~MONEYBALL with BRAD PITT & JONAH HILL

‘MONEYBALL’ – DIRECTED BY BENNETT MILLER
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH, OCT 13, 2011

yep, this movie is all its cracked up be, and more.
swift script, great story. beautiful beautiful cinematography and editing. all the actors inhabit their roles, and hold you glued to the screen, whether it’s the star – whose golden boy looks have been toned down somewhat, whether it’s Jonah Hill who doesn’t say much – but cracks you up, or PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – with his authentic meaty freckled forearms – the obstinate bull-headed coach who doesn’t get it – to the sweet little girl, KERRIS DORSEY who plays Brad Pitt’s onscreen daughter – and has to sing out loud – in front of Brad Pit (!!) and a huge film audience – and whose nervousness – seems pretty much – just how you’d feel in that mind boggling situation – and never mind, just 13.

an ode to the underdog . . . to contrarians everywhere . . . to people who just know. . . . when the new game is on, the old game is over. . . way before anyone else has even caught on – that things have changed, big time. it’s not exactly the big win – but that’s also what’s so great about it. its all about the: process, the mind-think that turns big ships – 180 degrees. in the opposite direction.

BRAD PITT – is Billy Beane. besides living in a charmingly underscored small home with ‘souvenir’ plates mounted on the kitchen wall (!!) – and he is hyper – a real speedball. his relentless intensity radiates from the screen. spit that tobacco chaw in the paper cup, boy.

JONAH HILL – I guess I started to love him after his brilliant turn in ‘GET HIM TO THE GREEK’. it’s not easy to be the schlump opposite the golden boys. esp the smart one. the first time he comes onscreen in ‘MONEYBALL’ – is just so kick-ass backwards – it’s exquisite. and way underplayed, too. it’s just great. I nearly fell out of my theater seat from laughing and my next door neighbor had to give me a couple of sharp elbow jabs – to get me to settle down. and all he does is, not much. but that not much – is ALL.
it’s like what we like say in the art world: less is more. He just pops up as part of an ensemble of mid-level suits in an office and the camera actually forgets about him, as it pans to the right. oh, what a sweet directorial move. they cut it, just right. right on the digital dot. cracked me up. right there.
(not to mention. just change one single letter in his character’s last name, from Brand to Brant – and you got Peter Brant – a big time art world player. . . a little chuckle for the insiders, or what..)

the rest of the hand-picked crew is right on too. from the colorful cast of gritty two-bit characters who play the hard-knock talent scouts, to the first baseball club owner – the small market league owner. no, no and no – but bring in the wins. that’d be the Oakland A’s. to the suave money no problemo – owner of the big market Chicago White Sox. pitch perfect.

in fact, let’s just leave it at that: ‘MONEYBALL’ – is pitch perfect. obstinate, hyper and contrarian . . . just the way we like it.

see: ‘MONEYBALL’ – the official website




~THE POWDER by JOCKO WEYLAND

‘THE POWDER’ by JOCKO WEYLAND – PUBLISHED 2011 BY DASHWOOD BOOKS
188 pages. soft cover. edition of 500 – $45.
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN BY: HANS SEEGER

JOCKO WEYLAND’S artist book is the latest publication to come up – out of DASHWOOD.
It is “dedicated to the Golden Era of US ski culture in the late 70s and early 80s . . . growing up in Colorado when it was still cool to ski . . . ”
see: ‘THE POWDER’ – DASHWOOD BOOKS

JOCKO WEYLAND recently told me he grew up in Colorado – where his dad, an avid early ski bum – moved his young family – chasing the powder rush . . . and you thought young kick-ass dads just moved their young families to NYC, make that Brooklyn, now – for the art rush . . .

JOCKO sent on a few other powderful words about his new book:

“Definitive depictions from the golden age culled, distilled, and reconfigured into ‘The Powder’ from the pages of ‘The Skier’s Magazine’.

Powder was where it was at, the bible, with luscious color-drenched photographs and advertisements showing the way it looked, what was being done, how it was being done, and where it was being done. From Bridger Bowl. Sun Valley, Squaw, Alta, Jackson Hole and Tuckerman Ravine to Switzerland, Austria, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, the Atlas Mountains and the Cedars of Sinai, when skiing was an unprecedented, untested, and not yet codified phenomena.

The halycon days of long runs and Mach 1 top-to-bottom non-stops, inverted multi-hued aerialists, big face walls with interlocking lines of figure eights seen from afar, solo tracks, or lone skiers breaking away towards unending swaths of untouched virgin snow.

More importantly really, two gloved hands, a bit of pole, and two ski tips bursting out of the snow. Abstract. A tree, some rocks, the sky, spare and minimal. Blue, green, white and blue, elemental compositions with a skier close to absent and just a portion of their head, a glimpse of goggles, a flash of hat.

Could you ski it ? no matter how difficult ?

All aspects of the perfect pastime are represented, encompassing stoner, racer, hot dogger, freestyler, and mountaineers, with mostly anonymous low-profile and boisterous thrill-seeking ski bums mingling with jet-setting socialites. Skiing was downtown then, not uptown, not bourgeois, not declasse. Glades, gates, spread eagles, and of course the lodesar, powder.

An invigorating, constantly changing phase of rapid development full of experimentation and curious offshoots and the literal pushing of boundaries was in full swing.

Wide-open and heterogeneous, that bewitching era was splendidly captured circa 1972-84 and now three decades later its essence and beauty has been purified, synthesized, and sanctified into ‘The Powder’.”

JOCKO WEYLAND is the founder, curator and driving force behind the indie gallery & zine publisher: ELK GALLERY, NYC




~IMPERIAL VALLEY by PETER SUTHERLAND + MAIA RUTH LEE


oops. la la la . . .
PETER SUTHERLAND got a photo of someone in a shopping cart, too . . . !!


it’s in his new limited edition paperback book.
this is the cover of the book – which is really smart, sensitive, inquisitive, and small. pretty much all of 4 x 6 in. – the size 35 mm photos standard print at. it’s got like 40 pages, and it’s really sweet. not to say well, stunningly quiet, beautiful and profound . . . AMERICA. still plenty left – to explore.


the book’s got a nice soft feel to it – it’s bound at the top like a flip book.
titled: ‘Imperial Valley’ – it’s actually a photographic conceptual site specific collaboration between PETER SUTHERLAND and his girlfriend, MAIA RUTH LEE.
the back cover says it all:

Jan – Feb 2011

We set out from Colorado and headed for California with the intention of making sculptures with found junk in the desert. One of the first nights we watched the film “HOBO” (a film about rail riders, directed by John T. Davis) on dvd in a motel room. This was the first Maia had seen of train hoppers.
A few days later in Slab City we meet Possom and Phantom, two rail riders who were passing through. They were just like the dudes in the film and Maia was excited. They wanted to school us on train hopping, and told us we could follow them for three weeks and we would know everything about rail riding. They also told Maia, “It’s easy for cute gals to make money by wavin’ signs, you know, all you would need is a pet.. like a duck or somethin’.
You can make like $500 a day.”

The next day at a desolate gas station in Mojave, two twenty-something girls were sitting on the pavement raving about a friend who had just been spotted and arrested. They were rail riders and one of the girls was holding a duck. We had never heard or seen a person holding a duck before, especially in the middle of nowhere . . .

Peter Sutherland is a great storyteller.

Imperial Valley – by Peter Sutherland and Maia Ruth Lee
All images by Peter and Maia
Designed by Maia
Printed in Seoul Korea
Edition of 300

available from: DASHWOOD BOOKS – for $5

DASHWOOD BOOKS, open to the public since 2005, is located at 33 Bond St. between Lafayette and the Bowery.
It is New York City’s only independent book store devoted solely to photography.

see: petersutherland.tumblr.com
see: maiaruthlee.tumblr.com




~FOR SALE: OLEK + BEAU – STREET ART COMBO – $3,000

FOR SALE – FROM ARTLOVERSNEWYORK – “We CURATE – You COLLECT”. . .

OLEK STREET CROCHET SLAMMED SHOPPING CART + ATTACHED BEAU PAINTED STREET TAG CANVAS

this trademark OLEK camo crochet slam is done on her trademark metal grocery store shopping cart. It was re-claimed from the streets, this summer (2011), from a homeless hard-core hoarder, o.k. a bum – with an eye for art !! who calls Tompkins Square Park home. it shows its street colors proudly, the stitches are slightly stringy at the edges, and it has a patina of slight wear and tear, o.k. the yarn has a slightly grimy feel – from being exposed to the elements. but it doesn’t look – like for that long. like they say in the antiquities biz – dude, that’s how you know – it’s the real deal.
P-A-T-I-N-A.

I think its fair to consider the “UR ART HERE” patterned into the crochet – on the front of the cart – a bonafide OLEK signature. and nope, HESH doesn’t come with the cart – but if ur nice – we can get him to deliver it !!

the BEAU street tag canvas is attached to the cart – with large stringed loops. It is obviously signed: “BEAU” and you also get: “FREE!” – !!
it looks to be a fairly recent attachment – in fact, it looks brand new.
two, TWO NYC street tags – for the price of one. now, that’s what we call a NYC – COMBO !!

here’s a close-up on the loops of string that attach the BEAU FREE! canvas to the OLEK shopping cart.
the BEAU FREE! – part of the equation, how it got there – is still unknown . . . but will most likely unravel – in time.
so you get to own a real-time art world narrative – make that: mystery – as well.
call in the – street art history detectives.

YOU CAN PURCHASE THIS PIECE DIRECTLY THRU ARTLOVERS, just hit the NANCY SMITH: contact at the top of the left hand margin – of our home page / nsmith0014@aol.com

YOU can find our online gallery archives on our: “IF I HAD $200” page.

YES, we will consider any serious offers. we are in it – for the a-c-t-i-o-n !!

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC SEPT 2011.




~HESH SCORES A RE-CLAIMED OLEK CART . . .


yep. who else.
HESH was the lucky last man – in the short chain – of street savvy downtown denizens – who saved a well-worn OLEK street cart – from a Tompkins Square park bum. (that’s a hardcore park down, and we mean down, on the Lower East Side)
and yes !! it says: UR ART HERE – in the front.


street legend goes that: the original and unknown finders had to rip-off a local supermarket for another unadorned cart – to get the hard-core street hoarder, with an eye for art – to do the trade !!
of course, what also makes it so unique, is the brand-new looking BEAU street canvas painting – attached with yarn stitched loops – to one side.
no word yet, on that story.


close-up: BEAU . . . FREE !


I guess that makes it: a street – combo !!
and better to be re-claimed, than trashed or taken by the cops.


it was now – safe. up on the roof. downtown New York City.
NYC, Manhattan – Fall/autumn 2011 skyline, below 14th St. – looking west north.
. . . just as night closes in.


proud OLEK/BEAU final re-claimer and saver, curator: HESH shares the unique sight on the unique night – with artlovers’ contributing creative editor – Kate Cerigo.


with them, JAKE.


JAKE gave an impromptu recital, and it was sweet indeed. up on the roof . . . with the night coming on.
summer just about to turn to fall.
yes. even in the big Apple we feel the seasons, change. and life progresses accordingly.
p.s. HESH curated the ‘graf’ work on the roof terrace walls.


this night, up on the roof – made super special – by the OLEK/BEAU artwork – at hand. up close and personal.
and a nice, super satisfying shared sense of something ephemeral and beautiful, and yet completely of its time – having been saved – from street erosion or even worse, confiscation by cop.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. SEPT 20, 2011.




~OLEK/UR ART HERE


this late summer going into Fall 2011 – on the venerable Chelsea corner of 10th Ave and 24th St . . . .


you could catch a . . . psychedelic-hued camo-patterned street crocheted shopping cart by OLEK.
it said: UR ART HERE – on one side.
making one pause: put your art in here. . . . and contribute to the street par-tay ?
or this being Chelsea: your art is commercial – so it belongs in a shopping cart ?
or even worse: your art – belongs in the ‘bin’. ha.


while the other side was pure camouflage-riff.
in fact I think I’ve seen the yarn she uses. it’s readily available in the big craft shops that dot the tri-state area.
the mass-produced, and cheap, pop-colored synthetic yarn comes already pre-patterned to produce a camo effect as you knit or crochet, merrily along.

it was attached to a traffic pole by a cheap ‘bike’ lock – by its handlebar.


yep, that’s crochet-slammed, not knitted. look at the stitches.
the cart – had no interior handi-work . . . last time I was in the area – it was still there.
I hear OLEK gets really pissed off – if you remove her ‘public’ art. so be warned, she looks like a feisty one.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. SEPT 15, 2011


OLEK / AGATA OLEKSIAK born April 5, 1978, (an Aires – I just knew it !!) . . . is a Polish-born artist, specializing in fiber arts, installation, and street art. lucky for us, she is currently NYC-based.
yep, she’s up on: WIKIPEDIA, if you want to know more.
PHOTO SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA


she also maintains a colorful up-to-date website, which currently features video of her latest crochet slam: the cube at ASTOR PLACE.

see: OLEK – the official website.

yeah, go back and watch it !! super stealth, or what.
it’s interesting to note for all ya hard core crafties – the large crochet piece, which was already pre-assembled before it went up over the cube – is based on a traditional quilt pattern, also the simplest and most elemental of knit or crochet blanket/afghan patterns, which is simply to build up attached squares of equal dimension. the better to work – upon your lap.


the video has close-ups on OLEK and her trusty crochet hook – at work.
the piece seems to have a lettered border – but its impossible to decipher the words – from the video.
plus note her leather jacket – it has custom-crocheted long sleeves in a great vertical stripe pattern.


the finished crochet-slammed cube.
wow. they were able to get that up – with no one stopping them.
note: the sweet ‘street’ video – was produced by embrown23. whoever . . . nice job.
the cube crochet slam – went up this past Monday Oct 3, 2011.
I heard from sources on the street – it was already down by the very next day.
taken down by who – that’s the interesting question. I’m thinking the authorities, but nobody knows.

p.s. at the very bottom of her website – home page – it states:
all works produced with “Red Heart” – a widely available, and cheap commercial brand of synthetic yarn.




~RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN . . . IMMORTALITY

DEDICATED TO: STEVE JOBS (1955-2011) – who passed away yesterday, Oct 5, 2011. R.I.P.


ATO ROBERTS, son of RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN put up a small selection of his father’s work – at the SPUR TREE LOUNGE on Orchard Street, in the Lower East Side – this past summer.
bye the way, great food, really nice drinks. good vibes. a really nice time – every time I’ve been there.
see: SPUR TREE LOUNGE


that’s his celebrated dad, RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN, on the left, with pals in Jamaica.


RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN, born 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica – passed away a few years back. he is a well known artist in his native homeland of Jamaica. his biggest claim to fame internationally . . . he played PEDRO in the break-out Reggae flick – ‘THE HARDER THEY COME’ (1972) – which starred JIMMY CLIFF.


RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN, ‘IMMORTALITY’.
this drawing, now a poster – is based on his last drawing: a mystical Egyptian-inspired self-portrait titled: ‘Immortality’.
amen.


detail, RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN, ‘Immortality’.


drawing by RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN.
~ CHURCH TRIUMPHANT ~
~ “DANIEL IN THE LION’S DEN” ~


drawing by RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN.
~ CHURCH TRIUMPHANT ~
~ “CHANTING BRETHERN” ~


drawing by RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN.
~ CHURCH TRIUMPHANT ~
~ “NOT FAR AWAY” ~


detail, RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN, “NOT FAR AWAY”.


drawing by RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN.
~ CHURCH TRIUMPHANT ~
~ “PRINCE EMANUEL” ~


ATO ROBERTS who curated the show of his father’s work, and HESH who brought me there. in front of the RAS DANIEL HEARTMAN drawing: “PRINCE EMANUEL”.


what’s this?
HESH pulled out a rough digital print-out of a piece by – “G”.
(speed) portraits – based on photographs, of: JOSH HARRIS, JOSH HARRIS and HESH !!


the young artist known as “G” is also into drawing the chicks – on the scene – and that fingerprint oblong box – sort of in the center – is the new signature he is experimenting with . . . as opposed to the standard artist signature.


outside on Orchard St. – artist MARCUS BURROWES . . .

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. AUGUST 1, 2011.




~ooooh for HBO. . . GEORGE HARRISON


GEORGE HARRISON on his English estate FRIAR PARK in 1975.
PHOTO: TERRY O’NEILL/Getty Images/THE NEW YORK TIMES

GEORGE HARRISON is the subject of a new documentary directed by MARTIN SCORSESE, ‘George Harrison: Living in the Material World’ – which will be screened in 2 parts – on HBO this WED and THURS – OCT 5 and 6, 2011.

DAVE ITZKOFF of the THE NEW YORK TIMES, wrote an intriguing advance article on the flick – published last weekend, Sunday Sept 25, 2011.

One of the things I found most interesting, was to learn – what an archivist – George Harrison was. He actually maintained “fully packed suitcases from trips abroad that he kept as time capsules.” (!!)

as well, apparently the film’s production team, lead by key production man NIGEL SINCLAIR, who also worked on Scorsese’s brilliant and moving BOB DYLAN ode, ‘No Direction Home’ – “sought out archival footage, while producers conducted interviews with longtime Beatles associates like the bassist and visual artist KLAUS VOORMAN, who designed the cover of ‘Revolver’; the photographer ASTRID KIRCHHERR, who took many of the earliest photos of the band; and the producer PHIL SPECTOR, who in 2009 was sentenced to 19 years to life for the murder of the actress Lana Clarkson.”

“Asked how the meeting with Mr. Spector was arranged, Mr. Sinclair said, ‘We were able to capture that interview before he was no longer available to us, which is a very euphemistic way of saying it, isn’t it ?'”

read the article for yourself, here: GEORGE HARRISON, ‘Within Him, Without Him’ – THE NEW YORK TIMES




~PERSHING FIELD VETERAN’S CENTER/JERSEY CITY ARTISTS STUDIO TOUR

this past weekend, OCT 1 & 2, 2011 – the annual JERSEY CITY ARTISTS TOUR took place – with many diverse exhibitions mounted throughout the city. my fave took place at the JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL COMMUNITY CENTER – in PERSHING FIELD – a very special place . . . a town square in effect . . .

that provides locals with outdoor sports facilities for baseball and basketball – paved ad hoc paths for skateboarding, rails for grinding and trick biking. as well as housing an indoor pool and ice hockey/skating rink – all intertwined upon the foundation of an early historical fort – and interspersed with numerous somber monuments to the brave local sons – who gave their lives, made the supreme sacrifice – in our foreign wars.

it’s an otherworldly feeling to walk the park’s small trail of paths – and come face to face with the actual engraved markers of young men who perished at what: 19, 20 years of age, in far-off places, like France. England. and the larger memorials of the later wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars . . . you kinda have to wonder if their ghosts race along with the boys and young men – playing so vibrantly – on its fields today.

one of the most beautiful of the memorials is this one – right in front of the HEIGHTS VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL COMMUNITY CENTER . . . which is dedicated to the brave fallen Jersey City sons of WORLD WAR I.

the words on her shield read: Erected JULY 4, 1922 in grateful remembrance of the labor sacrifices and suffering of those who fought suffered and died in the World War that the blessings of free government might live.

the base is a bold stroke of inspiration. a totally, very timeless – zen boulder – upon a most intricate and colorful tile mosaic – which I believe represents the four seasons. depicting the earth at its best and most wonderful organic self.
the base also indicated the 4 directions: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST & WEST.


inside DANIEL K. MORTEH, founder, CEO, Director and Lead editor of TMX MEDIA LLC – presented a selection of his color photographs. his business card’s motto: “Life can pass you by, so keep it on record.” (!!)


Daniel’s photograph of renown NYC street photographer LOUIS MENDES, now 71 – made a deep impression. Mr. Morteh related that he just happened upon Mr. Mendes on the street, one day. that’s an ancient Polaroid camera in perfect working order, he is holding. Mr. Mendes snaps a souvenir photo of you – and then sells you the one-of-a-kind instant print for $20.
the camera is so old school – the flashbulb has to be replaced with a fresh one – every time the flash goes off. do they even have those vintage bulbs in stock for general purchase anymore ? I’m thinking – that vintage flashbulb – alone must cost the $20 – !!
see: LOUIS MENDES/WIKIPEDIA


a view inside the Vietnam Veterans community center . . . there’s a great big old vintage American flag on the back wall.

. . .
the ballerina paintings are by DIANE LOMBARDI-FLEMING – who organizes this particular JERSEY CITY ARTISTS STUDIO TOUR venue every year – and is the heart and soul – of a culturally rich and extremely diverse Pershing Field community . . . centered on the swimming pool. truth be told: Italian heritage Jersey Girls – do rule.


the iconic sailboat paintings are by FULVIO GIUDICI – who’s been swimming in the pool going back at least 30 years.


JACK COLEMAN, another long time Jersey City Heights resident – brought along some of his wonderful collages – assembled from his collection of vintage baseball memorabilia.


ELAINE JAMES, who helps Diane Lombardi-Fleming organize the show had a new trick up her sleeve this year, a small selection of her diverse range of handicrafts: this time – hand painted luggage tags.


they were going for $5. how could you lose.
yep. I bought this one for Kate . . . cause she likes to collect vintage thrift shop souvenir plates . . .


and this one is for Scott . . . traveling between Vermont and LA – now – all the time.


you know – custom luggage ID tags . . . what could be more useful.


this photograph was from a series by Pershing pool swimmer JUN HUA EA. a professional dancer – his swim routine is beyond martial arts clockwork. just awesome.


photo by JUN HUA EA. and I have to say his photos are really starting to grow on me.


PATRICK MEANY displayed some of his trademark intricately painted objects, including jackets, jeans and boots – but my fave were the guitars.


and then there was another Pershing pool regular swimmer, PETER ROZKOWIAK a self-taught woodcarver – with his newest labor of love . . .


a vintage ‘found’ stand-alone wooden closet – that he had carved into with a most wonderful peacock design. . .


and hand finished with an equally impressive green hued stain . . . really a patina.


he says it took him something like 3 years to complete. . .


he even had a little video on his phone – of the work in progress – himself chipping away with a small knife. he says he wants $5,000 for it. it being so labor-intensive. hey if I had $5,000 instead of $5 in my pocket – I woulda sprung for it – no doubt. no hesitation at all.
can’t you just see it in somebodies mint condition wood paneled, old school real deal art deco living room, you know – like in Alpine, or better yet: DEAL . . . summer home to so many (serious) art aficionados ?

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~FOR SALE: JOSH HARRIS -TV MAN – PAINTINGS ON CANVAS – $400 ea.

FOR SALE – FROM ARTLOVERSNEWYORK – “We CURATE – You COLLECT” .

FOR SALE:
JOSH HARRIS, ‘TV MAN’, 2010. white chalk pastel with fixative on black industrial blackboard paint on unstretched canvas.
approx. 12 x 10-3/4 in.
from his ‘Meet The Singularities’ series. signed and dated 10/10/10 on the back.
PRICE: $400.


FOR SALE:
JOSH HARRIS, ‘TV MAN’, 2010. white chalk with fixative on black industrial blackboard paint on unstretched canvas.
approx. 12 x 11-1/4 in.
from his ‘Meet The Singularities’ series. signed and dated 10/10/10 on the back
PRICE: $400.


both pieces are signed and dated 10/10/10 on the back . . .

TO PURCHASE: use the NANCY SMITH: contact link, top left – of the home page / nsmith0014@aol.com

our online gallery archives on our: “If I Had $200” page !!

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH