detroitarts: September 2007

don't miss tonight...

ORLY GENGER: Posedown @ Lemberg, 5-8pm This should be a great show!!

JIM MELCHERT: Eye Sites @ Paul Kotula Projects, 5-8pm

tonight

Ellen Berkenblit @ Susanne Hilberry tonight - September 28 from 6 - 8 pm

it's my last day at work!

Jessica Stockholder Sex in the Office, 2007

Carolyn Swiszcz Office World, 2005

Elena Willis Padded Office 2004, C-print

Christine Hill Accounting Portable Office, 2003

Ian Kiaer Endless Theatre Project/ St. John at Patmos, 2003

michael stevenson

I think that my upcoming travel is inspiring new exploration...check out berlin artist michael stevenson.

Retrospective Museum Abteiberg, Monchengladbach, Germany

The Smiles are not Smiles

2005 Installation view Vilma Gold, London

car culture=art

Prince's muscle car "readymades"

"Destroy Athens"

Lina Theodorou

Plumbers (still) 2006

I hope I can make it here before the show closes! Who knew that athens would have a biennial!

jef bourgeau @ oakland gallery

More on the artist here

Silent Woman, 1991

F/U, 2007, video collaboration with dick goody, ann gordon

Chest (Donald Judd), 1996

Blue House on the Moon, 1997

Andres Serrano, Georg Baselitz, Andy Warhol, and Gerhard Richter, 1997

It was great to see all of bourgeau's artist personalities in one room! I have to say that each name really matched up to the style of the work yet still had Bourgeau's underlying voice and matched formats. I believe that all the foolery in the end was well worth it for this installation room...even how upset or annoyed some people might have been when they made that trip out to MONA to see not a visiting artist but Bourgeau's work! Seeing the breadth of his works together in one show (isn't it great to see a solo show in detroit...we don't have enough of them!) made it more interesting to trace the path of his works' history, ideas and progression. Bourgeau's works definitely fall into a category of artwork about artwork and establishing a commentary between artist (jef) and predecessors. The work also lends well in a museum-like setting and the "museum" becomes the unspoken third person in the works. I am a little short for words tonight...but this show is worth checking out. Bourgeau has stayed very active in the community and continually encourages and gives opportunity to artists in this city. He has a very distinct voice and always stays true to his intent despite the consequences.

Joy Hakanson Colby says it best (in the catalog well worth it):
"Maybe it's just the passing of time, but I'm evaluating people who have touched my life over the years. I must say that Jef Bourgeau has made a dent in my thinking... I think his ideas and philosophy need time to reach people, to seep through the armor that walls off our brains. I've been in turn annoyed, angry, dazzled, amused nonplussed, outraged, intimidated, bewildered and a host of other emotions that his work walls up."
When I asked jef where he will go after all of this and he said that it must be stressed that this shouldn't be considered just a regular end-of-the-line retrospective but a mid-career retrospective: there is still a lot more to come and I can't wait to see where he goes from here!