John Azoni at mona/mia
No one could have guessed that Stella Vine would cancel her part of the show last minute. Azoni was very prepared to say the least to rise to the occasion for a solo show not only downstairs but also upstairs! I keep reading the comments in the previous post about Azoni: it seems that there is much fuel for discussion, some good and some bad but all interesting. This ambitious show included a number of large paintings and drawings all with the marks of a fine artist in the making. I definitely wouldn't call Azoni's works immature but there is something of a stigma to still being an art student. It is like when you were a teenage and thought you knew everything and then hit your 20's and realized you knew nothing. The same goes with art and I look forward to seeing where Azoni's hard work and talent will take him.
For this post I have decided to let the work stand for itself. I advise everyone to go out to see this show in person. It is hard to critique someone still growing as an artist. I think the only thing I saw is that maybe less is more?
I also wanted to reply to a comment that was said by someone who attended the show: "his work reminded me a little bit of some other artists who showed at MoNA before, maybe a year ago.which i liked too. there was a lot of their work too. i think that's important to really gauge an artist. so maybe there's a new detroit style developing we're not consciously aware of. or maybe even several."
Here are the images (below) which I believe they were referring to. It was two years ago and it was a collaborative show between then detroit artist jessica erickson and myself. In the now-MIA space were all works that we both made and upstairs in MONA were individual works. I have to admit that when first entering the show, it took me back for sure! My work is very different now but I am also wondering if it is something in the water here?
posted by art blogs are fun at 11:49 AM
41 Comments:
saw show last night. though I thought his work was fine,it was like what I did in art school. the other painter in downstairs gallery actually much more important as far as painting is concerned.
i saw both and like both. john parangelo was in the back and was equally better/good.
wish there were some pics here to compare.
but anzoni has an energy in hsi work that is amzing.
Even though I have always disagreed with the negative comments on Azoni's work, I was glad they were made. His work is young, fresh, and going through transitions even as we speak. It can stand up to dialogue and discussion.
Yes, he is still an art student. When a student of art feels that they are ready to exhibit outside of 'student shows' in school, they should definitely do so, testing the waters.
They will encounter opinions of all kinds from all sources, favorable or not. The negative comments on Azoni's work is something that he should acknowledge, take heed of. This is not the last time this will happen.
I dont feel a young artist should 'wait' for that mythical day when they are 'ready'. Show the work at all stages, and get responses that you can use, from as many sources as possible.
Thanks Ann for placing so many of the works on the blog.
i love the one with the hamburger
great to see so much work coming from such a young artist. i think it will be good to see where he will go next, especially after seeing his work placed next to ann's, who has made so much progress in the years since graduating from CCS.
i haven't been to mona since it was in detroit. it's good to see it in pontiac. but i heard that when mitch cope's museum opens its doors mona will close theirs. too bad they couldn't hang on in detroit.
I dont believe MONA will close because of MOCAD
I heard it isn't a close-out so much as a merger between the two.
Okay. I think my problem ultimately lies in the safety of this work. And no serious offense to anyone, but I think that's why it looks so damn similar to Anns earlier (collaborative) work (which happens to also look like Dan Marchwinski's work). Does art school produce safe work? Probably.
I do think John has a growing awareness but the vitality of the work that I first experienced upon meeting him freshman year has been lost. I think part of this could be due to the early recognition, which can be a tempting trap for anyone.
I'm not saying John doesn't experiment, but only that he does so within the confines of what he knows will be readily accepted. I've most often heard older, highly recognized artists as his inspiration which leads me to believe that his motivation is equal parts "success" to artistic exploration. I mean also not to denounce success as a motivation. I certainly aim to become rich off this shit. It is simply that it seems he has found an audience early on and has been loyal to that audience at the expense of his expansion. This is evident in the works on paper which have certain characteristics of more avant garde work but which still seem to sit safely in an easy aesthetic.
Was John's work to be meerely safe I would feel no need to comment on it. It is because it says that it pushes boundaries (that it is edgy) when it seems to only lean gently against them for support that I feel a need to enter my opinion into the conversation, perhaps because I believe he has the ability (or at least there is some chance that he will) to stoke the passions that first inspired him (or to move with new passions) and to push harder. That is what I hope.
"It is like when you were a teenage and thought you knew everything and then hit your 20's and realized you knew nothing." Hahahahha. I wonder if you have any idea how funny that statement is.
leoqueen--Let me first say I fully support MONA; does a great job.
However, for a space that complains that art galleries not doing enough for MI artists...showing student work (good for art school; lame for professional) is large scale seems indulgent. Ab-Ex even updated typical of art students....Not a bad show, but would have preferred to see an actual painter, not a student.
It's no surprise that Stella Vine pulled out of her MONA show. Although I don't understand why her work is popular, it would be stupid of her to risk her reputation by working with a gallery that can't even proof read the notes on its website.
i also heard mona is gone as of mocad/october. that there was a secret meeting between the two a few months ago and that mona will fold into mocad. and that mocad will front the money to bring stella vine over from london in september as a segue.
jef must be on vacation
Dear Francois,
I feel horrible. I'm the intern in charge of documentation at the museum. If there has been a typo on the website, please let me know so I can correct it.
Much of the text (nearly all) on Stella has been gleaned from British sites and newspapers, so there may be spelling discrepancies with American english.
But let me know what you found so I can correct it,
Liz
hey francois, upset about france's loss to italy! taking it out on interns now. you need to bone-up on your own english cause proofread is one word here.
for better or worse, galleries are lined up outside yale's art department on graduation day.
ny city galleries are full of students' work.
i read somewhere else on this blog that l.a. galleries periodically raid california universities and that some of the students there felt they had no career if they didn't have a gallery by sophomore year.
everyone's slamming azoni for being a student.
well, wake up and go back to art school if you want a career in the art world because that's where the action seems to be coming from.
here's a theory:
the price of established artists' work has gotten so high and the overall economy is so bad that normal-people collectors can't afford much known work anymore.
so galleries are mining the unknown and offereing the art at lower prices hoping to get more sales. most people just want stuff to match the couch anyway, right?
Aaron,
I would not slam anyone for being a student, but the work should be something better than typical work students produce. And I know quite well what happens in art schools, etc.
I think it's a failing of the gallery, frankly.
what's this about mona and mocad merging? anyone have more info?
"what's this about mona and mocad merging? anyone have more info?"
i guess two object can't occupy the same space in time.
According to Jef, MONA has no money and the funds come straight from his pocklet (he said it here on this blog)so why would MOCAD, pet project of the rich and richer, want to merge with MONA? They have Mitch, do they want to replace him with Jef? Please clear up the rumor mill here.
this is a bunch of arrogant jibber-jabber saying an artist is better if he's older or younger, teaching or taught. some of the worst artists operating in the tri-county area are teachers. and many are students.
so call it a draw, and talk abuot the art at hand.
(although i think it's impossible here with the built-in prejudice created against student work.)
what makes you think mocad has money in hand? i heard over the week-end from 2 sources they won't outlive their first 2 shows. and that no work is planned for the tacky interior.
and mona has been posing as the contemporary museum for 10 years - it says on their site.
so why wouldn't you want to absorb the competition?!
especially if mona includes detroit artists while mocad has turned their back on them from the start.
I don't know where this rumor fell from, but all I can say at the moment is that MONA's future beyond October is dependent on MoCAD's success. Anything else is speculation.
French collector Jean Mairet flew into Detroit with his wife from Paris and bought out CCS student Jacqueline Becker's entire show at MONA.
When is student work good enough?
MONA has shown hundreds of artists, of every type and experience. Bettineschi and Schatz, the most recent shows, are in their sixties with well-established careers.
Stella Vine is pushing forty (recheduled to Sept 15), yet still creating a stir at that late-on-the-scene age.
[Hi Jef, would there be any chance of postponing till Sept 15 the whole thing ? I seem to have gotten myself burnt out, i could do it, but would much prefer
if it could be delayed, and it would be a lot better show, sorry about this. yes i am sure, and i'll make it up with a gob smacking brilliant show! x Stella]
Far from failing, John Azoni's work stands with the better half of painting to be found in our last ten years - student or not.
Aaron,
Just so it's said; CCS is no Yale and Detroit is no New York.
I have nothing against anyone showing student work. Curtis put it well. I don't find anything in John's work. But, he's just getting started.
NOLAN:
Just so it's said; CCS is no Yale and Detroit is no New York.
I have nothing against anyone showing student work. Curtis put it well. I don't find anything in John's work. But, he's just getting started.
Aaron:
It's really stupid and arrogant to think that CCS can't enroll an artist of the same intrinsic value as Yale (I've seen plenty of crap go in Yale and come out).
But I wasn't comparing cities or schools, just making the point that the art world seems to eat up artists younger and younger.
And, since you're critiquing, I don't happen to find anything of value in your latest work nor strip mall gallery.
In fact, you were probably at your best when you were still a student. At least you were at your most focused as an artist.
This is a mildly interesting article on the "student" topic:
Rachel Cooke hits the graduate shows with $500 in her purse and a flutter in her heart. But can she snap up the painting of her dreams before the big dealers arrive?
Is $500 A BIG sum, or a small sum? These things are relative. In some parts of the country, $500 would go a long way to paying the rent, but where I live, it covers only half my council tax for the year, or less than two-thirds of an annual water bill. Sit it next to some really swollen numbers and it starts to look positively minute. Take art sales. In the last month, somewhere approaching
$260 million has been spent on major works of art in London alone. The other day, I read a piece about the Basel art fair. The writer reported that during the fair a dealer picked up an early Damien Hirst for $1m. The dealer sold it on two days later for $1.2m. That $500 would fit into his lightning 48-hour profit some 217 times.
All of which is intimidating if you like art and want to own it. I like art, I want to own it, and it so happens that I have been given - in an act of unprecedented generosity by my employers - $500 to spend on it. The idea is that I will prove that it is possible to buy art - good art, the kind that might even turn out to be an investment, if that's what you care about - without being a billionaire. This could, of course, be difficult. I'm going to visit some of London's art school degree shows, which seems the obvious place to start, given that students are (a) not yet in the greedy clutches of dealers and gallerists and (b) desperate to pay off their loans. But just because something's cheap doesn't mean it's desirable. The last time I saw a degree show, three years ago, it consisted mostly of installations: gloomy videos; heaps of old clothes; piles of deformed toy soldiers, a la Chapman brothers. None of which is likely to go with a Habitat sofa.
There is also the problem that art is so desperately fashionable. This means that no sooner does a student show open than down swoop all the right people - the aforementioned dealers and gallerists, sniffing the air experimentally - and the good stuff is snapped up. On paper, then, the degree shows feel a bit like the art world supermarket sweep. My heart races crazily at the thought. Luckily, for this first outing, I have help in the form of Flora Fairbairn and Catriona Warren. Fairbairn runs a new gallery in Clerkenwell, where her first show - of ceramics by Rachel Kneebone - quickly sold out. Warren is a former writer for ArtReview. A few years ago, Fairbairn and Warren set up Collect Contemporary, a consultancy to provide advice for those who would like to buy work by new artists. My chequebook would appear to be in good hands.
Flora suggests that we visit Chelsea College of Art. She thinks this is the home of the best graduate show and, when I arrive, she and Catriona have already done a recce on my behalf. Both of them, I notice, have gleams in their eyes: does this mean they think I will be able to spend the £300 I have allotted to my first day's shopping? 'Oh, I should think so,' says Flora. 'We've seen something that we think you'll like very much.' This is odd. I haven't discussed my tastes with her at all. But, as she goes on to tell me, at the graduate shows the best work usually stands out a mile. Hmm. I find this thought a bit worrying. I want to buy something because I love it, not because it is the best of a bad bunch.
The work at Chelsea is elegantly displayed, in airy, organised spaces and the college has produced an excellent catalogue. Still, it's useful to have someone to lead the way; the sheer volume of work on show is overwhelming. First, we go to see work by Henrietta Labouchere. She paints in oil, sometimes from life, sometimes from imagination, and her work - lots of faceless waiting women - is oblique, wistful and very accomplished. But there's bad news. 'All of them are sold,' says Flora. 'But if you like them, it's always worth asking if there's anything that she has left out of the show.' How much do I like them? Very much. But should I try and wrest one out of the artist's studio? I ask Catriona how novices should make decisions like this. She says: 'You need to feel that kick in the stomach.' My stomach is rumbling, but nothing more.
We go upstairs to another gallery, and it is here that I fall in love. On a white wall is a row of tiny oil paintings by Emma Puntis - of women, cats and children. I'm not a cat person, but the women and especially the children are amazing. They look sickly and spectral - some of them might even be long dead - but, with their high foreheads and their hollow eyes, they are also beautiful. They call to me; they grab at my heart. I can't really explain it, but I soon find myself attaching a weird back-story to them. They feel like tiny artefacts a person might discover in an attic; perhaps they were painted by a grieving mad woman. My favourite is slightly bigger than the others: another girl, with orangey hair and alabaster skin.
I want her. How much is she? 'That's $200,' says Flora. 'But I'm afraid it's gone already. They've all been sold.'
This is a devastating blow. But the really great thing about student shows is that there is always hope. In the catalogue, you will always find a telephone number, or an email address, so you can contact the artist later - perhaps even commission them. Better still, they might be in the gallery so you can plead with them on the spot. This is what Flora and I now do. Emma reveals that her studio is just over the river, in Battersea. She will cycle there, pick up some earlier work and all the paintings she left out of her show, and return within the hour. I feel nervous about this - what if I don't like what she brings? - but I can't bear to leave without at least trying to own something she has painted.
It's at this point that Flora and Catriona choose to reveal that the new owner of the painting on which I had set my heart is Kay Saatchi, an ex-wife of Charles Saatchi and a noted collector in her own right, who, with them, is curating a forthcoming show of art by the best 25 new graduates in London, in which Emma Puntis's work will appear. Yay! I hate the idea of art as an investment but this, I must admit, is gratifying: by the time Emma gets back, I'm almost fainting with expectation.
From her shoulder bag, Emma produces at least a dozen new paintings. She tells us that she feels self-conscious about letting us see this work; she does not regard it as her best. But, no matter. We are like gannets. I see, almost immediately, two paintings that I adore. One is of a girl with a monkey face and brown hair, the second is another tiny ghost girl. I ask her how much for the pair.
'Two hundred for the big one, and a hundred for the small one,' she says. She looks so pleased when I write her cheque, and this, too, adds to the profound pleasure of the whole exchange. I am a patron! Flora asks me if she would be able to borrow the smaller painting for her forthcoming show. I picture the painting on a wall, with the words 'private collection' beside it. I am collector, too!
After this, the three of us go to the Royal Academy to see the Summer Exhibition. We do this more as a point of comparison than anything else, because the Summer Exhibition is where lots of non-art people like to spend their money. After Chelsea, it's instructive. The show is selected and hung by artists, and it's a great place to look at work by big names like Craigie Aitchison and Elizabeth Blackadder. But it is expensive, even if you are considering the mass of smaller work by relative unknowns. Warren points out a painting by an artist that she knows has only just completed his MA at the Royal Academy. It is £975. I admire small oils by Sally McGill and Robert Dukes; they are $875 and $2,800 respectively. Still, as at the degree shows, you will find contact addresses for all but the most famous artists in the exhibition's list of works, so you could always investigate making a studio visit later.
The next day, emboldened by my initial success, I go to the fine art degree show at Central St Martins - alone. St Martins is very tiring. It is the biggest group exhibition in London and the work is arranged over nine floors; I keep getting lost. Plus, there are far fewer paintings on display. Catriona had told me that painting is making a comeback in art schools, but here, the first thing I see is an installation featuring a series of dummies with sheets and cardboard boxes over their heads. I really like a series of monochrome abstracts by Annie Gunning, but they're out of my price range: even the smallest are $275. I'm just beginning to give up hope when, in a dark corridor, I see a fantastic photograph. It's a self-portrait by Kiran Kaur Brar, and is an unusual piece for her: mostly, she concentrates on video installations and performance art. In the photograph, she is sitting, in regal pose, in front of a flowered wallpaper that exactly matches the fabric of her shirt. I like it for all sorts of reasons - the contrast between her defiant expression and the girliness of the roses is very playful - but, mostly, just because it makes me feel cheery. Also, it's a picture of a woman, by a woman; it will make a nice companion piece to my other purchases. And it's just £175.
I go off to arrange the sale. It's all very professional: I have to call a number and hand over my credit card details. I'll be able to pick up the picture next week. Meanwhile, I meet the course administrator, Lynne Stackhouse, who tells me straight off how well I've chosen. 'Kiran is one of our stars,' she says. 'She has a great future ahead of her.' Then Kiran herself heaves into view and casually mentions that she has been chosen to appear in New Contemporaries, an annual exhibition at the Barbican that showcases work by 30 of the best new graduates nationwide. The work is selected from 1,000 submissions. This is a great coup for Kiran but, to be frank, even as I congratulate her, all I can think is: this is a great coup for me, too. Not to get carried away, but I'm obviously the new Peggy Guggenheim - only without, alas, the bottomless pit of cash. Still, give me time. First, I am going to buy a velvet turban and matching kaftan and start smoking cheroots. Then, I'll open a gallery. Note to self: make sure it has a good tea shop.
This is silly, I know. But it is unbelievably exciting, all this. I've had more than my fair share of beginner's luck - and, of course, at the start, I had Flora and Catriona to hold my hand. Even so, I will definitely be back at the shows next year, waiting for that kick in my stomach, spending my own money, this time. I hope, and believe, that Emma and Kiran will become rich and famous and, more to the point, feted by the critics - but even if they don't, their ghostly children and floral-shirted queen will be with me forever. Next to that thought, $500 seems almost nothing.
Flora Fairbairn's buying tips
· Look around galleries and art fairs regularly to train your eye.
· Go to degree shows and new galleries showing emerging artists, as well as young art fairs.
· Buy a piece of art because you love it, rather than just because you think it might come to be worth a lot of money.
· If an artist's work has sold out, take down their contact details and get in touch. They may have further work at their studio, or may be willing to take commissions. And it's good to build up a personal relationship with an artist whose work you like.
· Find out as much as you can about the artist. Make sure you see a body of work, not just one piece. If you only see one painting you like, it might just be a stroke of luck that the artist has produced something nice.
· If you are interested in collecting art as an investment, pick a work that is representative of the artist's style. A piece that is completely different may not be worth so much in the long run. It may contain a one-off mistake, or demonstrate an artist's brief journey down an avenue that they subsequently changed their mind about.
Criticism should always be expected, but only respected from those who've seen the work in person.
I don't remember seeing Nolan at the exhibit.
Geeze, why is everyone mad 'cause John had a solo at MONA?
Looks like John stepped up to the plate when another scheduled artist had to reschedule. Thats cool.
The work is OK, not my cup of tea. But its not bad enough to make me post something bitter and that i may regret later.
No Detroit is not N.Y. (or even Chicago). and CCS is not yale...(or even pratt). but people go there to get an art education. What they do with it is up to them and the galleries that will show them.
Anyways, galleries are a buisness and have the right to do and show anything they want. You can see that by the changes at DAM and other galleries where there has been certain changes.
If a gallery can make money showing knit yarn beercan hats, then that is usually what they show.
Dont get your panties in a bunch...its all good and congrats to John and MONA for putting art on the walls.
WOW!!!! Hamburgers!!!! Nice!!!! By what's Brittany up to these days?
Johns work is destined to be displayed in dentist offices throughout the world.
AS THE ARTIST MATURES:
Martin Creed, who won the Turner Prize a few years ago for a room where the lights went on and off on by timer and who had his big ball of ticky-tacky stuck to a wall during MONA's BLIMEY! exhibit in '98, just finished his film SICK which focuses on people vomiting on command. He has begun production on his next, titled SHIT where those invited will "shit" for the camera. Seriously.
The point is you never know where a young artist will go, so let John just go.
[One of Creed's student works had been a crumpled ball of paper on a plinth. And it wasn't toilet paper, so you can't always connect the dots in a career.]
QUOTE
Anonymous said...
Johns work is destined to be displayed in dentist offices throughout the world
UNQUOTE
And just what do you mean by that?
AHEM
my father and my uncle were dentists and had very good art in their offices.....MINE!
I dont like to see this fine profession spoken about in such a pejorative way. Dentists who spend money on art are just as good as any other patron.
There is another dentist in Detroit that I know of personally, who has a
major-league collection of African American art, and has been there to support little known and emerging artists for at least 40 years.
John can do a whole lot worse than having his work seen by the people who encounter it in dentist's offices.
Hell, I had a one-person show in a restaurant two years ago. More people saw my work there than when it was shown in a major 'traditional' arts venue.
It's funny, John posts here all of the time with a mind ful of how arttt should be. Student or no student that mess waas like a song without rhythm. Just because you can hold a chord doesnt mean you can play songs.
He has been measured on his product. He will live. and move on. I wouldnt say he is young and fresh. well maybe young.
Young???
http://www.artakiane.com/
John's already past his prime.
whoa! this is nuts...I love it. Sorry for the delayed response, I'm out of town this week and haven't had time to sit down and respond to everyone's comments.
*deep breath*
Let me start off by saying that I appreciate everyone's feedback especially the negative criticism. Even if a lot of it is completley unconstructive and immature. That's just the nature of the beast. Without quoting specifics it seems the general consensus is that the work is bad because it's just "student work". So that leads me to wonder, how would the work be viewed if I was an anonymous artist? If one were to look at Guston's later work, would you say the same thing? "typical student work". I don't think the level of one's career should have any affect on the work itself though I know that it's inevitable. I personally don't agree with the comments of "typical student work" because I can guarantee you that the moment I step off the graduation stage my work won't miraculously become cutting edge. I'm being led in a certain direction, and I do what I do. I enjoy what I do. If my work is viewed as "safe" that's fine with me. If it fits well in a dentist office...that's fine too. I like having things to look at while I'm gagging from the taste of that minty polish they use. I don't aim to please everyone. I'm not going to be fake and try to pull some avante guard, overly conceptual painting style out of my pee hole. I wouldn't expect anyone else to compromise themselves in that way. Just do what you do. If you're happy with what you create then keep following that path and change as you go at your own pace, not on anyone else's watch.
I think the real issue at hand is "why does a CCS undergrad get 2 floors to display his work? What's so special about this kid?" The questions you may need to ask yourself are A) what is the world coming to? B) Is Jef doing coke lines off a dirty urinal? or C) Does the age of an artist really matter and at what point is the artist deemed "mature" enough to have people see his/her work? Can that point ever be reached? And can that point ever be reached without using previous artists as a stepping stone?
in no way do I think I've "arrived" and I don't think I'll ever reach that point. Everyone is constantly growing...yeah I'm just old enough to drink, but I happen to love work done by 4 year olds and it happens to be better than a lot of the stuff you guys do. There's tons of work done by middle aged and older artists that I can't stand. So who cares how old someone is?
I've said it before and I'll say it again, this blog is jam packed with negativity and bitterness in nearly every thread. It's really not that hard to acknowledge that you dislike something while at the same time encouraging rather than clawing at soles of each other's shoes in an attempt to hold them back from getting anywhere.
i remember when jerzy kosinski sent a chapter of his famous book "the painted bird" to publishing houses -- long after the book had received awards and made kosinski's career.
he was teaching at the time, and did it as an experiment to show his class that it's never easy to be accepted.
every publisher rejected the manuscript, many with comments like: ..."reads like a clumsy under-grad attempt at writing." and..."a bad imitation of kosinski."
needless to say, kosinski committed suicide in 1991.
i don't think ann can take credit for john's hard work.
day job dreamers.
??????
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