YEP !!!!!! / FOR SURE !!!!!!
‘JOSHUA ABELOW FEATURING JOSHUA BOULOS’
OPEN TODAY – SAT APRIL 23 / 12 – 5 PM
RUNS THRU . . . MAY 14, 2022
A.D.NYC, 19 MONROE ST., NY
HRS: SAT / 12-5 PM
JOSHUA BOULOS, ‘HAND TALES vol.1: Felons’, 2021.
audio cassette player, Deadmau5 portable speaker, looping audio cassette
image via Instagram @ad.nyc
to hear the sound track . . . . and, yes – you want to /
hit: ABELOW + BOULOS / Instagram @ad.nyc
check out: A.D.NYC on Instagram @ad.nyc
check out: JOSHUA ABELOW on Instagram @joshuaabelow
check out: JOSHUA BOULOS on Instagram @joshuaboulos
~JOSHUA ABELOW FEATURING JOSHUA BOULOS / A.D.NYC / OPEN TODAY / SAT 12-5 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 23rd, 2022, 11:49am
current mood: feeling kind of world . . grimy, & people . . weary.
definite, definite prefer feeling ‘shiny’ . . so much better /
maybe, just maybe – this will help ?
sure do wish, I could be in Chicago – for sure, to see the work – in real life / and, in person.
PEGGY CHIANG – ‘spleen and ideal’
OPENS SAT APRIL 23 / 5 – 8 PM
and runs thru . . . SUN JUNE 5, 2022
PRAIRIE , 2055 W. CERMAK RD, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
PEGGY CHIANG,’spleen and ideal’.
image via Instagram @prairie.chicago
you can still catch . . .
these 2 ‘soda can’ sculptures by PEGGY – at the PRAIRIE CHICAGO BOOTH /
BARELY FAIR, CHICAGO – which runs thru this SUN APRIL 24 . . . !!!!
PEGGY CHIANG, (looks to be . . soda can & flashlight?) sculpture
PEGGY CHIANG, ‘No.8’, 2019.
soda can, birchwood, resin, plastic, paint
image via Instagram @prairie.chicago
PEGGY CHIANG, (looks to be . . soda can & flashlight?) sculpture
PEGGU CHIANG, ‘No.3’, 2018
soda can, printed styrofoam, plastic, HMA, plexiglass
image via Instagram @prairie.chicago
def, check out: PRAIRIE GALLERY on Instagram @prairie.chicago
def, check out: PEGGY CHIANG on Instagram @peggy-wendy
~PEGGY CHIANG . . ‘spleen and ideal’ / PRAIRIE, CHICAGO / OPENS SAT APRIL 23 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 22nd, 2022, 12:59pm
‘The starry sky
The lunar voice of the sister sounds unceasing
Through the spiriting night.’
~’Spiritual Twilight’, GEORG TRAKL /
via Haley Josephs exhibit statement.
yes / you just have to catch the happiness – as it happens around you /
it all comes down to: FARM to Table – even, . . . art-wise !!
in this fast-paced, chaotic world.
HALEY JOSEPHS – ‘PASSAGES’
up thru . . . SAT MAY 7, 2022
JACK BARRETT GALLERY, 89 FRANKLIN ST., TRIBECA, NYC 10013
HRS: TUES – SAT / 12-6 PM or by app’t
see: the entire artist statement & exhibit photos.
KATE CERIGO . . . at the opening, FRI APRIL 8, 2022
Photo: NICHOLAS STEINDORF
HALEY JOSEPHS, ‘THE MOTHER’, 2022.
oil on linen / 96 x 74 in.
image via JACK BARRETT GALLERY
HALEY JOSEPHS, ‘THE LIGHT of the WORLD’, 2022.
oil on linen / 40 x 30 in.
image via JACK BARRETT GALLERY
yes, you have to live – as if there is something . . . special inside you / a ‘mystical spark’ . . !!
~with thanks to JOSHUA ABELOW
check out: JACK BARRETT GALLERY on Instagram @jackbarretttgallery
check out: HALEY JOSEPHS on Instagram @haley.josephs
~HALEY JOSEPHS . . ‘PASSAGES’ / JACK BARRETT / . . thru MAY 7 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 15th, 2022, 10:28am
“When you live as if – there’s nothing special, no mystical spark inside you, you gradually
start to believe it.”
~excerpt from . .
‘Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now’, 2018,
by JARON LANIER / via Joshua Abelow
DANI ARNICA, JOSHUA ABELOW: ‘Anti-Magic’,
Et al. Gallery, SF
the gallery will also be open until 8 PM – on SAT APRIL 16
the show runs thru . . MAY 21, 2022
ET Al., 2831 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110
HRS: FRI-SAT / 12 – 5 PM
note: Please wear masks
def, check out: the exhibit mission statement . . . !!!!!
check out: ET AL GALLERY SF on Instagram @etalgallerysf
check out: JOSHUA ABELOW on Instagram @joshuaabelow
check out: DANI ARNICA on Instagram @dani.Arnica
~DANI ARNICA & JOSHUA ABELOW . . ‘ANTI-MAGIC’ / Et al. / S.F. / OPENING FRI APRIL 15 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 14th, 2022, 9:10am
if anything about the world, the art world, or humanity in general – is bumming you out . .
you might want to consider . . this.
forget . . vernacular & witty / this is literally . . . the last gasp !!
CHANG SUJUNG, (Chang is her last name, as per Korean surname order) . . .
‘Incessant suicide attempt of a fish in a foreign land’ /
P.A.D. / PROJECT ART DISTRIBUTION – 5 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBIT / ‘IN WITH THE OLD’
PURCHASE COLLEGE, SUNY – has been extended thru FRI MAY 20, 2022 . . . !!!!
RICHARD & DOLLY MAASS GALLERY, CMFT / PURCHASE COLLEGE CENTER FOR FILM & TECHNOLOGY / CMFT3043
735 ANDERSON HILL ROAD, PURCHASE, NY 10577
HRS: MON-FRI / 10am – 5pm
CURATED BY EMILY JANOWICK & GREGORY WHARMBY
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ORIGINATING CURATOR: SOPHIE MA
& OF COURSE, BIG THANKS TO: PATRICK MOHUNDRO – FOUNDER / DIRECTOR of P.A.D.
CHANG, SUJUNG . . ‘Incessant suicide of a fish in a foreign land’, 2019.
with an internal motor, plastic, cast and hand-painted silicone, batteries, sand.
Forever dying forever living.
15 x 4 x 3 in.
Photo via Instagram @project_art_distribution
note: it’s animated, and makes . . sounds
note: the P.A.D. moving pads / that are at the heart of their diy indie / pop-up displays & mobility.
YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT / THE POOR, but VERY REALISTIC / FISH’S – ANIMATION & SOUND . . . !!
LAST GASP – INDEED . . . !!
HIT THIS: CHANG SUJANG, ‘SUICIDAL FISH’ – P.A.D. VIDEO – Instagram @project_art_distribution
check out: CHANG SUJUNG on Instagram @chang_sujung
check out: P.A.D. / PROJECT ART DISTRIBUTION on Instagram @project_art_distribution
and, NO !!
the last thing I want to see – is a JEFF KOONS sculpture on the moon.
I mean, I don’t even want to see one – on a mega yard – in the Hamptons.
let alone, a grotesque ballerina beside the pool, in tacky Miami.
see: JEFF KOONS TO THE MOON – artnet
truthfully, I’d much rather see a Jeff Koons ‘fake’ anything – by ALFREDO MARTINEZ . . THE NOTORIOUS BASQUIAT FORGER, on a grimy . . Lower East Side wall.
keep your damn balloon . . paws – off the moon Jeff / Jeff ‘wannabe Bezos’ ?
damn, have some celestial respect, CAN’T YOU ?
CUT DOWN A TREE – PUT UP A PARKING LOT.
~CHANG SUJUNG . . SUICIDAL FISH / P.A.D. RETROSPECTIVE at PURCHASE, SUNY / EXTENDED THRU FRI MAY 20 / with a side of: damn . . Jeff Koons. |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 9th, 2022, 8:35am
of course, if there’s . . . ‘creative vernacular’,
surely as night follows day, we will find the: ‘FAUX – VERNACULAR’ . . . !!!!!!
in this case,
it’s that transparent / resin-cast, common utility pail . . . think again !!
that tips – the vernacular reality game, in Peggy Chiang’s ‘Big Country’ – striking contribution.
PEGGY CHIANG, ‘Untitled (Ox) ‘ . . in:
‘BIG COUNTRY’ – a really cool, frosty cool, but def cutting-edge emotional / 5 person group show.
HYACINTH GALLERY – up through . . . SUN APRIL 17 !!!
179 Canal 4B, NYC NY 10013 / where the eastern-most edge of Chinatown, intersects with the Lower East Side
HRS: FRI, SAT & SUN / 12 – 6 PM or by Appointment
PEGGY CHIANG, ‘Untitled (ox),
solid cast urethane resin.
image via Instagram @hyacinthgallery
note: the plant is a reproduction of a water caltrop (Trapa Natans),
an edible aquatic plant similar to water chestnuts, native in Asia & invasive in the USA.
It was introduced to a botanical garden at Harvard in 1877.
~PEGGY CHIANG, gallery note.
check out: PEGGY CHIANG on Instagram @peggy_wendy
~PEGGY CHIANG . . ‘BIG COUNTRY’ / HYACINTH / up thru SUN APRIL 17 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 6th, 2022, 12:55pm
UPDATE: the P.A.D. / 5 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE, ‘IN WITH THE OLD’ . .
at PURCHASE, SUNY . . .
has been / extended thru . . FRI MAY 20 !!
A COUPLE MORE WEEKS . . . !!!!!
DON’T BLINKS !!
GO ON, GO GET YOURSELF . . .
SOME !! ANDREW MERIWETHER . . SOME !! KIND of WONDERFUL !! / FUNCTIONAL, CREATIVE VERNACULAR !!
A BIG PILE of . . . ANDREW MERIWETHER FRANCIS / BAD NEWS !!!!! ‘SOCKS’ – FEATURES
in the P.A.D. / PROJECT ART DISTRIBUTION PRESENTATION . .
‘IN WITH THE OLD: 5 YEARS OF PROJECT ART DISTRIBUTION’ /
THIS SUNY VERSION – CURATED BY: EMILY JANOWICK & GREGORY WHARMBY /
with SPECIAL THANKS to the THE ORIGINATING CURATOR: SOPHIE MA
PATRICK MOHUNDRO – is the P.A.D. FOUNDER & DIRECTOR.
RICHARD & DOLLY MAASS GALLERY / CMFT / PURCHASE COLLEGE CENTER for MEDIA, FILM & TECHNOLOGY / CMFT3043
PURCHASE COLLEGE / SUNY / 735 ANDERSON HILL ROAD, PURCHASE, N.Y.
HRS: M-F / 10AM – 5PM
EXPLORE . . over 400 artworks from the first 5 YEARS of P.A.D. pop-up exhibitions,
in an office-style suite . . !!
including this charming . . little pile of ANDREW FRANCIS . . “DIRTY NEWS” SOCKS . . !!
ANDREW MERIWETHER FRANCIS, ‘DIRTY NEWS SOCKS’.
note: landscape painting to the right – A. PFEIFFER McNAY
Photo via Instagram @project_art_distribution / P.A.D.
ANDREW FRANCIS, ‘KIMYE .. SPLIT’
Photo via Instagram @andrewmeriwetherfrancis
ANDREW FRANCIS, detail, ‘KIM’.
Photo via Instagram @andrewmeriwtherfrancis
ANDREW FRANCIS, detail, ‘KANYE’.
Photo via Instagram @andrewmeriwetherfrancis
check out: P.A.D. / PROJECT ART DISTRIBUTION on Instagram
check out: ANDREW MERIWETHER FRANCIS on Instagram @andrewmeriwetherfrancis
~ANDREW FRANCIS . . ‘KIMYE SPLIT’ SOCKS / A. PFEIFFER McNAY . . LANDSCAPE / P.A.D. RETROSPECTIVE / PURCHASE COLLEGE, SUNY / extended thru FRI MAY 20 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 2nd, 2022, 9:53am
TRANSFORMATIVE ?
the most B.S. word in the entire English language / same with . . Fair Use.
ANDY . . . aka Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts,
you owe that . . seriously iconic, in her own right / woman rock photog LYNN GOLDSMITH – big time !!
SO, PAY UP !!
you can’t rent a car for a day, especially a rare & historic one, spray paint it, install it in front of City Hall, and then – call it yours, because you ‘transformed it – into art’ . . ?
and, then skip out – on paying for it.
you’d be hauled in for major theft, no doubt about. same thing here.
the only thing that’s ‘transformative’ . . is you stole her copyright,
and, used her unique historic photo – as if it was yours.
you absolutely usurped her photo credit, and with it, her absolute right – to decide & control it’s fate.
she absolutely has the right – to sue for it’s . . unauthorized & very commercial use.
collab / as in ‘collaboration’ is the key word going forward, as it is in many issues now facing a fragile society – across the board.
for those cry babies, whining that a ‘whole genre of art’ will be lost, here’s a few choice words: get original, or collaborate, or . . . . get out.
at a minimum, depending on circumstances – at least show some respect, and acknowledge – the creative ‘riff’.
copyright law is a fairly new concept, as the world turns / and, has always continually evolved, according to the times, and the need to address . . ongoing advances in technology, printing, and etc.
image via: ‘Top Court to Weigh Copyright Case on Prince Images’, by DEANNA PAUL and JESS BRAVIN,
including a 1981 photo of Prince taken by LYNN GOLDSMITH / and the Warhol re-iteration /
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Tues March 29, 2011 / Pg. A3.
now, WILL SMITH vs. CHRIS ROCK – that’s . . m-e-s-s-y.
just FYI:
from my personal experience as an artworld ‘event’ photographer, who has posted many a / and, now historic, and always hard-won – photo online, starting with artnet 2002-04, & now on this image-based indie report / going back to 2005 / – and, who has had ‘transformative’ thrown into my face too many times to count, to justify the blatant theft of my photos, esp into film documentaries, or other larger online & print publications, such as Business Insider, and smaller ones like ‘Guest of a Guest’ etc etc . . and, who used come out – sometimes with more than $12 grand a year in my pocket / from those grimy intellectual copyright battles / and without a lawyer, btw / my humble take on the word . . . ‘transformative’ . . .
stems from the early ‘formative’ days, of Internet / World Wide Web rule-making / which were coming directly – out of a highly comprised, Standford University, California (!!) / dept., which specifically-addressed copyright on the web / and which was, quite laughably funded by the huge tech companies / who were wanting to allow the massive use of other people’s, or publications’ . . media photos / as the new & very easy ‘digital’ reproduction of same – had opened up a Pandora’s box.
it was quite literally, the Wild, Wild West – all over again.
1. like many a conflict – this only served to harden photo & intellectual content copyright . . legal recognition, protection & penalties.
in fact, if you are a big photo maestro, and actually go the (now) legal route, to ‘register’ your photos, you can in fact, make serious damage in penalties.
a few famous cases, have made that, quite clear.
otherwise, as a smaller enterprise, you have the right to demand deletion, of said ‘lifted’ photo, and a couple of $$ grand as penalty.
2. luckily for them, the paid University rule-makers, and their big tech sponsors . . they actually missed the boat – in predicting massive theft of other peoples photos, professional, or not / which they felt they needed – to make legal, to keep web traffic flowing & growing / because turns out:
wouldn’t you know it !!
social media posters – like to use their own photos !!
seriously !!
we have become a nation of photographers, esp with the advent of camera-enhanced cellphones.
3. google !!
or, the snake eats its own tail !!
the best enforcement of unauthorized photo use / turns out to be the very tech giant – that tried to run roughshod, over it.
if you use, abuse, exploit, or just post someone else’s photo / without a proper photo credit at a minimum, you are so busted !!! big Time !!
it’s called: google SEARCH !!
and, Creative Commons – be damned, may you all roast in hell.
whoever said, just because you are a ‘non-profit’, (supposedly?) . . . that – you are right ?
~No, NO NO . . . Bad, Andy !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 31st, 2022, 10:27am
‘This little piggy went to market . . .’ /
or: is Netflix – the new Artforum ?
I’ve got a . . . . ‘POCKET ALFREDO’ !!
and, it’s the real deal, too. no fakes here.
it’s still aluminum, it’s still light-weight, small scale, and it’s still easily . . portable.
even though it was made more than 20 years go,
it’s still metal reflective, it’s still vernacular relevant, and more importantly, it’s still also a reflection / a signifier . . on the times / and it, still, can be – YOURS !!!
in a TIME Magazine article in 1967, ANDY WARHOL predicted the future as a time . .
“when everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.”
flash forward to . . 2022,
and, looks like Andy was close, but not fully prepared – for exactly just how fast, social media would propel . .
the world & in particular, those seeking celebrity fame /
a mere 55 years later !! and, we see, it’s more like:
everyone can catch 5 mins. of fame / on the back of someone else’s . . 15 minutes !!
we should just plain out call it – for what it is: ‘piggy-back fame’, and, that’s piggy – in all senses. but mostly, piggy, piggy all the way – to the bank / spin doctors, rejoice !!
GO FOR IT . . . ALFIE !!!!!
of course !!
I’m talking about my good friend, ALFREDO MARTINEZ, aka the ‘NOTORIOUS BASQUIAT FORGER’.
though, we just used to call him, the plain ole . . . ‘REAL FAKE BASQUIAT’ . . !!
and, his (virtual) jailhouse squeeze, the equally notorious . . . THE (REAL) ANNA DELVEY !!
and wouldn’t you know it, they are . . our real day Bonnie & Clyde,
because apparently, nothing beats an outlaw – than an outlaw couple !!
seems, Alfredo developed a real,’we-are-both-thieves’, (is ‘scammer’ – a cuter way of putting it?) real real, heavy-duty crush on the ‘flirtatious-takes-you-to-the-top’ fake heiress, and last week’s headlines . . were a riot !! it was like watching a never-ending story / on repeat.
the various media posts just absolutely parroted each other, not a one had anything original or substantial to say – but who cared !!
by the end of last week, it was, wait / is AI writing the news, now too ? but it just added to the fun.
the coverage . . ran right up through the established art world, and then, even hit the mainstream /
and all the while – nobody cried wolf !!
and pretty quickly, and, pretty much – without changing a word, a sentence.
lord have mercy, have we really become a nation of morons ?
one weird post – had a totally wrong Alfredo Martinez in the photos / and, one of the big German tabloids, pegged NOAH BECKER, publisher of Whitehot Magazine, a big Alfie & Anna fan & co-promoter, written up – as the son of Boris Becker, the famous tennis player.
too fun !! forget about fake news, you couldn’t make this up – in your dreams.
I do declare . . . Andy – would have loved this.
nothing like a fast-talking, heavily-accented, German-Russian honey-trap of a young fake heiress / and, a big goofball of a street smart ‘gun’ artist, (of whom, even his best friends will tell you, you can’t believe a word he says), who both in their own way, conned a whole bunch of pretentious culture & institutional snobs, (got to love the art world) / to progress from a Netflix series, and go on to . . to ‘steal’ / the media-loving, iPhone hearts, of our war-weary world.
I have always said, especially when viewing the art world, it’s either the very top crust, or the very gritty bottom / and, nothing in-between, (is of any interest).
I guess the same rules – apply to the broader society.
it’s either . . total moronic destruction, untold human misery on a vast scale, impending global food ‘insecurity’, (yikes – will I be able to feed my 120 lb. dog ? ) and the usual – though unimaginable nuclear threats, with flying nuke headquarters / coming out of 70s mothballs, and, the totally nuts North Koreans thrown into the mix, just for fun, as per usual / samo, samo, indeed.
who doesn’t love, a Joker wild card /
vs.
the other extreme, the proverbial, gritty, often dark, street-wise bottom / that what we proudly call, the ‘underground’ art scene, the ‘downtown’ New Edge City / in the you-gotta-love-it . . New York City !!
and, still apparently – the capital of the global art world, and this – is why.
where a jail time ‘crush’, & resultant artistic collaboration, between 2 convicted cons / who played many, and not so nicely by the way / while all the while . . aiming / consciously or not, to … ‘revive’ the now, way dead art form – that we used to call . . . ‘Performance Art’ !!
(before it unfortunately morphed, rather horribly into ‘Food Art’, remember that ?)
well, this is ‘Performance Art 2022’, and, it’s subtitled:
‘Get-Over Artists – The Alf & Anna Show’ . . . !!!
so, ‘forgery’ is in vogue. who would have thought ?
in a rather charming ‘twist’ on the narrative / Alfredo is said to actually ‘reproduce’ Anna’s jailhouse drawings, as well as, blow them up, and color them / in fact, he is actually a pretty good colorist – that’s part of what’s actually help drive all the press, that superbly ‘colored’ – now famous, ‘Send Me Bitcoin’, – the Anna illustration, an otherwise crudely drawn sketch, but not without a dry humor & of course, detailed fashion notes / that’s always accompanying, the endless, no real ‘insight’ – press !!).
what ?
so the works you might be buying, (and, is anybody ?) – aren’t really her’s ?!! they are fakes, Alfredo fakes ??!!
in the art world, that’s more properly known as . . ‘collabs’, short for collaborations, and – that’s . . . ok.
but, it should be noted on the price list !!
unless of course, if it’s just a lowly studio assistant / fabricator . . some blue chip artist is taking advantage of / a lot of my young artist readers will know – exactly what I mean.
then it’s not acknowledged, and: well, end of story. but, sad.
anyway, ‘collab’ – is way better than ‘appropriation’ / or, just any other outright smart-ass, intellectual theft, ala Richard Prince, etc.
‘collab’ is ok. just, put it – in print.
it’s just even the faintest whiff of ‘forgery’ . . must have all the big wig collectors quaking, and, well they should be, letters of authenticity, or not. Alfredo’s history goes back at least 20 years. I also heard some wild rumors about all those silkscreen Andy Warhols that keep popping up in Britain, speaking of the darling undead – but, that’s filed away under: better keep – my big mouth shut.
spending time in the Big House, NYC slang for prison . . for fraud, let alone art fraud, isn’t exactly golden music to the well-heeled, but high-priced / street art chasing denizens of those other big houses: the Auction Big Houses !!
most whom probably employ an army of lawyers to keep them ‘clean’, let’s keep it real / though we could drop a few names I suppose, how’s Steinhardt & Sackler, for starters.
so, it’s a kind of . . . great Netflix-to-Artforum joke / the scrappy, street-smart con artists in the (penal) Big House vs. the corporate raiders & UBS fat cats / the phony auction riggers, Paris does jump to mind / & the serious tax haven seekers – in the (legal) Auction Big House !!
and, that’s what makes . . being an art world con – kind of . . well, GROOVY !!
WAY to GO, ALFIE !!!!!!!!!
so, I have a . . . ‘POCKET ALFREDO’ – for sale !!
it’s made to mimic the old school cigarette packs – that cool dudes, like James Dean ? used to shove into their shirt pockets !!
MARK & MATT ENGER / aka THE ENGER TWINS / aka EXPLODING SKY, the (truly) downtown / master silk-screeners – made them.
sad to say, Mark has done & gone R.I.P. / but he was brilliant – case-in-hand /
and, if you ever wonder – how an art photographer slash paparazzi / and,
that would be me . . .
who started publishing photos at Artnet in 2002, then turned art writer in 2005 / while all the while painting smallish watercolors, and hand-stitching repairs of old quilts, among other creative vernacular pursuits / in complete obscurity / knows what’s going on in the flitter-y, flicking art scene of now, well – now you know.
this is the art we, my friends, and I made – 20+ years ago / all hail . . . WLIP / WE LIVE IN PUBLIC.
we are talking: DIY, aluminum, mobile, small scale, silkscreen, reflective, and with a creative narrative – well worth it’s weight in gold, many times over !!
FYI:
shout to JOSH HARRIS / of ‘QUIET’ & the rough & mighty raw documentary it birthed: the now infamous . . . ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ (2009) / who rounded us up . . Alfredo, the Enger Bros., and me / and a few some others, & kept us happily playing for keeps / while totally outside the commercial art scene – proper.
how’s that for true gritty glory ? well, for a little while, anyways !!
Josh was worth $82 million, an early 80s tech entrepreneur / huge party thrower / and, the well acknowledged . . father of all social media,
for real – way ahead of his time. everybody wanted to be him, but they wouldn’t give him – the time of day. we all could paint ‘circles’ – around y’all !!
that’s – for sure. we were – the hardcore / downtown frontier.
MARK & MATT ENGER / EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE, ‘POCKET ALFREDO’, 2000.
reverse.
aluminum, 3-D, free-standing. silk-screened, one-tone.
photo of ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ca. 1999-2000.
3 x 3 in.
originally in an edition of 96.
but, I’ve got the only 4 that have survived.
this one is 90 out 96 / it is hand-numbered, and signed, in black sharpie – by Mark and Matt Enger – on the bottom.
it says / meaning . . in ‘fabricated’ pocket format:
Gauranteed (sic) to NOT:
~Eat your Food`
~Steal
~Lie
~Forge Paintings
~Borrow Money
EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE – 2000
NOTE: I was asking $950 for it, back in 2017,
on my . . ‘IF I HAD $200’ category. see, top navigator bar.
I guess I would want at least . . . $5 grand – now.
see contact / at left, top of page. NANCY SMITH.
WAY TO GO – ALFIE !!!!!!!!!!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~’POCKET ALFREDO’ . . ALFREDO MARTINEZ – THE NOTORIOUS BASQUIAT FORGER !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 24th, 2022, 4:58pm
‘Jack be nimble, Jack – be quick /
Jack jump over – the candlestick.’
‘BIG COUNTRY’ . . .
a group show featuring the work of 5 artists /
is up thru . . . SUN APRIL 17, 2022
HYACINTH GALLERY, LOWER EAST SIDE
read: ‘BIG COUNTRY’ / HYACINTH GALLERY
RYAN KITSON, ‘Shot, Tipped, Flipped, and Flopped’, 2021.
Painted aluminum / 18 x 21 x 1 in.
photo via Instagram @hyacinthgallery
RYAN KITSON: another one / Mt. Ashland, Oregon / posted June 2021
photo via Instagram @ryankitson
I like small pieces.
especially . . . those that are curious. original. often light-reflecting, and definite striking,
within different contexts, and places. functional, or pseudo . . they carry more resonance than their size would belie. it’s like a bite of divine sushi, a poetic phrase, and a tiny revelation – without a huge reveal.
it’s so . . . underground.
it makes the mainstream art world look ridiculous, pompous & over-wrought.
it’s kind of like . . artlovers !!
if you’re small enough – you are always on the thin / cutting edge.
my latest epiphany – on the matter is:
the current rapper ‘style’ war / regarding whether to wrap colorful plastic / craft bead necklaces – around one’s neck, as opposed to the heavy duty diamond spectacle / or serious also heavy, gold chain.
obviously, I’m coming down on the side of the . . light-to-wear, and, who-gives-a-care / about-your-or-mine – damn-wallet / pretty, and pretty much low-fi neck adornments of . . JUSTIN BEIBER, PETE DAVIDSON, and, even this week: A$AP ROCKY !! showing up with his $50 green plastic Tamagotchi / dangling from a longish plastic chain. low-key creativity, apparently still a big shock / even after, that thrift shop vintage 70s popcorn bubble quilt- he wrapped himself up in, for the Met Gala runway / just another way low fi & crafts say: check out your world, dude.
as opposed to the stodgy, look-at-me dude / million dollar, million-and-a-half dollar ? heavy anchor-around-your-neck, chain, that Drake looked so dumb in / photographed at a recent basketball game, sitting court-side, of course.
surrounded by security, btw.
dressed as friends, as if.
what’s really to ponder in art, I mean / sometimes we /or . . really, 3/4 of the rest of the art world forgets /
is . . that it’s not the million dollar ‘price’ tag, the ‘established’ status, or the so-called, & definitely in-house manipulated ‘value’ of the blue-chip art market / which is obviously a kind of legal ‘con’ game for sure, though sometimes – it is nice to see ‘history’ in the flesh, no doubt.
but, what’s really to ponder, is how a small piece of colored, common metal, maybe just a few dollars of materials, if that / and, definite with no real ‘retail’ past history / can reflect so beautifully – the shifting light of the sky above a mountain, as well as the mountain, itself.
and, in doing so / in that tiny moment: voice a ‘concern’, an ‘awareness’ / of that mountain, and the society as whole which surrounds it.
our culture, our urbanization. our natural poetry – or, what there is that is left of it, and our need, whether we know it, or not . . . for that very connected-ness.
and then, just as simply – one day / pick up, and join an edgy, but truly heart-borne, group show in the deepest gritty heart of NYC, Canal St., and still come up . . dancing. reflecting, causing . . . pause to ponder.
to tip-toe into the world / as light on your feet, as you can be / that, is the real potency of the art world, today.
good night, pre-ponderous art.
good night, moon. and, watch out for crashing space junk, yikes,
I think I can see 3 eyes up there on your face now ?!!
and it’s not – the 3rd eye, either.
and, if you can really connect-the-dots, and the bullet-holes, when . . they say: space exploration . . “is to find life on Mars”, nope. it is – not.
it is – a search for minerals, to mine.
check out: RYAN KITSON / Instagram @ryankitson
~RYAN KITSON . . ‘BIG COUNTRY’ / HYACINTH GALLERY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 22nd, 2022, 4:22pm
