Tag Archive "marginal-utility"

News – FLASHFLooD, Kutztown, Ward Shelley at Pierogi, and lots of opportunities!

News Lectures and discussions Temple Gallery is offering a lecture with Philadelphia resident and Creative Time curator Nato Thompson on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:00 PM. Thompson will speak about his latest book Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the Age of Cultural Production. We at artblog would love a Creative Time organization in Philly, and as it turns out we have the curator right here! Reserve a seat for Nato Thompson’s lecture at  http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2826019701 or call 215 777 9138.  And in West Philly, artist and independent curator Matheiu Copeland speaks at Kelly Writers House Thursday, Feb. 16, 6pm, about his efforts at subverting ... More » »

The poignance of protest at Marginal Utility

No surprise that the show “Five Acts: Chronicles of Dissent” is mostly an audio/video show. With their roots in radio, tv and film, documentary-type media like audio and video (and photography and first person accounts, too) are the best way to chronicle humans acting out their anger and defiance on issues that concern them. Naeem Mohaiemen Live True Life or Die Trying, 2009
photographs with paired text (21 pairs)

First Saturday roundup — Tiger, Napoleon, Vox and more

Cate and I went to the Vox building the Saturday after First Friday (which is usually a great day to go — mostly, the audio-video-robo works will be functioning; and often artists are lurking who will talk with you about what they’re up to).  We found a bunch of good stuff at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Napoleon and Vox Populi. TIGER STRIKES ASTEROID

get it while it’s cheap at Marginal Utility

by Julian Phillips Rust-ridden, day dream-laden, and dizzying are just a few phrases that can describe the distortions in get it while its cheap at Marginal Utility this month. The exhibit showcases the exploration and experimentation that comes with being a young artist.

No Way In–Richard Harrod at Marginal Utility

Richard Harrod’s latest installation A Larger Refrigerator (Marginal Utility, 1 April-28 May 2011) puts a chill on familiar interior views. The artist’s depictions of mundane spaces  use a variety of tricks thwart our entry and monkey with the norms of representation. A well-known figure in the Philadelphia art scene and a widely-exhibited artist, Harrod was a recipient of the Pew Fellowship (1997) and has shown internationally. Previous work by the artist presented cobbled-together worlds in similarly disconcerting fashion.

The Hard Sell and Other Tomfoolery at Marginal Utility

Jayson Musson’s show The Hard Sell, at Marginal Utility on 319 N. 11th Street, is an atypical gallery show, to say the least. The walls are full of long, written rants, hilariously offensive t-shirts and the occasional art object, like a sculpture. It’s apolitical, atheistic and, come to think of it, a-pretty-much-any-other-adjective-you-can-muster. It’s a splendid experiment in the cheeky and the inappropriate and, looking back on my visit, all I can hear are the words of my sarcastic eighth grade science teacher Mr. Withers: “I’m only serious when I’m serious.” If Jayson Musson is serious about anything, it’s circular logic ... More » »

Weekly Update – Perpetual adolescence at Marginal Utility in Jayson Musson’s rants

A Jayson Musson exhibit is a shock to the system for the sensitive art enthusiast who expects only well-behaved and friendly art in a gallery.   Musson’s word art, on posters and, for his new show at Marginal Utility, some newly-printed vacation-style t-shirts, is like a smack upside the head, delivering rants about the art world, politics and unrequited love.

Jayson Scott Musson next week on artblog radio

Jayson Scott Musson’s language-based art sometimes gets him into trouble. But that’s the whole point of the smart and edgy work by this astute social critic. Recently a gallery dropped a scheduled showing of Musson’s Art Thoughts video series, for its liberal use of the N word. We talked to Musson at his Fairmount apartment about his videos, his music and his art–and his frustration at sometimes being misunderstood. His solo show Neoteny, The Hard Sell opens Friday, Feb 4, at Marginal Utility. Below is a 39-second promo; hear the entire episode next Monday. Jayson Musson 39-second promo

Machete and Possible Press – zine publishers talk about why and how

Our series sponsor is Fleisher Art Memorial. Two new print publications expand the writing about art in Philadelphia. We talk with Rachel and Trevor Reese of Possible Press, a zine of writing and projects by artists; and David Dempewolf and Yuka Yokayama of Machete, a critical commentary publication.  The two couples, who have not met each other before, find out that they all use the same printer in Long Island City, Linco. Both couples also run project spaces where they show edgy interesting art.  Rachel and Trevor run Possible Projects and David and Yuka run Marginal Utility. Below is a ... More » »

No Soul For Sale: 2 Articles, both alike in dignity

In May of 2010 the Tate Modern staged No Soul For Sale, billed as a ‘Festival of Independents’ that was ‘neither a fair or an exhibition, [but] a convention of individuals and groups who devote their energies to art they believe in, beyond the limits of the market and other logistical constraints’(1). NSFS brought 70 artist collectives to Turbine Hall who exhibited alongside one another without partitions or walls. The organization of the non-fair was purportedly modeled after the set of Lars von Trier’s film Dogville(2), meaning that the non-exhibition space for each invited party was marked out on the ... More » »