Stopping and Starting Animation

I was recently introduced to the animated street art work Muto, by graffiti artist Blu. I couldn't help but notice the similarity to the works by the South African artist, Robin Rhode. We ran across Rhode's photos in a private collection in Miami last year and were taken by them. Often in a series, they appear to be individual cells of an animation, partially drawn on urban walls and other surfaces. It is as if Muto added the animation to Rhode's images.

DIY

With frugalism becoming fashionable, consider participating in the trend (as painful as it is) by making your own art. For $30 and the cost of a box of crayons, you can have 72 works by Richard Prince with his recently produced coloring book, 3rd Place. If you want a more diversified collection, you could get another coloring book, Between the Lines: A Coloring Book of Drawings by Contemporary Artists (2007). Between the Lines contains drawings by Julian Opie, Sol Lewitt, Vito Acconci, Rita Ackermann, John Baldessari, Jeremy Blake, Will Cotton, R. Crumb, Keith Haring, Robert Longo, John Lurie, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jason Middlebrook, Laura Owens, Alexis Rockman, Kenny Scharf, William Wegman and John Wesley, among others.
If you don't want to invest in crayons and are more interested in three-dimensional works, you should get The Paper Sculpture Book (2003). Originally a show at the Sculpture Center in NYC, this book is essentially the exhibit. 29 artists created sculptures that could be created from sheets of paper and provided detailed instructions on how to recreate them yourself. Sarah Sze, Fred Tomaselli, David Shrigley, and Glen Ligon are some of the artists. I received that book as a Christmas present in 2003 (thanks, S!) and love it.
All of these books are available on Amazon.

Surprise

The latest issue of Visionaire (#55, Surprise), the limited-edition art and fashion luxury publication, is a set of pop-up books by artists including Sophie Calle (one of my favorite artists), Andreas Gursky, Cai Guo-Qiang (who, in 2008, did the fireworks for the Olympics and a Gap t-shirt), Steven Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Alasdair McLellan, Steven Meisel, Guido Mocafico, Nicola Formichetti/Gareth Pugh, Sølve Sundsbø, and Mario Testino. You can watch a movie of all of the pop-ups here. The movie may not be available to watch when the next issue is released (most likely, 4 months from now). The books are contained in a cloth-covered case with a metal plaque engraved with the number of the edition. You can order this issue for $250, or subscribe to Visionaire for a year at $675 (plus shipping).

They're Copying!

Another trend I noticed at the fairs in Miami was Xeroxing. There were a few works by Ari Marcopoulos, including one of a machine gun and one of his son, Cairo (shown here). Marcopoulos' use of the Xerox technique creates soft, velvety images that seem like they would stain your fingers if you touched them. He also recently had a show in NYC where he presented large-scale Xeroxed images.

White Columns, NYC's oldest alternative art space, has been producing a benefit print portfolio for the last couple years. This year, it doesn't look like there is a 2008 portfolio. Instead, there are a number of limited edition prints, all printed by Xeroxing. You can view them here. I am not sure yet what I think about Xeroxing as a printing technique. Initially, I thought it was ridiculous- that you could just take a print to your own copy machine and expand the edition size by 10, 50, or even 100. However, Xeroxed prints would still need to be signed and numbered, increasing the importance of that act in identifying the "original" prints from the "copies." Xeroxing does have some visual similarities to silkscreens, though, and could be considered, in some ways, as a technological advancement. Xeroxed copies each have some subtle variations and I can image Warhol creating a suite of Jackies using a copying machine. The use of the Xerox machine also further blurs the line between art and everyday life, elevating a banal clerical task to art production. It makes you think more about pressing that green button...

Contemporary Art in Boston

Last night, WGBH's "Greater Boston" focused on contemporary art in Boston. Russell Lamontagne of the cutting edge Lamontagne Gallery in South Boston and Andrew Witkin, ICA Foster Prize nominee and director of Barbara Krakow Gallery (but represented as an artist by Lamontagne Gallery) were interviewed.
You can watch it (the 12/17 episode) by clicking here.

Holiday Cards

I have always been envious of the people on the Peter Norton Christmas card list who get the annual limited edition multiple made specifically for that Christmas. Kara Walker and Vik Muniz have done editions. I've thought about sending Mr. Norton a card one year to see if, in the spirit of holiday reciprocality, he'd feel obligated to put me on the list. I've also thought about creating my own tradition of sending out Christmas multiples instead of holiday cards. Because I don't have the funds to commission an established artist to create a special edition, here are some possibilities for limted-edition "holiday cards."

Crown Point Press is selling sets of playing cards by Jockum Nordstrum in an edition of 500 for $14.95 (shown here above left). Nordstrum, represented by David Zwirner in NYC, has works in the collection of MOMA, SFMOMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. How about adding him to yours?

For something edgier (and more expensive), there is David Shrigley's small letterpress playing card, "Fucking Ace," in an edition of 250 at $50 at Printer Matter. Shrigley is known for his witty doodle-like drawings, some of which, by the way, are owned by MOMA. He is also represented by Yvon-Lambert in Paris (the same dealer as Jonathan Monk). I had trouble linking the page from Printed Matter to show the image on the blog, so you have to go to their website to see it (search "shrigley").

A final option is Christian Marclay's "Shuffle," a deck of 75 cards that are music-related images. Marclay's work has focused on images of sound and music. His recent large photograms of unravelled audiotape, which were at IFPDA and at the Miami fairs this year, are amazing. Although I haven't been able to confirm that "Shuffle" was printed as a limited edition (some info says yes, some info doesn't say anything), it would still make a great gift. You can check out the press release from Aperture here. Marclay is represented by Paula Cooper in NYC.

Jehad Nga

Another photographer under 40 to follow is Jehad Nga. The Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the MFA, Boston purchased one of his photos last year. He has done series of arresting photos of Somalia and Darfur. Originally from Kansas (!), he trained to become an EMT (emergency medical technician) while he interned for Magnum Photos. Although that may seem to be an odd combination, his medical training may have helped him gain access to some of his sites. He was also an embedded photojournalist for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

He is represented by M+B Gallery in LA and Bonnie Benrubi Gallery in NYC.

More of his work can be seen on his webiste:

http://www.jehadnga.com/

20x200: What have you done for me lately?

This past spring I was OBSESSED with Jen Beckman's 20x200. (For those who haven't heard, new editions of 200 selling for $20 over the internet, http://www.20x200.com/.) I managed to get both of the special editions by the Starn Twins and re-arranged my schedule so that I was available to buy immediately when the e-mails went out announcing new works. It seemed like back in May, all the new editions were selling out quickly, some in a matter of minutes.

However, over the past month, it seems like the new prints haven't been selling that well and very few editions sell out. Even I, the 20x200 addict, stopped buying. What has happened?

I think several things:

1. While the ecomony has collapsed, I am not sure how much of an impact this has had on the market for $20 works of art. Although if people are now bringing their lunches to work, a $20 print might be considered a luxury item.

2. The birds. You all know what I am talking about. For a while, it seemed like EVERY print was somehow bird-related. If you are not a complete bird fanatic, this becomes a stale self-parody pretty quickly.

3. Quality of the work. While there have been a few good works recently, including "Hank Williams' Bed, Georgiana, Alabama" by Scott Eiden (shown here), I haven't found many things that seemed as interesting as earlier editions.

4. Enough is enough. Honestly, how many 8x10 artworks can you have? We have sort of reached our limit.

5. Larger editions. I think this is the beginning of the end. If editions of 200 have not been selling out, why do editions of 500 for $50? Although I didn't take any economics in college, this doesn't make any sense to me.

Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. Next!

The Impossible Collection

Looking for a cool gift - well, one that will set you back $500? Assouline's The Impossible Collection: The 100 Most Coveted Artworks of the Modern Era curates the ideal contemporary collection and puts together the 100 most sought after works (at least authors Philippe Ségalot and Franck Giraud think so).

Here they are:

1. Picasso, Pablo Yo Picasso 1901 Private Collection.
2. Claude Monet, Le parlement, reflets sur la Tamise, 1905. Musée Marmottan, Paris.
3. Derain, André, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
4. Picasso, Pablo Les Demoiselles d’Avignon 1907 MoMA, NY.
5. Klimt, Gustav The Kiss 1906-07 The Belvedere Museum, Vienna.
6. Matisse, Henri Back/Dos I 1913-30. Pompidou, Paris.
7. Braque, Georges Le Pont De La Roche-Guyon 1909. Private Collection.
8. Matisse, Henri Dance 1909-1910. The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
9. Delaunay, Robert, Disque, 1912-13. Private Collection.
10. Kandinsky, Wassily Komposition VI 1913 The Hermitage, Leningrad.
11. Leger, Fernand Contraste de Formes 1913. Private Collection.
12. Matisse, Back/Dos II. 1913. Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
13. Picasso, Pablo Guitar 1914. MoMA, NY.
14. De Chirico, Giorgio Mystery and Melancholy of a Street 1914.
15. Malevich, Kasimir Black Cross 1915. Pompidou, Paris.
16. Chagall, Marc Birthday 1915. MoMA, NY.
17. Matisse, Back/Dos III. 1916-1917. Centre Georges Pompidou.
18. Schiele, Egon Self-portrait with Checkered Shirt 1912. Private Collection.
19. Duchamp, Marcel Fountain 1917. Tate, London.
20. Picabia, Francis Parade Amoureuse 1917. Private Collection.
21. Ernst, Max Paysage en Ferraille 1921. Private Collection
22. Mondrian, Piet Tableau II 1921. Private Collection
23. Soutine, Chaim Side of Beef and Calf’s Head 1923. Orangerie Museum.
24. Miro, Joan Carnival of Harlequin 1924-25. Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo NY.
25. Brancusi, Constantin Bird in Space 1925. National Gallery, Washington D.C.
26. Giacometti, Alberto Spoon Woman 1926. MoMA, NY.
27. Magritte, Rene The Treachery of Images 1929. LACMA, Los Angeles.
28. Matisse, Back/Dos IV, 1930. Centre Georges Pompidou.
29. Dali, Salvador The Persistence of Memory 1931. MoMA, NY.
30. Klee, Paul Ad Parnassum 1932. Kunstmuseum, Switzerland, Bern.
31. Gonzalez, Julio Petite Danseuse I 1934-35. Pompidou, Paris.
32. Calder, Alexander Standing Mobile 1935. Private Collection
33. Picasso, Pablo Weeping Woman 1937. Tate, London.
34. Bonnard, Pierre NU 1932. Private Collection.
35. Kahlo, Frida The Two Fridas 1939. Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City.
36. Leger, Fernand La Belle Equipe 1944-45. Private Collection
37. Dubuffet, Jean Fautrier Araignée Au Front 1947. Private Collection
38. Pollock, Jackson One: Number 31, 1950 1950. MoMA, NY.
39. De Kooning, Willem Woman, I 1950-52. MoMA, NY.
40. Rothko, Mark No 2, 1951. Private Collection
41. Matisse, Henri Memory of Oceania 1952-53. MoMA, NY.
42. Bacon, Francis Pope Innocent X 1953. Des Moines Art Center.
43. Burri, Alberto Sacco 1953. Private Collection.
44. Johns, Jasper Target with Plaster Casts 1955. Private Collection.
45. Kline, Franz Monitor 1956. MOCA, Los Angeles.
46. Twombly, Cy The Blue Room 1957. Private Collection.
47. Manzoni, Piero Achrome 1958-59. Private Collection
48. Rauschenberg, Robert Canyon 1959. Sonnabend collection.
49. Stella, Frank The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II, MOMA, NY. 1959.
50. Newman, Barnett White Fire II 1960. Kunstmuseum, Switzerland, Basel.
51. Giacometti, Alberto Walking Man, 1960. Beyeler Foundation, Switzerland.
52. Klein, Yves Anthropologie (ANT 78) 1960. Private Collection
53. Martin, Agnes The Dark River 1961. Private Collection
54. Oldenburg, Claes Pastry Case, I 1961-62. MoMA, NY.
55. Warhol, Andy, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962. MOMA, NY.
56. Lichtenstein, Roy Eddie Diptych 1962. Private Collection
57. Raysse, Martial Seventeen (titre journalistique) 1962. Private collection.
58. Flavin, Dan 25th (to Constantin Bracusi) 1963. Dia Art Foundation, NY
59. Warhol, Andy Eight Elvis 1963. Private Collection
60. Fontana, Lucio Concetto Spaziale La Fine di Dio 1963. Private Collection.
61. Smith, David Cubi VII 1963. The Art Institute of Chicago.
62. Andy Warhol, Red Explosion (Atomic Bomb), 1963
63. Rauschenberg, Robert Retroactive I 1964. Wadsworth Atheneum.
64. Kawara, On Title, 1965
65. Ryman, Robert Windsor 6 1965. Private Collection
66. Ruscha, Ed Los Angeles County Museum on Fire, 1965-68. Hirschhorn Museum, Washington D.C.
67. Richter, Gerhard Woman Descending Staircase 1965. The Art Institute of Chicago.
68. Joseph Beuys, Infiltration homogen für Konzertflügel (Homogeneous Infiltration for Piano), 1966, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
69. Polke, Sigmar Bunnies 1966. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C.
70. Judd, Donald Untitled 1966, Private collection
71. Hesse, Eva Untitled or Not Yet (nine nets) 1966. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
72. Nauman, Bruce My Name As Though it Were Written On the Surface of the Moon 1960. Private Collection
73. Baldessari, John What is Painting? 1966-68. MoMA, NY.
74. Nauman, Bruce Henry Moore Bound to Fail 1967-70. Private Collection
75. Mario Merz “Objet cache toi”, 1968. Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (Dr Broeker).
76. Serra, Richard Prop 1968. Whitney Museum, NY.
77. Andre, Carl 37th Piece of Work 1969-81. Private Collection
78. Richter, Gerhard 1024 Farben 1973. Private Collection.
79. Gilbert and George Dusty Corners No.13 1975. Private Collection
80. Sherman, Cindy Untitled Film Still #7 1978. Editioned work
81. Basquiat, Jean-Michel Notary 1983. Private Collection
82. Koons, Jeff Rabbit 1986. Editioned work
83. Kelley, Mike More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid and the Wages of Sin 1987. The Whitney Museum, NY.
84. Kippenberger, Martin Self-Portrait 1988. Saatchi Collection
85. Wool, Christopher Apocalypse Now (p.50) 1988. Private Collection
86. Noland, Cady Oozewald 1989. Private Collection
87. Prince, Richard Untitled (Cowboy) 1989. Metropolitan Museum, NY.
88. Gonzalez-Torres, Felix Untitled (USA Today) 1990. MoMA, NY.
89. Gober, Robert Untitled 1991. Private Collection
90. Hirst, Damien The Physical Impossibility of Death In the Mind of Someone Living 1991. Private collection
91. Tuymans, Luc Der Diagnostische Blick IV 1992. Private Collection
92. Koons, Jeff Puppy 1992. Germany.
93. Ray, Charles Family Romance, 1993. MoMA, NY.
94. Gursky, Andreas Paris Montparnasse 1993.
95. Cattelan, Maurizio Bidibidobidiboo 1996. Private Collection
96. Viola, Bill The Crossing (still from video projection) 1996. Editioned work.
97. Murakami, Takashi My Lonesome Cowboy 1998/ Hiropon 1997. Editioned works
98. Hammons, David Untitled 2000. Private Collection
99. Fischer, Urs Jet-set Lady 2000. Private Collection
100. Stingel, Rudolph Untitled 2000. Private Collection

"To whom belong the one hundred most remarkable artworks of our century?"

Catherine Opie Photo Opp

We had an opportunity to check out the Catherine Opie's at Regen Projects at Art Basel Miami Beach last week. MFA Boston has a couple from the series above.

Thanks to MAO for pointing out the photo and limited edition book available from the Guggenheim book store (only 100 copies). As we say...Always buy the benefit print.

Jody

Brief thoughts on Art Basel

This was my second year at Art Basel Miami. I felt more comfortable walking the different fairs than I did last year. Gallery owners/representatives seemed less imposing to me and I felt much more comfortable engaging with them. Arguably, some of this may be because there were fewer people buying. However, I think that some of it just has to do with the fact that the more you learn about art (and the art world in general), the more comfortable you get. I have also previously experienced this over the years at IFPDA. And, keep in mind, I did not have much if any exposure to art in college (my own fault of course).

Dylan Vitone

I always like to keep an eye on what the MFA, Boston is collecting and their annual report (which came yesterday in my mail) lists their acquisitions over the last year. This year it looks like they acquired four works by a young photographer, Dylan Vitone, including the image shown here of a Homeland Security drill (you can click on the image to see it larger). Dylan Vitone is a MassArt alumnus and he currently teaches photography at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I first saw (and bought) his work at the annual MassArt auction this past April. He makes long panoramic documentary-style pictures by digitally "knitting" individual photos together. There seems to be a narrative (or narratives) in the photos and the process reminds me of a very high tech version of Hockney's photo-collages, except Vitone's work is seemless. He did a series of scenes of South Boston and more recently has been documenting Pittsburgh.

His work was at Photo Miami this year, but the booth's installation was really lackluster. On the outside wall (prime real estate), they enlarged one of his photos (actually of the image we own) and broke it into three separate pieces- totally destroying its impact.

Dylan Vitone has a great website:

http://www.dylanvitone.com/

He is represented by the Oswald Gallery in Jackson Hole, WY and DNJ Gallery in LA. The prints are done in two sizes, a smaller version in an edition of 30 (currently priced at $1,800) and a larger version in an edition of 5 (currently priced at $4,000). You might also be able to pick up his work at the next MassArt auction on 4/4/09.

Artist as Shaman- A New Trend?

This year at the art fairs in Miami, I noticed a trend emerging among a few different artists. Although these artists are from very different backgrounds, they are either fully trained shamans or perform shamanistic rituals. In a world that has become increasingly technological and further removed from the natural world, these artists attempt to reconnect us with the earth, the animal and spirit world, and ourselves. At Art Supernova, Jose Alvarez was showing psychedelic works on paper and mica that incorporated porcupine quills and feathers. He also had a video piece that was to simulate the experience of taking natural hallucinogens used in shamanistic rituals. At the Rubell Family Collection and at Art Basel Miami, there were several sound suits by Nick Cave (shown here).

However, my favorite, my personal BEST IN SHOW for all of the Miami art activities was Marcus Coates' 14 screen video installation, Dawn Chorus, at Workplace Gallery in the NADA fair. Coates, a trained shaman who lives in Britain, selected a chorus of birdcalls indigenous to Britain and taught singers to sing as individual birds in the chorus, but at a much slower speed given the human voice. He then filmed these singers in their natural habitats, such as their bedroom or office, singing their call. Finally, each video was sped up to have the singing sound like the actual calls and the video monitors and speakers were installed in the round. Miles Thurlow of Workplace was nice enough to send me some links to Coates' work. The two videos require Quicktime.

Dawn Chorus
2007
HD Video Installation
Edition of 3 (& 2 AP's)
Duration: 18 minutes (looped)
MC0015
Installation view: Dawn Chorus, BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art, UK
http://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/Coates/Media/MarcusCoatesDawnChorus.mov

Radio Shaman
2006
HD Video Installation
09:31 mins, Edition of 5 plus 1 artist's proof
MC0016
Courtesy of the Artist and Workplace Gallery, UK
https://phsexchweb.partners.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/radioshaman.mov

You can also read more about his work here:

Marcus Coates Selected Portfolio 2008 (6.7MB)http://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/Coates/Coatesportfolio/MarcusCoatesSelectedPortfolio08(6.7MB).pdf

Here is going to have a solo show at Workplace Gallery in 2/09 and is going to be part of the Tate Triennial, in case you will be going to the UK in 2009.

Have a flat Christmas

We picked up a few editioned Christmas trees at the ARTWARE booth at pulse. For $100 you can get an artist designed sticker that you put on your wall (and peel off). We liked the Minter and the Tomasellis the best.

Jody

Martin Parr at the Wolfsonian

Last night as part of a benefit, several of us had the opportunity to have our portraits taken by Magnum photographer, Martin Parr, at the Wolfsonian in Miami. Martin Parr is a key figure in the world of photography, widely recognized as a brilliant satirist of contemporary life. He is the author of over 30 photography books, including Common Sense, Boring Postcards, and Think of England (the image above right is the cover of that book). His photographs have been collected by museums worldwide, including the Getty, The Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern. Parr was featured in Cruel and Tender, the Tate Modern's major survey of photography in 2003, and a retrospective of his work that opened at the Barbican Art Gallery in London in 2002 continues to tour major museums around the world. His most recent work, Luxury, has focused on the photography the "ostensibly wealthy of the world" and can be seen on his website: http://www.martinparr.com/.

We were expecting him to quickly snap our photos in one shot, but he spent time with each of us, directing our posture and pose ("No smiling!") and taking several shots (as many as 10-15) before he was satisfied with the image. We haven't picked up the prints yet, so we can't tell you how they look.

I first heard of Parr's work when he published his book, The Phone Book, in 2002. The book was comprised of photos from around the world of people talking on their cell phones. Although that book wasn't available on Amazon when I last checked, several other of his books are.

Jumping at Scope

Who says art collectors are sophisticated? The Scope fair catered to the kid in us, with a bouncy castle for adults. That said, we didn't find much to jump up and down about at Scope today. For the second year in a row however, we all found a lot to like at Art Miami. (More about that to come)

Jody

Rubell Family Collection

Spent the morning at the Rubell Family Collection. The current exhibition entitled 30 Americans features works by 30 African American artists. A few, including Mickalene Thomas were in attendance. The exhibition included many large scale works including ones by Kara Walker and Kahinde Wiley.

Even breakfast was a work af art (sort-of) incuding piles of bananas. Once again, we bumped into the twins--performance artists from Germany.

Jody

Spotted: Julian Schnabel

Just brushed by Julian Schnabel browsing at Luhring Augustine booth at Art Basel. We are not very good at taking high quality clandestine photos.

Jody