Wednesday, June 29, 2005

one fancy bar of soap!

Bar of soap sells for $18,000?????????????
BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Perhaps the oddest piece of work at Art Basel is a bar of soap, displayed on a square of black velvet, purportedly made from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fat, removed during liposuction.

mmmmmm....bar of soap made of liposuction fat....mmmmmm!

Cragg vs. Snider

Tony Cragg
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This comparison was noted by MONA director Jef Bourgeou.  He writes, "....and so, the hocking/snyder wall of colored objects recalls the work tony cragg was doing in the late 70's and early 80's. he's still a great sculptor. still evolving and inventive. tony started out with squares and circles of his wall objects. later made them more pictorial." Great comparison!
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Clint Snider

secrets of detroit

Set your tivos for Thursday June 30, 10:00am on the Travel Channel. The Travel Channel is featuring "The Secrets of Detroit"......Detroit is the oldest city in the Midwest, but it reinvents itself to keep up with the times. Head inside the city that put the world on wheels.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Hocking and Snider take over Canada

"Scott Hocking & Clinton Snider: RELICS & Other Works" at Artcite Inc., Windsor
June 25 through August 13, 2005: 
info@artcite.ca
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This wall installation by Clint makes me think that Martha Stewart went into detroit and dipped found objects in shades of blues, pinks, yellows, and greens.  I don't bring up Mrs. Stewart in a bad way....I really enjoyed this piece!  The found objects took on a different identity when dipped in the thick painted colors.  One can imagine the gritty, dirty pieces under the happy color scheme.  I found that everyone interested in the wall started picking out their favorites and creating matches to put up on their walls.  The objects ranged from underwear and socks to broken light bulbs and toothbrushes!  The intricate detail of each individual piece was magnified by the solid color scheme.  I think that I want the blue dipped underwear!
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Scott Hocking prints
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Hocking's huge found boat installation....ask Mr. Hocking about how they smuggled all of this across the border!
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Snider's wall
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This is the RELIC installation that Snider and Hocking installed at the DIA.  The piece is huge and took up a whole wall.  It has quite a presence!  It was fun to guess who did which boxes....there are differences that you can see if you know both artists' styles of work and color palette.  I will leave the guessing up to you!
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There is my underwear!
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Monday, June 27, 2005

the new decorating craze: video art!

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I often wondered how video artists sold their work.  I know that museums collect video art but where is the market for the typical collector?  Paintings are easy: just slap 'em on the wall and sculptures: even easier...put 'em on the coffee table, pedestal or outside.  So how does one display video art?  Should the owner play the original video art, should there be copies made, what happens when the video isn't playing - do you keep a blank tv screen, what if dvd's become outdated....? In a recent NY times article a pair of collectors have become obsessed with video art and have let it take over there house.  The article explains some of the issues tied with this new form of art.

gorky and de kooning

I have never paid much attention to the direct relationship of de kooning's and Gorky's painting but I have been reading the de kooning biography and now can see how much the two artists' painting styles have in common.  I guess it is true that no matter how much of an individual you are as an artist you still can be influenced by your peers.  Gorky served as de kooning's mentor and big brother.  You can see how much the artists influenced each other but where Gorky leaves off  de Kooning is just beginning!
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gorky
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de kooning
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gorky
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de kooning

Funism?

So I started internet surfing for finding out any kind of info on contemporary art. I came across this site that has named the movements of contemporary art...again don't trust the internet...but apparently based on "internet fact" (hahahah) we are in a period called "FUNISM" !!

1980
Contemporary Art - 1980s – Present
Multiculturalism - 1980s - Present
Graffiti Movement - 1980s - Present
BritArt / Young British Artists ("yBa") - 1988 - Present
1990
Net Art - early 1990s - Present
Massurrealism - early 1990s - Present
Lowbrow - c. 1994 - Present
Bitterism - 1998 - Present
Stuckism - 1999 - Present
2000
Thinkism - September 12, 2001 - Present
Funism - c. 2002 - Present

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Summer Pack1

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Fake cardboard boxes, tiny wood buildings and bubble gum colored sprawling sculptures take over the beautiful, open space at Susanne Hilberry.  The exhibit is a good example of current contemporary art. 
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Susanne always works the room! She always dresses hip and cutting edge yet remaining appropriate and not over done.  Nice shoes Susanne!

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Ivin Ballen created these boxed fakes!  From far away they appeared to be regular card board boxes with pastel and colored tape folded onto the wall.  The "boxes" are actually made of fiberglass and some acrylic paint!  Nice trick but should I bring up the question of "why"?  Why would someone go through all the trouble of creating these copies?.....why is a figurative casted sculpture any different?  Again art has no rules so I will only pose questions.  I found the work visually pleasing and wasn't bothered by the process and found it more interesting.  To me they were like a humorous commentary of where contemporary art is at: making fakes of what is already selling...using a more traditional technique of casting but instead of a traditional objects...using cardboard boxes.  The color palette matched well with the rest of the show and knowing the curator's palette I can guess why the work was selected.


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Fabio Fernadez created this intimate "Contemporary Tramp Series, 2005"  of wood from a clementine crates.  They are untitled with names in parenthesis like sawtooth building, gable with shed, large barn with opening, and poultry shed/George Segal.  The names seem to reference other real buildings.  The recycled materials are a wonderful after fact because they are so refined, smooth, and clean the viewer might never guess the wood was from old crates!  The small buildings are put together with such precision and an eye for detail.  The wood grain even is complementary of the construction..
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Fernandez's pieces among one of the many drum sets.  I arrived late in the opening but I assume that they drum sets were used in a sound performance installation earlier....but this is only speculation.

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More of Ballen's work
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These large sleigh-like floor sculptures are by artist Jon Rajkovich. These pieces constructed of MDF, cast plastic and latex seemed to me to be some kind of hybrid of furniture, art, and found object.  At the ends of the wavy sculpture are cast pieces that look like they were taken from an old rocking horse.  I enjoyed how the pieces worked with the rest of the art...even though I still am at a lose of words to describe them.


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More fake cardboard....
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I like this one...it looks like a child's rendering of a computer or radio device.  Over and out!

Friday, June 24, 2005

Films of Fire by dFUNK

dDETROITfUNk has posted two short films of the Studebaker Plant: one before the fire and one after. Definitely worth watching!

summer time is boring

This is what happens in NY in the summer when galleries are supposed to show their "not as marketable" artists.  From the looks at Deitch...it seems pretty boring.  Anyways, check out this link to artnet.  They list every gallery worth visiting this summer and what will be on display.  Maybe a summer trip to NY now???


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Weekend Update
by Walter Robinson


Summer has officially begun, but the New York gallery scene basically shut down at the beginning of June, starting its long, hot-weather hiatus weeks in advance, before everyone else, as is the avant-garde practice. Deitch Projects set the tone for the month by heading off to Europe, leaving behind a gallery filled with robots, courtesy of San Francisco street artist Barry McGee.....

Thursday, June 23, 2005

one "sweet" invite!

Susanne Hilberry wasn't joking when she decided to let Clint Snider currate a two part summer show.  And it was no joke when the invite came in the mail.  Don't expect a dated, typical show card. The sugary, sweet invite is printed on both sides: side one has the gallery information and the other side contains the exhibition details and artists participating. 
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Make sure to make it on Friday for the opening reception to Summer Pack 1, Friday 24 June 6-9pm.

Artists: 

 Ivin Ballen

Fabio Fernandez

Jon Rajkovich
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See you there!

art agency axed

Uh, oh! Looks like things might still be getting worse in Detroit I think it is a great idea getting rid of the art and tourism department. It is not like we will have any tourism coming up...uhh...hem...Oh, yeah I forgot, I think I heard something about a superbowl? I don't know, I could be wrong. People coming in town won't want to see any art or entertainment right?

reported on wwmt.com:

Detroit arts agency falls victim to budget ax

June 21, 2005 - 12:20PM
DETROIT (AP) - Detroit's Department of Culture, Art and Tourism will no longer exist by the end of the month.
The department is closing June 30th in a budget-cutting move.
The agency ran the Detroit Film Office, which worked with producers of the 2002 film "8 Mile." The movie starring rapper Eminem generated seven million dollars for the local economy.
The director says the Culture Connection will take over some of the department's tasks. Culture Connection provides low-cost transportation to cultural attractions.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

two museums?

Mutual coexistence?
The MCA, Chicago's cutting-edge art incumbent,welcomes the Art Institute's new contemporary wing....

I will pass this article mention along that I received from a forward from the MONA museum. Looks like some people may argue that Detroit can have two museums: a new contemporary and the DIA. Is it possible? Maybe this article will answer some raised questions.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Piquette Fire

 I don't know how to begin to describe the fire that took control of the Piquette building last night in Detroit.  From the sounds and smells and of course visual images, the fire was almost unbelievable!  The fire started on the west side of the building and quickly engulfed the whole building in a matter of hours!  The basement level spewed gas flames while the floors began collapsing on one another.  Flames ate away the brick structure and forced the walls to topple over onto the street!  The firemen fought the flames but it was really only a matter of containing the wild flames and stopping the fire from spreading to the neighboring building.  I watched in horror hoping that the fire would not take over the next building.  The top floor on the neighboring building was full of artist studios including Detroit artist Mary Rousseaux. When I left around 3 am her corner studio still looked untouched but driving around back I discovered the building had caught on fire.   Here is what the news reported.
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