Posts By
Interview with Noah Krell, featured in White Boys at Haverford College
by Em Meine Photographer and video artist Noah Krell documents peculiar human interactions in his work. Krell uses what he describes as asymmetrical power dynamics to heighten awareness of relationships, either between the characters in his videos or between the viewer and the work itself. His videos make you feel as though a clue is hidden nearby, perhaps as close as the next frame, which will make sense of what you’re watching. Two of Krell’s videos, To Move A Body (Piggyback) (2010) and 30th Birthday Shave (2008), are currently on view in the exhibition “White Boys” at Haverford College’s Cantor ... More » »
The New World Order of Plato’s Porno Cave at Little Berlin
By Julius Ferraro Plato’s Porno Cave: The New World is March’s curatorial project at Kensington’s Little Berlin gallery. The programming, featuring ten events priced at less than $10 each, includes movie nights, musical performances, shamans, acrobats, puppets, fire breathers, interactive structural art pieces, two original plays, and a wild opening night reception party. The purpose of Plato’s Porno Cave (PPC), according to curators Marshall James Kavanaugh and Augustus Depenbrock, is to explore “economics, science, language, and physical reality,” and “create a mythology for a truly new world,” based on the ethics of Plato’s Republic, the myths of the Mayan Popol Vuh, and ... More » »
Wangechi Mutu’s Afro-feminist works inaugurate Leonard Pearlstein Gallery’s great new space at Drexel
Post by Jaclyn Seufert The works by Wangechi Mutu at Drexel’s Leonard Pearlstein Gallery inaugurate the gallery’s new space in the Urbn Center Annex with a bang. It’s a big show by an important international artist whose provocative works speak forcefully to issues of women’s empowerment and self-image. The show should propel discussions all over town. Gallery Director Dr. Joseph Gregory told me it has long been his wish to give the Kenya-born, Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist a show at Drexel, and this foundational show at the new gallery, with its high ceilings and almost 5,000 square feet of space, was ... More » »
Bell’Italia Art New and Old – An observation on art in Italy in three parts, Part 3
by Virginia Maksymowicz and Blaise Tobia Part 3: Sicily The railroad from the Italian mainland to Sicily must cross the strait of Messina, bypassing the twin perils of Scylla (a rock formation) and Charybdis (a whirlpool) that challenged the mythical Odysseus. Since there is no bridge, the only means of transport is a ferry. At Villa San Giovanni, the back of the huge ferry opens like the jaws of an alligator, swallowing up the entire chain of carriages. At Messina, the front end opens and the train is spat out onto a set of tracks on the other side. So ... More » »
Bell’Italia Art New and Old – An observation on art in Italy in three parts, Part 2
by Virginia Maksymowicz and Blaise Tobia Part 2: More Rome, on to Naples The best part of visiting any city is wandering its streets; in Rome, of course, one expects chance encounters with marvelous churches, sculptural monuments, historic ruins and scavi (archeological excavations). But contemporary street art abounds as well. Some of it is obvious, such as the graffiti in the metro that transported us (as native New Yorkers) back to the 1980s of Lady Pink and DAZE. Some of it is subtle, like the small, black and white stickers of a man sporting sunglasses and a priest’s collar, stenciled ... More » »
Bell’Italia Art New and Old – Observations on art in Italy in three parts, Part 1
by Virginia Maksymowicz and Blaise Tobia Part 1: Verona, Milan, Padua and Rome We spent the months of November and December traveling through Italy in connection with Blaise’s new photo project and Virginia’s sabbatical research leave. We’ve visited Italy nearly a dozen times now, and speak the language reasonably well. We’ve also learned an important lesson: in order to fully experience this country, one must not overplan the day. Galleries that should be open might be closed. Museums that should be closed, might let you in if you knock. Appointments to meet people may fall through, but chance encounters can ... More » »
Report from San Francisco – A mix of art and science
by Diane Burko and Richard Ryan Just back from a week long American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in San Francisco on all things geological, where Diane was invited to give a paper. Here is how they describe it: “The AGU Fall Meeting is the largest worldwide conference in the geophysical sciences, attracting nearly 20,000 Earth and space scientists, educators, students, and policy makers. This meeting showcases current scientific theory focused on discoveries that will benefit humanity and ensure a sustainable future for our planet.” Sunday began with a screening of Chasing Ice, the story of James Balog’s mission to change ... More » »
Art in China, Part 2 – Hidden galleries in Hong Kong, factory-produced paintings in Shenzhen and mega-education center in Guangzhou
By Virginia Maksymowicz and Blaise Tobia After ten days in Beijing, we flew to Hong Kong, which we absolutely loved. In many respects—including scale, sheer beauty, wonderful public transportation, fabulous and varied food—it may be the greatest city in the world. But unfortunately, these superlatives don’t apply to its contemporary art scene, which is extremely underdeveloped in view of the city’s financial and mercantile power. Although galleries exist, it was hard to find them. The gallery guide we picked up on the mainland didn’t include Hong Kong and the gallery map we snagged at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre ... More » »
Art in China Part 1 – A visit to galleries and artist studios in Beijing
By Virginia Maksymowicz and Blaise Tobia This trip to China was different in many respects from our first, in 2008: One of us was participating in an exhibition; our travels were entirely self- directed; and half of our trip took place in the huge Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou urban continuum that is home to about 120 million people. (Read Blaise and Virginia’s 2008 post.) The exhibition in which Blaise participated was a show of nine studio faculty members of Drexel’s Art & Art History Department, aptly titled 9 (partly because arabic numbers need no translation in China). It took place at the ... More » »
Girls on Film – Female identity and the media at Crane Arts
by Mireille Guy Walking into the current exhibition in the Project Space at Crane Arts, a viewer is greeted by bright and colorful portraits that almost look like movie stills. That is because Girls on Film is a study of the relationship between painting and moving images, between pop culture and feminine identity. Artist Kate Perkins used many pieces from her recent senior thesis at University of the Arts, as well as others, to compose this show, and the result is a vibrant and engaging exhibition. Perkins’ lush and vivid portraits show characters taken from stills of Bollywood movies, Korean or Taiwanese ... More » »
Next Page »
