February 2007 Archive

Talking with Darlene Charneco about Second Life

Libby and I encountered art by Darlene Charneco when we went to Pentimenti Gallery a few weeks back. See our first Look! video for more. After the video went up, I got contacted by Darlene via my flickr site where she has an active presence, posting lots of pictures. As I explored the links on her flickr and website I noticed she was a Second Lifer and was active in that synthetic world, something I found completely consistent with the art she makes (utopian, pretty, kind of child-like). So I emailed her to ask if she’d answer some questions about ... More » »

Second Life on artblog

The Weekly has a cover story on the next new thing and I wrote a piece about Second Life, the online community, as the next new art scene. Unfortunately, because of a printing glitch, the page with my piece (and two pieces by Matt Prigge) got left out of the print issue of the paper. Oh well. But because there is truly second life on the internet, my piece (and Matt’s pieces) are available at the Weekly’s website. Below is what I wrote. And stay tuned for a Q&A with a Second Life participant, artist Darlene Charneco. Next Art Scene: ... More » »

Little break in the action

The blog has been updated with a new feature! Check out the list of labels on the left. Unfortunately, in the course of the move, the little ads on the right took a break. We’re not sure how long it will take to recover them. But we’re optimistic!

Weekly Update – Amy S. Kauffman at Painted Bride

This week’s Weekly has my Editor’s Pick review of Amy S. Kauffman‘s exhibit (from scratch) at Painted Bride. Below is the copy with pictures. And be sure to read Amy’s letter to us about the delicate paper objects getting damaged. I saw the show before the damage occured and the photos reflect the show as it was before the artist moved the works around to protect them. Here’s Libby’s post on the show which was also featured in our first Look! video. Amy S. Kauffman’s starburst floor piece made from Starburst candy wrappers individual folded into tiny boatsAmy S. Kauffman’s ... More » »

Chris Lyon, dead at age 33

Chris Lyon, Balducko** I got a sad note from gallerist Bridgette Mayer today announcing the death in a motorcycle accident of a young artist, Chris Lyon, 33, whose solo show was scheduled to open at the gallery in March. We are saddened by the news about this young artist and his tragic accident. And we wish his family love in this time of sadness. Mayer, who is working with the family, says the artist’s exhibition will take place in March as planned. This is his third solo exhibit with the gallery. The artist died January 9, 2007, when his motorcycle ... More » »

Afterword on Nick Lenker’s chutes and ladders

A detail of Nick Lenker’s Window on Broad installation Somehow, we didn’t say enough about Nick Lenker’s ceramic window installation in the Window on Broad, 333 S. Broad St. in the most recent Look! It’s Libby and Roberta. The ceramic shelves and figures that comprise the installation succeed because they draw you in with the charming/scary details of their Grimm’s fairy tale narratives. But the stacked worlds also serve as levels of a video game, with chutes and ladders linking them. In another age, of course, it’s the levels of Hell or any other system of multiple realities. A view ... More » »

Look! It’s Libby and Roberta, episode 2

Videographer: David Kessler In the order seen:–Jon Poblador is at Larry Becker Contemporary Art. –Nick Lenker is at the Window on Broad Street, 333 S. Broad Street, for the month of February. –Jina Valentine is at Fleisher-Ollman Gallery.

Projects and art fair postscript

Voice Mail, by Orly Cogan In light of Roberta’s post on copyright, it seems like just the right time to mention that Recycled, the show at Projects Gallery until the 25th, includes art using materials borrowed from elsewhere, including coloring book pages. I’m trying to imagine the young artist who did the coloring, taking artist Tom Judd to court for infringement of intellectual property rights. Meaning of Life #37, by Tom Judd, 12 x 12″, oil/collage/panel Anyway, a some new faces are showing up at Projects. Included in the new crowd is Orly Cogan, a sewer of recycled artifacts–this one ... More » »

Copyright in the digital age

My son Max and I went to the College Art Association‘s session on copyright on Friday. “Reexamining Appropriation: The Copy, The Law, and Beyond, Part 1″ was held at the New York City Bar Association, and included on the panel were Judge Pierre N. Leval of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and William Patry, Google’s copyright law expert (he’s also a blogger!) and three art historians, Lisa Pon (Meadows School of the Arts, SMU), Johanna Burton (Princeton) and Jaimey Hamilton (U of Hawaii). I took copious — although, as it turns out, a little spotty — ... More » »

Beauty and the beast of war–on the streets

anonymous sticker art, 8″ wide While I’m on the subject of guns (see previous post), when you see this much gun art, you know the war in Iraq and the local death toll from gun violence is creating anxiety among young artists. I pulled this baby off a telephone pole. It looks like it’s stenciled with either an airbrush or spray can. It’s a beautiful, pearlescent lipstick color on a kraft-paper sticker. Unfortunately, flattening guns, making them pretty and turning them into art is not the same as doing something about them. But it does help manage our anxieties and ... More » »