Archive for February, 2009

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More Fun At Mass MoCA: Simon Starling, The Nanjing Particles

Posted in Art, exhibits, Stephanie Gerolimatos with tags , , , on February 28, 2009 by ssstephg

Simon Starling: The Nanjing Particles
Dec 13, 2008–Oct 31, 2009

more photos in the exhibit album on photobucket

I don’t want to mislead you. Last weekend’s visit to Mass MoCA was not all about LeWitt, although LeWitt is certainly enough of a reason to make the trip. The museum’s vast gallery space is always home to a number of worthy exhibits. The museum complex is permanent host to Christina Kubisch’s Clocktower Project, Natalie Jeremijenko’s Tree Logic, Don Gummer’s Primary Separation and Bruce Odland & Sam Auinger’s Harmonic Bridge. The Kiefer show will be up through October. Even if there hadn’t been anything new, I’d have gone just to see Kiefer again. And the focus of this post, Simon Starling’s The Nanjing Particles is a wonderfully thoughtful, delightfully designed site specific installation that references the history and transformation of the Mass MoCA space from industrial complex to contemporary art museum.


Very briefly because I’m exhausted:

In the 1870s, North Adams’ Sampson Shoe Company, located on what is now the Mass MoCA complex, brought immigrant shoemakers from China Read more »

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Live Hard, Create Compulsively, Die Young

Posted in abstract, Art, current events, Links, Martin Kippenberger, Miscellaneous, mixed media, MOMA, Tom Bennett with tags , , , , , on February 27, 2009 by Tom Bennett

I first discovered Martin Kippenberger’s work in London at the Tate Modern a few years ago. I responded to his energized use of various mediums and his sense of dark humor, particularly in his paintings. Apparently he was a crazy-ass mess. He died of liver failure back around the time I first saw his work.

MOMA presents a big retrospective which I will see. Who wants to go? The Times has a review by Holland Cotter: Martin Kippenberger

Tom Bennett

1 Comment »

Synesthesia

Posted in "But Is It Art?", abstract, Art, awareness, current events, Jason Gray, Miscellaneous, neuroscience, news, Psychology, Scientific American Magazine, synesthesia, Uncategorized on February 27, 2009 by Jason Gray

Scientific American: Hearing Colors, Tasting Shapes [ NEUROSCIENCE ]
People with synesthesia–whose senses blend together–are providing valuable clues to understanding the organization and functions of the human brain

My reaction:
After reading this article, it seems that synesthesia might be a completely perceivable condition, or at least that its possibility appears logically explicable. As our society becomes Read more »

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Anatomy Of A Giant

Posted in abstract, Art, current events, figurative, Links, performance, technique, Tom Bennett, Work in Progress with tags , , , , , , on February 26, 2009 by Tom Bennett

A recent monotype.

Back 2/09

2009, 20″ x 16″

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A Tribute To Stevie Wonder…’s Guitarist

Posted in Art, J. D. Hastings, news with tags , , , , on February 26, 2009 by jdhastings

Last night, February 25, 2009, Barak Obama rightly honored Stevie Wonder for bringing untold amounts of awesomeness to Earth.


The entire performance will be broadcast at some future date by PBS.

On it’s own, that would be worth reporting, since there have been few musicians as influential or important in the late 20th century as Stevie. Hip hop, R&B and even Rock wouldn’t be what it is today without his work from the early 70s.

However, I am posting this as much from a personal indulgence as a worthy tribute. You see, the goateed guitarist standing over Stevie’s right shoulder as he performed last night happens to be my good friend, Errol Cooney.

Read more »

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Wildcat

Posted in Art, figurative, oil painting, Painting, Tom Bennett with tags , , , , , , , , on February 26, 2009 by Tom Bennett

My time has been eaten up lately and so I continue to post older pieces.
A painting that was last in a show at the Riversea gallery in Astoria, Oregon and is now in a private collection there.

wildcat

Wildcat, oil on canvas, 72″ x 36″

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Your House v. Your Art

Posted in Art, news with tags , , , , on February 25, 2009 by jdhastings

Apparently this is the great question Annie Liebovitz and Julian Schnabel, among others, have been considering lately.


Look everyone, it’s the SCHNAB.


Thanks to friend of the site, Charles Thompson for passing this on. The New York Times reports on The Art Capitol Group, a company that essentially allows you to pawn your fine art in exchange for a loan. They give you a loan up to 40% the value of the piece you are placing as collateral, they take the art and hold onto it until you pay back the loan, with interest.

I suppose on its own that wouldn’t be news, but its the quality of the art and the names of some clients that catch your attention:

For her $5 million loan, Ms. Leibovitz put up as collateral a country house in Rhinebeck, N.Y., three town houses in Greenwich Village and all “copyrights … photographic negatives … contract rights” existing or to be created in the future, according to a loan document filed with the City Register’s Office in December. That month, Art Capital granted her an additional $10.5 million loan, which was to consolidate the existing mortgages on her homes, according to loan documents.

Holy crap! All past and FUTURE copyrights, Read more »

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Your Husband Is Going To Be On Crutches For The Next 3 Months

Posted in Art, Photography, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , , on February 25, 2009 by Toni Tiller


Originally when I started doing these subway pieces I wanted to focus strictly the elements of color and pattern, but as I go on I can’t help but drift back to my love of ambiguous narratives. In the beginning I would indulge myself a little with the titles but ultimately wanted to keep anything figurative, or literal out of the picture. With this one at first I took in the shape of the figure but almost didn’t notice because I was paying more attention to the patterns and the way the green was carrying throughout (seeing green at all is unusual in these) but then I looked closer and saw the almost illegible text in the upper right. Once I worked out the phrase, and combined it with the other elements my brain got all kinds of happy creating little stories and building connections. Old habits die hard I guess.

-Toni “bunnie” Tiller

10 Comments »

Who’s your Favorite 20th Century artist?

Posted in Art, art on paper, Collage, Drawing, Miscellaneous, mixed media, news, Painting, Tom Bennett, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on February 24, 2009 by Tom Bennett

The Times Online and the Saatchi gallery have put together a list of 200 twentieth century artists and is asking visitors to vote for their favorite. They include famous painters, sculptors, photographers, video and installation artists.

You can vote for your favorite artist/s on the
TimesOnline website

My current pick is Willem de Kooning; of course painting would have suffered without the likes of Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Gerhard Richter, Philip Guston, Wassily Kandinsky, Anselm Kiefer, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Richard Diebenkorn, Frank Auerbach and well, the list goes on…

Read more »

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Asking For Directions Is Aesthetically Unappealing

Posted in Art, news with tags , , on February 24, 2009 by jdhastings

A recent study examined where in the brain men and women process “beauty,” specifically as it relates to landscapes. What they found was that men processed the “beauty” of the pictures primarily in the right hemisphere, while women used both sides of the brain.    Read more »

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Piece For My Father (2008)

Posted in abstract, Art, J. D. Hastings, Painting on February 24, 2009 by jdhastings

My father asked me to make him a piece last year. Originally he asked for one that wasn’t cut up, but I couldn’t help myself, but I kept it simple.

This is a photo of the framed result. Click for a larger version

Dad2008
I think its 36″ x 24″ Acrylic on Canvas with Safety Pins.

Detail shot after the bump Read more »

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LeWitt @ Mass MoCA

Posted in abstract, Art, Drawing, exhibits, Stephanie Gerolimatos with tags , , , on February 23, 2009 by ssstephg

Have you seen the Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing Retrospective at Mass MoCA yet? If not, you’d better hurry! It’s only up for another 25 years! HOO! HAH! You read right–25 years! That time frame seems more than reasonable to me considering that, A. number one, it took over 60 people about six months of labor to install the exhibit, and even more importantly it’s an enormously fun, unforgettable humdinger of a show! ayep.

I could spend some time here describing how impressive it is being in the space and feeling as if you’re walking through a giant art maze, or talking up the spectacularly planned and executed three-floor installation, but frankly, I don’t feel like it. So instead, all I’m going to do is offer an enthusiastic two thumbs up and urge you to make space on your quarter century calendar to squeeze in a Mass MoCA visit. Shift things around if you must.

more pics after the jump
Read more »

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step through the mist

Posted in Art, Collage, Daniel Allyn Lee, digital with tags , , , on February 23, 2009 by Daniel Allyn Lee

step through the mist
Step Through the Mist, digital collage, 7″ x 10 1/2″, 2009
this is mixing some of the digital stuff I was working on recently with a figural theme. Read more »

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Links Du Lapin #15

Posted in Art, Links, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , on February 22, 2009 by Toni Tiller

It’s chilly, rainy, and Sunday so I am going to go play Pac Mondrian. Wanna play too?

-Toni “bunnie” Tiller

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New Art: Saccharine Cartography (& what does she mean by that anyway?)

Posted in abstract, Art, Painting, Stephanie Gerolimatos with tags , , , , , on February 21, 2009 by ssstephg


acrylic on floated panel
19 x 11 inches
detail pics after the jump

I finished this a couple of days ago and managed to get some decent photos during one of the lovely sunny mornings we had this week. This is number 8 in the series.

ramblings and detail shots after the jump

Read more »

4 Comments »

But Is It Art? The Grand Water Closet

Posted in "But Is It Art?", Art, Stephanie Gerolimatos with tags , , , on February 20, 2009 by ssstephg

My pal Leo likes to say he wants to be reincarnated as a Smithie. I think it has something to do with the top notch-food served at Smith functions. (Leo’s a real foodie.) Well, Northampton’s Smith College is a pretty phenomenal institution, and food isn’t all they do right. They’re also quite impressive when it comes to their facilities. Smith’s Brown Fine Arts Center houses the coolest public bathrooms I’ve ever used. When the college hired New York City-based Polshek Partnership Architects to rebuild and expand their art building, they also commissioned former Smithies, Ellen Driscoll and Sandy Skoglund, to design the restrooms. The resulting lavatories are so spectacular that even I, who despise using public toilets, never pass up a chance to pee at Smith College Museum!

more photos after the jump! Read more »

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Photo Technique

Posted in "But Is It Art?", abstract, digital, Jason Gray, Miscellaneous, Photography, portrait, technique, Uncategorized on February 20, 2009 by Jason Gray

2008-05-18-at-23-42-32
Here is a little secret that I like to do to create interesting shots. I cut the bottom off of a Read more »

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Links Du Lapin #14

Posted in Links, Toni Tiller with tags , , on February 19, 2009 by Toni Tiller

This is a test that judges your ability to determine hue. It’s really hard, but one of the d’Arte Board authors got a perfect score. It wasn’t me.

Post your results in the comments section and I’ll do it too. I hope I do better than last time.

-Toni “bunnie” Tiller

21 Comments »

Antique Mermaid

Posted in abstract, Archives, Art, figurative, oil painting, Painting, Tom Bennett with tags , , , , , , on February 19, 2009 by Tom Bennett

It’s ancient history time….
An old painting from my first days of living in New York. This was first shown at the Silvermine Guild in New Canaan, Ct back in ’85.

click for larger view.

Mermaid 84

Mermaid, 1984, oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″

4 Comments »

The Swimmers

Posted in Art, Photography, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , , , on February 18, 2009 by Toni Tiller

I spent a bit of time this summer sitting for a series of paintings about swimming, and now I am pleased to revisit the subject in my own way.

- Toni “bunnie” Tiller

3 Comments »

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