LIVE & IN PERSON FROM HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA!

 

f and f(mlb), 2008 oil on canvas

LIVE & IN PERSON FROM HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA!*

The lively exhibition "Whimsy & Gesture" has been extended through May 8 

with the addition of two show-related events at the Upstairs Galleries:

A closing reception on Saturday, April 30, 4-7:30PM - a chance to informally meet exhibiting artists.  

A special *ArtistTalk Sunday, May 1, 2-4PM, featuring painter Christopher Albert, who is traveling from 

his studio in Hollywood, Florida, for this presentation. Regional artists Dick Crenson and Travis Jeffrey 

(among others) will also be on hand to discuss their work. We recommend RSVP-ing for the ArtistTalk.

In SUMMARY:

Extended through May 8: "Whimsy and Gesture: Recent Work by Christopher Albert, Dick Crenson & Travis Jeffrey."  

Sculpture by Madeleine Segall-Marx, Richard Marx, Judy Sigunick & Tim Rowan.

Saturday, April 30, 4-7:30PM: 

Closing Reception, 

"Whimsy and Gesture

".

Sunday, May 1, 2-4PM: 

ArtistTalk featuring painter Christopher Albert. 

Formal program begins at 2:30, with "meet & greet" reception before and after talk.

Free & open to the public (

RSVP suggested

due to space constraints). 

Albert Shahinian Fine Art, 

22 East Market St., Rhinebeck.  845-876-7578 or info@shahinianfineart.com.

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday, 11a.m.-6p.m.; 

Sunday, 12noon-5p.m., 

& by appointment and chance

Best wishes and See You at the Upstairs Galleries!

Visit our web site at:  http://www.ShahinianFineArt.com

TAO, 1998, oil on canvas

Mark your calendars: Upcoming art/culture lectures at Vassar College.

Vassar College hosts a number of fascinating lectures and events throughout the year which are open to the general public, but historically, they've done a lousy job of making information about such events available.  The college's online calendar has gotten better in recent years, and there is an RSS feed that one can subscribe to which will tell you what's coming up "tomorrow", which doesn't give much of a heads up.  That said, in the interest of my own entertainment and as a service to any readers out there, I've perused Vassar's Spring schedule of lectures and pulled out those that I think would be interesting.  Most of these are visual/media art and art history related - I think.  Most of the calendar listings don't actually give details as to the subjects of the lectures.  In some instances, I've pasted information about the speaker that may indicate the nature of the talk.


On Feb 5th at 8pm, Mo Rocca will appear at Vassar under the auspices of the Krieger Lectures Series which each year invites a humorist or author or humorist author to speak. 

Feb 7, 5pm (Taylor 203), Nick Monfort "Creative Computing and Literary Code."  - Not exactly sure what this talk will entail, but I'm very interested.  It's sponsored by the Media Studies Dept.  Unfortunately, I don't think I can attend.

Feb 19, 6:30pm (Taylor 102), Millicent Marcus.   Prof. Marcus "specializes in Italian Culture from the interdisciplinary perspectives of literature, history and film."  There's no notation as to what this talk will cover.

March 26, 5pm (Taylor 203), Egyptologist Kara Cooney will be speaking - probably on subjects Egyptian. This lecture is part of the Claflin series which focuses on art and art history related subjects. 

April 1, 5pm (Taylor 203), Marcel O'Gorman.  From his website:

His written work is reflected in his art projects, which often seek to materialize specific critical theories about the impact of technology on the human condition. O'Gorman's art draws primarily on sensor-based computing, video, and the creation of sculptural environments designed to challenge the disembodiment of conventional screen-based media.

April 8, 5pm (College Center Villard Room), Judith Butler. This lecture is sponsored by the Religion Dept.

April 9, 6pm (Taylor 203), Lukasz Stanek will be giving a talk on Henri Lefebvre.  From grahamfoundation.org:
The book Henri Lefebvre on Space is the first comprehensive account of Henri Lefebvre's theory of the production of space published in English. It confronts a broad conceptual overview of Lefebvre's theory with two largely forgotten sources of his thinking about space: his engagements into empirical research about everyday practices of dwelling in post-war France, and his exchanges with architects and planners in the course of the 1960s and 1970s

April 17, 6pm (Taylor 102), Amy Sillman

April  25, 6pm (Taylor 102), Mirka Beneš. I'm guessing the topic of this lecture will revolve around landscape architecture of Italy or France or both.

Meet yer Maykr: Mark DeLura

On his blog, Form In The Fire, Peter Acheson recounts his recent visit to the studio of painter Mark DeLura.

Peter's posting prompted me to post images I took during a visit he and I made to Mark's studio back in November of 2010.

At that point, Mark had just embarked on his explorations of clusters of drip-tethered "splatters" (at this point, smaller scaled works done in oil on paper) which can be seen as the forebears of the paintings described in Peter's post.

On our 2010 visit Mark also showed us the large stripe paintings the pre-dated his (I'll just refer to them as "cluster") paintings.

What these works all share is the source of their chromatic character.  The colors here are not random "imaginary hues" but appropriated ones which have been found by the artist in the natural landscape and collected into a library through excursions in which they were mixed from nature.  

In Sept 2011 Mark's exhibit at the voluminous Re Institute in Millerton, NY paired his exploration of form and gesture with a new use of industrial paints (mostly silver and barn red).

It's interesting to me that, as with the earlier works, the colors Mark has chosen for the recent ones are not invented but appropriated and are readymade hues that are "naturally" found in the man-mediated landscape.


Peter will be speaking about his own work this coming Saturday, January 19 at 4pm as part of This Red Door's offering of events at the Kunsthalle Galapagos in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

Kunsthalle Galapagos is locate upstairs from the Galapagos Art Space.

I was able to check out both the Kunsthalle Galapagos and the TRD set up on Sunday when I went down to do a little recording for Dead Hare Radio, and to take in a reading of selections from Christopher Stackhouse's newly published volume of poetry, Plural.

The visual evidence of TRD's series of talks and presentations on the gallery walls.

Various readers shared selections of Christopher Stachkhouse's poetry.

Words Words Words

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.

Upcoming speaker schedule at Vassar College's Art Dept.

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.

David Salle, John Baldessari & Pure Beauty @ the Met

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.