~You Can’t Die in the Sky

YOU CAN’T DIE IN THE SKY – OPENING TO-NITE / FRI SEPT 24, 2010 / 8 PM – MIDNITE !!
with musical performance by a surprise guest
the show runs thru Oct 14, 2010
EASTERN DISTRICT – 43 BOGART ST – BUSHWICK

a group show of 16 artists:
WILLIAM ANSKIS
JON ANZALONE
AMY FELDMAN
J. GRUNWALD
JASON HORVATH
BJORN LOOSS
MATHEW JONES
SNEJINA LATEV
CARLOTTA MANAIGO
DAN MARTENSEN
TERRY POWERS
ROBERT ROSE
WOODY SHEPARD
VINCENT STRIJKAN
DAVID BENJAMIN SHERRY

if you want it to rain -just stage a party on BOGART !!




~dubknowdub

changing gears – 360 !!
caught STO and ELI of the 2 man Brooklyn noise band – dubknowdub – hauling their DIY musical gear – through the streets of Williamsburg, last week – in their tech savvy tour ‘van’ – over to a gig, at Monster Island . . .
dubknowdub – no doubt – just for the very cutting edge – or the very brave – but hey – enough PAGE SIX – and – “she spends $257,000 per month – including $50,000 on new clothes alone” – !! if only, and as if !!
wow, could we make the art scene rock – with that kinda dough !!
(and we don’t mean Maurizio Cattelan.)

you can check them out, here: dubknowdub/mySpace


STO and ELI of dubknowdub – on their way to a gig at Monster Island.


me and Kate – were on our way to see the very last NYC screening of – RADIANT CHILD !!


but after running into Sto – we stopped by – to check out the new works – at SECRET PROJECT ROBOT – aka – MONSTER ISLAND !!

PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH




~more bubble gum/mogul’s mistress calls him insatiable !!/turns out it’s just RUMSPRINGA !!

. . . our man, big-time art collector PETER BRANT – is back in the tabloids !! in what looks like a big game of – media – gotch’cha !! – what was that – cha cha Charlie’s dad used to say – “if you sit by the river long enough – everyone will float by . . . ”
and you thought you had an amazing love life . . . on the very morning when their divorce and child-custody battle – resumes in Middletown, Conn. today – the NEW YORK POST – has the goods from his self-declared mistress – ALYSSA PALLETT – who swears our boy is – “an insatiable lover and over-the-top sugar daddy” .
“I don’t know how Stephanie lived with this man for so many years,” Pallett told The Post – “He was so controlling.” meanwhile, Stephanie is alleged to have made it – “with the pool boy.”

too bad Brant’s best bud ANDY WARHOL – ain’t around – he would love it !! Andy is on record – many times – as saying his favorite read – was THE POST !!

read it for yourself: NEW YORK POST/SECRETS OF MOGUL’S MISTRESS !!

UP-DATE: TUES SEPT 21, 2010/9:15 AM – GUESS IT WAS JUST: MARRIAGE — RUMSPRINGA !!
. . . that, and no pre-pup.

see: NEW YORK POST/DIVORCE ON THE ROCKS/THEY’RE IN LOVE (?)




~more bubble gum/RUSSELL BRAND arrested. . .

RUSSELL BRAND got arrested yesterday at LA airport for allegedly striking a paparazzi – (above) who then made a citizen’s arrest. Russell looked like he started the day off alright – but got seriously pissed off by this guy . . . who kept getting in his face – TMZ posted a great clip of the scene !!

see: TMZ – hit: RUSSELL BRAND in custody — citizen’s arrest !!

all pix – scanned off TMZ




~CHEWING GUM !! DAN COLEN – YOU GO GO !!

the blogshere moves real fast — ya can’t be sticky !!
MORE VITO SCHNABEL – BRUCENNIAL OPENING PIX – COMING UP – SHORTLY !!

OR, FILE THIS UNDER: CHEWING GUM / MY WORLD MEETS DAN COLEN & ROB PRUITT – HEAD-ON . . .

HERE’S THE JUMP START:
FRI SEPT 17 – 10:06 AM: DON’T WORRY BOUT WHAT ROBERTA SAYS, DAN COLEN – LOL – THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BRING YOU – RACHEL HARRISON !!

SPEAKING OF WHICH – HEY, HEY, HEY – CHA CHA CHARLIE !! WANNA COME WORK FOR ME ?

WE’LL CHANGE THE SITE’S NAME – TO – CRACKULA & PALS !!

OR EVEN – JUST: CRACKULA & CHA CHA !! CRACK & CHA ?

CRACKULA – ? – OF COURSE – THAT’S ME !! – AS IN . . . I, NANCY CRACKULA SMITH SAY . . . GUESS WHO GAVE ME THE MONIKER WAY BACK, CRACK FOR SHORT & IT SUITS ME JUST FINE !! – MR. FINCH HIMSELF !! WHO ELSE.

SMART AS A WHIP & CRAZY AS A FOX !! – OR, SO I LIKE TO THINK !!
I KNOW MY STUFF – BUT, HE KNOWS – HIS !!
HEY, THINK ABOUT IT. IF ALFREDO HAD BURNED OUT & DIED AT 27 – I’D BE – THE NEW GLENN O’BRIEN !!
GLENN – HE WAS SO CUTE – IN ‘RADIANT CHILD’ – WASN’T – HE !!

IT WAS WALTER – WHO NAMED MY PHOTO REPORT ON ARTNET – (2002-2004) – ART LOVERS – BORING !! – BUT THE NAME STUCK – LIKE A GODDAMN PIECE – OF BUBBLE GUM !! DAN COLEN – YOU GO GO !!


I ran into Alfredo at the Rob Pruitt opening. he said Charlie Finch had just stopped to talk to him. and had just told him – his nickname for me. he said never knew. but, he liked it so much – he told Charlie he was going to go home that very night – and paint a painting and call it Crackula. not sure if that was in my honor – or not.


he got a hair cut, thank god. he is looking so cute . . .


he’s almost as cute as a panda bear.
or – “the bear is back” – as Josh Harris was heard to grumble under his breath, recently.
and, he should know.


PANDA BEAR PAINTING – BY ROB PRUITT.
‘Panda Pattern: Lily Pulitzer Spring 2010’, 2010.
acrylic, enamel and glitter on canvas. 96 x 138 in.
‘ROB PRUITT: PATTERN and DEGRADATION’ – MACCARONE GALLERY


we caught up to Charlie Finch at the ALGUS GREENSPON GALLERY opening, just across the street.
the heavy week of fall art season openings – and hard partying – seemed to have taken a toll on his attire – but he was in fine form – crackin’ plenty funny – otherwise !!
among many of the bon mots – here are some of the more pertinent subjects that came up . . .
he told me:
1. that ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST not only read & was a fan of artlovers – but that he was stealing my stuff – off the site – for his own column !! when asked – Charlie – said yes. that was for the record.
2. Charlie himself is going to begin contributing to the prestigious Paris Review.
3. he said he wanted to write on me for artnet – but Walter wouldn’t let him.
4. he lectured me on tossing LUCILLE BALL – a kid from a poverty-stricken broken home – under the bus, in my brief stab at getting ‘YOO-HOO MRS. GOLDBERG’ some face time. he made me feel so bad I almost came home and deleted the whole goddamn post. I was just trying to say GERTRUDE BERG initiated the sitcom format – and though it was not as successful a cultural time traveler – as – ‘I LOVE LUCY’ – the earliest seed of the genre was indeed her’s. you have to give her credit for that – and for the fact that not only did she play the lead role – live – TV was live then – but she wrote every goddamn show – fresh each morning, too – each show colored by what was up – in the world, New York City at large, but mostly in the ethnic ghetto of the Lower East Side – that very day. every day. 5 days a week. Lucy had a whole roomful of writers.
5. He told me I had “a bit of a chip on my shoulder” and his advice was to cool it – a bit. if I wanted to move up in the world of the powers that be – do I ?
6. He told me to go see the BASQUIAT flick – ‘RADIANT CHILD’ – it was great. and I did. and it was.
7. and finally, he told me something – his dad always told him:
” . . . if you sit by the river long enough, everybody floats by !!”


DAN COLEN: POETRY.
. . . although I skipped the opening – to make the – ALLYSON MELLBERG – ‘AN UNEARTHLY CHILD’ – opening at CINDERS in BROOKLYN – I did make the DAN COLEN show – ‘POETRY’- at GAGOSIAN – a few days later.


a lot of my friends – and colleagues, no names – were trashing the show – even joking that the big CAROL VOGEL piece in the NEW YORK TIMES last Friday – was not just a puff piece – but a “paid-for” puff piece. and they were even surmising numbers – up to $50,000 – LOL.
so I wanted to see it – for myself.


how the hell, do you trash a show that – moves like this !!


DAN COLON, ‘Cracks in the Clouds’, 2010. motorcycles, variable


DAN COLEN, ‘In a Million Years’, 2010. oil on canvas. 90 x 204 in.


pretty cool.


DAN COLEN, ‘The Sweetest Thing’, 2010. Brick wall, concrete. steel, re-bar. 156 x 284 x 100 in.
yeah, I’ve hit a few brick walls, too. I can relate. most def.


DAN COLEN, ‘Overture (“Two Minutes in Silver Wells, Two Minutes There, It was Going to be over in this Bedroom in Encino”)’, 2010. Half pipe made of plywood, metal. 92 (H) x 122 (W) x 368 (L) in.


DAN COLEN, ‘Another Country’, 2010. chewing gum on canvas. 110 x 210 in.


detail, ‘Another Country”.


detail, ‘Another Country’.


gummy hand print – on the canvas edge – DAN COLEN, ‘Another Country’.


photo of DAN COLEN – in ‘NEST’ – a book of photos documenting the infamous JULY 26 – AUGUST 18, 2007 – DAN COLEN / DASH SNOW collaboration at DEITCH PROJECTS !!
they’ve got a copy at the front desk you can browse. Gagosian Gallery – 24th ST/CHELSEA.

see: ‘A WILD TRIP FROM BATHROOM TO GALLERY’/by CAROL VOGEL/NEW YORK TIMES/SEPT 9, 2010.

see: ‘DAN COLEN: POETRY’/REVIEW by ROBERTA SMITH/NEW YORK TIMES/SEPT 17, 2010.

see: ‘A PENITENT REFLECTS ON THE WILDERNESS’/by RANDY KENNEDY/NEW YORK TIMES/SEPT 15, 2010.

ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH – UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED




~JULIAN’S WORLD !!

so, I just happened to cross paths last Saturday – with VITO SCHNABEL – the very weekend – his dad, JULIAN SCHNABEL – headlined PAGE SIX !! (FRI SEPT 10, 2010). Vito looked to be doing well, and he told me THE BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION was doing well too, out and about touring – I think he mentioned Europe.


. . . the PAGE SIX ARTICLE – topped the page & blasted out, under the title: “Knives out for Mideast flick” !! – and underneath it – double trouble – was a pretty heated political cartoon about the Florida guy who wanted to burn Korans & all the radical Muslim cave-men terrorists – signing up – in droves !!
you can find the article online – but the title and presentation – have become a little more corporate !!
online – it’s called: “Julian Schnabel’s ‘Miral’ is marketing nightmare for Harvey Weinstein” – (with “pro-Palestinian” – in the URL link !!??) – and, instead of the over-heated Mideast cartoon – it is accompanied by a very glam red carpet shot – of Julian with RULA JEBREAL !! maybe even from the Venice Film Festival, where his film – ‘Miral’ – screened last week ?

bye the way, SOFIA COPPOLA won a Golden Lion for best film – for her “SOMEWHERE” and VINCENT GALLO !! won for best actor for his role in “ESSENTIAL KILLERS”. 67th VENICE FILM FESTIVAL, SEPT 11, 2010.
PAGE SIX says Julian’s film – “was not loved by the critics”.

see: JULIAN SCHNABEL/MIRAL/NEW YORK POST/PAGE SIX/SEPT 10, 2010 !!

since I pretty much have a full deck of Schnabel cards – I’m like – if not now – then – when ?
. . . so, where to begin.


. . . how about with JAVIER BARDEM (r) ?
who certainly owes his current mega-star status to Julian – who gave him his first big break – as Cuban poet – Reinaldo Arenas – in Julian’s brilliant and poetic – ‘When Night Falls’ (2007). I swear this movie is so beautiful – it brought me to an uncontrolled stream of tears. black and white vintage snow scenes in a raw and unfriendly NYC !! it also starred – JOHNNY DEPP.

Javier is seen here – with fellow actor ANDREA CICCIO DI STEPHANO !! It was the opening of ‘Picasso Bacon & Basquiat’, at TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY/ May 8, 2004. He came with Julian and yes, that is a Basquiat behind them.
see more pix from the opening, here: artnet magazine archives/people section/’ART LOVERS NEW YORK – PHOTOS BY NANCY SMITH’/SPRING 2004 !!


OLATZ LOPEZ GARMENDIA, Julian’s second wife – was also in ‘When Night Falls’ – she played a truly wonderful turn as the mother of Arenas. for real. she was good. Olatz has been in all 3 of Julian’s previous movies, including his first – ‘Basquiat’ (1996) – but I bet it’s safe to say – she isn’t, in this one.
she’s at the opening of ‘JULIAN SCHNABEL: NAVIGATION DRAWINGS’, which opened at SPERONE WESTWATER – when it was in the Meatpacking District. Jan 8, 2008.


STELLA, Julian’s older daughter – was also at the same opening.
She is with DICK CAVETT, a family neighbor – or who was once – in the Hamptons.
(bye the way – Stella and her young Brit publishing heir BF at the time – actually bought some Alfredo Martinez Prison drawings – through me, a couple of years back.)
you can see some the Schnabel artwork & catch – more of the ‘NAVIGATION’ opening . . . in the archives.
it ranges from AL PACINO through STEVE BUSCEMI – who is debuting on mainstream TV – this week, no less a shock than seeing Chloe Sevigny as a T.V. Mormon wife !! how things will never cease to amaze us who cut our NYC art world teeth at the Red Bar !! on the Lower East Side – in the early 80s !!
see: ‘NAVIGATION’/Bi Polar Winter/artlovers archive !!



so, here’s VITO – at the Brucennial opening !!
he is 23 at the time.
a wisecrack alternative – to the staid and played-out Whitney Biennial – the Brucennial, which Vito helped produce and curate – was arguably one of best of the big group shows of new art, received mainstream critical acclaim, and was by far – one of the most fun openings – pretty much – of all of last year, too !!
it’s proper title was –
‘The Brucennial 2010: MISEDUCATION IS PRESENTED BY THE BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION IN COLLABORATION WITH VITO SCHNABEL. in a POP-UP GALLERY SPACE, reportedly provided by ABY ROSEN – on WEST BROADWAY in SOHO. the show opened Feb 25, 2010.


Vito’s mom, JACQUELINE BEAURANG, Julian’s first wife – was on hand at the opening.
she is also the mom of Stella and Lola.


in fact, Vito’s sister LOLA, LOLA MONTES SCHNABEL – had a piece in the show !! her mom stands beside it.


Lola’s piece was pretty good. it was a hand-blown glass female torso – that was lit from within. She made it when she was in Italy.


it had a scrawly black line drawing across the chest.


you can get a sense of how good the show was. ok. maybe one day I will – post more pix !!


then in came – Julian and RULA JEBREAL, hand in hand.
the relationship had surfaced in the tabloids a while back. it was a rocky time.


Julian greets the Bruces,


and Julian (L) greets more Bruces !!


RULA JEBREAL.


and yep, I do have a photo of LOLA or LOLA MONTES SCHNABEL, as she likes to be known.
Julian’s younger daughter – she is very cool. I like her a lot. when this photo was taken, she was in her 3rd year Filmmaking at COOPER UNION. May 11, 2006.
maybe – that’s where the connection to the Bruces comes from – as they are all Cooper Union alumnae.

ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH




~WOMEN ONLY: FOLK ART by FEMALE HANDS/last week

while we are at – this is the last week to catch:

‘Women Only: Folk Art by Female Hands’ – extended thru SUN SEPT 19, 2010 !!
curated by STACY C. HOLLANDER, SENIOR CURATOR
AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM – 45 WEST 53rd ST – NYC

read more about the exhibit, here !!

included in the exhibit:


CREWL BEDCOVER
Artist unidentified, New England or New York State
1815-1825
Wool with embroidery, 100 x 84 in.
American Folk Art Museum, gift of Virginia Esmerian, 1995.32.1


GIFT DRAWING: A REWARD OF TRUE FAITHFULNESS FROM MOTHER LUCY TO ELEANOR POTTER
Polly Ann (Jane) Reed, (1818-1881), New Lebanon, New York
1848
Watercolor and ink on paper, 11-3/8 x 10-1/2 in. (sight)
American Folk Art Musuem , promised gift of Ralph Esmerian , P1.2001.302

IMAGES/COURTESY: AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM




~ROB PRUITT/PATTERN & DEGRADATION

check out: the great video PARINAZ MOGADASSI – made for ROB PRUITT/YouTube !!
though I think the soundtrack – really makes it !!

ROB PRUITT – ‘PATTERN & DEGRADATION’
OPENS SAT SEPT 11, 2010 / 6-8 PM
the show runs thru OCT 23, 2010
and takes over the whole block – including MACCARONE !!
GAVIN BROWN’S enterprise – 620 GREENWICH ST. – DOWNTOWN. NYC.




~YES, I WAS !!

A WITNESS !!


the World Trade Center towers – come down – SEPT 11, 2001


I knew we were under attack – when I saw the 2nd plane swing over the East River, and make for the second tower.
then I watched them pancake down.
human screams, filled the air for miles – as if the island had become a huge outdoor sports stadium – in a huge mass reverse – of cheering.


Theo.


Kate.


one of the quilts I work on.
I repair archival antique quilts by hand. with patience & alot of hard-earned hand-stitch skills . . .
I also sometimes consult on quilt collecting, and quilt lore and patterns. go figure.
maybe I should open a gallery – and call it – THE HOLE, too ?

PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH




~ALLYSON MELLBERG/AN UNEARTHLY CHILD !!


ALLYSON MELLBERG/LOTUS EATER/IMAGE COURTESY: CINDERS GALLERY

ALLYSON MELLBERG – ‘AN UNEARTHLY CHILD’ – OPENING TO-NITE – FRI SEPT 10, 2010 / 7-10PM !!
the show runs thru OCT 10, 2010
CINDERS GALLERY – 103 HAVEMEYER ST – WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN