chris albert

1.11.11 -> 1.11.12

2012-01-11T08:25:00.000-05:00

In 2008

2011 mash up

2011-12-26T16:35:00.002-05:00

A wee sampling of some painting endeavors from this past year; a painting on a fragment of fruit crate from late Spring, and a very recent painting on a found bicycle seat.

I'm seeing a rhyme, if not a theme.

Oh Christmas Thing 2011

2011-12-25T22:22:00.003-05:00

This year's Christmas Thing was late in developing, but alas, it has come. Inspired by the depiction of the holiday classic Hollywood films, this piece is silvery black and white....save for a string of paper balls that feature the hints of hues from the weekly store inserts which clog our mailbox every Wednesday. The original versions of films like Christmas in Connecticut, The Bishop's Wife, and Meet John Doe embody such a warmth and lushness of the xmas moment in their monochromatic renditions that the colors of the greenery, ornaments and baubles are realized in the viewer's own perception of the scene.

I'm not claiming that this monochromatic Thing has any of those powers....it's really just an homage.

One thing that it does have going for it is that it has a kinetic potential, as is demonstrated in the video below:

Another thing that this year's Thing has going, is an audio component - in the form of a special Christmas Thing/Holiday Special Episode of the Dead Hare Radio Hour, which will be airing on WVKR in Poughkeepsie, NY on Dec. 27th. The podcast version should release on the 28th.

kork Advent Returns

2011-11-30T23:31:00.001-05:00

After three years of exhibiting artists' works on a bulletin board in a Poughkeepsie, NY accounting office, kork is packing it in.

I'll have more on this soon. 'Til then, details are over at kork. And if you don't want to miss out on getting a special delivery in your inbox everyday this month - from 31 great artists - then get over to kork and sign up for the advent email list.

Let's not assume...

2011-11-12T10:13:00.001-05:00

I've been absent from posting for quite sometime. It's not that I have had nothing to post, nor that I've had nothing to do, nor that I've had nothing to post. I've simply had too much to do and not enough "space" to get it posted.

Ahh, but very SSoon....

]twenty-six paces[ : What the Room Saw Part III

2011-09-18T19:19:00.000-04:00

The Windows on Main St exhibit has ended, but I'm still catching up on ]twenty-six paces[ related stuff.

From the point at which I first paced out the ] [ between Artisan Wine Shop and Beacon Pilates, and first really took notice of the tar patchwork "scrawled" along the center of the street, I was immediately interested in it as a drawing.
In the video below, I try my best to mimic the work on the canvas before me.

I had the idea of delineating details seen through the window by drawing on the window early on. That intention led to the thought that I might be able to create monoprints using the window as my printing plate. Last week I made my first attempt at pulling a print from a side window. It's crude, but it's a start.

The yellow on the paper was preexisting, remnants from another effort.

The exhibit is over, but many related projects I planned for originally have not been completed, and new ideas born out of those early thoughts have yet to be followed up on, but with the indulgence of the Tim and Mei at Artisan and Juliet at Beacon Harvey, I hope to continue working to resolve some of these ideas.

Eye Candy Friday: Making Sausage

2011-09-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

This week's treat comes via Arthur Hash's blog The Art Escape Plan. I'm not sure what the origin of this gif is, but It's pretty cool, particularly the reverse view. Lovin' the animated string.

Breaking News: Pinhole Photographs of Hurricane Irene

2011-09-11T22:00:00.003-04:00

We were spared the torment that Hurricane Irene wrought upon many across the Hudson and up in Vermont. A couple of inches of water in the basement, loss of cable and internet for a good part of a day and the loss of a day of work was as much of a cost we at Kamp Maykr had to pay.
It seems possible that since the impact on that megalomaniapolis, NYC, was less than feared, Irene will be remembered as a dud of a storm even as the devastation it wrought upstate in New England resulted in homes and entire villages being destroyed by storm related flooding.

Inspired by my new found fondness of pinhole camera shots as part of my ]twenty-six paces[ endeavors - and since I had several sheets of photo paper on hand - I decided to document the effects of Irene in long exposure black and white images. These are the resulting images of setting Mabby 1 and Mabby 2 in the windows near the porch and the back yard and seeing what they would capture.

After the deluge.

A post-storm, pre-wind-gust shot of the garden and shed, neither were any worse for wear when it was all over

]twenty-six paces[ : What the Room Saw Part II

2011-09-10T15:46:00.001-04:00

8/13/2011 8 mins

In a previous post, I mentioned creating pinhole camera prints from the vantage of the two points anchoring the tin can telephone in both Artisan Wine Shop and Beacon Pilates. Angelika and I exposed two sets of prints on two recent Saturdays. Last weekend, we finally got a peek at the results.

8/13/2011 8 mins

Angelika treated me to a basic developing lesson in the darkroom at Fovea. It was something new for me, but also something very familiar. It was like was channeling all those memories of darkroom scenes from movies and tv. It was a real Greg Brady moment. I seem to remember at least one episode of the Brady Bunch (turns out it's an episode called "Click" from season 3) in which Greg sets up a darkroom in the bathroom. I have retained a vague yet vivid image of that red tinted scene and even as I try to remember all the times I've seen similar scenes in movies and tv shows, Greg Brady's version is for in my mind.

Above is a re-enactment of Angelika developing the pinhole prints in Fovea's darkroom....just imagine this scene happening when the lights are off. It's the first time I had been in a darkroom like this and I was impressed by how much one's eyes are able to adjust so well and how functionally visible everything was in there with just that little bit of red illumination.

The cameras: Mabby 1 (right) and Mabby 2 (left)

The two sets of exposures made in August were short, 8 and 12 minutes. Today I took I took another set of exposures of an hour in length. Hopefully there will be much more information visible in the Beacon Pilates view.

8/20/2011 12 mins

I really love that creating an exposure with a pinhole camera is such a dumb, passive process - and one that is so receptive of the chance occurrance. You just set it somewhere, open the lens and let it go. It's a chance operation in a box. It's not just a bit magical either; a very lo-fi replication of how our eyes function.
In this case, I'm using 5"x7" black and white paper for a negative. The rich blackness, particularly in the underexposed prints is pretty great - even if not as detail laden as hoped.
The point in pursuing this as part of the ]twenty-six paces[ project was to capture a moment in time in the relationship of these two locations to one another. Ideally, two simultaneous views along that line I articulated with Telephone. That the representational aspect of this action is not entirely reliable adds to it for me - allows for something else to seep in.
I'm hooked. I plan to continue taking shots, and hopefully incorporating this form of image making into the overall process of my work.
I've named these two cameras Mabby 1 and Mabby 2, loosely after my twin nieces. I expect to make more and perhaps explore the sculptural possibilities of the cameras themselves. There are certainly some very innovative constructions of pinhole cameras.

Special Delivery

2011-08-31T18:31:00.001-04:00

In a recent New York Review of Books (also appearing in the Guardian), Charles Simic wrote on the Lost Art of Writing Postcards. Then, an editorial in the Guardian last week also stood in praise of postcards. That, on top of the current state of the USPS's financial woes, has me also thinking positively about the wonder of missives sent and received - physically. Although I am, to some degree, enslaved by my email inbox, even the most gratifying incoming messages lack that wonder of opening that little box for what untold surprise that might be awaiting inside.
Giving and receiving.

I join the sentiments expressed at the other end of the links above in lauding the visual/text mashup that is the postcard. I'm sharing a couple of the most recent Missives that I've made recently. Missives are collaged photograph postcards that I send to friends, family, and anyone who requests to be added to the mailing list. I haven't added these, or several other recent ones to the Missive page on my website, but that should be coming soon.

Faces have been changed to protect the innocent...and the guilty.

2011-08-24T13:48:00.000-04:00

In a moment of almost-synchrony, last the August 12 editions of the NY Post and The Epoch Times (a newspaper published by the falun gong and given away free on the northern exit of Grand Central) both included images of pixelated faces to illustrate items in their pages. The instance in the Epoch Times' front page that day was particularly arresting. Seemingly crafted as a design project, the pixel colors are very harmonous - not to mention weirdly large for the scale of the face they are obscuring. It works for me as a representational/abstract mashup. The Post's incarnation is less aesthetically dynamic, but the rarity of seeing the tool used twice in one day was enough for me to clip it out. It does take me back to a childhood memory - that of the fembots from the Bionic Woman (and the Six-Million Dollar Man). The image below lends a pretty good likeness to the Post's use of pixelation.

Fembot. via bionic.wikia.com

This fembot in the form of Oscar Goldman is particularly creepy...an intriguing piece of sculpture.

A male fembot(?) Is that even possible? via bionic.wikia.com

As it happens, Angelika engaged in a bit of frontpage pixelation herself, mindlessly moving melon seeds around in the kitchen. (Her photo of it is much nicer than mine.) In this case, she livened up an illustration of a rather bland painting by an artist showing at bau this month.

This week on Dead Hare Radio:Marc Chagall in the Hudson Valley

2011-08-23T09:16:00.003-04:00


Marc Chagall walking with son David on Mohonk Rd in High Falls, NY. photo by Charles Leirins

Tonight's episode of the Dead Hare Radio Hour focuses on that consummate Hudson River School painter, Marc Chagall. Whaaa?, you might say. but yes, it turns out that Marc Chagall lived in High Falls, NY with his companion, Virginia Haggard from 1946 through 1948.

I interview Gary Ferdman and Rik Rydant, two fellows who have been digging deep into the details of Chagall's life in this Hudson Valley hamlet and the proliferation of work he created there.
The D&H Canal Museum will be hosting an exhibit on Chagall in High Falls from September 3 - Oct 30.
Tune in this afternoon to 91.3 WVKR in Poughkeepsie to learn all about the details of the exhibit and to hear the details of this moment in the artist's life. An extended version of my Chagall in High Falls interview will be released in podcast version tomorrow.

Marc Chagall, Blue Violinist, 1947

This episode is a real story-time treat for me. I really have enjoyed hearing Rik and Gary recount this story. I think this is what radio is all about. The quality of their voices alone, I think makes this one worth listening to. Chagall's work has never made a huge impression of me, but there are two small stained glass windows in a chapel near Chamonix that I saw that are pretty stunning.

]twenty-six paces[ : What the Room Saw

2011-08-22T23:13:00.003-04:00

One of the ideas I new that I wanted to do from the start was grabbing some pinhole camera images of the two spaces. Capturing a simultaneous moment in both of the spaces, seeing what each saw of the other in that instant.

One of my homemade pinhole cameras mounted to the ceiling of Beacon Pilates.

This is the first time I've done any pinhole photography and Angelika has been way more than an assistant; more of a technical advisor, by far. This part of the project is allowing us a chance to try out the darkroom at Fovea, which is available for an hourly rental (as well as membership access).
I should say that this part of the project is allowing Angelika a chance to try out the darkroom at Fovea (in which she'll teach me how to print the images). She exposed a test print, then developed it using Fovea's equipment and she was very impressed. I'm pleased that by this has precipitated her use of the darkroom, which is so conveniently near us, and that she will indeed be printing some of her images there in the near future.

My lovely assistant, Angelika awaiting the moment of exposure in Artisan Wine Shop.

If you squint, you can see Angelika in the window..on the phone to me, standing on a ladder in Beacon Pilates.

I dig the camera strap/harness hanging from the ceiling, so I left it there.

Another thought that arrived early in the process of conceiving what I wanted to do for this project was to work with the staircase at Beacon Pilates. The first of my attempts at addressing the space is "walk" my way up the stairs with a series of "sculptures" - arrangements, really, on each stair, in a sequence.

I'm thinking that I'll make a series of these ascensions, using a variety of items to make the arrangements - in this case - the tools I had on hand in my bag.

I was able to slide the camera up up the handrail to which it was suspended as I made each arrangement, took a shot with the self timer as the it swayed naturally, then broke down the arrangement to make a new one on the next tread.
Of all the images I captured of this process, these are the most interesting to me.

]twenty-six paces[ : Telephone-Line

2011-08-21T22:26:00.000-04:00

While in the process of installing Telephone in Artisan Wine Shop, I saw the opportunity to draw a line.

]twenty-six paces[ : Telephone

2011-08-20T23:34:00.002-04:00

Telephone, yarn, acrylic on wood, cans.

Telephone, the first of several works that are part of the ]twenty-six paces[ ensemble, is also emblematic of all the works (those both planned and those still emerging) that will be the result during this period of the Windows on Main St exhibit. Spatial relations; marking time, and space; communication, community; the speed of engagement and experience; the very process of formulating and exploiting ideas are all constituent parts of the work.

The entire experience is a process of realizing, and working through of all the thoughts I had ever had about the WOMS exhibit since the days that Karlos Carcamo and I started the exhibit in 2005. Meditating on my WOMS locations of choice: Artisan Wine Shop and Beacon Pilates folds in those generic thoughts and those specific to my recent interactions with the physical space of those locations.

Telephone is the most basic expression of connecting intellects and locations. It's a drawing in space. In choosing these two spaces, I was aware that the scope of the entire street scape in which the two businesses would be part of my consideration of the stores and space in which they sit, and relate to one another.

The span of the void - the streetscape - is at the core of ]twenty-six paces[ . It's the space within the ] [ My immediate attention was drawn to the distance between the buildings; the void; the ]street[ but the focus of this project is as much the stuff outside of the ] [ as inside: ::::::::] [:::::::::::

My immediate attention was drawn to the distance between the buildings; the void; the ]street[ A primary goal in my approach to all of this has always been to explore the relationship between the realm of that void, and the realms on either side of the void; namely all that is behind those store front facades.
How to articulate the the geometry inherent in the linkage of two points across glass, brick and two lanes of asphalt? I think first came the tin can telephone, then appeared the next obvious thought: Fred Sandback. Sandback's yarn sculptures cut through space, define it -exactly the task at hand for me here. The fact that a good number of his works are local - housed at Dia:Beacon - seemed like another salient element and reason enough to make the allusion. Working with spectrum of tautness and slackness of the yarn is invigorating (Sandback really had something good going). To further the nod to Sandback, I purchased the yarn at the Fishkill, NY Walmart, the same source for the material used in the Dia installations.

The Artisan Wine Shop end of the line.

The Beacon Pilates end of the line.


My lack of Trigonometry knowledge is overcome by a little bit of algebra and geometry...a ruler, protractor and lots of scribbles.

The Returned Gaze

2011-08-12T01:45:00.119-04:00

I spent much of the morning on Saturday measuring and gazing through the windows of Artisan Wine and Beacon Pilates. My main objective was to plot out two points (one in Artisan, one in Beacon Pilates) that would be connnected by a straight line.
One of the pieces planned for ]twenty-six paces[ will articulate a portion of this invisible line - the portion of the line that pierces the window of each space and reaches the respective end point.

My intention to use a laser to mark the points was thwarted by distance, sun, and lacking an adequate laser. Ultimately, I think this failing was a boon as it forced me to measure the individual spaces and to observe and measure the relation of the two spaces in relation to one another. An effective way of knowing a place, too. It also made me realize the point of this entire exercise - the point that is evident in the first
]twenty-six paces[ video - that I am the metric, and I am the lens.
It's an easy enough thought to grasp, elemental, really to the existence of an artist, but the profound simplicity of such things often evades me.

Another very simple and obvious thought that struck me as a revelation that day; The direction in which a gaze travels through a window.
In the case of a store front window, the gaze can go both ways; from inside to the street and from the street to the inside.
For a project like WOMS, the predominant gaze is from the outside in. An inherent stasis forms. Observer, moving through the channel of the street stops and looks. His gaze is supported by some work or vision. The view disengages and moves on.

The second floor window, though, is exclusively the conduit of the inside to outside gaze (moments of out-to-in voyuerism aside). Again, simple and obvious. But it exemplifies completely the distinction between the two spaces and the activities they support. Artisan is a retail space, fully dependent on the transparent and accessible nature of the space. Though slower than other stores, this one relies on the fluidity of patronage. Get in, get goods, go out.
Beacon Pilates, while still needing to be accessible is a more intimate environment. Slower transition between in and out. Indeed there is fluidity and movement going on, but it is contained within the space. It is a contained space. Contained, and removed, by the stairwell onto which the street level door opens and which carries patrons to it's second floor perch. It's a space that by the very nature of it's purpose and methodology, demands a certain commitment of time from it's patrons. It's contained, but not closed off. The street and it's life is readily viewable through it's windows. From the inside to the outside.

Beacon Pilates is not a tourist destination. It demands more of its clientele. And the clientele expects more from it. Artisan Wine Shop, as an establishment is more amenable to the tourist trade. But there's a sustained culture within its walls and it is sustained by a culture that runs deeper than the basic currency/goods exchange; the mere presence of the kitchen at the back of the store speaks to that notion.

Aspects of the Windows On Main St exhibit also caters to the tourist trade. It potentially offers the passer-by a commitment free visual treat. But for me the real value of the exhibit, year to year, is gleaned in the slower, repeated interaction with the work and having a sufficient enough knowledge of a place to recognize how the artwork modified or informed the environment into which it was injected.
When Karlos Carcamo and I founded the exhibit, then organized it for the first four years, I felt the strength and value of it rest not in what it gave to visitors, but what it potentially could give to residents who know the city so well. I've stated this frequently in the past, but for me, some of the most successful works featured in WOMS were often imperceptible upon first glance. Or, if indeed noticeable, the works spoke specifically to the location and its condition that delivered a new understanding (in some cases) or a new experience of a familiar space.
I've said too that I wish that Karlos and I had done more to break the project before we handed it on to someone else, if only to give it the ability to roam free of the constraints implied by the name we gave it. As we progressed as organizers and curators we were open to the vision of an artist that would reinterpret the exhibit, or what a store front is...or what he/she felt like doing. We both were ready to break away from simply the store front window space - the most touristic component of the streetscape.

As organizers - which is a sort of overstatement, (to our credit and our detriment our level of organization was minimal and "loose." Enough to get the thing done, but no more infrastructure than necessary to give the artists the opportunity and support to do their thing.) we actively encouraged our selected artists consider all possibilities in conceiving their works. We both encouraged them to step outside their conventional modes of production, to use this exhibit as an opportunity, not to make a grand statement - unless they wanted such - but to use it as an opportunity to experiment and perhaps grow. We weren't interested in work that was just plopped into a location, although we gave artists the free reign to do so, if that's what they chose. We stepped back to let the successes and failures stand or fall on their own.
In ruminating on Artisan Wine and Beacon Pilates, I've thought that we could have better framed the exhibit as a fleeting artist residency. I think that term, loosely applied, lends an understanding of what is at the heart of at least a part of the exhibit; working with sensitivity in an envrionment and letting that experience shape the work.

It defines my approach in participating as an artist in this year's exhibit: Pierce that store front window and go further.

MY WOMS Project: ]twenty-six paces[

2011-08-10T22:22:00.003-04:00

1 pace = 30 inches. 1 Columbia size 9 = 12 inches. 76.5 Columbia size 9's = ]twenty-six paces[ - or thereabouts.

The Windows on Main St exhibit is opening on Saturday and I'll be participating in it this year. I'm working with both Artisan Wine Shop and Beacon Pilates as the locations I'm responding to with a series of works.

For starters, I hung out at Artisan wine over the course of several Saturday wine tastings recently, recording the gurgling sounds of wine pouring into a glass (and watching Tim Buzinski graduate from more to less obtrusive crutches as he recovers from a nasty bike accident). The idea is to create an audio piece that will be installed in the stairway of Beacon Pilates. My goal is to create a babbling brook of wine pours - one tiny taste at a time - although I expect it will be more of a tinkling, gurgling brook.

The process of doing whatever it is I'm going to end up doing with ]twenty-six paces[ is generally that of immersing myself in an environment and frame of mind, then drawing something out of my experience which will mark the moment.

What ever it is that I do come up with and the thoughts that emerge from this work will be gathered here on the blog and on my twitter feed: www.twitter.com/maykr #WOMS .

Funny: Reception, August 13, 4-7pm

2011-08-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

There will be a reception held next Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Beacon Theater, on Main St in Beacon, NY. James Westwater and I have some recent work on view there currently, curated by Jennifer Mackiewicz.

I'll be in attendance, so that'll be a bonus if you choose to come out....

James Westwater - and me at Beacon NY's Beacon Theatre

2011-07-25T15:38:00.000-04:00

A few shots from the hanging of paintings at the Beacon Theatre in Beacon, NY. The theatre is going through a major renovation, during which, the lobby will be used for performances and events. Recent works by myself and James Westwater face off with each other from opposite walls of the lobby in this first exhibit organized by Jennifer Mackiewicz.

I snapped a few photos as we were hanging the paintings last weekend. There will be reception held on Saturday, August 13th....probably starting around 6pm.
I'll be taking some better photos here shortly.

In the two images above are three recent paintings of mine, all finished in 2011.

Below are James' three works created using giant pieces of "driftwood" material gathered from the Hudson river shore in Beacon.

In the Studio

2011-07-15T12:53:00.002-04:00

It's like a fort of paintings splayed aroung the space this week. I've got larger paintings leaning - against walls, furniture and each other - all over the place like the first floor of a house of cards. Here are three of them - as seen from my place of repose on the couch.

Eye Candy Friday: Priming One's Appetite

2011-07-10T00:34:00.000-04:00

Thyrsis

Well, it's been all Cy Twombly all the time here at Kamp Maykr for the past few days. Since the artist's death on Tuesday, I've been prowling through the internet, following wormholes of information and personal reflections on the man's work and taking measure of my own feelings about his work. I had the thought today that I'd gladly agree to submit to some experimental scan of my brain to determine what goes on in there when I see a work by Twombly, be it a painting, drawing, sculpture. His photographs are knockout images their beautiful, rich in a dizzy worn out way. They embody a fair amount impact. But I receive them in a slightly different manner than the other works. Angellika, who's in Berlin at the moment emailed the image above (and another less clear detail image) to me today just after her trip to the Hamburger Bahnhof (she was graced with the luck last week to see an exhibit of 120 of his photographs at the Museum Brandhorst in Munich). Upon simply clicking to enlarge the detail jpg I discerned an immediate increase in the amount of saliva in my mouth. Pavlovian, for sure. I don't remember when I first discovered Twombly. I do know that I was first introduced to his "chalkboard" paintings and I was immediately drawn in by them. There's some sort of hard wiring in my reaction when presented with the majority of his works. I must say that it has taken longer for me to warm up to some of the ~~large~~ ginormous flower works in recent years. One thing that was clear to me from early when viewing his works is the recognition that I was and am utterly incapable of creating paintings such paintings. I'm so grateful that he's been able to make such paintings. I think his work has been instrumental in getting me to make the work that I do make now. (I'll let you, Dear reader, determine what that says about me....or him). It's heartening to see the volume of personal statements of appreciations that have bloomed on the web in recent days.

Some roses at Museum Brandhorst in Munich.

Some of this scrambling around online has been prompted by trying to rouse some content and chase down interviewees for the Dead Hare Radio episode devoted to Twombly we'll be airing on WVKR on Tuesday at 5pm (don't forget it's archived as a podcast too). I admire journalists who do this kind of work regularly. Pressures of a deadline, cramming in as much research and reading as possible while reaching out to possible interview subjects, hoping they'll respond in a timely manner is all interesting but wearing, and that just gets you to the point of starting the difficult part: interviewing. I find it nerve racking. It can be very rewarding, but I have certain anxiety issues that seem to respond robustly to the prospect of speaking with a knowledgeable stranger and trying to render myself an utter rhube. A bottle of cold beer has joined my recording equipment as requisite implements in my interview toolkit. I realized this afternoon that an interview can at times be exactly like a blind date. I was on a blind date once where I somehow felt comfortable talking about my (minor - and since passed) fascination with cannibalism. I won't go into details. It seemed to be going well, yet when that second date just never materialized after repeated attempts to make it happen, I could only think it might have been that cannibalism talk sealed that particular bit of my fate.

The reward of pushing through that personally held anxiety (and this has been true of much of our 4 months of making Dead Hare) is being able to be witness to the insights of some very intelligent and thoughtful folks. For this Twombly episode, I've been privileged to speak about Twombly with David A Ross, Tyler Green and John Waters. Their willingness to share their time is greatly appreciated.

I'll just say there's much too much more reading and exploring to do; so much information related to Twombly that I haven't been able to do much more than cursory perusing before bookmarking for a follow up. And that's just online. I still have yet to make my way through most of the GIANT volume of writings on Twombly that's sitting here next to me. It's a good chance for reverie.
In case you are new to Twombly, there is even a 5 step instructional lesson on How to Spot a Painting by Cy Twombly on ehow.com. This task is rated moderately easy.

Ok, so for a little candy:
This post on chicfaced.com pairing paintings by Twombly and runway designs by Dian Von Furstenberg features some amusing rhymes.

And talk about Candy. There's nothing sweeter than the classic series of photos taken of Twombly and his home by Horst in 1966 for Vogue. The Holler and Saunders blog has the most complete set of these images online that I've seen yet.

There's much much more out there to see....not just candy, but a full meal of visual pleasure. Try to do it in person, though, if you can.

Twombly

2011-07-06T10:59:00.000-04:00

I've been reflecting on Cy Twombly's work since I heard of his death yesterday. There's a lot to unpack and rummage through for me here, and I'm working it out for a post in the near future.

I'm thinking that next week's episode of the Dead Hare Radio Hour may focus on Twombly's work.

We're taking Twombly related comments on the Dead Hare Hotline:

(480) 442-7311

Leave a message about Twombly, his work, and your experience of it. I'll likely use whatever I get on the show...

I'm so Rock and Roll

2011-07-01T12:43:00.001-04:00

...And then maybe not so much.
Of course, I was sure in the sense that Rock and Roll (I appreciated the ancient turn of phrase, as opposed to just Rock) were indeed the two major constituents of my very being when, just over a week ago the promise of temporary bachelorhood and a vacancy of work which would afford some old timey studio indulgence (provided the anxiety could be held in check).

This image of a note left for me by Angelika could have been enough to indicate that rockin' and rollin' had left the building. Needing a note....and yes, I need such a note....to indicate what I should eat, when to prevent total food loss due to negligence and rot. Even the note has not proven full proof. The cantaloupe, pineapple AND tomato AND lettuce all succumbed to the white death of mold cultures. There's still hope for the smidge of yogurt left...(and I tried microwaving those hamburger buns...I ate them, but they did not soften up...Also the house seems devoid of mouse activity. Perhaps it's right to think of the necessity of such a note, reminding me of the basics human existence is so NOT Rock and Roll. Some might even find it remedial - particularly for a dude that's recently stepped into the on deck circle for entering his 5th decade. Of course, I read it as, "yeah, I'm rock and roll....destined to live with abandon for the next 3-4 weeks fruit and veggies be damned." What is Rock and Roll if not a life laced with remedial, adolescent tendencies? Who has time to check on the perishables when there's art to be made - madly. Hell, this alone was a ticket that validated my insouciance and harkened back to a time when the only veggies I stocked in the kitchen were the canned variety - No brainer food.
Of course, I'm not immune to the realization that I am so far from Rock and Roll. Living the single life is hard, having no one around to signal when a reasonable (and appropriate) hour to go to bed has arrived.

When alone, I'll sit and zone - before the tv or not until some unkind, numb-making hour of the night, which initiates an uncontrollable slide. .

Maybe I am still Rock and Roll, if Rock and Roll is defined as being irresponsible, unproductive, lazy in terms of doing laundry and the dishes. Although, as a sort of middle aged guy, this roll lacks some of the gusto it might otherwise have for a twenty year old...I know I'm not alone in embodying the trending topic of the flacidification of one's juju. I've seen documented reports of some sad sots who strike out in the initial moments of a revisited bachelorhood (temporary as it is) by buying dish towels. So this is what becomes of the world?

I guess I was wrongly trying to redefine Rock and Roll as being on task, focused, productive and sharply creative...Maybe that's something else. Maybe whatever that is, I'll be it next week, after I've acclimated more to my condition...And I'll be listening to more Rock and Roll....and audiobooks on the Spartans! .

I'm not talking about stepping out and carousing. I'm just talking about stepping out of the comfortable couch-based routine that my life has joined my life at the hip in recent years.

Yes, I choose to consider having someone suggest what I should eat, and do in her absence via illustrated list as a license to free my mind of such things for to more directly make mayhem in the studio - that is pretty rock and roll...I just have to play the part.

I've faced the promise of rock and roll tonight. Staring down a large painting, judging myself by my actions and reactions to the various state changes I take it through; pushing through the moments of resistance. It's different than my modus operandi of the recent past; coming up to a point of resistance and side step it by stepping away for another time, another moment of convenience. Will this garner a positive result? I'm not sure, we'll see. Over the last few years I've developed a laid back mode of working in the studio; one of convenience. But also one that is unfussed, unthinking, automatic and I appreciate the places it's taken me, dipping in when it is convenient, dipping back out when the discomfort of progress threatens to become inconvenient.
Of course, I'll give a progress report on this process.

Eye Candy Friday: Angelika's Addiction or The Language of Laughter

2011-06-11T06:54:00.000-04:00

This week, a poll sampling folks from 15 countries found that Americans are considered the funniest of nationalities and the Germans are the least funny. The Reuter's report on the poll quotes Mark Twain's saying that "a German joke is no laughing matter." We'll, they may not make us laugh (intentionally), and it might seem that they are incapable of laughter themselves. But there could be some exceptions. Below is a video that has, of late, smitten and amused Angelika to no end. I'm sharing it here to give you a wee indication of what I've been living with recently. Every so often I hear the audio of this video wafting in from the other room joined with laughs and those "oh that's so cute" sort of sighs. The German lady just can't seem to get enough of this.

This next video might serve as some evidence that Germans are indeed capable of eliciting laughter from others - simply by being themselves. This news report is on a laughing club (lach club) in Germany, where there is a proscribed time and place for everything. This video is in German. That just makes it funnier.

Speaking of the German Language, Mark Twain's meditation on trying to learn the German tongue is entitled "The Awful German Language".
For my own purposes, I have no intention of really to speak German. I'm just trying to hone my mimicry of any spoken moment of German I come across. Also, my lack of knowledge and comprehension does nothing to prevent me from reciting any German text I find to Angelika. I find this pastime enormously amusing. I believe she does too. Her amusement is manifested in a pretense of eye rolling incomprehension of what she's just heard.

I will say that Angelika, being German and all, is not among the unfunniest of folks. I guess since she is also an American citizen, the balance of her national identities places her in the middle of the spectrum.....She's part of a hybrid group: 1/2 Kraut + 1/2 Yank = Krank.

I've posted a couple some recent ECF posts over on MAYKR which I didn't get around to posting here, but you can find those and all the others under the Eye Candy Friday label at MAYKR.com

Some of the Greatest Things:

2011-05-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

In no particular order: Reeses Peanutbutter Cups, Mama Rinnhofer, Icci,

Constantin Brancusi, the Green Onion Lounge in Omaha, Nebraska.

ManMade, NatureMade

2011-05-22T22:43:00.001-04:00

Saw this monstrosity while crossin Park Ave last week.

Later discovered it's a work by Urs Fischer. whatever.

I found this drawing when I returned from work on Thursday.

More adolescent made than man made

The Two Most Beautiful People in Poughkeepsie, NY.

2011-04-27T23:21:00.000-04:00

Two Superstars: Angelika Rinnhofer and Billy Name.

Angelika and I visited the home of Billy Name last week to have a chat with that man of myth for an upcoming episode of Dead Hare Radio.
A selection of Billy's photographs from his days documenting life in Warhol's Factory are currently on view at the Albert Shahinian Fine Art in Rhinebeck, NY ( 22 E Market St.) through May 22. Billy will be giving a talk at the gallery on Saturday April 30th during a reception taking place from 5-8pm. These particular photos on exhibit were originally included in an exhibit curated by Emma Lavigne entitled "I Am A Cliche - Echoes of the Punk Aesthetic" which was part of the 41st Rencontres D'Arles Photography event last year.

I'll be capturing audio from Billy's talk which I expect will join portions of our conversation with him from last week for the radio show.

Considering he's the man responsible for making the Silver Factory silver, I couldn't resist snapping a few images of the shiny-backed insulation on Billy's back porch, from which one can see the Mid Hudson Bridge, the color of which he claims inspired the choice of decor for Warhol's studio.

Billy's roommate. I didn't catch his Name.

By chance, Flavorwire recently published a "where are they now" item on Andy Warhol's surviving Superstars, including Billy.

Eye Candy Friday: hi yo, i've got plenty of time.

2011-04-22T07:20:00.000-04:00

Not much to say. Just something to loooook at. The listening isn't bad either. This video by Michael Bell-Smith comes via Art Fag City.

Art Tape: Live With / Think About from Michael Bell-Smith on Vimeo.

The Eye Candy Friday Archive

Meet yer Maykr: Charlotte Schulz. Listen on 4/19/11 @ 5pm on 91.3 FM, WVKR, Poughkeepsie, NY.

2011-04-19T00:11:00.001-04:00

Charlotte Schulz and Peter Iannarelli talking seriously.

This Meet yer Maykr installment, focusing on the work of Beacon, NY artist Charlotte Schulz has an added element: audio.

One of the drawings on the wall of Charlotte's studio.

In fact, this Meet yer Maykr is an audio studio visit which will be heard on The Dead Hare Radio Hour on WVKR 91.3 FM in Poughkeepsie NY. My conversation with Charlotte, and fellow Beaconite artist Peter Iannarelli who joined us will be aired on Tuesday April 19th at 5pm on WVKR, 91.3 FM in Poughkeepsie, NY. If you can't pick up the station, you can listen to the live stream at wvkr.org.
As usual, the podcast version of the show will be available to listen to and available for download on iTunes later in the evening of April 19.
Listen to the episode here and now:

Images from the installation Object Lesson, curated by Karlos Carcamo at Para/site in 2005.

courtesy, the artist, via: charlotteschulz.com

There are more images from the Para/Site exhibit on Charlotte's website,

and here is the Object Lesson press release.

Check back soon for more images, and audio from our studio visit.

One of the paintings from 2000 that was included in Charlotte's exhibit of paintings at the

Van Brunt Gallery in 2009.

A detail of Charlotte's untitled work for Windows on Main St., 2006

A Chelsea Stroll in March

2011-04-15T23:41:00.002-04:00

NYC is simply a dense cluster of little villages and nowhere does that notion ever feel truer than in Chelsea. I had a little time to catch a few shows back after making an art delivery back in mid March.

I saw two colleagues from MoMA at the Andrew Kreps Gallery. I ran into a designer I was helping install this week at Bard CCS. I ran into Amy Lipton on 11th Ave. Amy told me about a new gallery in Beacon that I hadn't even heard of. It's called Estuary Gallery. It's located over at the loft project off of Rt 52. Amy said she tried to go to the opening of the inaugural show the previous Saturday, but couldn't find the place (it can be confusing to navigate that area if you're not familiar with it, especially at night.)

At the Josh Smith Show at Luhring Augustine Gallery, I met Jerry Saltz, who was marvelling at the great awfomeness (my word, a cross of awesome and awful) of Smith's work - which has provided me with at least a couple of hours of entertaining conversations. Peter Acheson and I caught his previous exhibit from last March at Luhring Augustine. His latest painitngs seem to be striving more for awesomeness than awfulness (something I'm not sure could be said of previous groupings) - aside from those stop signs; I was challenged by Mr. Saltz to put something that awful in my next show. That will be priority one, next show I have.

I also met Phong Bui, editor of the Brooklyn Rail who was at the Augustine with the artist Joel Shapiro. I spoke with Phong about recording an interview with him for Dead Hare Radio. I was actually capturing ambient sounds during my walk through the galleries and created a sound collage for show #3 of Dead Har Radio.

Let's see....what did I see? Some unexpected and weird videos - in 3D by Gary Hill, “of surf, death, tropes & tableaux: The Psychedelic Gedankenexperiment,” at Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY through April 23.

I watched Terence Koh edging his way around a mound of salt on his knees at Mary Boone. Some black and white reliefs of Ellsworth Kelly at Matthew Marks, I believe. A Tara Donavan at Pace(?) that was a bit too prim for me. Also, Richard Butler had a show at Freight and Volume. I'm back and forth with his work, but I'm digging some of his new larger heads.

Eye Candy Friday: Misdirectionals

2011-04-15T18:27:00.000-04:00

I can't remember when I learned about the Dazzle Camouflage that was used for British and American navy vessels in WWI and WWII, but I do remember my surprise and thrill at the discovery of it. You'll see these images repeatedly online, along with other contemporary incarnations of the concept. For some reason, the newer and alternative (non naval) implementations of the Razzle Dazzle paint schemes don't have the umpphh that the forms overlayed onto these vessels have. The ships themselves are visually stunning canvases on which to deploy the patterns. There are many references and links to a RISD site that accompanied an exhibit about Dazzle Camou, constituted by material donated by RISD Alum, Maurice Freedman, who was a camoufleur in Florida prior to attending RISD.
The graphic patterns of the Dazzle paint schemes are particularly appealing to me currently. I'm relating them to the repetitive graphic qualities of road signs which have been becoming more an more fascinating to me in recent years and which have been finding their way into some of my paintings, but more on that later..

via: http://www.rihumanities.org/

via core principles.blogspot.com

The French Cruiser, Gloire

from Twisted Sifter via Jeff Thompson's blog.

via Twisted Sifter

via Enemy2Fashion's blog

The Mauratania in Dazzle paint, via: merchantnavyofficers.com

Technical Notice

2011-04-05T00:37:00.000-04:00

It seems my main site, christopheralbert.com was hacked or simply had a bad day last week. I'm forwarding traffic here until I get a little time to get things in order, sometime this week.

Sorry for the inconvenience....and deprivation to your visual senses...

Eye Candy Friday: Lost? Never. Just Found pt 2 *with bonus audio

2011-04-01T13:50:00.001-04:00

This week's ECF is a belated stream of consciousness addendum to the ECF of the week before last in praise of the found object.
Our recent Art Book Club (ABC) selection was W.J.T. Mitchell's What do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images; a really astute investigation of images (totems, fetishes, idols) and their presence and power society. It's well worth a read, or two. It's one of those reads that asserts itself as framing overlay for how you (I) relate to images. I also surmise that it's a book that due to the subject and structure is timeless in its relevance; it added a layer of insight and reflection on recent events in Egypt, Libya, Japan and the National Portrait Gallery and more distantly Iraq, as well as the even more quotidian visuals we encounter without noticing.
Mitchell articulates the essence of the found object in a way that I meaningful and recognizable, noting the very finding of which is, by nature a 'fortuitous circumstance'.

What better place, though, to locate the roots of the found object than in the foundling, a poor, orphaned creature that might just amount to something. The moment of finding the found object is the moment when one feels oneself to be pregnant or about to adopt something (which comes to the same thing). This is, I think quite distinct from the moment of finding the lost object (fetishism) or the sublime object of ideology (the idol), neither of which are capable of surprising anyone or of binging newness into the world.

The excerpt above, paired with a portion of a conversation I captured between Angelika and Peter Iannarelli as part of the Beacon Art Salon's Contemporary Artists on Contemporary Art series, in which Peter talks about his penchant for claiming authorship of found objects..even when those objects aren't lost crystallized the thought in my head that in some way, the studio is a place where conditions can be set in such a way as to create an instance - one that approximates that sensation of an object found.

I don't work in an overly determined manner in the studio. In fact, I leave a lot of room for randomness and automatism in the pursuit (unconsciously) of the found object. I don't think he'd agree, but when I visit Peter Iannarelli's studio, I see the mechanism found object cloning at work. But then, we're all just trying make personal discoveries...
So, slightly appropos of nothing other than through the stream of consciousness and fortuity of time, we come to the visual portion of your Eye Candy Friday serving.
Today's images come from the pre-MAYKR photo archive that I happened to be perusing through recently. I came across these images of an installation that Peter Iannarelli did in his studio at Spire Studios back in 2004, when Spire was still very much the beating heart of Beacon's art life (to my mind). This installation probably stands as the high water mark of Peter's Walmart phase. His studio was bedecked as a crazy post big box rave, complete with strobe lights streamers and giant shopping bag windsocks. Come to think of it, if I'm correct, it was a rave that sported only the sound of oscillating fans and rustling plastic. I was a majorly cool visual experience, and I treasure these photos of it. I feel fortunate that I uploaded these images two weeks ago since my external hard drive crashed to the floor last week, and possibly along with it, a substantial chunk of the unpublished MAYKR photo archive (along with a boatload of other data). I haven't yet had the stomach to really try to investigate what might be salvageable.

BTW, if you're looking for other treats in the found object category, look no further....yes, indeed, look further, but don't miss looking at......than Joy Garnett's Unmonumental series of images.

Your complete Eye Candy Friday Archive @ MAYKR.com

What the press is saying about ME.

2011-03-30T17:48:00.000-04:00

"....a friend of Ms. Rinnhofer's, artist Chris Albert." - The Pulse (of the Harvey School), March 2011, Vol 11, Issue 10.

photo: Rachael Borné/The Miscellany News

Matthew and I were interviewed by Emma Daniels of Vassar College's newspaper, The Miscellany News for a story on the Dead Hare Radio Hour. The story, Dead Hare Radio Hour fosters Hudson arts community, came out last week. The Misc.'s arts editor Rachel Borné stopped in to the radio studio while we were airing show #1 and snapped the photo above.

Just a couple of bearded, aging hippie/mountain men making radio.....or that's what the caption that comes to my mind when I look at that photo....

Eye Candy Friday: Catch an eyeful

2011-03-25T21:17:00.001-04:00

Today's ECF is a commemoration of the procedure endured today by one of us here at KAMP MAYKR.

Art Boobs is an ever growing compendium, in blog form, of all things boob in art - contemporary and not. I'm a longtime Art Boob subscriber and find it refreshing and enlightening tour through art history. I usually consume art boobs through my google reader, so on visiting the site today for research, I found that Frank van Eykelen is the man behind Art Boobs. To him, I say thank you.
And for those who find this content somehow uncouth or simply not your cup of tea, perhaps you'd appreciate Frank's compilation of photos of people with their giant zucchini on his Stereoparty blog.

But back to boobs. This Ted talk by Deborah Rhodes, is one that should be watched and passed along.

(I'll say I have had issues with the marketing juggernaut of Breast Cancer fundraising Campaigns that have infused itself into a - at the expense, I think, of other, more deadly cancers, statistically speaking. But cancer is cancer and information relating to innovations and knowledge pertaining to treating/detecting cancer in all its forms should be explored and supported and spread and given the opportunity to be debated, not cast aside by those steeped and committed to the line of conventional thought.)

Still haven't had enough? Here's a full frontal peek-a-boo taken by c-monster of a work created by Raquel Paiwonsky. I just found Paiwonsky's website, which features an eyeful and then some.

Your Eye Candy Friday archive.

Dead Hare Radio Hour, show #1 in the can.

2011-03-23T06:38:00.003-04:00

The first show of Dead Hare Radio Hour dropped yesterday. It was pretty thrilling to hear it on the radio.

What a roller coaster of emotions, stress, etc. But finally getting it on the air is exceedingly rewarding. Now we just have to turn around and do the same thing next week..and the week after that and the week after that.

You can listen to show #1 on the player below. And by this point, it should be downloadable...(We're still learning this as we go.)

The Dead Hare Radio Hour Launches, March 22, 2011

2011-03-22T00:04:00.000-04:00

I've been chained to my computer of late even more than previously. The culprit behind this turn of events (aside from my own impetuous urge to get my self into burdensome, but rewarding projects) is The Dead Hare Radio Hour.
DHRH is a joint project with Matthew Slaats. He had proposed to me the possibility of doing an art related radio show at least a year ago. Ideas are easy to say yes to when they are just ideas. Matthew had shopped the concept around to a couple of local internet radio operations before it occurred to him to check with Vassar College's radio station, WVKR. Matthew works at Vassar in the technology department. The proposal was accepted and we were suddenly faced with a new recurring deadline, another unpaid gig that comes fully loaded with a vacuum custom made for sucking up hours of personal time. We both had one of those "oh shit" moments. Then we went forward, with trepidation and excitement at every step.
Our first show airs tomorrow, March 22 at 5pm, Eastern Time. Our regular timeslot - provided we're not pitched from the station will be Tuesdays from 5-6pm. In addition to the broadcast originating in the Hudson Valley (the signal strength is 3400 watts and can be heard in portions of five states,) the show will be streamed live on WVKR's website, and it will be available for download as a podcast. (Podcast will be available for download by Wednesday evenings....consider subscribing to it - when the feed is set up this Wednesday.)

The format of the show will largely be talk, with interviews and conversations with artists and curators and such, but we also want to feature sound works from artists and musicians and folks who are engaged in radio as an art medium.
Matthew and I are of like minds on many fronts - one of them being that we both are interested in catalyzing and sharing conversations about art and culture - but we bring different aspects to the show. He's an artist with heavy a social practice bent and I tinker in the studio. I think he's more concerned with investigating the role of the artist in society than I am and this may well be reflected in the directions we each follow in uncovering content for the show.

The Hudson Valley will be a major focus of the show content, a - because there's a lot of interesting people and projects based here, and b - because this is where we're at, and the content of the show will, in some way, be borne of convenience (but not of laziness.) But it's not only going limited to this region...by any means. We'll be capturing the folks we encounter on our art-driven paths. It's a big/small world out there and we're interested in examining how concerns/inspirations/connectedness in large and small contexts intermingle and influence the work and conversations that are happening on the ground, in any region. We will be bringing on board other contributors to add to our coverage.

Given our schedules, much of the show content will be pre-recorded, although we look forward to doing some live in studio things as we are able. I think we're both far less interested in interviewing people than capturing conversations between people. I, for one, am an avid listener. I hope to set up situations that other folks are apt to enjoy listening to.

So Show #1 features two interviews. We speak with Carolina Miranda of the blog c-monster.net and Duncan McKenzie of Bad at Sports. I follow both of these individuals, gladly. ( I've been an avid listener of the B@S podcast since 2007. It is my weekly dose of art.) Part of what I appreciate most about both of these projects is the mixture of intelligent reflection and humor (not rarely, the adolescent kind.) High and Low, intermingled as they should be.
I find both of these interviews entertaining and informative. I hope ya'll will too. This being our first show - there is some unevenness in the audio quality of show 1, but we're learning valuable lessons everyday as we get our radio legs.

Why the name? There's a little context on the Dead Hare website, and I'll be posting a bit on that here soon too.

Today Angelika reminded me of these photos she took of a dead hare several years ago in Eastern Colorado. Dead Hares are everywhere these days.

Eye Candy Friday: Lost? Never. Just found.

2011-03-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

I spied this small sculpture while walking to the Hudson Valley Tweetup held at Chill last Sunday afternoon. Though tiny, this piece has a presence that could rival any di Suvero over at Storm King (which opens its 2011 season on Apr1, BTW.) On the way back, this thing still presented a pull on me. So I took it home.

The new acquisition, re-sited at Kamp Maykr.

This found work in Poughkeepsie strongly recalls (to my mind) the recent David Hammons exhibit at L&M Arts in NYC

This jacked up Mac laptop screen could pass as a pretty good abstract Cosima Von Bonin piece.

(I couldn't get a photo without that glare)

The full Eye Candy Friday archive over @ MAYKR.com

Little Bits

2011-03-16T23:15:00.000-04:00

Two months have passed since the Kamp Maykr household was diminished by a third. Although she was physically tiny, Icci more than adequately occupied/filled the space in this threeway domestic situation. She was fourteen years old, and over the course of those years, she became my master, and in the last several years could play me masterly, like an instrument.
She was a malnourished, wheezy five week old South Beach stray. My neighbor found her while walking her dogs and brought her home later suggesting that I consider taking her. The prospect of making such a commitment, one that could easily span ten years, terrified me. She was adorable, but being tied down, even by one as minuscule as she was seemed overwhelmingly monumental. Judging by my reluctance, one might expect I was facing a marriage with a ready made family and all the responsibilities commensurate with that. But somehow I took on that responsibility, and swore that I would do what I could to give her a life better than the one she was otherwise destined for on the street. My friend Cynthia contributed a nebulizer (even took her to the vet and, I believe, took care of the initial vet bills.... (THX CYN)) and we created a vapor tent to treat her lung infection.
All of this was before she was Icci. I think Cynthia gave her some froufy name in the interem. I was planning on naming her Balthus, but that concept was met with derision from many around me. Her proper name, Euridice came from a certain operaphile/phone which appealed to me since I could diminish it to the mispronounced Icci. In recent weeks, I have come to see her diminutive name as a composition a work that has both a symmetry and is unsymmetrical.

The lid of her left eye had this little "v" shaped void (I assume from cut from her life on the street) that resulted in that eye never fully being closed. The white on her muzzle was always distractingly asymmetrical and I sometimes wished I could smudge a little paint on there to even up the effect.

Several works been several works have been directly or indirectly inspired by Icci. Here are a few of them:

Orfeo et Euridice, 1997, oil and collage on canvas

Icci, collage, acrylic on paper, 2004, 9"x12"

Repose, oil on masonite, 2005 48"x48"

Depletion Drawing 18, 2007

Depletion Drawing 16, 2007

Angelika Rinnhofer, Felsenfest XIV

eehcee 2011, marker, oil on panel

2011

Fourteen years of that ten year commitment have passed. I'd gladly sign on for at least another ten - complete with all the half fitful nights of sleep with her her tiny leaden body pinning me down while she slept like a baby. A tiny, furry, lovely smelly little baby.

Dead Hare Radio, Art International Radio, (performance by dubknowdub, Mar 10)

2011-03-09T23:41:00.000-05:00

Looking down from the 12+1th Floor.

We haven't gotten our first air date yet, but Matthew Slaats and I are gathering content for our new joint endeavor, The Dead Hare Radio Hour. Last night I headed down to the Clocktower Gallery and the studios of AIR (Art International Radio,) formerly WPS1, to interview AIR Managing Director Beatrice Johnson and Director of Programs David Weinstein to talk about the history.

STO installing his works on paper.

Additionally, I chatted with STO, who along with ELI, make up the visual and noise making entity DubknowDub. The duo will be culminating their month long Time Sync Laboratory Residency at the Clocktower with an exhibit and performance, tomorrow (March 10) @ 6-9pm. STO was in the process of installing his ink on paper works. He explained that along with the visual works he and ELI created during their time in the Clocktower, they've been sampling the creepy sounds made by the building late in the night. Apparantly, a man committed suicide in the Clock Tower in 1913, and it's said the building is haunted....
A quote from a note on the deceased's body in the original NY Times story:
"Dear Art: Everything you've done for me sticks me like a pin." Yep. That sounds about right.

STO's battery powered grocery cart - instrument.

If you want to catch tomorrow night's performance at the Clocktower Gallery at 108 Leonard St, here are instructions on getting into the building. The evening's events can also be heard on the ARTonAIR audio stream.

AIR has an extensive archive of audio documentation on its website. The audio stream features a mixture of art and culture related conversation and music and sound works. Definitely worth spending time to dig through for some treasures.

Mary Heilmann's Two Lane Blacktop, 2009

is one many permanent works installed throughout the space.

Thanks to Beatrice and David, and STO for taking time to speak with me.

A little Small Talk

2011-03-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

I'll be participating in an informal panel discussion to accompany the exhibit, Small, in which I have some work. The panel will include most of the artists in the show: Claire Lofrese, Kazumi Tanaka, Kirsten Kucer, Deb Davidovits, John Allen, Susan Walsh, Greg Slick, Jill Reynolds and it will be moderated by Jennifer Mackiewicz, the exhibition curator.

The talk is happening at Hudson Beach Glass at 162 Main St in Beacon, and it starts at 5pm.

Eye Candy Friday: You'll spoil your dinner.

2011-03-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

Ms. Rinnhofer's digital photo class at The Harvey School got an assignment this week:

Serve up your Eye Candy Friday for the week.

Ms. Rinnhofer has many talents. Not the least among these talents is her ability to whip up a delicious and nutritious meal for herself and me, seemingly from thin air.
A certain egg and potato thingy that was last Saturday's lunch sported an uncanny likeness of a human skull. I simply cut a potato into small pieces for teeth and Voila! a class assignment was born. The students were charged with making faces with their food and photograph the results - like a table top Archimboldo. The students then voted on the selections that are included in this post. Here they are in no particular order.

Anderson Greenwood

Armando Vazquez

Emily Silk

James Underwood

Natasha Stein

Shovana Clarke

Maya Sank

My thanks go to the students for willingly contribute their work to this post. Thanks to their teacher too for such nice lunches.

The complete Eye Candy Friday Archive.

Words Words Words

2011-03-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

I have, in recent weeks, been treated to and participated in an awful lot of talking.
Matthew Slaats and I are on the verge of launching our weekly art oriented radio program for Vassar College's radio station, 91.3 WVKR, which will also be available in podcast form. The Dead Hare Radio Hour (our show) is responsible for a majority of this talkto which I've been privy...and that part for which it has not been responsible, I'm sure it will find a way to usurp in some way.

Here's a little rundown of what I've heard, and what you may end up hearing through the radio show:

Lori Grinker (left) with Sabine Meyer at Fovea

Feb 12 - Stephanie Heimann & Lori Grinker @ Fovea: Lori Grinker gave a talk relating to her current exhibit of photos of Iraqi refugees at Fovea. I interviewed both Stephanie and Lori.

Feb 15 - A triple header @ Vassar: Matthew and I conversed while walking through the 150 years Later exhibit at the Francis Lehman Loeb Art Center. While there we happened upon, and interviewed, Katherine Newbegin, whose work, along with Tina Barney and Tim Davis, is featured in the show. Tina Barney gave a talk on her career. Ira Glass gave a talk and schooled a standing room only crowd on making radio and crafting compelling narrative (particularly timely for me.)

Feb 16 - Peter Iannarelli and Jill Reynolds came over to Kamp Maykr for sustenance and satisfying conversation as part of Angelika's Hole In The Head "salon" series.

Feb 21 - My first solo DHRH interview via Skype with Carolina Miranda. A real treat, and a great way to get auger in this new interview based vocation.

Feb 22 - Matthew and I interviewed (also via Skype) Duncan McKenzie of Bad At Sports. Lots of fun. Plus, our talk with Duncan inspired us to create and deploy (out of necessity) our first show "feature" which we'll calling the "Duncan McKenzie Working Blue Profanity To Sound Effect Conversion Chart" - we will be on drive time radio after all. When needed for reference, the chart will be available on the DHRH site.

Feb 23 - I sat in on a talk at Bard CCS by Debra Singer, outgoing Executive Director of The Kitchen on the topic of archiving performance and art events. The Kitchen is planning a 40th Anniversary Exhibit of selections of its archive...sometime this Summer.

Angelika and Peter on the couch at last night's talk.

March 2 - Peter Iannarelli and Angelika Rinnhofer spoke as part of a series of talks organized by the Beacon Art Salon at the Beahive. Aesthetics and meaning in the context of contemporary art was the theme of the talk.....and I imagine I'll find a way of getting audio from that onto the air.

So much for the past, here's a bit of what's coming up:

March 5 @ 11 am - Jill Reynolds is giving a talk in Pawling, NY on her work and the work of other artists who are inspired by and use scientific concepts in their work. This talk is held in conjunction with Jill being a 2010 DCAC Fellow.

March 12 - Small Talk (4 or 4:30ish). A table top discussion at Hudson Beach Glass as part of the Small exhibit on view there now. I'll be participating, and likely trying to record it.

Apr 9 - Fovea will be holding a panel discussion as part of Lori Grinker's exhibit. Fovea is hoping to raise funds to bring one of the refugees, a young man named Ali, from TX to Beacon for the talk. They could use some help making this trip happen financially. If you'd like to assist, please visit the website to find out how to help.

That's it for now. More is coming up. I just needed to share this sliver of my last 2 or 3 weeks. Remember, Dead Hare Radio Hour....coming soon.

James Westwater @ kork through April

2011-03-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

James Westwater's turn on the board of kork started this week. Through the end of April, a selection of James' Evidence Bags will be scrolling across the board.

Eye Candy Friday: Separated at Adolescence

2011-02-25T23:58:00.006-05:00

My assistant editor for EFC came across these photographs (via twistedsifter.com) by Irina Werning that reunite her subjects with their younger selves by crafting present day recreations of their childhood photos. Many of them are very funny and the detail of replication is pretty spectacular in some.

Extending a thread of thought....

So Werning's project is a sort of temporal displacement of twins within a self. This photo by André Kertész (via the very fine artboobs) projects an expression of the simultaneously conjoining of the self over and over and over again.

The full archive of Eye Candy Fridays.

Small @ Hudson Beach Glass, through March 20

2011-02-20T21:54:00.000-05:00

Small, the exhibit curated by Jennifer Mackiewicz at Hudson Beach Glass will remain on view through March 20. Here are some pics from the exhibit:

Claire Lofrese, After 24 Colors for Blinky by Imi Knoebel, 2011

Gerda van Leeuwen, Insects Caught (on wall) with porcelain sculptures

Jill Reynolds, Ancestor, Recollection, Memorandum, 2000

John Allen, Promise, 2011

Deborah Davidovits, Mended Pegasus, 2002 and Mended Cat and Dog, 2002

Above: a selection of my white board paintings and collages.

Domivox.com; check it out, 2011

Above, rocker, by me with, above and below, Kirsten Kucer's

Postcards from Another Place, 2011

Greg Slick's Maya, 2010 entails a video feed of a bedscape beamed from the cot to a monitor.

Susan Magnus, Untitled, 2002

Susan Walsh Residue of Gesture Series: Shelf in Rusty Garden Shed, 2009

Peter Yamoaka Giorgio Morandi: Natura Morte, 2009. Above, a set of his Dioramas

Kazumi Tanaka, Separation, 2002

Carla Goldberg on the kork board through the end of February

2011-02-19T22:47:00.001-05:00

Play, 2010 ink on paper, lights

Carla Goldberg's Play has been providing a sort of light therapy to the office of Bailey Browne & Assoc. while encouraging members of the staff not to work too hard. Goldberg's work which has been installed at kork since the beginning of the year remains on view through the end of this month.
Here's the text of the press release:

The dead of winter, can strain the patience and cheer of even the most jovial of individuals and, at about this time of year, extreme bouts of cabin fever start to be distracting. Weather such as we've experienced this season in NY can aggravate the general imbalance of life and work that Carla Goldberg’s kork artwork speaks to. Play, 2010 is an emphatic exhortation to the staff of Bailey Browne CPA & Assoc. to not to work too hard - in their own words. The artist collected writing samples from every staff member. The phrase “All work and no play makes _____ a dull boy (or girl)” was penned by each staff member in his or her own hand, filling in his or her own name in the phrase. The written samples were then copied multiple times by the artist and layered densely to form one incessant mantra backlit by blinking white Christmas lights which serve to make the singular message even more assertive.
Are these the words the waning echo of a New Year’s resolution gone dormant - one our inner voice quite let go of yet? Is the blinking light a cheery alleviation of the season’s shortened daylight, or an unstopping, pulsating drone that recalls the excess of the holiday season recently passed?
Our society’s most popular self help gurus teach that one must manifest the reality one desires, and a first step along that manifestation is often writing messages of affirmation and encouragement to oneself - repeatedly so. And it is through that repetition of the message (the shining example of Jack Nicholson aside) that the desired new reality can take hold. By most accounts, this may be true of the art work’s message to staff to not work so hard as to exclude a little fun (even in the midst of tax season,) with perhaps the exception of Robert, whose office looks directly onto the flashing kork board and who has reported on the slightly unsettling effect of those flashing lights.
We can only hope Spring arrives real soon.

Up next on kork: James Westwater for March and April.

Eye Candy Friday: Unprotected Techs

2011-02-18T07:26:00.000-05:00

This week's selection comes to us via Building the Perfect Beast. Dead Drop is an offline file sharing network created by Aram Bartholl during his residency at Eyebeam in October, 2010. The street level guerrilla nature of this form of sharing and communicating is appealing. I see a whole sci fi analog to the project, one in which a wormhole onto a plane of virtual space(information) can be accessed by the enlightened on an otherwise unremarkable streetscape.
I am given pause, however, when I consider the prospect of laying bare one's USB port to any cyber sailor looking to dip his wick or some nefarious goodfornothing out for a cheap thrill who could, intentionally or not, give your computer scabies.
On the other hand, as the Bad Idea Jeans commercial says, "....But then I thought, when am I going to make it back to Haiti."

Dead Drops 'How to' - NYC from aram bartholl on Vimeo.

You can see all the ECF's on maykr.com

Franz West in the Sun & Snow

2011-02-16T12:53:00.000-05:00

A view of Franz West's sculptures Couch, Mercury and Laube in the snow outside of the Hessel Museum.

Eye Candy Friday: Film-Strip Tease

2011-02-11T23:30:00.000-05:00

Here is your moment of....Winter? For those not getting enough...
Angelika is working on a project part of which, since September, entails hanging strips of developed 35mm film from any vertical structure available in the yard.
This here footage was filmed in January on a day after yet another accumulation of snow and the wind was gently but persistently teasing image laden streamers..
The background audio is from a talk I was listening to by Pete Favat for the SVA Designer As Author Series.
Just so you know, this video is about 15 mins. long - and nothing really happens in it. Enjoy.

Eye Candy Friday Archive.

Small - opening at Hudson Beach Glass, Feb 12, 2011

2011-02-08T23:37:00.001-05:00

I will have some work included in an exhibit curated by Jennifer Mackiewicz called Small at Hudson Beach Glass in Beacon, NY. The exhibit opens on Saturday, Feb 12 with a reception from 6-9pm and will continue through March 20.
The show includes some other mighty fine artists like: John Allen, Deborah Davidovits, Kirsten Kucer, Gerda Van Leeuwen, Claire Lofrese, Susan Magnus, Jill Reynolds, Greg Slick, Kazumi Tanaka Susan Walsh and Peter Yamaoka.

Upcoming speaker schedule at Vassar College's Art Dept.

2011-02-06T10:18:00.000-05:00

For those interested, here is the schedule of upcoming events and speakers which will be gracing Vassar's Art Dept this Spring:

February 2 Tuesday African Art – Zoe Strother. Postponed - to be rescheduled

February 15, Tuesday, time - 5:30 or thereabouts, T203 or T102 - a Lehman Loeb speaker, cosponsored by the Art Department. (Tina Barney)

February 24, Thursday 5 - 6:30 pm, T203 (Clarissa Sligh)

March 1, Tuesday 5:30 p m, (Carrie Moyers)

April 4 Monday - 5 - 6:30 pm, T203 (Barbara Boehm)

April 6, Wednesday 5:30-6:30 pm, Rose Parlor (a reception and informal discussion with Aaron Fein, Dahlia Lithwick and heather Raffo on Interdisciplinary Art)

April 8, Friday 3-4:30p.m, Sanders 212, (panel discussion with Aaron Fein and Dahlia Lithwick, on Creative Expression and Free Speech)

April 8, Friday 5-7:00 pm, Frances Fergusson Quad, (official opening for White Flags Installation).

April 21, Thursday, 5 or 5:30, T203, (Peter Eleey)

In vassar related news, it looks like Matthew Slaats and I will be producing and hosting a weekly art related radio show called the Dead Hare Radio Hour on Vassar's radio station 91.3 FM WVKR. Stay tuned for details.

Eye Candy Friday: Refined Sweetness

2011-02-04T23:18:00.000-05:00

Eye Candy Friday, a one time frequent feature at MAYKR.com is back. Starting today, I'll be posting visual treats every friday from here on out. The complete archive of ECF posts can be found at MAYKR.

This is Friday. This is your Candy:

Up this week is the new Google Art Project which is a site that culls selections of works from 17 art museums from around the world. The site brings the google street view technology to bear on certain galleries and halls of some of the finest galleries out there.

There's never a substitute for viewing artwork in person, but this project goes along way in bringing the ambiance of some of these galleries home if you can't make to the actual locations. These works are seen in context with their neighbors. Trolling through the galleries evoke a semblance of the experience of travelling through the physical spaces. There are some galleries in the Met's section which are jarringly washed out, otherwise the quality of image is fairly decent. I'm digging sitting here on the sofa, traipsing around the galleries of the Gemäldegalerie seeking out a few of the paintings that struck me when I was there the Summer before last.

I certainly don't need an excuse to be on the computer for any longer than I do already, but it can be rewarding time, as long as you're there. I expect to use the art project for my own research....which may well end up in some form in my work down the road.

I also expect the website will be informing future ECFs.

Golden Oldies/ Buried Treasure

2011-02-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

Rooting around in my Denver storage area to prepare for the works on paper trunk sale I held at Michele Mosko Fine Art in August, I uncovered loads of small works on paper that hadn't seen the light of day for some time. Here are images of a few them:

charcoal on paper, 8"x10"

The first of a series of studies for a larger scaled illustration of stories told to me

by folks I encountered while travelling.

pastel on vinyl

A segment of another illustrated story.

Works created in Switzerland in 1992:

drypoint, 1992, 5"x8"

One of two prints I created using a small press in the studio of Henri Presset.

charcoal on paper, 1992, 28"x22"

Versions of my view out of the kitchen on Rue De Montchoisy

pastel on paper, 1992

A variation on my favorite street scape in Geneva.

pencil, oil pastel on paper, 1993

Remnants of my time in Miami Beach:

Meditations on the liquid horizon, 1995.

An homage to Beuys using the dregs after a party @ Sarah Lawrence College, 1992.

self portrait, ink on paper, 1995

watercolor, spraypaint, 1997

watercolor, 1998

Not everything in my trove of treasures was created by me.

There are several examples of narrative maps that folks have made for me. This one, by Cheryl Bainum, tells of travels through the American Southwest.

This portrait of me done by a mystery woman in a park in Geneva gave birth to a portrait project that I carried around on my back for two years in the form of two sketchpads. This project, which I intend to digitize this year entailed portraits of and by some 95 people....

The crown jewel of my collection was found behind a drawer of a dresser in Miami Beach. Simple, direct, obsessive. All the stuff of really great art.

Finally, not all of the gems uncovered in storage belonged to me. Icci's inner kitten broke through the surface playing with this long forgotten toy.drawing her to play like she hadn't done in recent years.

Opening @ C. Bass Fine Arts, and other stuff

2011-01-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

Here are a few images from last weekend's opening at C. Bass International Fine Arts Co.'s second opening, Chapter 2: boredom and fear and anger....Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The gallery now has a website as is indicated by the colored text of the gallery's name..

David Hammons, African American Flag

Though thoroughly unrelated, I can't help but think of Elia Gurna's chromatic flag tweaking from the 2006 edition of Windows on Main St.

Karlos Carcamo's "Liberty St"

Note, Karlos has a brand spanking new website with his work. Also, part two of the Illustrious Mr. X exhibit Karlos co-curated with Greg Slick opened this past week at the Dorsky Museum in New Paltz, NY.

Elements of Jane Johnston's Complaint and Newburgh Kitchen along with

Holly Laws The Dog Tag Project in the foreground.

I kept trying to take a shot that would make it look like one of the suspended balls in Wolfgang Berkowski's Hard Rain was about to slip into this dude's mouth. This was the best one, and it's not very good.

Also last week, I stopped in briefly to the reopening of the Loeb Art Center at Vassar. They galleries were closed for seven months for renovation. The Harold Roseman Hole in the Wall mural from last year has been buried under some fresh white paint. The new photo exhibit of scenes of Vassar life by Tina Barney, Tim Davis and Katherine Newbegin opened last night.

Meet yer Maykr: Marc Willhite

2011-01-07T07:25:00.003-05:00

Buddy and collaborator of mine, Marc Willhite, will be kicking off the 2011 exhibition schedule at Ironton in Denver on January 14 with an exhibit of new work entitled Soft Descriptions which will run through February 19.

I snapped some photos on my visit to Marc's studio back in November 2009. I returned again in August of this year when I was able to see some candidates for the Soft Descriptions show in their nascent state.

work table

Over the years, I've looked at Marc as a metric against which I've measured my own development.
Marc and I met in our Freshman year of college. We had a drawing class together. Out paths diverted when I left college after Sophomore year. He finished and went on to get his MFA while I did what I did - which was bot get an MFA. Or a BFA for that matter. We met up again a few years after college. Though our approaches and experiences had evolved differently, a root commonality we shared from those early days allowed each of us to serve as a calibrated voice of critique for the work of the other. I think this quality in our interactions has continued lo these many years. The differences in process/practice we exhibit are clear indications of the divergence of our developmental experiences . Marc is more conceptually and intellectually grounded than am I. I get the ideas (eventually,) and I can get excited about them, but my response always comes, initially, viscerally. (If my gizzard could read and reason, I could be unstoppable.) That said, his work at its base is also driven by intuition and it's often inventive.

pattern, color form.

a couple of works on canvas

Marc now has a website of his work at marcwillhite.com

In 2007 Marc and I collaborated to create the In the Spirit of the Text exhibit at the Curtis Arts and Humanities Center in Greenwood Village, CO.

In 2008 Marc had an exhibit at Pirate in Denver. I posted some exhibition installation shots here.

In 2009 Marc created a work for kork in Poughkeepsie, NY.

In the foreground, you can see Marc's Dec 13th contribution to the 2009 kork Advent project.

collages on interior shots from magazines

Drape, 2005, scotch tape. at Echo

Marc's contribution to the 2005 installment of the Windows on Main St. Exhibit here in Beacon, NY

Shots from 2010 studio visit:

mylar tape on wall

susan sontag

Here's the press release for the exhibit:

“Soft Descriptions” is Marc Willhiteʼs ﬁrst solo exhibition at Ironton Studios. The work in
the exhibit is text-based and features a wide range of materials including etched glass,
neon, translucent push pins, oil on linen, latex on panel, ink jet prints, spray paint on
paper and direct carving into the gallery walls. The scale of the work varies from
discreet works of sixteen square inches to ﬂoor-to-ceiling, wall-size installation. It is a
formal exploration of the ways words exist, particularly in relation to how we visualize
and use them: a collection of textual depictions, “portraits” of words, terms and phrases.

The work for this exhibition is primarily rooted in Willhiteʼs interest in language. From
the artistʼs statement:

“Language is not so absurd, though our use of it often is. We are regularly
constructing realities incongruent with our experience. This project embraces this
characteristic aspect of our use of language (along with the reality that words are
subject to misunderstandings and misconceptions) and explores the arbitrary nature,
excessive possibilities and inevitable shortcomings of textual description.”

Willhite is a multi-disciplinary artist living and working in Denver, CO. He has an MFA in
painting and drawing and an art history minor from the University of Minnesota, Twin-
Cities and a BFA from Colorado State University with a double concentration in painting
and drawing. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, been included in various
publications and maintains a collaborative practice with several artists working around
the U.S.

When Nature Imitates Art

2011-01-01T21:12:00.001-05:00

I found the Nose of God (according to John Baldessari)on our neighbor's roof yesterday. Let's call it a miracle. It's funny that the last memorable moment of visual rhyming I discovered also centered around a nose: Giacometti's Nose, out on I 84.

John Baldessari, God Nose, via: tate.org.uk

Remember, JB's retrospective at the Met is on through next Sunday the ninth.

Upstate road trip

2010-12-29T22:41:00.000-05:00

Sponge Bob and Patrick hitching a ride on the back end of a tractor trailer.

Yesterday, Mark DeLura, Peter Acheson and I made a road trip up to Saratoga Springs to visit the Jewel Thief exhibit at the Tang Museum and then to Greenwich, NY to visit Martin Bromirski's studio. I'll focus specifically on Martin's studio visit in an upcoming post. For now, here are a few images from the rest of our day:

Images of the Saratoga Diner where we enjoyed an excellent breakfast for lunch.

two "disorienting" images of Richard Woods' "wood" flooring and Jim Hodges' greyscale camo.

The Jewel Thief exhibit at the Tang is co-curated by Jessica Stockholder and Tang curator Ian Berry features the work of 60 artists. There are a handful of short videos of the artists and the curators speaking about their work on the museum's website. The exhibit will remain on view through Feb 27.

Jörg Bivendørf @ kork for 3 more days

2010-12-29T21:16:00.000-05:00

Just a few days more to catch foreign fashion impresario Jörg Bivendørf's safe for work centerfold at kork.

A Winter of Openings and Closings in Beacon NY

2010-12-29T13:13:00.002-05:00

The scene of VBG's final opening.

Beacon's December Second Saturday marked some beginnings and endings in Beacon, NY. "One for the Road", a group show at the Van Brunt Gallery is the final exhibit for the gallery in a permanent space after some 8 years of operation (two of those years at the current location of 137 Main.) The gallery is proper is going away, but a disembodied form of it will continue with occasional exhibits elsewhere - perhaps most frequently at the Upstairs gallery at Hudson Beach Glass where Carl is planning to organize an exhibition in January. This current and final show at 137 Main St will remain open through December 30th. With Van Brunt closing, the Back Room Gallery dons the mantle of oldest permanent "gallery" in town (with the exception of the Howland Cultural Center). Sometimes you simply can't predict these things.

That Saturday night I drove into town that from the South and spied a new apparently eponymous space called the Russell Cusick Gallery; a cringe inducing drive-by of what I percieved from the car to be Thomas Kinkade-like paintings. Turned out they are photographic prints coated over(for some reason) with an impasto of clear acrylic medium. Cusick's images of the Hudson Valley are featured in the Beacon Institute's gallery through March 6, 2011.

My initial mission for the night was to check out the C. Bass International Fine Arts Co., a gallery located on the East end of Main St (498 Main), which opened stealthily in November and only came to my attention through an email from Karlos Carcamo who is represented by a piece in the inaugural show.

Astute fans of Gossip Girl might pick up on the allusion posed by the gallery's name. Or maybe they won't. As stated in the initial press release, C. Bass Intl's projects "will encompass an interdisciplinary approach that references art history, cultural studies, material culture and popular culture."
The press release for the first exhibit was immediately distinctive for its language and the thoughtfulness behind the concept for the inaugural exhibit "Chapter 1: Ever after....", which concentrates on issues of appropriation. The exhibition's installation itself is an appropriation of the manner of presentation of the Barnes Foundation. In this case, decorative/functional wrought iron pieces hand forged by blacksmith Gary Cheney Windham are dispersed throughout the gallery in and amongst the artworks (from the press release): "The physical installation of the exhibition is reminiscent of the Barnes Foundation’s "wall ensembles" that include examples of decorative metalwork hung alongside masterpieces of painting such as Courbet’s Woman with White Stockings."
Artists featured in the exhibit are: Peter Coffin, Elaine Sturtevant, Richard Pettibone, Wolfgang Berkowski, Andra Ursuta, Karlos Carcamo, George Wichelns and Cristina Leung. This exhibition is open through Dec 29. There is no gallery website as of yet, but I have posted the first press release in a google doc. and will do so for future releases until I have a site to link to.
The gallery's next exhibit opening later in January will be a group show that addresses themes of revolution, protest, anarchy and utopia - framed through a lens inspired by a Jean Luc Godard film.
I'm excited to see what gallery owner/director Cindy Smith will do with this space. I appreciate the level of intellectual rigor and spirit of experimentation I have gleaned from my conversation with her. I expect C. Bass to be a bright light in an otherwise dimming, dulling horizon for Beacon's visual art landscape.

Chapter 1 Ever after...installation views

In other news, after years of false starts and rumors of potential buyers, Beacon's old high school building which has been known as Beacon Studios for the past few years apparently has a flesh and blood new buyer and the sale is set to close this week (and perhaps has closed by the time this post is published.) From what I gather, the new owner plans to develop a handful of pricey live/work condos while maintaining most of the occupancy of the artist studios currently in the building. Like echos of yesteryear, it seems that future intentions of the prospective buyers include establishing a museum/art center of some sort in the building which would complement Dia:Beacon as an art destination.

Day by Day, Done

2010-12-25T19:38:00.000-05:00

Some images of the densely packed advent calendar/ mini sculpture park that has been living and growing on my work table as I create a new sculpture (as an exchange for the minuscule pieces of chocolate hidden inside) each day of these last 24 days.

Day by Day: Dec 24

2010-12-24T23:48:00.002-05:00

outdoor carpet

Day by Day: Dec 23

2010-12-23T23:46:00.001-05:00

cast latex paint, outdoor carpet

Day by Day: Dec 22

2010-12-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

wood, drywall

Day by Day: Dec 21

2010-12-22T23:00:00.000-05:00

push pins, the clear kind

Day by Day: Dec 20

2010-12-20T22:53:00.000-05:00

screws, plastic caps

Day by Day : Dec 19

2010-12-19T22:52:00.000-05:00

wood, gypsum, latex paint, latex caulk

Oh Christmas Thing 2010

2010-12-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

To aggrandize the Christmas Thing with a plethora of photos from multiple angles goes against the existenstial raison d'etre that rests at its core. Poorly lit, blurry snaps of the piece leaving one unsure of what one is seeing, has been de rigeur in past years which seems to be the way it should be.

But since the image quality of the online feed is even more indistinct, I thought I'd throw some bones for anyone who wanted to get the gist of what they're seeing.

So my plan is to stream the Christmas Thing Feed every evening (as long as I'm home to do it) until 10pm through Christmas Day.

Online Streaming of the 2010 Christmas Thing. 7pm (EST) Today

2010-12-19T15:37:00.006-05:00

Click here for details on Christmas Things past.

Update 12/19, 8 pm: Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to the Lighting stream. I hope the audio levels were alright. As is usually the case, we had to scramble our plans a bit at the last minute and improv - but that's par for the course.

As I said, this Thing is our own take on the televised yule log. I'll be streaming the piece each night through Christmas.

I neglected to mention that the music your listening to now, and which was the intro and outro for the broadcast is called Latin Surf, courtesy of einLab. Not exactly xmasy, but a catchy little groove.

Also, if you're into ice cream treats, check out my co-host Frits' company St Clair Ice Cream. They're bite sized morsels of tasty tasty ice cream and sorbet. I can attest that they are a hit at events and parties.

Day by Day: Dec 18

2010-12-18T22:59:00.000-05:00

outdoor carpet, cardboard, construction adhesive

Day by Day: Dec 17

2010-12-17T21:58:00.001-05:00

matboard, latex paint

Day by Day: Dec 16

2010-12-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

construction adhesive

Day by Day: Dec 15

2010-12-15T23:26:00.000-05:00

plastic nozzles

Day by Day: Dec 14

2010-12-14T22:50:00.000-05:00

plaster, copper

Oh Holy Mother of all Christmas Things!

2010-12-14T00:57:00.003-05:00

Your Christmas season just got a little more wonderful: I am hereby officially announcing The online broadcast of the Official Lighting of the 2010 Christmas Thing strait to your living room - or where ever else you can access it. This momentous event which will be happening here at Kamp Maykr in Beacon, NY will be streamed LIVE online to the furthest corners of the globe at www.christopheralbert.com .
For the last few years at Christmas, I've been creating these assemblage/sculpture/holiday decoration contraptions that I've affectionately named the Christmas Thing s.
If in looking at these things you don't quite get the spirit of the thing, let me explain this way: the Christmas Thing embodies my undying fondness of the season which has been informed by my mom's unmitigated passion for all things Christmas. It also entails my perplexity at the fixation we have of very specific, visual traditions......Mix those aspects with an ambition to out-mundane and out-banal that televised yule log, and you've got yourself a Christmas Thing.
And now we're sharing the experience of the Christmas Thing with living rooms around the world. This online broadcast will provide an added shot of good cheer, good neighborliness, and hopefully some good banter. Be sure to tune in to www.christopheralbert.com at 7pm Eastern Standard Time on Sunday December 19 to share in the making of memories and maybe a little history.

I vow not to waste your time - for too long.
Stay tuned for details as they develop.

Ab Ex @ MoMA

2010-12-14T00:29:00.000-05:00

Hans Hofmann, Cathedral, 1959

Upon first viewing MoMA's AbExNY show at the exhibit's opening at MoMA, my impression was that this work, Cathedral by Hans Hofmann was the rudest, rawest work on view in any of the galleries. That ceased to be the case on my subsequent visits, but it's a piece that still embodies a fair degree of cacophony, especially following a the selection of Ad Reinhardt works in the preceding gallery. There is a rudeness in the paint application, and I like that the canvas is bulging under the weight of the paint near the bottom. There's some wonderful gluttony behind this work.

Memoria in Aeternum, 1962 to the right of Cathedral

Hans Hofmann has never been a favorite painter of mine. His works always appeared to me to be more aides for teaching visual principles as opposed to a fully invested painting. But what else is a painting if not a demonstration of visual principles. I also felt more of an affinity with amorphous forms and subdued colors of other artists' paintings than with Hofmann's garish geometric-inhabited pieces. My opinion has changed, as has my visual sensibility, and I'm looking at Hofmann anew. These two Hofmanns together pack a chromatic punch that is not quite equalled anywhere else in the exhibit.

Cathedral on the right with DeKoonings A Tree in Naples, 1960, on the left with an Ad Reinhardt in

the next gallery in the center.

The exhibit has gotten criticism for not injecting any new evaluations that would challenge or tweak the traditionally held narrative of that moment in art. This viewpoint may well be valid, but for me that doesn't diminish the experience of this sprawling show in three parts that is, by and large, a treat to see.

Bradley Walker Tomlin, Number 20, 1949

Helen Frankenthaler, Trojan Gates, 1955

The Frankenthaler above is another striking piece, and one I hadn't seen before. The granulated glossy black "gates" give the impression of being covered in glitter. For some reason this imagined quality made me immediately think of Martin Bromirski's work. I was pleased that he considered this a positive evocation when I mentioned it to him a couple of weeks back - as it was intended as such.

The Inhabiter by Guston, 1965

The Clock, by Guston, 1956-57

In the exhibition catalogue, Guston's "The Clock" reads as if it's a powerful 8"x10" work. In reality, it's a powerful work on a 5-6 ft scale.

William Baziotes, Dwarf, 1947

Prize for the oddest painting in the exhibit goes to Baziotes's Dwarf. Weird, and adorable.

The exhibit remains on view through Apr. 25, 2011.

Day by Day: Dec 13

2010-12-13T23:17:00.001-05:00

cardboard, plastic

Day by Day: Dec 12

2010-12-12T19:42:00.000-05:00

foam, screws, dried adhesive

Day by Day; Dec 11

2010-12-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

foamcore, plastic

Personal Democracy Forum Panel on WikiLeaks, 12pm 12/11/10

2010-12-11T13:01:00.002-05:00

pdfleaks on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Day by Day: Dec 10

2010-12-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

This mini sculpture garden is starting to get congested.

metal, foamcoare

Day by Day: Dec 9

2010-12-09T00:39:00.000-05:00

cast latex paint

Day by Day: Dec 8

2010-12-08T23:35:00.001-05:00

kneaded eraser

Studio Update

2010-12-08T00:36:00.001-05:00

As has been the case in recent Decembers, I have the boon of some bonus time to spend in the studio. I'm using this period to embark on a bevy of small paintings. Above is a segment of pieces in the embryonic stage, ready for a little cooking while I start with another batch.
These works, some of which are on fragments of a previous, larger canvas, start off as I often begin work; as a series of stream of conscious connections. I have various modes of working, but the early stages of paintings like these are a way to mash up thoughts and images that have recently emerged, and those too that have stuck with me. At this stage, it's important for me to move quickly, get paint or pencil on the surface and toss them in the oven (anywhere out of site) where they will stew and cook for some period. At some future time, when I look at them again, I'll be reappraising the works with a different eye, a different mindset which will determine whether some of them may be further developed in a fruitful way.

I'm also working to finish up the 2008 Annual. It's taking longer than I had hoped, but it will be released before the end of the year - with the 2009 edition arriving shortly there after. Below is what I believe will be the cover for 2008.

PS. Annual 2007 is on sale for $8.40 through December 31 ( It's regularly $10.)

Day by Day: Dec 7

2010-12-07T23:52:00.000-05:00

thumb tack, dried Gorilla Glue, pin

Day by Day: Dec 6

2010-12-06T23:26:00.000-05:00

joint compound, paint, fish hooks

Day by Day: Dec 5

2010-12-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

paper

Day by Day: Dec 4

2010-12-04T23:45:00.000-05:00

styrofoam, coated wire

Tanks for the memories

2010-12-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

For Thanksgiving we spent a couple of nights at the Braccioforte Brewhaus in Brooklyn relaxing, reading, and administering the occasional kitty laxative.
On the actual day of Thanks frau noodle and I strolled around Chinatown and Little Italy, up to the Whole Foods on Bowery and Houston to pick up fixin's for dinner - and to play with some fresh fish, then a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge. A gratitude inducing day, for sure.

The beginnings of Kenny Sharf's Mural on Bowery & Houston.

David Salle, John Baldessari & Pure Beauty @ the Met

2010-12-03T23:44:00.001-05:00

David Salle and John Baldessari prior to their talk.

(Note: I say PRIOR to the talk.since we were informed that pictures were not allowed during the event.)

A packed house in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Met (I didn't know there was an auditorium in the museum) was on hand for a talk between David Salle and his former professor John Baldessari on Nov 21. The presentation was less a conversation than a straight question and answer session, which made for a more focused and informative exchange.

A video of the talk should be available on the Met's website at some point. Once it is posted, I'm sure you'll find it worth a viewing. Until then here are a few notes I jotted down.

Baldessari considers himself a closet formalist.
The work "Baldessari Sings Lewitt, 1972 - "Product of being bored on a Sunday afternoon."
Advantage of video: "movie poloroid"
Informality provides an opening for a sense of play.
"Teaching is not Lecturing. Tell students something, it goes in one ear and out the same ear."
"Civilization is a thin veneer"
Generally despises labels
Conceptualism is "a meaningless term."
'Idea preceding art' speaks to all art..
There's a thin line between good and bad.
Stupid ideas can really work.
Aesthetics play "in no overt way."
Most tenacious misconception about JB: Dismissed in NY as a psuedo-conceptualist artist.
Agrees with Duchamp: "When a work is out in the world, you can't control its meaning."
No artist does anything new. Art comes out of art. Any artist mush continue the argument."
JB's goal is to continue the tradition of Matisse, "making things look simple enough that a child could do it, yet make it so profound."
Advice from Kienholz on Big Intl. shows: 1. Get there first to claim the best space. 2. make the work big and heavy so the curator will think twice before moving the work.
Make students articulate and aware of what they're doing; knowing why they do what they did. Doesn't care about intention.
"Even flies need art." - something he remembers Smithson telling him once @ Max's Kansas City.
Music, film big influences. Cage, Newman and Goya influences.
Describes the role of money in the art world as a "huge sea change."
Fear of copying self.
"Nobody wants to produce product. Then you're just making trinkets."
Laughs at the use of the word "practice" to describe the artist's endeavors.
Thinks of himself as a failed writer.
Claims to not know what art is. "Once that certainty is reached, that's the end."
Question: "Is it a crime to sacrifice meaning for rhyme?"
Answer: "No."
Feels current culture is in a fallow period. Yearns for regionalism. Thinks we're on a treadmill.
Consistency is important. Avoid being bored.
Duchamp considered the viewer's intelligence.
Quoted DeKooning: "Masterpiece is anything that speaks to the present."
One can't be definitive: "ambiguity feeds the work and bedevils it."
Sanford Schwartz's personification of Guston's work: "I'm a genius, Am I a fraud? I'm dying."
On truth in art: "A lie for me might be the truth for someone else."
Conceptual art is a truthful lie.
Believes it's important to be sure about the work before you let it out into the world.
Shown & Known. An artist has got to show his work.
Asked by an audience member about the conception of realism in relation to Brackage. His answer, "that's too long an answer" drew some groans and a few hisses from the audience. They wanted an answer.
Influence of Goya.
Re: the ABEX exhibit @ MoMA: work still looks terrific - still with us, including influences in different forms."
Doesn't know if work has value, but has feel it does.

Cloud Brain in the Met's atrium

Pure Beauty, the retrospective of JB's work will remain on view through January 9. There's a lot to take in throughout the exhibit. Aside from a few of his videos like Baldessari Sings LeWitt (Brilliant) and Teaching a Plant the Alphabet (Numbing), I haven't gone out of my way to see much of Baldessari's work, but there's a lot to take in in this exhibit and a lot of it is potent. Although there are many works that still feel to me that they could be better experienced in print even after the two visits I've made. The massive exhibition catalogue: John Baldessari: Pure Beauty looks like an essential buy.

A handful of JB's films are viewable at ubu.com.

Palm Tree in the Met's atrium

Finally, I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention that I can never look at John Baldessari without thinking about Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes. The resemblance; uncanny.

Day by Day: Dec 3

2010-12-03T23:30:00.002-05:00

paper

Day by Day: Dec 2

2010-12-02T23:41:00.001-05:00

paper, vinyl, skin of dried glue

If you're looking for other sources of your RDA (recommended daily art), please to enjoy Tyler Green's two great new Tumblr blogs: The awsomely fun Advent, which I mentioned before. And 3rd of May which highlights one of Green's strengths; enlisting specific works of art as vehicles to connect - eras, issues, and more.

Day by Day: Dec 1

2010-12-01T23:40:00.001-05:00

A year ago today I embarked on sending out an email a day for the entire month of December for the kork Advent project. It was a lot of work (more than it sounds like it would be), but thanks to the 31 mighty fine artists who participated and everyone who signed up to receive the emails, it was a very fulfilling endeavor.
I had every intention to repeat the project - with a few tweaks- this year, but I couldn't get it together. However, it's definitely on for next year.

Last week, miss A brought home a chocolate advent calendar for me and I cracked it open today. My pathological tendency to create a project where none need exist kicked in, and I decided that everyday, after I pop open each little door and down the corresponding chocolate cached inside, I'm going to create a tiny sculpture in it's place. I'll post an image everyday.

Here's today's kick off work:

Dec 1, paper and styrofoam.

For an extra treat, make a point of visiting Tyler Green's Tumblr Advent Calendar everyday.

Don't (G)oogle My Junk!

2010-12-01T22:48:00.001-05:00

Privacy is Dead Because Me and James Gilbert Said So!

This post fulfills my end of the social contract enacted the moment I took one of James Gilbert's plastic skivvies from the #thesocialgraph exhibit which ended its run at the Outpost in Bushwick last weekend.

You can check out examples of what others have done with their see thru panties at the Hyperallergic Tumblr blog.

An Autumn Sunday Picnic

2010-11-28T00:45:00.000-05:00

I dug out the gingham painting from last year's installation in Ellenville, NY to play around amidst the jungle gym construction site that's inhabited our yard for the past couple of weeks.
No intent, no point. It's just like putting a hat on a baby or cat and photographing it. Just for the joy of it.

Peter Acheson at John Davis Gallery in Hudson NY.

2010-11-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

Flag, 2008

I couldn't miss the opening of Peter Acheson's opening at John Davis Gallery on Nov 13.
I've mentioned Peter and his work here on this blog and on maykr many times before. I've spent a lot of time with him talking about painting - and other things.
These conversations have had a major influence on how I look at painting and how I approach my own painting activity.

Acheson's work has more often than not challenged my expectations of what a painting can or should be. More often than not, his work, piece by piece has simply challenged me - directly - about each piece's validity as a work fit for the world.
My struggle to come to terms with the oddest of balls that spring from his hand has been rewarding too. And even the works which, in the end still flag or fail do so with abandon and ballsy-ness - as should be the case.

The artist in his formal opening attire.

So, Ok- to separate my relationship with the guy from the stuff he does, I'll say that walking into this show was a thrilling visceral experience, one that triggers a jones to get home and get painting - immediately. I relate the experience of entering this exhibit to that of discovering Norbert Prangenberg's work at Betty Cunningham Gallery. It's funny that the works on the main floor are similar to Prangenberg's work in their slutty application of paint. Never having done crack or suffered from a debilitating addiction of any kind, I can only guess in my assumption that the sense of walking into either of these two exhibits is like a recovered addict happening upon some den replete with the stuff of his addiction - regained intoxication, but without the torment or guilt. My response to both these exhibits was the same; reveling in the residue of another's endeavor as if it were my own.
It's funny too that Peter's response to photos of that Prangenberger exhibit mirrored his reflection on his own show just a couple of days ago: "Too conservative."

John Davis' downstairs gallery features a sampling of the different threads of Peter's work, concurrently made, but divergent in intention. Together they give the impression of a guy that is, at his core, a stick and mud man.

Painting for Ben La Rocco, 2010

So, as I alluded, there are two floors in the gallery, the top floor is predominated by what's been referred to as his vibratory paintings and the bottom being populated with variations of his production.

Martin Bromirski photographing Xochitl

Check out Martin's photos from the opening at anaba. Also John Davis' website includes a pdf with images of all the works in the exhibit. The show is up through Dec 5.

Close to Home at Van Brunt Gallery

2010-11-22T09:12:00.011-05:00

Some images from the exhibit at Van Brunt Gallery featuring work by Colin Barclay, Peter Iannarelli and Stanford Kay. The exhibit opened on Nov 6 and runs through Nov 28.

Stanford Kay, My Back Pages (The Birth and Death of Pictorial Space)

Two of Iannarelli's plastic forms on the left with Barclay's Twillingate, Newfoundland on the right.

On left, Barclay's Storm on the Barrens, with Kay's Untitled, top right and Iannarelli's Untitled, below -

another color coordinated grouping.

In what could be a stroke of conceptual brilliance, Colin Barclay has reprised his 2004 (or '05) Van Brunt gallery exhibit on a slightly diminutive scale. Of course, I could be way off base here and reading more into this than there really is.

Stanford Kay, Mysteries of the Universe, on left, & two Untitled works by Peter Iannarelli.

Stanford Kay has been tweaking the shelved book motif that underpins his abstract works in recent years. I have found each iteration has pushed the language forward. This evolution continues on a couple of fronts in this show; both of them potentially interesting, although I prefer the smaller works; I find them to be are more brutal and direct statments in paint.

Peter Iannarelli, Untitled

Iannarelli's Untitled sculpture with Kay's The Collector in the background.

This "pedestal" sculpture of Peter's steals the show. It more fully embodies what Peter is interested in than the plastic cutlery pieces. As with much of his work, this piece incorporates a degree of gravity defied. Fortunately, Peter manages to escapes the trap of making this "magical" aspect from being the focus of the works; it's just another element, which along with the more tangible components work to support a broader aesthetic and philosophy.

Melissa Tatge's confluence of boot and skirt patterns was the highlight of opening night.

2010-11-12T06:05:00.000-05:00

I was treated last week to a delightful and invigorating studio visit by Mark DeLura and Peter Acheson. I'll be heading north to meet up with those two again to do a visit Mark's studio. Later in the day, I'll continue on to Hudson to take in the opening reception of Peter's exhibit of new paintings at the John Davis Gallery.

John Davis Gallery is located at 362 1/2 Warren St. in Hudson, NY. Peter Acheson: Paintings runs through December 5, 2010. Tomorrow's reception runs from 6 to 8 pm.

John Davis has an awesome three-story carriage house behind the main gallery which is open during warm months. I was able to catch Martin Bromirski's "Circus on Mars" show there a couple of years ago. I missed Sharon Butler's exhibit of Beacon Paintings last year, but I was pleased to exhibit two pieces from that body of work last month at kork.