This set of photographs by Londoner Fergus McDonald perfectly describes what life has been like in the capital of our grey little island this winter. For me they fully evoke the grime and thrill that makes London the place it is: old-man pubs, sodden streets, political unrest, or just a blurred glimpse in the crowd. These scenes will be familiar to any young Londoner, an insider’s view for sure, but by isolating these moments, McDonald’s photographs force you to stop and re-appreciate ones daily experiences, both the good and the bad. We gave Fergus a shout to see what was behind the series, and this is what he had to say:
“I used to only take photos based on strict guidelines and projects I set myself. I found this way of working generally successful as my work was inadvertently more structured and focused. Over the last year or so, inspired by photographers such as William Egglestone and Wolfgang Tillmans, I have tried to work in a more instinctive way, photographing what I am instantly visually stimulated by. This has produced some interesting results and I have found that the perfect platform for these images is my blog.”
In the continuity of Staples Art, here this artist Julia Chiang, a Brooklyn artist who created works with a variety of random objects. This exhibit, created from the classic Ring Pop ( I had one yesterday ) presented to Miami Art Basel.
Gao Zhen 1956 Born in Jinan, China Gao Qiang 1962 Born in Jinan, China The Gao Brothers are a pair of artist brothers based in Beijing and authors of several published works, including“How Far Can You Walk in One Day in Beijing”, “The Current State Of Chinese Avant-Garde Art” and “The Report Of Art Environment”, They have been collaborating on installation, performance, sculpture, photography works and writing since the mid1980s. Some of their works were published in “A History Of China Modern Art”, ” China Avant-garde Photography”, “The Best Photography Of China”, etc, and is held in private and museums collections, such like He Xiangning Art Museum, Centre Georges Pompidou, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, etc, in China and across the world. >via
Just found out that Emmet Gowin is from Danville, VA - my mom’s hometown and where I spent 15 painful years of my life. I found this quote from his wife Edith:
“He wasn’t like the other Danville boys, Edith recalls. He looked sharp that night in 1961, clad entirely in black for the dance at the Y…”
… creates some amazing enigmatic imagery, taking extremely well crafted biological forms and mixing them in a way that is sculpturally incredible.
“These pieces are in part responses to environmental stressors including climate change, toxic pollution, and gm crops. They also borrow from myth, art history, figures of speech and other cultural touchstones. In some pieces, aspects of the human figure stand-in for ourselves and act out sometimes harrowing, sometimes humorous transformations which illustrate our current relationship with the natural world. In others, animals take on anthropomorphic qualities when they are given safety equipment to attempt to protect them from man-made environmental threats. In each case the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practices.”
Kate’s next show is called Corporeal Manifestations, group invitational exhibit in conjunction with NCECA, Mutter Museum, Philadelphia, PA, Feb 2 - Aug 2, 2010.
I mentioned after the opening I would bring back images of the show, and here they are. Also made a little musical video walkthrough of the show, but of course it doesn’t compare to seeing the art in person. Make sure to swing thru before its over!
is a beast living and working out of NY. You may have most recently seen the pearls he put all over Lady Gaga’s body and face. I have a feeling that the sexual contexts of pearls on a woman’s face wasn’t completely coincidental either. Koh has made a career out of combining sex, glamour, and excriment to a harmonious fulcrum that brings on the question of what beauty is. Similar to the way Andre Surrano challenges the true definition of art by intertwining the lines of art, pornography and straight up shit, Koh has made a habit of literally making beautry from dirt. He currently has work at the Objects that love you back show and next show will “Skin Fruit”, Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection, curated by Jeff Koons on March 2nd - June 6th, 2010 at the New Museum. View more of Terrence’s Fantastic work HERE.
Gift Horse Project is a group of rotating musicians and visual artists. Conceived of by artists, to help artists in crisis. This show, in cooperation with Creative Visions Foundation, is to benefit BRANDAID. BRANDAID foundation is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help artisans from developing countries. Effective immediately proceeds from all BRANDAID project sales will be used to support Haitian relief efforts.
Gift Horse Project’s current line-up is:
Rain Phoenix (papercranes), Angela McCluskey (wild colonials) Luke Rathborne, Antony Langdon (spacehog) Mark McAdam, Dermot Mulroney (low and sweet orchestra), Dave Palmer, Norm Block and Kirk Hellie. Tax-deductible donations may be made at www.creativevisions.org, or by mailing a donation, made out to CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION, c/o HBA, 3216 Nebraska Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404-4214. ***Please notate BRANDAID/Gift Horse Project in the memo section.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, directed by one of the artist’s close friends, Tamra Davis. The film features never-before seen footage of the prolific yet troubled artist, just a couple of years before his untimely passing in 1988. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child in its entirety was released on February 21st, 2010. via
Last night, while over at Jack’s getting some intrusive footage of his life for Bridgerunners, I had the pleasure of meeting Dana Veraldi. Dana is an artist / stylist / hustler living out of the East Village that gets her screenprint on with her handrawn portraiture. Her subjects range from pets, to tastemakers, to musicians, all while keeping within her stylized handdrawn world. Apparently Damon Dash has taken her under his wing, giving her access to a full studio hookup to print in, not a bad connect. While sitting around their apartment, watching figure skating and listening to Nicki Minaj, she was in the process of working on her latest design, a concert shirt for Currency. Keep a lookout for more by this talented chica around NYC and at her website.
Here is a look at the Harvest by Haroshi: Skate and Destroy Exhibition, currently on show at plsmis gallery in Tokyo till the 27th. Haroshi takes old skate decks and re-creates them into completely new forms, shapes and uses. He hides nothing, revealing every ply of wood used in the creation. Click here for the continuation.
… and of course the show is called Size Does Matter. This dude has gone all over the map using his celebrity status and size to get into other avenues of the lucredive entertainment industry. Started off with basketball. ok he’s big. Went on to rapping, ok trying new things sure, whatev. Then went on to acting ( Genie and a Superhero.) Um… questionable. Now he’s hittin the art scene. Art farty Shaq? Gotta give it to the dude, he’s a walking gimick waiting to happen, might as well make that loot. Plus there actually is some awesome art at the show. Check out more pictures of the show HERE.
