Art as Authority
A contemporary, sometimes historical, art, social, political, blog in and around the art world and its artists. Poetry, litterature, commentary, images, music, books, life... Et aussi, un peu de la culture Française et ses artistes contemporains. A place to come to read, relax and contribute your ideas and projects.
septembre 01, 2010
juin 19, 2010
Redirect
by Richard Gleaves
When I first started writing for Art as Authority four years ago, it looked like a serious attempt to bring intelligent and committed criticism to the San Diego art community.
But as is evident to anyone who's read this publication in the past 18 months or so, the editorial ambience has grown progressively more toxic, so I'm out of here.
I plan to continue writing art reviews, but will be sending them to Andrews Arts, if they'll have me.
Life's too short for negative rhetoric.
mai 31, 2010
ubermorgen.com
Contribution by Lisa Hutton
from the press release
Deephorizon 3 Million Liters
OIL PAINTING: THE SUPREME DISCIPLINE OF ART. THE OIL SLICK, THE SIZE OF PUERTO RICO, IS BEGINNING TO PAINT COASTLINES
Digital Oil Paintings: http://UBERMORGEN.COM/DEEPHORIZON
The supreme discipline of art - oil painting - is back. It has been [39] days since a BP oil and gas exploration well blew out, setting fire to the drilling rig, which sank, killing 11 people. Ever since, crude oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, raising the prospects of a historic environmental disaster. Winds from the southeast have nudged the slick northward, where it floated Saturday near the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi and has begun to paint the coastlines.
avril 07, 2010
Here Not There Artists Announced
by Richard Gleaves
If your name is on this list, and you meet the residency requirements, you will be in Here Not There.
If your name is not on this list, and you have not already shown at MCA, then all bets are off.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to the historical information contained herein, this post contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ substantially from those referred to herein due to a number of factors, including but not limited to risks associated with: acts of grace and/or caprice on the part of MCA curatorial staff; lax enforcement of industry standards on the part of the director; costs incurred by Art as Authority in connection therewith, including potentially damaged relationships with customers and operators who may be impacted by association with the exhibitors or their intermediaries; our dependence on major customers and licensees; our dependence on third-party manufacturers and suppliers; our ability to maintain and improve operational efficiencies and nonprofitability; the development and deployment of the Art as Authority web site; the development and market acceptance of the IntelligentArt® remote sensing technology; foreign currency fluctuations; the Heisenberg uncertainty principle; strategic investments and transactions in social capital that we have or may pursue; as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in our posts, including the report on CCA dated September 24, 2009. Art as Authority undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement or risk factor, whether as a result of new information, future events, force majeure, or otherwise.
avril 03, 2010
High Maintenance
from the NY Times
The insurance industry uses the phrase “mysterious disappearance” to describe a missing item when the owner does not know how it vanished. This is not all that unusual if the missing item is an earring, but a painting by Marc Chagall? That was what happened to one collector who had had a Chagall painting displayed on his yacht.
In fact, it took the owners months to realize the painting was not on the wall. “The original had been replaced by a poor copy,” said Katja Zigerlig, assistant vice president of fine art, wine and jewelry insurance at Chartis Insurance. “The yacht had been to 30 different ports in the past year, changing crews, hosting charity events — there was no way to figure out the culprit.”
mars 29, 2010
... And the winner is
by Kevin Freitas
Derrick Little's artwork on the cover of Pacific San Diego Magazine
Derrick Little. Little ends up taking first place in Pacific San Diego Magazine's first "Whet Paint" art contest in which both Amy Galpin (project curator for American Art at the San Diego Museum of Art) and myself had a hand in its outcoming. Twas a unanimous decision and quite an easy one as there was hardly (if at all) dissent amongst Galpin and I as we picked and choosed our way through many fine works of art. The magazine's editor David Perloff and editorial intern Christina Dylag made the whole process quite painless and more than enjoyable. I want to thank David, Christina and my co-juror Amy for bringing some much needed attention and validity to San Diego's artists. Bravo! and keep it coming.
Check out the other winners here.
mars 27, 2010
Quote
If art were judged by the company it keeps, much of the High Renaissance would go down the drain.
mars 15, 2010
On Art: Janet Cooling
by Kevin Freitas
Interview with former SDSU painting instructor Janet Cooling. Ruminations on her career, the Venice Biennale, Folk Art and being an artist today. Janet is an important figure in the San Diego art scene, an ally, and a (newfound) friend. Special thanks to Janet for the hospitality and wise words and to Lea Dennis for setting it up. Janet is also teaching privately these days. If you want more information, please contact her at jlcooling@daltonprives.com or www.daltonprives.com
Parts II, III, IV, and V of the interview can be found here.
mars 09, 2010
Censorship in Temecula
from the press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sissi Hale sissi@sissihalestudio.com
CITY OF TEMECULA CENSORS CONTENTS OF TWO ART EXHIBITS, IS SLOW TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR REMOVING ART WORKS FROM PUBLIC VIEW IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND WANTS FURTHER SAY IN FUTURE EXHIBITIONS. Freedom of expression is and always has been a core value in the United States. Who is responsible for determining what the public can and cannot see in public spaces, what is art and what is not, and what is offensive and what is worthy? Who employs the censors? To whom do the censors answer? Is the public willing to be dictated to?
Temecula, California, [March 5th, 2010]--- On January 22, a juried multi-media exhibit titled “Visual Expressions 2010” opened at The Merc gallery in Temecula’s Old Town– minus a nude painted by local artist Jeff Hebron. At the last minute, word was delivered to Sissi Hale, Temecula resident, artist, and curator of the show: the nude could not appear. Less than a week later, two paintings by another local artist, Lora Sanders, were removed from the Temecula Public Library where they had been on display for one day. They depicted a man smoking a cigarette, and a man with a brown bottle in his hand. Later, another of her paintings (of a boy leaning over a girl) was also removed. All the paintings had previously been reviewed and approved by city management. Nevertheless, all were subsequently deemed inappropriate for public viewing by some anonymous official, and were removed without explanation from exhibit in publicly owned buildings.
janvier 24, 2010
Two Quotes
by Richard Gleaves
- Emerging artist definition: artist [sic] who are emerging with new, fresh ideas. This is not about the age of the artists or the exposure they have had, but what art they are creating now and in the past three to five years.
- "That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
San Diego Visual Arts Network
Project Gutenberg
janvier 17, 2010
Art Criticism for Dummies
thanks to Brian Goeltzenleuchter for the link
photo: Arnold Newman/Getty Images
The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator
Salvation is here!
Feeling inarticulate? Critically gauche? Or just verbally impotent?
We here at Pixmaven have developed The Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator so you need never again feel at a loss for pithy commentary or savvy "insights." With this device you can speak about Art with both authority and confidence. Use this marvellous tool to amaze and confound friends and colleagues. Don't miss this opportunity to menace and dumbfound professors and artists emeriti! more...
janvier 11, 2010
Privatization
by Richard Gleaves
Today MOCA announced it would name gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch as its new museum director.
Other candidates for the position were believed to include Sotheby’s auctioneer Tobias Meyer and art fair impresario Samuel Keller.
Los Angeles Museum Chooses Deitch
janvier 04, 2010
CCC
by Robert Matheny
janvier 03, 2010
The Future is Now
by Richard Gleaves
The future of art publications? There's an app for that.
Specifically, one that integrates the following information in a single pocketable interface:
- Gallery map
- Directions
- Exhibition images
- Artist statements
- Event schedule
- Art reviews
- Discussion forums
Currently such apps are available only on the iPhone, which remains cost-prohibitive for many people. This, however, will change as smartphones with app stores quickly become the norm for all mobile phones and service plans.
At that point, once the costs have come down, this sort of app will be the art publication, on the strength of its ability to provide everything one needs to go out and look at art.
décembre 24, 2009
Patron
by Kevin Freitas
"Anonymous II" - Ialo Wa
December 24, 2009: Today, I received a check from an anonymous donor in the amount of $250 dollars. Written in black ink under the heading "Purpose/Remitter" was the following: Donation for Art as Authority. Christmas came right on time this year in an anonymous envelope filled with the true spirit of giving and not receiving. Thank you. I'm humbled by your generosity, honored by your recognition, and inspired by your faith and trust in what I set out to accomplish with this blog, that is, a catalyst for crtical and honest discussion about art. I'm not alone in this endeavor of course, none of this could be possible without the artists whose work inspires me each and every day. There are many choices out there to be made, good causes to support, and needy individuals who could use a helping hand. I accept your gift graciously with pride, satisfaction, and the gratitude from the bottom of my heart that you have chosen to support not only the blog but the arts as a whole. Thank you. I'm truly blessed.
décembre 22, 2009
Season's Greetings
The United States Postal Service caused an outcry last month when it decided to stop delivering letters addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole.” It quickly reversed itself after members of Congress intervened. “We never wanted to spoil people’s Christmas,” an agency spokesman said.
décembre 01, 2009
CRAP !
novembre 19, 2009
Jeanne-Claude
octobre 11, 2009
Sita Sings the Blues
by Richard Gleaves
Nina Paley's feature-length animation Sita Sings the Blues is now part of free culture on the net.
It's available (in 10 parts) on YouTube, but life's too short to waste pure beauty on low res.
Instead, go to the Sita web site, download a high-res copy, and watch it. You'll be glad you did.
Then send the artist money as you see fit — it's easy.
juillet 27, 2009
Life Triumphs Over Art Once Again
by Kevin Freitas
(top: Enrique de la Osa / Reuters - bottom: LONDONRUBBISH photoblog by Mark Sheldon)
before: Cuba blocks US ticker with flags of mourning
after: US pulls the plug on ticker in Cuba
juillet 26, 2009
End of another Tour Season - A. Contador in Yellow - L. Armstrong in 3rd
by Kevin Freitas
And I missed it all. This is the first time I've looped the Tour since I saw Greg LeMond ride his way to victory on the Champs Elysées in 1990. The reason: I cut back on my more than outrageously expensive Cox cable service, not only eliminating the Tour coverage but also a couple of my children's favorite cartoon channels. Pathetic I know. Anyway, congrats to Alberto Contador - his second Tour de France win back to back - the first being post-ceremoniously handed to him after Floyd Landis was (embarassingly) stripped of the title last year for doping. It wasn't Mary Jane's fault, it was more like the synthetic kind, you know steriods. Don't do drugs kids! Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong came in a respectable third place.
Finally, no one ever accused Damien Hirst of not being a savvy artist slash opportunist slash businessman - you could probably say the same for Lance, so guess what, they teamed up. Lance had Damien design one the several Trek bikes he would ride in the tour. Well, decorate would be more precise but the bike still looks pretty bitchin. How about that? And you thought this post was going nowhere.
(L to R) Andy Schleck - 2nd place, Alberto Contador - Yellow Jersey, Lance Armstrong - 3rd place
photo: Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images
The Damien Hirst Madone
juin 23, 2009
Shirin Neshat at MCA San Diego
by Richard Gleaves
Segment from Women Without Men
On June 18, the supremely talented filmmaker and photographer Shirin Neshat appeared at MCA San Diego to present her feature-length film/work-in-progress Women without Men.
The film, based on Shahrnush Parsipur’s magic realist novel, is set in 1953 Iran during a period of national political turmoil, and uses the deaths of three Iranian women to explore a host of social issues involving personal and political freedom.
During the post-performance conversation, Neshat and film curator Neil Kendricks spoke extensively about the work's prescience given current events in Iran. What neither of them knew was that two days later, on June 20, Neda Agha-Soltan would lose her life and become an instant world symbol of the current political turmoil.
As a result, Neshat's film — which is six years in the making — has been given the semiotic equivalent of a spin dry set on "hot". It will be interesting to see how this work-in-progress resolves now that life has told its story.
Neda, rest in peace.
juin 15, 2009
A Culture of No Nothing Boobs
by Kevin Freitas - thanks to KAI ONE for the video discovery
It is only fitting to conclude this year’s CowParade event – banished to La Jolla Shores and suffering from unprecedented economic woes, general lack of interest and a theft – by offering yet another point of view on the relevancy of public art to its public. This time by Andy Rooney, 60 Minutes irascible commentator and opinion maker who asks, “When did bright colored plastic cows, pigs, and rabbits get to be art?” Firmly stating, “I don’t like most of the stuff passing for art and it’s everywhere” while prattling off a litany of sculptors and cities that have allegedly peddled this kind of stuff.
Rooney calls for a return to more traditional sculpture (meaning “something he can understand”) citing as an example that “a writer ought to be able to write simple sentences before he tries to be a poet” as the camera pulls back from a larger-than-life bronze casting of General Grant(?) to reveal an abstract sculpture by Mark di Suvero in the same park. As proof, he shows us an earlier work by Picasso – a torso carved in marble, and then a later work in steel, the “Chicago Picasso” situated in Daley Plaza. “Picasso earned the right to do anything he wants”, says Rooney. Indeed he did.
juin 10, 2009
Hanging out with Franz West at LACMA
by Kevin Freitas
me and an Adaptive...
mai 26, 2009
Tree
by Richard Gleaves
mai 18, 2009
Car Art
by Richard Gleaves
In its current ad campaign BMW is working harder than ever to elevate its product by association with visual art.
But this begs the question of whether visual art wishes to be associated with fossil-fueled personal-transport dinosaurs on the verge of extinction.
Which in turn begs the further question of whether — in a global future of greater population, scarcer resources, man-made natural disasters, and the sustainable practices that will necessarily follow — visual art itself, at least as currently practiced, will go the way of the BMW.
How do we move toward a sustainable practice?
mai 01, 2009
Intertextuality? Or interchangeable parts?
by Richard Gleaves
Answer: the latter, as a factory cost-saving measure.
The technique of rotoscoping enables an animator not only to create animation from live-action film by tracing over individual film frames, but also to recycle existing animation by tracing over individual cells. The only costs incurred are for redrawing — the movement comes for free.
avril 11, 2009
Glenn Dobrusky - A Sad Loss
by Kevin Freitas
“In a piece of wood I look for a pelican, and may find an eagle. I keep a wood stash. Some days you feel like a duck and sometimes you don’t. You have to be in the mood. If you don’t have the juices flowing, it won’t work. When it does work, it’s priceless. You can’t buy that feeling, having designs bear fruit, and it can disappear in a heartbeat.”
Some of you may know that other than keeping Art as Authority running, I work for a gallery in Coronado. It is far removed from the contemporary art scene I'm used to and primarily deals in wildlife art. One of our artists, Glenn Dobrusky, was accidentally killed this past Tuesday doing what he loved to do most - sculpt. He was 58 years old.
Glenn lived in Gold Beach, Oregon. He led a reclusive life with no phone or internet access, obliged to descend from his mountain top to make a call or send an email from the public library. Glenn would scour the beaches and forest for driftwood and fallen trunks and branches. The blustery winters would reward him plentifully with madronna, port orford cedar, myrtle, maple, oak and alder woods. All it took from Glenn at that point was "to be in the mood" - which was never very difficult for him.
Glenn was an excellent sculptor, at the top of his craft, producing some of his best work in years. He was dedicated, passionate, genuine and one helluva nice guy. He put to shame all those chainsaw happy, grizzly bear carving faux sculptors pandering their wares from Tucson to Utah. I will miss his candor, his gruff voice on the telephone, and unpacking his treasures freshly delivered to the gallery's doorstep. I will miss the man, I will miss his art. Farewell my friend, I hope the Good Lord has a place for a pelican or two. The full story can be read here.
mars 05, 2009
Untitled
by Richard Gleaves
février 24, 2009
The Garden of Forking Paths
by Richard Gleaves
On May 22 the Las Vegas Art Museum will present Selections from The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States. The members opening preview will be on Thursday, May 21, from 5-7 PM.
On February 28 the Las Vegas Art Museum will close permanently.
février 06, 2009
San Diego Art News
by Richard Gleaves
The San Diego Museum of Art is laying off 23 people across all departments.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has already laid off 13 people.
Wishing those affected the best of fortune, and a return to their place in our houses of art.
décembre 22, 2008
Étant donnés
by Richard Gleaves
décembre 06, 2008
Art World Absurd, Heartwarming Division
You don't have to be a Rockefeller to collect art... but to pull a Vogel you'll need a ticket to Manhattan and a time machine.
décembre 03, 2008
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
Or
Somewhere on a fishing boat in the North Atlantic Ocean, as the crow flies, to Miami Beach, San Diego artist David Adey has been tooling around the open sea on a friends boat, beer in hand, and art on his mind – his own of course, and for good reason. Adey is exhibiting his work alongside the work of two other San Diego artists, Lael Corbin and Jason Sherry, at Aqua Art Miami Wynwood, one of many satellite art fairs going on simultaneously with the opening of this year's Art Basel Miami.
Or
Hot off the mojo wire with David Adey reporting: An abbreviated account of America’s biggest art fair, from the hub of its contemporaneousness and pink flamingos, the legendary Miami, Florida. Dispatch by Kevin Freitas.
DAY 1
Preview night Tuesday for gallery/museum professionals and collectors, official opening to the public of Aqua Art Miami Wynwood today, Wednesday, in a warehouse located in Miami’s Wynwood gallery district.
octobre 27, 2008
Early Voting - Have You?
by Kevin Freitas
I did today and "I feel good...!"
octobre 25, 2008
Indigenous Art
by Richard Gleaves
octobre 24, 2008
Futurist Cuisine: The Good Old Days
by Richard Gleaves
The polemics in The Futurist Cookbook were followed by an elaborate account of some Futurist banquets. One of the more memorable of these Aeropranzi futuristi was a banquet for 300 people held on 18 December 1931 at the Hotel Negrino in Chiavari. Guests were delighted and terrified as they braced themselves to ingest dishes prepared by the famous cook Bulgheroni, who had come especially from Milan to this small Ligurian town to preside in the kitchen over the burial of pastasciutta.
Although the Futurists had advocated the abolition of eloquence and politics around the table, the guests nevertheless first had to sit through a lecture by Marinetti on the state of world Futurism. Afterward, the meal began with a flan of calf's head seated on a bed of pineapple, nuts, and dates, stuffed—oh, surprise!—with anchovies. Then, to cleanse the palate, Bulgheroni served a decollapalato (a pun on decollare, meaning "to get off the ground"), a lyrical concoction of meat broth sprinkled with champagne and liquor and decorated with rose petals.
The main dish was beef in carlinga (another aeronautic term, probably referring to a kind of Dutch oven), meatballs—whose composition was best left uninvestigated—placed over airplanes made out of bread crumbs. After a few more dishes the dessert, named eletricita atmosferische candite, arrived, consisting of colorful little cubes made of fake marble crowned with cotton candy that enclosed a sweetish paste containing ingredients only a long chemical analysis could disclose.
Not everybody made it to the end of the dinner.
— Romy Galan, Ingestion/Anti-Pasta, Cabinet Magazine, Issue 10, Spring 2003
octobre 05, 2008
Ed Klima
by Richard Gleaves
Linguistics professor Ed Klima passed away on Sept. 25.
Best known for his research on the signed languages of the Deaf, Klima and co-researcher Ursula Bellugi showed that signed languages are the full equivalent of spoken languages, with detailed grammars expressed in a purely visuospatial modality — a notion with serious implications for the visual arts, and one yet to be explored.
Ed is less known as a teacher, and a great one. He taught an undergraduate poetics class which revealed both a love of poetry and a soul that radiated a highly-refined bohemian goodness. His bio shows him having spent a year in Paris during the 50's, and everything beneficent that one might imagine from such an experience seemed to have infused his soul.
août 25, 2008
Artist's drugs
by Richard Gleaves
A good hearty meal, all in one pill that can be carried in a vest pocket, is the dream of scientists of today, according to Hugh S. Cummings, surgeon general of the public health service. (Rock Valley Bee, August 17, 1923)
Whereas the visual arts of the past were strictly material (stone, canvas, paper, pigment), and those of the present increasingly electronic, expect the future arts to be biochemical in nature, as artists exploit advances in neuropsychopharmacology and the brain sciences to create well-defined aesthetic experiences with none of the undesirable side effects of today's primitive psychotropics.
août 19, 2008
Words and Music
by Richard Gleaves
juillet 26, 2008
Ahh ces Français...
by Kevin Freitas
It's been awhile since I've found myself in the company of friends from across the pond. New found friends, old allies and quintessentially French. I have a little confession to make, they haven't changed much. When I was living in Paris and later in Brussels, I went out of my way to avoid "running into" Americans. I was there to learn the language and adopt the culture. Since I've gotten back to the states, I have tried to not "run into" any French (I know it's wierd) and up until now, the tactic has worked. Then along came Michele and then shortly afterwards, Guillaume - a reincarnated Jack Kerouac. Thank God.
To make a long story short, adopted San Diego artist Michele Guieu invited another Parisienne (my wife) - Michele is from Marseille - and me over to dinner with her American husband Kyle, to meet Guillaume. Guillaume is a writer and travel blogger who works for the French newspaper Libération, which for as long as I can remember didn't have the most favorable opinion on America. Guillaume tells me they have shifted their attention to their new President, Nicolas Sarkozy. Tant mieux.
Guillaume Chérel's blog - Sur les pas de Jack Kerouac (click for larger image)
juin 23, 2008
"You can almost smell the dirty concrete" - photos by Jesse
photos by Jesse, intro by KAI1
"I've taken to calling Jesse's photographs "Gutter Photojournalism". They invoke a remarkable aura of the underbelly of misanthropy, a world full of characters either genuine or self contrived. You can almost smell the dirty concrete and sweat in his photos. His quick hand captures grit and pores, alcoholic madness, true scum, freewheeling art exhibitions, pure evil, madness, and the ever present soul of the rag tag masses fighting for freedom from ennui. He takes the pictures that I wish I could take but something inside me won't let me. He captures those split seconds that always seem to melt away as my hand goes for my camera. He makes the bad look good and the absolutely shitty look holy. He has a really interesting blog at http://youvegotnothing.blogspot.com"
I would only add that these images are compelling, tragic (some), perverse in a voyeuristic way, making them all that more attractive, as well as being unceremoniously prideful and unabashed in their brutal honesty. It is a "slice of life" that many of us are too ashamed or embarassed to acknowledge, in it, we see our own fragility. In the spirit of Larry Clark and Nan Goldin, these photos by Jesse might shock and appal you, but I promise you, they won't leave you indifferent. Kevin Freitas
Continue reading ""You can almost smell the dirty concrete" - photos by Jesse" »
juin 22, 2008
hoping Heaven has a sense of humor
George Carlin 1937-2008
by Kevin Freitas
mai 17, 2008
Pure movement
by Richard Gleaves
mai 13, 2008
by Richard Gleaves
avril 25, 2008
Urban Homestead Project
by Richard Gleaves
Housing being too expensive in San Diego, I set out to realize my lifelong dream of homeownership by approaching the problem as an art project.
mars 18, 2008
"Childhood's End" - Arthur C. Clarke dies
by Kevin Freitas
Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.
-- Arthur C. Clarke
Image of Arthur C. Clarke by Charles Adams, Science &
Society Picture Library, London
There's definitely a part of my adolescence ending with the passing of Arthur C. Clarke today, a mere 90 years of age, such a great loss. I read "Childhood's End" by Clarke in high school, Soquel High (Santa Cruz), English 1B, a class obliged upon those of us who did not fair well enough on the english proficiency exam to be part of English 1A nor in the company of grand literature and scholars. I found myself in a class with other "literary dropouts" that had no desks and only beanbag chairs, a worn out couch and a whole wall of bookshelves heaving with nothing but Science Fiction on them. I thank the stars to this day, and often enough to realize that on that one percise moment in flunking english, I had the opportunity of a lifetime and a whole universe of discovery before me yearning to be read, written by Gods the likes of Clarke, Heinlen, Bradbury, Asimov, Herbert, Vonnegut and many many more for wanderlust mortals like myself. Thank you.
You will be missed.
février 20, 2008
Life in heaven
by Richard Gleaves
Microbes live in the clouds: growing, mating, traveling about the planet till they return to earth, riding the rain.
octobre 27, 2007
Architecture of Hope
by Richard Gleaves
One of the big surprises of the San Diego wildfires is the instant rise to international fame of Qualcomm Stadium as shelter, haven, and general beacon of humanity for tens of thousands of refugees. Photojournalists the world over descended on San Diego, and their collective photographer's eye discovered a little-known fact: Qualcomm Stadium is in fact a stunning and historically significant piece of mid-century modern architecture.
Tickled by the stadium's proto-Bilbao-esque forms, the photojournalists proceeded to invent a new genre of architectural disaster photography, equal parts Shulman and Salgado. The resulting images carry the story, and they look great.
The irony in this sequence of events is that ever since the city built the new Petco Park downtown, Qualcomm Stadium has been portrayed as a civic white elephant in need of extensive and architecturally fatal multi-use redevelopment. But now that the stadium has received (both in name and in image) an inestimable amount of solid gold international media exposure, any future efforts to bury the existing stadium beneath high-density housing and parking garages will likely be seen as the civic equivalent of tearing down the Statue of Liberty. It will make for interesting media coverage.
Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Robyn Beck (Agence France-Presse); Chris Park (Associated Press Photo); Stan Liu (Reuters); AP Photo.
septembre 21, 2007
Hardware Porn
by Richard Gleaves
Today's national news reports that a 19-year-old MIT student was arrested at Logan International Airport for wearing a circuit board with blinking LEDs on her sweatshirt. She told authorities it was an artwork.
This event, taken together with the digital graffiti scare from earlier this year, firmly establishes digital circuitry as a symbol of terror in the American visual lexicon. Which is deeply ironic given that under their smooth plastic covers every cellphone and iPod in America carries the very same circuitry and blinking LEDs.
iPods are to Big Macs as bare naked electronics are to blood-spattered cow intestines: both cross-relations involve deep consumer ignorance and denial. So when one encounters the real thing in public, the response is likely fear.
août 29, 2007
Sergio Ramirez
by Richard Gleaves
Artist, illustrator, gentleman, finisher of the big course. Fare well.
mai 23, 2007
A Fair(y) Use Tale
by Richard Gleaves
If the traditional avant-garde suffered a fatal commoditization from the one-two-three punch of a taboo-free liberalized society, a cultural fetish for novelty, and advanced real-time marketing, then the neo-avant-garde thrives by simply flouting the law: specifically the victimless laws of defacement and theft: aka graffiti and copyright infringement.
The irony here is that the same radical advances in information technology that are rendering tagging an ever more problematic practice (due to the remote monitoring of private and public space) are simultaneously creating a golden age of infringement (due to the ready availability of technology for capturing, manipulating, and distributing digital information).
Expect these two neo-avant-garde practices to merge in the future, as taggers discover the virtual new worlds. And expect the most skilled and visionary practitioners to display legal virtuosity in skirting not flouting the law:
mai 10, 2007
Rothko as Meme
by Richard Gleaves
The Rothko in room 623 of the La Jolla Sheraton Hotel is in fact a second-order derivative: an oversized giclée print of a Rothko knockoff. Oversized here refers not to the knockoff - Rothko's paintings being even bigger - but rather to the size of the print in the hotel room: the effect being more Magritte than Ab-Ex.
The image is printed on an inkjet-friendly canvas which in turn is mounted on a stretcher bar to simulate the object-like quality of an actual painting. The canvas on the sides of the object is printed in black. The object is securely fastened to the wall - it cannot be moved or removed without the use of tools.
In the photo above, the color on the right side of the object is washed out by reflected light. While this is partly a result of the camera flash, the effect is also distinctly visible in normal room lighting. This reflectivity is a product of the glossy ink and canvas used in the giclée process: it creates a subtle glass-like sheen on the surface of the image, effectively eliminating the illusion of atmospheric depth that is key to the visual power of a Rothko. The object thus fails as a Rothko imitation.
Careful study of the photo - in particular, of the gap between the ceiling molding and the top of the object - reveals that the object has been hung at a slight angle, with the left side being lower than the right. This is not a photographic artifact - it is distinctly visible to viewers in the room. Though not obvious in the photo, there is an apparent logic to this noncanonical orientation: the two horizontal bars in the image tilt slightly to the right, so by hanging the object itself to tilt slightly to the left, the bars achieve true horizontality relative to the room.
Rothko-esque imagery is a visual motif in the hotel: the second photograph is a detail of the paper card that guests leave on their bed to request new sheets.
Careful study of this photo reveals a decidedly nonRothko-esque pattern of spirals in the blue area of the image. Possible interpretations of this pattern include (but should not be limited to) allusions to textiles, or perhaps to the maritime component of the signature La Jolla sublime.
mai 01, 2007
Uncle Freddy's, Bill Boyce, Kapoor, Artropolis, Wicker Park and Chi-Town
by Kevin Freitas
"I remember way back in the days on my block... "
Bill Boyce - downtown Hammond, Indiana (courtesy Uncle Freddy's Gallery)
Couldn't have been any better, good friends, great art, 4 days of vacation in the artropolis of the Midwest - Chicago. And thanks to Tom Torluemke and Linda Dorman of Uncle Freddy's Gallery, you can add Hammond to the list thank you very much.
Continue reading "Uncle Freddy's, Bill Boyce, Kapoor, Artropolis, Wicker Park and Chi-Town" »
avril 24, 2007
Printable Cold Sores
by Kevin Freitas
Sometimes there's a need for words, and sometimes a need for action. From the Adventures in Geek Graffiti blog - Printable Cold Sores.
Nowhere in advertising is the gap between natural beauty and manufactured perfection more apparent than on subway posters. As we wait for transportation, we are unwillingly assaulted by larger-than-life representations of supposedly beautiful salespeople. The large scale of these ads and their extremely close proximity to the viewer offer up more than perceived intimacy, however... they give us the chance to see the mechanical flaws designed to correct their physical flaws.More...
avril 02, 2007
I really want to see you Really want to be with you Really want to see you lord But it takes so long, my lord My sweet lord...
by Kevin Freitas
More to come...
mars 20, 2007
Art and Oil: A Tragedy in 5 Parts
by Kevin Freitas and Richard Gleaves
The following posting germinated out of a forwarded email to Richard Gleaves, fellow Art as Authority contributor, that I received from Mark Vallen's weblog: www.art-for-a-change.com/blog concerning BP's (British Petroleum) recent $25 million dollar donation to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The museum according to Vallen's article, "plans to dedicate a new entry gate and pavilion to the energy Goliath. To be christened the 'BP Grand Entrance', the construction is nothing more than an edifice to big oil and the clearest example yet of the increasing corporatization of the arts in America." Vallen continues by noting, "historically, the largesse of wealthy benefactors has always played a role in the arts, with the names of well-heeled patrons gracing museum wings and collections. But there is something unseemly about naming part of an art museum after a transnational oil conglomerate - especially when considering the increasingly toxic role of oil companies in today’s world. President of BP America, Bob Malone, said the donation represents the energy giant’s 'commitment to the arts' - but scrutiny of the oil-smeared endowment reveals a public relations campaign designed to erase public memory of BP’s dirty doings."
Those "dirty doings" according to Vallen's fact findings, are being settled and paid out in millions of dollars of legal settlements and fees nationwide due to pollution from leaking gasoline storage tanks, smog forming chemicals, a Texas refinery explosion, OSHA violations, pipeline leaks whilst millions of dollars more are being made worldwide through "production-sharing agreements with the host governments, neo-colonial contracts that bypass respective national environmental and social laws and place the overwhelming majority of profits in the hands of BP and its partners" from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to the the Ocensa pipeline in Colombia to present day Iraq.
So, since it is often customary and necessary for several of Art as Authority's contributing editors to make "art runs" up to Los Angeles for a spot of culture and world class exhibitions (uhh .. what's wrong with San Diego? - insert sarcasm) I thought it only appropriate to warn Mr. Gleaves of an impending faux pas and potentially hazardous and sticky - avoiding if you will, a tarring with the same brush - situation. What I got in return was a lesson in perception. (image: John D. Rockefeller satirized in a 1901 Puck cartoon)
février 28, 2007
Can you spot the differences?
by Kevin Freitas
The Iraq Series are powerful and obstreperous - new word I learned today - images from Forkscrew Graphics. Proof once again that if your honest in the making of your work as an artist, and you believe in your message, the appeal and recognition will be universal. Apple is trying to sell you an iPod, the government is trying to sell you a war - who is the more (dis)honest? The most interesting works of art have always been those who have reflected and transformed our view of the world. www.forkscrew.com
Forkscrew encourages you to "Download it. Propagate it. Get involved. And then do something else all your own. We don't give a fuck."
janvier 01, 2007
Adventures in Multimedia Spam
by Richard Gleaves
Last spring the unsolicited magazine gods began mailing me free monthly copies of Ranch & Coast, "San Diego's Luxury Lifestyle Magazine."
For persons outside the target demographic, R&C makes for fierce entertainment: it's glossy, beautifully designed, and filled with ads and articles broadcasting the obsessions of the nouveau riche: real estate, travel, fine dining, kids, fashion, fast cars, and above all, all possible means -- whether surgical, physical, or spiritual -- of attempting to regain one's lost youth.
In short: a good read, with the occasional delicious tilt into sublime moments of absurdist horror.
After receiving a few issues I decided to reciprocate the publisher's generosity by deriving simple (i.e., uni- or dual-element) digital collages from the pages of each issue, and emailing them to the R&C editor. Artwork as payment: a time-honored barter.
Some of the less easily identifiable collage sources include a Corvette review, a high-tech leakproof silicone breast implant, a blonde bouffant hairdo with dark roots, a computer-spell-checked article showcasing a fifteen-acre ranch estate, a New Year's-in-Rio panorama, Breakfast With Shamu, and an article on teeth-whitening.
décembre 17, 2006
Window Talking
by Kevin Freitas
"Carmen is in Paradise" (my Mom, Carmen, had passed away several months before)
The gallery in Brussels was located in a predominately residential neighborhood and located at the corner of a "rond-point" or roundabout, basically a rather busy intersection where many folks would take the tram or bus to go downtown. I'm not quite sure how it got started, I believe my friend and writer Paul Simonetti, suggested one day that we start writing phrases on the window of the gallery that faced and ran parallel with the tram tracks. We quickly realized that we literally had a captive audience, since the tram almost always slowed down when navigating the roundabout. Here are just a few excerpts from a month long - we changed the slogans daily, installation of basic communication.
"Another fuschia that has disappeared" (I had a terrible time keeping plants of any kind planted before they grew legs - it didn't help)
septembre 20, 2006
Art as Authority celebrates its 100th post!
by Kevin Freitas
Art as Authority IS AN Authority, growing and informing its faithful readers, supporting and thanking its insightful editorial staff, making its presence known from the West coast to the East coast and across the Atlantic into Europe. Some said it couldn't be done, some even dared to say it wouldn't last - but they were wrong, and to celebrate our 100th post and the next 100 to come, Art as Authority is offering an original artwork to the first blogger who answers the following question correctly:
What is the world record for the farthest watermelon seed spit? Is it:A.103ft 2in. (31.46m)
B. 70ft. 5in. (21.50m)
C. 23ft. 7in. (7.23m)
D. 75ft. 2in. (22.91m)
Here is what you'll win
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septembre 11, 2006
"We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth" - John F. Kennedy
*in case we do
by Kevin Freitas
In the lobby of 7 World Trade Center: David M. Childs, left, the architect; Larry A. Silverstein, the developer, with his wife, Klara; and Jenny Holzer. Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
I found an interesting article in the New York Times today, while I googled "artworks destroyed by 911", about contemporary artist Jenny Holzer who has recently installed in the lobby of the new 7 World Trade Center, a moving wall of words.
Already, thousands of moving, ghostly-white words of text have been programmed by Ms. Holzer evoking the history of New York; they will scroll across a glowing, 65-foot-wide, 14-foot-high wall in the lobby of 7 World Trade Center. ... The artwork — a continuing stream of poetry and prose written by dozens of different authors, from Elizabeth Bishop and Allen Ginsberg to Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman — will move along a screen made of acid-etched, diffused, translucent glass illuminated by whitish light.
juillet 04, 2006
Metacomedies of similarity
by Richard Gleaves
Figure 1: Electrical resistance (110 volts)
Figure 2: Gravitational acceleration (60 feet)
Figure 3: Irradiation (10 minutes, with control)
Figure 4: Combustion (sequence)
Figure 5: Immersion (2 days, with control)
Figure 6: Liquefaction (sequence)
To interpret a work is to be committed to a historical interpretation of the work.
-- Danto, Beyond the Brillo Box
Source imagery: The Twinkies Project
juin 25, 2006
Abstraction and anti-abstraction
by Richard Gleaves
Abstraction in art traditionally refers to nonrepresentational art. But in informatics it refers to a more generalized process of complexity reduction which is used in all domains of art and life.
avril 15, 2006
La Nouvelle Cuisine
by Kevin Freitas
février 28, 2006
Happy Fat Tuesday - Joyeux Mardi Gras OR
my "LA" woman
Les Gilles de Binche - Belgique
Les Gilles de Binche - City of Binche, Belgium
Photo courtesy of Le carnaval de Binche vu par
30 photographes par 30 photographes et Patrick Haumont