Tag Archive "ray-johnson"
Triptych – Life, Art, Death
1. NORTH BAR & NEEDLE From the window of an elevated train I scout North Philadelphia. Topless bars. Beer and shot bars. “Police” equipment: handguns, rifles, shotguns. 99 cent stores. Pawn shops. Guys congregating on corners drinking beer. I wander a neighborhood at random. The consolidated library is empty and forlorn. The cashiers in the convenience stores count pennies and dollars behind inch-thick Plexiglas. I see no neighborhood-saving murals. Is this Philadelphia unredeemed?
Étant donnés: Duchamp, the crowds will come
Duchamp studies are a thriving industry in academe and his work continues to have a major influence on artists, so it was no surprise that the first annual Anne d’Harnoncourt Memorial Symposium at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), devoted to Duchamp’s final work, would attract a full house. The enthusiasm was such that by 10 am on Saturday morning (Sept. 12) the audience was seated and expectantly quiet.
10 Questions For Peter Schuyff
10 Questions For Peter Schuyff, after a studio visit in Amsterdamn. Painting, Music and life in the land of the Dutch Masters.
John Cage’s Shoes–Robert Storr speaks in Paris
I think it was the 13th of August, 1992, that artist and neighbor Ray Johnson called me with the news that John Cage was dead. I know it was early in the morning, and not the day he died, the 12th, because when I went outside to get a coffee and a New York Times, Cage’s obit was fully formed, a solid page, a gray tombstone reserved only for those who have come to New York to change the world. Ray hung up and I assume spent the day dialing all sorts of people to tell them that John Cage ... More » »
“Inventing Marcel Duchamp: The Dynamics of Portraiture” at the National Portrait Gallery
Marcel Duchamp, joker that he was, would certainly be amused at the thought that he’s the subject of an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, of all places. And a lively and fascinating exhibition it is! At least one federal institution is taking a liberal attitude to immigration, albeit legal, as Duchamp became a naturalized citizen in 1955.
OOFAH! This is good
Ray YoshidaOriginally uploaded by sokref1. Ray Yoshida’s OOFAH!, 2002, (det) collage on paper. Delights cut from the funny papers into glyph-like shapes, the big work (48″ x 72″) is an inscrutable message from beyond. Click to see it bigger. Up since March, Rock Paper Scissors at Fleisher-Ollman Gallery goes down April 29 and if you’re looking for the “ohmygod” show this weekend (in addition to the new ICA shows featuring Zoe Strauss and the Spector show (featuring Andrew Jeffrey Wright and Adam Wallacavage) which I predict will also fit into this exclamatory category — run by and get an eyeful ... More » »
