June 2010 Archive

Philadelphia theater in review — The year of the small company

by Debra Miller Without a doubt, Philadelphia has emerged at last as a thriving theater community that offers a wide variety of productions, nearly year-round. From the experimental to the classics, from dramas to comedies, from the intimate grass-roots startups with shoestring budgets in rented venues to the well-established and moneyed mainstays in their own grandiose buildings, there is something here to fit every taste and pocketbook. This season Amaryllis Theatre Company priced tickets to all of its performances at $10 ($5 for students)—less than the cost of a movie ticket. There is simply no excuse for anyone in Philadelphia ... More » »

Contemporary Art, Who Cares? A conference in Amsterdam

Those who care for modern art and particularly for art produced since World War II face challenges unknown from their experience with earlier artwork; not only materials known to be impermanent (newspaper, latex, chocolate) or of unknown permanence (plastics, color photographs, felt-tip pen inks) but also working parts, intentionally ephemeral work, and  pieces involving hardware, such as cathode ray tubes, that become obsolete. Some works also include living material (animal and vegetable), current vernacular items, refuse and/or garbage. The presence of the artist, who inevitably retains a connection with the work, although not always one supported by moral rights law, ... More » »

Fruit basket upset – John Baldessari’s iPhone app lets you re-arrange a Dutch masterpiece

Jori Finkel’s story on Culture Monster tells only half the story, namely that  courtesy of John Baldessari’s new iPhone app (previewable online here), you can re-arrange the 17th Century still life to suit your own fancy. What it doesn’t say is how much fun it is. Quick, go play with your food!

Weekly Update – Business works at Bridgette Mayer

Shepherding a commercial gallery into adulthood requires the faith of Job and a will of steel. Bridgette Mayer Gallery on Washington Square North, 9 years old this year, is about to catapult itself to adult status with a move early in 2011 to a much larger space and expanded exhibition programming that includes museum-quality shows, panel discussions for artists and collectors and one-off solo exhibitions of international artists along the lines of Kara Walker and Yayoi Kusama.

Seduction, revulsion in L.A.–Studio visit with Cynthia Minet

The Brewery in Los Angeles used to be a Pabst brewery; now it’s a complex of old brick buildings–22 in all, some dating to 1888–on 23 acres of concrete grittiness, punctuated by a monumental chimney. But behind the brick and concrete walls and expanses of concrete and parking  is a beehive of about 500 artists and art-related businesses. Some of the places are residences as well as studios. And the people there sponser a semi-annual ArtWalk that draws huge crowds–there’s one coming up Oct. 9 & 10. More than 100 artists participated in the last one, in the spring.

News from our corporate headquarters

You may call us TheArtblog, Inc now.  It’s our official corporate title in the state of Pennsylvania.  Roberta is President and Libby is CEO of our new (soon-to-be) non-profit.  Here are the officers posing with their briefcases. We haven’t gone out to buy our power suits yet. : ) : )

First Friday at Extra Extra, and Inaugural Shows at Artspace Liberti and the Great and Terrible Collective

As visitors enter Nik Pence and Alyse Ronayne’s installation “Liminal Refraction” at Extra Extra Gallery, they may feel as though they have stepped through Alice’s looking glass. A large wooden frame constructed by Pence divides the gallery space into two halves. This frame at first seems to signify a mirror. Two suitcases have been positioned on either side of the structure at similar angles—as have two rocks, two hammers, and two overturned plants. At closer range, however, it becomes clear that the objects on either side of the frame are not quite identical.

The harmony networks – It’s Who You Know at Projects Gallery

Projects Gallery did something unique for their current exhibition. Instead of choosing 25 artists for a summer group show, they chose five and asked them to each pick five more. The show’s fate rested on networking.

Letter From Paris: Dynasty. A Feast Of Disney, Dust & Dinner

The massive two-museum blast of Dynasty, an exhibition of 40 artists at the Palais de Tokyo and the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, is something of a moveable feast of contemporary French art – a collision of dust and Disney with a bit of dinnertime thrown in. The concept, launched by directors Marc-Olivier Wahler and Fabrice Hergott was to invite youngish artists working in France to exhibit two sets of works in each museum. (The two art spaces sit side-by-side looking out towards the Seine River). A stereo effect was anticipated across the vast 5,000-square meters of ... More » »

City Hall celebrates its new art gallery

No one was beaming more last night than the parents of Philly’s art czar, who has created a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!