ERIK FOSS PRESENTS: ‘HOMELESS AMERIKA’ – and, we add – it’s n-o-t a joke people, wake up !!
ERIK writes to tell us:
“This installation will be in SCOPE NEW YORK during the ARMORY WEEK.
The gallery that is showing it is SHOOTING GALLERY from – SAN FRANCISCO, CA.
It is my first piece in a New York City art fair, and I am proud to present: ‘HOMELESS AMERIKA’.
The piece is made of homeless signs that were purchased from the homeless.
The American flag is painted with spray paint. It stands 8 feet tall by 12 feet across.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to local Manhattan homeless shelters.
I think the piece needs no explanation.”
SCOPE is at LINCOLN CENTER this year & runs thru MARCH 8th.
SHOOTING GALLERY is located at booth no. AO3.
~ERIK FOSS/SCOPE !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 5th, 2009, 4:42pm
In February/March 2009, Babel – an artist non-profit initiative situated in TRONDHEIM, NORWAY – will present ‘NEWSPEAK’ – a series of three exhibitions and a workshop on writing about art.
Themes and dates for the exhibitions:
~ Provocation (February 20 – 25)
~ Emotion (February 27 – March 4)
~ Speculation (March 6 – 13)
An open call project – artists were asked to send in digital submissions before January 15, 2009.
The project’s focus is on: “the dynamic relation between art production and the written reflection on the art (critical, theoretical, etc.)”
Before the first show, JAN BACKLUND (artist/writer/COPENHAGEN) will lead a workshop on writing about art, and at the same time, “we announce a writing competition: writers are invited to submit texts about one or more of the three exhibitions in NEWSPEAK.”
All submitted texts and photo-documentation of the exhibitions will be published, both in print and at this web site.”
see: NEWSPEAK/BABEL/NORWEGIAN
there is an ENGLISH/OPTION at top of the site. [ENGLISH / NORSK !!]
we have to thank STEN ARES SANDBECK, based in Oslo, Norway for sending this in.
we know Sten from the NATIONALMUSEUM SHOWS – specifically the TALL ARTIST SHOW – aka – FUCK THE LITTLE MAN !! He was one of the giant artists in the show – the white tent against the wall is his, see link for photos.
see: NATIONALMUSEUM/BERLIN/NORDIC GIANTS !!
Sten will be exhibiting two pieces in the BABEL ‘NEWSPEAK’ show – during the ’emotion’ part – ‘Shelter’ and ‘White Flag’ – both of which were also shown in the NATIONALMUSEUM TALL GIANT SHOW – and most gloriously, STEN has sent in some wonderful hi-resolution jpegs of the works !! WOW !!
STEN ARE SANDBECK – ‘SHELTER’.
STEN ARE SANDBECK – ‘WHITE FLAG’.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY & COPYRIGHT/STEN ARE SANDBECK.
you can see more of Sten’s work: here !!
Sten explained the ‘NEWSPEAK’ project a little better to us: “The exhibition series is based on a mix of open proposals and invitations and focuses upon the dynamic relation between art production and the written reflection upon art. Parallel to the show, a workshop on writing on art and a writing competition based on the exhibitions will be held. All submitted texts and photo-documentation of the exhibitions will be published, both in print and at the Babel website.”
he goes on to say: “That was a lot to read and if you’re still hanging on, I apologize for the inconvenience, but one likes to try to communicate, even from this far off outpost of civilization – the ancient transatlantic connection keeping our hopes up – the Vikings, they say founding (or more accurately finding !!) ‘wine-land’ – the predecessor of New York City !!”
he also said something really funny, though I’m not exactly sure – what it means – (there’s a lot of possibilities !!) – at the beginning of his email, as initially I didn’t quite ‘get’ the submission – as he just sent the poster, with no explanation – (above) – which was all in Norwegian !! or I guess – NORSK !!
“Thank you for getting back to me – you are perfectly right … the event is certainly a long way from NYC; it must be madness enough to cover that” – [here’s the fun part:] – “going global suicide (those who do end up growing out of any practical proportions or consider canonizing extreme narrowmindedness – art history, for instance.)” STEN – what are you saying – write some more on this !!
and no, it’s “not too far-out …geographically or mentally !!” – as you put it.
do you mean global suicide re: the impact that the US has on the rest of the world, or global suicide re: the NYC centric art world ? come on – lay it down – we can take it !!
you gotta love how narrative these Nordics are, with their ancient story-telling genes – in his own words, he concludes:
“Just to let you know, I’m also running a web-based artspace at www.undisclosed.no, the idea based upon galleries representation of their shows online, just skipping the actual show !! .. Invited artists produce a series of jpegs of a certain size, none of them representing artworks, but rather to be considered as artworks in themselves. And quite important – non-saleable – only pure art ! I might pass you some information on the next show. Let me know if you’d rather I didn’t”. (yes, do !!)
“Lars, the organizer of NATIONALMUSEUM and an old friend of mine, will be presented in April.”
“Its again snowing heavily outside, don’t know how things are in NY, but over here they just removed tons of snow the other day and now the streets are full again – a traditional postcard winter with snow in our face, red cheeks, smoke from your mouth and squeaky sounds as you walk — We’ll stay inside today.”
Very best from Oslo, Sten.
OMG X 1,000 !! – did you check out that www.undisclosed.no site ?
A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!
no friggin wonder people in the rest of the world get pissed off that ART HISTORY – quote unquote – begins and ends in America or NYC !!
you have to hit each icon – going down, by the 3rd one down, they really start going crazy mad beautiful !!
~NEWSPEAK/BABEL !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2009, 10:40pm
OPENING TO-NITE !! – SAT FEB 28 / 7-9 PM
‘IT HURTS’ – an exhibition by REMED and ZBIOK
the show runs: FEB 28 – MARCH 22, 2009
BROOKLNITE GALLERY – 334 MALCOLM X BLVD – BROOKLYN, NY
BROOKLYNITE GALLERY CONTRIBUTES TO POSITIVE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BY UNITING FRANCE & POLAND THROUGH STREET ART !!
from the press release:
Brooklyn, NY – A troubled economy, a planet in peril, a new leader taking the helm … so many questions left unanswered … IT HURTS. Brooklynite Gallery however, will pass on the government bail-out in favor of something better. instead we present – ZBIOK and REMED, ‘IT HURTS” – the new exhibition a.k.a. gallery-size healing force.
Parisian street artist, Remed takes every style past its due date and makes it fresh. Art Nouveau and “Free to be You and Me” graphics of the seventies are made strikingly contemporary. if you were to synthesize into a single body of work, the “New Image” of the early eighties with the graffiti writers who entered the New York art world at that time … Remed would emerge. Experienced with a limited time frame for execution, Remed solved color interactions quickly and accurately. The English language is manipulated with formidable typographic skill and a vicious sense of style. You know Remed is special when you see his transmutation of the curved arms of the French avant-garde. He’s paid his dues, he’s dubbing over history.
“Addicted to color” … Polish street artist – Zbiok makes work that can have the same effect on its viewers. Rooted in post-Iron Curtain Poland, he has ties to punk and hip-hop, but his work looks like no other artist’s associated with either. The feel of eighties graffiti is there as an intangible, not limited to any one visual clue.
His imagery is far reaching in the sources of influence it indicates. Sometimes matching a political sensibility to his electric colors and pop savvy, Zbiok’s pieces are immediate, while inviting longer meditation on their full complexity. In a recent interview he noted the influence of music on his work, highlighting his all-inclusive scope as “jazz to death metal”. His characters and iconography feel refreshingly alien to American street art thus far.
‘IT HURTS’ is an acknowledgement that everybody feels things strongly — that each of us is viscerally affected by people and events near us. Yet, even halfway around the world, a person or event can hit us like a force of nature. Loving someone so much it feels like an entity unto itself, feeling an overwhelming urge to change the world — nothing can make you more vulnerable. But nothing else will go as far to amplify your joy.
BROOKLYNITE GALLERY is located at 334 Malcolm X Blvd (between Decatur & Bainbridge Streets) Brooklyn, just 2 blocks from the Utica Ave subway stop on the A or C lines.
GALLERY HRS: THURS-SAT / 1-7 PM
just can’t get enough of that REMED image:
and here’s another one:
check out his: REMED/MySpace page !!
and then there is: ZBIOK !!
check out his: ZBIOK the cool one – website !!
~ZBIOK/REMED/”it hurts” |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 28th, 2009, 1:44pm
yo !! yo !! yo !! l-a-s-t d-a-y to catch:
THE STANTON CHAPTER PRESENTS:
‘BEFORE I DIE’ – an exhibit of photographs by SEAN VEGEZZI – curated by MINT 7 SERF
STANTON CHAPTER – 176 STANTON – LOWER EAST SIDE – NYC
SAT – FEB 28, 2009 / 12 noon- 6PM
. . . the sweetest toughest show on the face of the earth.
SEAN VEGEZZI – 18 yr. old TRIBECA HOMEBOY – hit NYC with his first solo show this month c/o of his good friends and mentors – at the STANTON CHAPTER aka THE CANAL CHAPTER aka 1134 NYC – MINT & SERF.
* & YES !! the undercover graffiti cops (aka the ‘vandal’ squad) did come and close down the opening, supposedly for underage drinking (?) but, not the show. well the opening was ending anyway, and they didn’t haul anyone off in handcuffs. and, just how undercover could these cops be, they were a good 30+, these kids were all in their teens and young 20s !! the cops looked ridiculous storming in. (there was a male cop and female cop. the female looked the harder of the two !!). who puts these guys up to this sh*t, anyways ? They didn’t even look like they knew why they were there. It’s a losing battle. the tag world is outta control – yo, its big business – the cops on one side – the huge corporate sponsors on the other – what a crazy world !! and luckily – NYC is caught in the middle !! *
we were able to catch up with SEAN at the show this past week, for one last long look. we asked him if he had ever been hassled by the cops. he said that a few years ago, (by the way he is still in high school, graduating this Spring, and waiting on admission to either MICA or SVA) after a show or party – somewhere, he was grabbed by a group of cops and handled very roughly. He was thrown to the ground, and the cops threatened to come after him – if he didn’t give up the names of the kids in his photos – which were at that time posted on his website – NYCEXPOSED – which he did not. but the cops got his high school ID and with it his address – so he had to take down the website. He said they also threw all his stuff from his pockets into the street, and they looked like they meant business.
LOL – of course if you look for NYCEXPOSED.COM now, you’ll find that great domain name – has been hijacked by some lame bogus porn/tourist site !!
SEAN VEGEZZI also sent us – some hi-rez jegs of his work – to post for his many fans on the site, many in the international art & street art community unable to make the show in person.
SEAN VEGEZZI, ‘Highline Nap’, Digital C Print. 11 x 14 ins. Edition of 4. ($150)
this photo is one of the earliest included in the show. It was taken in 2006, when Sean was 15 yrs old. That’s his pal, who later got sent back to a strict Japanese boarding school – for ‘acting out’ and to save him from the bad influences of NYC !! it’s not really that scary, as trains haven’t traveled those obsolete Chelsea highline tracks in decades. Sean told us, scrambling up the highline metalwork was his first foray into the city’s ‘secret’ infrastructures – before he was bold enough to traverse the forbidden underground tunnels.
SEAN VEGEZZI, ‘Greenpoint is Burning’, Digital C Print, 11 x 14 in. Ediiton of 4. ($175).
this is another of his pals. and, he says YES !! his friend was scared. he was 7 stories high and that’s why he is lying face down on the scaffolding, literally, holding on – for dear life.
two more photos in the show: ALL PHOTOS BY & COPYRIGHT OF: SEAN VEGEZZI
see: the first post/SEAN VEGEZZI at STANTON CHAPTER !!
NOTE: something to look forward to !!
SEAN VEGEZZI is going to collaborate with artlovers this summer, 2009 – in posting a series of his hi-rez pix – along with the background stories, and, with more narrative details !!
as well as, some answers to some of his mostly frequently asked questions: like how do you get down there, unseen. check back in JUNE !!
~SEAN VEGEZZI/last call |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 28th, 2009, 12:09pm
JUAN DOE – ‘MADE IN BROOKLYN’ – OPENS TO-NITE – FRI – FEB 27 /7-10 PM !!
the show runs FEB 27 – MARCH 22, 2009
EASTERN DISTRICT – 43 BOGART ST – BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN – NYC
JOHN DOE is an endangered painter. The last of a dying breed,he personifies pure art. With unheralded hand skills and hellacious wit, Juan Doe redefines the parameters of bizarre genius and secular thug. Born and raised in New York City, Juan Doe has been evolving the language of interdisciplinary art and design since the late 1970’s.
He is an artist who strains the boundary between painting, propaganda, polemics, and philosophical discourse in art. He encapsulated a new age aesthetic through his command of the graphic process but with the masterful execution of a painter. His images are non-negotiable, they cannot be interpreted or postponed; they exist now, for the oxygen of the viewers’ eyes.
(press release)
EASTERN DISTRICT – a new addition to the BUSHWICK gallery scene is a project of MICHAEL ‘TIDO’ CABRERA, JORDAN SEILER and JESSE LEE DENNING.
MICHAEL CABRERA co-ordinated PAUL ROWLAND’S PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT – at ART BASEL MIAMI ’08
as a satellite show for EASTERN DISTRICT & in fact, thanks to our friend KATHY LO of THE JOURNAL,
this show did hit the artlovers’ radar at the time !!
called ‘TRANSFORMATIONS’ – it was curated by JORDAN SEILER.
see: PAUL ROWLAND/TRANSFORMATIONS
JORDAN SEILER – is an artist who actually produced one of our very fave shows, e-v-e-r !!
called – ‘REMOVAL SATISFIES THE CONDITION’ it was a highlite of the early glory days of the CANAL CHAPTER.
The show ran APRIL 14 – MAY 5, 2006. seeing was believing.
see: JORDAN SEILER/REMOVAL SATISFIES THE CONDITION/intro
see: JORDAN SEILER/REMOVAL SATISIFIES THE CONDITION/OPENING & INSTALLATION PIX !!
~JUAN DOE/EASTERN DISTRICT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2009, 2:05pm
OPENING TO-NITE – FRIDAY – FEB 27 / 7-10 PM
MORNING bREATH and CYCLE
the show runs: FEB 27 – MARCH 22, 2009
AD HOC ART – 49 BOGART ST – BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN – NYC
CYCLE was born in 1971. He grew up writing graffiti and skateboarding. CYCLE received his BFA from George Washington University in Washington, DC, and then his Masters from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He makes his living producing Fine Art, Illustration and Graphic design. When not producing Fine art, Illustration and Graphic Design, CYCLE enjoys graffiti and skateboarding.
Morning Breath, Inc is a creative studio focusing on visualization, illustration, and design. DOUG CUNNINGHAM and JASON NOTO’S works break through the clutter by delivering fresh and innovative creative solutions targeted to the youth culture. Their collective history and experiences in graffiti art, music packaging, and skateboard design is the driving creative force of Morning Breath. In all of their creative works, Mornign Breath continually strives for the balance of art, design, and advertising.
(press release)
also in the AD HOC – ALCOVE: BONNIE DURHAM’S – ‘ACT NATURAL’.
Bonnie Durham’s work is about tuning in to her surroundings and never wasting time. Painting with gouache, acrylic, ink and watercolor and using calligraphy brushes, she slowly thins out the color in the backgrounds of her work before creating the surface ‘spraypainted’ effects (without the use of spraypaint) which have become a trademark in Durham’s paintings. Recently, collage elements from used books containing old illustrations have found their way into her works. Her surfaces range from the traditional canvas, wood and panel, to the quite non-traditional cutting boards, clipboards, dresser drawers and wooden trays, which she finds at flea markets, second hand stores and discarded on the street.
(press release)
~MORNING BREATH & CYCLE/AD HOC |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2009, 1:41pm
P-A-R-T-Y !! – T0-NITE !! – FRIDAY – FEB 27, 2009 !!
BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE SOME RENT ?
A Modern Day Depression-Era Fundraiser !!
FRIDAY – FEB 27, 2009 / 7-11 PM
CITY RELIQUARY – 370 METROPOLITAN AVE – WILLIAMSBURG – NYC
TIMES are tough all around – roller coaster stock markets, job losses by the hundreds of thousands …
it’s even tougher for 501 (c) (3) non-profit Community Museums.
“BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE SOME RENT? – is a modern day Depression-era Fundraiser held in our backroom and backyard. For a minimum $10 tax-deductible donation at the door, you can come and participate in scores of historical diversions and entertainments circa 1935.” !!
All entertainments and diversions will be priced at the Depression-friendly rates of $2-5 a pop. All proceeds go to help the City Reliquary pay (last month’s, and this one’s) rent.
DON’T MISS – GAIL MITCHELL’S – VINTAGE PULLEY COLLECTION – IN THE MUSEUM’S STOREFRONT WINDOW !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE SOME RENT ? & PULLEY COLLECTION OF GAIL MITCHELL |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2009, 12:57pm
if you are in SAN FRANCISCO – you can catch ‘TAKING MY HISTORY TOO SERIOUSLY’ – !!
a ‘GROUP SHOW OF SELVES … SAN FRANCISCO’ – by NYC-based REMY AMEZCUSA.
the show opened last night,
and runs: FEB 25 – MARCH 14, 2009
PROJECT ONE – 251 RHODE ISLAND ST – SAN FRANCISCO – CALIFORNIA
see: MAP
~REMY AMEZCUA/PROJECT ONE/SAN FRANCISCO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2009, 12:28pm
SIMON CERIGO wants to thank NATE CHINEN – for turning him onto SIN FANG BOUS – in his recent PLAYLIST.
(MUSIC/THE NEW YORK TIMES/SUNDAY FEB 22, 2009.)
that’s SINDRI MAR SIGFUSSON aka SIN FANG BOUS – in the photo at left. (PHOTO CREDIT: SIGFUS MAR PETURSSON).
in his brief item, Mr. Chinen states: “To the extent that SINDRI MAR SIGFUSSON is known to American audiences, he’s know as the engine behind Seabear, an indie-folk band from Reykjavik (Iceland). Clangour (Morr is the record label) is his new solo effort, released under the name Sing Fang Bous, and it reflects an enduring fondness for fanciful but meticulous detail. There’s actually nothing clangorous about the album, which shimmers with gentle flourishes both acoustic and electronic.” SING
(SING FANG BOUS – being an error on the part of the NEW YORK TIMES – it’s SIN FANG BOUS !!)
the art’s not bad, either !!
sample:
check out: MORR MUSIC/MySpace !!
check out: MORR MUSIC !!
~SIN FANG BOUS/Say it in video !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2009, 10:05am
LUTZ BACHER, ‘Gap 1’, 2003, Offset litho, 30 x 46 x 1 in./IMAGE COURTESY: P.S.1/TAXTER & SPENGEMANN
LUTZ BACHER – RETROSPECTIVE – ‘MY SECRET LIFE’ – at P.S.1 !!
OPENING TO-DAY !! – SUNDAY FEB 22 / 12 noon – 6 PM !!
the show runs: FEBRUARY 12 – SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
P.S.1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER – 22-25 JACKSON AVE at 46th AVE INTERSECTION – LONG ISLAND CITY – QUEENS – NYC.
TAXTER & SPENGEMANN is proud to announce the opening of ‘MY SECRET LIFE’ – LUTZ BACHER’S first museum survey show. The show spans several decades of the artist’s wide-ranging conceptual practice.
Lutz Bacher has lived and worked in Berkeley, California since the 1970s.
LUTZ BACHER, ‘MY SECRET LIFE’ is organized by P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Curatorial Advisor LIA GANGITANO.
read more about the show: LUTZ BACHER/P.S.1
LUTZ BACHER – photographed at the recent GUILD & GREYSHKUL CLOSING PARTY. FEB 8, 2009.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
see: the original post/GUILD & GREYSHKUL FLAMES OUT !!
~LUTZ BACHER/OPENING at PS1/today |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 22nd, 2009, 2:59pm
