Observations on Art 3.15

Diana Thater - Day For Night

Armory Week usually brings about a kind of art overload, if that is possible, but there is always something I absolutely love. This year it was a series of videos by artist Diana Thater at the David Zwirner booth. To make the videos Thater said she "placed the flowers on a mirror that reflected the bright blue Los Angeles sky above and filmed them from above on a crane using a day for night filter, which movie directors use to make scenes shot in the day look like they occur at night, and had a rain machine pump rain between the camera and the flowers." The videos were played on the highest of hi-tech screens and are just a stunning shade of blue.

Not long after I mentioned that I have no use for Pinterest I read an article on ArtInfo that listed the ten best art related accounts to follow. Needless to say I'm finding myself addicted to what you could call art porn but I have yet to 'pin' a single thing. That lack of pinning brings to mind a question, how did I get seven followers? If you use Pinterest the article is a good place to start but I would add The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée du Louvre both of which have awesome boards, or maybe I'm just a snob at times.

A quote I posted on tumblr about a month ago has well over 5,000 reposts now. The quote is by Vladimir Nabokov and I'm sure its popularity is saying something about the world we live in but at the moment I don't feel like dwelling on it. This is the quote, "Our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness."

Speaking of quotes, and possibly in some way related to the above paragraph, today is March 15^th, The Ides of March. This would be the day Julius Caesar was assassinated in the year 44 BC. A seer had warned Caesar that harm would come to him no later than the Ides of March. While going to the Theatre of Pompey that day (eerie shades of Lincoln here) Caesar passed the same person and supposedly joked, "The ides of March have come," meaning he was still alive. The seer answered back, "Aye, but not gone." Four years later Octavian executed 300 Roman Senators on the anniversary of Caesar's death.

I have no idea why I think that is important but yet I do. I think it has something to do with the ignorance of  the currently be held CPAC and what people will think of us 2,000 years from now, that is if there are people. It can't be good.

As William Shakespeare wrote simply in Julius Caesar, "beware the Ides of March." I would stay away from theatres too.

Observations on Art 3.10

It's the last day of Art Week and the breakfast conversation isn't so much about art as the dearth of coverage this year. I should say lack of sleep, not helped by the changing of the clocks, may have something to do with the topic because I have never seen a sorrier looking group of artists. Massive quantities of coffee will be needed today if anybody is going to function properly at all.

In all honesty something does just seem off about the fairs this year. It wasn't the crowds, they were there, but more about the feeling, the buzz for lack of a better word. The usual art publications covered all the shows but even The New York Times reviewed only the three major ones (see previous post for links). Here are some of the reasons our gloomy brain trust has come up with.

The big galleries seemed to have stayed away the piers this year leaving a show full of galleries that normally are seen at lesser events. Good for the galleries' exposure but not all that good for the coverage of the overall show. Granted Gagosian was there but in the Focus section which normally is reserved for emerging markets and artists, not for the crown prince of the art world.

Another possible reason we discussed was the show's current owner, Merchandise Mart Property Inc. of Chicago, which is a holding company specializing in trade shows. A major art fair isn't exactly the same as a home builders show. On their website MMPI says they have "assured the continued development and enhancement of the Art Show division by bringing together some of the top minds in art fairs under one partnership." Funny thing to be saying as rumor has it their art fair holdings are currently for sale. According to The Art Newspaper the leading candidate to purchase the fairs is Louise Blouin who is the publisher of Art + Auction, Modern Painters, and owner of Louise Blouin Media. We shall see.

My pet theory, which I mentioned a couple days ago, is the effect the Frieze is having on the Armory Show. Last year it was new and unknown in New York and it did an awesome job. This year the Frieze is a known and more people are planning for it. Being in mid-May it has weather on its side, it snowed for three days this week, and its location on Randall"s Island lets you be in the city but yet feel like you aren't in it at the same time. The Frieze may also be the reason the Armory Show has turned so much more American. I don't think it has as much to do with some misplaced idea of patriotism as it does with major international galleries planning to do one fair in New York and that fair is in May.

In the end maybe the whole reason is the interwebs as Art.sy had the whole show online before it even opened. This could be the main issue art fairs have to deal with in the future if they are going to survive as they are now.

Observations on Art 3.9

Tod Seelie / Suckapants

Sometimes you find something that is just so perfect, so dead on, that you just have to borrow it. Sometimes it's just a short sentence or a quote. In this case it's a headline and two paragraphs I saw in Gothamist yesterday, "10 Photos Of Gallery Assistants Looking Bored At The Armory Show."

"The Armory Show isn't all champagne and $9,000 McDonald's cups, for some forlorn souls, it can be a terribly lonely place, an invisible prison where sudden waves of profound isolation threaten to drown the poor gallery assistants in existential dread when there is NO ONE to peruse their wares.

But the painful truth is that wherever art is bought and sold, the Tree of Commerce must be watered with the blood of gallery assistants. Yet what poet sings songs to ensure their bitter tears of boredom have not streamed not in vain? Who (besides the gallery owners trying to cheat on their wives with their assistants) spares a moment's thought on them? Enter Gothamist LLC to fill this shameful void. Here: a humble photographic hymn to the bored and forgotten gallerinas. Let the world never forget their courageous sacrifice for art! Please let them update their Facebook profile in peace!"

In my experience all too true other than maybe the part about gallery owners cheating on their wives. Click the photo caption or here to see all the photos.

update - Here are links to The New York Times reviews of the three major fairs: Art Dealers of America Association at Park Avenue Armory, the Armory Show at Piers 92 and 94, and the Independent Art Fair.

Observations on Art 3.8.1

Here is another walkthough  from VernissageTV, this one is from Armory Week's newest show the Spring/Break Art Show. In its second year it's little bit different in that it focuses on curators and not on galleries. Rather than simply show what a gallery would like the curators bring together works to interpret the Spring/Break Art Show's theme which this year is New Mysticism. On the show's website the founders describe the theme as "examining how digital semiotics, the Internet, and technology at large, along with the old relics of 20th century visual culture together." There are no Brillo pad boxes here.

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Published on Mar 6, 2013

"Art TV pioneer Vernissage TV provides you with an authentic insight into the world of contemporary fine arts, design and architecture. With its two main series "No Comment" and "Interviews", art tv channel VernissageTV attends opening receptions of exhibitions worldwide, interviews artists, designers, architects. VTV provides art lovers with news, reports and features from the international art scene. VernissageTV: the window to the art world."

Observations on Art 3.8

Of art shows and Brillo pads ....

Every year the Armory Show brings something that everybody falls over themselves to rave about and I just don't care for at all. A couple years ago it was Ivan Navarro's glowing neon "Armory Fence" that was sold for $40,000 per seven foot section. This it was Charles Lutz’s massive pile of cardboard Brillo boxes, literally hundreds of them. A supposed homage to Andy Warhol the boxes were free for the taking so Brillo boxes fought for space in the aisles already crowded with art lovers, art collectors, and wannabes of both varieties. It wasn't so much that I didn't get it, what wasn't to get, but I couldn't fathom the waste of space. A good piece of art should inspire an artist, give them ideas, but all I was inspired to do was paint the inside of a Walmart warehouse. I also felt totally sorry for the cabbies that had to deal with the boxes.

The Brillo boxes are better explained by the show's review in this morning's New York Times. I knew about the changes to the format, what the Times calls a sudden desire to please, and I get that. There is so much competition now with shows and fairs all over town this week and the second Frieze New York in May. The Focus section of the Armory Show is normally dedicated to new markets and their artists, last year it was the Nordic countries, but this year the Focus was on America. It's pretty much an art show in the middle of an art fair with nothing especially new about it. What I didn't know was that Eric Shiner, director of Pittsburgh's Warhol Museum, was the Focus organizer and that explains a lot.

Personally I think that if competition is the Armory Show's biggest worry they would be better off not toying with the makeup of the show but just moving it back a few weeks. Looking out the window at hopefully winter's last gasp, it has been snowing on and off for two days, that seems like a good idea. If I were an art tourist planning a trip to the city for a big art show and I had to choose between the Armory in March or the Frieze in May it wouldn't be much of a decision. Or maybe I would just plan a trip to the Warhol Museum instead, it's probably much cheaper trip but than again it's in Pittsburgh.

This video is a walk through from the first day of the Armory Show by VernissageTV. VTV is an online art channel founded in 2005 and is also free as a podcast on iTunes. Their website has a huge archive of videos worth a look on a rainy or snowy day. Watch for those ever present Brillo pad boxes.

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Observations on Art 3.6

Contrary to prevailing opinion, and as you can see from this film of last year's Volta, art people don't wear exclusively black, it isn't a rule written in some secret handbook of art. Sometimes they do wear bits of other color including white, gray, and khaki. I like the girl just before the one minute mark because she pretty much shows you the method I use when taking in a large show.


Volta NY 2012 from David Willems on Vimeo.
Music by Reefrider - Kinky Cowgirl

PS - I saw some turquoise in this too. Turquoise is a personal favorite and always good for jewelry  It looks good with all the black.

Observations on Art 3.5

To me Art Week has become another of those unofficial indicators that spring is almost here. It also seems to be the opening of the warmer weather tourist season with people wandering and exploring more and not just coming to the city to shop or go to the theatre. In this current political world where we debate even emergency aid visitors may be in for a surprise when the get here. Sandy was the story for a long time but as with everything it passed as other things made headlines. Everybody knows, or should know, that Staten Island and the beach areas of Brooklyn are still devastated but even in Manhattan some areas have yet to recover. Some may never again be what they were.

One of New York main gallery districts is in Chelsea along the Hudson River. During the worst of the storm almost every gallery south and west of 21^st street was flooded and parts of the area were under twenty feet of water. Galleries on the ground floors of buildings were wiped out with thousands of art works destroyed and Reuters now estimates insurance claims for just art will reach $500 million. One totally unforeseen problem is who is responsible for an art work that was paid for by a collector but never picked up. Many of Chelsea's galleries have reopened, some just last week, but whether the district remains as it was is an open question. Galleries like Gargosian and Zwirner can afford to move their inventory at a moments notice, most can't, and with a future of rising sea levels the best option is probably to move the galleries to higher ground. Global warming comes to the art world.

Tourists walking or riding through the gallery districts will have no clue of the turmoil still just under the surface so they probably will be in wonder of the recovery. A visit to the South Street Seaport, another tourist favorite, will probably change their minds.

We decided to do a bit of wandering Sunday and eventually got to the Seaport. To be honest the area looks like it was visited by the zombie apocalypse. By that I mean on fist look it seems fine but look a little closer and something is missing, people. It's eerie to walk down the street between buildings that look just as they did before Sandy hit down to masking tape on the windows and locks on the doors. While the museum and piers are open a majority of the shops and restaurants remain closed months after the storm. Some buildings in the area still have no ll phone service or internet because Verizon's underground cables were destroyed as the East River moved to the west.

Granted the seaport area is a warm weather spot, and it normally is quiet in the winter, but it just seems so dead for lack of a better word. I read somewhere that businesses in the area are having trouble negotiating their leases with property owners who want to charge higher rents to people that lost everything. Other tenants, principally on Front Street, have been told their buildings wont reopen until spring or even early summer. Many businesses will probably move elsewhere, the streets a few blocks off the river seem fine, and wait for the rising river to make the shops waterfront again.

When all is said and done the Seaport will probably be a major tourist spot again but of a different kind. A tourist spot to remind people of what once was before super storms and rising sea levels became the norm or just a reminder of the havoc those storms can cause.

If I seem climate cynical sometimes blame my brother, he fills me with dread at times.

Observations on Art 3.3

Have I mentioned yet that this is Art Week? It's another sure sign that spring isn't too far off. Among other things this year's edition brings the 100^th anniversary of the original Armory Show, the 25^th anniversary of the ADAA Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory, the 15^th anniversary of the current Armory Show on Piers 92 and 94, and the 5^th anniversary of the Salon Zürcher. It's going to be a very busy week and one of the few times of the year I decide to write about art and little else.

Because of the centennial of the original show I think a bit of history and a trivia lesson are called for. Known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art the 1913 Armory Show ran in New York from February 17^th until March 15^th. From there it traveled to Chicago where it was at the Art Institute of Chicago from March 24^th until April 16^th. It became known as the Armory show because in New York it was housed in the 69^th Regiment Armory. Attendance in Chicago was actually twice what it was in New York but, New York being New York, the name stuck.

One of the organizers of the show was Lille P. Bliss who was one of the major art collectors of the day. Bliss, who was never married, devoted her life to bringing modern art to the U.S. and her collection eventually included works by Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and Pablo Picasso. Not only was Bliss one of the show's organizers she also became one its largest buyers. In May 1929 Bliss had lunch with Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and the result was that the Bliss and Rockefeller collections became the foundations of the Museum Of Modern Art which opened later that year.

Not to be outdone Chicago has its own claim to Armory Show fame. Because of the show The Art Institute of Chicago became the first American art museum to show the work of Pablo Picasso, because technically the Regiment Armory wasn't an art museum, but at the time the seven works were labeled with the Americanized Paul Picasso. The Chicago stop is also remembered because AIC students burned Henri Matisse in effigy as the Midwest didn't seem ready for modern art, not that it is now. The Institute is currently running the show "Picasso and Chicago" which includes over 200 of his works. It should be noted that Pablo Picasso himself never set foot in the United States.

After seeing the modern art show photographer Alfred Stieglitz said it was made up of "painters and sculptors who decline to go on doing what the camera does better. You’ll go back to your habitual worship of eternal repetitions of mere externals of people and things that cram all the museums and galleries, but you won’t feel happy. The mere outside of things won’t satisfy you as it used to."

The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia has a huge site devoted to the 1913 show which includes works, vintage reviews and criticism along with current opinions and essays. It's work a look or an afternoon.

Observations on Art 2.18

With Armory Week just two weeks away my mind is turning more towards art and warm weather and away from politics and cold, both of which have me totally irritated right now.

I'm taking the time to post this video because I think it is just so dead on. I have this thing about art projects that are more theatre than anything else. I mean seriously if I stand on a street corner smoking a cigarette and call it an art project does that make it so? It's the question that will never be answered and if it suddenly was we artists wouldn't have anything to argue about all the time because, and this is surprising, not many want to discuss politics with me.

If you have never seen Portlandia it is a quirky comedy sketch show on IFC Friday nights that is now in its third season. Portlandia is produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels' company so you get the idea. I haven't seen many episodes, even though it's a current VQ favorite, but Ash showed me this sketch and I have to say ... yes, yes, yes, my thoughts exactly! I especially like the purse snatcher project called "Meditation on Property."

Just watch, and be sure to watch it to the end, it needs absolutely no other description. I do have one question now and it's this, is this sketch an art project?

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Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.19

My notes, along with my mind, are such a clutter right now that I find myself trying to remember what I did last week and failing. I thought I would dump some thoughts here in a sort of spring mind cleaning post. Perfect time as I'm sitting outside, it feels like a summer day, and I can see tulips blooming. First a few belated messages starting with Happy St. Patrick's Day. Than a happy six month anniversary to Occupy, though I would't use the word happy to describe one having one's head smashed and being thrown in jail, which is what happened Saturday night.

In no particular order some non-art related memories from art week. The Crosby Street Bar is a spot I have to remember, huge bar, gorgeous garden, and a patio to die for when it's finally summer. A proverbial oasis in the city. My first ever taste of absinthe at the same bar, quite possibly my last. The visiting freckle faced vq and her amazing knowledge of German vampire movies. My new unofficial gallery title, the reveur.

To my utter amazement I found myself agreeing with Ann Coulter a few days ago. “I think our party, and particularly our movement, the conservative movement, does have more of a problem with con men and charlatans than the Democratic party,” Coulter told a crowd in Florida. Nobody in the Republican Party is running for President for love of country but simply for themselves. Willard, who turned 65 a few days ago, has all the money a man could ever want but is just bored with it. Willard is running because he has nothing better to do. It seems Santorum is running for god and church, Santorum isn't running for President of the United States but to be Pope. I won't even bother with the other two.

For that matter what does the GOP stand for today? Not for voter rights, gay rights, women's rights, minority rights, or even the right to be healthy. Seems it's now not even for the Violence Against Women Act  if that violence is committed against women who happen to be in the country illegally. All I can think of that they actually stand for is the right of the wealthy to get wealthier. Maybe you can help me out with that.

Final note, In April J&J CEO William Weldon plans on retiring at the old age of 63. The value of his retirement package? $143.5 million.

Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.14

With the closing of all the major fairs on Sunday, and our little Salon on Monday, art week came to an end. I have yet to write about anything I saw during the week but I did get some well needed venting out of the way. That's always a plus, from my side anyway. I still have some posts started that I want to finish and hopefully I'll get to them over the next few days.

One thing I was excited about was the number of women artists having prominent places this year shows and not just at the Salon. The number of solo shows by women hopefully is a trend that will lead to women artists finally catching up with the men in the art market. When I first moved here I was amazed at the number of buyers, men and women alike, who would say point blank that they wouldn't buy a work by a women. At that point Ash normally took over the discussion. I'm seeing less of that now and actually more interest in female artists. Gwenolee Zürcher, who thought up and organized the Salon, said she did so because in her opinion there are too many good artists who don't get enough the attention they deserve simply because they are women. This is one of the topics I want to get back to.

This was the third Art Week since I moved to the Village. The first I barely noticed at all but I had just moved and was busy getting myself settled into my new world. Last year I was more into it all and even though I had been at the Armory Show before it still felt a bit new. I felt more like I was a part of something rather than just a visitor. This year's edition at times felt more like work than play, it was hectic, I was busy, but it was still totally fun. It's something that shouldn't be missed if you love art and happen to be in the city.

One thing I have learned over the years is I'm no big fan of neon in art, maybe I should say neon as art. I still have nightmares about last year's glowing neon fence by Ivan Navarro. This year it seemed every gallery at the Armory Show had a neon sign glowing and humming somewhere in their booth like some kind of psychedelic humming birds from a Tim Burton movie gone terribly wrong. I've never been to Vegas so it all just reminded me of a bad night on the Wildwood boardwalk. Maybe that's been my problem with the neon all along.

And one final thing, iPad art. If Rick Santorum isn't enough of a sign of the coming apocalypse iPad art surely is. 

Observations on Art 3.11

Even with all the art in town this week, all the shows and fairs, people still seem enthralled with the few Damien Hirst pieces at the Armory Show. The man is everywhere these days. Three hundred of Hirst's, and his 100 plus assistants', spot paintings are currently being shown in now extended shows at 11 Gagosian Galleries around the world. This summer also brings another Hirst exhibition at the Tate Modern in London and 2014 will bring us Hirst's own gallery also in London. Talk about overexposed, somewhere Andy Warhol is jealous as hell.

For some reason I have always had a problem with installation art. Maybe my background, education, I'm not sure why. On the other hand an artist's art is their own, hopefully showing what they feel inside. In 2007, as the worl'd economy began its long crash, Hirst created a $100 million diamond encrusted skull and called it For The Love Of God. If this is what he was feeling inside, well, for the love of god indeed. 

British painter David Hockney has said when discussing Hirst and his assistants, “It’s a little insulting to craftsmen, skilful craftsmen. I used to point out at art school, you can teach the craft, it’s the poetry you can’t teach. Now they try to teach the poetry and not the craft.”

I suppose if I got myself a paintball gun, stood back fifty feet, and fired randomly at the side of an old Pennsylvania barn I could call it art and than I would understand.

No, even than I don't think I would get it at all.

I honestly do have some thoughts to share on Art Week and some of what I have seen. Something awesome to see was the large number of women artists represented this year, even beyond the Salon doors.

For what it's worth I saw this quote yesterday that is a good addition to my last post on Occupy Museums. Video artist Yvonne Guzman said that there’s a feeling among younger artists that “the mega-rich collectors and artists are all hanging out together on a different universe somewhere. But the vast majority of artists aren’t a part of that, we’re just getting on with our art.”

Observations on Art 3.9

With all the art fairs going on it's been a hectic, crazy, fun week in the Village. I think I have started five art posts so far but have yet to finish one of them so I guess I'll be spending the next week catching up. This post is more a vent than anything else so I think I'll get it out of the way first.

Over the winter the Occupy movement seems to have gone quiet at times as the non-existent leaders spend their time discussing relevancy or the lack of it. The thing they don't seem to have learned is you can't plan relevancy, you have to go out and make it. Much of what happened in the fall was spontaneous with some help from the NYPD. The return of warm temperatures and the NYPD's continuing problems with hubris should cure all that so it should be an interesting summer leading into the fall election. My vent isn't directed at the movement as a whole but once again at that fringe element of occupy, Occupy Art or Occupy Museums.

Now I don't pretend to understand all the ins and outs of the mainly sociopolitical Occupy so it doesn't thrill me when some of them pretend to understand the art world. Occupy Museums founder Noah Fischer is a graduate of the Columbia School of Art and should know better but also has a well known chip on his shoulder. The money being thrown around this week does tend to confirm some of Occupy Museum's arguments as there is too much money in art and it does put the ability to own works by known artists out of the reach most people. But, as I wrote before, Occupy's campaign is directed in the totally wrong direction. To call for an end to the "elitist" Whitney Biennial and never once mention the Gagosian Galleries is just ignorant because the museums simply show art, they don't sell it, they don't set the price. Occupy could better spend its time protesting at Sotheby's or Gagosian instead of the Whitney and Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Than again Gagosian has some security guards that would make NYPD cry with envy, that might explain a lot.

Granted MOMA has always been a very special place for me, you can call me biased if you want, but sports is also special so here is a little comparison. A 12 game ticket plan for the New York Yankees will cost you anywhere from $90 to $1350 and the games are all weekdays. A single game in the nose bleed level will run you at least $20 and in the 'champagne' section $525. A one day ticket into MOMA is $22.50, $16 for seniors, $12 for students, and children under 16 are free. Try getting your kids into Yankee Stadium for free. There are ten different ways to join MOMA or I guess you could say get a season ticket. For $85 you get admission for a year, weekends included, and your guests can purchase tickets for $5. Skip up to $360 and you can even pull four people of your choice off the street to accompany you every time you visit, for free of course.

All I'm trying to say is this. Sure in a perfect world museums would be publicly supported and admission would be free. But we live in a far from perfect world today so don't fault the museums their admission fees, they don't come close to covering operating costs, and don't expect the government to turn more tax dollars over to the museums anytime soon. Your representatives are too busy spending those dollars building stadiums. It is estimated that the deals to build Yankee stadium cost New York City a combined $362 million to start and, including waived tax revenue, could top over $4 billion during the 40 year run of the deals.

Occupy sports instead of museums.

Observations from the Salon 3.7

Ash and I long ago came to an agreement on music in the gallery, first one in picks the tunes. Obviously when only one of is she is the one who picks. Ash leans towards dance and pop while I take the rock and metal, somehow the middle ground is Lady Gaga which I'll never understand. It always has worked perfectly and people have commented they know who is there before they even see anybody.

Now and than Nicole decides that in her official capacity as assistant she should make important decisions and Monday was such a day. Nicole decided she would pick the soundtrack for the opening of Salon Zürcher and what was it she picked? Yes that would be Carrie Underwood. The geek in me came up with a solution which I borrowed from a radio station back in State College. I linked Ash and Nicole's iPods with my netbook and created one huge shuffle. Metallica faded into Keisha into something called country and all was right in the world.

At this point Bernard Z asked for Jazz.

The best laid plans.

Observations on Art 3.5

(Originally posted on March 3, 2011 during last year's Armory Show.)

The Modern Art era is said to have begun during the American Civil War period, the 1860s, even more precisely in 1863 with the work of Manet. Modern art is characterized by the attempt to capture the essence of a subject rather than the resemblance of it. For just this reason it moved more and more towards abstract as time went by.

The major painters of the early modern period include Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, and Claude Monet, or the Impressionists and Post-impressionists. The early 20th century was dominated by the rivalry between the Cubism of Pablo Picasso and the Fauvism of Henri Matisse. The interwar period saw the rise of Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and the Bauhaus of Wassily Kandinsky.

Finally the post war years saw the birth of Abstract Expressionism which the first American movement to dominate art worldwide. For the first time New York City, and not Paris, was the center of the art world. Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, James Brooks, and many others define this period.

My personal opinion is that the Modern Art period began to end with the death of Jackson Pollock who pioneered the 'drip painting' method in which he laid a canvas on the floor and threw paint on it. But technically the period was extended into the 1960s and even the 70s by the rise of Lyrical Abstraction which was a movement once again dominated by Europeans as the United States struggled with the Vietnam War and it's aftermath.

Either way the era had ended before I ever set eyes on my first brush.

The idea here was to explain the difference between the Modern and Contemporary eras but I seem to have gotten a little carried away so I think I'll make two posts out of this. Hope this was easy enough to understand.

Observations from the Gallery 3.3

A rather unusual late night at the gallery or I guess what I should call the Salon for now. Some random thoughts from the beginning of my personal Art Week.

During the recently ended Fashion Week the Village seemed just slightly more vivid than normal. The cafes, coffee shops and bars were filled with colorful fashionistas in town for the shows. As Art Week begins everything has turned just a bit darker because black, as always, is the color of choice of artists and all their associates.

A little known fact, or a well kept secret, I just discovered is that the Air France lounge at JFK has one hell of a wine selection. In all my years of bartending I don't remember ever having made a french 75 but if you are at the Air France Lounge and not French it's the drink to order. I have no idea why cause they taste like crap.

Here is a bit of conversation in the car back from JFK today. Bernard Z, "So is everybody excited?" Nicole, "Kate forgot all about it." Ash, *rolls eyes. Me, "well". Gwen Z, "Katelyn is a reveur, they forget everything. It is allowed." So from this day forward my excuse for my pathetic short term memory is I am a reveur. It may be true, it may be not be true, but it does have a certain cultured ring to it.

There is nothing quite like listening to French, Dutch, and Swiss individuals arguing over what Chinese food to order from the Szechuan restaurant down the street. One thing you learn quick about Euros is that gestures are as important as words in a conversation and omg they have plenty of them and use them with abandon.

I know a little German to go with my French but I'm keeping that fact to myself. It seems the gallerists from Amsterdam don't especially like the Parisian variety and vice versa and I prefer they didn't know I understood what they were saying. I'm just evil to the end.

This should be a very interesting week at the Salon. 

Observations on Art 3.3

A change of topic here as, Rush Limbaugh be damned, politics takes a much overdue back seat to art. I was chatting with a friend a couple nights ago when a 'holy shit' alarm went off in my head as she mentioned it was March. Suddenly I realized Art Week and all that goes with it had snuck up on me. Honestly you would think the stack of show catalogs somebody had conveniently left on my window seat would have given it away but you would be wrong. Sometimes I just get so wrapped up in politics I forget everything else but how I forgot this is beyond me. Highlights of the week ahead.

Brucennial 2012, Circle in the Square Theater, 159 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village. March 1 - April 20.

Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of Modern Art, 945 Madison Avenue. March 1 - May 27.

Salon Zurcher, 33 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village. The ultimate in missed clues. Really the owners flying in later today should have given this one away but sometimes my head is just is off in another world. Galleries from Amsterdam and Paris are setting up this weekend so it should be fascinating.
March 5 - March 12.

ADAA (Art Dealers Association of America) Art Show, Park Avenue Armory. This is the 50^th edition of the longest running art fair in America. A must see here will be an all-women booth at Galerie LeLong, featuring works by Louise Bourgeois, Petah Coyne, Jane Hammond, Ana Mendieta, Yoko Ono, Nancy Spero, Ursula von Rydingsvard and others.
March 7 - March 11.

Scope New York, the so called Scope Pavilion, 57^th Street and 12^th Avenue. Scope benefits the Chashama Foundation which converts vacant properties into art spaces.
March 7 - March 11.

Volta New York, 7 West 34^th Street. The New York edition of the Basel art fair calls itself a platform for challenging, often complementary, sometimes competing ideas about contemporary art.
March 8 - March 11.

The Armory Show, Piers 92 & 94, Manhattan. This year the huge contemporary and modern art fair has fewer dealers with larger areas, hopefully no neon fences, and an opening night party at the Museum of Modern Art.
March 8 - March 11.

You can add to these the Independent, Moving Image Video Art Fair, Korean Art Show, Fountain Art Fair, PooL Art Fair, New City Art Fair, the Cindy Sherman exhibit at MOMA, and the John Chamberlain exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum.

That should give you a pretty good idea of Art Week 2012.

Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.11

I haven’t posted anything for a couple days because I have been busy getting caught up after last week and getting the gallery back to normal for the coming weekend. But also because I have been thinking about where I want to go with this blog. I totally enjoyed writing about Armory Week and about the art so I think I'll be doing a lot more of that in one way or another. I also had a suggestion that I use more photos with my posts so I may try to do that too. Other than those changes I suppose it's just going to be more of the same ranting for now because I enjoying ranting and you should do what you do best.

But I did have a few other theories on new directions to take like sports, sex, horoscopes, or maybe just a combination of all three. I could read the stars and predict this weekend’s game results while I answer questions. Sort of Dan Savage meets Chris Berman. That's an idea I have to ponder longer but one problem I already foresee is the stars say Philly teams are going to win everything. Now that won’t go over big with any New York fans I happen to know.

Just to get back into it I’m going to throw in one micro-rant here. Something I could go on about but Stephen Colbert said it much better on Twitter last night. "@StephenAtHome: Scott Walker took down the unions! Wisconsin's budget problem is fixed! Now on to the part of the deficit caused by gay marriage."

Stay tuned ....

The Boxer Rebellion - Flashing Red Light Means Go

Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.8

I suppose it is finally time to wrap up my writing on Armory Week and get back to the real world. Maybe it would be better to say my world which doesn't seem all that real sometimes. It's a little sad because I enjoyed the week and enjoyed writing about it so don't be surprised if you see me doing a lot more art writing.

Here are some final thoughts ....

In a week filled with art a few things did leave a lasting impression. Among the best was a set of seven, out of 23 known, brightly colored plaster busts from the series "Heads" by the late David Wojnarowicz. A collector had spent years putting the seven together and the complete set sold for $300,000. For me another real treat to see was a Robert Mapplethorpe dye transfer print the name of which escapes me. Dye transfer itself is a dying photo printing technique due to the fact that Kodak no longer makes the chemicals needed to do it.

Something that made a very negative impression was Ivan Navarro's glowing neon-lit fence titled "The Armory Fence." So many people said so many good things about it but I just didn't like it at all. Maybe it would have worked for me at a Las Vegas Art Fair along with the velvet Elvis paintings but it just didn't work for me here. The fence totaled 82 feet around an open floor and was priced at $40,000 per seven foot section but I have no idea if any of them sold. You might look for it at a trailer park near you.

A question I heard often was whether New York, a city filled with galleries and museums, really needs a major art fair at all. The best answer I found to the question was this; "New York is a city without parallel in this world, and we want to support it, and keep in contact with curators here," said Tim Marlow, director of London gallery White Cube. I'm no expert on these things but I personally think New York without a major Art Fair would be like San Francisco without a major Gay Pride event. It just shouldn’t be allowed to happen if we expect the world to keep spinning in the proper direction.

In the end Armory Week may be the closest I'll ever come to a Penn State football weekend in New York City. Except it only happens once a year, it lasts a week, there probably isn't as much to eat or drink, and the attire of choice is a bit darker in New York.

Metric - Black Sheep

Observations from the Coffee Shop 3.7

There is one thing I have yet to get used to about New York. I met the VQ for lunch today and ordered a Philly cheesesteak because I was totally famished. Where the hell is the sauce? I still forget I have to ask for sauce here. Damn Yankee fans.

When you first arrive at the Armory Show you are greeted by an industrial size elevator that takes you to the main floor. What is fun is taking a quick look at who joins you for that ride and if your lucky enough you will get a microcosm of the art world itself. My first group was mainly female but still a varied group. Among them a younger girl in camo fatigues and headphones, an older woman in fur talking on her cell phone, two Eastern European model types dressed in black and knee high boots, and a middle aged man who looked like my dad if my dad had been a physics professor with a penchant for Hawaiian print polo shirts and silk scarves.

What had to be my fav line of the whole week was this. I was eating dinner one night with a group of friends when a friend of Ash came to the table to say hello. One guy was sitting at the table with us and Ash's friend leaned over and said to him “I’m sorry but I have to say this but I hate men! Not you though, I don’t even know you."

Something I try to never do is the Euro cheek kiss greeting but I totally had major problems with that this week. To many Euros around to start with plus in the shows you can't see far enough ahead to get yourself ready before somebody sees you and boom heyas kiss kiss. But my height still comes in handy in these situations because not many people carry a stool around with them.

I know Armory Week is now passed and it's time to move on to other things including a piece I want to write on Contemporary Art. But I don't think this is my last Armory Week post because I just have so much I still need to get out of my head.

Kings Of Leon - Pyro