Mike + Doug Starn

First stop on last weekend's trip to New York was a subway ride to the South Ferry stop at the tip of Manhattan to see Mike and Doug Starn's permanent installation. If you go, note that the South Ferry stop (1 & 9) and Winterhaven stop (R&W) are connected underground, so you can take any of the lines. The art itself is in the South Ferry stop and is inside the the turnstile, so you'll want to go in.

The installation reflects many of the Starn's photography styles, translated into industrial strength materials appropriate for high traffic.

There is a piece using translucent decaying leaf as the subject that is similar to the Starns' Black Pulse series.

The largest installation is similar to the Starns' Structure of Thought series. The originals are created by layering wax, encaustic and varnish. The subway version gives a similar feel (noted in the close-up photo), complete with the layering effect, though in this case under layers of some type of acrylic (my guess).

Not everything is familiar. The Starns include mosaic work and cut metal walls -- all tied together by the theme of nature.

The Starns were also featured in yesterday's New York Times Sunday magazine, where you can read about their huge contruction, Big Bambu, at Talix in Beacon, NY. We know Talix best for their works casting sculptures -- especially very large scale.

You Probably Think This Blog is About You

After our friend, R, recently asked a prominent photographer if he could commission a portrait, the photographer asked him, "What do you collect?" I (half-)joked that he should have said, "Images of myself." Vanity and narcissism have always been driving forces in the production and collection of art over the ages, so why not continue in the grand tradition? Is it really so bad to be self-centered if the universe is benefiting? Isn't that actually being kind of altuistic in a way?
Anyway, you all have the opportunity to have your portrait done by an artist that I really like, Futoshi Miyagi. Miyagi completed a project entitled, Strangers, in which he photographed himself with gay men who were strangers, posing in their homes. For his latest project, You Are There in Front of Me, he is taking portraits of people he meets in internet chat rooms via web-cams (one is shown here). This extends the concept of Strangers to people that he has never even met in person, but also plays with the ideas of anonymity on the internet and loss of privacy. I like that he is capturing an electronic image, something that is transient and mundane, and turning it into something tangible, enduring, and precious- all this from accross the globe (he lives in Japan). If you are interested in having your portrait done as part of this project, you can arrange it with Miyagi at futoshi.miyagi@gmail.com.

Josh Smith

Painter Josh Smith had a recent show at Luhring Augustine in NYC that art critic, Jerry Saltz, described as a "rush" and one of the bright spots in the current state of the arts. Smith's paintings are semi-abstract and often have primitive looking figures or even fish. While his paintings might be out of your recession/depression budget, you can pick up one of his limited edition artists books from Printed Matter for $300-$400. Usually done in editions of 30, the books are photocopies of sketchbooks. He also made a brilliant artist book last year that was a photocopy of the gallery sign-in book from his 2007 show at Luhring Augustine. The book is an interesting narrative of the art world told through signatures and comments, who came to the show and what they had to say. There is a deluxe version of this book in a signed edition of 100 plus 20 APS which includes a note by the gallery's associate director for $70.

When Graffiti Becomes Art, Does it Still Look Like Graffiti?

There's certainly no shortage of controversy around Shepard Fairey. Arrested the day his exhibition opened at the ICA, many wonder whether it was just a promotional stunt.

Another question, which has been less discussed, is now that his works have been publicly and critically accepted as legitimate art, would you want one in your neighborhood? That question came up recently, as one of the outdoor works that was placed by the ICA in conjunction with the exhibition resulted in a hearing with the South End Landmark Commission.

This work was placed on a residential townhouse with the permission of the owner. The South End is a very diverse neighborhood and one that has its own battles with graffiti on a daily basis. Does showing this work, as graffiti, promote art in the community or suggest that graffiti is acceptable?

The South End Landmark Commission voted 3-1 to allow this temporary art, so long as something is posted to indicate that the work is art (though, we note that this had not been done two weeks later).

The work is shown in the photo above. What do you think?

Don't miss the Kara Walker in today's NY Times OpEd

Kara Walker's interpretation of spring.

Andrew Raftery Gallery Talk at Davis

We've been watching Andrew Raftery for the past year. An Associate Professor at RISD, Andrew produces striking images of contemporary life using the very traditional medium of engraving. We saw his series of open houses at Mary Ryan at IFPDA in November.

This week, Andrew gave a gallery talk at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. The lecture was a discussion of etching and engraving techniques showcased in the Davis' current exhibition, Prints in an Age of Artistry. It is a wonderful exhibition that lets you compare and contrast how artists were using the various printmaking techniques in 16th and 17th century Italy.

Comparing printmaking to painting, Raftery, who had just visited the MFA's Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese exhibition noted that much within a painting is hidden, as the artist builds up layer and layer of paint. With prints, "it's all right there, nothing is hidden".

The exhibition, containing fine impressions and many rare working proofs, are all part of single private collection and are definitely worth a trip to the Davis.

Art in Aspen

I recently had the opportunity to visit Aspen, Colorado for the first time. The cute, but tourist-oriented downtown boasts over 20 galleries in a few square blocks. Seeing the really bad Rembrandt etching was almost a relief after looking at what seemed to be several galleries worth of "starving artist" works. These galleries made you yearn for a velvet Elvis.
After a little research, we did discover 2 galleries -- that in their ads at least --appeared to carry many of the artists that we know and love. In one, we were excited to find an Oldenburg drawing dated 1968. We inquired about the drawing and were disappointed when all the gallery rep could tell us was the date of the work, stating, "lot's of things come in and out of here". OK, but we expect a little bit more....

All was not lost. We did have a great conversation with Albert Sanford, the owner of Galerie Maximillian. He had just recieved some new monoprints by Mel Bochner. We've enjoyed seeing his Strong Words series and this year at ADAA the various Blah, Blah, Blahs. These new monoprints were very strong impressions with raised pulp -- almost a reverse embossment. Each letter is injected with pigment individually. These works may be seen on the gallery's site and also at Two Palms.

Rachel is ...

Boston artist, Rachel Perry Welty (represented by Barbara Krakow Gallery), did a really interesting performance piece last week (3/11/09) on Facebook. She updated her status almost every minute for 16 straight hours. Although this is similar to Kenneth Goldsmith's "Fidget," in which he transcribes every movement that his body made one day in 1997, Rachel Perry Welty has made a much more culturally relevent work. I have often joked about some of my Facebook friends who constantly update their status, saying that it's nice to know when they are using the toilet. If you would have been Rachel's Facebook friend that day, you would have been bombarded by updates, most of which were mundane and not really worthy of a status update. It brings up several questions: Why do some people feel the need to post updates that would interest nobody? How much information is too much? Where is the line between caring about soneone's update and wanting to remove them as a friend because they abuse updates? Do we really feel like the details of our daily lives are important enough to post publically? Is Facebook really a narcissistic activity instead of social networking?
If you are interested in checking out the piece, you have to become a friend of Rachel Perry Welty on Facebook.

Childs Gallery & L'Espalier team up

The latest issue of Design New England is out featuring our favorite traditional art gallery, Childs Gallery, and their collaboration with newly relocated Back Bay restaurant L'Espalier to the Mandarin Oriental space.

With the vision of NY based designer Martin Vahrta and sensibilities of restaurant owner and long-time Childs Gallery client Frank McClelland, they created a beautiful space to showcase art, drink wine, and of course, dine!

If you haven't yet checked it out, be sure to get over there soon.

Apenest

A few days ago I stumbled upon something that has me excited- Apenest. A collaboration between Brian Willmont (MassArt alum represented by Lamontagne Gallery) and Cody Hoyt, Apenest is described as an experimental publishing/printmaking project that publishes an annual book of artist contributions. It reminds me of the serial, Aspen (I think the similarities in names is probably intentional), published between 1965 and 1971, that contained items by artists such as Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, and John Cage. There have been two issues so far, each only $15, hand-numbered in editions of 1,000. The issues contain extra goodies inside the book such as prints, stickers, and a bandana. They have also published two prints, one a silkscreen shown here by Willmont and Hoyt (26"x40") in an edition of 55 for only $25! I would much rather have one of those than the stuff 20x200 has been putting out lately. Sorry, Jen Beckman...

David Hilliard Benefit Print on sale now

We've previously blogged about the awesome David Hilliard benefit print for this years Summer Party at the MFA. Well, the link is up and you can buy it now before it runs out!
Ticket levels which include the print are as follows:

• Oro Guest: $525 (Museum Council members receive a $50 discount, limit one per member)
  Benefits include:
  Two tickets to the Party, including VIP lounge access
  One exclusive limited-edition benefit print by David Hilliard*
  Individual recognition on event program (listing deadline, May 15)
  $250 is not tax deductible
• Argento Guest: $375 (Museum Council members receive a $50 discount, limit two per member)
  Benefits include:
  One ticket to the Party, including VIP lounge access
  One exclusive limited-edition benefit print by David Hilliard*
  Individual recognition on event program (listing deadline, May 15)
  $150 is not tax deductible

All indications are that we will sell out again this year. Don't miss out!

South of the Border

Although Cambridge really isn't south, it does seem so far away to many Bostonians (including me). The drive across the Harvard Bridge is a much bigger obstacle than it should be. Whenever I'm in Cambridge I feel like I am on vacation, in another city with great things to do and where English is the primary language.
Yesterday, I checked out the List Center at MIT (which is in Cambridge). Right now there is a show by Melanie Smith, who lives in Mexico City and creates works about the city. The central piece in the exhibit is called "Spiral City," which is a grainy balck and white aerial video of Mexico City taken from a helicopter. The city becomes abstract patterns and it made me think about Mesoamerican hieroglyphics. Even more successful than this video is a series of gorgeous paintings that seem based on the video- abstract cityscapes from above done in tones of gray. The most beautiful painting was obstructed by a concrete wall built in the gallery in front of the painting- recreating the boundaries in Mexico City, keeping people out. If you go, make sure you also see the video playing across the hall. I won't tell you what it's about...