"_____and______" @ Russell part I
Yup, this is the entrance to the Russell building at night...doesn't it look safe and inviting? The Russell building might be a little worn and rickety but there has been an increasing boom of artists and curators moving into the affordable studio and warehouse spaces. Not only has the building housed Michigan Hot Glass and Axiom Glass studios it has many artist studios and also recent additions of DIP (detroit industrial projects) exhibition space, these two big CCS sculpture shows and also CAID will be moving into a 8000 sq ft space by the fall.
These new spaces really capture the heart of detroit's current emerging art scene. I would call it a precursor to the Yale sculpture program where concept and object is everything and formalism is thrown out the window. While I was thoroughly impressed and excited by this show I still have to ask if these artists have the core skills, you know when you learn just to mix paint colors and carve wood needed as their art foundation and wouldn't be a question if this was grad school. Me out of anyone loves art against art but is there a common trend of young artists playing the copycat game before they even have their own voice yet? I am not stating that these artists are doing that because I didn't have an in depth discussion with any of them, but I believe, in general, art is being taught in a different way than say back in the 50/60/70's when formal training was respected and then artists progressed into conceptual works. I keep playing devils advocate in my head though because art should always be changing too and the way it is taught........gotta love that there are no definite answers in art!
Enough of that (I drive myself crazy at times)...even though this Russell show (and part II) is a collaboration between graduating sculpture classes at CCS, the show could have been at any respected major gallery space ...which shows the growing strength of CCS's programs. I saw this show after just getting back from ArtChicago and was seriously impressed and recharged by the challenging new detroit work! Congrats to the hard working grads!
andrea rogers - "green installation room"
george rahme - (spotlight on tubes, wires...assemblage)
zakk barozzini - (hanging box)
dylan spaysky - (his works were hard to photograph...spinning fan, broken glass, chair, painting high on wall)
nate morgan - (grass, bunny..)
gilbert vaquez - (concrete wall)
kevin beasley - (leaning objects)
rod kammer - (middle room installation, saran wrap, wood...)
vincent troia - (web and blue dust)
andre frye - (installation house)
linda barakat - (baloon creations high in ceiling)
curtis glenn - (chairs, mini set-up...)
zakk barozzini - (wood support that wasn't a support)
bill menzo - (vide0)
These new spaces really capture the heart of detroit's current emerging art scene. I would call it a precursor to the Yale sculpture program where concept and object is everything and formalism is thrown out the window. While I was thoroughly impressed and excited by this show I still have to ask if these artists have the core skills, you know when you learn just to mix paint colors and carve wood needed as their art foundation and wouldn't be a question if this was grad school. Me out of anyone loves art against art but is there a common trend of young artists playing the copycat game before they even have their own voice yet? I am not stating that these artists are doing that because I didn't have an in depth discussion with any of them, but I believe, in general, art is being taught in a different way than say back in the 50/60/70's when formal training was respected and then artists progressed into conceptual works. I keep playing devils advocate in my head though because art should always be changing too and the way it is taught........gotta love that there are no definite answers in art!
Enough of that (I drive myself crazy at times)...even though this Russell show (and part II) is a collaboration between graduating sculpture classes at CCS, the show could have been at any respected major gallery space ...which shows the growing strength of CCS's programs. I saw this show after just getting back from ArtChicago and was seriously impressed and recharged by the challenging new detroit work! Congrats to the hard working grads!
andrea rogers - "green installation room"
george rahme - (spotlight on tubes, wires...assemblage)
zakk barozzini - (hanging box)
dylan spaysky - (his works were hard to photograph...spinning fan, broken glass, chair, painting high on wall)
nate morgan - (grass, bunny..)
gilbert vaquez - (concrete wall)
kevin beasley - (leaning objects)
rod kammer - (middle room installation, saran wrap, wood...)
vincent troia - (web and blue dust)
andre frye - (installation house)
linda barakat - (baloon creations high in ceiling)
curtis glenn - (chairs, mini set-up...)
zakk barozzini - (wood support that wasn't a support)
bill menzo - (vide0)
posted by art blogs are fun at 11:19 PM
30 Comments:
fuck fuck
man you guys are bangin
so much love
wish i could be there
and keep repn' hard
Lmrjones
ps curtis glen call me/ i lost yer #
needa talk soon yo
Gwen Stefani's LAME!!!!!
Kelly Clarkston's where the real art is.
i totally missed this part of the show, i only saw the soft part. dang.
Mixing paint colors and carving wood are only core skills for people interested in painting and carving. You don't have to mix paint to learn an awareness of how colors effect an environment. Art tastes are changing and the "core skills" of an abstract painter aren't the same as that of an installation artist.
That's not to say that CCS has put aside any of its "core skills" classes. A Fine Arts degree still requires" Anatomy drawing, figurative painting, figurative sculpture, color theory, 2 design studios with lecture supplements, two foundation drawing classes that focus mainly on still life, and painting class that focuses on still life, two printmaking process based classes, and your choice of a ton of other process based classes.
We all got the skills to pay the bills. Some of us are just bored with them.
i,m bored with installation it's been around since at least the 60's, at least someone like keinholz was doing something innovative. also how do you sell installation, i'm hoping at ccs they are teaching you how to write for grants and proposals, also i have the feeling that most installation artists still produce "traditonal" type works to sell, ---something tangible --(goldsworthy , melted snowball on paper etc.) blah, blah, blah
for refernce, m
Are there any ideas behind all this or is it just random assemblages?
I don't see any method here, just piles of junk. Maybe smart titles would bring it all together?
Duchamp made that urinal into art and now almost 90 years later CCS caught up and is crankin' 'em out!
"i,m bored with installation it's been around since at least the 60's"
wow, are you serious?
"also how do you sell installation"
you are serious.
To the anon who is requesting explanations of the works....Part of understanding an installation is EXPERIENCING the piece in the space and considering its relationship to you, as the viewer and to the space. While Ann does a great job shooting the work, can you really expect to "understand" the work without having had atleast a momentary experience with it? Seeing an image on a blog does not qualify as experiencing the work in this case. Don't be so quick to judge/dismiss these artists. There was a lot of great poetic and smart work here. The piece with the bunny and skate ramp was particularly poetic. As was the spider web/blue dust...And while not all of it revealed itself to be "formally crafted," don't be so quick to dismiss the formal strengths and undercurrents in many of these pieces (Vasquez cement wall, for example.) I did not question the formal integrity of these artists because the sophistication of most of the works precluded my need to do so. It was evident. The space had a fantastic explosive energy that stayed with me long after leaving. I appreciate that these young artists have taken on a huge undertaking and are doing something we havenn't yet seen in Detroit. And to the person who is "bored with installation because it's been around since the 60's" --you can't possibly be serious? think of that comment in relationship to all other forms of art making. painting, drawing, writing, etc. Every medium has a history, and a long and winding one at that. It's not whether or not it has already existed, or for how long, but what you do with it now. It was a really exciting show. thanks to the artists for providing the sequence of experiences.
i agree, alot of installation is boring. I think just like video alot of people assume that just using that medium will help propel most of the piece into success.
at this show i think there was just to much shit. Some people got pretty carried away with filling space instead of using it which really hurt people like curtis when you saw them all together. i single out curtis because most of the things ive seen by him have been a completely messy arangment of things. which can be nice on its own but up against 2 or 3 artist who did fairly similar works that werent really all that good makes it less worth while. which just sucks for say him or dylan.
its too bad there isnt another picture of gilberts piece. it was more than just a wall and it was totally fucking awesome.
and thank god that random person reminded us we cant make art because we want to but because it HAS TO BE SOLD ALWAYS AND FORVER.
-david flaugher
don't be so naive previous poster, we of course , if our art has any personal value make the work not to sell, but to satisfy our particular need, but work does not exist in our studios only or in exhibition spaces but it needs to move out, unless you want the biggest collection of work by david flaugher . once the work is complete its not sacreligious to sell or to have that be a motivating force after the work is completed, who pays for you're art materials? after you trade in your hours for dollars and then trade dollars for paint, materials, etc. it's nice to trade your art back into money that you can go buy materials with, get it?
"Duchamp made that urinal into art and now almost 90 years later CCS caught up and is crankin' 'em out! "
this is hilarious.
also installation can be boring and a person can be bored with it general just as painting can be boring to someone else, it's just that installation has become so common now that it would be nice to see something a little more inventive with it, or something that doesn't need a thesis along with it to access the work, i'm not done with this but i'll take a break and let you jump all over this shit
for refernce m
Looks like a good show.
But...
I was just wondering if these students study art (you know, what's going on in the world outside of their classes)
I've seen almost all of these works done by other artists at least 1-4 years before this show ever opened.
I'm not trying to be controversial, seriously though, these works are spitting images of other artists works from the recent past.
You've got to study guys. You can't just shit out everything that pops into your head and expect others to take it seriously.
Otherwise, ambitious show. Kuddos.
To previous anon who makes vast claims of derivation...can you please cite some examples and be more specific as to the direct relationships to other work? Not that that there aren't some relationships to pre-dating work, but it'd just be nice to have your generalized accusations feel more grounded in fact. thank you in advance.
Installation started in the 60's?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Maybe it was given the word then but installation has been around since cave drawings. Nothing's new. Space has always exisisted and artists have always used it.
thank you last anon.
Sistine Chapel anyone?
i think when i said installation , 60's etc. you know what i meant but thanks for pointing out the obvious as far as cave paintings sistine chapel , etc. fine work , and very clever too
"Anonymous said...
thank you last anon.
Sistine Chapel anyone?" brilliant, a shrewd jab mixed with humor, excellent work
kind of what i meant is some "students" coming up seem to think using installation is a justification for the work itself, that just creating the installation is proof in itself of its own value
i am also a product of ccs so dont start throwing art history around like it only has meaning for justification of your comments
Wow, I wish I could see it guys.
The show looks fantastic...everything looks fuckin
_g great.
Anon: just another tool in the bag, bro. You can't blame people for wanting to get a little exercise.
Keep
it
up.
-n
Dylan's piece was hard to photograph because there was nothing there. Is he lazy or something?
http://www.thedetroiter.com/b2evoArt/blogs/index.php?blog=2&title=and_theoretically_soft&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
zakk barozzini's wood support piece was the best shit I've seen in years.
"kind of what i meant is some "students" coming up seem to think using installation is a justification for the work itself, that just creating the installation is proof in itself of its own value"
very good point!
only, I'm not a student of any institution.
I think it's always a good thing when art breaks down comfortable values.
Anonymous said...
zakk barozzini's wood support piece was the best shit I've seen in years.
what? keep looking then
most excitement I have seen around here in years and I can speak to that because i have been around here for years.
raw unadulterated excitement. Rough edges, yes, but so what.
fearlessness. And as each artist examines their motives and methods the work will manifest a different metamorphosis.
"Anonymous said...
zakk barozzini's wood support piece was the best shit I've seen in years.
what? keep looking then"
No it's true. Mr. Barozzini is my art hero too.
And he has a sexy mustache.
Forget about what I said earlier.
Good show!!!
Congrats on selection Kevin. You deserve it.
Thank you!
it seems like a lot of these comments are attacking the art in this show, wich makes me think that those making these comments didn't even go. if you did go you would know that this show was effing exciting! the word installation gets thrown around as if it is the one word that can define all of the work in this show. i think a better word that describes the work in this space is _____. so for those of you who have only negative comments, next time get off your ass, go to the show, and stop pretending you know all there is to know about the art in the show based on a few photos. i'm so surprised no one has commented on all the craziness that went on. for those who didn't go or left early because they were afraid of the spooky warehouse, this is what you missed. zakk b.'s art almost killed a bitch, or, no he almost killed her, george r. filled a person with foam, curtis g.'s chairs were covered in plastic so he could clean them after removing the critics carcass, dillon stefani cut someones head, andre and andrea had weed growin in both their spaces, you shoulda stayed for the barbaque the next day cause they ate nate m. and his bunny, gil v.'s wall fell over on gil v. and the dog got away, kevin b.'s space was set up by ghosts that were haunting the place, rod k.'s stretched plastic was really carved out of crystalized moonshine, vince t. dressed up like spiderman and did a little dance, linda's balls exploded tear gas, billy m.'s video makes crop circles, and there was music! so if you missed it you missed it. you are LAME!
I heard Tony Danza showed up near the end of the night and threw bags of chips out to everyone..................huh. That statement is about as confusing as some of the work in the show. I must be stupid or close minded or something!
"I heard Tony Danza showed up near the end of the night and threw bags of chips out to everyone"
I can't believe you wrote that and at the same time you can't understand how beautiful that is.
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