November 2008 Archive

Elevators of New York–We will rise

Ad in an elevator for screenprints by Mickalene Thomas of Michelle Obama a la Andy’s Jackies. The prints are from bxpinc.com which is really http://www.neptunefineart.com/ . Roberta and I were in NYC last week (story on its way), where we rode our share of elevators through stacked gallery buildings. One of the elevators was plastered with postcards for exhibits–as well as this fast-off-the-press screenprint, Michelle O, by Mickalene Thomas, Camden-girl-done-good. The appropriation of her royal Jackie-ness and the appropriation of the “O,” now for the Obamas, rolled into one Warholian screen print seems pretty hilarious and perfect to me! I ... More » »

Kessler documentary on Arbus’ Huberts photos

Post by Chris Paquette Documentation that supports that a cache of photos discovered last year of Huberts Side Show people were taken by Diane Arbus. Those who attended the November 13th Salon du Festival event, part of this weekend’s First Person Arts Festival, missed some of David Kessler’s documentary, The Huberts Collector on the Diane Art-Bus, about the lost Diane Arbus photos from her early days of hanging out with the freaks at Huberts Side Show in New York City. Kessler’s film had to be shown on a back up DVD player when the first system failed to operate. The ... More » »

Shanghai and Singapore post alert

Philagrafika head dude Jose Roca is posting about his travels in Asia on a Warhol Grant on the Philagrafika blog. His most recent post, from Singapore and Shanghai, is full of great information and images. Check it out. And thanks to Caitlin Perkins for letting us know about this!!!

Silent Mayhem at Heaven’s Gate

Post by Lisa Hanson  Yuri MakoveychukHeaven’s Gateoil on canvas 30 x 48 When I hear the phrase “Heaven’s Gate,” I immediately think of St. Peter amongst clouds and the grandeur of a pearly white entrance into bliss. Yuri Makoveychuk clearly has a different image in his mind. His exhibition at Cerulean Arts depicts eerily quiet scenes in which a sense of pandemonium tries to break through a monochromatic palette. In his artistic statement, he acknowledges that Heaven’s Gate may also allude to the religious cult of the same name. This group is notorious for their 1997 mass suicide that coincided ... More » »

Weekly Update – New galleries in town!

This week’s Weekly has my roundup of new galleries. Below is the copy with some pictures and additional words. For most galleries, it’s a stuggle to sell enough art to pay the rent.  In Philadelphia many galleries supplement by selling offsite at the art fairs (often more successful financially than shows in town).  And many of the newest venues for art have a different business model altogether, selling coffee, tea, picture frames, etc in the front or back office – and running a gallery to boot. Many new galleries have opened around town lately. Here’s a breakdown of who’s selling ... More » »

Minna and Ben weather weird weather and marry

Here are Minna and Ben right after the ceremony. The chuppah (wedding canopy–in the background) was made by yours truly and her good friend Millie! I know I mentioned the my daughter Minna got married Oct. 25. So now it’s my daughter Minna and my son-in-law Ben. (I just heard a mother-in-law joke on television and suddenly realized, oh, dear, that’s me!) Like everyone involved in a wedding, I thought this was the best one ever. Murray right after the ceremony. I bet he’s saying, Awww, that was a snap! I thought I’d share some pictures and I also thought ... More » »

Alternate Art and Spiritual Worlds

Radcliffe Bailey Storm at Sea (2006), piano keys, African sculpture, model boat, paper, acrylic, glitter, and gold leaf 212 x 213 inches Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York © Radcliffe BaileyI went out to P.S.1 Friday to see Neohoodoo: art for a forgotten faith, co-organized with the Menil Collection, Houston. According to the press release the exhibition challenges conceptions of insider and outsider art, as a number of the artists from North, Central and South America incorporated vernacular religious forms and practices in works that address contemporary ritual and spirituality. Vernacular expressions of faith were much ... More » »

On fish and letting things go — Frank Gehry gets the Collab Design Excellence award

Photo of Frank Gehry, Sept. 2003. From architecture website Frank Gehry received the 2008 Collab Design Excellence Award at the PMA Nov. 7, the day before his exhibit in the Perelman Building, “Design Process and the Lewis House,” opened. The white-haired architect, 79, known for his billowing-shaped Titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and other experimental works (including early corrugated cardboard furniture) showed slides and spoke about his work after receiving the Collab award — a mobius-strip-shaped pink object that he held this way and that after it was given to him, puzzling out its unusual shape. (The award was shaped that ... More » »

100 Years of Futurism: Conference at Penn

Umberto Boccioni, caricature of the Futurist serata held in Treviso on 2 June 1911, reproduced in Uno, due, tre, 17 June 1911. The Center for Italian Studies and the History of Art Department at the University of Pennsylvania and the Slought Foundation are holding a two-day international conference Futurism: Rupture and Tradition, on Friday, November 21, 9:30am-6:00pm and Saturday, November 22, 9:30-12:00pm. It will be held at Slought. In addition to artist Luca Buvoli (see image below), the speakers will include Jeffrey Schnapp, Luca Somigli, Ara H. Merjian, Jonathan Steinberg, Christine Poggi, Stefania Benini, Marion Kant, Maria Elena Versari, Paolo ... More » »

First Friday faves–all God’s children got shoes

Sarah McEneaney rocked the boat in her uniformly excellent exhibit at Locks Gallery (see Roberta’s Weekly Update), the first place I visited First Friday. And my next stop, the Collections show, curated by Luren Jenison, at Copy Gallery(see Brandon Joyce’s post here), was also a terrific surprise!!! I saw several other exhibits, somewhat uneven, but with some gems. Here’s why: William Lamson–Hunt and Gather, at Vox Populi (video of the video provided by Roberta) I saw two art pieces involving the Philly fave practice of hanging shoes from an electric wire on the street. The piece I wanted to take ... More » »