In keeping with the theme that viewers of art should decide for themselves what art means, the exhibit goes to great lengths to avoid clarity and specificity (there are few explanatory placards). Works of various media (audio, photographs, diagrams) defy simple, quick definition and, depending on your artistic leanings, the result can feel maddening or enlightening. During a recent visit, three young boys sat quietly and watched a strange film depicting people in animal costumes collecting flowers and roaming around in the woods.
The full blog post, on the “For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there” exhibit at London’s ICA, is at the NEW YORK TIMES.
Though not the sexiest of exhibits, little details throughout are often the most insightful: islands were often named for explorers’ wives; a 20,000-pound prize was offered in 1775 for discovery of a northwest passage; Arctic exploration was apparently assigned to the Royal Navy, who had time to kill after the Napoleonic War.
The full blog post, on London’s Maritime Museum’s Arctic exhibit, is at the NEW YORK TIMES.
The later hour seems to lend itself to behavior different from what you’d expect at a mainstream museum. One man in his 20s lay down on the floor while watching a film component of an anime exhibit. A couple, near the museum’s top floor cafe, did not stop themselves from making out as fellow visitors filed past.
The full blog post, on London’s late-night museum options, is at the NEW YORK TIMES.
I saw some very cool stencils and street art in Dublin and Paris while touring Europe with Damon & the Heathens in July 2009. A few examples below:
During a July 2009 tour with the Oakland punk-soul band Damon & the Heathens, I saw all kinds of amazing street art. Here’s a few pieces from Istanbul:
Some work leans toward the journalistic. Lucie Varekova’s series of photos capture the mood of the London neighborhood of Sipson, the center of debate over Heathrow Airport’s contentious third runway. During one recent visit, a young girl, there with her father, crawled around inside Sara Baydur’s exhibit, which featured a little tunnel with a TV screen inside and piped-in Philip Glass music. Baydur’s intention for the piece was open to debate, but the girl seemed to be having a blast.
The full blog post, on London’s Free Range art show, is at the NEW YORK TIMES.
The Banksy buzz is getting old. For years, we’ve debated the identity of this British graffiti artist, whose work began appearing on Bristol streets in 1993 and now sells for record prices. (Though his auction prices have fallen between 30-50% in the recession.) Is he a talented prankster from Bristol? A subversive art collective? A dinner guest at Joan Collins’s house? A man named Robin Gunningham? Did he just paint his own self-portrait? And what do his spray-painted stencils really mean, anyway? Do we give him too much credit? Not enough? These riddles have long been fascinating, largely for their Rorschach-worthiness: Banksy’s anonymity has allowed us to turn him into what we want him to be.
The full post at INTELLIGENT LIFE
The acclaimed comic artist was once banned from Robert Crumb’s house, loves chicken fat and hates the term “graphic novel”. He also takes very little pleasure from drawing.
The full story at INTELLIGENT LIFE.
(Image by Austin Kleon: http://www.austinkleon.com)
A year ago, in the middle of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, Brooklyn artist Mike Ross achieved rock-star status at Burning Man. He and his volunteer crew, after months of preparation, hoisted two 18-wheel fuel trucks into the air—welded together with 50,000 pounds of steel—and rigged them vertically into a base plate in the ground. The result was Big Rig Jig, an enormous 42-foot-high sculpture that dwarfed the other art at the festival and managed to look tough as nails and poetic at the same time.
The New York Times, Wired, and CBS covered Big Rig Jig. Burners showered Ross with accolades, and he returned the favor by letting them climb all over—and up inside—the trucks. His crew was greeted throughout the huge desert encampment with free beer, free food, and complimentary Ecstasy tablets.
As 50,000 or more people flock to the desert this week to see the latest creations on display at the 2008 festival, one wonders: What happens to these artists and their artwork after Burning Man? The answer: Ross and other big-sculpture artists have been parlaying their desert glory into mainstream sculpture gigs at museums, public buildings, and city parks. But there’s been a catch: While anything goes for these artists at Burning Man, back in the real world, things get much trickier.
The full story at the VILLAGE VOICE
