~15 WARREN . .
LET THE KIDS PLAY / HELP IS ON ITS WAY
SABIO / RAMBO / TIL WE DIE
note: PETER PAN POSSE (!!)
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . .
STAY GOOD, or . . . STAY OUT.
OMINOUS, or what ?!! not exactly, child’s play.
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . .
still can’t get over how the VILLAGE VOICE exposed the HORTS.
gimme me break. KELTIE FERRIS ?!!!
I wouldn’t put that schlock up in my garage, if I had one.
let alone plaster my worst enemies’ walls with it.
dude, and you wannabe an art ‘dynasty’ ?
it’s more like the emperor has no clothes / cowboy !!
‘insider’ . . . as if !!
it’s like CHRISTIAN VIVEROS-FAUNE set off a war. vive les frenchies !!
it’s like the art world . . equivalent to ‘blood in the water’ !!
and now everybody is going in for . . . the KILL.
I’m glad I didn’t start it. but hell, it’s the all-American way . . when it comes to a feeding frenzy . . jump in and take that loser down.
who said: don’t come into the art world if you don’t like the heat !!
eventually you WILL KNOCK up against . . hardcore, and then it’s one hot kitchen.
art . . .
it’s one mother of a . . heat seeking missile.
or, at least – it should be.
that’s what I mean about this young herd of ‘ponies‘ . . being sweet, but TOUGH !!
TRI-BECA directly borders Chinatown, and for sure the Chinese Zodiac, we’re entering the Chinese New Year of the HORSE . . bears down with influence on these downtown guys.
and, it’s not just me . .
check the local newspapers . . all of New York loves the Chinese zodiac.
lightning strikes.
this is actually an old quilt pattern.
I wonder of the artist who made this, knew ?
it held special meaning for homesteading farmers out on the prairies.
it was a warning against FIRE, and against attack on the home.
I know this well.
I repaired a quilt like this, and put it up to photograph on the rail of my south-facing 20th floor mini-terrace, soooo . . . NEW YORK !! at the intersection of GRAND and FDR, and – damn if I didn’t catch the doomed WORLD TRADE CENTER, the TWIN TOWERS . . just before they went down.
in the background of the photo.
and, who was I supposed to . . alert ?
wild and crazy, hardcore . . has no bounds.
don’t believe me ?
actually, I exaggerate. I took the photo in . . 1998.
see: LIGHTNING STRIKES . .
and while we are at, I guess I have an ‘insiders’ !! take, into the minds of these kids, as I just happen to have a couple of my own, exact same generation, and this is what . . they thought – when they came home from school, on SEPT 11, 2001.
talking about sweet and TOUGH, or what !!
this is not just some random ART FORUM, NEW YORK TIMES middle of the road, or paid (!!) art critic talkin’ to ya, and don’t you forget it.
poetry, maybe. hardcore: definite.
at first I didn’t think this show was as politically packed as it, obviously is.
there were no guns, no violence, no death threats ?!! not a lot of loud noises.
these guys have an easy manner, but they mean business.
so .. American cowboy or what ?!!
I mean, no . . they will never forget, and these are the guys that are going to grow up, and eventually rule this nation.
I mean New York . . is a very tolerant and fun loving place, just don’t mess with us.
these guys are just as apt to skin your balls, and put them into gumball machines, if given half a chance, so watch out.
speaking of which.
newspapers, of which new Yorkers live on, like other people live on . . bread.
and speaking of which, don’t mess with New Yorkers.
we are tolerant and respectful of all races, creeds, and religions, but just don’t friggin r-o-b us !!
because we do have true Italian ‘GODFATHER BLOOD’ running through us, here in the BIG APPLE, the city of the (strongest/toughest) immigrants, or what ?!!
and so, yeah, we can say, with some real truth: stay the F outta New York if you do not have good intentions, because no matter who you are . . if you rob enough, destroy enough, we will not just take you down, we will toss you into a dumpster, and set your dick on fire !!
see: SLUM LANDLORD of WILLIAMSBURG
TRI-BECA.
TWIN TOWERS.
SINGULAR VOICE.
AWESOME, LUMINOUS. BIBLICAL.
so, yeah I think the take-away from THE HOBBIT, now playing in theaters in NYC, is:
conflict, get real .. it’s all around ya. in all guises. big and little.
from top to bottom, a to z.
art to elves, slumlords. to terrorists,
and back again. never ending, the ancient Chinese got that right, too.
yin yang.
I mean even the producers !! of THE HOBBIT are fighting !!
CHINA !!
CHINA and JAPAN, are comparing each other to VOLDEMORT.
VOLDEMORT !! !!
damn, duck your little heads, it’s not just a HORT FEEDING FRENZY, it’s a . . HARRY POTTER FEEDING FRENZY out there !!
yeah. 15 WARREN, I do so love this show.
it just grows and grows on . . you.
sweet and TOUGH.
from a little bubble gum, a big bubble will . . POP !!
the only other show in memory, besides ‘QUIET’ in 2000, that shook with so much relevance and gut-feeling, not to forget, key: artistic ‘innovation’ . . was RIRKRIT TIRANAJA’S, ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’.
comm to think of it, it also had ‘informational graphics’, simple text signs . . that glowed with bright NEON LIGHT.
the installation looked like a disaster survival ‘kit’ end-of-the-world rest area, and it was very raw despite being in a full-blown gallery. and, ominous political slogans, mostly Asian in slant, no pun . . silk-screened on t-shirts hung, all about.
and then, what.
2 days later . . THAT HUGE TIDAL WAVE TOOK DOWN JAPAN, incl a nuclear reactor plant, that is still leaking radio-active waste into the sea today, bye the way.
though they don’t talk much about it, anymore.
yikes,
somebody, QUICK. put me back in the basement with SMAUG !!
nothing like a little fire of the soul, to keep one warm . . in a big arctic chill.
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . .
when did this show open, again ?
Sat, Dec 28, 2013 ?!!!
well they sure nailed it, and not just on the ‘LIGHT’.
check those ‘tubes’ running down the sides of the window.
that’s so, v-e-r-y fine.
but, BOTH IMAGES . .
made good . . . TEXT – WISE.
it’s one thing . . to have pure information graphics, headline your show.
it’s another to . . d-e-l-i-v-e-r.
TRI stands for TRIBECA.
TRI . . there are 3 curators behind this show.
TRI, TWIN and SINGLE are word plays . .
in this lit-up ‘tag’ board of a street game / art show . . is the shortest way I can put it.
but mostly, TRI stands for TRIBECA, where the WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS . . were rooted.
and where these kids grew up.
this was a huge pile of evil, strife & destruction to witness.
and, it’s not . . o-v-e-r. they def nailed: IRAQ.
IRAQ . . in the news !!
see: MIDEAST / BOMBINGS IN BAGHDAD . . JAN 5, 2014.
as for . . WORLD OF SUITS, THE ART WORLD.
they nailed that, too.
in the news . . .
see: ART’S DIRTY, BIG SECRET . . VILLAGE VOICE/JAN 1, 2014
WHOOSH, nailed it.
something about needing to be really really . . hardcore.
when you are living in the soft belly of ‘wannabes’.
incredible crowd. great light(s).
not one . . HORT.
yeah, even in the art world . . there is such a thing as:
WRONG $$$$ = KISS OF DEATH.
ok . . . back to rainbows.
as opposed to terrorists, Horts, and corporate suits . . in general.
when I first termed the walls in this exhibit, ‘rainbow’ . .
I just meant, NOT . . GOD DAMN WHITE !!
it’s always like a high, as in rainbow . . to see art flung out upon an aging & raw New York City structure.
something in them ole bones . . that resonates and owns this town – from way back.
still can’t get over that . . VOICE rant.
though I wouldn’t exactly call the HORTS . . . insiders. more like ‘big’ pretenders.
but still, the welcome brunch to the Armory !!
that’s hysterical. about as vacuous as you can get re: bragging rights . .
if you want to know why the scene, the art market . . sucks so much, as it moves upward – this is a good start.
there was more energy in this mere moment, at 15 WARREN . . than you could squeeze out of the entire Armory, even if you ran a hundred thousand trucks, over it.
on second thought . . actually.
that’s just . . not fair.
it’s the whole damn scene from the WHITNEY BIENNIAL . . on down.
15 WARREN CURATOR SEAN VEGEZZI said it so well, in the PRESS RELEASE.
the very last line, something like . . .
watch out, NYC ART WORLD . . . your ‘obit’ . . is so about to be writ.
so, yeah.
I do prefer to walk around, like some friggin’ damn HOBBIT on a mission.
finding what looks like, rainbows . . on old wooden walls.
‘digital camera’ = ‘golden ring’ ?
definite, overload on the sensory radar.
and yeah x 1,000, for all the entrancement, poetry . . don’t you worry.
I know only ALL too well that ‘Precious’ . . costs,
and Gollum . . is just around the corner.
that being said,
do I really . .
have to tell you what this artwork is all about ?
what this TRI-BECA CREW, is all about ?
can’t we just leave it at, sweet and . . TOUGH.
they are just kids, who grew up in the reality & shadow of the biggest terror attack on US soil.
TRIBECA, is their specific ‘hood’.
their childhood home, their defining ‘turf’.
this brief creative explosion, this ”show’ in a gentrifying building . . in a rapidly changing downtown landscape.
they have a lot they want to say, and their three curators, SEAN VEGEZZI, ABELINE COHEN, and ANDREW KASS – gave them some super great directives.
jump starting the New Year, being one of them.
don’t mess with them.
oh god, next thing you know the HORTS will be inviting them to a ‘brunch’ !!
oh, the poetry . .
of SWEET and TOUGH . . .
oh, the wondrous rhyme . . . of diverse glass containers.
I thought they were bullets, but upon further inquiry, I am told they are crack vials.
cast in pewter and brass.
so that’s what those little vials . . were ?
lying about.
I guess the measuring cup says: it’s ok . . ok to ‘be’ CRACK. ACE. SMART.
it’s just not ok . . to do it.
after a certain amount of time / measurement, it does catch up to ya.
and then you are HURT. damaged goods.
funny how HURT and HORT .. rhyme.
or at least find themselves in the same paragraph.
it’s like what they say about math or science .. there’s a real beauty in the way things unfold.
the way things .. break down.
PABLO POWER . . ACE IN YOUR FACE.
peace out on this one, PABLO POWER.
may you never find yourself on the . . . ‘HURT’ WALL.
the ‘HORT’ WALL ?
sweet and TOUGH.
no diff.
my ‘Precious’ !!
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . .
MILAH LIBIN beside her piece, which was staged in the wall, and on the floor.
in the dark.
sadly, the photo had to be flash-corrected, well . . come on, seriously !!
you . . HAD TO BE THERE !!
this was the small niche / ‘hole’ in the wall . . that she filled with dirt, and then planted appropriate ‘to-the-given-light’ conditions . . . growing & alive, as in LIVING … ‘organic’ things.
that means: plants. cactus. even some blooms, as in: flowers.
in a nutshell: a small and very beautiful ‘garden’ growing in the depths of a dark sub-floor = FUTURE SPEAK.
a found ‘grow’ site, with the artist imbedded soil ‘medium’ seeming to flourish, and theatrically play up . .
the dramatic & real world (energy) exchanges . . between ‘artificial’ light sources vs the subterranean dark.
there are no windows, no natural light, 2 floors beneath the street.
it’s a strange ironic thought, but it’s all nighttime, underneath the city that never sleeps.
MILAH’S . . dramatically lit ‘grow’, was not only a tiny habitat, of it’s own cosmos . . . but in a real sense, an inverted definition – of the larger exhibit as a whole.
an exhibit . . that threw theatrically staged ARTIFICIAL, esp NEON / COLORED, CREATIVE LIGHT to fight vs the DARK, and used ‘found’ archaic surfaces, mostly ‘as is’ . . to go up vs ART WORLD CONVENTION & WHITE WALLS, and came out . . on TOP.
15 WARREN STREET . . in 15 words.
where there is CREATIVITY, there is LIFE.
15 WARREN STREET . . in 7 words.
15 WARREN STREET in 2 words: live wire !!
actual. (electricity). metaphorically, symbolic. . . you name it.
grow & bloom, my little flowers of the night.
yeah. of course . .
it reminded me of OUR New Year’s Eve party. the big JOSH HARRIS / PSEUDO millennium 2 week downtown throw-down of YEAR 2000 – that became the basis for Ondi Timoner’s Sundance award winning . . ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ (2009).
also staged in area code 10007 TRIBECA’s abandoned warehouses, including underground ‘bunker’ rooms, Josh called it: QUIET. though it was anything, BUT.
SEAN VEGEZZI . . the new JOSH HARRIS, now there’s ‘FUNNIE’ THOUGHT.
and more true than you might think, at first glance.
though, of course SEAN doesn’t have an alter ego called .. LUVVY.
of course the big diff, between ‘QUIET’ . . and 15 WARREN STREET, besides the former’s $1 million dot.com budget (!!), was that QUIET took place pre 9/11 and the WORLD TRADE CENTER / TWIN TOWERS coming down, and 15 WARREN is what ? 12 years after.
and the next generation.
both are wild and raw, though I would say LUVVY caused QUIET to go somewhat, ‘over’ is being polite … the dark side. but the most strange thought to consider is, that ‘QUIET’. . leading into the chaos of 9/11 had . . many guns and even more gun imagery. and, there weren’t just many guns. ALFREDO MARTINEZ staged a whole ‘shooting’ gallery, open to the public . . a working high power assault rifle target range in the basement, as his performance piece. talk about: gritty.
our New’s Year party was like an apocalyptic ‘warning’, and this one is like the after-shock, after the death & dust have settled down. sweet but TOUGH, that is SEAN VEGEZZI . . in 3 words.
JOSH was a little more complex.
but, both spoke . . FUTURE SPEAK.
both celebrate at their hardcore core . . art without boundaries, art without white walls. and art without ‘suits’.
DAMN.
TOO MUCH TRAFFIC ON THE SITE / WHY AREN’T YOU GUYS OUT . . PLAYING IN THE SNOW ?
FILE UPLOADS ADMIN JUST CRASHED / WILL TRY TO CONTINUE LATER .. TODAY.
IT’S CALLED .. INDIE ART BLOGGING on a SHOE STRING. THE WEB BELONGS TO THE SUITS / IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED,
IT’S NOT JUST THE ‘HOOD’, that got . . G-E-N-T-R-I-F-I-E-D.
of course you could always flip channels to AFC, hahaha.
in fact, SEAN VEGEZZI’ s piece was just about directly across from Milaah’s.
it sprawled across a wide stretch of the room, the core being a somewhat shallow ‘dig’ right down to the very earth ‘beneath’ our feet.
it was ‘lit’ . . of course !!
it was theatrical, and low key all at once. and it was awesome.
esp in the way the ‘drop’ was just casually ‘surrounded’ by thin white string, on a jerry0rigged perimeter of 4 poles.
drunken party revelers, watch out !!
and then it just all went compositonally ‘quiet’ . . as it echoed back into the old storefront’s vast distance . . with sandbags.
well, like I said, . . . and, just like QUIET. you had to be there.
photos and words can only get you so far.
esp in the digital age, it seems art will not simply reside on a flat page, or in a text-driven review.
get your head around that, and JOSH and SEAN become one.
how to say it simply.
it’s, like how . . add a few dimensions, like add a few letters. and art becomes: pARTy.
well anyways, JOSH HARRIS was/is a web guru turned artist/curator . . and SEAN VEGEZZI is a street photog turned curator, who took his show’s main curatorial premise, and switched up .. disciplines.
SEAN photographs the young and usually unsung ‘heros’ of the street, and street art. and usually from down below, as in the deep dark and forbidden ‘warrens’ of the old subway infrastructure.
here he’s going .. all ‘URS FISHER’ on us, and well done. too. and he’s upped the format.
see the LIGHT, is all I can say at this point.
like ‘QUIET’, what’s a New Year’s Party . . without the stage, and the twinkle of holiday lights.
yes, those are ‘nouveau wave’ paintings by CLAUDIA SCHWALB, behind the stage.
and then just a little further down the room, was this . . magic circle of lit red candles.
whether this was intentional or not, done by one artist, or a match-up made in curatorial art heaven. I don’t know, but here’s what the total message said: burning circle of red candles / incredibly single. (!!)
that’s how you felt at ‘QUIET’, too.
for all the WE LIVE IN PUBLIC common areas, and 24/7 surveillance cameras.
there it is . . in black and white.
the ultimate human . . breakdown.
it brought me back to this . . piece. on another floor, though still sub-basement.
so interesting, how ‘stark’ simple color graphics, bold letter fonts, and lonely words . . can bring ‘human’ back into the picture, amidst the charming twinkle and spell of . . party lights.
in the far flung web of the digital age, it appears it’s even more so . . all about: singularity.
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . .
musician CHRIS COLTON in front of a wall section that says: ‘I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT YOU’ . . by CYRUS RA.
now, that’s one amazing piece.
that’s a force of improv . . . to reckon with. site specific, raw, and coming down.
don’t blink, it might be resurrected, but it will never be the same.
a statement of creative energy that has just this exact life for just this night. this week.
the eternal / internal drama, we all feel . . played out on a rough old wall.
the endless human narrative. the timeless mark of man, expressing his depth . . on a ‘cave’ wall.
the NYC script.
true grit. a warning. a sign. a gorgeous ‘script’ . . a gorgeous piece of graf / ‘writing’.
truthfully, I just liked the way it looked, esp with the warning ‘no exit’ type graphics playing out against the raw wall, with the electric pipes running around it.
it was a real, visual ‘live’ wire . .
in play.
and at . . heart / i.e. meaning & concept.
I’m thinking, is it too much to read into these single rectangular shapes, the ‘cube’ face was also on top of a ‘tower’ . . the exact silhouette of the downed Twin Towers ?
in whose shadow . . these kids grew up.
I mean, it’s not a round mythic Greco/Roman mirror. nor a JEFF KOONS flower/goat-shaped mirror.
it’s certainly not . . MURAKAMI.
it’s most def, Lower Manhattan.
the fluctuation, the reference floats in the air . . like smoke.
a double tower would be too obvious.
too much .. a sense of being ‘played’ by others.
keeping it ‘single’, is more STANLEY KUBRICK, is the best I can put it.
it’s a refection, it worked as a ‘reflection’ . . not only of the past, but of YOU, the viewer . . in the present.
I can’t live without you, the other.
and I can’t live without YOU !! that is . . me, looking in at myself.
you have been engaged, socially. artistically. you have been warned.
you are also part of the wall, the story, the time, the place, the night, the exhibit.
just to the left, is a far flung, non-narrative piece by HAKEEM LEWIS.
a blow-out, none the less.
and an elegant one, at that.
around the corner, dramatically ‘lit’, small realist paintings by CAROLINE CERUSSI, stared back at you.
I mean, that’s the way it went. no words, no titles.
no artist captions, no limits. the best way to work the scene, was just to ask, is that yours.
do you know who did it . . ?
‘LIFE IS A RORSCHACH’ – a site-specific wall painting by CHRIS COLTON, I guess that . .
could sum it up.
CHRIS COLTON, is friends with the curators, he is a jazz musician . . seriously, he is studying music at the Conservatory at McGILL, in Montreal. this is probably his first, or at least his biggest foray into the world of art, and painting, per se . . a ‘shake-up’ of your usual format / mode of expression . . . was one of the main things the 3 curators were going for.
a huge walk-in rorschach field, an endless warren. the creative impulse worked to the max.
thrown up against this ancient NYC building. the ground floor and 2 sub-levels, blurring into one.
raw, flat-out . . ‘soul’ immersion.
think: like a kind-of, graphic . . ‘waterfall’.
I was told OLIVIA BALLARD made this piece, this corner.
kind of a sensual shock, it repeated a theme that broke down a lot, here. which was the use of very common and cheap materials, such as empty bottles . . that worked against the site, as is. to produce something new and magical, and full of meaning if you cared to cross the line.
a physical outpost, as well as one rich in whatever metaphor you might care to spin around it.
art is more like music to me, I don’t need the metaphor, but . . pick your own battles.
the other thing was the play of ‘light’.
for such a dark, unlit ‘theatre’, or stage . . the installation had many works, that worked with light, as a pure resource . . whether as an element of the work itself, the entire viewing field, or simply as . . reflection, as in reflected light. as seen here.
you didn’t quite realize it, as you moved through what had an overwhelming sense of being: ‘underground’, but you were engaged by this use, this dance of light at all corners.
‘light’ . . the pure ‘water’. the ‘TRON’ of the digital generation.
that flat computer screen . . is ‘illuminated’. it’s not matte.
press on, it ‘flickers’ . . to life.
and yes. in some old dark recesses, that held the industrial ‘tools’ of old school function .. digital screens did . . flicker, and come . . to life.
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~15 WARREN . .
15 WARREN STREET . . .
opened last SAT DEC 28, 2013 and as promised . . it was a BLAST.
a furnace of the new, young, and . . hopeful.
a spectacle, a journey into the night. the New York City nite . . at its best.
as ephemeral as a firecracker’s shooting light !!
and . . just as brilliant.
I heard it got shut down by the cops, in the proud tradition of the very best NYC openings.
I heard it runs for one more week, but . . maybe not.
at least up . . until this Sunday.
ha, when social media hits New Year’s Eve . . everything comes to a full stop.
I mean, those guys are still out there . . p-a-r-t-y-i-n-g !!
but they gave the city a great NEW YEAR. 2014.
heading into the YEAR OF THE HORSE, you can see . . it’s gonna be a non-stop gallop all the way.
jump on, or fall . . off.
the very definition of pop-up, or what.
the green light, on the left – was the doorway . . in.
yeah, it was a bit like Alice in Wonderland. you entered a tunnel into a timeless timeline.
things were big, things were small. there were dark warrens, creaky stairs, and holes in the floor.
caves in the walls. ad hoc wiring. improvised lighting, rainbow painted walls.
art and color and explosions of sheer untested, unnamed talent .. everywhere.
as a pop-up, it was the ultimate pop-up.
catch it as it happens, because when it’s done, it’s a dance in the mind’s eyeball, is all.
the show made it’s most ‘overt’ political stand, in the front window . . the ‘frontispiece’.
and what it said, was . .
these 3 friends, the show’s young 20 something curators: SEAN VEGEZZI, ABELINE COHEN, and ANDREW KASS . . grew up in this neighborhood, Tribeca, and saw the World Trade Center, aka the Twin Towers come down.
they couldn’t have been more than 10 or so, and it made a big big impact.
a deep desire, not to turn to the dark, but to defy. to heat seek to the core of this great grit of a free state city, and tear away the layers, and love it to death. and in so doing, make their mark.
a creative mark. a chaotic mark, a spark to the future, a gorgeous wild raw . . burn mark. just anything but a narrow ‘route’ defined by other peoples’ warring. in fact, I NO gun images in the entire show, plenty of shooting flames. and no doubt . . ‘messages’. but no guns. no bombs. no images of mass destruction. no body parts.
like the press release said: this was a place of INQUIRY.
this was a place of art.
this was a place that stood up to SUITS !!
suits of art .. go f-ck yourself.
terrorists, fascists. you don’t define us. either.
maybe make that . . 2 sides of the same coin.
and, well. o.k. the corporate suits are taking over.
the mom & pop shops down there are going the way of the seedy dives, dirty egg shipping docks, and even the pool hall that used to line Duane St. New York City kids know the true meaning of the word ‘gentrification’, and not just how . . to spell it.
it happens that fast. it happens before they even hit their stride, as the next generation.
but they owned a piece of it, and don’t you . . forget it.
HELLO, MY NAME IS KATE, and I WAS BORN . . on FRANKLIN ST. top floor of a fabric warehouse. 1986.
long gone, turned into a big $$ lala condo land before I hit . . 2.
Rivington & the BOWERY, up next. 10 years later, same story. whoosh.
inside 15 WARREN . .
it was ALICE IN WONDERLAND. KIDS GROWING UP . . IN NYC.
no diff.
SURE, statements were there, for the taking . . if you wanted.
philosophy. inquiry. metaphor . . .
I’ve seen the (unhappy) cube face, on the (unstable) tower. and I’m so digging it. I’m digging the raw space.
I’m feeling it.
I’m filing . . my report.
damn . . what’s under that skirt ?
NYC . . the mother of us all.
god is in the . . the details.
ad hoc sculptures leaning into raw walls, arrows and lit-up coffins, no guns.
burning cars, white chicks, black comic book heros ?
Grecian oracles meet shaft ?
painted flames, hero chicks, politically incorrect ?
in a totally raw space . . awesome.
ancient history / myths, storefront history / architecture, and just the . . magnetism of men vs women ?
what it ultimately meant didn’t really matter, it was just great to see this huge painted, cut-out explosion of energy come to life, and flame-out in this raw space, in a substantial, but contradictory ‘flat’ imagery format.
a comic book frame . . come to life.
move over, RICHARD SERRA.
POP POP POP and more POP.
Canal St. water ?
define: true grit !!
define: finesse. touche. voila. plus, I see the l-i-g-h-t ?
define: perfection / art . . in a row.
perfection / thought.
perfection / impulse brought to 3D.
the red bottle tops, are wicked good. they say it all. POP POP POP.
POP-UP !!
RAW CELEBRATION, WICKED GOOD CURAT-ION.
step back, and get the full picture, as in . . never-ending.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, NEW YORK CITY.
MORE PIX, to follow.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~THE WORLD OF SUITS / SEAN VEGEZZI CALLING !! !! !! !! 15 WARREN OPENS TO-NITE !!
j-u-s-t, when you thought it was all over !!
the true grit . . gets back on the horse !!
damn !!
looks like the NEW YEAR is ahappenin’ early . . here in NYC !!
SEAN VEGEZZZI . . and 2 FRIENDS, ABELINE COHEN and ANDREW KASS are staging a huge, BLOW-OUT PARTY & ‘true grit’ ART EXHIBIT . . .
OPENING TO-NITE: SAT, DEC 28, 2013 / 6 – 11 PM
15 WARREN ST . . . in TRIBECA, LOWER MANHATTAN. NYC. OPEN TO ALL.
the show will run for ONE WEEK – thru JAN 4, 2014 / MON-SAT: 10 AM – 6 PM
see: FIFTEENWARREN.COM
IMAGE via FIFTEENWARREN
from SEAN:
. . an exhibition that I curated with two of my closest friends opens tonight. We were lucky enough to get full control (!!) over a disused retail space in the neighborhood in which we grew up.
I HOPE YOU ALL CAN MAKE IT.
from the press release:
THREE YOUNG ARTISTS, SEAN VEGEZZI, ABELINE COHEN and ANDREW KASS . . .
have curated an exhibition that represents perspectives not often championed by the art world, presented in a disused retail space that still holds vestiges of its history. On December 28, paintings, installations, photographs, videos, sculptures and live performances will be on display for ONE week before the interior is demolished and becomes corporate office space.
The participants’ diversity is a piece in itself – works will be shown from artists of all ages and backgrounds: some contributors have gallery representation, while others have never formally engaged with the art world before. This unprecedented collaboration is possible because the gutted tri-level space on 15 Warren Street was provided for free just before its renovation. By holding the show in 15 Warren, the curators and participants seek to create an environment where art is divorced from financial market-pressures.
Participants had a week to confirm their involvement, then another two to create before installation. Because 15 Warren offers a rare opportunity for artists to experiment without the pressure of making a sale, the curators encouraged participants to challenge themselves and use a medium they had never worked in or shown before.
An emerging voice in the NEW YORK art world, artist and first-time curator . . .
SEAN VEGEZZI highlights the importance of this opportunity:
“I know how difficult it is to find safe places for self-inquiry in New York; I’ve always worked hard to find them – with or without permission. We finally get the chance to create our own and it’s been interesting to see what people do when they’re free of financial and social pressure.”
“We’re creating an exhibition that will stop people from writing off NEW YORK in an obituary.”
amen . . . !!
for sure, this IS one art party . . . that GONNA ROCK !!!!!!!
talk about a . . . POP-UP !!!!!!
damn, we gonna be lucky if that little west side ‘bite’ of the Big Apple / island doesn’t rock and roll . . and tip over all of Manhattan . . .
into the Hudson river.
yeah, that good.
that rockin’.
that g-r-i-t-t-y.
F R O M . . . THE A R T L O V E R S ARCHIVE:
check out: PIX FROM THE OPENING . . SEAN VEGEZZI – ‘BEFORE I DIE’ / FEB 6, 2009
yeah, THE SWEETEST, TOUGHEST SHOW on the FACE of the EARTH !!
SEAN VEGEZZI – the card for his 2009 show, ‘BEFORE I DIE’. STANTON CHAPTER POP-UP. NYC.
~from the SUBLIME . . to the downright CRASS / two fakes in one frame
FILE UNDER: GEORGIE PORGY, just took the DEFINITIVE .. DIVE.
so,
it’s worth repeating.
from the SUBLIME . . to the downright CRASS !!
well, that’s how the ART WORLD, REALLY ROCKS !!
the extremes of the scene are: that amazing.
the HAVES who ‘think’ they are, are usually outed eventually, as the far . . bigger ‘HAVE-NOTS’.
esp when it comes to trying to claim a bonafide ‘creativity’ title.
you know, that three pointed ‘crown’ of which . . BASQUIAT always painted.
PHOTO: KIM KARDASHIAN via USMAGAZINE.COM
in another huge, myth-busting reality bites !! mis-step, KANYE WEST had GEORGE CONDO custom paint a huge BIRKIN bag for Kim, for Xmas.
so, yeah . .
if you were sitting on the fence regarding GEORGE CONDO, the definitive balancing act / has finally dropped to one side, and it’s NOT GOOD.
the other shoe has finally dropped,
and surprise, surprise . . NOT.
GEORGE CONDO is a FAKE.
George Condo . . is SO over now, it isn’t even funny.
he would have done better to paint a random cartoon face . . but ultimately all ‘posers’ reach the end of their rope, when the creative power just doesn’t match . . the hype.
if you live in NYC, you know only the real-ist losers . . walk around in their ‘selfies’ !!
i.e. hand-painted clothes or accessories with their own ‘art’, self-painted on it.
desperate or what. they pop-up at all kinds of openings . . . looking like art-bag ladies.
but, haha.
likewise, art blogs can also veer from the generous to the mean . . . !!
looking up GEORGE CONDO, I found a hilarious archival photo by WALTER ROBINSON . . .
I’m calling it: two fakes in one frame.
what . . CECILY, done with the transparent blouses ?!!
CECILY BROWN and GEORGE CONDO. . JULY 2000.
PHOTO BY WALTER ROBINSON, in artnet.
talk about REVENGE of the NERDS !!
when I ‘worked’ at artnet, every now and then .. they, meaning WALTER ROBINSON and CHARLIE FINCH . . would throw these intimate little gatherings to ‘celebrate’ Cecily, and her arrival in the Big Apple.
Cecily, never one to disappoint an art critic . . . always, but ALWAYS !! showed up in 100% sheer transparent blouses with absolutely no undergarments at all.
all I can say is, little ‘piggy snout’ nipples, was the definitive after word, and let’s leave it at that.
all the artnet ‘boys’, oftentimes including a few ‘lucky’ guests, like maybe ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST, would then be herded into a more private room, and I, would be left outside, wandering: wtf !!
I heard a few times that Anthony Haden-Guest had to be actually restrained by physical force, from ripping the sheer material to shreds. if you know the players at all, you know how right I am.
in fact, just between the two of us, ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST is a FAKE, too.
well, like I said.
that’s the art world, for ya.
don’t be having any illusions. rolls from sublime . . to pretty damn ugly, on a dime.
but, it’s fun to lift the curtains sometimes, if you’ve got the ‘goods’.
don’t believe me ?
CECILY BROWN – PHOTO BY PAUL LASTER via artnet
~MERRY XMAS . . DREW MILLER
on the brighter side of things, uh . . maybe.
after all it’s a weird dark world, out there in comic book land.
here’s a little more f-e-s-t-i-v-e reading for all ye unbound, starved for original content . . thinkers & seekers !!
ART WORK & STORY BY – DREW MILLER
FROM: ‘POOR THING’, NUMBER ONE
an original comic book by DREW MILLER, printed on recycled paper with vegetable based inks by NEOGLYPHIC MEDIA.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: CULLEN (FUTUREMAN) BECKHORN
PRINTED IN CASCADIA BROWN PRINTING, PORTLAND OREGON.
DREW MILLER WAS BORN IN 1989.
HE CURRENTLY LIVES IN WASHINGTON.
so: KEENAN REID . . . of WHAT’S UP! posted a great Q+A with DREW MILLER.
I OFFER IT UP, as a great respite from life as usual, and all the other general merry-making going on, this time of year.
yep, READ: ‘POOR THING .. ALL IN BALLPOINT !!’ – WHAT’S UP
note: we first meet up with DREW MILLER at YALE ?!!!
from our archives: JAMES MILLER . . DREW MILLER / AUG 31, 2013
WE WILL RESUME OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING . . SHORTLY.