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The Angel of the Odd, a Roman aqueduct, and dining with the artblog crew in Paris
We arrived in Paris by TGV train from Karlsruhe on May 24, swept along at top speed of 317 KM/hr (196.975 Miles/hr). To drive the 532 KM (329.9 Miles) would take around five hours according to Google directions. The fast train did it in three. The Angel of the Odd: Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst at the M’O We were all excited to go to the Musee d”Orsay (M’O is their cute brand name) for the show of bizarre imagery. Goya is always a big draw, and who can resist dark romanticism? Steve, Stella and I met up with ... More » »
Matthew Day Jackson, John Knight, Olafur Eliasson at three museums in Germany
Last summer, when Stella and I were in Karlsruhe in southwest Germany, the place was experiencing near-tropical Gulf Stream conditions. This year we dropped in on what was said to be the coldest, rainiest and most miserable May in thirty years. We don’t take the weather personally, so we went about our business, this year hanging out mostly indoors. Stella did some shopping – Karstad, the big German department store, for fabric; and Primark, the British clothing discounter, (like H&M on steroids, with more merchandise, more shoppers per square inch, and 10-Euro jeans made in Bangladesh – yes, Primark’s factory was ... More » »
Roberta pauses for refreshment in Karlsruhe and Paris
Dear artblog readers, I will be absent for two weeks for some R&R in Germany and Paris. Stay cool (if there’s a heatwave) or warm (if there’s a cooling spell). I will post some pictures periodically and will have a report when I return. Below are a couple shots from our apartment windows in Karlsruhe, where Steve is visiting professor for the summer and Stella and I are visiting the visitor. Steve’s apartment is on Turmbergstrasse. And when they use berg in that name they are not kidding. Its a minor mountain you have to climb to get up here. ... More » »
Letter from Berlin – Forgeries, pheromones and clones, ten questions for Jonathon Keats
Jonathon Keats has brought the cerebral into the art marketplace. Nearly 15 years ago he sat in a gallery for 24 hours looking at a nude model and selling his thoughts to art collectors. A few years later he copyrighted his mind as a sculpture. In 2004, he tried to genetically engineer God to get to the essence of the Divine. He’s enlisted string theory to purchase real estate in other dimensions, and created a silent four-minute and thirty-three second ring tone remixing John Cage’s composition 4’33” . And he even sold collectors the experience of spending money. Now in ... More » »
Detouched and Tiny Plays for Ireland at Project Arts Centre, Dublin
—Andrea’s trip to Ireland earlier this year unearthed an exhibit on the idea of touch and some 4-minute (yes, 4-minute!) theater pieces. Her review explains it all.–the artblog editors———————–>Detouched, a group show curated by Anthony Huberman, was on view at Project Arts Centre from Jan. 25 to March 30, 2013. Huberman’s thesis in inventing the neologism, detouched, was that by merging the hand with the machine, contemporary technology generates a detached sense of proximity, or a sense of detouch. The internet may bring us information at one remove. Art almost always does. But successful art conveys the sensation of touch, as ... More » »
Letter From Paris: Keith Haring’s Political Line
—Sometimes lost in discussion of Keith Haring is his work’s political edge. Matthew tells us all about it in his review of the Paris exhibit of the artist’s works.–the artblog editors————————–>It’s hard to believe that the ever-youthful icon of the 1980s New York Artworld has already been gone 23 years. Keith Haring, the most famous subway scribbler the world has ever known, took chalk and markers and finally paint and canvas, and spread his scribbles across pretty much everything in his path. An expansive exhibition of his more political works – touching upon the state, media, capitalism, racism, nuclear and ... 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 » »
Spot Color and Books Not for Kindle at Nobrow Press, London – A Studio Visit
I learned of Nobrow Press when I saw one of their ‘books’ in the shop at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. I use quotes because the publication in question, Rise and Fall, by the American Artist, Micah Lindberg, was a text-less accordion fold (or leporello), printed on both sides. I wrote about it when discussing Holiday Books on November 6, 2012. I was struck by the quality of the printing, as well as the format, both of which were closer to a fine art print than to a traditional book. From an e-mail correspondence I learned that the press used ... More » »
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