~YO YO YO !!/BOBO !!

YO YO YO !! talk about a live wire !!

. . . we thought the BOBO show would be good – but we hadn’t a clue – it was well, well, beyond the pale. and well well beyond the uptight conceptualist shows – the New York Times has been crowing about for summer offerings. It reminded us of that super great BLACK & WHITE show, ‘INFINITE FILL’, that CORY ARCHANGEL curated for FOXY PRODUCTION – a couple of summers back. just beats all the competition hands down. period.

This is a conceptual show that EXPLODES !! LIFTS OFF !! & FIGHTS BACK !!
BRAINS, BRAWN and VISUAL BEAUTY. what can I say – this is the one to see. it’s a DYNAMO !!

The opening was great. electric. crowded. fresh smart kids. a lot of friends from Philly came in. the artists in the show – it was like walking on a mountain range – just turning from one super dynamo to the next. non-stop. what do they put in that Philly water ? or, maybe these guys just aren’t drained by trying to stay alive in NYC. put it this way, a room, ok a small one – in a Philly ‘art’ house costs $175/month – the same comparable (small) room in a Brooklyn artist house, even in Bushwick, forget Williamsburg, costs $750+ a month. you live in Philly – it seems you got lots of free time to blow-it up and put it out. ..and it looks like, maybe even – take-over.

‘BOBO on 27TH ST’ – is also a show on wheels – that is, a show with great timing. It is actually the artworld equivalent of ‘Wall-E’ !! if you can think and dream – beyond WALK & TALK !!
except BOBO is PIXAR !! minus a couple of million zeros – in the budget.
. . . we’ll take the last lines from A.O. SCOTT’S film review of ‘Wall-E’, published in the New York Times WEEKEND ARTS of FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 – to start the dialog:
“The paradox at the heart of ‘Wall-E’ is that the drive to invent new things and improve the old ones – to buy and sell and make and collect – creates the potential for disaster and also the possible path away from it. Or, put another way, some of the same impulses that fill the world of ‘Wall-E’ – our world – with junk can also fill it with art.’ !!

here’s a couple of ‘teasers’ – photos from the opening – a whole !! photo report on the show – goes up next week !!

‘BOBO’S ON 27TH’ – CURATED BY BOBO – PHIL COTE, NICK PAYNE & DREW GILLESPIE
JULY 3 – AUGUST 1, 2008
FOXY PRODUCTION – 617 WEST 27TH ST – CHELSEA – NYC
note: summer hours … MON-FRI 11-6pm !!

B # 1

B # 2

B # 3

B # 4
futuristic ‘jukebox’ by BOBO – meet the artworld’s – ‘Wall-E’ !!

B # 5
say hello – to our EVE !! a changing light form by BEN PHELAN.

B # 6
YO YO YO – you go girl !! – an animated video … by ANNIE PEARLMAN, a local NYC artist, by way of Vermont – why does it take a village, that is, BOBO & PHILLY – to get this NYC talent – on the stage where she belongs ?
BOBO made the great ‘statement’ frame around the screen. including the plastic ‘garbage’ bags which are a bright, albeit subtle translucent – green and yellow, in reality. and put a beautiful plastic 3D case over the screen. Annie hadn’t seen it till the opening night & she loved it. what’s not to love. in a BOBO show.

B# 7
just one aspect of this amazing #D piece by JESSE GREENBERG

B # 8
ouch. BUDDHA DOG by BARKEV GULESSERIAN, not everyone in the show, is on the card.

B # 9
the free form on the wall, near the ceiling. by BEN PHELAN.

B # 10
LINDSAY BEEBE with her great ribald painting on the war, and down dirty anatomy !! of the sexes. hey, dude – what else do you think – bottomline – differentiates us, humans – from the robots ?
at less these guys ain’t sipping nutrients from straws & having test tube babies. this isn’t coarse – its the ultimate primal survival.

B # 11
BRIAN McKELLIGOTT has the same kind of raw sex dialog going on, in his painting too – so you know – BOBO is trying to tell us, something !! beyond WALK & TALK !! art show.

B #12
scattered about, text messages from BRENT COWLEY – just in case, you miss the point that this is not just a show – in a gallery – but – a visual ‘cirque’ with a message . . . message in a bottle.

B 13
. . . a visual ‘clue’ on one of the BOBO constructed frames – that help the individual artworks – explode off the Foxy ‘white box’ walls.

B # 14
. . . . what is it about this show – that makes me think this show is as close to giving birth, defining evolution and foreseeing the future – as 3 young musicians, named BOBO – in a space called FOXY – can get ?

more pix from the opening post EARLY next week.