John Bailly, talented painter and friend of the Harmony, has his first NYC show tonight. Come out to see his mixed media works in the “Place of Mind” series, a collaboration with critically acclaimed Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco (whom President Barack Obama recently named inaugural poet).
Artist’s reception TONIGHT:
ClampArt 531 W 25th St New York, NY 10001
Thursday, February 21, 2013
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Ed Ruscha, courtesy Band of Outsiders (Spring 2012 Lookbook)
Ed Ruscha’s work has profoundly influenced countless modern artists, but his artist books – such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles, and A Few Palm Trees – offer a unique opportunity to trace that influence directly to the near and far corners of the modern art world. For decades, a broad spectrum of artists have produced their own small books revisiting, rebelling against, and responding to the American painter and photographer’s idiosyncratic collections.
Now, Ruscha’s artist books and the fascinatingly kindred works they inspired are the focus of a new exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery and book – Various Small Books: Referencing Various Small Books by Ed Ruscha from MIT Press – both of which showcase Ruscha’s materials alongside the numerous books they influenced. To coincide with the exhibit opening and book release, Ruscha joins Paul Holdengräber onstage to reflect on his career and enduring influence.
Operating under the notion that anyone can publish their own work today, Anonymous Press allows the user to simply type in a title for a book, and allow Google Images to do the rest. The site runs a search on the title, and puts the resulting images into a layout, resulting in a tiny little xerox-style art book, which you can order in a hand-made laserjet copy. For examples, take a look at “Trees In Winter,” or “Dog Power.” The possibilities are endless, and the concept naturally ridiculous, but it does comment on the ease of online curation seeping into the editorial world of today. After all, there are few of us who don’t rely on search results for images we use for presentation, communication, or even artistic reappropriation.
Of course, Anonymous Press won’t own the content of the book, and neither will you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your very own copy for a small donation of $3 to cover the printing and shipping costs. So if you choose your search terms wisely, you will end up with a nice little zine to call your own.
Doggerland is the name given to a once-significant landmass now lost in the North Sea Basin. It connected the island of Great Britain to mainland Europe during and after the last Ice Age, and was gradually inundated by rising sea levels between 18000 and 5500 BC. Integral to this piece is the idea of “blink and you’ll miss it”, playfully combining the passing of time and the act of revealing something that is no longer there. Doggerland is an examination of an inundated terrain, of wearing away and disappearance.
Joel Meyerowitz’s photos sneak up on you. Though you may not recognize his name at first glance, a quick overview of his photographs is likely to ring one bell or another. It’s the gleam of the thigh in the uniform of a female bus driver in Los Angeles, circa 1976. It’s a street shot of a man who has fallen on the sidewalk in Paris and the strangers who step over him to get to work. Whether featuring a crying babe in Mexico or a four way intersection of Midtown NYC, Meyerowitz finds value in the intimate day-to-day drama of a city’s most typical inhabitants. Born in the Bronx in 1938, Meyerowitz began taking spontaneous photos of New York City in the 60’s and 70’s. He has grown to become one of the most influential names in photography and is often credited for changing the attitude people had toward color photography from one of resistance to universal acceptance.
In November he had an exhibit at the Howard Greenberg Gallery for which the New York Times provided an online slideshow preview. His show at Paris’s Maison Européenne de la Photographie continues through April 7th and has received rave reviews from BBC, ABC News and Le Monde. It is a beautiful space for a fascinating and thorough retrospective.
This June, Phaidon is releasing Taking My Time; a limited two volume edition of Meyerowitz’s photographs from the 1960’s through present day. Pre-order it online now.
Glimpses of Costa Rica, as seen through the lens of my 8×10 camera (please click on a thumbnail to load the slideshow)…
The iconic noise-pop band My Bloody Valentine released a new album on their website this month. Kitty Empire observes in The Guardian:
There’s a trademark unsteadiness to all of the Valentines’ music, often transcendental, sometimes actually sickening, from their breakthrough EPs to their 1988 debut Isn’t Anything, via their last blast, 1991’s Loveless, to this nine-track reiteration-cum-rejuvenation of their contradictory sound.
Still, after an absence of more than 20 years it’s the most aggressively amniotic stuff going. The lead track, She Found Now, picks up more or less where Loveless left off, with guitarist Bilinda Butcher cooing shapeless nothings, Valentine-in-chief Kevin Shields crooning back, guitars flanging, and an urgent aortic throb underpinning all the gauziness. You can imagine fans punching the air at this point, in the blessed relief that this long, long, long-awaited album doesn’t induce a desire to kick the cat in disappointment.
Also: the vinyl is pretty much the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for that special someone.
Venerable downtown art gallery The Hole is playing host to six new works from surf legend turned artist, Herbie Fletcher. Titled “Wrecktangles,” the pieces are large-scale constructions made from actual surfboards that were destroyed in the waves. Cut-up, broken and warped by crashes, the pieces come together and form a whole that reveals not just how the boards were used up, but also the eccentricities and traits of each individual rider. From personal affectations and good-luck charms to long outdated corporate sponsors and events, all of the boards original stylings are left intact, making them relics of each era of style and sport.
“Wrecktangles” opened on February 9th at The Hole, at 312 Bowery, and runs through February 28th.
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