I just got back from Mercer Union Centre for Contemporary Art’s We Interrupt This Program, and I must say that the whole experience really foregrounds the importance of context. Seeing these magazine advertisements, encased in shelves and inaccessible, really takes away from the power of subversion that these art objects once had. I couldn’t flip through the magazines to really understand how the art/ads relate to the greater content of the publication and the mass media that it represents. I came into the gallery already knowing that I was going to see these interruptions, but if I’m going for the interruptions, then it’s not shocking or subverse… it’s “Art” [capital A, ART].

The gallery is the wrong place for these kinds of works, but it is the only place where the traces of the performance remain. The performance of “interruption” requires an interrupted viewer. There needs to be someone on the other side of the television to be disrupted. Otherwise, all we have is nostalgia.

It’s unfortunate to see how many of these techniques are in ample use for advertising and television today. Jan Dibbets’ TV as Fireplace is a fantastic idea, which now exists in the form of various DVDs you can buy, including everyone’s favourite TV fireplace, Holiday Fire. What once was a disruptive comment on our relationship with television has now been fully embraced by loving and kitschy families every holiday season.

I enjoyed the presence of Joseph Kosuth in the exhibit, but I feel as if I needed more context than one page of a paper to understand the specific relations that might be made by its average readers. I’m familiar with Joseph Kosuth and his ideas, but I don’t really know the thing he has subverted, nor the significance of his piece. I wasn’t able to tell what would have been in many of the magazines, and a lot of them seemed to be Art-oriented to begin with…

Peter Weibel’s Endless Sandwich actually falls in line with the kind of imagery I am using in my Phase Two video.

This is how I feel watching television. Except nowadays, the camera won’t stay still, and the images and sounds flash faster and faster.

Chris Burden’s TV Commercials remind me of a lot of the work that I wish I could afford to do. So often have I considered how satisfying it would be to take over people’s television, just for a moment, to express the anxieties of cultural production in today’s culture. The message, “SCIENCE HAS FAILED,” repeated is bound to invoke a strong reaction some time in the middle of some relatively-low budget sitcom or family drama. Brilliant.

Probably the most interesting at the exhibit are David Hall’s TV Interruptions. Maybe it is because my own anxieties for television relate directly to MTV culture, but I think his pieces are brilliant in their ability to blend. MTV always plays weird things that you don’t expect… usually senseless and colourful images… so when these images turn around on you, the viewer, you might not even notice. David Hall performs exactly what we should do to our televisions. Smash them! But we keep watching… glued to the set like the audience in his 1971 interruption. We fixate on the screens, even when they show us that we should not.

I will admit, I really enjoyed a lot of this content. My major qualm comes from the nature of the gallery. Not specifically Mercer Union, which seems like a great space, but gallery as the space for art. These works have lost their own aura, because they have been taken out of context… and context is the key aspect of culture jamming. These works are never really complete works in themselves. They need to be sandwiched into the mass media that they criticise in order to be anything more than memories of a time when it might still have been possible to subvert the media…

Q44z Gallery – A new era in art.

Q44z Gallery is working hard to be the premier online gallery for self-taught artists. While we know that traditionally trained artists produce amazing and wonderful work, we believe that the self-trained artists often produce more meaningful art.

It’s the outsider artist that is free from create untainted by educational influences and prejudices. Self-trained artists create their work because they simply have the desire to create, they typically don’t create because they are trying to make a living or build a career from their work. They create because it’s in their souls. They create because they can’t not create.

Q44z is a unique kind of gallery because our artists are unique.

Completa galería de artistas en la que aunque cada uno va a su rollo, entre todos crean un conjunto cojonudo. Mis preferidos, Cum Collective, Tiffany Bozic, Ryan McLennan y sobre todo Scott Listfield (su web oficial aquí).

mimushi recently got invited to hold an exhibit during Art Basel on December 4, 2008 from 7 – 11 pm in the Wynwood Art District @ 2722 NW 2^nd Ave., Miami, FL 33127 • the show will be hosted in talented Claudia Calle’s Studio with live music from Fábrika’s own DJ Mr. Pauer and will also show art curated by Iniciativa Colectiva’s Nicole Andujar • we will be featuring a nice 13.5″ exclusive mimushi piece as well as some other nice surprises • Artist Rony5 shall also be showing a piece of his mind • come by and celebrate! (I think there’s free drinks too!)

come by Claudia Calle's studio from Dec. 2 - 4; see the mimushi exhibit on Dec. 4

[emerge] : art exhibit

Help celebrate the opening of [emerge], an out of the blue art exhibit brought to you by ARTworks Agency. Featuring original artwork from a variety of talented artists who are shaping the future of the art world.  Don’t miss out on this exclusive three day event.
An impromptu public art*event.

when:
Friday, Dec 4, 5:00-8:00p (Friday Art Walk)
Saturday, Dec 5, 11:00a-8:00p
Sunday, Dec 6, 12:00-3:00p

where:
2603 West Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO

I love the art done at Oh Really! Alot of artist work on different characters and work on repitition to create cleaner, more perfect piece. Check out the work–it’s dope!

Via Oh Really Magazine

– Mikeezy

my audition illustrations for Ang I.N.K.
based on the story “Naku naku naku…”

now i am on my second year with them.

music credits: “Turning Gray” by Drip
rate and comment, click here

Tim Burton
24 November 2009

Tim Burton MoMA, New York

The master of the cool, cruel, and creepy finally had his MoMA début on 22 November 2009, when Tim Burton unveiled his retrospective at the renowned Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Explore the mind of Tim Burton through the ages, showcasing every detail of his sketches, drawings, paintings, short films.  If you’re in New York from 22 November 2009– 26 April 2010, this exhibit is not to be missed!  Take part in this pop cultural experience, moving through the distorted, unsettling, and disturbingly surreal world of Tim Burton.

I can’t wait for Alice in Wonderland to come out.

Related Links:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/313

by Vivian Maier

Another wish-I-had-found-it-while-flea-marketing moment - the work of  street photographer Vivian Maier.

A street photographer as well, John Maloof found Vivian’s negatives at a furniture and art auction in Chicago. Her private life is still somewhat of a mystery, but what little of it John has gathered can be found on his Vivian-dedicated blog.

He is compiling her work into a book, but has been kind enough to share some of her images via the Internet. The Independent recently did a write-up on the discovery of her work.

I am in love with these photos, especially her reflection images. Looking through her photographs is like peeking into her visual diary. Maier was primarily a nanny, but as evidence of the 40,000 negatives found after her death, photography was her creative outlet, her true work. It is evidence of how the joys of photography can be had in just taking the photograph, not worrying about the end result.

layers of reflection

subtle reflections

self portrait of Vivian

On Friday, November 20, a small group from the StudioWorks crew visited the Louisville Science Center.  A traveling  exhibit on the ill-fated ocean liner, the RMS TITANIC was in town and a few of our artists were keen on seeing the show.  Brad Bohannon seemed the most interested, but it didn’t take much arm-twisting to talk more friends into going.  Nancy Anderson (whose birthday it was!), David Mahoney, Sally Hardman, Anna Tanzilla, and myself took two cars to the museum.  The remaining StudioWorks artists who are interested will be going later during the show’s run in town.

Of course no photography was allowed inside the exhibition area.  The exhibit consists of large photographs of the steamship being built, artistic interpretations of what happened, and contemporary color images taken deep under the ocean.  Under vitrines were a variety of artifacts recovered from the wreck.  Some of the somewhat ordinary objects belonged to known passengers on the boat and “told” a more personal story.  Each visitor to the exhibition is given a card with the name of an actual Titanic passenger on it.  At the end of the show, a board with those passenger names  and their fates is posted and in this way, you can see if in fact “you survived”!  Brad and David were especially interested…but sadly, they learned because their person was one of many third class passengers…well, they didn’t make it.  Watching and listening to the small video monitors via telephone handsets was also a fun activity for our clients.

Here’s the Titanic visitors, along with Anna Tanzilla (second from the left) in front of  the Louisville Science Center’s parabolic mirror.  We had some fun bouncing our voices off this dish!  As a way of rating our experience with the Titanic…it’s an expensive ticket and it would have been nice if a discount were available for groups smaller than ten people.  The exhibit area itself is dark and the floor surface changes elevations as you travel through the show.  We had a couple of people with us where walking balance is an issue.  Overall, the artifacts and images modestly held people’s interests.  The novelty of being somewhere different was probably just as stimulating.

After the outing, Anna Tanzilla helps Dorcas paint a wooden Christmas ornament.  We would like to thank Anna for all the help and assistance she has given StudioWorks and Zoom Group.  Anna is a practicum student through the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work.  Anna is helping us construct artistic biographies of the individual StudioWorks artists that we hope to use a variety of ways.  As the artists take advantage of exhibition opportunities, their resumes start to build.  Next semester, Anna, will be broadening her research on topics of interest to our community.  As the year winds down, we would like to make sure we say “thank you”!

As a college student trying to find new entertainments and places to explore, it becomes easier finding places which don’t put a hole in your already broke pockets. Throughout my stay in Rowan and my many visits trekking through Philadelphia, alone or with friends, I’ve almost become an expert as to what places seem reasonable or unique to visit and how I can view and photograph art there without spending a great deal of money. That extra pocket change should go towards coffee on a cold winter day or just lunch/dinner with friends. Life should be enjoyed, not calculated.

View Larger Map

I have now refined the plans for the leaf sculpture installation for Bridgeport.  Floating leaves in a three dimensional space requires making sure they have enough clearance from each other in all directions as well as being placed so that they don’t hit anyone or anything else – along with looking good.  In the studio I am finishing the East Indian paintings for Merced and getting the studio ready for my Holiday Open Studios – dates and times will be posted soon.

leaf layout

Pablo Amaringo Gallery

Originally uploaded by Howard G Charing

Pablo Amaringo Gallery

The sign on the remodelled Usko Ayar school which is planned to house the Pablo Amaringo gallery, in Pucallpa, Peru.

Except for a nice frame, this painting is done!  Artist Sally Hardman holds her latest canvas for all to see.  She’s proud of it and looking forward to hanging it on our gallery walls.  Everyone has been working hard to get ready for our Dec. 4, show and sale.

Sally’s owl piece is acrylic paint on canvas and this is the third version of this particular design.  She did two other watercolor and mixed media drawings on paper before she started working on the canvas.  Sally likes owls and did a few ceramic ornaments in addition to these colorful works.  Here is the first, more abstract idea that Sally started with.

Here’s Sally’s first study casually photographed on the StudioWorks’  floor.  The central idea of an owl sitting on a stone wall was carried through all the designs.  Something else was needed to keep the main subject from just floating on the page.  And now for the second drawing. 

In the second work, Sally made some major changes that made her artwork stronger.  The colors become more vibrant and this carries over into the final painting.  To solve the “floating owl on a page” she introduced some shapes that suggest a wall or building behind the bird.  In the final version, a back-lit archway becomes a key element and not just a backdrop.  Among the techniques that Sally practiced were making the brushstrokes that represented the feathers on the owl.  There where days when Sally didn’t feel like working on this piece.  So, we were all proud  when she returned to it for completion!

So, as I said before, we are very busy trying to get all new displays up for the new year. It is a lot of fun becasye I am getting to work a lot on quilting, but also a little daunting. My work room is a mess. Here is one of my tables, to give you a sneak peak at a simple quilt that I am working on with the Spellbound collection from Art Gallery. I love the vibrant colors!

Join Martin Gallery in Charleston, SC for an incredible evening, dedicated to the incredible photography of Benjamin Ham, as they celebrate the release of his first book, VANISHING LIGHT.  The artist’s reception and book signing will take place on Friday, December 11, 2009, 5:00-8:00pm at the gallery located at 18 Broad Street.  This will be an amazing opportunity for fine art enthusiasts to meet the photographer, see his entire portfolio on display, purchase work from any of his collections, or even get a personalized and signed copy of his new book, just in time for the holidays. The show will open on December 4 for the December Art Walk.

“There is something magical about working with an 8×10.  It’s almost like looking out a window with that large ground glass on the back,” says Benjamin Ham. “One of the great side effects of photography is the way it opens your vision to the vast quality of light.  It seems to enhance the way one sees the world.  I am often aware of the light as the day passes.”

The photography of Ben Ham is strong in craft and rich in detail. Often described as hauntingly peaceful, his art possesses a presence and potency of place that causes a shift in consciousness. You feel as if you could step into the world created by a Ben Ham photograph.

“Ben Ham makes his way over a craggy landscape wielding a huge bellowed camera and an equally impressive tripod.  It’s a 19th century scenario made new in the 21st century.  He’s looking for just that right angle and light that separates art from documentation,” says photographer, Mark Edward Harris.  “It is not only refreshing but vital to step back and observe what no man create.  The beauty of nature painted by light.  Ben Ham is able to capture and preserve that ethereal beauty.”

Although primarily known for his arresting images of the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Ben Ham has four unique collections, which will be shown in Charleston for the first time in his upcoming show at Martin Gallery. VANISHING LIGHT will showcase work from all four of his collections…The Lowcountry of South Carolina, The Deserts of the Southwest, The Mountains of Colorado, and The Wine Country of California.

Gallery Director, Kit Coleman, says the collection represents “beautiful and nostalgic moments in time.  Each image can be a place you have visited, or even just dreamed about.  Standing in front of a large-scale Ben Ham photograph, you are overcome by a hauntingly familiar feeling and suddenly the photograph is not just any place, but your place.  When the nostalgia seeps in you do not have to wonder if that place exists…it does, and it is yours.”

Martin Gallery strives to bring some of the finest artists in a variety of fields together under one roof. Upon entering the historic Grand Salon of Martin Gallery, one experiences a soaring space filled with the exquisite color and texture of oils, acrylics, bronzes, marbles, terra-cottas and richly hued glass. Martin Gallery features contemporary art, representing more than thirty nationally and internationally renowned artists.

Our goal is to provide works of thoughtful beauty to enhance residential and commercial surroundings. Our belief in the quality of the work that our artists produce is what drives us, and our excellent client relationships are what sustain us.

Two original oil painting by HMBT copyright 2009

Two - close up

‘Two’

18″ x 24″

oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Finished sides, ready to hang

Original is available for sale at the BAD! kitty art studio web site.

Here is the quote that goes with this work:

“Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.”

Marabel Morgan

FINE ART GIVEAWAY FOR “FOLLOW YOUR HEART” BOOK PURCHASE AND HONEST REVIEWS

http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Your-Heart-Poetry-Rochelle/dp/1439249717/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258678536&sr=8-2

This only works if you enjoy my fine art and poetry! Check it out on my website and art blog: http://www.rochellecarr.com

1. Purchase five of my new books: FOLLOW YOUR HEART POETRY by Rochelle Carr each $21.99. With shipping, it totals a tad over $100.00.
2. Save Receipt from Amazon and read one of my new books.
3. Give them as gifts…..perfect holiday time (friend or family) gift!
3. Write two (per household) HONEST reviews on Amazon for the book.
4. Send me the receipt for the books and copies of your reviews with your name on the reviews so I can verify.
5. Send me your address and I send you one of my original fine art paintings valuing $300.00+ and I will pay the shipping! Another great gift idea!
6. One dollar per book is divided and donated between my two favorite charities benefiting children:
Children’s Cancer Association – http://www.childrenscancerassociation.org/
School Force Belmont – http://www.schoolforce.org/

7. SHARE IT WITH ANYONE INTERESTED!
(Only one painting per household) My paintings range from $100.00 to $15,000.00.

Thank you so much!
Any questions call Rochelle Carr Studio and Gallery: #650-366-1384 or #503-780-2474.
–RMC

For anyone who will be in Melbourne, FL this Saturday Nov. 21, please come check out Blood, Sweat and Ink at SLOW Gallery downtown. The show will feature the fine art of tattoo artists from Ink Doktors, Studio XIII, Old Ghost Tattoo, Endless Summer, and many more.

Should be a good time!