Day by Day: Dec 20

screws, plastic caps

Day by Day : Dec 19

wood, gypsum, latex paint, latex caulk

Oh Christmas Thing 2010

 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

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

 outdoor carpet, cardboard, construction adhesive

Day by Day: Dec 17

 matboard, latex paint

Day by Day: Dec 16

 construction adhesive

Day by Day: Dec 15

 plastic nozzles

Day by Day: Dec 14

 plaster, copper

Oh Holy Mother of all Christmas Things!

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 Things. 
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

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

 cardboard, plastic

Day by Day: Dec 12

 foam, screws, dried adhesive

Day by Day; Dec 11

foamcore, plastic

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

pdfleaks on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Day by Day: Dec 10

This mini sculpture garden is starting to get congested.

 metal, foamcoare

Day by Day: Dec 9

cast latex paint

Day by Day: Dec 8

 kneaded eraser

Studio Update

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

 thumb tack, dried Gorilla Glue, pin