. . . here’s the artlovers pictorial yin yang for: 2009.
and, according to MELISSA SCHERRER, the art world’s #1 tarot card reader – it’s also the year of JUSTICE !!
make that: BLOOD-RED !! JUSTICE – up-against-the-wall, and in-your-face !! LOOK OUT !!
painting by KALLE RUNESON – the VIKINGS once ruled the world, too. remember ?
and, yep, it’s just that much of a bloodbath – out there.
in NORDIC GIANTS – ‘FUCK THE LITTLE MAN’ – curated by LARS MONRAD VAAGE & GEORGE BARBER.
NATIONALMUSEUM, BERLIN. DEC 12, 2008
PHOTO: COURTESY NATIONALMUSEUM.
see: NATIONALMUSEUM/NORDIC GIANTS
watercolor by JENNY LADEN – there’s ALWAYS a way thru the looking glass !!
in ‘JENNY LADEN, New Paintings and works on paper’, Jan 8-FEB 14, 2009
HESKIN CONTEMPORARY, 443 WEST 37th ST., CHELSEA
PHOTO: COURTESY HESKIN CONTEMPORARY
see: HESKIN CONTEMPORARY/JENNY LADEN
both these images were recently featured on the artlovers’ home page.
see: ‘HOW TO PREDICT THE FUTURE’/MELISSA SCHERRER, MELISSA BROWN & LUKE MURPHY !!
~YEAR:2009 RED JUSTICE/YIN YANG |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 31st, 2009, 12:57pm
. . . best new – ‘found’ critic – of 2009 – and from the motherland, no less !!
found: NICOLAS MAVRIKAKIS, art critic for the LE VOIR, aka VOIR MONTREAL – based in MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA !!
out for a stroll in Chelsea, 23rd St. NYC. JAN 8, 2009.
he was checking out the PAUL P. show at DANIEL REICH, and then was about to saunter over to the PETER SUTHERLAND show at ATM !!
WELCOME TO THE BIG APPLE !! FROM ‘GUIDO BABY’ !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
see: VOIR MONTREAL
see: ARTS VISUELS/VOIR MONTREAL !!
see: NICOLAS MAVRIKAKIS/VOIR MONTREAL/ARCHIVES !!
NANCY SMITH. ca 1977, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.
aka ‘GUIDO BABY !!’ way back in the day …
I had just sold some drawings to the permanent collection of The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts/Le Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal.
I studied with GUIDO MOLINARI at CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, Montreal, QUEBEC – both in the Graduate and the Undergraduate Fine Arts programs.
ARCHIVAL PHOTOS: COURTESY NANCY SMITH/artloversnewyork.com
~NICOLAS MAVRIKAKIS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 31st, 2009, 11:44am
well, lookey here – what we found, free and unattached !! for the – sharp-eyed – taking !!
INFINITY !!
on 10TH Ave at somewhere like 21st St – in CHELSEA !!
found: APRIL 26, 2008
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~INFINITY/BEST FOUND STREET ART 2008 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 31st, 2009, 11:32am
the best ‘found’ poster of 2008 !!
RED WIRE BLACK WIRE/RECORD RELEASE SHOW/THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20th at 9pm
LIT LOUNGE/with DELETED SCENES & ARMCHAIRS/$6
where found, in December 2008: half hanging off a building wall – that it had been scotch-taped to – in Williamsburg, BROOKLYN !!
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
see: LIT LOUNGE !!
check out: RED WIRE BLACK WIRE !!
~LIT LOUNGE/BEST FOUND POSTER 2008 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 31st, 2009, 10:41am
. . . the first sense of the new wave – in the form of THE STATION/MIAMI, ELEANOR CAYRE’S huge 40+ artist fly-in, blow-out, fly-out hard partyin’ & rockin’ contemporary art, very cutting edge installation – came when we ran into NATE LOWMAN and JOE BRADLEY at the RICHARD PRINCE OPENING, SATURDAY, NOV 8, 2008 at GAGOSIAN WEST 24TH ST. CHELSEA. I think it was Joe who told us Nate was going to curate a blow-out show in Miami, for the ART FAIR weekend, and that he, Joe was going to be included. right away we surfed the web and found a website – for THE STATION – with nothing on it – but a P.R. contact – which we contacted, and thus manged to score & POST !! the first early advance pix !! we knew as soon as we saw the pix – the show was going to be a blast !!
see: RICHARD PRINCE OPENING !!
see: THE STATION/MIAMI/first post/artlovers !!
Although, we knew of the co-curators, SHAMIM M. MOMIN and NATE LOWMAN – we had no clue as to who – the earliest PRESS RELEASE from THE STATION – referred to as: “THE PROJECT DIRECTOR” – ELEANOR CAYRE, was… except that she had provided the most striking quotes about the show’s mission – already quoted several times over on this site; and somehow we got an inkling, maybe from our own party-running days for JOSH HARRIS – that the quote unquote Director – was the real heat source behind the show ??
LITTLE DID WE KNOW !!! we thought Eleanor Cayre was maybe behind the whole show – but pegged her to be a professional Miami Institutional – Museum or Private Collection – curator/top administrator. turns out Ms. Cayre is a NYC home girl !! young, the real 30 is 29 !! – ambitious and super smart, as well as way cool and one-half part – determined & steeley – that’s a good thing !! – ELEANOR CAYRE is single-handedly – the new wave of art advisors and collectors, (aren’t we all collectors – who love art – and know when & how to get our hands on that art – whenever, and however – you can !!) She also seems to be an art activist – as witness: her first venture ever – THE STATION/MIAMI – now called an “ELEANOR CAYRE PROJECT” on the website – which, she did in fact – conceive, direct, produce and, more importantly pulled off !! in a super raw, authentic, and dynamo fashion – and yo, although the show she brought down to Miami had a cold hard-edge – it was really a fantastic focus – think NICK CAVE and the BAD SEEDS meets PANDA BEAR !! !! it was super NYC !! if she’s any indication of the new wave of art movers and shakers – to arise from the burnt-out no-holds bared ground – we’re in for a fun, and finally, s-m-a-r-t new ride !!
we meet up with ELEANOR CAYRE on her return to New York.
SUNDAY JAN 4, 2009
ELEANOR CAYRE. BAR PITTI, NYC. JAN 4, 2009
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
Eleanor shows us the THE STATION/MIAMI ‘goodie bag’ limited edition ‘pouch’ – Nate Lowman designed for the show. fun, or what !!
IMAGE COURTESY/THE STATION.
~ELEANOR CAYRE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 19th, 2009, 1:10pm
TAYLOR LIVINGSTON, who happens to be JONAH FREEMAN’S GF, (girlfriend!!), he of the ‘Hello Meth Lab with a view’ fame – was so sweet to just send us, some of her candid behind-the-scenes shots at THE STATION/MIAMI !!
All of these folks were part of the ‘in-house’ crew that lived in the ‘luxury’ condos attached to the exhibit’s ‘found’ & still under construction !! – retail/commercial/residential space, and helped bring the huge, almost week-long exhibit – to life !! In a huge fun & games – but definitely serious – artist-like way !!
MARIE ELY, and JUSTIN LOWE.
MARIE ELY, and JUSTIN LOWE.
sitting, RY ROCKLEN, and JUSTIN BEAL.
JON DE SIMON and MIGUEL RANGEL.
hanging out in Justin and Jonah’s ‘condo’ quarters.
TAYLOR LIVINGSTON and MARIE ELY. in the ‘Meth Lab’.
MAXWELL WILLIAMS and JONAH FREEMAN.
the crew !!JONAH FREEMAN, TAYLOR LIVINGSTON, JUSTIN LOWE, MARIE ELY, SHAMIM MOMIN and MAXWELL WILLIAMS.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF & BY: TAYLOR LIVINGSTON.
~THE STATION/INSIDER PIX !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 19th, 2009, 12:12pm
THE STATION/MIAMI – ELEANOR CAYRE’S debut project – was huge, ambitious and insightful !! Curated by SHAMIN M. MOMIN and NATE LOWMAN – a winning combo, if I ever did see one !! – it was the only show in the Miami Art Fair Weekend – that caught, not only the NEW WAVE !!, but the hard-edged vibe of the new times !!
was it: the best group show blow-out exhibition art extravaganza of 2008 ? you bet it was !!
hands down.
a large contemporary overview, with a personal take or point-of-view – that’s a good thing !! – THE STATION was truly c-o-n-t-e-m-p-or-a-r-y, (as opposed to Auction House/Museum blue-chip fake-modern-speak contemporary !!). Not only that – it had a sharp edge to it, in the work, and in the glorious rawness of the huge cavernous space itself. An alternative project – it blew away all of the museum surveys – of this past year, including the 2008 Whitney Biennial !! but, esp. those lame museum collector shows trumpeted as cutting edge in L.A. !!
put together in just a couple of months – it was not only museum quality – but THE STATION had a great fly-by-night feel. a difficult combo to pull off. Like a cold North Eastern wind – it swept in across the sunny beaches – and threw down the real hard-edged stake – the Miami art scene has recently been missing. its not all about mall-mentality art commerce, suntans and partying, anymore. give me hard-core art over decadence – anyday !! but, esp. today !! gimme me that NYC edge !!
THE STATION/MIAMI – a PROJECT DIRECTED & PRODUCED by ELEANOR CAYRE.
CO-CURATED by SHAMIM M. MOMIN and NATE LOWMAN.
with help from STACEY GOERGEN, the CURATORIAL DIRECTOR,
and MAXWELL WILLIAMS – who was also a part of THE STATION team, organizing the performances and instrumental in the nitty gritty part of the big show’s actual installing.
DECEMBER 2 thru DECEMBER 7, 2008
MIDBLOCK EAST, 3250 NE 1st Avenue/Midtown Boulevard at 32nd St, Miami, FLORIDA
a ‘found’ space – of 12,000 square feet, in an as yet, uncompleted, bare bones urban real estate development.
Spread out over 3 separate levels, the exhibition opened in a soaring ground-floor retail space, from where it then flowed to a second floor office space, and then onto a duplex residential apartment. THE STATION was open to the public from 12pm – 9pm. and featured truly cutting edge & more often than not, large & very large works, as well as site specific installations by an equally large (over 40 participants), and diverse group of artists, such as: RITA ACKERMANN, DIANA AL-HADID, LISA ANNE AUERBACH, LUTZ BACHER, JUSTIN BEAL, DIKE BLAIR, LIZZIE BOUGATSOS, JOE BRADLEY, OLAF BREUNING, TOM BURR, PETER COFFIN, GARDAR EIDE EINARSSON, MATIAS FALDBAKKEN, SYLVIE FLEURY, JONAH FREEMAN, MARTHA FRIEDMAN, TERENCE KOH, HANNA LIDEN, JUSTIN LOWE, IRENE MAMIYE, RYAN McGINLEY, BJARNE MELGAARD, MARTIN OPPEL, ROB PRUITT, RY ROCKLEN, TORBJORN RODLAND, STERLING RUBY, TOM SCICLUNA, HAIM STEINBACH, and more.
more than anything else, the one thing that draws us back to THE STATION – is how the exhibit comes across as so alive and dynamic – so raw and ‘with it’ – such a hard thing to carry off in such a big undertaking. As the photos below get across – THE STATION/MIAMI – really did mirror the ambitions and insight of its originator, ELEANOR CAYRE, who said in her mission statement that the show was about “the commitment and admiration I have for working artists. I felt it was important to produce an event that retains a sense of intimacy and urgency. THE STATION isn’t about yesterday or tomorrow – it’s about right now.”
it was hard-edged, raw & real – and, it looks like it was a lot of fun, too !!
opening night at THE STATION, MIAMI. DEC 2, 2008
STACEY GOERGEN, JEFFREY DEITCH, and ELEANOR CAYRE.
ELEANOR CAYRE, THE STATION’S originator/director/producer; SHAMIM M. MOMIN, the co-curator; and STACEY GOERGEN, the project’s curatorial director.
THE STATION/MIAMI co-curators: NATE LOWMAN and SHAMIM M. MOMIN.
SHAMIM M. MOMIN is an associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
ELEANOR CAYRE, MELISSA FELDMAN, IDA EKBLAD, MATIAS FALDBAKKEN, and SHAMIM M. MOMIN.
Melissa Feldman was the event planner for the STATION/MIAMI’S opening night.
MUNGO THOMSON, PETER COFFIN, MICHELE O’MARAH, and ELEANOR CAYRE.
Peter Coffin and Michele O’Marah had work in the show.
TAYLOR LIVINGSTON, JONAH FREEMAN, ELEANOR CAYRE, MIGUEL RANGEL, and a guest.
DANA SHUTZ and ROB PRUITT.
LA-based JUSTIN BEAL.
JUSTIN LOWE, JONAH FREEMAN, and a guest.
Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman are the guys who brought you: Hello Meth Lab with a view !!
TOM BURR and JUSTIN BEAL.
RY ROCKLEN.
Ry Rocklen is an LA artist who had 2 very different pieces in the show. He did the pennies on the 2nd floor, which was basically 2,000 pennies thrown all over the floor – “it looked pretty rad and many people asked about it.”
He also did a work on the 1st floor which he called ‘health medallion’ – the medallion – a small colorful circle, hanging, high on the wall – was suspended from a thick rope that went on to surround – encircle – the entire first floor – an ambitious site specific installation that took almost an entire day to complete.
MARTHA FRIEDMAN, next to her installation, ‘Banded’ !!
MARTHA FRIEDMAN – ‘Banded’.
installation by ROB FISCHER.
MARTIN OPPEL’S carpet made of sand !! known as the “sand .. wich” was meant to walked on !!
needless to say it completely disappeared by the end of the opening !!
another view of MARTIN OPPEL’S carpet. BAJRNE MELGRAAD’S couch, GARY SIMMONS red painting and a JENNIFER WEST video at right.
(g-r-e-a-t !!) couch by BJARNE MELGRAAD. ROB PRUITT’S ‘ANNA NICOLE SMITH’ – it up – tombstone, at far right.
at left work by LUTZ BACHER, and at right, HAIM STEINBACH.
LISA ANNE AUERBACH !!
video by JENNIFER WEST.
COSIMA VON BONIN.
a site specific work, built right then and there. by brothers, OSCAR TUAZON and ELI HANSON.
check out this little article: OSCAR TUAZON wins prize !!
this piece by DIANA AL-HADID generated a lot of attention.
chain – site specific piece by TOM SCICLUNA.
HANNA LIDEN.
(very striking !!) photographs mounted on aluminum by IRENE MAMIYE !!
another piece by HAIM STEINBACH.
crate by DIKE BLAIR. DAN COLLEN tricked out the inside. NATE LOWMAN and JOE BRADLEY did the other 2 sides.
NATE’S CRATE / DIKE BLAIR !!
ROB PRUITT’S i-Photos.
YOSHUA OKON’S video in the stairwell !!
STERLING RUBY’S huge piece generated buzz, that traveled all the way back here, in NYC !!
. . . looking through STERLING RUBY’S huge installation/sculpture
the stairway leading down to: Hello Meth Lab with a view !!
detail. JUSTIN LOWE, JONAH FREEMAN – Hello Meth Lab with a view !!
JUSTIN LOWE in his, and JONAH FREEMAN’S – Hello Meth Lab with a view.
the exterior – THE STATION/MIAMI !!
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY/THE STATION
ALL PHOTOS BY: CLINT SPAULDING & NICK HUNT/PatrickMcMullan.com
see: artlovers first – THE STATION MIAMI/POST !!
as well, STACEY GOERGEN, Curatorial Director of THE STATION/MIAMI was kind enough to contribute some background:
The Station Miami
The Station was made possible by a small group of extraordinarily committed art professionals who were determined to bring a free, museum quality exhibition to the public during the 2008 Miami Basel fair. An organic process, the show was organized in under three months, and was installed by curators, art handlers and interns working for reduced rates or for free. Installed in a large, new development in mid-town Miami, the show encompassed approximately 14,000 square feet of unoccupied space, including a soaring first floor commercial area with dirt floors, an unfinished second floor office space, and a duplex apartment.
The concept, originating with Eleanor Cayre, was to utilize these raw, incomplete construction spaces, and offer artists the opportunity to either create new site specific work, or lend objects to the show. Shamim M. Momin and Nate Lowman co-curated the show, either suggesting to artists certain bodies of work in which they were interested, or asking for proposals. The artists were selected in part because their practices investigate architecture and urban landscape, intersections between public and private, notions of design as constructed lifestyle, and, above all, the sense of “in-betweeness†so fleetingly embodied by these exhibition spaces. To give artists a sense of the space, they were sent extensive site images, or in certain cases were invited to visit, so that they could react to the specific architecture, light and feel.
Response to the concept was overwhelmingly enthusiastic– The Station eventually included 48 artists, with 77 works and 3 performances. Almost 60% of the artists made new pieces for the exhibition, reacting to various underlying currents inherent in the exhibition architecture. The availability of this vacant, cavernous space, in a newly built complex reflects the current difficulties in the Miami real estate business, but it also points to the overbuilding of area over the past decade. Diana Al-Hadid’s Untitled (2008), a toppled tower, delicately composed of colored honeycombs has the sense of a fallen nation, where buildings have fallen into decay. Miami based artist Martin Oppel’s Untitled (Strata Fiction F) (2008) consists of precariously stacked Styrofoam cinderblocks, painted on one side in bright florescent colors, perhaps referring to the fragility of building in his hometown. Midtown Miami’s constructed living environment, and the various manners in which people decide to live and furnish their homes, was also explored by artists. Eli Hanson and Oscar Tuazon’s Beer Bottle Test Column (2008) questioned the changing context materials and environment through an empty beer bottle tower, attached with cement and wood to a structural column in the building. In Hello Meth Lab with a View (2008), Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe transformed a shiny, white duplex apartment into a labyrinth of rooms, in which occupants have been producing crystal meth. The grimy interior includes a laboratory, a burnt out kitchen, and the detritus and accumulation of a world falling into itself. The transitory sense of the space was reflected in Martha Friedman’s Banded (2008), a work consisting of 90 oversized rubber bands. The bands were tied in threes, and then installed in a 15 by 15 grid, anchored from floor to ceiling. Encouraging the viewer to walk between the bands, they fluctuated with movement, as the knots found their equilibrium.
The project was also unusual because the entire team stayed on site in apartments above the installation space. This not only included The Station team, but also many of the artists who installed for the show– leading more than one person to compare it to “art campâ€. Given that we were all there, everyone helped in many aspects of the installation and opening, and we all got to know each other very well. We are currently working on a publication which will not only include installation shots, but also outline the curatorial process leading up to the show, as well as the installation and opening.
For more information on the The Station, please visit our website TheStationMiami.org.
Stacey Goergen
Curatorial Director
~THE STATION/MIAMI !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 16th, 2009, 12:54pm
JUSTIN LOWE & JONAH FREEMAN’S huge, detailed, allegorical ? and extremely fabulous installation for THE STATION – ‘Hello Meth Lab with a view’ – scored lots of press & attention, even amidst the crush of the Miami Fair weekend, even scoring a “Best of Miami Art Fair” rating, with a big installation photo, in the New York Times/review of the Miami Art Fair 2008 weekend.
see: the NEW YORK TIMES COVERAGE of THE STATION/’Hello Meth Lab with a view’/ THE STATION/and scroll down to the UP-DATE !!
‘Hello Meth Lab with a view’ – scored so much momentum – it is going to be re-constructed at DEITCH PROJECTS, NYC – this June 2009 !! – so us New Yorkers can get to see – what the big commotion was all about, first hand !!
This highly detailed (traveling/adaptable) site specific installation took up over 1,300 sq.ft. of The Station/Miami’s huge exhibition space. ELEANOR CAYRE, THE STATION’S originator/director/producer wrote to tell us that it took JUSTIN LOWE and JONAH FREEMAN, and a couple of friends, about 3 weeks to install ‘Hello Meth Lab with a view’ – and that they are even now engrossed in the detailed process of ‘de-installing’ it – so it can be re-incarnated at Deitch Projects this summer. The project is supposedly going to re-surface with a new twist in the name. Word on the street is DEITCH is giving the boys a nice budget to work with, and 5,000 sq. ft. to go wild in – so the next ‘Meth Lab’, in NYC – should be a big blow-out as well.
The first ‘Meth Lab’ was called ‘Hello Meth Lab in the sun’ and was exhibited at BALLROOM MARFA, in Texas. ALEXANDRE SINGH was part of that project, but he has since dropped out, to pursue his own projects.
see: HELLO METH LAB IN THE SUN/BALLROOM MARFA/APRIL 5 – AUGUST 3, 2008 !!
luckily for us, JONAH FREEMAN, just sent us a whole bunch of his personal, WONDERFUL pix, of THE STATION/MIAMI 2008 – ‘Hello Meth Lab with a view’ – !!
the approach. it was a narrative of a hidden Meth lab – located behind a seemingly conservative gallery exhibit. lots of metaphors, there !!
JUSTIN LOWE, JONAH FREEMAN, ‘Hello Meth Lab with a view’, THE STATION/MIAMI,
DEC 2 – 7, 2008.
ALL PHOTOS BY JONAH FREEMAN.
~THE STATION/HELLO Meth Lab with a view !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 16th, 2009, 12:03pm
NEW HUMANS & LANSING-DREIDEN performed at THE STATION, in MIAMI – DEC 4, 2008 !!
the NEW HUMANS !!
check out: NEW HUMANS !!
HOWIE CHEN of the NEW HUMANS.
MIKA TAJIMA/NEW HUMANS.
ERIC TSAI/NEW HUMANS
HOWIE CHEN, ERIC TSAI/NEW HUMANS
MIKA TAJIMA/NEW HUMANS
JAY ISRAELSON, DMITRY SAMOCHINE, DIEGO DUENAS of LANSING DREIDEN !!
check out their music, esp TRI !!: LANSING-DREIDEN !!
LANSING-DREIDEN
DMITRY SAMOCHINE/LANSING-DREIDEN
KRIS KING/LANSING-DREIDEN
JAY ISRAELSON/LANSING-DREIDEN
JUSTIN BERACER/LANSING-DREIDEN
KRIS KING, JUSTIN BERACER, JAY ISRAELSON, and DMITRY SAMOCHINE.
LANSING-DREIDEN at the STATION/MIAMI. DEC 4, 2008
at the musical performances: FRANK BENSON, PASCAL SPENGEMAN
STATION/MIAMI CURATORIAL DIRECTOR STACEY GOERGEN, and BERT RODRIGUEZ.
LUIS GISPERT, DIANA AL-HADID.
MIGUEL RANGEL, ELIZABETH LOVERO, and STATION DIRECTOR ELEANOR CAYRE.
DIEGO DUENAS of LANSING-DREIDEN, and THE STATION’S ELEANOR CAYRE.
the 2nd floor, this gives you a good idea of how big the project was. The 2nd floor alone was approx. 6,000 sq. ft. An L-shaped room, the bands played around the corner.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY: THE STATION
ALL PHOTOS BY NICK HUNT/PatrickMcMullan.com
~THE STATION/THE MUSIC !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 16th, 2009, 11:52am
PHOTO (of ARTFORUM AD): NANCY SMITH
when, we first saw this ad in the NOVEMBER 2008 ARTFORUM – for the CINDY SHERMAN SHOW at METRO PICTURES, NOVEMBER 15-DECEMBER 20, 2008 – we knew this was gonna be her first great show in a long long time, the work had gotten tired, stale and stupid – witness the CLOWN SHOW, also at METRO PICTURES, of MAY 2004. Maybe she had to get rid of PAUL H-O !! sometimes being happy – well, at least initially, can do that to ya !!
. . . HAPPIER DAYS, long gone, now. – CINDY SHERMAN and PAUL H-O (HASEWGAWA-OVERACKER) at the 2004 opening of Cindy’s new Clown photographs, METRO PICTURES, MAY 7, 2004
CINDY SHERMAN, CLOWN photograph, METRO PICTURES, MAY 7, 2004
CINDY SHERMAN, at the TONY OURSLER dinner, NATIONAL ARTS CLUB, Feb 25, 2006 – by this time Cindy and Paul were over. Cindy now dates rock icon DAVID BYRNE of the TALKING HEADS, or – has been.
ARCHIVAL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
see: original post FEB 2006 – THE NEW ESTABLISHMENT !!
. . . anyways, like they say – BACK TO THE FUTURE !!
this was the card for the show.
CINDY SHERMAN, NOVEMBER 15 – DECEMBER 20, 2008. METRO PICTURES – 519 WEST 24 ST, CHELSEA, NYC.
you could see right away – the work was tight, serious, and deadly !!
CINDY SHERMAN, ‘Untitled’, 2008. Color photograph. 90.75 x 60 in (image). 96.25 x 65.25 (frame)
Edition of 6.
the piece as it looked in the gallery. The works were quite large. The price range was in the $250,000 ea.
ballpark – and yes, if you bought one, if you could reach that far into your pocket !! you made money.
the face, the expression, and the background, were great, even priceless. Cindy does all her own make-up and props. This was also her first set of photos in which the backgrounds were digitally added/altered or even abstractly manipulated.
of course, the best touch – was the sagging boobs. You got the impression that all these women were specific, that is that the re-imaging was based on real individuals, doyennes of a rich elite, that Cindy had touched base with, but there was no name dropping !! you definite got the feeling, she might have crossed the line – as in …. bitten the hand that feeds ???
apart from the postures, with the implied sense of the individual undergarments, or exercise routine !! – skin tone, make-up and bling – a lot of detailed attention was lavished on the (aging) skin of the hands, and the state of the subject’s nails.
one of the younger subjects – this one really got to me. it felt among the realest !!
along with a good approximation of this matron’s boobs, was a great kind of just losing the battle of the midriff bulge. and the pudgy arms, just this side of going flabby – with a somewhat overall slouchy posture, opposing the hard core ‘status’ attitude – love it !!
this was one of the portraits that made us ask ourselves, (and in fact we overheard 2 women in the gallery, asking each other the very same question !!) did she let go of her diet and fitness routine for the sake of her art !! Cindy in real life would never be caught dead, looking like that !! in real life she aspires to be forever 21 !! and she does a good job. youth and appearance are almighty factors in the cruellest of business worlds – the art world, just every bit as image-conscious, as the enterainment biz !! and, in truth, she’s no spring chicken, she must be fast approaching 60, herself. yep. just looked it up. Cindy Sherman born January 19, 1954 !! happy Birthday – Miss 55 going on 30 !!
Housewives of Orange County look out !!
another of the portraits that seemed very real. some did seem a little too stagey for realism – but had great dramatic effect. whatever. room for both.
yeow !! but, look at her treatment of the neck, here, this must be make-up .. meow !!
when do you the face-lift … you gotta watch the neck !!
not one of my personal faves, a lot of people in the gallery really admired this mother-daughter tour-de-force. I guess for the virtuosity of playing both parts !!
look at the neck treatment, here.
flawless detail, or what !!
an example of one of the more theatrical pieces, if you can say such a thing, of such a slight crossing of the realism line, they were some, especially upstairs in the 2nd floor gallery, that were even more exaggerated). n but still, obviously quite super.
actually it works fairly well from further back.
a little heavy-handed close-up.
not as striking as the last piece – but very interesting, personification-wise !!
again – the big question – can those flabby arms be make-up? or did Cindy let herself go – for the sake of art !!
looks pretty real to me ?
this is more like the real (toned) Cindy !! maybe she took this photo, first ?
like we said, Housewives of Orange County – look out. our art world Cindy is hard-bodied and ageless.maybe you can add fake ‘flab’ – but you can’t fake – good muscle tone.
the photo that most resembles Cindy herself.
well all-in-all – a most amazing ride !!
this one was upstairs – where the more exaggerated ones were. well no matter, maybe they were even more real. truth being stranger than fiction. I got the chills up and down my spine – I’m sure I’ve someone just like this !! at some art opening uptown !!
here’s a close-up – anybody know this (sad) person ?
another intense portrait, upstairs.
back down stairs, who’s this ? yo !! JAN ALBERT – artlovers’ very own movie critic – who just happens to be a great CINDY SHERMAN fan, and who wrote that amazing essay on the 2008 Indie release – PAUL H-O’s documentary – on his relationship with Cindy – called appropriately enough, ‘GUEST OF CINDY SHERMAN’ !!
check it out: GUEST OF CINDY SHERMAN !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
p.s. if you want to see some pix of Cindy, night of the big 2008 opening – and – more importantly read ’bout her fabulous over-the-top party, party like its 1999 !! where you definite get the feeling she is printing money, not limited edition art photos !! yo, maybe in this case – what’s the diff !!
you gotta go to: where else ? ARTFORUM !!
the last hurrah. well give me those days any day. who needs an economic bloodbath, 2009 – is no fun !! give me an over-the-top party any ole day – with people that look 55 is the new 30 !! I’ll take that any day !!
I mean, even I was making $10,000 a week, o.k. – so not every !! week – way back in 1999 – working art parties for JOSH HARRIS. the art skills don’t decline. the art bubble hasn’t really burst – the art talent is still cookin’ – its just everybody else’s liquidity that’s broke – that’s what you get for not buying (good) art and listening to those coked-up crooked-out money mangers – those guys, the financial services ‘artistes’ – ruined it for all of us – and, looks like for a long time to come. the only thing that’s gonna save your skin – is street smarts and real skills. so hopefully artists have a foot up !! if you bought (good) art last year – you were about the only one on your block – making 5 to 10 times your initial investment.. name one: TAYLOR McKIMENS. name some: CINDY SHERMAN, EUNICE KIM, TOMOO GOKITO, PETER SUTHERLAND, STEVE POWERS, BEN JONES, JOE BRADLEY, STERLING RUBY, NATE LOWMAN, WES LANG. ANDREW GUENTHER. ROB PRUITT. a big guy like URS FISCHER, is a no-brainer !! anything cheap at CINDERS or AD HOC, FACTORY FRESH, whatever. its out there, and low-ball, too. doesn’t necessarily take a big pile to get into the art game. just smarts !!
guess that’s a valuable commodity, but at least, it ain’t only on paper !!
so yeah, you a wanna hire me as your art consultant – instead of weasling the info for free off the site – the contact is on the home page. top left hand corner. serious inquiries only. dumb-ass !! I’ve been making 10 x my initial investment, at least, off my art trades and purchases from day one !!
~CINDY SHERMAN/BEST BLUE CHIP of 2008 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 15th, 2009, 3:26pm
