November 2006 Archive

Bailis and Abercrombie on the road at Vox

Suitcase, by Leah Bailis A last minute quickie on the shows at Vox Populi, which, two days ago, was still sitting on the fence about where the gallery will move, once it’s are forced out of the Gilbert Building in mid-January. Cinder Blocks, by Leah Bailis With all the stresses of the gallery having to move Leah Bailis’ exhibit The Architecture of Independent People, with its cardboard sculptures of absence and loss in life on the move seemed particularly apt. But it was her cardboard replicas of cinderblocks piled in a corner that stole my heart, partly because of its ... More » »

From musical hosiery to modern plumbing in Madrid’s Costume Museum

Andrea Kirsh posts on her visit to Madrid [First we give you Paris, now Madrid.] Rococco clothes that looked as though Goya’s tapestry cartoons and early paintings had come to life. An unexpected treat of my trip to Madrid was a visit to the Museo del Traje (Costume Museum), located in the far West, next to Cuidad Universitaria. The 1970′s structure was built as a museum of contemporary art before the founding of the Reina Sofia, and in 2004 assumed the present arrangement as a Museum of Costume and Ethnological Research Center. The installations speak of a big budget and ... More » »

Paris Hilton, Paris Subway

Karen Kilimnik exhibit advertised in the Paris Metro. The painting is called “Marie Antoinette taking a walk in her hermitage hideaway, 1750″ and of course it’s Paris Hilton.Hello me hearties, we are having a grand time in the city where grand was invented. Yesterday Stella and I went to see the Karen Kilimnik exhibition at the Musee d’arte Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The show is a trip and a half and I’ll have more later. I just wanted to share this photo I took of a poster for the show — It’s Paris Hilton in the Paris Metro. ... More » »

Turducken

Leo Sewell’s Doc Duck is anassemblage of surgical instruments transformed into a representation of aduck. (I think this is the right description for this photo) Gobble, gobble. I thought this could pass as turducken. Have a good one. Oh, and the duck is now on exhibit as part of the Metals and More show of works by 18 Philadelphia sculptors in City Hall. The exhibit, curated by artist Charles Burwell, runs to Feb. 2007 on the second and fourth floors of City Hall. Also in the show, besides Leo Sewell, who I believe did this duck, are: I. George Bilyk, ... More » »

Weekly update – Tesoros: Drama and magic

Here’s a copy of Roberta’s piece in this week’s Philadelphia Weekly, with some added images. by Roberta Fallon Virgen de Aranzazu, by Cristóbal de Villalpando It’s not often you can use the word splendid, but splendid—brilliant, radiant, showy and grand—is what “Tesoros” is. Six years in the planning and 250 objects strong, “Tesoros: The Arts in Latin America, 1492-1820” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a celebration of the mix of native, African and European cultures that wove themselves together in colonial Latin America. You might think that sounds like a dry history lesson, but it’s not. The show ... More » »

Values and The Gross Clinic

A couple of things struck me about the sale of the Gross Clinic as I listened to the WHYY Radio Times discussion over the past hour (follow to previous posts by going here and keep clicking backward to follow the thread). The value of a great piece of art has nothing to do with its price. The art is a thing that carries its own value, in this case by being a symbol of the City of Philadelphia and its values. A false equation Therefore, to compare its monetary value to the use of that money for some other charity ... More » »

Absence and presence: Wijnanda Deroo and Mary Parisi at Rowan

Bird With Rubberbands, by Mary Parisi, C print, 30 x 30 To follow up on Roberta’s internationalism theme, I headed to an exhibit of photographs by Dutch photographer Wijnanda Deroo and Californian Mary Parisi. Oh, well, Deroo actually lives in upstate New York. But that outsider eye definitely informs some of what she photographs. The exhibit, Behind Closed Doors, at Rowan University’s Westby Gallery, is a good pairing of two photographers who shoot interiors devoid of people. Intimations of plastic slip covers Dining Room, C print, 30 x 40″, by Deroo Deroo shoots interiors chilled by the lack of people, ... More » »

When to protest the Eakins sale

Sunday rallies to protest the removal of The Gross Clinic, by Thomas Eakins, to Arkansas, will be held 10-11 a.m. at 10th and Locust in front of Jefferson Medical College’s Alumni Hall, which houses the Eakins right now. [After reading in the Philadelphia Inquirer that daily noon-time vigils were scheduled, I contacted protest organizer Patrick Connors to check the facts. Here's Patrick's email in response to my query]. From Patrick Connors: Dear Libby, thanks for the email and interest. You did not get your facts wrong (see posts here and here). The problem here is we are somewhat a flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants ... More » »

Philadelphia rediscovered by New York Times

This in from Dan Schimmel: Thought this might interest you all if you missed it in the weekend N.Y. Times Travel magazine. Thanks, Dan. We knew the Times was running around town interviewing art people, but we didn’t know when the piece was coming out. We’re pouting a little, since they didn’t talk to us, but we’ll get over it, especially because this is the sort of press we think Philadelphia art deserves. So maybe they didn’t hear us banging the drum, but they heard the drum banging. For $26 and a load of wampum It’s pretty funny that the ... More » »

Vigil for art

If the Inquirer is right, I got the timing wrong of the continuing vigil in front of Jefferson’s Alumni Hall, 10th and Locust. I have an email out to double check what’s accurate. As soon as I get the correct info, I’ll post it and add a correction to the original post.