JAPAN REELS AS TOLL RISES AND NUCLEAR RISKS LOOM
The scene in Natori, JAPAN, reflected the paralysis across the country on Sunday March 13, 2011.
PHOTO BY: TOSHIYUKI TSUNENARI/ASAHI SHIMBUN, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS/COURTESY: THE NEW YORK TIMES. MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2011 – FRONT PAGE.
MORE PIX – FROM THE RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA: ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – OPENING – MARCH 5, 2011
GAVIN BROWN’S enterprise – the show is up thru APRIL 16, 2011
inside the installation – after the packed opening nite crowd – had subsided.
so mysterious, so eeire, and that was before Japan – blew up. F- E- A-R.
so, of course the big global disaster in Japan that racked and reeled our world, happened pretty much one week to the day after the RIRKRIT TITAVANIJA opening. I was going to file this post – more opening nite pix – originally as: ‘blockbuster’ – but that seemed a poor way to go – after the events of last week unfolded.
I was speechless, yeah I know. too stunned to write. artlovers has many fans and friends in Japan. that red-haired girl above – could be one – the photo hit home in a most terrible way.
mostly I thought about how the greatest art – always touches the soul of the times. and sometimes literally.
how artists are and always have been shamans.
I felt overwhelming that a show that got titled: ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’, instead of, for example: come eat Thai soup – at my Soup Kitchen – hit a raw nerve, a live-wire before anyone knew it was all gonna blow . . . how does an artist do that – pull the magic out of the air . . . like that. just like an ole-time diviner . . .
just like SHEPARD FAIREY did. when he opened his NYC solo show at JEFFREY DEITCH last year, and titled it ‘MAY DAY’ – as in S.O.S – right smack on the cusp of that big BP oil spill.
and that’s really it – but it’s so hard to get your – modern ‘no-frills’ brain around it.
the best artists in this century – and I guess like going back forever – they do divine, not just define – our world. and that is why from the earliest times and unbelievably so even in our skeptical times – artists are shamans.
and RIRKRIT TRIVANIJA is a shaman. conceptual artist yes. shaman yes. can you put that on your resume ?
the opening nite crowd . . .
yes, the show is a blockbuster – both conceptually & production-wise.
it had the magic of ‘creative visionary architecture’ even before the events in Japan unfolded . . . . the kind of creative architecture – that leads to creative thinking that NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF is always going on about in the New York Times. it had stand-alone magic. makes-you-think bout what-you-feels magic. . . that creeps into your total knowledge without your quite stopping to wonder why or internally process.
. . . even before it had tsunami realism. this was one pit stop – that spoke to a FEAR – that absolutely manifested – after the fact.
what Rirkrit had conjured – was not just a pretty candlelight opening – he had torn down a formal white box structure and made a make-shift shelter.
a communal meeting place: with a soup kitchen ladling out free food . . . an art gallery (or ‘bank’ – more on that later), and a T-shirt shop – that both clothed and informed you – a kind of walking newspaper.
just like what could happen next: be it intergalactic space travel on the low-down or apocalyptic calamity here on earth – and, yeah Rirkrit: got it down – right.
in the aftermath of the opening . . .
I mean it is: a blockbuster literally.
Gavin and Rirkrit tore the entire guts out of the entire block long GBE empire. completely destroyed that white box. de-construction. down with boxes. oh yeah, I loved it. I loved it beyond the beyond. . . beyond I have words for.
even before it had a meaningful real-time context . . .
or better said: when its meaning was just in your head . . .
oh my god seriously: talk about de-construction.
it’s hard to destroy that white box & still show art !! think on that.
and this installation ?- like a small movie set within a white gallery take-down, like nesting Russian folk art eggs . . .
had its very own art gallery . . . really a kind of ‘art – bank’.
a stamp-sized one albeit, a cube. but a plywood cube. and all better for it . . . all for the good.
if that art inside – comes with the plywood square it’s housed in – I’m buying the whole damn thing . . . GAVIN BROWN letters – in black – on the outside glass, and all !!
behind that back wall – a back office, of course.
. . . and a god-damn T-SHIRT shop, on the other side of the right wall.
SOUP – NO SOUP.
T-SHIRT. NO T-SHIRT.
Rirkrit – so funny.
and, not just any T-SHIRT SHOP – an active custom silk screen shop with like 24 choices – of slogans – to print on your shirt.
$20 a pop.
T-SHIRT SHOP: THURS, FRI, SAT. 10a – 6p. MARCH 5 – APRIL 16, 2011.
yes of course. all the slogans are political. tabloid global headlines for the alternative consciousness – even before Japan . . . took the big hit. and all of a sudden . . . these silk-screen slogans – assumed a deeper life.
THE DAYS OF THIS SOCIETY IS NUMBERED.
JACK TILTON – in the T-SHIRT SHOP – on opening nite . . .
besides being a big player in the auctions, and back offices – Jack Tilton has also spent a lot of time in China – promoting the big $$ art game – over there. he even knows Alfredo Martinez from Alfredo’s days over there.
even has a few of his pieces.
(wonder what he thought of Rirkrit’s art gallery – Mao and all ?)
with JACK TILTON,
on the left . . legendary 80s art wheeler-dealer/curator, MUDD Club co-founder – DEIGO CORTEZ.
and then, of course there was the soup kitchen – with its separate entrance . . .
where you could find RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA, himself in rose-colored glasses !! – ladling out yum Thai soup and BBQ pork.
and you begin to see – what I mean about blockbuster ?
behind it all – was this great humbleness – a raw-ness – directly opposed to the original architectural premise of the gallery.
a make-shiftness . . . both in terms of an actual – emergency shelter . . .
and conceptually – from a ‘viewing’ to a ‘being-in’ . . . makeshift-ness.
a great ingenuity – that spoke both to breaking it all down, yes. and building it all up, down-scale.
from ‘elite’ to ‘communal’ – in a nutshell.
busting through – that god damn white box. I’m so tired of those white boxes.
and probably this is – pretty much, what is – gonna happen in Japan . . .
all the displaced and homeless people are going to take over whatever structures that are still standing – and will turn them into simple communal shelters.
the night of the opening – you didn’t even have that nightmare scenario – to contemplate. and, still you got it.
does Rirkrit, being from Thailand – does that give him special insight . . . into the future . . of global wipe-out.
at any rate – he is the King of Plywood – if you were lucky you also caught – the life-size apartment – he re-created, working shower and all, at GBE on 15th street – back in the day – when gentrification was the headline.
Rirkrit Tiravanija: the king of conceptional art – the shaman . . .
pre-Japan. he didn’t even know to – what exactly, was he addressing his shelter – except he seemed to see it comin . . .
the gallery’s whole front exhibition space – was no more.
in its place stood a huge open, almost entirely empty communal room – with a long communal table – on which people could eat and drink . . . and have shelter.
and maybe sleep, bring their sleeping bags. if their homes were destroyed . . .
in the communal room – there was no electric light – only candles . . .
just the way it is – in many places in Japan, now.
‘outta the dark and into the light’. . .
walking upon this unlit empty scene – for a gallery opening – was very provoking.
it was dark. only light with the flash.
FEAR EATS THE SOUL
was a way station – no matter how you cut it. a spiritual way station on the cultural grid . . .
“California dreaming I got you in a day . . . stopped into a church along the way, well I got down on my knees and I began to began to pray.” – THE MOMMAS & POPPAS
. . . I didn’t just know exactly how much of a church, my kind of church – this crazy far-out pit stop for the weary – was – and I bet neither did anybody else . . . though obviously Rirkrit knew it’s time – was coming . . . just not, exactly last week.
in Japan.
FEAR EATS THE SOUL . . . GLOBAL SOULFUL.
right to the very last. drip.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FEAR EATS THE SOUL, yes it does . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 18th, 2011, 6:06pm
RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA and GAVIN BROWN (aka MR. MOJO) dish – out the soup . . . in the soup kitchen.
RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – OPENING.
Gavin Brown’s enterprise, NYC. SAT, MARCH 5, 2010
YEP. MR. MOJO – IS KING . . . NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
because, yes, yes, and more yes: Rirkrit’s ‘FEAR’ – DOES – ‘EAT THE SOUL’.
one of the best shows – ever. however which way – you want to cut it.
besides, GOGO lost all momentum after DAN COLEN. ANSELM KIEFER, was big, but way too classical.
ZWIRNER ain’t even in the running, and who’s MATTHEW MARKS ?
(just saying.)
(not to mention – dig, those rose-colored glasses, dude !!)
big time collector PETER BRANT, spotted in the opening night – soup line !!
this is one guy – who knows history in the making – when he sees it.
he only shows – at the hottest of hot spots. but he shows up. unlike alot of the other big ticket guys – he really wants to be there for the action . . . and here he was – waiting in the soup kitchen line.
funny – how he is such a natural – tabloid magnet !! who’d guess. drama just seems follows him – like a pet dog.
check out: the latest ‘dish’ – on the PETER BRANT SAGA/STEPHANIE & son, cavorting on ST. BARTS !!/PAGE SIX MAGAZINE/NEW YORK POST/MARCH 10, 2011 !!
yeah, Gavin and Rirkrit built a whole kitchen – in the (former) LA FREIDA meat packing annex !!
where once was VEGAN-LAND, now pots of animal-laden soup – simmer up, and one word: YUM. says it all.
the night of the opening – they were even serving up BBQ pork – !!
and its all so – friggin ad hoc.
de-construction. oh yeah
more to follow – life, interrupted – what else is new . . .
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~Mr. MOJO is KING . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 11th, 2011, 8:22pm
RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA – at the opening of yeah, the biggest blockbuster of them all, ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – a kind of waystation for the weariest of souls – on the alternative highway . . .
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. SAT MARCH 5, 2011
RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – !!
opened SAT MARCH 5, 2011
the show runs through APRIL 16, 2011
GAVIN BROWN’S enterprise – 620 GREENWICH ST – ENTRY ON LEROY – WEST VILLAGE, NYC
IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE – NEAR NYC – AND, YOU MISS THIS – YOU WILL NEVER LIVE IT DOWN. OH YEAH, BE THERE or be square.
you’ve been fore-warned. fore-armed, and, are now – dangerous !!
“California dreaming, I got you in a day.” !!
see: SOUP NO SOUP
see: T-SHIRT NO T-SHIRT
MORE – OPENING NITE – PIX – TO FOLLOW – SHORTLY . . .
~NO SOUP ? oh yeah !! RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 10th, 2011, 4:08pm
GOOD LUCK TO SWEET TOOTH NELSON and BRETT LAND, his banjo-playing buddy – who are leaving our sweet shores – well, Bushwick, to take on the rest of the country – well, the Northeast coast, for a month-long tour. We caught their farewell gig, and tape launch party – at NORTHEAST KINGDOM, last night, where they and some of their Folk Revival buddies – rocked the ‘den’.
SWEET TOOTH NELSON and JESS PAPS – capture the folk fire at the Northeast Kingdom – underground ‘den’.
WED MARCH 9, 2011
check out: SWEET TOOTH NELSON
check out: SWEET TOOTH NELSON/myspace
check out: NORTHEAST KINGDOM
JESS PAPS also played a totally awesome solo set.
most def, check out: JESS PAPS/myspace/papsjams
check out: JESS PAPS on You/Tube – apt #5 – cover
the ‘DEN’ – at Northeast Kingdom
BLACK FOREST . . . GANN MATTHEWS on the right.
SWEET TOOTH sang a few solo songs . . .
SWEET TOOTH NELSON/’IT WAS SOMETHIN’ TO ME’/YouTube
BRETT LAND, left, came to join him on banjo, and JESS PAPS joined in, too . . .
BRETT LAND and his banjo . . . sounding better, and better.
GANN MATTHEWS watching the action, from the audience.
BRIAN and HOLLY of ROCKWOOD REVIVAL. . .
Holly plays washboard and sings.
farewell, for now. SWEET TOOTH.
WILD ISLE PRESENTS:
the NELSON TAPE RELEASE PARTY, PAPS, ROCKWOOD REVIVAL, and GANN MATTHEWS – at NORTHEAST KINGDOM, BROOKLYN.
MARCH 9, 2011
the NORTHEAST KINGDOM – DEN . . .
‘fire-burning’ stove, and . . .
all.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SWEET FAREWELL . . . SWEET TOOTH NELSON & PALS |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 10th, 2011, 10:11am
so, the ARMORY ART FAIR – isn’t exactly the right cup of tea – for this art lover, despite the first line of Roberta Smith’s March 4, 2011 New York Times review: “Art Fairs are for art lovers.” ha.
. . . but I made it to the INDEPENDENT.
where the third floor – was my fave.
right off the stairs – you could encounter the fair’s ‘creative adviser’ – MATTHEW HIGGS of WHITE COLUMNS.
just like a lot of others, the first thing to catch my attention was the big red car – which re-cycled into 2 BICYCLES (!!) by FOLKE KOBBERLONG and MARTIN KALTWASSER at the JACK HANLEY space.
and I say, space – because thank the lordy – there were no booths. this fair has lots of open space and very little in the way of walls.
a SAAB 900 gutted, and transformed into two motorbikes. FOLKE KOBBERLING and MARTIN KALTWASSER.
JACK HANLEY GALLERY, New York City.
FOLKE KOBBERLING and MARTIN KALTWASSER, JACK HANLEY.
close-up: motorbike assembled from car parts. FOLKE KOBBERLING and MARTIN KALTWASSER. JACK HANLEY
JACK HANLEY.
just across the way, I found FLORENCE BONNEFOUS of Air de Paris . . . Paris. France.
who was able to show me video on her iPad – and yes. CLAIRE FONTAINE really did set the wall on fire – in her current gallery exhibit – back at the Air de Paris gallery in Paris.
see: CLAIRE FONTAINE /AIR de PARIS
detailed ‘pin’ work by SARAH PUCCI – the mother of contemporary artist DOROTHY IANNONE . . . AIR de PARIS.
(the finely detailed and well-cared-for works were going for between $8,700 and $10,200 US DOLLARS)
SARAH PUCCI, detail. AIR de PARIS.
AIR de PARIS – this gallery was the only one – that really struck me – as to having a super relevant dialog to what was going on in my head, what I was doing and seeing in the art world in New York, and the precarious condition of the global – world outside.
SARAH PUCCI.
meaning guns (ALFREDO MARTINEZ), and artisans. historical narrative (the OLD STONE HOUSE show), folk art, and even devotional ones, scrimshaw !! and the commorative plates of DUKE RILEY. and, artifacts, and even when you think about it – that includes the JACK EARLY VICTROLA at DANIEL REICH. beauty vs. social deconstruction in a nutshell.
SARAH PUCCI.
though FLORENCE BONNEFOUS did unnerve me when she strove to stress that these objects were “not done as art. they were devotional in nature.” I mean what the hell is the difference, and isn’t that the point. get over it already. art theory also makes a mess of it . . . they are great art. skills. it’s all about skills and visual richness. and feelings, what about feelings. most definitely devotional feelings – inform skills. feelings are what inspire artists, no ? like even the Impressionists. or Braque and notoriously, Picasso.
I mean, I consider the above Claire Fontaine wall burnings – to be ‘devotional offerings’ to a world on the brink . . . don’t you ?
SARAH PUCCI, detail.
I can also relate to these on a personal level, as can probably any artisan working in Brooklyn right now – who takes up a needle to embroider or embellish. any time I lose a tiny sequin, or a sweet vintage button rolls away, or a tiny glass or plastic bead escapes – when I find it – it goes right on my pincushion – with a needle through its heart (hole). and when the pincushion is full – as Kate will tell ya – it gets put away somewhere safe. but sadly, we don’t have as many lovely embellishments now, as Sarah Pucci had at her fingertips – inspiring and enriching – her lovely and dramatic confections !! that’s for sure.
SARAH PUCCI.
all us outsiders derive great pleasure when a previously unrecognized artist -or artisan – or even primitive – sorry. finally gets their day in the art world sun. really, it’s everybody else – who has to catch up.
SARAH PUCCI – the AIR de PARIS cutting edge booth at Independent – seen through the eyes of a long ago – devotional keepsake – artisan. love it. right on the dot. the sequin. the paste pearl. the glass bead. you got it.
AIR de PARIS, Independent Art Fair, NYC. Spring 2011.
AIR de PARIS . . .
AIR de PARIS, photos by BRUNO SERRALONGUE . . . nice.
AIR de PARIS, photos by BRUNO SERRALONGUE.
AIR de PARIS, drawing by JEAN-LUC VERNA.
a sequential looped video word piece by PIERRE JOSEPH, AIR de PARIS.
PIERRE JOSEPH.
PIERRE JOSEPH.
sometimes when you see greatly detailed, vintage artisanal work, not to mention gritty urban landscape photographs – it’s a nice contrast – to read some – cutting edge – contemporary – words !!
especially addressed to photography, per se.
happened to run into NYC artist EVAN GREENFIELD . . .
he and ERIKA SOMYGI just a new baby girl, their first. and her name is River.
his favorite piece on this floor, literally – was this assemblage by LIONEL MAUNZ, from BUREAU, NYC.
LIONEL MAUNZ, detail.
on the right, GABRIELLE GIATTINO, of BUREAU, New York City. (127 Henry St.)
she says her gallery is a teeny tiny space on Henry St. in the Lower East Side.
Gabrielle is well-known to us as a former curator at the esteemed SWISS INSTITUTE in Soho. (2002-2007)
another BUREAU piece, incorporating a genuine Berber rug by TOM HOLMES.
left, ELIZABETH DEE – of the ELIZABETH DEE GALLERY in Chelsea, and one of the founders of the Independent, happens by.
the pink and blue neon light behind her – is by BLAIR THURMAN represented by HARD HAT of Geneva.
FABRICE STROUN of HARD HAT, Geneva.
ANNA LUNTLEY, gallery associate at MARY MARY of Glasgow.
left, HANNAH ROBINSON – the owner director of MARY MARY.
besides having a fascinating and very animated personal style, Hannah Robinson’s MARY MARY – seems to have a very cutting edge agenda.
on the floor work by NICK EVANS at MARY MARY.
NICK EVANS. I don’t quite know what to say, yes. I am speechless. go figure. but I really liked it.
when I looked up his work on their website – to clarify the mystery of the appeal – I got the bigger picture – and obviously his main body of work was too large to transport to a weekend in New York !!
check out: NICK EVANS/MARY MARY
I really liked the way the signs denoting each gallery were placed in different positions, and admired their typeface and gray tone.
nice touch.
just to show you – not all the work – was capital A for ART – a funny brute piece by JON PYLYPCHUK at CHINA ART OBJECTS.
a series of abstract wall paintings by DAN REES, girl not included. at NEW GALERIE, Paris.
an overview of the the third floor – INDEPENDENT Art Fair, New York, March 3-6, 2011.
. . . closing in, on the GALERIE BEN KAUFMAN from Berlin, Germany.
that just might be Ben Kaufman leaning over, in the red sweater ?
strange and interesting. arresting even. small paintings by HANSJOERG DOBLIAR. GALERIE BEN KAUFMAN
. . . and if it hadn’t been raining truly cats and dogs – I might, just might, not really – have made it up to the THE ART SHOW at the PARK AVENUE ARMORY.
one: I really enjoyed KEN JOHNSON’S take on it . . . that began:
“The Art Show is the Benjamin Button of art fairs. The annual production of the Art dealers Association of America, it is still the most conservative of the three major and several smaller fairs happening this weekend, but it has gotten younger in spirit over the past decades. If it keeps aging in reverse, it may one day replace the Armory Fair and the Independent as the go-to-place for connoisseurs of the hip.”
see: ‘The Uncluttered Look Has its Day’ by KEN JOHNSON/NEW YORK TIMES/MARCH 4, 2011
Charles Burchfield, ‘Sparrow hawk weather’, (1960), at DEBRA FORCE/PHOTO COURTESY: DEBRA FORCE via the NEW YORK TIMES.
and two: I would have loved to have see this CHARLES BURCHFIELD painting, titled ‘Sparrow hawk weather’ (1960) at DEBRA FORCE – who is apparently showcasing several of his big “radiantly transcendental watercolor landscapes along with paintings by his perennially underappreciated contemporary Oscar Bluemer.” (Johnson)
ALL PHOTOS: by NANCY SMITH. NYC, MARCH 5, 2011 – unless otherwise indicated.
~INDEPENDENT and . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 6th, 2011, 9:16pm
on your way down there . . . for sure, don’t miss the JACK EARLY – INSTALLATION – at DANIEL REICH GALLERY – 537 A WEST 23RD ST.
that’s just on the other side of the street – the North side. just below – 10th Ave !!
or, as the gallery flyer for yesterday’s all day live music event – put it: 1 BLOCK UP FROM !! – THE INDEPENDENT ART FAIR !!
the whole front room – is taken over by – a black light installation.
so from the outside – the gallery looks black, as in shut !! – don’t let that, fool ya . . .
just on the other side of the metal & glass 23rd Street entryway – right on the cultural dot – like a kind of ‘no-words needed’ – is an alternative universe . . . a total environment – as opposed to a quote unquote: show.
step into the dark . . . and find the light !!
DANIEL had to put a sign on his door – that says: OPEN !! – in neon orange, no less.
an apt ‘found” sign – if I ever did see one !!
this is what the JACK EARLY installation looks like – on the other side of the door !!
total black-out. as in surreal.
it was fun to go back and re-check that – ceiling art – again, too.
never saw so much ‘ceiling’ art in my life. in New York City, before . . .
it’s lighthearted, and playful. but a grad student could write a thesis . . .
out of the dark – and into the light . . . a complete alternative environment – takes over – the usual white box- gallery space.
in the back room the multi-faceted JACK EARLY canvas – yes, that is PAUL McCARTNEY – is a fitting backdrop for many of day’s – afternoon long – guest performances . . .
this is ELIJAH TUCKER with SPECIAL GUESTS.
from left: ALEC SPIEGELMAN, ELIJAH TUCKER, and MARK WIXOM.
they were playing JACK EARLY compositions . . . s-p-e-c-i-a-l.
check out: ELIJAH TUCKER & GENEROUS MUSIC/myspace
check out: ELIJAH TUCKER
on the right – JACK EARLY himself, sat in on a few songs. here is his with ALEC SPIEGELMAN.
his music is – really low-down sweet and fine – special. harmonic. melodic. soulful. is that the word ?
A’cappella/Folk Rock/Pop
here’s the best bet: check it out on his myspace page – JACK EARLY !!
DANIEL was enjoying the moment – just like Alberto Magnan at the DUKE RILEY show (post below), he seemed to be taking great pleasure in hosting the guest musician friends of his artist – and allowing them space to perform – live – in the art world.
here he is with JARED VICTOR MASTERS – who plays ‘Roots’ inspired music.
in fact DANIEL REICH was lookin’ positively snazzy – and, well why not, he was the host. the show was great. everyone was having really the finest of times. refreshments included !!
MORE PIX !! – A CHELSEA MORNING WITH JACK EARLY – A LIVE ENSEMBLE PERFORMING THE MUSIC Of JACK EARLY
so, you know where – the Victrola – and the ability to custom press the first home-recorded wax records – is coming at ya, from ?
in the moment, so to speak.
Tha Tha ‘THE KINGS SPEECH’, of course. GEOFFREY RUSH makes that first recording of the King’s voice – on one – in his office. oh yeah.
all good. Jack’s Victrola – plays custom recordings of him and his friends – playing his music . . .
ask Daniel to give it a spin for ya !!
note: little correction – technically, that’s a vintage DISK RECORDER in THE KING’S SPEECH. You could not record on the Victrola. but it’s the same family, re: early hand-wound phonographs.
CAPTAIN KIRK, DR. SPOCK and JARED VICTOR MASTERS – enjoy the musical offerings.
ALEC SPIEGELMAN also played a solo set.
so did CAROLINE MURPHY. and she was asked back for a few encores – she was that lovely.
this was amazingly – the first time she had meet Jack Early – or seen his music – but her voice and timing was a perfect match.
you could say – a match made in (musical) heaven.
CAROLINE MURPHY – in front of the Jack Early canvas.
check out: carolinemurphy.org
then for change of pace – performance artist – THORGY – made an entry.
I think Thorgy – might stand for Thor – as in Viking, and Fergie – for the singer – but I’m not sure. but think that might be a safe bet.
and actually – for real – the performance was quite moving. very low key, but entirely apt & entrancing.
and I wouldn’t usually say that.
Thorgy lip-synced and glided to Jack’s music. . and even the Victrola seemed to sway – to the romance.
Jack Early, left – watching from the audience . . . remember it was all under the spell of the black light’s black magic.
Thorgy did 3 brief sets – with different costumes.
her prance and Jack’s music – another match. strike. in the dark.
out of the dark . . .
and into the light: (left) GEOFF BENTZ, who is a copywriter at BBDO, and OWEN REYNOLDS who works for the gallery.
Geoff works on those funny M&M’s commercials . . .
and then, in walks JOHNATHAN MORPURGO – you could spot him a mile away – a real live wire – if I ever did see one !!
JOHNATHAN MORPURGO – his friends call him – JOMO – get it ? mojo. in reverse. talk about life in an alternate universe.
not only was his great wool hat – in my very fave color palette of the moment – orange, yellow and green – but it also matched – the Jack Early rainbow spectrum !!
JOHNATHAN MORPUGO – aka – JOMO. so, not only is he a fellow archivist & lover of art & history – and therefore a bro to my heart !!
as well as being in tune – with my color spectrum !!
but, he also knew who I was. my secret life – !! – as a cult celebrity . . . I josh you not.
yeah. ok. turns out, he just saw WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – last week.
check out the film’s photos: top row, 4th from the right – yeah, that’s me.
and yes, he thought it was funny how Daniel Reich had no idea what WE LIVE IN PUBLIC was – just like the rest of the NYC art world.
what have I been . . . telling ya: NYC 2011 – du du duality !! it’s all about the alternate universe.
DR SPOCK, JOMO and TIF.
so, talk about Jack Early icons . . . and Jack Early friends . . .
J. TODD (TIF) FERNANDEZ – a radical gay rights mover and shaker and a member of the Radical Faeries.
I think this is a good intro: J.TODD (TIF) FERNANDEZ
a little more Thorgy . . .
yes, she was – that good.
Thorgy even brought a gun !! a little red hand pistol !!
one more – out of the dark . . .
and into the light. Daniel Reich intern JENNY – was serving the lovely refreshments . . .
gourmet chocolate chip cookies, bottles of Peroni beer, and chocolate truffles hand-made by MR. JOMO !! – who else !!
no doubt about it – JoMo must be – mojo – spelled backwards.
and we already got a MR. MOJO – more on that later – so that’s a good thing.
but they still rhyme. the young and the powerful. amen.
JACK EARLY and friends – outta the dark and into the light – even the Victrola was swaying – with de-light.
ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
JACK EARLY’S EAR CANDY MACHINE – DANIEL REICH GALLERY – JAN 21-MARCH 5, 2011
~EARLY on 23rd St – just before the INDEPENDENT !! more pix just posted – SUN MARCH 6/2:28 PM !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 5th, 2011, 2:19pm
PIERRE JOSEPH – ‘Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared’, 2010.
AIR DE PARIS at THE INDEPENDENT
AIR DE PARIS – 32 RUE LOUISE WEISS -75013 PARIS, FRANCE
yeah, check out their website: AIR DE PARIS
CLAIRE FONTAINE, ‘NO FAMILY LIFE’. 11 FEB – 19 MARCH 2011/IMAGE COURTESY: AIR DE PARIS
UP-DATE SAT MARCH 5, 2011/1:19 PM:
WANT MORE INFO – ON THE INDEPENDENT ART FAIR ??? – INCLUDING THE FOUNDERS ???
READ: ‘Second-Year Fair Hopes to Stay an Upstart’, by KAREN ROSENBERG/NEW YORK TIMES/WEEKEND ARTS/FRI MARCH 4, 2011
“a Saab 900 at JACK HANLEY that’s been gutted and converted into two motorbikes by FOLKE KOBBERLING and MARTIN KALTWASSER.”
KAREN ROSENBERG. TEXT & IMAGE/COURTESY: NEW YORK TIMES/PHOTO BY CALEB FERGUSON
“AIR de PARIS, another new addition, has an unuausal display of glittering sculptures by SARAH PUCCI. Ms. Pucci, the mother of artist DORTHY IANNONE, made these small devotional objects by sticking beaded and sequined pins into plastic foamand sent them to her daughter at regular intervals.”
KAREN ROSENBERG – TEXT & IMAGE/COURTESY: NEW YORK TIMES, PHOTO BY CALEB FERGUSON.
~AIR DE PARIS at INDEPENDENT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 4th, 2011, 11:19am
MARTA RINIKER-RADICH, ‘Untitled’, 2010, colored pencils and pencil on paper, 21 x 29.7 cm./COURTESY HARD HAT GENEVA
BUREAU & HARD HAT at THE INDEPENDENT
548 West 22nd St – CHELSEA, NEW YORK
MARCH 3 – 6, 2011
FRI & SAT: 11am – 8pm
Sun: 12 – 4pm
FREE ENTRY
HARD HAT – 39, rue des Bains – CH-1205 – GENEVE – SWITZERLAND
~HARD HAT at INDEPENDENT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 4th, 2011, 11:04am
A CHELSEA MORNING – WITH JACK EARLY
A LIVE ENSEMBLE PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF JACK EARLY – WITH ELIJAH TUCKER & SPECIAL GUESTS . . .
12 O’CLOCK NOON ONWARDS, FRIDAY MARCH 4TH 2011,
1 BLOCK UP FROM THE INDEPENDENT ART FAIR – at – DANIEL REICH GALLERY
537 A WEST 23 STREET NYC
see: PIX FROM THE OPENING – JACK EARLY’S EAR CANDY !! JAN 21, 2011
so . . . forget the GREENBERG – CHELSEA HOTEL OPEN SALON bit – wrong information.
DAVID GREENBERG – is having an event – but he will just be in and out over the fair weekend.
he is having a 40TH BIRTHDAY – TUESDAY MARCH 8th – at 8 PM – BUT THAT’S ABOUT IT . . . so, see ya at JACK EARLY’S !!
in the meantime, let your finger’s do the walking: poetdavidgreenberg.blogspot.com/
where this archival photo of a young DAVID GREENBERG / KILL ALL ARTISTS T-SHIRT / ALLEN GINSBURG SCRIBBLE – is the header . . . (!!)
and where, you can scroll down just a couple of entries to find this – PAINTING BY BRENDAN CASS – and a brief poetic entry titled – ‘TONY TOWN’ – dated TUESDAY JANUARY 11, 2011 . . .
and where just a little lower down, you can find this self portrait – DAVID GREENBERG – of today – in a snowstorm – photo by DAVID SISKOVIC- in an entry dated DEC 31, 2010 – titled: ‘SKI LOW SON’ – which begins:
“I wish I was a little bit blacker
and a little less wacker
I wish I had a bro
with a nose
for my steez
I could sleep near . . . ” – amen.
and yes. its true, JOSH HARRIS named his new cat, a rejected found cat straight off Craigslist – for him.
cause Greenberg the poet – is so hardcore. get it ? Greenberg . . . the cat.
see: GREENBERG the cat/Where in the World is Josh Harris, Now ?
scroll down & voila – Greenberg the cat. who turned out to be – pretty cool. after all.
Greenberg the cool cat – all around.
am esp. very respectful of his ties to PATTI SMITH – to whose book –‘STRANGE MESSENGER – THE WORK Of PATTI SMITH’ – he contributed an essay.
and of which book, CAMILLE PAGLIA wrote:
[this book about Patti Smith’s artwork, approx. 60 pieces from over 30 years] . . . “collects early pieces as well as new ones inspired by the September 11, 2001 bombing of the World Trade Center in which Smith expresses her views about violence, religion, war and intolerance” . . . “she is mad saint, dandy and troubadour, a complex woman alone and outward bound for cultural war.”
by the way – PATTI SMITH’S ROCK ANTHEM – ‘BECAUSE THE NIGHT BELONGS TO US’ – is finally getting some real air play – on the mainstream radio waves. can you believe that. better late, than never. popular culture finally caught up to Patti Smith. or is it the times we live in – I dunno but, everybody’s digging her vibe – all of a sudden.
her and LOU REED – !! – amen.
THE CHELSEA HOTEL, 222 WEST 23RD STREET, NYC. JUNE 1, 2007. PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~A CHELSEA MORNING WITH JACK EARLY . . . and GREENBERG ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 3rd, 2011, 6:40pm
‘DUKE RILEY: TWO RIPARIAN TALES OF UNDOING’
opened FRI FEB 25, 2011
the show runs thru SAT APRIL 9, 2011
MAGNAN METZ GALLERY – 521 WEST 26TH ST – CHELSEA
PIX FROM THE OPENING NITE RECEPTION – FRI FEB 25, 2011
DUKE RILEY at the opening of his 3rd solo show at the gallery . . .
he’s standing in front of my favorite piece of all, a large drawing on canary paper . . talk about artifacts, icons, code. and history.
not to mention pirates, women, guns and flies-on-the-wall. the Great Depression. hobos and serial murder on squatter’s territory.
buried water sources. islands turned into toxic dumps.
and wake up. where the hell are we going ?
DUKE RILEY, ink drawing on canary paper.
DUKE RILEY, detail. some houseboat . . . or what.
DUKE RILEY, detail. a damsel fishing . . . in the sea of imagination, is what.
DUKE RILEY, detail
DUKE RILEY, detail
DUKE RILEY, detail
DUKE RILEY – barbed wire – that great 19th C. invention of the American west !!
DUKE RILEY, yo. evil invader – stay outta here !!
yeah NYC artists want – guns. but it’s no joke. where the hell are we going, world. Brooklyn’s ok. – it’s ok over here for now, it’s all role play here. but if you raise your head and look out . . . bad news all over the globe. the middle east is friggin blowing up.
guns. war. if you ruled the seas, you once ruled the land. weaponry = might. might = right. fortification = safety.
big big guns and sharp ramming weaponry – rule these imaginary seas !! are these gentle folk art drawings – cautionary fables ?
well, its also a metaphor for art. intellect over malls. clean air over pollution. green over processed. whatever. squatters over the landed elite. the list goes on and on. the free spirited vs the entrenched. in Riley’s world.
or maybe he’s just spoofing – an ordinary day’s newspaper headline, ca 2011 – war somewhere. ugly war for real. blood and guts. ambulances blowing up. assassination. today Libya. Afghanistan. tomorrow Pakistan ?
hey, give me back that big oil spill. there’s no winning. and its getting fierce. it’s a really violent world – out there. past Brooklyn.
du du duality. maybe that’s why Brooklyn is so sweet . . . gotta be somebody taking a stand for the good. taking a cue from the early American ideals. of peace, equality. freedom and liberty to pursue . . . the artisan life, for sure.
DUKE RILEY, detail
and, then there are these great big flat, and fat ‘flies-on-the-wall’ everywhere . . . the imagery must have archival roots – but only take me as far back – as when those TAYLOR McKIMENS ‘flies’ – hotlinked to his website – used to grace these pages, anybody else remember ?
DUKE RILEY, detail. just love his draftsmanship.
love the fluid, spontaneous, and even sometimes corrected line of his hand, running in blue ink, telling stories – on that thin parchment-like canary paper.
DUKE RILEY takes a lot of the inspiration behind his line drawing technique – from folk art, nautical folk art – specifically the art of scrimshaw. SCRIMSHAW: “handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of sperm whales, the baleen of the other whales . . ”
the engraving was rubbed with pigment to highlight the designs . . . “The making of scrimshaw began on whaling ship between 1745-1759 on the Pacific Ocean . . ”
in fact, in his last show at the gallery – ‘AFTER THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN’ (2007) – there we go again – !! – locavore history buffs – there was a display of replica scrimshaw made by Duke on synthetic composite material – that looked just like the real thing – bawdy themes and all . . . though Mr. Riley’s cannot be denied as contemporary – up close his (bawdy) humor is just a little bit – too darn edgy !!
the opening was packed, and the crowd – dynamic !!
it was as if – all of BROOKLYN had come to the motherland of all islands: Manhattan – first and foremost a small bit of land – surrounded by water.
KITTY JOE STE-MARIE – DUKE RILEY’S long time project manager . . .
sporting some DUKE RILEY skin – ink . . .
KITTY JOE STE-MARIE and her DUKE RILEY ink.
not sure how that still works, but DUKE RILEY used to run his own tattoo shop.
I hear tell it is very difficult for an artist to be both good at drawing on paper, and drawing on skin. very few make the transition – Duke is one of the few – who does.
MEG with her Duke Riley . . .
Chrysler Building tattoo.
loved this white flower petal dress in the crowd.
and quelle great – hat !!
the way fashionable dude is standing in front of my other fave piece – a big mosaic . . .
DUKE RILEY, ‘Spero Meliora’, 2011. ceramic, glass & composite tile on panels. 82-7/8 x 84 in.
bye the way, DUKE RILEY – is this year’s – MTA – as in subway – artist of the year – and supposedly his nautical !! images just started going up on the trains – watch out !!
I know he also was commissioned to do the tile designs for a subway station out by the sea – you know, where the Island of Manhattan meets the sea . . .
DUKE RILEY, detail . . . ‘Spero Meliora’ – folk art speak – to me, oh yes !!
DUKE RILEY, detail mosaic work – ‘Spero Meliora’
DUKE RILEY, detail mosaic work – ‘Spero Meliora’
DUKE RILEY, detail mosaic work – ‘Spero Meliora’.
around a kind of alleyway to a kind of smaller ‘project room’ – in the back – was an alcove where 2 folk musicians played live music.
the guy on the left – turns out to the gifted BRETT NELSON aka SWEET TOOTH NELSON, a bonafide musician from down south, North Carolina, to be exact. accompanying him to-nite on the banjo was BRETT LAND.
I don’t think Brett Land would be terribly insulted if I were to tell you – he wasn’t exactly a terror on the banjo – ok give him 6 more months and then, tell me that. but he did graduate from SVA and he is the cameraman and assistant filmmaker to DUKE RILEY – on those wonderful archival looking video loops, that adorn that back alleyway. way to go, dude !!
He also rode the train tracks – as a modern day hobo – with Duke – across the country. . .
but that’s a story – for another day !!
but wait, before we got to the videos, there was this fascinating well, or I guess hidden sewer entrance to that closed off underground river . . .
that created a kind of grotto – where the musicians played and that still remains – as part of the exhibit.
someone stuck their hand in it while I was there – and came up with a fistful of water !! but an overhead projector beams down the eerie copper coin-like writing – on the well, or I guess sewer-top. dedicated to the hobos of the Great Depression – that used to populate ‘Kingsbury Run’ – “a prehistoric stream now buried beneath the streets of Cleveland.” and whose story narrates the ‘Lubberland’ part of the exhibit.
while overhead – hung some of the hobo clothes . . . not sure if this was a deliberate reference to the big ANSELM KIEFER show – ‘Next Year in Jerusalem’ – that obviously made a big impact when Gagosian put up – that mammoth undertaking this past Nov – Dec 2010. History, artifacts, narratives from the past – and not to forget: looking up !! – Kiefer also had clothes hung from the ceiling – Kiefer’s past-looking narrative – artifacts and all – code and all – is proving to have been not only mighty pre-sentient, but to have left a dynamic and living artistic legacy, among the city’s next generation artists . . . in its wake. Old Stone House included.
ok. so talking about artifacts, history and code – the DUKE RILEY videos that BRETT LAND worked on – all started with codes – like this !!
yo, momma.
they were more like shorts. archival grainy historical records . . . brief vignettes that silently looped on small screens.
“The man claimed that the ancient creek was cursed . . . ”
with titles – that drove the narrative – just like Charlie Chaplin shorts . . .
and then you’d see DUKE RILEY, in period costume in the ‘Landlubber’ condemned and covered-up Kingsbury Run River sewer system – that once was a hobo life-sustaining creek . . .
and yeah, there were rats . . . scurryin’ about.
big inner city – sewer rats !!
the short films – were a new departure for Mr. Riley – and were really well done. re-created time capsules.
in a salute to his new filmmaking effort – his Charlie Chaplin-like period film costume – hung over the receptionist’s desk.
another element new to this show – was the inclusion of actual artifacts: in this case a vintage cork-board display of archival photos and newspaper clippings that supported the ‘Lost Kingdom of Laird’ narrative – that shared the exhibition billing with ‘An Invitation to Lubberland’.
Margaret Katherine Waterhouse with adoptive parents William Henry Morgan and Margaret Laird. ca. 1940s.
.the related ‘commemorative’ portrait porcelain plates . . .
while fillmmaker BRETT LAND, and BRETT ‘SWEET TOOTH” NELSON – take up their instruments again, this time in front of the big mosaic. . .
ALBERTO MAGNAN, the gallery’s co-owner and co-director – also enjoying the musical goings on. . . . and why not. he’s got a hit show on his hands.
on the right, performance artist LARA ALLEN, who sang some witty nautical ditties dedicated to Duke – at the opening. with
her friend, REBECCA GOYETTE – in the Education Department at MoMA/Musuem of Modern Art . .
at the center, sculptor MATT CRANE, originally from Missouri, been here in the Big Apple going on – 15 years now.
ok. one last shot – BRETT LAND – the banjo playing, SVA grad train-riding – assistant to Duke Riley filmmaker . . .
BRETT NELSON aka SWEET TOOTH NELSON, and yeah check him out !!
SWEET TOOTH NELSON & more SWEET TOOTH NELSON !!
and p.s. he has a record launch at Northeast Kingdom – in Brooklyn – Bushwick – next week – Wed March 9. his set starts at 9 pm.
and he’s got 2 young filmmakers following him around for – VANS !!
ADAM MEADS . . .
and AUSTIN PEELER.
of course the very last word goes to the man of the moment himself, DUKE RILEY. savoring the night at the near conclusion of the opening – amid the ‘fruits’ of some pretty incredible Americana time travel -.with one eye looking back, and the other looking straight ahead, under a black pirate’s patch. ha.
DUKE RILEY EAST RIVER TATTOO/IMAGE FROM HIS WEBSITE . .
yeah, most def check out: DUKE RILEY / ARTIST – PATRIOT
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~DUKE DUKE DUKE RILEY !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 3rd, 2011, 2:11pm
