(incli)NATION

Diana Thater's "Off With Their Heads"-OSRAM building, Munich through July 31st

I certainly wish I could see this one. Diana's work is always theoretically dense and visually stunning. Yet the press release for her latest work seems a bit overwrought. I particularly enjoyed the characterization of Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe as a "young artist". You go Jeremy!

"The game of chess in OFF WITH THEIR HEADS portrays the last eleven moves in Lewis Carroll’s novel Through the Looking Glass from 1871, in which Alice, from the unthinkable position of a pawn, wins the game by transforming into the queen and ultimately beating the red king in the end. In Thater’s installation mounted on the seven screens, situated in front of the OSRAM building, we see no players, but rather only their hands at extremely close range, an approach that acts to monumentalize both the fingers and the figures. On the front side of the screens the game is played forward, while on the back it is played backwards. Through this reversal of events and the oversized appearance of the perused parties, the game’s image is lent an even stronger sense of abstraction leading it to often be as nonsensical in character as Carroll’ s story itself can be. Thater regards Through the Looking Glass to be one of the “five most important novels” in her life and in 1998 she based a work, The Caucus Race, on one of the book’s chapters. Thater thus regarded it as a lucky coincidence when Kent Nagano invited her to participate in the Festspiel+ 2007 in order to create a complementary art program, together with six young artists - Leo Estevez, Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe, T. Kelly Mason, Katy Schimert, Jill Spector and Dawson Weber - marking the world premier of an opera, which also deals with the Alice theme, by the Korean composer, Unsuk Chin. “The interesting thing about this collection of approaches by the various artists is that, in this way, Alice and the individual characters in Wonderland are recreated: everyone of them simultaneously represents everything. In this exhibition six artists are connected in a large common story,” says Thater, explaining the project’s concept. Because the artists themselves become part of the story, they are able “not to just talk about, but also with Alice.” This was the task, which Thater set for herself and her artists. “’The answers lie in me,’ said Alice, as she walked through the mirror, laughing,” as Lewis Carroll divulged to his readers. In her video art, Thater passes this experience on to her audience."

via Artdaily.org

Hockney Blames iPods for 'decline of visual awareness'

And now for something REALLY different:

"If you've been yearning for controversy, why not meet Mr. David Hockney? Commonly know as "Britain's best-loved living painter," Hockney has suggested that the proliferation of the iPod has been a primary contributor to the recent "fallow period of painting." He insists that today's society is "all about sound," and even mentions that people are turning off their eyes and ignoring contemporary art whilst "plugging their ears." Put simply, he believes the modern "decline in visual awareness" rests heavily on Apple's own cash cow, and further stirred the pot by insinuating that it led to "badly dressed people" who cared not about lines nor mass. As expected, a spokeswoman for Apple Australia refuted the claims, and while we certainly have seen no shortage of brilliant creations since the iPod explosion, there's always two sides to the canvas.

So absurd, it must be a grab for publicity (though Mr. Hockney would not seem to need it) right? More proof that radical changes can fluster even great minds.

via Endgadget

The Wrong Store through July 19th, NYC

And while you're in the deserted City this summer, be sure to drop by The Wrong Store. I absolutely love this show/shop, particularly the way they handled the "opening". How many of us have had similar ideas? It really doesn't matter; it's all in the execution! Nice work guys:

THE WRONG STORE ... A GUERRILLA CONCEPT

THE WRONG STORE is an art installation in the language of a retail or guerrilla shop. Conceptually, no one can enter and nothing individually can be purchased, though everything will be visible as the space is under a 100 sq feet (much like the former Wrong Gallery by Maurizio Catalan). However, as a retail shop "everything" is for sale but only as a whole (the complete installation). It will exist for two months in a high traffic ground floor gallery space in Chelsea, New York City.

The installation is concerned with exploring the concepts of the gallery as a shop, a shop as a gallery, and the commerce role in the creation of desire and unavailability.  The show is curated by Tobias Wong and Gregory Krum and opens May 19th, 2007 for two months.

Tobias Wong is an artist and designer who has exhibited widely and has several design objects in production.  He was responsible for the shop installation in Terminal 5, the art show in the Saarinen structure at JFK International Airport. Tobias is interested in contrast; something/nothing, function/form, art as monumental/incidental. He is uncomfortable with his place in the art and design world and says of his work "I don't want to make 'art' or 'design' necessarily...it's just stuff...extra stuff in the world...art galleries and design showrooms are places where I have been able to do what I do...but that doesn't make what I do either."

Gregory Krum's work is primarily concerned with the notion of extreme affection...affection for land, a person, an object...and the joys and problems within a moral and intellectual context.  He also serves as Director of Retail for the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum where he designed the shop and offers a carefully selected group of objects and multiples relating to design.  Since his involvement with The Cooper Hewitt Museum, Krum has not only successfully challenged the notion of a museum gift shop and taken it to a higher level, but also increased it's profit substantially.  Prior to Cooper-Hewitt, Krum worked nearly five years as Product Manager for the New York design store, moss.

The installation is in conjunction with Kantor/Feuer Gallery in New York.
Store Director : Josee Lepage of Commissaires (Montreal)
Weekend Manager : Patrick Li
Conceptual Consultant : Cyril Duval of item idem
Stockboy : Jasper Pope

Artists/Designers include: Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Beuys, Herzog and de Meuron, Bless, 032C, Christian Marclay, Martin Baas, Hella Jongerious / JongeriusLab, Richard Tuttle, Dean MacGregor, Peter Moore, Ron Gilad, Anton Ginsburg, Yves Behar, Richard Prince, Joris Laarman, Jenny Holzer, Work in Progress, Verner Panton, Robert De Saint Phalle, Gaetano Pesce, Sol Lewitt, JDS Architects, Kaws, Marcel Wanders, Aldo Rossi, Rodarte, Constantin Boym, Aqui! Magazine, Tim E. Dubitsky, Gilbert & George, et al...

Many of the objects are rare or one-of-a-kind and exclusive to the exhibition. Creative agency Work in Progress will design the store's identity, shopping bags, business cards, invitations, stationery, etc. Martin Margliela will create the staff's uniform.

"June Bride" @ Yossi Milo NYC

In NYC this month? Be sure to drop by Yossi Milo to catch "June Bride" a group show up though August 17th, featuring a fantastic line-up of photographers including blog-master Alec Soth. Don't miss it!

June Bride provides an uncommon look at a common practice: the marriage ceremony. In this assembly of unconventional wedding photographs, the idea of the bride varies as radically as do cultural differences, religious traditions, family dynamics, and modes of dress. Brides appear in various guises, from Diane Arbus’ bride shrinking from her groom’s overeager kiss to Nikki S. Lee’s impersonation of a Jewish bride, from a bride captured in mid-air, as in Rosemary Laing’s bulletproofglass series, to an earnest, middle-American bride in a family photo by Chris Verene.

more HERE

via Flavorpill

Damien Hirst Sets Record for Most Expensive Artpiece

This is just so far from what the rest of us know as art--both as creators and as consumers. But what the hell? Who else is going to do it? (the piece is rumored to be entirely self-financed at 28,000,000) Who cares what the piece looks like? It's worth talking about for the price tag alone.

"Since being unveiled to the public at London’s WHITE CUBE GALLERY as the most expensive piece of modern art ever made with a pricetag of $98,000,000, DAMIEN HIRST’s diamond encrusted skull (titled, “For The Love of God”) has yet to be sold. According to the gallery, three parties have shown some interest, most notably, the pop star George Michael (who probably thinks it would look perfect perched atop John Lennon’s white “Imagine” piano, which he famously acquired several years ago). Whether it can be sold at full price remains to be seen, in what will be a true test of the price bubble that currently surrounds the world’s modern art market."

via Supertouchblog

Don't Look Back (the '67 Dylan doc) @ Film Forum, Friday 6.15.07

I'll confess to never having seen this classic, even though I'm a Dylan fan, if a latecomer. And this is a golden opportunity to see the film on the big screen. Let's go tomorrow night! Or even better, now that it's summer, Monday flicks at FF are HALF-PRICE! That means only $4.25 to see a 12-foot-high Dylan head up on the big screen! Yipee! [I know, there are way too many exclaimation points in this post!]

JUNE 15 - 21, Fri - Thurs at 7 & 9:15 PM (plus Sat & Sun at 5 PM)
40th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING

DON'T LOOK BACK
Sponsored by Emerald City Guitars, KEXP, and Easy Street Records
(D.A. Pennebaker, USA, 1967, 35mm, 96 min)
D.A. Pennebaker's cinéma vérité account of Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England has long been regarded as a landmark film. Pennebaker edited twenty hours of film down to the 90-minute final version. The result not only captured Dylan at a crucial moment in his career (he had just "gone electric") but also proved that the behind-the-scenes life of the rock star was as compelling as what he did on stage. The film is an intimate portrait of Dylan; we see him drunk in hotel rooms, wrangling with Joan Baez and berating the press. He tells one Time Magazine journalist, "I know more about what you do just by looking at you than you'll ever be able to know about me." DON'T LOOK BACK captures the twenty-three year-old Dylan, an enigmatic combination of talented performer and restless individual -- a man who refuses to acknowledge or accept the labels put on either himself or his music.

"Easily one of the best documentaries on any subject ever made, it is also one of the most cinematically influential." -Craig Marine, San Francisco Examiner

Darbury Stenderu @ CoCA's Beach Club Venue, 6/21/07

File this one under, "Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." Or not. You never know with CoCA. Regardless, the show sounds fabulous. And be sure to check out the site: http://www.darburystenderu.com/quilt_frameset2.htm [I've included my fav below...]

CoCA is pleased to present “Reconstruction”, new art quilts by Darbury Stenderu at the Beach Club.

Stenderu’s new series of unique quilts are beautifully crafted with layers of elegant, hand painted fabrics.  Sometimes, as in “Scary Face Sampler”, her imagery directly evokes invented mythological characters.  In other works, like "Au Medallion” Stenderu seems to evoke the effects of spells being cast by those characters.  These quilts are created both as utilitarian objects (much like the American folk art/craft of old) and as works of fine art.  Can they be both?  Come take a look and decide for yourself. 

CoCA is located at 6413 Seaview Ave. NW in Shilshole Bay Beach Club on Ballard’s waterfront (three doors north of Ray’s).   Open and free to the public.  Gallery hours are 9am – 5pm weekdays and until midnight every Thursday with new music + beach bar & grill.

Short Film Night @ McLeod Residence Tonight!

I just got this Email from Buster who is going to be showing some short Super 8/16 mm films at McLeod's tonight! I can't make it, so you'll have to let me know how it went!

Quickly! Last minute notice of a new short film night at McLeod Residence that starts tonight! The McLeod Residence is proud to present short films (super 8/16mm) on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Exciting! Free to members and guests! 8pm to 10:30ish Showing tonight: Gar-den by Wm. Weiss Day Fable by Darby McDevitt Sound Machine by Tyson Theroux Dead Baby by Tyson Theroux The Dead Love by Tyson Theroux Dr. Terrors House Of Pancakes by Tyson Theroux Ring Ring! by Arman Bohn Have You Seen Me? By Wm Weiss. We're also showing some surprise shorts by Maddin, Svankmejer, and more! Wanna bring snacks? OK! This is gonna be fun!

Charlie White and five others in "SIX: alumni making fine art" @ Williamson Gallery, Art Center

Just kidding. It's just that I'd rather see the gallery full of Charlie's work. Truthfully, I like all of the included artists. But a blatant advertising showcase like this is a little hard to stomach. It's worse than an art fair in that it is using the long, hard work of these talented artists to get more students to sign-up for indentured servitude. And I'm convinced it does little for each artist's practice to show them together like this. I would much rather have seen a rotating series of smaller shows that could have given each artist their own space and time.

Nevertheless, be sure to check it out before it closes:

SIX
alumni making fine art

June 3 — August 19, 2007
Opening reception: Saturday, June 2, 7 to 10pm

Opening June 3, "SIX : alumni making fine art," includes work by Sharon Lockhart, Jennifer Steinkamp, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Mark Tansey, Charlie White, and Pae White. The exhibition continues through August 19.

At Art Center, the fine and applied arts are mutually and intensely exposed to each of the others' vocabularies and processes - what Fine Art Department Chair Laurence Dreiband calls a "perpetual conflict of values" -- and the work being accomplished by Art Center graduates finding their expression in the fine art world is making a strong statement about contemporary art practices and culture today.

Williamson Gallery hours are 12 noon to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday (12 noon to 9 pm on Fridays), closed Mondays and holidays. Parking and admission are free. For taped gallery information call (626) 396-2446.

thanks to Sassy Pedro for the tip...

Shirley Tse "Sink Like a Submarine" @ Shoshana Wayne

If you are in LA this month and can only see one gallery show, check out Shirley Tse's show at Shoshana Wayne. Shirley is one of my favorite LA artists as she has been able to reach beyond much of the theory that many of her contemporaries trip up on. Here work is always seductively provocative. And who doesn't love plastic?

"...This exhibition is a meditation on the materials and forms of ancient and modern militaristic objects. There are three ways in which Tse translates this process into sculptures: the literal incorporation of rejected resin machine mounts that were to be used in a submarine, the adapted form of tank tires, and the tangential use of the loom, a structure that aided the design of the first computer, todays military technologys origin. Material technology presents itself simultaneously as seductive and threatening because in itself it is indifferent to human usage.

The Jacquard loom was a marvel of the Industrial Revolution. A textile-weaving loom, it could also be called the first practical information-processing device. The punched card made possible the programmability of machines. Jack of Heart 2007, a sculpture that resembles a loom, consists of a roll of vinyl sheet that has been shredded and stretched over a white plastic structure. It can be read as constructing and destructing all at once.

Sinks Like A Submarine 2006 combines found submarine parts, their cast replicas, and their imagined ancient counterparts to form an encasement for a jade heart. The result presents a strangely figurative mutation that could also be registered as an oversized broche.

This exhibition continues her research interest in plastic: how this substance, a product of technology, shapes our contemporary mentality with regard to issues of nature, simulation, disposability and mobility. This will be the first time Tse combines natural and synthetic materials together in a single work."

via Shoshona Wayne