and cabaret vocalist ANTONY HEGARTY.”
and a few weeks back – ANTONY got a huge shout-out on the WSJ FALL FASHION WEEK 2013 OVER-VIEW – at the top of the HIGHLIGHTS.
under ‘BEST SHOW’, and a most magical runway image, from PARIS, the caption reads:
“It seemed to be THOM BROWNE’s corpse-in-the-snowy-woods scene in New York — until GIVENCHY stole Paris fashion Week with a poetic collection that came with a passionate performance by New York band Antony and the Johnsons and a full orchestra. Was it the music and the scene ? Possibly. But Mr. TISCHI’S romantic clothing (and the torrid look shared by model NATALIA VODIANOVA on the runway and her LVMH scion boyfriend ANTOINE ARNAULT in the front row) cinched the deal.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL – ‘Fall Fashion, If You Dare’, March 7, 2013.
SIMON CERIGO’S VERY first music review for this site, back in MAY 2005 – was .. ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS’ second album, I AM A BIRD, of which Simon wrote: this CD . . . “is a wonder to behold.”
see: SIMON CERIGO REVIEWS .. ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS – I AM A BIRD.
ANTONY HEGARTY, of ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – NYC. DEC 10, 2004.
PHOTO BY & COPYRIGHT OF: NANCY SMITH
I always thought it was funny, as in poignant/hard … that Antony recorded for a small indie record label called, SECRETLY CANADIAN, as I was .. secretly Canadian, for real !!
until my kids were able to sponsor me just recently.
I got here in the early 80s, when there were few issues, and then the immigration laws, just got harder and harder. esp for artists.
ANTONY would often pop up at downtown art openings back in the early 2000’s. so would DEVENDRA. in fact it was a banner few years for artists and musicians .. to mix and match. usually it was the (folk) musicians who were equally talented artists, and who were showing their art in small indie venues in the Lower East Side. and if not the musicians themselves, it was their small circle of friends, the people who did the unique art work for their highly individual CDs.
one big hub/small storefront space .. for this kind of activity was the long gone AFF / ART FIEND FOUNDATION run by a moveable collective headed by LEIF RITCHEY and TOOYA. located at 123 Ludlow St, just north of Delancey – it was to give rise to the fast-shooting-star emergence .. of the now famous, Paris-based sister artist/musicians .. CocoRosie. if you ever heard the soundtrack to THE FIFTH ELEMENT … well this the real deal.
(in a nutshell.)
in fact, the photo of ANTONY, above .. was taken at an opening of drawings by MATTEAH BAIM and LEIF RITCHEY, at AFF. it was very organic. very revelatory, and very grounded, all at the same time.
‘sound fragments’ .. at the opening were provided by RED BONE SLIM and HONEY CHILE.
RED BONE SLIM being .. BIANCA ‘COCO’ of CocoRosie.
this was the slim paper invite to the show, it measures 4-1/2 x 4 in:
GREEN . New, works, drawings & Sculptures
Matteah Baim & Leif Ritchey
Friday, December 10 / 7-10 pm
ART FIEND FOUNDATION
123 LUDLOW STREET
212.420.1033
Sound Fragments by Red Bone Slim & Honey Chile
that’s . . December 2004.
and yes . . that’s a phone no. (!!) landline, too – on the card. just even a few short years ago, ok .. 8 !! there were .. NO, NONE !! – gallery ‘websites’ !!
card courtesy: ARCHIVAL COLLECTION NANCY SMITH, NYC.
see: ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS – OFFICIAL WEBSITE
WATCH/LISTEN: ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – ‘Cut The World’ . . . with WILLEM DAFOE, MARINA ABRAMOVIC & CARICE VAN HOUTEN
~ANTONY |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 19th, 2013, 9:30am
DEVENDRA BANHART is ALSO .. quite an accomplished artist – as in: visual arts.
his touch is very hands-on, inward, dreamy, symbolic .. musical. lyrical. mysterious. revelatory.
it speaks, it SINGS .. of the inter-relatedness of man & cosmos. man & body. man & imagination/mind. man & inner world. man & dreams.
man & the ‘trail’, the ‘path’ .. of creative thought.
back when he first hit NEW YORK CITY, he used to show his work at various group shows, and at CANADA GALLERY.
this is a piece he had in WHITE BOX gallery, a political show, just before some election, or something like that.
‘hands’ usually play a featured role in the drawings .. as in guitar ? as in Middle Eastern ‘palm up’ ?
as in eastern Indian mythology .. as in: the hand you are dealt ?!!
you can see the hands evolving here, at each side .. at the bottom .. border corners. and the ‘capping’ hand at the center – top.
instead of big sweeps of line or gesture, his work usually is built up with small, rhythmic elements .. often in pairs.
much like how a musician uses notes, and harmony.
pairs: yin. yang. male. female.
l-o-v-e ?
DEVENDRA BANHART, drawing on paper. NYC. MAY 5, 2004
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~DEVENDRA BANHART .. drawing |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 17th, 2013, 7:25am
