~JEFFREY SHAGAWAT . . ‘SELFIE’ / F+V


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘SELF PORTRAIT’, 2010
custom c-print, 30 x 40 in.
image: FREIGHT+VOLUME

JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘SELFIE’
the opening reception took place THURS DEC 18, 2014 / 6-9 PM
the show runs thru JAN 10, 2015
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 WEST 24th ST, Chelsea, NYC

INTENSE, is not the . . . word.
complicated, mysterious, shifting, searching, intense, and ultimately: life-affirming . . .
the photographic complexity of JEFFREY SHAGAWAT’S world – moves in, and out of . . FOCUS.

A REVIEW . . & PIX – FROM THE EQUALLY INTENSE OPENING !!


photographer JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, at right . . takes time to talk with young photographer & fan: SHERRI, still in high school.


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT and BEN STILLER.
and that’s the way the opening rolled, no kidding.
i-n-t-e-n-s-e.
extremes.
just like . . the work.


MIZUO PECK, Jeffrey’s wife . . stands beside his show-stopping black and white ‘selfie’.

if she looks a little familiar – that just might be because she is !!
her pretty face, albeit with long Native American braids, colorful beads and a deer skin dress . . can be found several feet high on billboards all over the city right now.
MIZOU plays SACAGAWEA in . . NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM.

funny how SHAGAWAT and SACAGAWEA .. rhyme.

SACAGAWEA translates as ‘Bird’ and ‘Woman’ which apart from making her Birdwoman, in a season of ‘Birdman’ !! totally captures Mizou as she comes off in person: kind, brave, strong, very very graceful, with much inner poise, and one senses, also of soaring spirit. Sacagawea was the only female Native American scout on the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition, where she was termed: ‘calmness under duress’ – and she played a key and measured role even though she was barely 17. we got the feeling this might also relate to Mizuo on a personal level, though you do also get a little feeling there might also be some passionate ‘wildness’ going on behind that calm exterior, esp as one is told she is in many of Jeffrey’s photographs, and they can get . . well, racy. flirty. flinty ?
I mean, what’s the point of running into Sacagawea, if you can’t run with it ?!!


PATRICK GALLAGHER with MIZOU PECK . . at the JEFFREY SHAGAWAT opening.
Mr. Gallagher plays ATTILA THE HUN, mighty ruler of the fierce nomadic tribes, known as “barbarians to the Romans”, bye the way – in BEN STILLER’S . . NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM.

the show had a fierce side, too. both sides of the coin, gentle and fierce. definitely multi-layered.


friends of Jeffrey’s take in the work: JUSTIN BENDER and SHERRI Miller.

strangely, Sherri, was the name of the night.


JOHNNY ‘KIELBASA’, JEN SHAGAWAT, Jeffrey’s older sis, and DALE BOOKOUT.
JEN SHAGAWAT also looked to be of a very strong and colorful, complex personality, when I asked her what she did, she rather strikingly told me, in bold letters, that he was ‘LOST’ – !!
wow, I thought that was the best single response I had heard in many a year. that single word, uttered so forthrightly seemed to really capture, how we all feel – no matter really what you do or how you define yourself, or even how structured your life might be. the world we live in – is just so so beyond anyone’s control.


JEN talks to SHERRI, the young photographer . . notice the intensity of the JEFFREY SHAGAWAT self-portrait coming through.


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘(Self-Portrait) Bald’, 2010. Photograph. 30 x 45 in.
($3,200)

the prints themselves are beautiful products, no doubt about it.
from the press release: “SHAGAWAT employs a mixture of techniques, such as silver-tone, expired film, multiple exposures, and various cross processes – to achieve his singular vision . . . New Jersey-born Shagawat lives and works in New York City. He studied photography at the New School, where he developed an eye for portraiture and urban landscapes. Using vintage cameras, hand-printed processing and film, Shagawat eschews digital manipulation in favor of the traditional analog approach.”

“SHAGAWAT’S photographic tableaux includes friends and hired models, street denizens and family. In addition, the artist chose to document his struggle with brain cancer a few years ago. Having successfully come out of that nightmare with just a few scars, physical and mental, Shagawat looks at life’s moments as something to be taken in, captured.”

“When I look at my photographs I see myself and what my life was like in that moment, regardless of who or what is in the frame.”

to read more, and esp to see the photographs, without the ambient ‘noise’ and glare of the exhibition space . .
go to: JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘SELFIE’/F+V


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘(Portrait) Seizure’, 2013.
LUBA SHAGAWAT points to a more mysterious side of the artist’s . . work.
life. life force. journey. search. watching. moving in and out of focus, with eloquence, and often playing with . . well, fire.
emotion, desire.


ANASTASIA YUFEROVA . .
JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘(Portrait) Eyes’, 2012. Photograph, 20 x 24 in.
($1,800)
for sure . . that’s a lot of ‘pop’, as in drama, color, and print quality – for the punch / $$$.
it also expresses the range in the work, some like this one have great . . heat.
while others, interestingly many on the more exotic themes, skewed . . steely, sharp . . and even, cold.
the inert ‘reality’ of standard conceptions of photography – was really manipulated.
often very theatrically.


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘(Self Portrait), Staples’, 2010.

a key image, and a very graphic one, that also manages to tell quite a story. with a beautiful, mysterious composition, to boot. and in this case, heat of emotion meets coldness of observation, and both . . both win. pressing up against each other in a strong-armed . . tie.


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘(Self-Portrait) Multi-legs’, 2009. Photograph, 30 x 40 in.

CANDIDO GONZALEZ and ENID HUNT in front of the JEFFREY SHAGAWAT photo, ‘(Self Portrait) Multi-legs’, 2009 . . . their on-point on-the-street-now, graphic urban style helps point out, those afore-mentioned forces at play here: namely, contrast. in and out of focus, graphic vs lost or mysterious, ambiguous narratives, heat/cold, depth of the artist’s approach, and ultimately, his: s-e-a-r-c-h.


another key image in story, this is the full image from the photo above.
everything changes, in this photo – with the aspect, the inclusion, the compositional and thematic focal point of an actual self portrait.
selfie, on fire.


DEZ and SHERRI . . another look, because turns out DEZ also has a claim to fame. He is an aspiring model, and yes he was just featured, talking about photographers, naked of course . . in RYAN McGINLEY’S recent show at TEAM.


MARIE FLAHERTY, JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, NICK LAWRENCE head honcho of FREIGHT+VOLUME, and MAIA LORIAN.
Maia and Marie are both actresses.

and I guess we’d be saying goodbye to a fascinating night, getting a little rare in Chelsea these days, at this point – except, the show had a surprise ending, and a very relevant one at that – talking . . culture buzz !!

funny enough.
namely, ‘BIG HEADS’, as in typical touristy caricature ‘portrait’ street art, I guess technically a kind of ‘selfie’ in it’sown right ?

vs ‘BIG EYES’ – yep, the amazing and twisty ‘KEANE’ story as told by TIM BURTON – and now showing in NYC in a limited release.
and yes, I did see it !!
but it’s going to be hard to write about. the story is fascinating but the filmmaking is not.
is probably . . the best way to say it.


how fun. sure enough, in the backroom, as a kind of postscript . . come to LIFE !!
JEFFREY SHAGAWAT presents some startling, straight-on photographs of ‘self-portraits’ . . he had commissioned of average anonymous New York City street artists of . . HIMSELF.
hmm, a selfie of a selfie of yourself ?!! they were great, how they caught different aspects or times of his strolls through the city . . in the slightly various styles, but all with with typically big-headed, big featured expressions.


JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘Photograph of a caricature drawn by a street artist of the photographer’, 2014. Photograph. 10 x 12 in.
($1,400)


this one was done in CENTRAL PARK. dude does like hats, doesn’t he.
JEFFREY SHAGAWAT, ‘Photograph of a caricature drawn by a street artist’, 2014. 10 x 13 in.
($1,400)

so, between running into BEN STILLER, SACAGAWEA, not to forget ATTILA THE HUN, the style-happy street kids of the moment, and some big ole ‘BIG EYES’ !! right spot-on, on the week’s cultural thermometer, not to forget, some really great, super complex / intense art, asking the deep questions, with some real ‘flirting’ thrown in for good measure – I’d say that was quite some night . . at a gallery, or what !!
just the way they used to be, the real fun gallery openings . . not too long ago.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH – UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

~JEFFREY SHAGAWAT . . ‘SELFIE’ / F+V | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 27th, 2014, 12:22pm



~HARK, MERRY XMAS !!

HARK, MERRY XMAS – TO ALL . .

FROM: BEN FURGAL, MAGIC PICTURES / PHILADELPHIA

yes, HARK . . rhymes with art. for sure.

~HARK, MERRY XMAS !! | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 25th, 2014, 12:05pm



~FINAL GOOD-BYE: DEATH BY ART / DEATH BY AUDIO

RIP – DBA – THE FINAL GOOD-BYE
DEATH BY AUDIO – PUTS ON – DEATH BY ART DBA
A FINAL GOOD-BYE ART SHOW . . TO THE LONG TIME DBA VENUE on SOUTH 2ND
A GROUP EXHIBIT – CURATED BY MARK KLEBACK and JOE AHEARN
NOV 6-22, 2014
49 SOUTH 2nd St, Williamsburg, BROOKLYN

RIP DIY DBA / DEATH BY AUDIO, the free-wheeling, cutting edge venue – done in by . . VICE.


EDAN WILBERT

OLIVER ACKERMANN founded DEATH BY AUDIO in 2002, a small handmade effects pedal company – providing effect pedals for LIGHTNING BOLT, WILCO, NINE INCH NAILS & U2 . . .
by Spring 2007, the space was also being used as a venue for underground music and art, run by EDAN WILBERT and MATT CONBOY.
DEATH BY AUDIO/wiki

DBA UPDATE> – JUST IN FROM MARK KLEBACK:
“the DBA GUITAR PEDAL COMPANY . . has a new space on HALL ST in the NAVY YARD.
MATT & OLLI are putting out new pedals for the holiday season and keeping busy … most everyone who lived at DBA went their separate ways, most of them moving in with significant others (!!) – I know MATT wants to open another venue down the road – we’ll see what happens.”


JOE AHEARN co-curated the DBA show with MARK KLEBACK.
JOE is also well known as a curator for Clocktower at Pioneer Works in Red Hook.


JAY HEISELMANN


JAY HEISELMANN, free-fall wall assemblage in the DBA communal kitchen, a bolt of red energy sweeping through the creative chaos.
it’s also called: thinking outside the box.


whoosh – the DBA communal space.


scene of many parties no doubt.


DBA FLAG by NICK CHATFIELD-TAYLOR


DBA living quarters – were up the stairs.


it was definite: high energy. free-form. no holds barred.


it was like a giant maze – hallways leading every which way, in every direction.


JAMIE DRAKE WALL MURAL- the DBA art show covered all the available space, esp in the hallways.


JAMIE DRAKE had several murals, all of which were very powerful.
you can also see the ‘DBA VIRUS’ by SHMOAK coming in on the right – those small curious cubes, of gold. industrial meets expressive . . explosive.


JAMIE DRAKE also did this high octane wall mural in the communal area, note the kittens.
high voltage commutes with kittens, priceless.

JAMIE DRAKE is an artist from Virginia and a friend of Oliver’s.


JARED BOWDITCH – a strong wall mural, no doubt.


another strange intense, highly patterned wall mural – painted in a most original grid / non-grid way – by SHADYYOUTH / @shadyyouth


talking … ‘industrial’, and . . . ‘light’.
BOTH.
a narrative, real time, real world. photographic.
really and truly . . photogenic.
a magic, even romantic yet hard-core black & white graphic soundscape installation – by LOUISE FOO + MARTHA SKOU.


in fact, the Big Apple – as seen from Williamsburg / Brooklyn – over & across the East River.


going really, gold-en, and . . ‘industrial’.
GRILLZ installation – by ROOPA VASUDEVAN / @rouxpz
at left: jay-z, “hard knock life” (ghetto anthem).
at right: rick ross, “hustlin'”.


ROOPA VASUDEVAN, the notorious b.i.g.,”juicy”.


ROOPA VASUDEVAN, the total wall installation.


ROOPA VASUDEVAN, ‘rick ross, “hustlin'” graphic.
what I loved best were the graphics: great off-the-wall pastel colors, micro-print shadow ‘text’ designed to die for, and far-out in your face ‘object’ reality contouring.
bold. but not bold. almost cartoon, but NOT. almost hyper-real, but – not.
fascinating, gestural, yes.
just sitting right down straight on that cutting edge of . . fab. far-out conservative, very . . nervy. contradictory.
nice, very very nice.
that’s what I call – great d-r-a-w-i-n-g.
draftsmanship. whatever. graphic design. architecture.


so we’re gonna give the last word on the DBA / DEATH BY ART – DBA / DEATH BY AUDIO art show . . . to a woman !!
hoo-ray, MAGGIE BURNSED.


wall mural on a door – MAGGIE BURNSED.

what I liked most about it – was how it just was. no big deal, no big statement, quiet but oh so pulsating, so expressive, so temporal, and . . SO WILD.
like a hidden secret . . it spoke it spoke of life force, and creative energy. in the world, the ebb and flow all around us, cosmic and organic – we take a pen and make a mark, and a flower grows, a thought takes wings. as shimmery and complex as a butterfly, as a puff of (reproductive !!) pollen. the faint code . . behind the DNA.


C-O-D-E.
P-O-L-L-E-N.
W-E-B.
INTERCONNECTEDNESS.
note: there is a center, a purple passionate growing, squirmy hieroglyph – to this organic gossamer matrix.
just placed, as if by accident, by random gesture.
a big thought just growing on a . . dirty communal door in a place doomed to die by Vice.
what more can you say ?


how about ?
B-I-O !!
the mother of us all.
the mother lode.
what the hell does that say ?
STAY (??)
GREAT !!
DBA FOREVER.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

~FINAL GOOD-BYE: DEATH BY ART / DEATH BY AUDIO | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 24th, 2014, 8:53pm



~R.I.P. D.I.Y. / D.B.A.

RIP DBA / DEATH BY AUDIO – DEATH BY ART


along one wall ran a big selection of archival photos from the storied DEATH BY AUDIO . . nights.
a rip-paced history . . through their various venues, and stagings.
it was called: R.I.P. D.I.Y.
D.I.Y. FOREVER. amen.
because the place was surely . . a-r-o-c-k-i-n’.


APACHE BEAT, GLASSLANDS GALLERY – photo by JACKIE ROMAN.


CHAT LOGS, DEATH BY AUDIO – photo by WALTER WLODARCZYK


JEFF The Brotherhood, 285 Kent – photo by KEITH MARLOWE


EDAN WILBER, 285 KENT – photo by KEITH MARLOWE

EDAN WILBER and MATT CONBOY ran the DBA events – (underground) music and art.

read more about DBA: DEATH BY AUDIO


MATT CONBOY had a video installation in the DEATH By ART show – a drum battle royale . .


archival footage of an apparently epic battle of the drums . . GREG SAUNIER of DEERHOOF vs BRIAN CHIPPENDALE of LIGHTNING BOLT.


GREG SAUNIER . . video by MATT CONBOY

I bet that DBA Conboy has a ton of video gold – stored away, talk about . . D.I.Y. !!

just thinking, maybe that’s one of the layers of ‘inspiration’ behind those gold ‘viruses’ that crept in all over the place, more like cubic ‘smoke’. than anything else, or anything evil. contagious, or hacked.
kind of ‘static’ but moving, as in moving in all over the place – wide open, as in ‘variable’ – site specific – art ‘music’ . . by SMHOAK, whoever you are . .
can’t keep thinking about them. such a far-out multi-layered concept.


BRIAN CHIPPENDALE . .


GREG SAUNIER . .


GREG SAUNIER . .


BRIAN CHIPPENDALE – CHIPPENDALE is also very well known & respected, and indeed with great awe . . on the underground art scene for the blow-apart alternative world art works, mostly silkscreen prints and collages, and his epic narrative ‘comic books’ . . which he has shown in NYC – at CINDERS, including that flat-out feverish warning in crayon colors, of a society in meltdown . . that was shown this past summer at the big Cinders 10th Anniversary group show at the seaport, just before all hell broke loose: the three E’s . . . ebola, environmental entropy, and . . extremist militants slicing their way, in an ironic – well: tragic and sick, as in sad / twist on D.I.Y. – one journalist at a time . . onto the global game board.

D.I.Y.

rockers vs fascists, the ultimate showdown. long live the rockers.
death by art . . f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

~R.I.P. D.I.Y. / D.B.A. | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 16th, 2014, 7:12am



~DEATH BY KUSZYK, UPHUES, SMHOAK & SPURLOCK . .

RIP DEATH BY AUDIO – DEATH BY ART / DBA
A GROUP EXHIBIT CURATED BY MARK KLEBACK & JOE AHEARN
NOV 6-22, 2014
49 SOUTH 2nd St, BROOKLYN


DBA


‘FUCK YOU SHANE’ – NICK KUSZYK


detail, ‘FUCK YOU SHANE’ . . NICK KUSZYK aka R ROBOT


CHRIS UPHUES . .


CHRIS UPHUES . .


CHRIS UPHUES . . DBA MAN
note: it’s raining gold cubes.
metaphors . . abound.
love . . their scale – so ‘nano-like’.
love how they switch out from dark to light. so smoke-like. for cubes !!
dba viruses by SMHOAK.


CHRIS UPHUES . . DBA GRAPHIC


CHRIS UPHUES . . DBA GRAPHIC


CHRIS UPHUES . .
oh oh – note the left hand side – ‘virus’ creeping in.


dba ceiling virus by SMHOAK.
smhoak viruses started showing up . . everywhere, in other places when you least expected it.
very very .. very. good. intense. strange. industrial, dynamic. counter-intuitive . . the gold sheen really made the game plan . . take off.
smoke signal gone industrial. from ‘puff’ to ‘cube’.


MATT CONBOY of DEATH BY AUDIO – has the SMHOAK virus over his shoulder . .


PRESTON SPURLOCK . .


cryin’ baby eyes !!


WAH – WAH.

RIP DBA.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. NOV 8, 2014

~DEATH BY KUSZYK, UPHUES, SMHOAK & SPURLOCK . . | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 11th, 2014, 10:31pm



~DEATH BY . . VICE ?

RIP DEATH BY AUDIO – DEATH BY ART
A GROUP EXHIBIT – DBA
CO-CURATED BY – MARK KLEBACK and JOE AHEARN
NOV 6-22, 2014.
49 SOUTH 2ND STREET, BROOKLYN.

I saw all the buzz about the big VICE party.
all I can say is . . gentrification is a snake that eats its tail.

first come the hardcore artists, and then the hyper-marketed ‘hipsters’ take over, and the rents go sky-high. hopefully the artists, and musicians move on, to tell another tale, and bring another forgotten, and neglected neighborhood to life.

so, yes . . time to post the pix of:

DEATH BY ART – the last hurrah / closing party exhibition put on by DEATH BY AUDIO . . which lost it’s space to VICE – which bought up the whole entire block.


it’s a sad scene when a hardcore space . . that screamed raw life and talent . . goes under the never-ending real estate knife.


even the trash on the outside said . . wild life and wild days moving on, money moving in.


if mailboxes could speak . .

I was thinking . . VICE should have built their new corporate headquarters around DEATH BY AUDIO, and left it as is – as a little chapel to real artistic freedom, but who am I.


but seems nobody else had the vision . .


or desire. and in come the celebs and out go the hardcore artists, meaning of course obviously the musicians and the gear geeks, too. etc. etc.
damn. we want their money, but we don’t want them. it’s a hard thing to figure out, look at Miami Basel.


so, DEATH BY AUDIO – STAY SALTY . . is all I can say.


death to art by vice, greed . . pumped up ‘style’. pumped up ‘cool’. savvy packaging, dumb-ed down content, whatever. a kind of pseudo jargon ? of the street, but I never really felt it was cutting edge.
it’s just the way of the world. when the masses collide, authenticity and originality . . take a dive.


the deathly dark doorway in, was . . fab.


a road map to DEATH BY ART, presented by RIP DEATH BY AUDIO. DEATH BY VICE.
taken done by VICE, how sweet, not. surprised, not.
maybe somethings are just meant to have life, take on a spark in the moment. some of the best things – they are not meant to last forever. their profoundness in fact, often comes from their very fleeting, and therefore very free . . nature.
but still, people were feeling it. were feeling . . dark.
were feeling . . loss.

the road map to the show was printed on newsprint, printed in black and handed out for free. it is actually a pretty nice piece all on its own. an archival artifact, a graphic design with ‘soul’, I guess the word is: character.
a defining Brooklyn . . moment, that’s for sure. it had a very solemn ‘cast’.


inside it was dark, too.
with an amazing hardcore ‘industrial’ light fixture – by SEAN MCINTYRE hanging in the immediate entryway.
now, that’s . . cutting edge.


a programmed ‘gamelan’ – by AARON TAYLOR KUFFNER stood in the small foyer.
all the while it was pitch dark, and so this is a photo – illuminated by flash, sometimes you just have to be there. it was eerie, and gothic. cathedral-like . on the underground scale of things.

it was really a statement, an experience . . to walk past the dark decline on the street, into the small dark entry with a very beautiful artist-made light fixture overhead, casting a pale glow, and an artist-made gamelan, moving gongs and all, playing all by itself, no people. it was definitely art, music, and ‘machinery’ . . invention. inquiry. statement. purpose. poetry.


the ancient percussive instruments . . played by themselves.


all you had to do was choose a button and press it, to set them in motion.


all I can say is: S-K-I-L-L-S.
damn. if skills, isn’t one letter away from . . KILLS.


there was a real sense of history, as well.
these instruments seemed quite old and authentic . .
pots and pans and . . the origins of music. did come to mind.
and, well . . male / female – as well.


not to forget the big gong at top.


the digital presence was divined by the small glow of blinking ‘machinery’ lights behind, like I said it was dark, and the sense was really of exquisite surround sound, no people. lots of history, lots of art – entrancement, is all I can think of.


MARK KLEBACK . . co-curator DEATH BY ART.


his website: KLEEBTRONICS

here’s a few images, just the tip of the iceberg.
Kleback – is apparently some kind of central . . hub to the scene.
cog. gear . .


ZORB – image: KLEEBTRONICS


MOSHMURAL – image: KLEEBTRONICS

THAT SHOULD KEEP YOU BUSY, for awhile.
more pix of the ‘DEATH BY AUDIO – DEATH BY ART’ show . . posting shortly.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH – unless otherwise noted.
PHOTOS TAKEN ON SAT EVENING – NOV 8, 2014

~DEATH BY . . VICE ? | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 10th, 2014, 6:03am



~LUKE MURPHY . . at CANADA at NADA

wow. I didn’t realize til just now, that CANADA . . and NADA rhyme.
there has to be something to that, no ?

at any rate, the other artist to watch out for during MIAMI ART FAIR WEEK 2014, is also at NADA . .

the amazing LUKE MURPHY, who is kind of a poster child for the explosion of mental creativity that happens when deep thoughts, about the universe and ‘being’ . . of course (!!) hit hardcore hands-on . . digital knowledge.

I’ve been fascinated by Luke’s work ever since I happened upon his early solo show ‘Slope Of Anxiety’ in 2001 at the very earliest CANADA gallery venue, when it was located, in the aftermath of Pseudo’s ‘Quiet’ – in the basement of that grimy storefront building on Broadway, deep downtown . . where we had staged that blow-out million dollar Millennium Party, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC . . and I was collecting the rent for Josh.

looking back, that seems so apt, so auspicious . . so meaningful, so MAGIC, so TRUTHFUL, so RANDOM !!
so how the Universe – works.
to stumble across LUKE – like that . . in the ashes of that . . huge, futuristic, 99+ artist, wired, early social network grid of a creative art party / blow-out.

LUKE was like the single ‘seed’ of the future, peeking it’s head out – from the burned-out chaos.

it’s hard to define the realms that LUKE MURPHY traverses, except that the interactive ‘random’ animation – that appears as an ongoing ‘banner’ at the top of this page, pretty much . . says it all.
we don’t live in a ‘solid state’ . . in any more !!
and everyone is . . connected.

LUKE will be showing 3 (very different) digital projections at the CANADA, NADA MIAMI BOOTH 2014 . .
he writes that they are “about drawing, suspended potential, and trying to recognize truth, i.e. pretty lines and colors on a small screen.”
!! x !! x !!


LUKE MURPHY, ‘Watching Potential’, 2014


LUKE MURPHY, ‘KuniyoshiX Genz’, 2014


LUKE MURPHY, ‘Test Patterns’, 2014

you can actually, watch ‘Test Patterns’ on his website: ‘Test Patterns’/Works

it’s not just the color intervals, and how that ‘adds’ up to: BLACK, and . . the ‘VOID’ – but it’s also about the speeds at which ‘events’ happen, and with Luke that means randomness, and ‘generated’ numbers.

the other super interesting piece on that WORKS PAGE, is . . ‘Bad Eye Good Eye’. not only . . as an animation, and that it . . steps into real world ‘bio’ human imagery, but also because – it serves as an example of Luke’s . . dark side !!
!! x !! x !!

watch: LUKE MURPHY, ‘Good Eye, Bad Eye’.

so what I mean, is Luke also moves, image-wise – between the totally abstract, and the real (human) world.
in this universe, it’s all inter-connected – particles, patterns and . . humans. birth and decay, repeat.
oh yeah, I forgot: reproduce – i.e. pattern.
birth, reproduce, decay.

you can wander around in his multi-faceted world for yourself: LUKE MURPHY/LUKELAB

but maybe, the text in the ‘Happy Sad Bones’ project . . will help shed some light ?

and yes, that little green glass frog . . emits radioactive signals, which is picked up by the microphone, which in turn generates the ‘random’ numbers. of the digital animations.
that little frog is actually a piece of vintage, so-called ‘vaseline’ or uranium glass . . !!

it’s part of the . . RANDOMNESS – section


LUKE MURPHY . . in his Harlem studio, NYC. SEPT 1, 2014
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

LUKE MURPHY – artist, magician, code developer, pattern animator, randomness-maker, philosopher . . !! x !! x !!
all I know is . . this is a guy who lives 9 lives, and if half of them are SECRET, the others are surely: ‘half life’ – as in . . the ‘longevity of radioactive particles’.

in other words:
in the huge world of ‘art’ today, witness this Miami Art Fair week – LUKE MURPHY is a one-of-a-kind, in other words: he is a . . singularity.

so check out, Luke’s . . ‘projections’ at the CANADA / NADA MIAMI 2014 BOOTH.

~LUKE MURPHY . . at CANADA at NADA | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 3rd, 2014, 6:39am



~BARRY McGEE x BEATS . . at NADA

super fun !!
totally love it.

NADA just announced a ‘partnership’ with Beats by Dr. Dre for Miami Beach 2014.

Beats by Dr. Dre will be presenting a Beats x Barry McGee Special Edition Pill !!!!!

available for purchase in a special booth located in the lobby of NADA MIAMI BEACH . . .
The Deauville Beach Resort
6701 Collins Ave, Miami.

and . . BARRY McGEE will actually show up to sign his Beats Pill on: FRI, DEC 5 / 1 – 3 PM !!!!

so heads up !!

look at it, so cute !!
so . . bad.
so, Barry !!!

~BARRY McGEE x BEATS . . at NADA | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 2nd, 2014, 6:14am



~ERIK DEN BREEJEN . . paints AHMET ERTEGUN MURAL

ERIK DEN BREEJEN PAINTS . . a wall-size, 2 floors in height, acrylic mural portrait. in his singular op-art, color-field ‘text’ brick-block style, of the legendary founder of ATLANTIC RECORDS . . . AHMET ERTEGUN, for their newly designed, Atlantic Records headquarters, in midtown Manhattan.


ERIK DEN BREEJEN beside his 2 story tall, very life-like mural of Atlantic records founder, and music industry legend: AHMET ERTEGUN.
just as AHMET ERTEGUN was larger than life, so this mural is larger than life. skillful, playful. hyper-real, hyper-narrative, hyper-lyrical, hyper-abstract – the total dynamic . . is a tour de force.
no doubt about it.
ERIK DEN BREEJEN: rock and roll !!


this high-lighted, i.e. larger ‘block’ – boldly states the simple, but powerful motto behind the man, and his success throughout the years:

“WE STARTED ATLANTIC SIMPLY BECAUSE WE WANTED TO SIGN A FEW ARTISTS WHOSE MUSIC WE LIKED AND MAKE THE KIND OF RECORDS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO BUY.”


otherwise the mostly uniform horizontal ‘lines’ are composed of hand-lettered ‘word-blocks’, or ‘bricks’ that convey the narrative, and also form the dominant infrastructure of the whole. in this case – the words running through those brickwork lines – are composed of . . one line of the actual lyrics, and the chorus of about 100 of Ahmet Ertegun’s and Atlantic’s biggest hits.
the songs are arranged in alphabetical order by artist.
as in all of Erik’s recent color-field, ode-to-music paintings, the words themselves play more as building ‘blocks’ of color, quietly lying amongst the dynamic rumble of the background, and only jumping forth upon closer, more focused inspection, or as in this case . . when a well-known phrase, really does . . jump out at ya.
“SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY” – OTIS REDDING !!


“WATCHING THE TIDE ROLL AWAY”.


“A LION SLEEPS IN THE MIGHTY JUNGLE, TONIGHT”.
something, like that.


this is Erik Den Breejen in top form. and he’s not fooling around with purist concepts, with a capital C anymore, or as much. the color-field ‘building’ text blocks are still there, but when he gets to the subject, the portrait – they are carefully hued for clarity, and depth – as much as for overall pictorial resonance. this portrait rings clear as a bell, it is very, in fact not only hyper-real,as in photographic – but it also astonishingly . . conveys great emotion, great depth of character.
and in that sense, this ‘commissioned’ mural differs from his most recent past solo show where the faces in the paintings – only coalesce into familiarity, under the compression of a camera lens. so in effect you really have to see them firsthand, otherwise you are seeing them compressed through a lens. very hard to explain in words, sometimes you really do need to ‘witness’ painting firsthand, in the flesh, on the wall.


it is a beautiful, and skilled rendering . . perfectly aligned, perfectly brought to totality.
Erik emphasized to me, that this “was NOT A PROJECTION.” it is all hand-drawn, in simple graphite pencil at first, then hand-painted in acrylic, with the color ‘charting’ being key to both the high contrast dynamics of the fluctuating op-art ‘background’, and the realistic ‘depth’ and 3-D shadowing, or contouring, of the central photographic portrait.

the mural, measuring 20 x 23 feet, is painted directly on a wall that spans two floors of a custom-made stairwell, carved out between 2 mid-height floors, in a huge modern midtown skyscraper.

the project was conceived by GENSLER, ‘an integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting’ firm whose motto, according to their website – is: “Leveraging the power of design to create a better world.”
I’ll say, right on !!


apparently one of the GENSLER architects saw Erik’s ‘DAVID BOWIE’ mural, on the side of the RAG & BONE at the corner of Elizabeth and Houston, on the Lower East Side last year, and set the ball – in motion.
that’s so . . New York !! you just never . . know.
who will see your work.
and . . where it will go.

this is a view of the mural from the top of the staircase – beautiful, and intense. sophisticated, musical, what more can one say – it all came together so well: concept, design, production. it’s a wonderful ode to the – man, AHMET ERTEGUN, because as we all know, if America has a heart, and it does – it beats to . . music !!

ps: a little hard to see, but check out that small bit of ‘hardware’ on the railing, near that black pillar – close to the right hand side.


yeah, it’s . . a go pro camera capturing the whole project’s unfolding, in fast forward.
so I guess even my brief visit . . is part of the digital – record !!


looking down at the nearly complete, but still unfinished work, from the top of the stairwell.
Erik started the project on Oct 6, 2014 – but it was totally cool to visit, and document it when I did, in early November 2014, when it was almost complete. that way I could get to access the true breath and gist of the finished mural, but also . . still be in place to catch some of the behind-the-scenes production . . also known as . . the action !!


shades of RED !!
little cups of carefully mixed, hand-blended acrylic paint still perched on the stairs.
to my way of thinking, above all – Erik Den Breejen is a color-field painter.
hue. tonality, contrast . . is everything.
or at least the backbone, the engine that does all the heavy lifting.
while the actual words, the song lyrics – are the deeper . . soul and spirit.


‘charting’ . . the right shade of red . . for different areas.
it’s called: skills.


work still-in-progress, at the very bottom of the wall . .
everything is hand-drawn out at first, the block outlines, and their text font/characters – with pencil. it’s a form of ‘primitive’ block calligraphy that is characteristic of Erik’s natural hand, then the letters and backgrounds are carefully painted, colored-in with carefully charted . . hues. maximized for effect, and in the subject’s face . . for 3-D depth, and clarity of expression. and, no doubt about it, that face does have an amazing . . emotion.
it’s a . . showstopper.


“TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS”.

the fact that the word ‘bricks’ recall actual songs, just gives the whole piece a real ‘depth’, a real ‘soul’, in fact, an actual pictorial record, a code.
a written history of achievement . . which visually matches, the depth and vision – of the subject himself, Ahmet Ertegun.

a real love of music imbues the piece, from the painter’s point of view as well, as it does all of Erik’s work.
look it up.


‘scale’ also plays an important part in this mural, that’s that founder’s motto, “WE STARTED ATLANTIC RECORDS . . .” a kind of a musical/visual interplay, for sure. art and music – so hard to define in words, but esp when they come face-to-face, a real ‘beauty’ reigns. like a 5th dimension.


ERIK DEN BREEJEN, taking me down the stairs, to see the more unfinished parcel of the mural.


at work on the lower level, it’s all hand-done, from start to finish.


first he pencils in the outlines of the block letter ‘calligraphy’. all caps !!
this more or less, grid charted, but free-form hand-lettering, also provided some fluidity, helped . . in fitting together the words – as they meet edges of the wall, or shaded-in the planes of the face.


“WANNA A WHOLE LOT OF LOVE” – !!

you can just make out the raw . . pencil marks, going forward – as yet, un-painted.


ERIK DEN BREEJEN . . PAINTS AHMET ERTEGUN. ATLANTIC RECORDS, NYC HEADQUARTERS, FALL 2014.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. NOV 7, 2014

ps: for some interesting background . .

read: about Erik’s ‘DAVID BOWIE’ mural at RAG & BONE, KATYA KAZAKINA, BLOOMBERG NEWS.

where it is noted, in a currently – very timely (!!) fashion, that:
“in DEC, (that would be 2012), den Brejeen’s solo booth at UNTITLED Art Fair in Miami sold out during Art Basel Miami Beach with prices ranging from $7,000 to $20,000, according to NICK LAWRENCE, owner of FREIGHT+VOLUME which represents the artist.”

see: ERIK DEN BREEJEN artist page & other images – on the FREIGHT+VOLUME gallery website.

~ERIK DEN BREEJEN . . paints AHMET ERTEGUN MURAL | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 29th, 2014, 1:18pm



~JIM MANGAN . . KEN BLOCK ‘BLAST’ BOOK SIGNING

JIM MANGAN . .’BLAST’, a photographic ‘picture’ book collaboration with KEN BLOCK.
DASHWOOD BOOKS, PUBLISHER
the book signing took place last WED EVENING – NOV 19, 2014.
there is an exhibition of photos from the book – running at the gallery,
NOV 19, 2014 – JAN 15, 2015.
205-A, 205 AVE A – EAST VILLAGE, NYC


photographer JIM MANGAN . .

make that, hyper photographer . . JIM MANGAN


driver KEN BLOCK . .

make that, dare devil driver . . KEN BLOCK.


DAVID STRETTELL of DASHWOOD BOOKS.
he says, Dashwood is his . . middle name (!!).


co-founder of AVE-A, photographer AARON STERN


though usually worth a 1,000 words, photographs cannot convey the beauty of the book. it was made to be handled, the proportions are just right. large in plane, but not too heavy, easy to handle, beautiful paper stock, superb reproductions, great rhythm to the turning pages . . . an absolute exquisite cover. simple, but functional graphics rise to the state of an art form.


from . . ‘BLAST’.
damn, am I the only one to seek refuge in this need-for-speed winter ?
the 2014 FALL season on the underground art railroad was such a rush, from ‘PAT’S PIGEONS’, through JOHAN KUGELBERG’S ‘DEATH BY EBAY BOWLING’, the huge heat blast of SATAN CERAMICS, under the rebel leadership of miniaturist – JJ PEET.
the rushing ‘Utah desert’ of JIM MANGAN + PETER SUTHERLAND’S ‘FLASH FLOOD’ at MUDDGUTS . .
not to forget ANDREW GUENTHER . . holding up as the lone, but blazing mind-twister traditionalist i.e. – the guy paints, albeit thought-forms (!!) . . on canvas.


from ‘BLAST’.


large scale photos line the small storefront gallery, JIM MANGAN took the photos from a helicopter, as driver KEN BLOCK kicked up a storm, and tore doughnuts . . into the earth.
JIM MANGAN, ‘Untitled #10’, 2014. edition of 2, 24 x 16 in.
($1,200)


JIM MANGAN, ‘Untitled #13’, 2014. edition of 1, 50 x 34 in.
($3,500)


detail, JIM MANGAN, ‘Untitled #13’.


JIM MANGAN, ‘Untitled #14’, 2014. 36 x 24 in. editon of 2.
($2,000)


detail, JIM MANGAN, ‘Untitled #14’.


speaking of which, PATRICK McCARTHY aka the Bushwick Pigeoneer showed up just as we were leaving. I could talk to this kid forever . . he always has a take, and he always is ahead of the game.
his clay work at SATAN CERAMICS not only held it’s own, among a roomful of much more seasoned artists, but his pieces had an mistakable and unique . . ‘voice’. that show was such a blast – there goes that word again !! I was pretty sure Patrick had sold some pieces, and yes he did, a couple of mini ‘coops’ and some zine tablets. and probably more, he gets going and then he shuts up, I don’t blame him, look who he’s talking to – but come on !! how great.
he said they sold 80, or was that 800 ?!! SATAN CERAMICS T-SHIRTS. I think that number was 800, though Kate heard 500, impressive enough, what he doesn’t say is – that he designed them.
anybody with half a brain, who saw his show, PAT’S PIGEON CLUB at Muddguts this past summer – could remember the hand-writing on the ‘walls’, the pigeon supplies, and . . his zines !!

from CARRIER PIGEONS to RACING CARS, now that’s what I call . .
A-C-C-E-L-E-R-A-T-I-O-N !!

ACCCELERATION, S-P-E-E-D . . is the name of the game on the underground art railroad.
FULL SPEED AHEAD, while the mainstream art world, and all that sluggish artforum gibberish . . all the same names all the time, not one fresh face, have no idea what’s – hit them.
choke on the dust . . wannabes, is all I can say.
losers, move over.
either you have the talent, i.e. the goods, or you don’t, and you don’t.
while the underground voices just keep on . . rushing in.
and taking over.
and watching it happen, is SUCH A . . BLAST !!
there goes that B word, again.
talk about a need for speed, what a rush.
gonna be a big body count, let me tell you that, EN Restaurant and all.
it’s all fake, and it’s all . . gonna fall. fail, whatever.
and . . it’s been a long time coming.
yep, EPIC FAIL about to happen in NYC – watch out.
yep, we are talking . . FLASH FLOOD !!
and let artforum with it’s stagnant writing, not to mention pay-to-play board game – be the first to go under.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

~JIM MANGAN . . KEN BLOCK ‘BLAST’ BOOK SIGNING | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 22nd, 2014, 5:00pm


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