FILE THIS UNDER: “the last thing I needed” !! – times two !!
just in case you are totally out of the loop – while artlovers was undergoing a security check – thank you REV LUKE MURPHY !! – and is still disabled – JEFFREY DEITCH got a rather ‘un-noble’ send-off from NYC.
JEFFREY DEITCH at the recent SHEPARD FAIREY opening, ‘MAY DAY’ DEITCH PROJECTS, SOHO, NYC.
MAY 1, 2010 – PHOTO BY NANCY SMITH
that little dark spot above his left lip – which is actually blood-red in the digital archive but ‘auto-corrected’ by wordpress for some reason – and which I can’t override !! is actually a small fresh scar. what happened ?
rumors flew at the opening that Jeffrey had just socked someone or someone had just thrown a punch at him.
unable to to get any solid confirmation, and being that the scar was not visible in the published pix – I let it go.
but here’s what really happened: caught first-hand on someone’s camera. apart from that absolutely gorgeous exclamation – “the last thing I needed” !! – was the fact that not one single drop of blood landed on that immaculate baby pink suit !!
JEFFREY DEITCH confronts his ‘accidental’ attacker on YouTube !!
(gotta love not only the size of the hulking bad mannered brute (?) but those secret masonic symbols on his back – give me reality – over fiction, any day !!)
the other blow to Jeffrey’s departing ego – and it’s surprising – considering that he has left quite a legacy behind in his wake – a fact no one can deny – is the send-off kiss-off – rather unfortunate, and sour review ROBERTA SMITH penned on the SHEPARD FAIREY show – Jeffrey’s final show – here. and so MR. COOL – or as we like to call him – JEFFREY D. – sets off for L.A. and hopefully, not into the sunset. Good-bye and Good Luck. we will miss ya. engaging personality aside – you brought a lot of great shows to the scene. thanks.
ROBERTA SMITH, ‘SHEPARD FAIREY: MAY DAY’ . Published MAY 21, 2010. THE NEW YORK TIMES.
PHOTO BY ADAM REICH/NEW YORK TIMES
my god, Roberta – haven’t you ever heard of: the Medium is the Message ??!!
and, don’t ask me – I don’t know why – some New City critics can’t get over the the demise of Performance Art (proper) by Poster Art – which is surely a more popular – as in ‘mass communication’ and way less academic form of performance art – if you think about – for even a few seconds ??!!
and while we are at – yes !! go see: BANKSY – ‘EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP’ !! – if you haven’t already.
most definite drop that Nor-Eastern NYC art critic fueled – snobbishness – it is such a miss-out stand – and get yourself – to the big street par-tay !! it ain’t happening for naught !!
I would even venture to say BANKSY is his generation’s JULIAN SCHNABEL – and ‘EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP’ – is his – ‘BASQUIAT’ !!
I’m the last who wanted to admit it – being so NYC-centric – and someone who thought without having all the facts – I might add – that BANKSY was just one big sell-out and commercial hype. WRONG. the guy’s brilliant. period. JEFFREY shoulda screened it – as his parting shot . . .
KATE and I caught it on our recent excursion to the homeland – up north – MONTREAL !!
we both loved it. many times over.
that scribble down the rightt hand side – ‘EN PRISON KRAFT FOODS’ – ha ha – that’s some ‘local’ as in Quebecois – graff color – or I guess that would be: couleur !!
as to who made, as in hand-knit – Kate’s great sweater – that would be – moi – of course.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. MONTREAL, QUEBEC. CANADA. MAY 13, 2010.
you can watch the BANKSY/PARANOID PICTURES !! ‘EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP’ – trailer here !!
and for all you worldwide losers – who haven’t seen it yet – here’s the international screening list !!
be there – or be: square.
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – TUES JUNE 1, 2010 – 11:56 AM
~JEFFREY DEITCH SEND-OFF/not so hot . . . on the other hand, BANKSY’S ‘EXIT’ rocks !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 1st, 2010, 10:02am
DENNIS HOPPER – REBEL ICON & ARTIST – DIED YESTERDAY, SAT MAY 29, 2010. He was 74.
DENNIS HOPPER at the opening of his retrospective show – ‘SIGNS OF THE TIMES’ – at TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY in NYC – last Fall 2009.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, NYC. SEPT 12, 2009
see more pix from the opening: ART LOVERS PHOTOS/2009-09-22 !!
including this photo:
TONY SHAFRAZI and SEAN PENN at the DENNIS HOPPER OPENING – NYC, SEPT 12, 2009.
ALL PHOTOS – COPYRIGHT – NANCY SMITH
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – SUN MAY 30, 2010 – 10:42 AM
~DENNIS HOPPER 1936-2010 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 30th, 2010, 9:17am
well in case you haven’t noticed artlovers is pretty broke-en !!
a victim to our own success – our web server took us on a hi-speed hi-tech up-grade and the site, pretty much jerry-rigged from the get-go – didn’t make the leap. all the PHP and even the WORDPRESS sections – popped.
so, gotta close down for technical maintenance !! check back in about 3 wks+ – and keep your fingers crossed !!
at any rate – even though the lights just went down on a lot of the cutting edge NEW YORK CITY ART SCENE – esp as sampled in our archives !! – at least – it isn’t a toxic black goopy oil spill invading the ocean !! just one big intellectual void !! ouch !! how about – with heart and soul & 100% street cred !!
if you find yourself really missing all the news, not to mention – the pix !! and the right-to-the-bone – artwork & artworld break-down analysis – that’s not gonna surface – pretty much anywhere else – – and want to do something concrete – about it – use the contact on the home page – & drop me a line – !! we’re positioning to get bigger – along with the new tech up-grade.
later.
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 8:16 PM
~closing down for repairs !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 5th, 2010, 6:48pm
GO VEGAN !! – JONATHAN HOROWITZ !! – OPENING RECEPTION SUN MAY 9 / 4-6 PM !!
LA FRIEDA MEATS/GBE – 601 WASHINGTON ST – MEATPACKING DISTRICT – NYC
sure to be a big street party !! – say hi to GAVIN !! – congrats on the new big space !!
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 7:33 PM
~GO VEGAN/GBE/OPENING MAY 9 !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 5th, 2010, 6:30pm
DOLK / M-CITY – OPENING RECEPTION – SAT MAY 8, 2010 / 7-10 PM
show runs til MAY 29, 2010
BROOKLYNITE GALLERY – 334 MALCOLM X BLVD – BROOKLYN
2 blocks from A or C trains to UTICA AVE STOP
HRS: THURS – SAT/ 1-7 PM or by APPOINTMENT
“Two titans of the street art world collide when DOLK and M-CITY invade BROOKLYNITE GALLERY !!
Reclusive Norwegian stencil artist DOLK emerges from the shadows to showcase a new collection of cutting imagery. Often monochromatic with one precisely placed color, DOLK crafts strangely beautiful story-lines into his work, infusing a wry sense of humor into such wide ranging topics as celebrity, religion and societal pressures. AS a whole DOLK’S new body of work conveys a bit more cynicism than in the past, with most figures displaying enigmatic expressions as well as the inclusion of one key prop that at times will leave you scratching your head . . .
Look closely at a satellite picture of the earth and you just might see an M-CITY mural. Listen to the echoing sounds of metal forging, pistons firing, and air compression as M-CITY, Poland’s most prolific artist working in the public space, erects yet another large scale mural on any number of continents. Using his graphic brand of stencil artillery that includes images of smoke-stack factories, cogs and gears, steam ships, and repetitive city blocks, M-CITY redefines the Industrial revolution. That same crushing imagery is transferred seamlessly to his deliberate. grey-scale canvases which could easily be passed off as Cold War propaganda.
Thank heavens half the space at BROOKLYNITE GALLERY is outdoors — quite conducive for these two addicts of outdoor activity who also plan on leaving many gifts to the propel of NYC !!”
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF BROOKLYNITE GALLERY
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 7:23 PM
~DOLK & M-CITY OPEN SAT MAY 8 !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 5th, 2010, 6:05pm
HEADS UP: SUN BOXES – A SOLAR POWERED SOUND INSTALLATION BY – CRAIG COLORUSSO – WILL TAKE PLACE AT THe IMPORTANT RECORDS COMPOUND – SAT MAY 8, 2010 / NOON TO SUNRISE – SOMEWHERE IN THE VICINITY OF NEWBURYPORT, MAINE !! aka as the ATLANTIC NORTH-EAST COAST !!
email john at importantrecords dot com for address 7 directions.
watch: a sampling on YouTube !!
“SUN BOXES are an environment to enter and exit – comprised of 20 speakers operating independently each powered by solar panels. There is a different guitar sample in each box all playing together making the composition. The guitar samples are all of different lengths so the whole piece keep evolving – participants are encouraged to walk amongst the speakers. it sounds different inside of the array !! There is a different sense of space inside. Certain speakers will be closer and louder therefore the piece will sound different to different people in different positions – there are NO !! batteries involved – the SUN BOXES are reliant on the sun. When the sun sets the music stops.”
follow SUN BOXES on:
FACEBOOK !!
TWITTER !!
MySpace !!
IMPORTANT RECORDS !!
ALL IMAGES COURTESY: CRAIG COLORUSSO
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 6:52 PM
~SUN BOXES/CRAIG COLORUSSO/MAINE COAST !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 5th, 2010, 5:39pm
ALLISON GILDERSLEEVE and ERIK JEOR
APRIL 27 – MAY 29, 2010
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA GALLERY – 179 EAST BROADWAY – LOWER EAST SIDE
the show opened THURS APRIL 27, 2010 – meet ERIK JEOR – whose home base is Sweden.
ERIK JEOR, ‘Mashed Bananas Molded In The Shape of A British Lion Rampant’, 2008.
watercolor on paper. 87 x 59 in. ($8,050.)
ERIK JEOR, ‘HYDRO SILK’, 2010.
watercolor on paper. 27.4 x 19.3 in . ($2, 225.)
ERIK JEOR, ‘ALLEJANDRO LEOPARDI’, 2007.
watercolor on paper. 29.5 x 19.9 in. ($2,225.)
ALLISON GILDERSLEEVE, beside her large canvas.
from the gallery press release:
“It is interesting to note that GILDERSLEEVE, an American with no Scandinavian ties, has had such a warm reception in Sweden, JEOR’S homeland. In a country where light and dark are so important on a daily basis it seems fitting that these two artists have found their way towards a middle ground, where the shadows are numerous but kept at bay.”
ALLISON GILDERSLEEVE, ‘FOREST WALK’, 2010.
oil and alkyd on canvas. 60 x 60 in. ($12,000.)
ALLISON GILDERSLEEVE, ‘TIPPING ROCK’, 2010
oil and alkyd on canvas, 64 x 60 in. ($12,000).
on the front desk, don’t miss ERIK JEOR’S – CD !! – ‘BALROYNIGRESS’ !!
which translates roughly, as told by ERIK JEOR himself – as: “fictive potato from Norway” !!
I didn’t get a chance to hear the music – but his art translates amazingly – to this small fold-out concept.
this is the CD – when folded up – a really beautiful packaging design and concept.
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT – NANCY SMITH
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 5:12 PM
~ALLISON GILDERSLEEVE & ERIK JEOR |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 5th, 2010, 3:45pm
yep, the line snaked right around the block – !!
SHEPARD FAIREY – ‘MAYDAY’ – OPENING SAT MAY 1, 2010
the show runs thru MAY 29, 2010 – DEITCH PROJECTS – 18 WOOSTER ST – SOHO – NYC.
but JOSH HARRIS, was just about the most famous person there, until ADRIEN BRODY showed !!
with him, on the left: SIMON CERIGO, artlovers critic-at-large & music reviewer – who happened to hitchhike a ride into local notorious acclaim – with his ‘unscripted’ cameo performance in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – figure it out for yourself.
it was definite ‘MAYDAY’ – as in distress signal – as opposed to MAY DAY !! – the celebration.
what a diff a space makes.
the old phone was pretty good metaphor for what was happening in real time – a jerry-rigged BP oil rig blew – and was spilling a huge huge sick greasy slick into the Gulf of Mexico – aka – the global ocean and, no PLAN B.
SHEPARD FAIREY – I guess calling the shots – right on the money – makes him a legend – he did say his Houston St. wall mural was about “Climate Change”, didn’t he. and here it comes – double time – now.
what can I say, I cried when my coppery-colored pet goldfish died. we won it at the San Gennaro Street Festival in Little Italy and it grew to be huge and we all swear it made eye contact and communicated via E.S.P.
JEFFREY DEITCH. he seemed pretty pleased with the show . . . his last (for now !!) in NYC.
he’s off to MOCA in L.A. !!
see: JEFFREY DEITCH/NEW DIRECTOR/MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART – LOS ANGELES
a very cool – ADRIEN BRODY !!
a little later on – he was spotted sporting a tiny NOAH LYON ‘McHITLER’ button !! in his lapel.
speaking of ‘evil’ RONALD McDONALD !! and everything else wrong with middle America !!
and making sure you know it – NOAH LYON and his wife, MARIA !!
also in the crowd – TAYLOR McKIMENS. looks like his life – is in KATHY GRAYSON’S hands, now ???
LANCE DE LOS REYES aka sometimes as RAMBO – !! – with his new son, XAVIER and the very beautiful mom – GINA !!
everybody’s fave – BILL BRADY of ATM GALLERY – wearing a TOMOO GOKITA T-SHIRT – what else !!
the show was mostly about ICONS !! the new ‘still life’ -or- ‘mistress’ pix – if you were PICASSO . . .
mistress pix out – Pop icons, in.
in fact, people in the street talking a little bit more kindly on MR. BRAINWASH and his show of icons, now.
big diff – Shepard aced the MAYDAY !! – MR. BRAINWASH just missed ALEXANDER McQUEEN . . .
yep, you have to be that good – !!
Shepard even scrambled around with his own icon-making – MR. OBEY aka OBEY GIANT.
am I the only one who sees ALFREDO MARTINEZ – the big ape – in that face ?
ok. gun maker and BASQUIAT FORGER.
(well he’s still in China and artlovers apparently is banned or blocked in China – so I’m safe for now. now don’t you – drop the dime on me. Josh told me Alfredo is living in the Internet cafe in the local town. literally, under one of the tables.)
JIMI HENDRIX. I think its actually one of the very few things that speak well of contemporary America – its musicians are mass culture icons.
this one had beautiful beautiful stencil work, and layering.
they were definite images – as in, paintings – rather than collages or worked-on photo-collages. they didn’t even strike you as photo-derived – but hand-drawn from from the get-go ?
albeit hand-drawn from photos !! well cone on – these guys are all dead, they couldn’t sit for their portraits, could they.
(aside to MR. BRAINWASH – still love your huge photo-based JEAN MICHEL !! and why can’t the filmmaker change places with the painter, if the painter becomes the filmmaker and expects everyone to to be down with that ? underdogs – unite.)
a great one – !! – KEITH HARING.
a super abstract – as opposed to a portrait one – OBEY. super nice scramble, Shepard.
we’ll end on this note: “HIGH TIME” !! – “PEACE”.
meanwhile – across the street – watching on – the new keepers of the flame.
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT – NANCY SMITH
SHEPARD FAIREY – ‘MAYDAY’ OPENING – DEITCH PROJECTS. NYC, MAY 1, 2010
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 4:35 PM
~SHEPARD FAIREY/MAYDAY OPENING |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 5th, 2010, 2:05pm
MUTANT WORLD – HERE WE COME !!
while you are out and about – today SAT MAY 1 – is the last day to catch that knock-out TOMOO GOKITA show at ATM !! Tokyo-based Tomoo Gokita also uses stencils and spray paint and iconic American ‘pop’ images – !!
BILL BRADY~ATM – 542 WEST 24th St – CHELSEA – NYC
~last day – TOMOO GOKITA !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 1st, 2010, 12:10pm
gonna be a big street part-tay on WOOSTER ST – today – it’s also the sunset show for DEITCH PROJECTS !!
and, is that MAYDAY as in S.O.S. in distress – – for the world – I think so, at least for the GULF Of MEXICO !!
(as opposed to May Day – a celebration of Spring ? )
p.s. it was reported in the local paper – The Villager/April 28-May 4, 2010 issue – that “assaults” were being attempted on the ‘wall’ – FAIREY and his crew just put up on the DEITCH sponsored tag wall on the corner of Houston and the Bowery. “Last week, a mad tagger (!!) managed to throw up a partial scrawl on the new artwork, only to be grabbed by a beefy, albeit slow moving, security guard. The tagger evaded the guard’s clutches by wriggling out of his T-shirt, also leaving behind his cap and spray paint can. On Monday, another vandal (!!) dispensing with paint altogether, heaved a grapefruit-sized rock through the sheetrock-like panel that the piece is on, leaving a hole. He or she was apparently aiming for a bull’s eye on the artwork, but missed.” The Villager’s ‘SCOOPY’ then goes to say: “Word on the street is that because Fairey committed the sin of actually attending Rhode Island School of Design, some graffiti artists might not respect his work as ‘authentic’.” . . . yo. might have more to do with – how does someone who made his rep and big big pile of dough as a street ‘vandal’ himself – put up a stance that does not allow other street ‘vandals’ from climbing on that big bad bandwagon to sky-high success themselves – by hopping on board. literally.
WATCH OUT SHEPARD FAIREY !! invoking the spirit of that biggest tagger-in-the sky – JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT – king of the never sold-outs – might just backfire on ya !! plus the poster image above doesn’t even really look like Jean Michel, except for maybe the hair – what’s up with that, not using other people’s (media) photos – as the basis for your iconic images – anymore ? guess, that’s what happens when ya get too big. you can can only burn so bright – before the flame turns around and bites you right back !!
no judgment here. just bringing the issues to the table as they play-out. a lot of people told me they don’t like that Bowery wall – cause its “played-out” – personally I don’t think so. I think its great.
esp the stencil work.
if you look closely at that poster above – you can detect some of that subtle stencil work – esp the triangle of concentric ‘curves’ – that’s a key ‘element’ in archival American quilting – a pattern widely used on colonial era quilt border patterns.
ON SECOND THOUGHT: throwing a rock through tag work doesn’t sound like the M.O. of any street artist I know . . . sounds more like a radical politico – to me – like, maybe even a disgruntled early OBAMA supporter ?
and, re that GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL – I don’t think – they have – a PLAN B !!!
its hard to believe – but could an off-shore oil rig – be as jerry-rigged as this little Indie art world website !!??
talk about ruining the neighborhood – (on what EARTH DAY weekend ??!!) – gives new meaning to that good ole American expression:
there goes the hood – when the black(s) move in !!!!
as for SHEPARD FAIREY himself – a big supporter of OBAMA for CHANGE = HOPE – he is down on record in that same VILLAGER article – paraphrased as such: “Fairey has been underwhelmed with Obama, so far too, feeling he hasn’t delivered on promised change enough”.
in case you are just joining us, Fairey created that iconic “HOPE” poster – based on someone’s else’s photo, bye the way. the world isn’t just going down – its going down, fast & mighty complex ironic.
SHEPARD FAIREY – ‘MAYDAY’ – OPENING TO-DAY – SAT MAY 1 / 6-9 PM
the show runs MAY 1 – 29, 2010
DEITCH PROJECTS – 18 WOOSTER ST – SOHO – NYC
SHEPARD FAIREY puts up his (legit-DEITCH SPONSORED) activist ‘street’ mural – “It’s about climate change” – Fairey. Houston and the Bowery, NYC. APRIL 22, 2010.
the stencils were cut from heavy gauge cardboard.
the mural had an ‘activist’ – calling.
can you pick up the stencil work – its coloring was very subtle – totally 100% right on.
this is an early and pivotal American quilt pattern – esp used on quilt borders – dating way back to colonial times.
stenciling itself is an early American folk art – used to decorate the walls of early colonial and pioneer homes by itinerant craftsmen. They applied the stencil designs with stubby brushes. modern times – it’s done with spray paint !! talk about the advances !! of 200 years of relentless technology, not to mention American ingenuity !!
the ‘quilt’ pattern was also painted onto the wall – in several places, as well.
using traditional American pattern elements – is one of the keys as to how Fairey was able to use re-cycled 1950 Communist era Eastern European political poster art, esp its graphic composition and color schemes – to resonate with such an American feel . . .
the mural ‘s formal title is just, a little cheezy, no ?
‘These parties disgust me’ – but hey, its hard to nail things down, esp when you wish some old school – B BOYS – as in Break Boys – were calling the shots. cut to the chase guys. let’s see what HOMELAND SECURITY & FEMA’s – made of now !!
played-out ? sold-out ? commercial ? it’s still a mural with a message – that tries to deal with what’s going down, and I mean d-o-w-n with the world, and America, in particular today. as well as what’s good about, esp America: and that’s numero one – free speech. and is a testament to the huge art/pop culture that is still alive and kicking in NYC – the cutting edge of the global art world – still. the chance that street artists, art schooled or not – who cares – can make it big, starting with Jean Michel (SAMO) – is sweet no matter how ya cut it. and the sweet revival & ever-resonating rich heritage of American ‘folk’ art, really pop !! as in popular art – going back to days one is right on the mark !! culture and controversy are actually quite a dynamic duo – that gets the art discussion back into the common lowest denominator !! no doubt. as Deitch’s final flame-out – congrats, Jeffery D. we’ll miss ya. despite what I said on my frozen home page – there ya go, karma will come back and bite ya – every time. well he is brilliant – but a bit autistic, socially I guess. but looking back, I realize in a way that – that was a big part of the fun about Jeffrey. though he was kinda clueless in many ways – he put on some great shows. name my favs? BARRY McGEE, CLAIRE ROJAS, ARA PETERSON & JIM DRAIN. the COCOROSIE PERFORMANCE. DASH SNOW & DAN COLEN – NEST. BEN JONES – THE NEW DARK AGE. MICHEL GONDRY – BE KIND REWIND !!
ALL PHOTOS – EXCEPT THE DEITCH PROJECTS POSTER IMAGE – COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – SAT MAY 1, 2010 – 1 PM
~SHEPARD FAIREY-MAYDAY !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 1st, 2010, 10:12am
