June 2009 Archive

People we love in places we love that are not Philadelphia!

If you’re on the road this summer, or hanging out far and wide, we have some tips here of Philadelphia artists who are all over the place. Italy to Cyprus by way of L.A.

Return of the RSS feed button

Hello artblog readers, the RSS feed button is now working!  Thought you’d like to know.  (It’s the orange and white striped button in the right column…left one of the two buttons at the top).

Christine Jones: Line Drawings at a Crossroads

Artist Manya Scheps, who wrote this post, is a recent BFA graduate of University of Pennsylvania and member of the Pifas collective. Subscribe to her new quarterly print publication, New Asshole, at the website, or pick up a copy at AHN/VHS.  The publication provides critical writing about Philadelphia’s DIY art scene.

Herb and Dorothy in art wonderland–a movie review

Two art movies I saw this weekend have very little in common except for their smart storytelling and their reverence for art, artists and, in the case of Herb and Dorothy, art collectors. Both movies are great and here’s my take on the documentary about the amazing art collectors, the Vogels.  I’ll tell you about Seraphine, a movie about a 19th Century self-taught cleaning lady, in another post. You will not spend a sweeter 89 minutes this summer than in the company of Herb and Dorothy.  The story of the postal worker and his wife, the reference librarian, who quietly and ... More » »

Battle Hymn at the Armory and other Hidden City offerings

Large and particularly bland office buildings line the gradual ascent of Market Street westward, as it prepares to cross the Schuylkill.  I was headed to the First Troop Armory; I’d read the address, but couldn’t quite remember it.  My eyes were out for the blue easel which sits on the sidewalk and marks all Hidden City venues, but what caught me first was the giant rusticated turret sticking out just south on 23rd St.  This, clearly, was my destination.  Though I’d passed the spot countless times, and though I’m endlessly curious about the city’s buildings, I’d somehow failed to ever ... More » »

Airport opp for obsessive collectors of everyday stuff, you know who you are

Leah Douglas, Director of Exhibitions at Philadelphia International Airport, is looking for people in the region who collect everyday ordinary things as a hobby or private obsession for a new show of collections at the airport.  If you have a collection of small to mid-size objects you’d like to see displayed at the airport — you know, coffee mugs, teaspoons, bumper stickers, campaign buttons, postcards, etc., get in touch with Leah pronto.  She’s trying to organize a show for July.  The collections should be of small to mid-size objects, and around 20-50 objects per collection will be shown, she says. ... More » »

YOUR LAST CHANCE IS TOMORROW: Dirt on Delight

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia If the art world was a High School and the students in it were the mediums in which an artist could work, video, sculpture in general, and installation would currently be vying for the title of coolest kid. Each medium fashionably dressed with a hint of outsider rebellion even though they are firmly aware they fit right in. Screen-printing is the highly amusing social butterfly who fits in with everyone. Painting might be like a head cheerleader or have some position on the football team, drawing/works on paper might be her slightly mousier best ... More » »

“Running True”; Carolyn Healy and John Phillips at Disston Saw Works

Commissioned art is always a gamble, the more so when intended to illuminate the history, function and architecture of the site itself. When it works the result is more than the sum of its parts; Carolyn Healy and John Phillips’ Running True at Disston Saw Works (part of Hidden Philadelphia and open through Sunday, June 28) is an extraordinary success: an installation which multiplies the value of its constituent parts.

Interview: Lance Winn on Delaware in Philly, his art and 9/11

I met Lance Winn a couple of years ago at the Crane Arts Center. He was gallery sitting the MFA show there from the University of Delaware, sharing his enthusiasm for the students’ work.

Anri Sala and Marshall Allen: Video duet at the Royal Theater

Some came for the music, others for the art; but I suspect the majority of the audience came for a glimpse of the evocative decay of the Royal Theater’s once splendid interior; the theater at 1524 South St. was built in 1920 when movie houses were still palaces, but has been closed for the past 40 years.