forget of mice and men … that’s so over. that’s so yesterday.
I guess some people might think talk of ghosts and stars – is ‘mad’ crazy, though maybe not so much, on an ‘art’ site.
I mean artist means shaman, doesn’t it.
artist begins with cavemen. cavemen, in turn looked to the heavens . . . to figure out a way to survive & evolve down here, while they stuck pigment colored palm prints & fleeing bison on walls, and began to weave and bead. to record & communicate through graphics.
creativity begat civilization. and separates us from the animal tribes.
artist means branding, at base: doesn’t it. creating myths, or at least giving them form & flight. power to the people from the ground-up, or, by divine decree. your pick.
you tell me.
artist means … thinking outside the box of ‘reality’. giving form & history .. to magic.
artist means: sharing the magic bus ride, of the mind and soul.
catching the knowledge and clues … and – literally – connecting the dots.
the deal with the internet is just the way information, image-dominated bye the way, & thinking is now put out, i.e. dispersed … and the really far-out way – it is received.
instant web, search, the social network. free to connect is the biggest deal you could think of today. and yeah, I’m still thinking AARON SWARTZ. what a tragedy. what a loss.
it was like chasing down a founding father. we come from a line of rebels – what gives ? has the (American) world forgotten how precious the spark of leadership is ?
today knowledge is like an infinite aggregate, a consciousness greater than we even know. that hopefully anybody can plug into.
you write – it travels, it lands. someone hears it.
you seek info – you find it.
the platform of instant randomness. like they say in all the great philosophies, if you seek, you will find. for all the change, nothing ever really changes. like they say, nothing is really new – under the sun !!
so while it’s funny/interesting to see these topics; stars and ghosts – so in play in the art world over the past year, most recently in the DAN CASSARO FIFTY and FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT – (!!) – history (ghosts) and a few shooting stars – thrown in for good measure, more on that, to follow . . .
when they, ghosts and stars . . . simultaneously pop up on the WALL STREET JOURNAL – that bastion of the ‘suits’ – you really got to sit up, and wonder.
New Age or what.
ghosts … popping up as our more cynical/straight-shooting (/) Western businessmen are having to understand and interface with the beliefs of global culture.
is there a way to say: ghosts .. in Chinglish ?
or file under:
“Nobody taught me. It’s not my fate or luckiness, but my boldness.” ~ NG GOON LAU
READ: ‘Honk Kong’s Real-Estate Boom Conjures a Scary Development’ . . . Mr. Ng Sees Haunted-House Discount Vanish as Prices Rise ..’ – WALL STREET JOURNAL, TUES JAN 15, 2013
Hong Kong’s “Haunted-House King, NG GOON LAU has bought more than 20 properties with spooky histories … IMAGE: WALL STREET JOURNAL
of course the art world has already taken note that, ironically with the rise of state-of the-art web, esp wireless technology has come an unexpected onslaught of the cult of the ghost, in prtty much all forms, but esp as in G.Host/hacker and ghost/plasm & history. undead websites, etc etc.
THE STARS bit is even weirder. and reflects on the ghost part above, vis a vie … the power of random knowledge, aka keywords & buzz.
just as I struggle, not to lose all art world credibility, to contain my inner thoughts and fierce intuitions – regarding the burning questions of the universe, including random vs greater design/’celestial’ architect … the awesome & enduring ‘branding’ of skies by the early astronomers & astrologers – mathematician and shamans, you name it.
as opposed to the ‘sterile’ effect of our contemporary hi-tech orbital photography !!
I open the WALL STREET JOURNAL this weekend . . .
to read: ‘Outer Space Needs a Serious Makeover’ by JOE QUEENAN. Sat/Sun Jan 12-13, 2013 – THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (!!)
go, JOE !!
JOE QUEENAN, MOVING TARGETS – IMAGE: WALL STREET JOURNAL
and for sure, if nothing else – check out his concluding parapgragh – it’s a keeper !!
bye the light of the silvery moon – indeed !!
though I beg to differ re naming new planets and constellations, Oprah, or KKKKardashian, … kinda lame. Joe. they are heavenly, they are inspiring, they are above and beyond our fully comprehending – as of now anyways – JOE: they should be – ‘mythic’ they should cause pause for thought.
my proposal ?
somebody get a great street crew, or even Dan Cassaro’s crew, damn just get CHUCK CLOSE !! – to make an aggregate constellation/portrait – of all those 461 brand new planets – and call it:
AARON SWARTZ – THE LOST FUTURE – IF OUR GOV’T & ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS – DON’T FRIGGIN’ WAKE UP !!
AMEN.
‘AMERICAN’ STARS / GRAPHIC DESIGN/ART . . . and GHOSTS / HISTORY.
FIFTY and FIFTY LOGO – BY DAN CASSARO.
FIFTY and FIFTY / THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT – A CURATED PROJECT BY DAN CASSARO.
SETH NEILSON – EQUAL RIGHTS – WYOMING / IMAGE: 50 and 50
YEAH, BABY !! … THAT’S WHAT I’M … aTALKIN’ – ABOUT !!
PLUS, THIS – JUST IN, FROM:
1. ANNA KUSTERA – ‘MATTIA BIAGI’ – SEE: EXHIBIT INFO
ARTWORK BY MATTIA BIAGI – up thru JAN 26, 2013 – at ANNA KUSTERA . . .
2. SPERONE WESTWATER – WOLFGANG LAIB PRESENTS: ‘WITHOUT BEGINNING and WITHOUT END’ / MARCH 1-30, 2013
ARTWORK BY – WOLFGANG LAIB / IMAGE: SPERONE WESTWATER
“For the artist’s seventh solo show at the gallery, LAIB continues to employ natural materials, such as beeswax and rice, organic elements selected for their purity and symbolic meaning . . . juxtaposed will be 104 brass ships, some mounted on the wall and some posed in mounds of rice on the floor. These ships suggest a journey to another world …” ~ press release
~GHOSTS and STARS . . . !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 15th, 2013, 2:30pm
DAMN >>> M.I.T.
ghost in the machine, for real, now.
forget about Gary HOST.
now just plain …. G.HOST: AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY
see: DAILY MAIL ONLINE: TRAGIC WEB PIONEER COMMITS SUICIDE at 26 & found dead in NY . . .
BROOKLYN, Crown heights . . . to be exact. Swartz died yesterday, Fri Jan 11, 2013.
it was a heavy day – a lot of people . . . felt the ‘dip’, or fall-off from a week of high creative peak.
see: NEWSDAY/AARON SWARTZ found dead, co-founder of Reddit helped create RSS . . .
so, THIS IS THE MOTTO of the STATE of MASSACHUSETTS . . . THE STATE THAT CHASED AARON SWARTZ DOWN . . .
THINK ON IT . . .
‘BY THE SWORD WE SEEK PEACE / BUT PEACE ONLY UNDER LIBERTY’.
ARTWORK – BY MARK WEAVER
from . . . FIFTY AND FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT
A CURATED PROJECT – BY DAN CASSARO, NYC.
see: FIFTY and FIFTY
WATCH: AARON SWARTZ gives keynote address: ‘How We Stopped SOPA’ @ F2C: Freedom to Connect 2012, Washington, DC/MAY 21, 2012.
PUBLISHED MAY 22, 2012/YouTube
ps: just for the hardcore.
it was a NEW MOON IN CAPRICORN, yesterday JAN 11, 2013.
how you want to read into it – is up to you. all I’m saying is, can it be possible that . . . just like there is extreme weather now, and just as we have pretty much wrecked our atmosphere – that had protected us from the sun’s strong rays, might not the impulses from the celestial bodies, like the moon, and the planets .. be affecting us more strongly, now too.
esp creative types who are ‘plugged in’.
just saying, but the dumb ‘suits’ that run this country – don’t help.
chalk up a big loss – on our side, today.
amen.
~AARON SWARTZ, GHOST/R.I.P./DAMN MASSACHUSETTS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 12th, 2013, 10:46pm
ART@TEKSERVE PRESENTS:
NYC STREETPOP: FILMS, PHOTOS & OTHER FUN STUFF – by KEN BROWN
OPENING SAT JAN 12, 2013 / 1-3 PM
the show runs thru FEB 24, 2013
there will also be an artist’s talk: WED JAN 23, 2013 at 6:30 PM
TEKSERVE – 119 W. 23 ST – NYC
read more: about KEN BROWN & the show !!
KEN BROWN – CONEY ISLAND GLADIATOR
~KEN BROWN OPENING / TEKSERVE … SAT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 11th, 2013, 10:51am
FIFTY and FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT
A CURATED PROJECT BY DAN CASSARO
DEC 18, 2012 – FEB 1, 2013
ACE HOTEL – 20 W. 29th ST – NYC
PIX FROM THE OPENING – DEC 18, 2012:
DAN CASSARO – ORIGINATOR, PRODUCER & CURATOR: FIFTY and FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT.
see: 50 and 50
see: YOUNG JERKS – THE STUDIO of DAN CASSARO
DAN CASSARO – EVER UPWARD – NEW YORK
MIKE – MICHAEL TABIE of TWO ARMS, BROOKLYN
see: TWO ARMS, BROOKLYN
TWO ARMS – IN GOD WE TRUST – FLORIDA
detail, TWO ARMS – IN GOD WE TRUST – FLORIDA
FIFTY and FIFTY INSTALLATION VIEW . . .
SETH NEILSON – EQUAL RIGHTS – WYOMING
KEN BARBER – LIBERTY and INDEPENDENCE – DELAWARE
JON ASHCROFT – IT GROWS AS IT GOES – NEW MEXICO
MATT LEHMEN – AGRICULTURE and COMMERCE – TENNESSEE
KATIE LEE – No. 00036 / ALL FOR OUR COUNTRY / RECEIVED OCT 31, 1864 – NEVADA
FUZZCO – WHILE I BREATHE I HOPE – SOUTH CAROLINA
OPENING NIGHT . . .
OPENING NIGHT . . .
RICHARD PEREZ – I HAVE FOUND IT – CALIFORNIA
BRYAN MINNICH – MOUNTAINEERS ARE ALWAYS FREE – WEST VIRGINIA
detail, BRYAN MINNICH – MOUNTAINEERS ARE ALWAYS FREE – WEST VIRGINIA
PHOTOS & EDIT: NANCY SMITH
INITIAL REPORTING: KATE CERIGO
~50 and 50 – PIX FROM THE OPENING |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 11th, 2013, 9:37am
FIFTY and FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT
A CURATED PROJECT BY DAN CASSARO
DEC 18, 2012 – FEB 1, 2013
ACE HOTEL, NYC
see: 50 and 50
CURTIS JINKINS – FRIENDSHIP – TEXAS
TAD CARPENTER – THE WELFARE of THE PEOPLE SHALL BE THE SUPREME LAW – MISSOURI
JUSTIN FULLER – NOTHING WITHOUT PROVIDENCE – COLORADO
JOSH BRILL – I LEAD – MAINE
MEG HUNT – HE WHO TRANSPLANTED SUSTAINS – CONNECTICUT
ZACH GRAHAM – THE PEOPLE RULE – ARKANSAS
detail, ZACH GRAHAM – THE PEOPLE RULE – ARKANSAS
detail, ZACH GRAHAM – THE PEOPLE RULE – ARKANSAS
LUKE BOLT – TO THE STARS THROUGH DIFFICULTY – KANSAS
detail, LUKE BOLT – TO THE STARS THROUGH DIFFICULTY – KANSAS
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~50 and 50 . . . SOME MORE PIX |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 10th, 2013, 8:49am
FIFTY and FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT
A CURATED PROJECT BY DAN CASSARO, OPENED DEC 18, 2012 and is still up !! . . . YES !!
the show runs thru FRI FEB 1, 2013
ACE HOTEL – 20 W. 29th ST, NYC.
just walk into the lobby . . . and look for the small art gallery.
for more background, see: 50 and 50 – the official website
PIX FROM THE OPENING – COMING UP – SHORTLY.
~50 and 50 . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 9th, 2013, 10:19am
THE DANCE of the FONTS . . .
leaving the RICHARD MEHL curated ‘untitled type 5’ – ‘sNice show, and moving onto the FIFTY AND FIFTY GROUP SHOW – a project conceived and curated by DAN CASSARO . . . there are some differences, the biggest being that the ‘sNice show was a casual presentation, with a diverse range of design aspirations and themes, mostly in that it was – a pretty much wide open . . . graphics forum.
‘FIFTY AND FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTOS PROJECT’ on the other hand is a very focused project with a mission: 50 designers were asked to create their state’s motto – in graphic form.
how they took they off on that journey – was up to them . . .
but both shows brought to the table the important role that graphic design plays in today’s world, and the big cross-over into serious art world contention. I guess you could say, when graphics ‘dance’ with such originality, life force, and … outright ‘play’ !!
red rover red rover, fine artists … move over !!
designers are here – to stay !!
overall composition, bold design dynamics, and of course, often hand-drawn fonts . . . all imbued with personal expression and serious ambition – are a big part of the game, and so . . . let the DANCE BEGIN !!
PENNSYLVANIA – by JESSICA HISCHE
where the ‘painterly’ letters of the state motto – VIRTUE, LIBERTY, INDEPENDENCE – dance out among the deer antlers emanating from deer heads, poised at either side.
FIFTY AND FIFTY – THE STATE MOTTO PROJECT
DETAIL – ‘It’s Grisly End’ – by PABLO DELKAN
a ‘painterly’ and emotion-loaded, dance of the hand-crafted letters, and most passionate ‘artistic’ font, here as well.
‘untitled type 5’
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~50-50 / ‘sNice |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 9th, 2013, 10:04am
MORE PIX . . . from the opening of ‘untitled type 5’ – curated by RICHARD MEHL
‘sNice, West Village, NYC
the show opened Dec 1, 2012 and ran thru Dec 30, 2012
KATE CERIGO, ‘STRAYED STAYED’.
close-up, KATE CERIGO, ‘STRAYED, STAYED’ . . .
guess sometimes the biggest questions . . . need the softest .. touch.
DARREN WILL and KRISTEN ABATE join KATE CERIGO at the opening of ‘untitled type 5’. NYC, DEC 2012.
KRISTEN ABATE is an aspiring actress.
DARREN WILL plays bass for the Brooklyn band . . . LUKE RATHBORNE.
their next gig is at SHEA STADIUM in BROOKLYN this upcoming . . SAT JAN 12th.
as in . . . Live@Shea Stadium BK, 20 Meadow St. in . . Bushwick !!
go BROOKLYN !!
DANIELLE LEE – ‘LEGS ARE SEXY’ – seems to feel the same way . . .
that’s what’s so cool about graphics – they speak for themselves !!
DANIELLE LEE.
friends of DANIELLE LEE, and current students in the undergrad program at SVA, from left: BRANDON ELIVAN JOHNSON and ALEX CRUZ.
Brandon is in the Fine Arts studio program at SVA, while Alex is in the Graphic Design program.
TRISH RAE WONG – ‘AMPERSAND’. . . bridging minimalist to exotic, bringing the personal .. to the generic, flat-out font/symbol . . .
check out: TRISHA RAE WONG
we’re going to give the last word to PABLO DELKAN, and his chalk artwork/poster/design: ‘It’s Grisly End’ . . .
detail, PABLO DELKAN, ‘It’s Grisly End’ . . .
somehow, though grisly it may be, whatever … whoever, the graphics say: but, maybe not too . . . tragic.
detail, PABLO DELKAN.
when you can break it down . . . to a dance .. on paper.
check out: PABLO DELKAN
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~MINIMALIST . . . to GRISLY !! ‘sNice !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 7th, 2013, 5:21pm
MORE PIX . . . from the opening of ‘untitled type 5’ – curated by RICHARD MEHL
at ‘sNice, a vegetarian cafe in the West Village, NYC.
the show opened Dec 11, 2012 and ran thru Dec 30, 2012.
‘B’ is for … be here, now !!
this exuberant and, well – ‘kingly’ !! … ‘B’ is by … KENTON POWELL.
KENTON POWELL.
Don’t you .. ‘j’ me !!
a most wonderful, painterly . . . ‘J’ by – HAENARA IM.
HAENARA IM – with her ‘J’ . . . .
AERIAL CHEN, her contribution was more of a . . . conceptual/design/3D project.
AERIAL CHEN, at left, with her project .. of many books, which were arrayed along the middle bookshelf, and which were deeply cut into, so that the covers, now read as … numerals.
the piece is titled, ‘Pure Love Triangle’, 2012.
Found books, textured paper and foam board.
detail, AERIAL CHEN .. ‘Pure Love Triangle’.
“. . . while a love triangle is typically a socially unfavorable form of relationship, it is not the case here. ‘Pure Love Triangle’ explores the connections between the uprising of Vegetarianism, Veganism, along with ‘sNice, and expressing it through the combination of typography, form, and the environment.” ~ project statement, Aerial Chen.
detail, AERIAL CHEN, ‘Pure Love Triangle.’
detail, AERIAL CHEN, ‘Pure Love Triangle.’
close-up detail, AERIAL CHEN, ‘Pure Love Triangle’.
Designer/artists: RICHARD MEHL, the show’s curator, with AERIAL CHEN . . . at the opening of ‘untitled type 5’, ‘sNice, NYC, Dec 11, 2012.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
note: more pix from the opening to follow . . .
~B, J … and, V is for VEGAN. ‘sNice !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 4th, 2013, 10:07am
GOING INTO THE NEW YEAR, 2013 – GRAPHICS SEEM TO BE . . . THE NAME of the GAME.
Graphics. graphic images, whether abstract or representational, purely font or image-based … in ads or art, used as informational tools; random or patterned; popping up in the big universal questions, and in smaller screen state-of-the-art digital code-programs, not to forget, website design per se . . . and, even as . . . compressed expressionistic flourishes in big paintings on old-fashioned canvas, seem to be – the really – big deal right now.
it’s no wonder the cutting edge graphic design artists in this city are simply referring to themselves as … designers !!
and that includes the latest crop of (way happening) fashion, as in clothing … designers, too.
you could slowly see it creeping in over the past year, in the new crop of abstract artists, the new wave of photographic site-specific artists, and even in that big Brooklyn-dominated Zine show, ‘Diamond Leaves’ … in China. even the recent CARROLl DUNHAM show – really popped forward – in this way.
same with the iconic Americana images of TAYLOR McKIMENS, for that matter. Comic art, also big – and only getting bigger, of course has always had very strong graphic design elements, both in the panel compositions and, font use.
and, street art ? ditto. big time !!
so it was fitting that the end of last year featured 2 design shows, both full of fresh talent and ideas, both in off-the-mainstream venues, or: plain straight … outta-the-white-box !!
there was ‘untitled type 5’ at a sweet and cozy vegetarian West Village cafe .. by the name of .. ‘sNice (!!) – curated by RICHARD MEHL, graphic designer and instructor at SVA, which presented a casual and diverse show of works by SVA students and alumni, and then opening just a week or so later, at the Ace Hotel – a more structured group show, ‘FIFTY-FIFTY’ – produced and curated by DAN CASSARO, who also happens to be a fairly recent SVA Graphic Design graduate.
RICHARD MEHL at the opening of ‘untitled type 5’ at s’Nice. Dec 11, 2012.
behind him work by PABLO DELKAN, left and, by LAUREN HOM, on the right.
‘These Heels Don’t Hurt’ . . . by LAUREN HOM.
the fun thing about this show – was the use of very ‘outright’ fonts to really try and say something: well, personal !!
looks like trippin’ over a lot of rude people – is a never-ending part of the reality battleground.
urban dictionary has some even more colorful uses, just … don’t get me started, or I’ll be a-naming names !!
‘I’ll Be There in 5 Minutes’ – by LAUREN HOM.
see: LAUREN HOM – HOM SWEET HOM (!!)
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. NYC DEC 11, 2012.
NOTE: MORE PIX – FROM BOTH SHOWS – TO KEEP POSTING . . . GOING FORWARD !!
~GRAPHICS .. seem to be the name of the game . . . ‘sNice !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 3rd, 2013, 2:31pm
