tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36606960519522228922024-02-20T09:43:12.547-08:00Peter DudekPeter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-63598464221633158892016-01-12T11:19:00.000-08:002016-01-12T18:59:50.929-08:00I Saw Whistler’s Mother<div style="text-align: center;">
I Saw Whistler’s Mother</div>
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She was at the <a href="http://www.clarkart.edu/" target="_blank">Clark Art Institute</a>, in the Lunder Center up the hill from the main buildings. I drove there early one Thursday morning and found myself virtually alone with the painting. Aside from a related print tucked away off to the side, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistler's_Mother" target="_blank">the painting of Whistler’s mother</a> hung in the center of a room, by itself. Having never seen it in person, the silence of this unexpectedly large painting was unpredictably powerful. Its muted colors richly engaging. Often, because of over exposure through reproductions and the media, iconic imagery such as this doesn’t hold up to in-person analysis, this one did. And as with all great art its power was inexplicable. The painting didn’t need explanatory text or supplemental works; it was visually self-sufficient, a comprehensive exhibition unto itself. However the Clark did add a room of his prints, plus an additional space that connected the painting to reductive modernism and the grid. The latter room contained a quote from the grid apologist and sequential thinker, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_H._Barr,_Jr." target="_blank">Alfred Barr</a>. He believed Whistler’s painting was a modernist forbearer, complete with an underlying grid. A wall placard with text, images and an analytical diagram explained this. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd83T5RMGC8zOto5KoEYY1QyjdLT32atuKYfKFivPKjqiDoHtmEFwboMtkY1K4Ri1wpyE9TlLnLpX6xXjVESDMBaTQSAnKTRgTFMPcwY-uizqisdfeeV7lEVOuJNStUMapTyIjnavGKEo/s1600/IMG_1428.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd83T5RMGC8zOto5KoEYY1QyjdLT32atuKYfKFivPKjqiDoHtmEFwboMtkY1K4Ri1wpyE9TlLnLpX6xXjVESDMBaTQSAnKTRgTFMPcwY-uizqisdfeeV7lEVOuJNStUMapTyIjnavGKEo/s320/IMG_1428.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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“This guy sees the grid everywhere” was my first thought.<br />
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And then I turned around to see this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4r-7jgXZ-yS3si7g-dfsu7LE5C5wHVRW-xDJsmyBnWRKS1mimNovl4YQLxCuBj5myC5VauDSYem5kKYnB4NYjZThJaAiBV5mFJdAXeVOxNkqZNIBm26ntEaUxDHGGHqSUZpjAAw5Tp0/s1600/IMG_1415-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4r-7jgXZ-yS3si7g-dfsu7LE5C5wHVRW-xDJsmyBnWRKS1mimNovl4YQLxCuBj5myC5VauDSYem5kKYnB4NYjZThJaAiBV5mFJdAXeVOxNkqZNIBm26ntEaUxDHGGHqSUZpjAAw5Tp0/s320/IMG_1415-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And my thought changed to: “I guess it is”.</div>
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Thomas Schutte’s <i>Crystal</i><i></i></div>
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I decided to hike further up the hill to see Thomas Schutte’s minimalist geode. At the end of a trail, perched on a hilltop high, with a view of the Clark, <i>Crystal</i> pays tribute to minimalism while adding touches of architectural function. Shape-wise it is similar to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Smith_%28sculptor%29" target="_blank">Tony Smith</a>’s <i>Tau</i>, albeit with overlapping cladding.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5n2fIHbp7Zb4qts3OJntIJfmpW0zkpTqoCBHR7Mbpqi3NF-7g1wGj7vw4vlqy5Y_v4YHDEKfAtEN91-Oje652lHiJRjjBwnxLj5tHp_cUQZTnRmYSm-3MXPrFbbntZ2xgUsrarUqQ7Uw/s1600/IMG_1424-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5n2fIHbp7Zb4qts3OJntIJfmpW0zkpTqoCBHR7Mbpqi3NF-7g1wGj7vw4vlqy5Y_v4YHDEKfAtEN91-Oje652lHiJRjjBwnxLj5tHp_cUQZTnRmYSm-3MXPrFbbntZ2xgUsrarUqQ7Uw/s320/IMG_1424-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Crystal</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm7jNfLtyuDJBh4wxg4TI4msct1nISatPSw-zP-N60MEE-Jcg6tmLkOx-Ki4Ra0sFet-j3w7EAPr81y2FSYeGbTU4ytt92vtt3qK45py8BB1VsXgASE5BeYREV54yuij9MI3CCKUGjlE/s1600/Tao.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm7jNfLtyuDJBh4wxg4TI4msct1nISatPSw-zP-N60MEE-Jcg6tmLkOx-Ki4Ra0sFet-j3w7EAPr81y2FSYeGbTU4ytt92vtt3qK45py8BB1VsXgASE5BeYREV54yuij9MI3CCKUGjlE/s400/Tao.jpg" /></a> </div>
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<i>Tau</i></div>
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And by adding a door to one side and an opening with a view of the landscape to the other, <a href="http://www.thomas-schuette.de/website_content.php" target="_blank">Schutte</a> alludes to the fact that <i>Tau</i> is a hollow form. And in <i>Crystal</i> he literally mined the void within a minimalist sculpture to create a hybrid sculpture/shed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5hM3d3KrldIesKSwI1DqpcUob8iLSQ0yWTyh3MDHi7wRIAIIjkKYzJYnwSuQTCjueKieifSSxaNAKGAKb9AUgxjV4_6r4rlzyjlBNwTM7MXmcBt8Yj8IJZN1nqE8_eQqsHmRXgukUjE/s1600/IMG_1421.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5hM3d3KrldIesKSwI1DqpcUob8iLSQ0yWTyh3MDHi7wRIAIIjkKYzJYnwSuQTCjueKieifSSxaNAKGAKb9AUgxjV4_6r4rlzyjlBNwTM7MXmcBt8Yj8IJZN1nqE8_eQqsHmRXgukUjE/s320/IMG_1421.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGsSBo-z3BXCUbuIzEQW1EwcVZ8vguG-T5MzFlD4PacqKVEN0vJ98bVUSByn6TOp2iS0Yj3tCFAYy3UPgV2PikQW5enu5sY5ZdW78AkgfrBpCeQz3sAySrtaWpD7Xwb_aKvPp9PnhnME/s1600/IMG_1417.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGsSBo-z3BXCUbuIzEQW1EwcVZ8vguG-T5MzFlD4PacqKVEN0vJ98bVUSByn6TOp2iS0Yj3tCFAYy3UPgV2PikQW5enu5sY5ZdW78AkgfrBpCeQz3sAySrtaWpD7Xwb_aKvPp9PnhnME/s320/IMG_1417.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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A built-in bench allowed me a respite and moments of quiet contemplation after the somewhat steep climb to the site.<br />
That was until the crowd from the Clark’s Van Gogh exhibition found its way up the hill. The Clark, having recently expanded for a third and perhaps final time, is now a blockbuster venue. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtPXb-qngafUJ0uz6GIR45L7psqlRWeu2YCpKBKYq_gcS_WM9SDHdfHwsmpTj-xr9EdGLgd44D1ac4g2p-oULr3JySKAtHc6wrhkO_D-eoW8s5DV6hXdpvhxra0dc-ljxGmEzeaGsh5U/s1600/Clark.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtPXb-qngafUJ0uz6GIR45L7psqlRWeu2YCpKBKYq_gcS_WM9SDHdfHwsmpTj-xr9EdGLgd44D1ac4g2p-oULr3JySKAtHc6wrhkO_D-eoW8s5DV6hXdpvhxra0dc-ljxGmEzeaGsh5U/s320/Clark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I fondly remember the Clark’s original neoclassical-style marble building as a smallish temple for art containing intimate spaces for Impressionist works and assorted antiquities. A 1970’s addition grafted a darkish granite volume to its southern side, creating a new entrance, parking, a library and more exhibition space. <br />
Recently <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Ando" target="_blank">Tadao Ando</a> was called upon to create the final architectural additions to the Clark Campus. Along with <a href="http://www.reedhilderbrand.com/" target="_blank">Reed Hilderbrand</a>’s new reflecting pool and landscape design it truly is a campus now. There is acreage. Pastoral hills, trails, trees and pastures. The original building can’t be seen as one walks toward the new entrance. A long wall, leading to Ando’s new 42,600 square foot Clark Center, hides it from view. Given that, like <a href="https://www.bso.org/brands/tanglewood/features/2016-tanglewood-season.aspx" target="_blank">Tanglewood</a>, the Clark has historically always had an older clientele, it <i>is</i> a long walk from the lot to the entrance. Thankfully there is a restroom and water fountain halfway along the wall to relieve one’s bladder and refresh oneself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvTDZUkQjSFWSFWjfGa8BVbksoM9T_bOMd-EMsckw9GKUsGOD1svLrlxQSsaot6CcwRM5Q56kkWUZ-lmmfUNuiWhuCqN5iKYGJ_dSo0anJw-nm2zA_OCdLwC4q29A7V327Qn4nUl_Q2A/s1600/Ando.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvTDZUkQjSFWSFWjfGa8BVbksoM9T_bOMd-EMsckw9GKUsGOD1svLrlxQSsaot6CcwRM5Q56kkWUZ-lmmfUNuiWhuCqN5iKYGJ_dSo0anJw-nm2zA_OCdLwC4q29A7V327Qn4nUl_Q2A/s320/Ando.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>
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The wall, acting as a blinder, forces visitors to focus on the new and downplays the old. I was there to see the <a href="http://www.clarkart.edu/About/Press-Room/Press-Releases/2015/Van-Gogh" target="_blank">Van Gogh</a> show and because the museum had not yet opened visitors were allowed to wait by the reflecting pool and comfortably admire the landscape on a sunny, summer morning. However from this vantage point the rear of the original building was noticeable. Which, in and of itself, wasn’t a problem but that dark granite addition could also be seen, and it simply looked sad. One couldn’t help thinking, “Is that staying there”? <br />
It’s clear that Ando did not want visitors to see the other buildings while approaching his Clark Center. He controlled the view with the wall. However once inside the campus there exists a discomfort between the buildings. Perhaps that’s why his Lunder Center was placed in the woods, up the hill, high away from the other buildings. The surrounding trees isolate it and screen out any view of the conflicting architectural battle below. <br />
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The Cultural Corridor.</div>
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With a few more cultural additions to North Adams and Williamstown, by mid-century one might be able to enter through the front door of <a href="http://www.massmoca.org/" target="_blank">MassMoca</a>, continue through a series of contiguous museums, and exit through the rear door of the Clark.<br />
MassMoca; the <a href="http://www.dezeen.com/2015/12/18/railroad-art-architecture-museum-gluckman-tang-new-museums-art-and-model-trains-western-massachusetts/" target="_blank">proposed Museum of Extreme Model Railroading and Contemporary Architecture</a>; the <a href="http://www.artnews.com/2015/08/12/thomas-krens-is-planning-another-contemporary-art-museum-for-north-adams-massachusetts/" target="_blank">proposed Contemporary Museum at the North Adams airport</a>; the <a href="https://wcma.williams.edu/" target="_blank">Williams College Art Museum</a> and the Clark in Williamstown, have all either expanded, are expanding, considering expansion, or exist on the drawing board looking for financing.<br />
Earlier this century I wrote about the <a href="http://peterdudek.com/writings21.html" target="_blank">Cultural Corridor</a> between Beacon, NY and Bennington, VT. That Corridor slowly evolved over several decades starting in the late fifties and early sixties. The migration of artists between the New York City region and southern Vermont area triggered the growth of cultural institutions along this north-south Corridor. Now a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/arts/design/cultural-corridor-proposed-for-northern-berkshires.html" target="_blank">mini east-west Corridor </a>will link the former mill town of North Adams and the venerable college town of Williamstown, with the aforementioned museums spearheading this process of acculturation. <br />
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<br />Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-26102013762756773822015-04-08T09:40:00.000-07:002015-04-08T09:40:23.639-07:00Does Art Have to be Interesting? or My Dinner with Andre and O.J.
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Does
Art Have to be Interesting?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">or</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My
Dinner with Andre and O.J.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Does art have to be interesting? It seems we all
agree that most contemporary art isn’t. And galleries reinforce this by
consistently filling their spaces with mostly uninteresting and therefore disappointing
work. Going to exhibitions would certainly be more fun if we didn’t care about being
disappointed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I recently went to several uninteresting
exhibits in Chelsea. It didn’t take much to find them. At one (the Andrew Kreps
Gallery) they had a bunch of lightly colored paintings covered with gridded
patterns of some sort; they weren’t very interesting to look at. Thinking they
must have a back-story, I checked the press release. Turns out that in making the
paintings the artist utilized a “random walk algorithm, a formalization of
Brownian motion that is used in financial instruments to model market behavior”,
or so it said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">OK… but that didn’t make the paintings especially
interesting to look at, or even think about, and although the use of an algorithm
gave the show an au courant vibe the back-story simply felt like just another
art school strategy (which here means uninteresting). Is it old school to think
that paintings should be visually interesting? The Forever Now show at MOMA
wasn’t very interesting but it was clear that most of the works were at least <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">trying</i> to be interesting, most of them
anyway. But maybe that was the problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Back in the day even Conceptual art (especially
Sol Lewitt’s drawings and sculptures) was often visually engaging, same thing with
minimalist painting and sculpture. But I guess that’s truly old school by now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Carl Andre Retrospective at Dia Beacon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, he’s been called the O.J. of the art world.
Yes, there were the attendant protests and polemics that invariably accompanied
his retrospective at Dia<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a>.
And yes, it was a great show<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a>.
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Glad it wasn’t in NYC because visiting Dia Beacon,
a destination art<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></a> venue if
there ever was one, is always unique<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn4" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></a>.
It’s never crowded, the light is fantastic and it has space, space and more
space! Even on weekends one can casually be alone with the Sandbacks and the
Heizers, take a nap on the couch with the Weiners<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn5" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></a>,
or nonchalantly spend too much money in the bookstore. No problem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the final weekend of the Andre exhibit there
were more visitors in the building than I had ever seen, yet (agoraphobia
alert!) there were rarely more than 4 people wandering about in spaces that were
6, 000 - 10,000 square feet each. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl8YIg_5iMDN9Y2p2_CoUbieSCxouAEQ74YPWPLwz2EH8GnhVawob5x1xBI97zW-gfQPHmndRiM_hHr07ebU4_ZdUsEbXjdAnhyX45ckSoXyrq827eVoQGlVX3iD_8uCFCEyLNDlVHeI/s1600/2pm_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPl8YIg_5iMDN9Y2p2_CoUbieSCxouAEQ74YPWPLwz2EH8GnhVawob5x1xBI97zW-gfQPHmndRiM_hHr07ebU4_ZdUsEbXjdAnhyX45ckSoXyrq827eVoQGlVX3iD_8uCFCEyLNDlVHeI/s1600/2pm_2.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dia installation view</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Andre spread out his space-occupying objects in
the most casual yet arresting manner, resourcefully managing repetition without
being repetitive. To perceive oneself in the process of perception was the
mindset of the day. What was seen was more than what was there. The combination
of taut arrangements of cast concrete, stacked wooden timbers and random and
varied metal bits turned the vast corridors of Dia Beacon into traversable space
fields. It was thrilling to once again see how so little can add up to so much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to the more familiar sculptures there
were rarely seen art works: loose coils of metal, a line of found bent metal
shafts and from the early days: surrealist inflected objects, mail art and
massive amounts of concrete poetry<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn6" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[6]</span></span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">His classic checkerboard arrangements of metal
plates were the least interesting; fortunately there were only a couple
present, token nods to an overplayed and reoccurring series. Maybe art does
have to be interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Zero exhibition at the Guggy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Now that was a visually and conceptually rich
exhibit. And you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">got it</i> just by
looking at the work. No back-story needed. While responding to and reacting
against post war trends in art, mostly in painting, these artists made some
very good paintings. It was the thing-ness, the facticity of the pieces that
stunned. Simple and straightforward uses of materials held ones gaze. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_9rscEyUW6EfpuIswacqsGMmEZy0K0cNYSllA41g0A8SSXLnNAn1bhNZR5Z2gEfTrR91g8RwcbiLLdciW_r6DXUAaYPztAJ8g7R5qGoUVxDueN00uzp24K1j6tZ7GnnqFPKFGxlzccg/s1600/SCHJA0061-R-91-3-1991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_9rscEyUW6EfpuIswacqsGMmEZy0K0cNYSllA41g0A8SSXLnNAn1bhNZR5Z2gEfTrR91g8RwcbiLLdciW_r6DXUAaYPztAJ8g7R5qGoUVxDueN00uzp24K1j6tZ7GnnqFPKFGxlzccg/s1600/SCHJA0061-R-91-3-1991.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Jan Schoonhoven, R91-3</em>, 1991</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Later at the Zwirner multi-story concrete bunker
gallery, Jan Schoonhoven who was also in the Zero show, had a large selection
of his paintings and drawings. This guy rocks the planet. Simplicity, whiteness,
low relief paintings, and drawings made of repetitive ink strokes on white paper
filled the second floor. It was all too much, too good to disappoint. </span></div>
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<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a> It is
curious to compare the reputations of William Burroughs and Carl Andre.
Burroughs shot and killed his wife, and was convicted of it. Yet he became an
important figure for younger artists, including women, and today remains a
cultural icon. Andre on the other hand allegedly killed his wife by tossing her
out of their apartment window, he was found not guilty, yet he remains persona non
grata to many artists and protests accompany his exhibits. He is the O.J. of
the art world.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Saw it twice. It was even better the
second time around.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></a> Definition:
an art space at a remove. One must leave NYC.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is a distinctively personal
experience. One reason is because Robert Irwin designed the main entrance so
that one walks in by oneself, as an individual (as opposed to being herded in
with the hoards at the MOMA Mall).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></a> There’s
never anyone in the Weiner room.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[6]</span></span></a> OK, maybe
the writing section was a tad repetitive. </div>
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</div>
Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-83084407007330754322014-10-14T13:17:00.001-07:002014-10-14T13:17:35.878-07:00Coming Soon: The 24-Hour Museum?
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the heals of the <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/henri-matisse-cut-outs" target="_blank">Tate’s Matisse</a> “all-nighter”,
the Whitney will be keeping it’s doors open for the last 36 hours of the <a href="http://peterdudek.blogspot.com/2014/09/jeff-koons-and-nick-cave-bad-seeds.html" target="_blank">Jeff Koons</a> exhibit. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eVm8nPi4fPGMqskZXP45QDuYKTl00UbqjU0Kk__b2gdwqUx7n8TZEOZPTq2ucu7IKcdYLqyG0PURds34iL7rnbdenBPlvtZNGNuLXJ7lTqq5OTcEBtYkDkEds5MRI7PljlGbwH_bbgM/s1600/Balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eVm8nPi4fPGMqskZXP45QDuYKTl00UbqjU0Kk__b2gdwqUx7n8TZEOZPTq2ucu7IKcdYLqyG0PURds34iL7rnbdenBPlvtZNGNuLXJ7lTqq5OTcEBtYkDkEds5MRI7PljlGbwH_bbgM/s1600/Balls.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Recently the <a href="http://www.rubinmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Rubin Museum</a> has offered a
sleepover amidst “the <span style="background: white; color: black;">compassionate
gaze of one hundred buddhas”</span> and BAM announced a 24-hour movie marathon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Is it time for all cultural institutions to be
open at least one day a month for 24 hour viewing? Midnight visits to <a href="http://www.moma.org/" target="_blank">MOMA</a>?
Rooftop <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Met</a> at 3 in the morning? The <a href="http://www.guggenheim.org/" target="_blank">Guggenheim</a> at dawn? Is the 24-hour museum
about to conquer the city that never sleeps?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Viewers for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clock_%282010_film%29" target="_blank">Christian Marclay’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Clock</i></a> proved that culture vultures
would stand in line 24/7 and back when there were galleries in the East
Village, Pompeii Gallery held an opening at 3 in the morning. It was packed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Nighthawks
and insomniacs unite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s like when ATM machines were first
introduced. ATMs made 24/7 banking possible. However they also made people
realize that they didn’t actually have time to bank between 9-3.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Expanded hours and services are the mandate for pharmacies,
hardware stores, bookstores, lumberyards and museums! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Museums are way too crowded. Why should a
<a href="http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2014/matisse/" target="_blank">Matisse exhibition</a> put fear into your heart?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">AND:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Two
More Weeks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Susan
Hartung : Following a Line</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Curated by
Peter Dudek</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">On view
at </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">The
Teaching Gallery, Hudson Valley Community College </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">through
October 25</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Gallery
hours: Tues, Th, Fr 10-4; Weds 1-7; Sat 12-4 </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;">Read Amy
Griffin's review in the Times Union <span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/Chronicle-of-a-creative-life-5809530.php</span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-67720370366065283902014-09-16T09:51:00.001-07:002014-09-16T09:51:48.790-07:00Susan Hartung: Painter, Poet, Artist<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Susan
Hartung</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Painter,
Poet, Artist</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A 50 Year Survey Exhibition at Hudson Valley Community College </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">opens on September 18.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’d like to introduce you to Susan Hartung. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Her engagement with art began at Northwestern University
where she attended painting classes while majoring in English. Upon graduation
she heard NYC calling. It was 1962. The art world was small, the lofts were
big, and Susan Hartung moved there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">While finding her way as a visual artist Susan explored the ever-changing
cultural mix that defined the downtown New York art world of the 1960s. She worked for
Something Else Press (founded by Fluxus provocateur Dick Higgins)<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a>
and developed an interest in the alternative music and dance worlds. She heard
the music of Moondog<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a> and John
Cage, visited the sound spaces of <i><span style="font-family: Times; font-style: normal;">La Monte Young</span></i><span class="st"> and </span><i><span style="font-family: Times; font-style: normal;">Marian Zazeela,</span></i>
attended the performances of Allan Kaprow, and the dances of Merce Cunningham,
Yvonne Rainer and </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Trisha Brown<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">. While
immersed in all that she discovered kindred spirits in drawing and painting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The reductive lines of Ellsworth Kelly, the repetitive
markings of Agnes Martin, the brushed stokes of David Smith that embrace chance
as they unfurl across the page, all share Susan’s pursuit of a delicate
immediacy, a sense of touch, and drawing as an act of discovery. For Susan,
drawing is not so much about describing as it is about exploring. It comes from
a place of not knowing. For her, the not known is a working space devoid of any
need for resolution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Are you a man or woman?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is the Moon waxing or waning?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Are we coming or going?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn4" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="yiv9424486312msonormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv9424486312msonormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv9424486312msonormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Drawing</span></u></div>
<div class="yiv9424486312msonormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Its immediacy, its deftness, came to occupy a central role in Susan’s
art. And like others in her generation the grid became a foundation to build
upon. In the grid </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">(structure, regularity) </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Susan injects</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
gesture and chance. Lines freely moving, not strict or exact lines, but
expressive and loose, conveying thought or feeling. </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">We see this throughout her
major works: the Beauforts, the Runes, the Notations and the Line Fields.</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Painting</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Susan approaches painting and drawing in a like-minded
manner, they are of one piece. Their making is intuitive and probing, open to
possibilities. If there is a difference it is how in the paintings color can be
more pronounced, but most often the paintings are conceptually analogous to the
drawings. Their function, their approach, their vocabulary is mutually shared
and equally beneficial. The paintings and drawings cannot be separated. Their
identities are interchangeable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Are they drawings or paintings? Yes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Size</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s a personal thing. Much of what Susan has made is
measured in inches, not feet. Everything is within an arm’s reach. In her
paintings, as in her drawings, size reinforces an intimacy. Through calibrating
size, she maintains the ability for her hand to move across the entire surface
with pencil or brush without a dramatic shift in body posture. Here we
experience post-painterly abstraction at work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Poetry</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Included in the brochure and the exhibition are snippets of Susan’s
poems. Painting and drawing fuel her creative drive. Poetry rounds it out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The exhibit</span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a survey exhibition of Susan’s life as an artist.
Meant to introduce, as thorough as possible, her creative evolution, it is
divided into three sections on two floors. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the ground floor is <u>The Introductory Space</u> (a mixture
of recent bodies of work) that illuminate her practice. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the second floor are two spaces: the <u>Discovery Hall</u>
(small works and ephemera that, in some way, made the other works possible);
and the <u>Dialog Room</u> (a variety of works from throughout the years) where
they all meet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Introductory Space</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This room contains a broad selection from several series: the
Notations, the Runes, the Beauforts and the Unmapped. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Notations gather billowy tendrils and loose ends that
tremble and flutter towards the bottom of the paper or canvas. They are
simultaneously abstract and evocative of the natural world, while also
maintaining a personal touch and presence. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXzcqsNzgbylXIIPH3UhVYArWrVRV8wr-eX2ANsJhAZTTf7jaz8LBD4BC3de7HTesiPUF7bVKFOFucni-izH5Tb65ipo1agEvmYhfFfVZHJ8wse8BZNnYj-P1OtbT1M1-uSfU5jg_BrA/s1600/SHartung-new-enhanced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXzcqsNzgbylXIIPH3UhVYArWrVRV8wr-eX2ANsJhAZTTf7jaz8LBD4BC3de7HTesiPUF7bVKFOFucni-izH5Tb65ipo1agEvmYhfFfVZHJ8wse8BZNnYj-P1OtbT1M1-uSfU5jg_BrA/s1600/SHartung-new-enhanced.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Restless Inquiry, 22"x30", 2003</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazZKUdnNfikCK2WY5dP8GdWG3mtEyh5UPkjK3XAh-arJ_CIcl0Bzs6vSxmIxfh20br1eCLmJ0Yf5IhdTHS0auxKoX22f55099seXAZxBpNozi1TkxCaUjEnSHTC2x0Sw2KK0zmaVeNyA/s1600/Gro_28X29ve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazZKUdnNfikCK2WY5dP8GdWG3mtEyh5UPkjK3XAh-arJ_CIcl0Bzs6vSxmIxfh20br1eCLmJ0Yf5IhdTHS0auxKoX22f55099seXAZxBpNozi1TkxCaUjEnSHTC2x0Sw2KK0zmaVeNyA/s1600/Gro_28X29ve.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Grove, 28"x29", 1992</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Runes evoke Nordic lettering from the runic alphabets<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn5" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></a>.
These curled, suggestive and rudimentary inscriptions capture a certain
awkwardness that exists in any initial attempt at communication.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHozZa3zFBeJ00hKZZjTmblecaLHHRR1qjAybV-2MF7LDg2r38pilBSfQsvo8lJ8o7QO8mOXRka6fc_3j6jUb-XWnZXq-9nZJzEzB2jKPiY7Z9MEhosrGLK1pBkw_sofe_KpPDO3LVAg/s1600/SHartung_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHozZa3zFBeJ00hKZZjTmblecaLHHRR1qjAybV-2MF7LDg2r38pilBSfQsvo8lJ8o7QO8mOXRka6fc_3j6jUb-XWnZXq-9nZJzEzB2jKPiY7Z9MEhosrGLK1pBkw_sofe_KpPDO3LVAg/s1600/SHartung_cropped.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rune (6x6), 7"x8", 2010</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeQT7AY1DvRM7JnJAEiy5cf3yLgms6Z4Q4WQWSpJ4MWcr26kbdRYMcAhw0WN56-ogjDFvzk2Jnx5KpV_InNh15WtTpCthsPLSAhpUedRRRwTTXitWweD-1rX0nbuj13elN2FkA7VKu_w/s1600/Untitled_9x11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeQT7AY1DvRM7JnJAEiy5cf3yLgms6Z4Q4WQWSpJ4MWcr26kbdRYMcAhw0WN56-ogjDFvzk2Jnx5KpV_InNh15WtTpCthsPLSAhpUedRRRwTTXitWweD-1rX0nbuj13elN2FkA7VKu_w/s1600/Untitled_9x11.jpg" height="269" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Untitled, 9"x11", 2011</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Beauforts<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn6" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[6]</span></span></a>
accumulate windy rivulets of graphite and color. “Organized” into mostly
horizontal and interlacing patterns, they continue and expand Susan’s utilization
of directional mark making.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiza6Uw4C_n8crGkFCYSZj3_P6FXoGOPy7to1OpRNDrDGKwzFjND_-OXRYjyJ94B4PLgcXj-9VeUOiXUqUC_h0gLDN8-tsiRkCXoce9qlt3kFwg3shMYcoNRLzrU7ONLip9cYn3n33AJwA/s1600/SHartung-new_Beaufort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiza6Uw4C_n8crGkFCYSZj3_P6FXoGOPy7to1OpRNDrDGKwzFjND_-OXRYjyJ94B4PLgcXj-9VeUOiXUqUC_h0gLDN8-tsiRkCXoce9qlt3kFwg3shMYcoNRLzrU7ONLip9cYn3n33AJwA/s1600/SHartung-new_Beaufort.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Untitled, 22"x29", 1997 </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozkA1rdTbki_gbGtnfkPASxytFXj6OU1DjNDNG8f4VyRbctLAoP2bH_64_BJEry_ZuMFSrnRnU_t8QUH-27ENcsOE4eTAr6loVu_UehemPNDIcLaz_jmNlq5w1V6cItiVapTl3DAvA7Q/s1600/Untitled,+22%22x29%22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozkA1rdTbki_gbGtnfkPASxytFXj6OU1DjNDNG8f4VyRbctLAoP2bH_64_BJEry_ZuMFSrnRnU_t8QUH-27ENcsOE4eTAr6loVu_UehemPNDIcLaz_jmNlq5w1V6cItiVapTl3DAvA7Q/s1600/Untitled,+22%22x29%22.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Untitled, 22"x29", 2004</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Unmapped are prints and photo related works that came
into being alongside the other series, but don’t fit into those categories.
Important to include and singular in their presence they widen our view of
Susan’s practice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Discovery Hall</span></u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This space was created to hold an assortment of odds and
ends. Misfits, false starts, discoveries. This collection of things,</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> (scraps of paper, poetry, rough drafts, swatches of paint</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">)
functions like an open notebook. Modest of size they permit an intimate look at
Susan’s explorations and ideas (casual, imprecise and profound). Here photography
also comes into play. For Susan, photography is often a</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> way of sketching or seeing. A simplifying, a restructuring and
working out of what’s been seen. Through her working process she amends images
(footprints in the snow, fishing nets, vines) into something less familiar,
something not yet fully comprehended, not yet able to be named.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxM-7cburKGxcCVy60SvEfYLR4jdTHlg7LgqlOQqanqWtvTRkP8JoWV_od9JCZCm3ckGJ9QeCNH6cxoTgh7vWYihPIhgMR2WCaYzryNhbs7RmuGPTRk7mzmW7TWpasM-W0d1i_iINZRc/s1600/Untitled_9x11_discovery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxM-7cburKGxcCVy60SvEfYLR4jdTHlg7LgqlOQqanqWtvTRkP8JoWV_od9JCZCm3ckGJ9QeCNH6cxoTgh7vWYihPIhgMR2WCaYzryNhbs7RmuGPTRk7mzmW7TWpasM-W0d1i_iINZRc/s1600/Untitled_9x11_discovery.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Untitled, 9"x11", 1975</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tkPDj7r_Pv_3eJGusNzBPyy-KVGrDK6nHBpmm60lwh6eX9CNhAsUs9YmwF2ewUqRNp12Ks9Jc1KelXg2Z21A-acoOPpsNNvzgSrPxYNXZ0JdY2YEGwEtu99DPcALRfVN8R6IR29cdv8/s1600/Happy+Is+As_6x10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tkPDj7r_Pv_3eJGusNzBPyy-KVGrDK6nHBpmm60lwh6eX9CNhAsUs9YmwF2ewUqRNp12Ks9Jc1KelXg2Z21A-acoOPpsNNvzgSrPxYNXZ0JdY2YEGwEtu99DPcALRfVN8R6IR29cdv8/s1600/Happy+Is+As_6x10.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Happy Is As, 6"x10", 1974</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Dialog Room</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The works in this
room are from the past 50 years, and are being presented together for the first
time. Included are pieces that predate the work on the ground floor and encapsulate
a vision. Collectively this gathering suggests a path, meandering perhaps, with
connecting threads. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Susan’s creative life has been a long, circuitous and
picturesque one. This room embraces that journey.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4-EEudMQmMOy21_Ni3vf-zpJjnEjmOpVm5eav3qCzm5eBNNxsLAPsCVgs5bak77wRX2RgSlxhKAN1_9uEZeUrjbEOnpyki9-0RpdD3C7IIrNjWiUyus9q2e52aUiHjbHwcVb5jcGQhs/s1600/Untitled,19%22x15%22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4-EEudMQmMOy21_Ni3vf-zpJjnEjmOpVm5eav3qCzm5eBNNxsLAPsCVgs5bak77wRX2RgSlxhKAN1_9uEZeUrjbEOnpyki9-0RpdD3C7IIrNjWiUyus9q2e52aUiHjbHwcVb5jcGQhs/s1600/Untitled,19%22x15%22.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Untitled, 19"x15", 1962</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjAGJ7Q_otjHo6P9FI7m_DTHvL7r6x4k1Z__iwie9HIZaaH2B9gWg-GloOeYsJFd7hJZPwxPm5n-TedOQM0UhPLz59df_Lxtpplj_HMYWNd1h6WJoG9591gleV0AdH-gaFHveRoWYCxo/s1600/Maryland+Ave_28%22x42%22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjAGJ7Q_otjHo6P9FI7m_DTHvL7r6x4k1Z__iwie9HIZaaH2B9gWg-GloOeYsJFd7hJZPwxPm5n-TedOQM0UhPLz59df_Lxtpplj_HMYWNd1h6WJoG9591gleV0AdH-gaFHveRoWYCxo/s1600/Maryland+Ave_28%22x42%22.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maryland Ave, 28"x42"</span>, <span style="font-size: small;">1983</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m feeling no I’m not leaving yet and how strange that is. Thursday,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t remember Thursday. Friday I painted the studio floor, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>buttercup yellow. Saturday watched
Wings of Desire with Stefan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I too have felt touched by angels, have weighed </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the possibilities of observing
against plunging right into the thick</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>of messy thumping life.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn7" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[7]</span></span></a></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Exhibition:
</span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Susan Hartung,
Following the Line,</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> a fifty year survey of the work of Susan Hartung curated by
Peter Dudek, opens on September 18.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Location:
</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Teaching Gallery at Hudson Valley Community College,
Troy NY.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Exhibition Dates: </span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">September 18 - October 25.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Opening Reception:</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Thursday Sept 18, (4-6pm).</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Curator Talk</span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b> and Discussion: </b>Thursday Sept 18, (3-4 pm).</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
Something Else Press was an early publisher of Concrete Poetry and works by
Fluxus artists.</span></div>
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<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="yiv9424486312msonormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">[2]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Moondog was an influential American
composer who, dressed in Viking garb, often performed on the streets of NYC. “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moondog
made more of an impression visually than musically. Nobody looked like that in
Milwaukee” (Susan).</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer participated in the Judson Dance Theater. The
company (a loosely based collective of dancers, poets, artists) was initially
formed at Judson Church in Greenwich Village, which was a hub for avant-garde
performance, dance and music.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
Susan Hartung,<u> Inclusion</u>, An Elephant Tree House Book, 2011. p. 13.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Which were used to write various
Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[6]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
The Beaufort Wind Scale measures wind velocity (important during her years on
the boat),</span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[7]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
Hartung, p.50.</span><br />
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-3477624714268288532014-09-04T22:02:00.000-07:002014-09-05T05:06:45.048-07:00Jeff Koons and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds<style>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then Koons
entered the building.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Culture, it can land like a dark hard meteorite.</span></div>
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That must have been what it was like when in 1966 Marcel
Breuer’s design for the Whitney hit the ground. That brutal geo-cluster
imbedded itself into Madison Avenue obliterating the southeast corner of 75<sup>th</sup>
Street. Its bulging ocular windows promptly stared down its architectural
neighbors and a deep, waterless moat separated it from the street. The only
access from the sidewalk was a footbridge that stopped just short of touching
the building, further distancing itself from pedestrian matters. On its southern
and eastern sides concrete walls, physically part of the building, abutted the
diminutive townhouses that shared the block. Not common walls, but rather blinders
or partitions, they additionally drew a line, declaring ‘this is culture, that
is not’. It was more than a simple hi-low dichotomy, it was an unconditional pronouncement:
‘this is art, that is not’. Nothing could be more simple or direct.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUETXxv_LzdS2SXr2QYRqHvsV9XtgPQWybHECa_kjXeBW2VEoFT4zn5BriO5RnS4vam0jBSCAWGgYZozQWaESAPzb4jiK1W-i261E5GpUh3UrTbLGcLGP29AbfqOWOFQwUEL-GczX-LY/s1600/IMG_1183.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUETXxv_LzdS2SXr2QYRqHvsV9XtgPQWybHECa_kjXeBW2VEoFT4zn5BriO5RnS4vam0jBSCAWGgYZozQWaESAPzb4jiK1W-i261E5GpUh3UrTbLGcLGP29AbfqOWOFQwUEL-GczX-LY/s1600/IMG_1183.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8nwFOUgaLrn7xJT2D3Wa8je2ub-H9P5UTkx7JJ0vrdGHo9c_k9gU32MW7sGpclFEubb2bvSiIUwY4kjjS89c9jISyfUat3qV3yAdEnj7Oo41-Nbqk4szeqPN7Ol2yxyutJcnkG9r2Jg/s1600/IMG_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8nwFOUgaLrn7xJT2D3Wa8je2ub-H9P5UTkx7JJ0vrdGHo9c_k9gU32MW7sGpclFEubb2bvSiIUwY4kjjS89c9jISyfUat3qV3yAdEnj7Oo41-Nbqk4szeqPN7Ol2yxyutJcnkG9r2Jg/s1600/IMG_1189.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidg_JMj4mTaYANdHJTDZMbANeNGIZyrT0ycnKLe7PGdmFL4R6bjbCeSrUXh65WM2ivlh-wIbpu52DhKMYGfxqOR29FyR8Bm4eV2xIFshzKi25bezTtOyWb4rjlXNVyFi6pl0N7mEdhdnE/s1600/IMG_1182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidg_JMj4mTaYANdHJTDZMbANeNGIZyrT0ycnKLe7PGdmFL4R6bjbCeSrUXh65WM2ivlh-wIbpu52DhKMYGfxqOR29FyR8Bm4eV2xIFshzKi25bezTtOyWb4rjlXNVyFi6pl0N7mEdhdnE/s1600/IMG_1182.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then Koons entered the building.</div>
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The Whitney has had a troubled past with exhibitions<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a>.
I remember a Jasper Johns exhibit that made him look like an artist who long
ago managed to run out of ideas. A MOMA retrospective latter corrected that.
But the Whitney often misrepresents even the best of artists. Part of the
problem has been curatorial, part of it was the physical inability to spread
things out and tell a story like the Modern can. The Breuer is a great building,
but stubborn. Flexibility is not really a part of its program. It can
intimidate and confuse curators. Perhaps even artists. It took Richard Tuttle
two retrospectives to get it right.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In ‘Koons World’ the twain shall meet.</div>
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At a talk at Hunter College a couple of years ago Koons recounted
a fond childhood memory. He was sitting on the floor, watching his father
smoking cigarettes. There was an ashtray with a small naked female figurine
sitting at its edge and when the heat from his father’s cigarette got near her,
her legs would spread open. This fascinated the young Koons to no end. One
could label such experiences lowbrow, kitsch, goofy, trivial, meaningless. But
for Koons his experience could not, and he insisted should not, be diminished
by any such labeling. For Koons the world is full of such wonders and should be
embraced as such. They are what we live for. He also spoke of his fondness for
Kierkegaard.</div>
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Unfortunately the Whitney is abandoning ship. Over the years
it has tried to expand around and on top of the Breuer building, but failed to
do so. The kitsch pastiche proposed by Michael Graves thankfully tanked and
plans for expansion never seemed to recover from that misstep. So it’s
constructing a new building at the end of the High Line.</div>
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Did someone say kitsch pastiche? Not Koons. Never. All the
world is open to him (and his 129 assistants)<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a>.
Of course Andy Warhol is the guiding spirit of this ‘Koons factory’. But where
Warhol was always elusive and clever, Koons can come off as self-satisfied and
smarmy<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></a>.
His talks are like a 12 Steps to Loving Jeff Koons Workshop<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn4" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></a>.
Thus the hate mail<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn5" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></a>, it’s not just
a reaction to the work (cause it has its moments, doesn’t it?) it’s a reaction to
the whole Koons phenomena (the outsized studio, the outrageous prices, and the
fact that he’s just too happy).</div>
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His early work often had a psychological pull. The bronze
life raft and aqualung (life saving equipment that would drown you if used),
the equilibrium tanks (relationship dynamics). The New Series was also an
attempt at that; virginal vacuum cleaners sealed in Plexiglas<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn6" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[6]</span></span></a>.
Strong work, but not breakaway. It was when his work truly embraced popular
culture (including porn) in a way that his peers did not that he pulled away from the pack<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn7" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[7]</span></span></a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone makes bad work<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn8" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[8]</span></span></a>,
Koons has made his share, but there is no question he has produced some
signature pieces that captured a moment, a zeitgeist perhaps. Specifically some
of the shinny metal works, the artisanal polychrome carvings or ceramics and
the flower dog.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the paintings? Can they be seen as something more than
an attempt to refresh the ideas of James Rosenquist? Maybe, but successfully?<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn9" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[9]</span></span></a>
It’s all technique. Shinny happy paintings. The work is too content with itself.
There’s no <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other</i> there, they’re just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">there</i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn10" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[10]</span></span></a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZvUmTRfjBgnpuPIE0c941jFpSjUodI1LIJL2ELboT3_vWg3nwxDSGOo90mVzUDEHU3vr3kPJWBkA3fejUZB8BFVZIjlyiI1fGbt06Ar2TS3RTzk9dTFMPoB_GIsUA4KiN6f4O6cSEug/s1600/IMG_1175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZvUmTRfjBgnpuPIE0c941jFpSjUodI1LIJL2ELboT3_vWg3nwxDSGOo90mVzUDEHU3vr3kPJWBkA3fejUZB8BFVZIjlyiI1fGbt06Ar2TS3RTzk9dTFMPoB_GIsUA4KiN6f4O6cSEug/s1600/IMG_1175.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Big and Shinny</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdJ0nIGVyvzlT_pxbcy7c_-Kx-6MaDHdf2SBuIgTf-do4LD8MvH-osDdm5wZsYECIBeR9hbNyxtubWRK0PTstSQ0cm_j4HGlPwPj-8Jg2DTq1vQXhC_fUybPT9f0NNdt1UALdck0mOtg/s1600/IMG_1173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdJ0nIGVyvzlT_pxbcy7c_-Kx-6MaDHdf2SBuIgTf-do4LD8MvH-osDdm5wZsYECIBeR9hbNyxtubWRK0PTstSQ0cm_j4HGlPwPj-8Jg2DTq1vQXhC_fUybPT9f0NNdt1UALdck0mOtg/s1600/IMG_1173.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just Big</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A fair amount of simplistic eye candy is sprinkled
throughout the Whitney (lots of shinny stuff and big bold paintings everywhere)<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn11" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[11]</span></span></a>.
Funny thing is after seeing the giant pile of Freudian Play-Doh poop<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn12" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[12]</span></span></a>
and the over-sized poodle balloons, Koons’s signature <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bunny</i> sculpture looked diminutive, tiny even and its surface comparatively
dull. It’s still a classic piece but wasn’t given the space it needed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05SF9QlcOlZnelipvgIH3wcxbMuQhDOI1GcEqDx5bJ2UOyavf9uWM5i6E4VgfdS1vuogzO5m8qDK93aHPJ9WHGiL7D_7lWuriqSOxNz8hgbIsBtLUo8a2iaq8dDIWVz9EuwYj6O03uoI/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05SF9QlcOlZnelipvgIH3wcxbMuQhDOI1GcEqDx5bJ2UOyavf9uWM5i6E4VgfdS1vuogzO5m8qDK93aHPJ9WHGiL7D_7lWuriqSOxNz8hgbIsBtLUo8a2iaq8dDIWVz9EuwYj6O03uoI/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Is this the infamous Ashtray? </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went on a Friday, three hours before ‘the pay as you wish’
thinking the museum would be relatively empty. No such luck. As I arrived the
line out the door forecast bumper-to-bumper traffic. Once inside it was obvious
that the crowd was digging it. Selfies and group portraits were being taken everywhere
(I’m probably in the background of a thousand Instagram posts). Obviously it
was part of Koons’s plan to not prohibit people from photographing his work, or themselves
with the work. The mantra here is: Have fun; you paid to get in, enjoy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pTeaL2LeGaRiWr5KOt9sU8-OOmdzLKHOuBaIFBp9z0SzQSl2TtBcaNjN7uRWyNsvm9enQGquWN4QoXxTcEIANAvag8p_8xjrYbOsQVaL7G34mqmO-KmC6obVQbek3W74CTmO4f5mOyA/s1600/Happy_Shinny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pTeaL2LeGaRiWr5KOt9sU8-OOmdzLKHOuBaIFBp9z0SzQSl2TtBcaNjN7uRWyNsvm9enQGquWN4QoXxTcEIANAvag8p_8xjrYbOsQVaL7G34mqmO-KmC6obVQbek3W74CTmO4f5mOyA/s1600/Happy_Shinny.jpg" height="331" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Happy Shinny People</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve probably never seen so many happy young adults enjoying
themselves at a contemporary art exhibit<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn13" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[13]</span></span></a>,
and it was child friendly as well. No attempt to shock, even in the porn
section. It was soft porn really, no cum shots, no anal penetration (actually I
don’t remember <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> penetration, or
erections<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn14" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[14]</span></span></a>),
just Koons and his wife to be, naked and frolicking about. When this body of
work was first exhibited I recall it having some shock value. But that was in
the late 80s and early 90s. In today’s world of Internet porn and celebrity sex
tapes Koons’s images of the artist rolling in the hay with a porn star have
become something the whole family can enjoy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHktUWDxOh7hiXhP1Uf1-RK7artJV0M93QgW4wG1-8poc82uD-58YPtq1Rza0Q36_Ruqf-UqP7rb-hDB9QyXFDAfVNAWPfp0kEJZjLNjZwdNVSa9MDoYH3NPFeW2u4md0AfpTgM4mxt0/s1600/Balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHktUWDxOh7hiXhP1Uf1-RK7artJV0M93QgW4wG1-8poc82uD-58YPtq1Rza0Q36_Ruqf-UqP7rb-hDB9QyXFDAfVNAWPfp0kEJZjLNjZwdNVSa9MDoYH3NPFeW2u4md0AfpTgM4mxt0/s1600/Balls.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mmm...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the ground floor is a small room of recent work. With
these <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gazing Ball</i> sculptures Koons
has discovered that plaster is indeed the material of the future. Anyone who
has seen Rodin’s plaster version of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gates
of Hell</i> at the Musee D’Orsay knows that it is superior to the bronze versions. Koons works this material to perfection (loved that mailbox/engine/compound
bucket fusion).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXSUPC3lb7-g2UmTYmWWm5zaOP8jDmsE_QVuIcV2bq0GtbQ1jRaFNq3PrZW3V_O4cuwFJKVY5cl-YLwYf9A_3-G-bfK-z4rsEFaY-BQ-P_Qix4Chm44HL1xRxJz0gIW4RvRkIt0jJMhs/s1600/IMG_1163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXSUPC3lb7-g2UmTYmWWm5zaOP8jDmsE_QVuIcV2bq0GtbQ1jRaFNq3PrZW3V_O4cuwFJKVY5cl-YLwYf9A_3-G-bfK-z4rsEFaY-BQ-P_Qix4Chm44HL1xRxJz0gIW4RvRkIt0jJMhs/s1600/IMG_1163.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Plaster makes perfect</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But back to the paintings, the later ones have been executed
in a paint by number manner that want to impress but they’re too technical to
exploit the joyfully dumb ‘anyone can do it’ approach to painting and still be fun.
And maybe that’s a problem. Koons’s work has become all about making large complicated
perfections of simple things. He couldn’t make a small copy of a multicolored
clump of Play-Doh that his son made and leave it at that. He <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i> to turn it into a grander gesture.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where’s Richard Tuttle when you need him?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It used to be the norm that creative people became artists
because they found doing anything else intolerable, or simply impossible. Not
so with Koons, his success on Wall Street has been well publicized. But perhaps
the most remarkable Koons trait is the absolute absence of the ‘artist as
alienated individual’. The modernist posture of alienation, difficulty and
resistance is entirely absent in Koons World, replaced by art works beckoning
to be embraced, wanting to be loved. Certainly there’s nothing unsettling or
disorienting in an exhibit that has the atmosphere of a colorful and over-sized
gift shop. Except for it to be in this building.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The populist stance of Koons World underscores the discriminating
toughness of Breuer’s museum. It’s an incongruous fit. If this show had opened in
the soon-to-be Whitney of Renzo Piano it would have been a different experience<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn15" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[15]</span></span></a>.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I’m not simply talking
about the biennial, which I somehow forgot to see this year.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Not that that 129
assistants is a problem, just saying.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[3]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Check out the one-hour
interview with Charlie Rose. The only other visual artist Charlie devoted a
full hour to has been Richard Serra. Next time Serra will demand two hours.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[4]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> At the talks I’ve been at,
part of the audience is converted and adores him. And part of audience mumbles
“What the fuck“? With Koons it’s not a love/hate thing. It’s a love <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">or</i> hate thing.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[5]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Well it could also be the
fact that financially his sales put him in the overpaid athlete category. </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[6]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> However the plexi gave the
work a period feel of the late sixties and early seventies (not new) a period
when a lot of artists were using plexi. I saw them when they were first shown
and I thought they were antiques, not new. And who can tell if a vacuum cleaner
is actually new (virginal) anyway, or used (a ho)?</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[7]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Many of his peers were also
foraging pop culture (shopping and appropriation as art making, ala Prince,
Vaisman, Steinbach, etc) but Koons has clearly pulled away from that pack.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[8]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I used to tell my students
that 90% of all art is bad. And it made them happy. They felt like they had a
chance if they only had to compete against 10% of all the work out there. But
more recently they have rebelled, claiming that 99% of all art sucks and they
resent the fact that they have to look at it!</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[9]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Refreshing is ok, if
successful. Jessica Stockholder did a good job with the ideas of Robert Rauschenberg.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[10]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> At this point in the
writing I haven’t seen the retrospective.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[11]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Now I have.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[12]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Talk about plop art!</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[13]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Jonathan Borofsky
retrospective at the Whitney was hard to beat for sheer fun. There, people
there were engaged, active and took over the space in an unpredictable manner.
Here in Koons World they were more passive and just plain happy.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[14]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Maybe I didn’t look close
enough.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[15]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Sorry for all the footnotes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds</span></div>
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At the Hammerstein Ballroom Nicole Atkins opened and set the
stage for the Sturm und Drang of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Her vocals plus the
workings of her minimal band (just a drummer and guitarist) powerfully filled the theater.
It was a performance that reminded me of those female led California rock bands
from the 60s and 70s. Atkins possessed the bust it out tempo of Lydia Pense
and Cold Blood, the lung power of Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding
Company, and the songstress acumen of Barbara Mauritz and Lamb. She was great.</div>
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However if misfortune and extreme emotions are what you
want, go no further than a Nick Cave concert. Banging darkness, driven orchestration
and opera like tragedy were ever-present. His rendition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stagger Lee</i> alone was all that and beyond, way beyond. I’ve been to
Nick Cave concerts before but here Nick nailed it, no doubt. Theatricality,
song choice, lighting and the tight workings of the Bad Seeds were all consuming.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a></div>
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Cave’s movements on stage were a fusion of Mick Jagger and
Jim Morrison. But largely Jim Morrison, especially in the way he held a
hypnotic presence over the audience. Apparently when Morrison got arrested for
exposing himself on stage the band claimed that he had performed in a manner
that made his fans believe such things had happened, but didn’t. Morrison’s
performance put the crowd in a suggestive state of mind they said. He made them
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">think </i>he showed them his dick. They
were spellbound, mesmerized. In actuality the trouser snake stayed in his
pants, never to emerge from its leather housing.</div>
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Cave moved about in a Lizard King fashion. Engaging the
audience up front in an undulating open crotch stance, he touched them, they touched
him. He clearly had them in his spell. </div>
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As I left the building I thought I overheard one fan say, “I
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">saw</i> it”, and her friend respond, “I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">touched</i> it”.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I later wondered if someone
was able to document this supreme event (other than with those ubiquitous
iPhones). But what filmmaker could possibly possess the requisite skills to
record such melodrama? If Douglas Sirk were still around he would be a candidate.
But in reality this evening was truly <span class="st">Abel Ferrara territory.</span></span></div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-63841745170729445322014-07-07T22:30:00.000-07:002014-07-07T22:30:33.323-07:00Slackers, Hipsters and the Loss of Emptiness<style>
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<u>Slackers and Hipsters</u>
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I was thinking back to the days when Williamsburg was slacker
central (the early 90’s?).</div>
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Back then the L Cafe anchored slacker central and I would
sandwich there.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a> Service
always took forever so one day I called ahead to order, but no one answered the
phone. Strolling over to Bedford I was surprised to find them open. When I told
the slacker behind the counter that I had called several times she turned to
her "coworker" and said "have you noticed that the phone has not
rung a single time today"? To which the response was
"excellent".<br />
The sandwich took 20 minutes.<br />
There weren't many places to eat at back then.</div>
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<u>Campbell Cheese & Grocery</u><br />
Yes the 11211 area code is now overrun with hipsters but the interesting thing
about hipsters is that they are an unusually gifted group of entrepreneurs.
Some such individuals recently opened a corner grocery store near me. A corner
grocery store? Yes, <a href="http://campbellcheese.com/" target="_blank">Campbell Cheese & Grocery</a> is not a deli, but a true corner
grocery where quality staples can be found just a short walk away. Of course
the cost of these staples far surpasses any convenience. After all these are
artisanal, hipster staples: organic produce, craft beers, etc. Low cost is not
part of a hipster grocery store. Graduate degrees seem to be though.</div>
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<u>Park Luncheonette </u></div>
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There used to be an old school corner luncheonette near McCarren
Park. It closed and somebody fixed up the place to "look like" an actual
old school luncheonette, spending a tidy sum installing new “old” details that
were never part of the original luncheonette. It looks like a hipster joint,
however a recent visit to <a href="http://www.parkluncheonette.com/" target="_blank">Park Luncheonette</a> revealed that they are in fact casually resurrecting
slacker central. <br />
Pizza, burgers, beer, wine and fine spirits are among the offerings. I sat at
the counter and ordered a burger (medium) and a Coke. Soda came first. It
tasted off so I asked the bartender if it was Coke. He replied, “it’s cola” in
a manner that suggested “isn’t that close enough”. I requested a seltzer.</div>
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The place had a staff that seemed like they had either not
slept the night before or slept in their clothing (nothing wrong with that, I’m
just saying). There were several individuals who seemed to be intimate with the
place, but were not doing anything productive. One of the female intimates walked
over with a burger on a plate, not really knowing what to do with it she
offered it to the barkeep. He asked if it was a medium burger. She shrugged her
shoulder as if to imply “don’t know, not my job” and handed it to him. He gave
it to me in his “close enough” manner. The plate also had the salad I ordered, so
I agreed, close enough. And it turned out to be just that.</div>
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Clearly, this was not a fully functional hipster joint;
perhaps it’s in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beta launch</i>
phase.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a>
I suspect it’s a revival of the slacker cafe, proudly foreshadowing a
reincarnated slacker central.</div>
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<u>The Loss of Emptiness</u><br />
It seems like a million people move to NYC every year. There used to be such a
thing as emptiness, even in Manhattan. Empty lots, empty buildings, empty
spaces. Grand Central, Lincoln Center, Times Square, the East Village, all had
vast spaces where one could wander about, and simply take it all in. Nocturnal
wonders full of nothingness. Truly public spaces, undefined, unregulated and
sometimes scary.</div>
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I lived in Times Square during the 80s and would seek out
these places and their emptiness.<br />
And Times Square, that lovely black hole, had its own quiet, dark and
gloriously underused crevasses. Now filled with the masses, and restaurants, it
has lost its uselessness. </div>
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Grand Central before it was "renovated" had
fantastic, uninhabited balconies, public spaces that one could freely access
and linger about. Unbothered by any sense of purpose. Now occupied by
restaurants the purposelessness of these spaces is gone.<br />
<br />
Lincoln Center, that bustling center of culture, had a marvelous, underused, wide
travertine pedestrian bridge silently sitting there, open to possibilities.
After a recent rehab it was removed. Of course there’s a restaurant now and in
a nod to openness they’ve provided a small sloping green lawn that desperately wants
someone to lie on it. Set off to the side is a spindly footbridge, ignored and
equally desperate looking it would very much appreciate some foot traffic.</div>
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<b>Upstate Alert!</b><br />
The Susan Hartung exhibition is coming together. This 50 year survey of drawings and paintings will be at <a href="https://www.hvcc.edu/teachinggallery/">Hudson
Valley Community College</a> in Troy, NY. </div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404776498561_76536">
<b id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404776498561_76537">Exhibition dates:</b> September 18 - October 25. </div>
<b id="yui_3_16_0_1_1404776498561_76538">Opening reception:</b> Thursday Sept 18, 4-6pm.<br />
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Spread the word.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[1]</span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, sandwich is now a verb.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3660696051952222892#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;">[2]</span></span></a> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to the use of sandwich
as a verb, I have also seen the Beta Launch concept applied to the non-tech
world where an enterprise is launched functional, but not quite finished (close
enough), and is tweaked according to customer feedback. Or not. </span></div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-45163114323677474822014-04-30T15:22:00.000-07:002014-04-30T15:22:44.912-07:00A Stroll Down Park Avenue and the Erasure of Josef Albers<div style="font-family: Cambria;">
A Stroll Down Park Avenue.</div>
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This semester my Intro to Art class has followed the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/arts/design/appeals-court-ruling-favors-richard-prince-in-copyright-case.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Richard Prince case</a> and debated the whole idea of artists using other people’s images in their work. Conveniently, both Richard Prince and Andy Warhol have shows up. First we went to see the Warhol paintings of Jackie Kennedy at <a href="http://www.blaindidonna.com/" target="_blank">Blain/DiDonna</a>. The students felt that through the silkscreen process Warhol had transformed the images he worked with, and was therefore justified in using them. With Prince (across the avenue at <a href="http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/richard-prince--roe-ethridge--april-03-2014" target="_blank">Gagosian</a>) they were less than enthusiastic and simply didn’t think the work merited any attention. We went over ideas related to appropriation and context but they feigned a total lack of interest. I told them that with a couple more years of art school they’d be on board. They doubted it.</div>
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In the same Gagosian location there is an interesting selection of Ed Ruscha paintings on view and while there I was reminded that there’s a new Gagosian space on 75<sup>th</sup> & Park Ave. It’s called <a href="http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/urs-fischer--april-03-2014" target="_blank">Park & 75</a> and has an Urs Fischer show. That guy has been busy. I don’t always pay a lot of attention to the artist-as-provocateur pack, but he seems to be the leader of it (of course Sarah Lucas, and others, might dispute that). </div>
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Working ideas that most artists have had or have, Fischer torques them and pushes them to extremes while using a blatant “in your face” approach (the hole in the gallery floor, the melting figures, the reproduction of the wall placed on the wall being reproduced, etc.). At Park 75 he has a large piece. It’s a cast metal sculpture that was made from a collaborative process with a whole lot of people (kids included). </div>
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It’s a roughly modeled send up of the Last Supper where the figures eat hot dogs, drink beer, grab each others’ asses and, in general, engage in horseplay and convivial debauchery. Gotta love his energy and free spirit. Maybe.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTN3njIHXKkkToHhTMBbtCuTTrAKDkKQEvq7iH5tlYoVOcQyHGzT7R40FdnY-P2tsUPobgmwu69i2peVRKcrQyRQQWdknOSMDk2aRSsdqYL-J3ubnUaojoHNdijI86QO67xrWXTFPH9M/s1600/IMG_1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTN3njIHXKkkToHhTMBbtCuTTrAKDkKQEvq7iH5tlYoVOcQyHGzT7R40FdnY-P2tsUPobgmwu69i2peVRKcrQyRQQWdknOSMDk2aRSsdqYL-J3ubnUaojoHNdijI86QO67xrWXTFPH9M/s1600/IMG_1047.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rZrCKSXBh0lllwZ30ELYFjZoC-a6WIijB7AKXuQFAVT7lumeyE77XHkgoVJ2c8AG1fgym8quELTg61tN4cumVuuxJ1eDN51_YhOcX26olpCl8XlxYX6jW44D8Ld29nc0M6AujCeWM9c/s1600/IMG_1049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rZrCKSXBh0lllwZ30ELYFjZoC-a6WIijB7AKXuQFAVT7lumeyE77XHkgoVJ2c8AG1fgym8quELTg61tN4cumVuuxJ1eDN51_YhOcX26olpCl8XlxYX6jW44D8Ld29nc0M6AujCeWM9c/s1600/IMG_1049.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Walking south down Park Ave I came upon a series of <a href="http://www.aaycock.com/parkave.html" target="_blank">Alice Aycock sculptures</a>. When I was a student and she was an emerging artist I followed her work and that of her contemporaries: Charles Simonds, Mary Miss, George Trakis, Gordon Matta-Clark, etc. They were the generation that came after the Earthworks artists, but they didn’t need to go way out into the desert with bulldozers and dump trucks to make their work. They could simply go to the end of a parking lot with string and wooden stakes and make a piece. They could go up to the Bronx with a chainsaw and cut out shapes in abandoned buildings, or walk around the lower eastside with a bag of wet clay and pre-made miniature bricks improvising cliff dwellings on the craggily surfaces of dilapidated buildings. They could make work in Jersey that mattered. That was when an alternative scene had emerged that was equal but different then the gallery world, or so it seemed at the time. Aycock’s aluminum swirls on Park Ave are a world away from those days.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8TPpfep3YDfThl-itHfHrCIe6rSsMvW0rcL1mBpDEKLisAAtWLu07VVFPN2VxdhFIfL0_rhIDsfdYvZJEUubP7Iq6lyQZmsd4nJL_-12xiQ-UFuz7UYOyksb9SLlLg3R30Rum2m7R5Is/s1600/IMG_1059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8TPpfep3YDfThl-itHfHrCIe6rSsMvW0rcL1mBpDEKLisAAtWLu07VVFPN2VxdhFIfL0_rhIDsfdYvZJEUubP7Iq6lyQZmsd4nJL_-12xiQ-UFuz7UYOyksb9SLlLg3R30Rum2m7R5Is/s1600/IMG_1059.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Continuing south, on the way to another Warhol show, I discovered another Fischer show. That guy seems to be at a point in his career where he has the ability to make anything he can think up. In the <a href="http://leverhouseartcollection.com/collectionsexhibitions/collection/urs-fischer" target="_blank">Lever Building</a> he has mirrored boxes with printed images of objects on them. A kind of Pop Art/Minimal Art fusion. Didn’t Warhol do that? </div>
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The Erasure of Josef Albers.</div>
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There is an Andy Warhol exhibit of Polaroids in the hallway of 717 5<sup>th</sup> Ave, just past the reception desk. Behind the reception desk is a large gold leaf Josef Albers mural that is routed into the marble wall. </div>
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The Warhol portraits are minor (though Tatum O’Neal is cute) but the Albers mural is a major work. Restored in the early 90’s with real gold leaf (the original used a cheaper substitute) it is one of only two that remain in midtown. The other one is in the Time-Life Building.</div>
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At one time Albers had four murals in midtown. Perhaps his most prominent, but often unnoticed, was in the old Pan Am building (now the Met Life building). Tightly installed over the escalators that descended into Grand Central, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/09/arts/a-familiar-mural-finds-itself-without-a-wall.html" target="_blank">it was taken down when they redid the lobby in 2001.</a></div>
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His most visible mural was in another building on 6<sup>th</sup> Ave. It was a large drawing done with red & white tile that was visible from the street. But that was also lost to a lobby redo. </div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-37544612729902319662014-04-21T14:51:00.002-07:002014-04-21T14:51:51.663-07:00Relationships, Rituals, Addictions and Other Musings<div style="text-align: center;">
The New Abnormal</div>
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During my first semester in NY I lived in a shabby hotel in Brooklyn Heights (the one where Travis Bickel bought a gun in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLpMx8_TYOo" target="_blank"><i>Taxi Driver</i></a>). I kept a hammer near my bed. Every morning at 3am my neighbor would blast a religious radio station. I’d bang on the baseboard a few times and he’d turn it down. It was a working relationship.<br />
At the time I was a student at the <a href="http://www.sva.edu/" target="_blank">School of Visual Arts</a>. On Thursdays I’d walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, eat lunch in Chinatown, see galleries in SoHo and arrive at SVA in time for my 4pm class with Carter Ratcliff. It was a ritual.<br />
Carter was a quiet, low talker kind of guy so I always made sure to sit in the front row. One day I fell asleep in class, head on desk. I awoke to find Carter pacing back and forth across the room, seemly holding a conversation with himself. Embarrassed, I groggily turned around to check on my classmates. All were sound asleep, heads firmly planted on their desks. Carter kept on talking, pacing back and forth. <br />
In those days a classroom full of sleeping students might have been the ultimate nightmare for instructors, especially in a small classroom. Now it’s texting. No one sleeps anymore, they’re too busy texting. It’s an addiction.<br />
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Sometimes I teach in a classroom, sometimes a sculpture studio. The studio can be abuzz with materials being cut, noise levels high, yet students, standing near a band saw, or dangerously close to some other tool actively being used, will be texting, oblivious to their surroundings. Safety anyone?<br />
In classrooms students are often texting as a discussion is in progress. What goes on here? Is this the new abnormal? Not long ago there seemed to be a concern about attention deficit, now it’s attention elsewhere. <br />
In casual conversations with other instructors they all reported similar experiences. I eventually decided I had to tell students that I was considering counting texting in class as being absent. Remarkably everyone said that it would be a fair thing to do and acknowledged that if someone is texting, then clearly that person is not present and therefore absent. What? Were they admitting to their addiction? Was this a cry for help?<br />
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This semester I’m teaching at <a href="http://www.haverford.edu/" target="_blank">Haverford College</a>. No texting issues there. It was formed by Quakers and has an honor system that students abide by. Somehow cell phones don’t rule their classroom lives. It’s true, miracles do happen. <br />
Through Haverford’s <a href="http://www.haverford.edu/distinguishedvisitors/" target="_blank">Distinguished Visitors Program</a>, I was able to invite the architect Jonathan Kirschenfeld to visit the campus and talk about his work in designing “supportive housing” and why he founded The Institute for Public Architecture.<a href="http://instituteforpublicarchitecture.org/" target="_blank"> http://instituteforpublicarchitecture.org/ </a><br />
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Jonathan gave a great overview of the history behind “supportive housing”, his work, and the efforts of the IPA. It’s a multi-purpose think tank, residency program for architects that advocates for new approaches to public housing. The IPA organized the recent event: “Roundtable: A Total reset for Public Housing”. <a href="http://instituteforpublicarchitecture.org/event/roundtable-a-total-reset-for-public-housing-31814/" target="_blank">Check it out.</a><br />
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Other musings:<br />
Although <a href="http://www.filmforum.org/" target="_blank">Film Forum </a>provides consistently great programming it’s not really a great place to see films. Small, tightly fit seats with no legroom in narrow quarters and small screens. It has the unfortunate feel of a miniature 1980’s multiplex. I went there recently to see <a href="http://jodorowskysdune.com/" target="_blank"><i>Jodorowsky’s Dune</i></a>, a colorful and fascinating documentary of his efforts to make a movie about Frank Herbert’s book <a href="http://www.dunenovels.com/" target="_blank"><i>Dune</i></a>. Although he failed to make the film, his well-known efforts to do so influenced many future sci-fi films.<br />
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Throughout the documentary Jodorowsky is shown to be a man of passion. Conceptually he envisioned his approach to filming Dune as “raping Frank Herbert, but…with love”. </div>
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Yes, he’s a man of passion.</div>
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<a href="http://www.filmforum.org/movies/more/ida" target="_blank"><i>Ida</i></a>, a great Polish film I wrote about in a previous post, will be playing at Film Forum in May. It’s a starkly beautiful film in which black & white cinematography, austere means and extraordinary acting combine to confront a dark and difficult subject matter. As with most Polish films, no happy ending required. Can’t get any better.<br />
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Upstate Alert!<br />
I’m putting together a survey exhibition of drawings and paintings by Susan Hartung. In the fall it’ll be at <a href="https://www.hvcc.edu/teachinggallery/" target="_blank">Hudson Valley Community College</a> in Troy, NY. Spread the word.<br />
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PS. The <a href="http://www.corcoran.org/home" target="_blank"><i>Corcoran Gallery of Ar</i></a>t in Washington, D.C. is closing and dispersing their collection.<br />
How about remaking the building into a factory or mill, thereby reversing the trend of turning former industrial spaces into museums?<br />
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<br />Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-19624142947799148062014-03-10T12:39:00.000-07:002014-03-10T18:20:20.360-07:00The New York Art World is So Much Fun.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Or maybe I think that because I didn’t go to any
art fairs.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Spent an afternoon seeing several exhibits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Even though 90% percent of all art sucks (my
students say 99%) there’s always at least one great show out there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/2066/re-view-onnasch-collection/view/" target="_blank">Hauser & Wirth</a> has <u>Selections from the
Onnasch Collection</u> on view. It felt like I had walked into a wing of the Museum of
Modern Art. Perhaps instead of knocking down buildings in midtown the Modern
should consider simply buying exhibits, building and all, and make them
satellite branches of the museum. Since galleries put on museum quality shows
on a regular basis these days (like the recent exhibits by Richard Serra) this
approach could help facilitate museum expansions, even by museums from out of
town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In H&W there was room after room of classic
hits. First, a room with paintings by Newman, Still, Noland and Louis. Then one
with work by Twombly, Rivers, David Smith, Motherwell and Kline. Followed by Rauschenberg,
Dine and Segal. Leave that room and there’s one dedicated to Oldenburg. That
leads to one dedicated to some Tuttles. How great is that? Tuttle is always
best when it looks like he spent about $25 on materials for the entire show. He
spent even less here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There’s a Dieter Roth (although at first I
mistook it for an Arman, I guess that was part of the joke), a bunch of dusty Kienholtz’s,
a couple of cool sculptures by George Brecht and a delicate balance of tonnage
by Serra (remember when people hated him for creating aggressive anxiety
causing pieces, especially his bigger ones? That was before he produced the
elegant ribbons of enclosed space that he is now lauded for. We love him). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The great thing was that H&W didn’t have any
of those annoying museum guards in each corner, just a couple of young people
here and there keeping an eye on things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Before I left I again thought of having a drink
at their bar, but they still don’t have a restroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">511 West 18 Street. Through April 12.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Postscript: Hauser & Wirth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I got home I mentioned to my wife that
H&W had a greatest hits show of postwar American art. And she said, oh, you
mean like <i>Helen Frankenthaler</i>? No. Louise Bourgeois? No. Eva Hesse?
No. Any women artists? No, but it was a great show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rudolf Stingel had several big paintings at
<a href="http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/rudolf-stingel--march-04-2014-2" target="_blank">Gagosian</a>. They were of mountains. Some looked like he had laid them on the
floor after he painted them, where they then functioned like tarps, collecting
drips of paint while he painted the other canvases. I had the impression that
the drips were smeared by Stingel while pacing about. Thus the smudges and
random markings reinforced the idea that Stingel worked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">on</i> his paintings. Or at least that’s what it looked like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The concrete floor of the gallery was remarkably
polished and unscarred considering that Serra had recently planted tons of
steel on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">522 West 21 Street. Through April 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I then went next door to <a href="http://www.gladstonegallery.com/exhibitions" target="_blank">Barbara Gladstone</a>. She
also had a perfectly polished concrete floor, absolutely identical to Gagosian’s.
Maybe there was a two for one deal. I’ll have to look into that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Peter Buggenhout had a couple of funky and dusty
industrial heaps in the space. It was as if the early funk-meister sculptures
of Bruce Connor went gigantic and heavy metal. Although these dirty accretions
appeared strong, and dense, parts of them were actually fragile. I touched
them. There were no guards there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">530 West 21 Street. Through April 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Spoiler Alert (I love the Work of Diana
Al-Hadid).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.marianneboeskygallery.com/exhibitions/diana-al-hadid-regarding-medardo-rosso/works" target="_blank">Boesky</a>’s uptown space is a seemly unaltered,
very narrow, townhouse that consistently houses must see exhibits on a quiet
upper eastside block.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Al-Hadid is in the house with a great selection
of freestanding and wall mounted sculptures. Fragile looking beyond belief,
they are large, fragmented, figurative, raw and architectural at the same time.
Associations run in all directions but she tries to anchor the show by
including a bronze sculpture by Medardo Rosso. Although it was a nice touch I
didn’t think it was really necessary. The show’s title says it all: <u>Diana
Al-Hadid: Regarding Medardo Rosso</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">118 East 64th Street. Through March 19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Polish Movies, or No Happy Ending Required.</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Went to a spate of Polish films recently. One
series was at the <a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/last-year-at-marienbad" target="_blank">Walter Reade Theater </a>(love that theater), another at BAM (love
that theater a little less). I have always been interested in the work of
directors who came out of the Lodz Film Academy, but also Polish filmmakers in
general. And the last 100 years of Poland’s history has certainly provided them
with an endless source of material. Re-examining pre, post and war, ridden
Poland, and all that entails, is certainly a monumental challenge. No happy
ending required. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">For example, last year I saw <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2555682329" target="_blank">In Darkness</a></i>, a recent film by Agnieszka
Holland (she also directed a few episodes of The Killing, highly recommended
and available on Netflix).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Darkness</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
was a great film based on real events that occurred during World War II. In it
Leopold Socha is a Polish sewer worker who helps save a group of Polish Jews during
the war by hiding and caring for them in the sewer system for fourteen months. Grim
conditions for sure, but at the end of the war they emerge triumphantly filthy,
glad to be alive. Happy ending? Yes, that is until the credits reveal that
Leopold was run over by a truck and killed a short time after saving the Jews. It
was a great film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h1 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">At Walter Reade: <u>Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces
of Polish Cinema</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I saw three films: <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Camouflage:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> a mind fuck of a film about academia that could also be
used as a rallying cry against tenure.</span></h1>
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<h1 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Hourglass Sanatorium:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> based on the writings
of Bruno Schulz, it was a delirious, trippy, Through the Looking Glass, never
ending, tale in which at times it was impossible to tell what was a movie set
and what was real. All of it would have appealed to Ed Kienholtz.</span></h1>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Blind
Chance: </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">a film that had three
sections, each based on whether or not a young man catches a train on time. He
often doesn’t and thus is pulled into the politics of the day. No happy ending
required.</span></h1>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">At <a href="http://www.bam.org/BAMcinematek" target="_blank">BAM</a>: <u>Kino
Polska: New Polish Cinema</u><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I saw two films:
<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ida:</span></i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> set in the
1960s, Ida is an orphan raised in a convent. On the verge of becoming a nun she
discovers that she is Jewish. She reconnects with an aunt who helps Ida discover
how her family was inexplicably murdered during the war. They were being sheltered
and hidden from the Nazis, but things went bad before the Nazis could find them
(trying to not give too much away here). Ida returns to the convent. <o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A beautifully
shot and acted bummer of a movie. It was great. <o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Papusza:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
another black & white beauty/bummer of a film. This one is based on a true
story about Bronislawa Wajs, the Roma poet known as Papusza. Most of the actors
are non-actors and gypsies. They give an insightful look at Roma life before,
during and after the wars. Fantastic characters. Another film with locations that
often seemed unreal, but probably were real. It dazzles, and leaves you feeling
very sad. But if I ever have a daughter I’ll name her Papusza.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">All of these films added insightful moments in a
casual and straightforward manner. Like when Leopold is at home after a day spent
in the sewers. He’s having a relaxing conversation with his wife as she
finishes the last of the dirty dishes, which were soaking in a large tub. As
she pulls the last dish out Leopold strips down and gets into the tub to bathe.
Same tub. Same water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">There were many other Polish films at both
locations that I did not get the chance to see. Gritty, somber, realistic,
surreal, beautiful films. Next time for sure.</span><!--EndFragment-->Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-52034504362667365172014-01-25T06:33:00.000-08:002014-01-25T06:34:59.810-08:00Ana and Steve at Ventana 244 have done something quietly remarkable.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://ventana244.org/" target="_blank">http://ventana244.org</a></div>
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The Real Estate Show</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SrZMtHmG8M0_2bExbphqC7CIgbqgdlE05ejPPzjfRPu6-UbL7JX6PBah5a0KZU5soirsVd0O3n9I-OqRPMDi3oiffZf0V7QIw6bHNWZnojSjXGmBS2CtwBmWzHFIf4m0iHFrxIXOQhM/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SrZMtHmG8M0_2bExbphqC7CIgbqgdlE05ejPPzjfRPu6-UbL7JX6PBah5a0KZU5soirsVd0O3n9I-OqRPMDi3oiffZf0V7QIw6bHNWZnojSjXGmBS2CtwBmWzHFIf4m0iHFrxIXOQhM/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Over the past couple of years Ana and Steve have been inviting artists to
collaboratively use their storefront space. The first installment was a
gathering orchestrated by Dan Walsh. Since then there have been many
such incarnations (I collaborated on one last year) and currently there
is a massive in-progress/partnership coordinated by Peter Soriano and
Philippe Richard entitled <i>Real Estate</i>, an ever-evolving installation,
loosely inspired by Kurt Schwitter's <i>Merzbau</i>. At Ventana, through a conceptual
twist their Merzbau explores the tension between artists and real-estate
developers. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Soriano and Richard put together an initial working group of artists to
take on the various roles of property developer, architect, general
contractor, and branding specialist: all the trappings of current
high-end development.</div>
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Once they had established their identities and transformed the ground
floor space an “Open House” was held on January 24th. This unveiling,
with the attendant-overflowing crowd, was more than an “opening”; it was
an art world simulation of the Williamsburg condo buying frenzy. </div>
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People lined up and packed the inside. </div>
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There will be a second phase to this confabulation. A new group of artists, who in the roles of tenants and sub-tenants, will renovate, expand, demolish, and/or subdivide the space. During the run of the exhibit an artist, in the role of a displaced tenant, will stage an independent, parallel exhibition outside the gallery. <br />
<br />
Some of the participants: <br />
Peter Soriano, Philippe Richard, Alisdair Duncan, Ward Shelley, Edouard Prulhiere, Sylvie Ruaulx, Bruce Pearson, Tamas Veszi, Olivier Soulerin, Raphaele Shirley, Eve Bailey, Jay Shinn, Kate Shepherd, Michael Scott, Daniela Kostova, Joro-Boro, Milena Deleva, Mario Mohan, Vlada Tomova, Georgi + Nina Tushev (Tushevs Aerials), Meglena Zapreva, Meglena Zapreva, Frederique Lucien, Agnes Barley, Dominique De Beir, Miguel Angel Molina, Pierre Mabille, Michelle Antoine, Kevin Walsh, Jenny Polak, Matt Bua, Peter Dudek, Irina Arnaut, Laurel Sparks, Chris Moss.<br />
<br />
<br />Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-82388724106282477412014-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:002014-01-21T13:36:43.902-08:00Does Art Have to Pee Everywhere?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Art often takes over underused or abandoned industrial
spaces. Making or experiencing art in places that have little or no previous art
history provides a different context. Uncharted terrain and raw spaces, perfect
fits for contemporary art. DIA Beacon took over a former box printing factory,
MassMoca a former electronics plant and textile mill. Both in towns that have
seen better days and are experiencing economic upticks because of their
presence. </div>
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I grew up in a town that had no museum, no galleries. It was
an art free zone. One had to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine</i>
the art, for it was not there to be seen. When I went away to school it was
always refreshing to return home, to be in that neutral zone, a no art
district. But that has been changing. Artists seem to be everywhere now, and
that means art. There’s no avoiding it. For example to showcase how art is
coming to the rescue of Detroit (and propelling the city’s any-day-now comeback),
its annual auto show is hosting an event in an artist live/work building that
used to be a factory. Yes, culture has the capacity to transform urban environments
(check out yet another article in The Times about Hudson) but does art have to
pee everywhere? </div>
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Creative Time has plans for the Domino Sugar Plant!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OCIeMh3DjKeZUM0Xp-HnL0EFzEMm-qq7jixVyr-VMYyuDmGz0-yq9UOCg60FrnfRWh3eqH1fL7RR-vJcLM8p_56MPvi-fFYe0tI8JnqBSwPOqPzBHFk0r_hW5mplbexm6gJgkDJtL6M/s1600/domino_sugar_factory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OCIeMh3DjKeZUM0Xp-HnL0EFzEMm-qq7jixVyr-VMYyuDmGz0-yq9UOCg60FrnfRWh3eqH1fL7RR-vJcLM8p_56MPvi-fFYe0tI8JnqBSwPOqPzBHFk0r_hW5mplbexm6gJgkDJtL6M/s1600/domino_sugar_factory.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Domino Sugar Plant is slated to be razed. But while it
still stands on the Brooklyn waterfront, Creative Time has decided to
commission art works for this gigantic former sugar shack.</div>
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One would love to visit this space open, unlocked
and unadorned. To wander about. Day and night. In a cavernous no
art zone.</div>
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But, then again, maybe that would be art as well. Funny how wandering about is art these days.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Great Beauty and American Hustle</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_9xjMjzaDuM2GhyhTFWbV_2ldJ3c4XwG-0GNwQkCvb9WpbuyKlxbDYTIpx_eBN4PDA5kc2ii2GdwZRdaip14YlgD0FlZUMA07HyDOeZos-84VJkp9ZFNATeAxRxzrLydCPHjd4o4Fvo/s1600/Beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_9xjMjzaDuM2GhyhTFWbV_2ldJ3c4XwG-0GNwQkCvb9WpbuyKlxbDYTIpx_eBN4PDA5kc2ii2GdwZRdaip14YlgD0FlZUMA07HyDOeZos-84VJkp9ZFNATeAxRxzrLydCPHjd4o4Fvo/s1600/Beauty.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdWg1yr4RhKP5jHk7Xmq99cu72eU7bvXPqY3f4PfWScAyurq5jCimm_mQX07u1MpvlcX9fhTtoHoBZzF14oovFiWlwy5vD5wNMnjU_UMxqIurRZK_9esHIfaluTp3L5rOPENtIzbRrAk/s1600/American+Hustle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdWg1yr4RhKP5jHk7Xmq99cu72eU7bvXPqY3f4PfWScAyurq5jCimm_mQX07u1MpvlcX9fhTtoHoBZzF14oovFiWlwy5vD5wNMnjU_UMxqIurRZK_9esHIfaluTp3L5rOPENtIzbRrAk/s1600/American+Hustle.jpg" /></a></div>
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The Great Beauty:</div>
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It chronicles the days, but mostly nights, of an Italian
writer, at home in Rome who instead of working on his next book gets caught up in
a decades long party vortex with the accompanying nightlife miasma of good
suits and debauchery. Of course the leading man, Toni Servillo, has a great
party puss. And I guess an updated Fellini-esque film of Rome was overdue. But
how did that stripper die? Midway through the movie the plot seemed ready to shift
gears when she and Servillo meet, and then, poof! She’s gone. Dead. One suspects things will soon start to go south but by the time
things really get bitingly cruel the fact that the
film is running 30 minutes too long has long set in.</div>
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Was this a comedy? A satire? In a well-populated theater my
wife seemed to be the only person who really laughed (once), although I’m sure
many smirked now and then at the absurd antics and posturing of a people
spinning their acculturated wheels and banging their heads (literally), against
the stoic beauty of Rome.</div>
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While watching this movie I couldn’t help but think that if
it was about an American writer, instead of an Italian, who had published a
successful novel in the 60s and then moved to Rome with hopes that this ancient
city would stir his creative juices… <u>that</u> could be an interesting and
complex film. The actor of choice would be Christian Bale who in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">American Hustle</i> transforms himself into an
unrecognizably corpulent con artist. <span class="st">This Scorsese-esque comedy
features a bunch of good ol’ boys in a laugh-out-loud entrapment farce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the actors are beauts. But the
movie hinges on Bale, the hustler supreme. And Bale as an expat writer? Supine
and adrift, his creativity unmoored by the giddy decadence of Roman vices. Now,
</span>that’s a creative thread I’d like to follow.</div>
Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-41826794808611332542014-01-09T19:48:00.002-08:002014-02-22T10:30:07.656-08:00Motherwell Collages & Chris Wool<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps because I’m very much interested in the hands-on, low-tech sort of things nowadays, I went to the Guggenheim to see the Motherwell collages & Chris Wool paintings.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Motherwell.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">His significance over the years seems to have diminished; a few have even spoken of him as a lesser Ab Exer. But in the 1970s he certainly could draw a crowd. I saw him speak at the School of Visual Arts (1977?). He had established some cache on the political spectrum of painting primarily because of his “Elegy” series. When asked about them he recalled: “at the time there was a feeling that evil could take over the world”. These days it seems like there are multiple evils hovering about, but on that evening the singular weight of his statement, simple as it was, filled the space with a profound silence. Later asked to further explain some of his work he said to much applause: “if I wanted to use words I’d be a writer”. Of course he was well read and quite articulate (see Painters Painting), when he chose to be.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not a large show this. And not just collages either. A couple of sweet paintings and drawings are included in this selection of rarely seen works. Although there might be touches of Matisse, Picasso or Arp here and there, it’s the connections to his contemporaries that got me. It wasn’t his working through Surrealism and Cubism; it was his dialog with Gorky and David Smith. It was a painting in homage to John Cage. It was the evocation of the years when American abstract painters were starting conversations with each other rather than looking over their shoulders at the Moderns in Paris.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: center;">This was an open notebook sort of show, full of experimentation. Shapes and textures that would come into play in future works scurried about.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZQdmKiZlJaOpgYksFIvOrhvOWuwXMgn1bVUmKJmkfzVKb0YknlSXExLh38VXSeQK7b7ZlC2c4c6OXgM5P8SMm2LJvXhK0VAcMvsm3G-Ree_Cnb1l5sFxqXtzrXushZ2N6eBQDHKEL_4/s1600/Motherwell1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZQdmKiZlJaOpgYksFIvOrhvOWuwXMgn1bVUmKJmkfzVKb0YknlSXExLh38VXSeQK7b7ZlC2c4c6OXgM5P8SMm2LJvXhK0VAcMvsm3G-Ree_Cnb1l5sFxqXtzrXushZ2N6eBQDHKEL_4/s1600/Motherwell1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUQCBb2PjnY70JFbByuOU11JI6Msp-Kvv34URqLljYscWvthZXAb1sYCDgGgRS7jwUxRtqfJZWVZe11QMTV3b3WasamonrYXtpdHw09r5LOOhdLqV16aB85uAeOUl2cXojimBS8qsPmg/s1600/Motherwell2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUQCBb2PjnY70JFbByuOU11JI6Msp-Kvv34URqLljYscWvthZXAb1sYCDgGgRS7jwUxRtqfJZWVZe11QMTV3b3WasamonrYXtpdHw09r5LOOhdLqV16aB85uAeOUl2cXojimBS8qsPmg/s1600/Motherwell2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Works from the 1940s</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wool.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I always felt that he and Phillip Taaffe were large-scale printmakers, not painters really. Nonetheless here was his work spiraling down the Guggy, which is a difficult space for large flat artworks. I remember a Noland retrospective where his wide horizontal paintings seemed to visually warp because of the curvatures behind them. Wool doesn’t have that problem. His verticals hover in front of the viewer, bathed in a light unique to the Guggy. Cantilevered off the curved walls by flying buttresses attached to their rears, a space is created behind the works that is an exhibition in and of itself.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">His jokey word paintings aside, looking at his small noirish photographs made me wish that Wool’s early work had visually darker manifestations. Black on black perhaps. Instead he was content with an obdurate, simplistic black on white technique. Later on his work did become much more painterly in a “Goodbye to All That” sort of way. Wiping away imagery with solvent soaked rags. Layering and muddying up the imagery. And in one of the rectangular rooms, a group of four paintings suddenly suggested a Rothko Chapel moment of their own. Now that’s a painter.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddljpC7-sawDHqOos8yqlzprtWtoMHgSmcDHTp4m3_q6-Wvf5doDBIDOg0w9fpH8YN-jOyKkVB6EULvIeRsaH7TRDXTbzgrLJ1_tXI6tsCFBQoBnb-4ag62nqG2yjNdsE9VkDPBMkna0/s1600/Wool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddljpC7-sawDHqOos8yqlzprtWtoMHgSmcDHTp4m3_q6-Wvf5doDBIDOg0w9fpH8YN-jOyKkVB6EULvIeRsaH7TRDXTbzgrLJ1_tXI6tsCFBQoBnb-4ag62nqG2yjNdsE9VkDPBMkna0/s1600/Wool.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hovering in Space</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Tk5zpn7KH-59YI7vi5aqdVutBEGVmR3LHtm3wCFGJBcTAE_-dv_CKOz_ciOvmmLZ-9jSayBQBIYTM5zmUJoJLh7mKxMI5LJC8ajSS5kFisFeokohOxUmZpurZGR_qaybSY6MJzlb-cU/s1600/Wool2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Tk5zpn7KH-59YI7vi5aqdVutBEGVmR3LHtm3wCFGJBcTAE_-dv_CKOz_ciOvmmLZ-9jSayBQBIYTM5zmUJoJLh7mKxMI5LJC8ajSS5kFisFeokohOxUmZpurZGR_qaybSY6MJzlb-cU/s1600/Wool2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Flying Buttress</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlB2ZVqdbTp1MItfihMoD57MGL33bFr5ggaRJRsunxtthETyv8KdJh-hSL_wokM6gubxzVnXmIj2FkF9LE0L1qq8ZyiVFpRIS7-B7FjCYBVOh2sAzL6-pCmGeLj7ZWMuXItCmUQjj6IVM/s1600/Wool1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlB2ZVqdbTp1MItfihMoD57MGL33bFr5ggaRJRsunxtthETyv8KdJh-hSL_wokM6gubxzVnXmIj2FkF9LE0L1qq8ZyiVFpRIS7-B7FjCYBVOh2sAzL6-pCmGeLj7ZWMuXItCmUQjj6IVM/s1600/Wool1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Space behind a wall, behind a painting</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBo3OQlkhDeQnEVXQ-JDs7vG3-Tp74eSq4bEoB32Jm9zu_spjrmyl3e8EqDbotutq6Qsotos-Vl4iLt8iV9XSaNWm-0EumSGoCx1eb4YWHrpL0uoWFFKqE4JaAglHid9TjvzJXlU64Bw/s1600/Wool3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBo3OQlkhDeQnEVXQ-JDs7vG3-Tp74eSq4bEoB32Jm9zu_spjrmyl3e8EqDbotutq6Qsotos-Vl4iLt8iV9XSaNWm-0EumSGoCx1eb4YWHrpL0uoWFFKqE4JaAglHid9TjvzJXlU64Bw/s1600/Wool3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVsT5OmFofgzTgUcEnjA7qJV-yrnNcbOnIaRfHB1IU2SnEvq07M7GukE5h9031O_lP-5p_PAVPY5qv_76aNCoo5g85Rv6YJNiAn38i5NzZQNY_UTs0hxm0MT9UdcUoXyeVKxSfyUdki4/s1600/Wool4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVsT5OmFofgzTgUcEnjA7qJV-yrnNcbOnIaRfHB1IU2SnEvq07M7GukE5h9031O_lP-5p_PAVPY5qv_76aNCoo5g85Rv6YJNiAn38i5NzZQNY_UTs0hxm0MT9UdcUoXyeVKxSfyUdki4/s1600/Wool4.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">People.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since these were not blockbuster exhibits why all the people? Museums are quite full these days. All museums should be open 7 days a week. No? And at least one day a month for 24 hours straight. Yes!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Otherwise we’ll never again have that feeling of being alone with a body of work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There was also a small Kandinsky show at the Guggenheim. It merited much more time than I could give it. The room was simply way too crowded.</span></span><br />
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-14832554425557698122013-12-28T19:40:00.001-08:002013-12-28T19:40:52.967-08:00Goodbye to All That, Writers on Loving and Leaving New Yor
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Book Commentary: </div>
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Recently picked up a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye to All That, Writers on Loving and Leaving New York</i>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhQeU0AJMssutTJIMI37e0ri6diswUc269Q7oz9BiXg6LSystmR0yHMkkB5Fu9RsZo1PXTcIo9PXL2pCCcR5Vjo2qckOzUPVc1jmlYkQitKO2zjipdR82jxVEdXdo3mPWhK1-qCkviEY/s1600/goodbyetoallthat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhQeU0AJMssutTJIMI37e0ri6diswUc269Q7oz9BiXg6LSystmR0yHMkkB5Fu9RsZo1PXTcIo9PXL2pCCcR5Vjo2qckOzUPVc1jmlYkQitKO2zjipdR82jxVEdXdo3mPWhK1-qCkviEY/s320/goodbyetoallthat.jpg" width="212" /> </a></div>
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I never really liked the Strand bookstore. Ursus Books and
Argosy, those are my kind of bookstores, more like libraries than bookstores, quiet
and contemplative. The Strand was always too busy and more of a bargain place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never seemed in danger of casually spending
hundreds of dollars there. Yet recently I found myself nearby and wandered in looking
for Emily Dickinson’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Gorgeous
Nothings</i>. Of course they had it. But because three was a long wait at the
checkout line I lingered about and stumbled upon a tempting stack of nonfiction
books, suddenly endangering my credit card. Through restraint I was able to resist
a mass purchase, opting for a single copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye to All That, Writers on Loving and Leaving New York</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love/hate New
York’</i> theme combined with the ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lived
there/done that ’</i> story is always and forever appealing. People love and
hate this city, come and go, for so many different reasons and experiences. Back
in the mid 80’s I went on a vacation driving around New England, stopping in
each state, visiting artist friends who had left New York. Unlike the
contributors to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye to All That</i> these
were visual artists not writers. Most had come to New York to start college or
finish their education. They then spent a few additional years developing their
art and absorbing all they could while living in the center of the art world. Later
they moved from New York to places, picturesque and inexpensive places, where they
had always wanted to live. They started to raise families and continued to
evolve as artists. Their New York experiences, while exacting and
transformative, did not seem traumatic. They did not flee. They simply left.
They had no lingering anger, doubt or angst.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye to All That</i>
things are more complicated. There are a couple of former junkies (one a former
dominatrix) and no lack of problematic relationships. Some writers were born
there, most not. Many had a fear of leaving, some a fear of returning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was complicated. The trappings of wanting
a career came up often. Many had arrived after New York had become a much more complex,
crowded and expensive megalopolis, so debt was a word that often popped up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I had misread the subtitle as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Writings</u> on Loving and Leaving New York</i>, I initially hoped to
find a couple of visual artists in the mix. Not so. It would have made for a
different story. For it was a bit puzzling why writers found the city so expensive.
They could live and write in small apartments, couldn’t they? Visual artists,
especially sculptors needed space, equipment, materials and perhaps a vehicle
in addition to whatever computer, typewriter or writing apparatus of choice an
author might use. What were they griping about? What fabrication costs do
writers have?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are writers prone to complaining more than visual artists?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although these narratives are very personal, sometimes the
tone can even sound confessional, transparency is not always paramount. One contributor,
writing about her marriage to another writer, grumbled about their busy
schedules and the lack of quality time together. Their writing careers
developed into a competition. Debt was mounting. And yet in the throes of crushing
debt and a bickering and competitive marriage they left New York to live happily
ever after (and purchase property!?) on an idyllic island off the coast of
Maine! How’d that come about?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Was this fact or fabulation? Gossip or reportage? After all,
these <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> writers. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye</i> we learn that:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Liza breaks up with current boyfriend because an ex sends
her a free ticket for a weekend with him in Puerto Rico.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hope writes a successful memoir and during the book tour
starts adding parts to jazz up her story and loses tract of what she embellished
and what’s true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Chloe, grooming meant buying a new thong while coked up
out of her skull because she was planning on having anal sex that night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rebecca snorts lots of cocaine, and makes out with bouncers
in exchange for free entry to clubs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sure <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye to
All That</i> is as factual as Joan Didion’s essay of the same title published in
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Slouching Towards Bethlehem</i>. That
essay is praised in the Introduction of the new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye</i> and, I assume, is the reason why all the authors here are
female. I decided to reread it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had remembered it as a period piece, a somewhat tortured
account of a young and fragile person finding her way in the New York
publishing world of the early 1960s. But upon rereading I now found it especially
difficult to relate to a story so full of observations and statements such as “I
was making…so little money that some weeks I had to charge food at
Bloomingdale’s gourmet shop in order to eat”. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No opening cans of Campbell’s soup or buying hot dogs from
street vendors for this woman. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do writers carp more than other artists? Maybe not, there
are the occasional sweet moments in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye.</i>
It’s just that ya gotta love the rants:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“New York City manifests itself now shamefacedly as a
chump-factory, a chumphouse. It’s Chumptown … It’s well documented: Chumps need
artists and artists need chumps, but they’re supposed to stay out of one
another’s sight … There have always been chumps in New York, but they used to
be bashful chumps who bought the brilliant ones their drinks”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, it’s that love/hate thing again and it’s all in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodbye to All That, Writers on Loving and Leaving
New York</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
PS. Reading the comments section in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/fashion/From-Joan-Didion-to-Andrew-Sullivan-some-writers-leave-behind-letters-when-they-leave-new-york-city.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&" target="_blank">New York Times online review</a> of this book is hilarious. </div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-58463502277653136942013-12-17T19:07:00.001-08:002013-12-17T19:10:21.479-08:00Detroit and Just Kids<b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b>Another young artist (former student of mine) told me that he’s moving to Detroit. <br />
<br />
This semester I assigned Patti Smith’s book <i>Just Kids</i> to my 3rd year sculpture class at the School of Visual Arts. <br />
An easy read, the strength of the book is both in its descriptions of NYC in the late 60s and 70s and the telling of the happenstance relationship between Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe that evolved as they searched for their artistic identities, eventually navigating their separate paths to stardom. The Chelsea Hotel, Harry Smith, Max’s Kansas City, CBGB, the beat poets, et al, play a role in this narrative of a bygone era. But in discussing the decrepit conditions of NYC back then my students wondered: Was the New York of the 70s the Detroit of today?<br />
I answered: Well, Bushwick was burning. And yes, the Bronx was crumbling. Without a doubt the East Village was strewn with vacant lots and drug dealing. Crime and danger seemed to be ever-present. Of course all those problems kept the rents low which was attractive to artists. NYC was the center of the art world, which was growing. And Wall Street was here. In addition a crucial component of New York’s economic revival was its large Higher Education Complex. Columbia, Hunter, Parsons, Pratt, New School, SVA, etc, were all expanding, attracting thousands of new students each year eventually helping to repopulate the sketchier sections of town. The population was on the increase, fueling the new service economy. True, there was dog shit and broken glass everywhere and yes the city was tittering on the edge of bankruptcy. However, even though many people might not have thought so at the time the city had hit bottom, and by the late 70’s it was poised to turn the corner.<br />
<br />
Are there any visible corners for Detroit to turn? Does Detroit have a bottom? I hope so.<br />
Yes, there is Ruin Porn and Crime, and therefore Cheap Real Estate. But a viewing of the film Detropia certainly does not inspire optimism. In it artists are treated as a sideshow. City inhabitants are shown struggling, sometimes scavenging. That film and a recent New York Times article showed images of devastation on a scale hard to comprehend, never mind recovering from. But are the high costs of living in New York and the allure of being an urban pioneer making Detroit an attractive and viable option? Do young artists in other parts of the country have Detroit on their minds? Those are the questions I recently put to colleagues teaching around the country: So far the consensus is no. <br />
<br />
Towards the end of <i>Just Kids</i> Patti Smith marries Fred (Sonic) Smith, and in 1979 they move to Detroit where they set up home in a virtually empty hotel in the downtown area.<br />
Who can argue with a hotel of one’s own?<br />
The Urban Frontier awaits!<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Some Exhibits:</b><br />
<br />
Revisited the Reinhardt three-part exhibition at David Zwirner.<br />
The Black Paintings (a dark chapel).<br />
The cartoons (art world hilarity and political agitprop).<br />
The slide show (hypnotically illuminating missives from a perceptive traveler).<br />
This guy was an artist.<br />
<br />
<br />
Roni Horn at Hauser & Wirth: Lime and lemon drop eye-candy in the first room (rotund glass forms with frosted edges and centers of amazing clarity). Collaged drawings in the middle room (ponderous piecemeal workings). More glass jewels in the third room (technical wonders). The work in each room could be read as one piece (I preferred to think of them as such).<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRP8VAjHNAJTtWwrJyBxTc6sEYogF4eJ01TjPgBNu-D8zcm3CbU0Q3nBS0aJd_ECOCZk9EOb9jS_DJidd3nlToVHry9_pa-1OcdqHQWooU4SjCvGEEphny-zTeObkLUNMOoQ0ryliLVU/s1600/Horn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRP8VAjHNAJTtWwrJyBxTc6sEYogF4eJ01TjPgBNu-D8zcm3CbU0Q3nBS0aJd_ECOCZk9EOb9jS_DJidd3nlToVHry9_pa-1OcdqHQWooU4SjCvGEEphny-zTeObkLUNMOoQ0ryliLVU/s200/Horn1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYksx81a8M3GxqrtdWha1hABvIba0UF2tMIXlK55oAr1IR0Sa_SXrYs9_Oo5JSwMwdt7e1Bz31_ZuidxUc-8mkhUn1VZ8WnMa4wqfqknB5PKWmuk7JWQb1oCu5sLTin2lIcj7wL3cxxVI/s1600/Horn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYksx81a8M3GxqrtdWha1hABvIba0UF2tMIXlK55oAr1IR0Sa_SXrYs9_Oo5JSwMwdt7e1Bz31_ZuidxUc-8mkhUn1VZ8WnMa4wqfqknB5PKWmuk7JWQb1oCu5sLTin2lIcj7wL3cxxVI/s200/Horn2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
The glass chunks apparently take a year to properly cool down. They sit in an oven while the temperature is gradually reduced, maintaining equal interior and exterior temperatures. Thus they avoid bursting. This body of work is more alluring then her earlier glass chunks because the surfaces are more fascinating to peer into. Their installation however, while beautifully laid out and lit, possesses an unfortunate designer showroom aesthetic. Thereby emphasizing craft and presenting these glass marvels as high-end baubles. If eyes are windows unto the soul, is it too much to ask for these orbs to function as such?<br />
Not a problem with the drawings. The multitude of paper pieces and their markings mystify. The drawings are puzzlers. They seem to map out terrains, form continents, and yet defy comprehension as to their sources and their system of making.<br />
Several years ago at a Sculpture Center banquet honoring Roni Horn, she professed to the audience that she didn’t know what she was doing. Of course the not knowing is a much-preferred perch to make work from than the view from the known. The not knowing is a truly enviable position to have, and difficult to maintain.<br />
<br />
I thought of having a drink at the gallery’s bar but it doesn’t have a rest room.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kusama at David Zwirner: The Line. Nuff said.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMR5x9I_ar_fHSoiP4M1H8fG5-lYaZSZOTJrily5B8dOWGLu8gChOMUvUioe_rMvwwwB_qTDbw9-ICc6s6w3n6lrA50gjfhM-Qj7llXkDKvWvTm4jtzE-I02jz7NcsaogUijwgpaYCVg/s1600/Kusama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMR5x9I_ar_fHSoiP4M1H8fG5-lYaZSZOTJrily5B8dOWGLu8gChOMUvUioe_rMvwwwB_qTDbw9-ICc6s6w3n6lrA50gjfhM-Qj7llXkDKvWvTm4jtzE-I02jz7NcsaogUijwgpaYCVg/s320/Kusama.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-38921373786752462162013-12-02T18:17:00.003-08:002014-01-14T17:51:08.411-08:00I finally went to the relocated Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia (Spoiler Alert: It’s changed).<style>
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There’s something to be said for “Destination Art”. Art that
you have to seek out, that does not make itself convenient to visit. Certain depositories
of culture, such as Judd’s complex in Marfa, Texas and the earthworks of the
American West sit at a remove, require a journey. The Barnes Foundation, though
originally in a more densely populated area near Philadelphia, was such a
destination. The requirement of needing to schedule visits combined with its
location, just outside the city limits, made it a quiet and out-of-the-way
venue. The relative isolation allowed for uniquely personal relationships with
the collection to be formed. Visitors often returned, seeking out single works
or specific rooms and spending one-on-one quality time.
<br />
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I started going to the Barnes in the late 70’s and visited
it at least 15 times in the following years but had yet to visit the new
location. A certain amount of dread accompanied me as I recently took a group
of students to the Barnes, now in downtown Philly. I had always looked forward
to seeing this collection. In rooms almost empty and with all the time needed
to linger and circle through the collection, seeking out old favorites and
spending time with lesser-known works. It was never a problem booking times and
the fact that one could be virtually alone within this great and eccentric array
was in strong contrast to the evermore-crowded museum scene. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I went this year a friend mentioned a large Ellsworth
Kelly painting he had seen inside the Barnes. I thought he must have been
having a senior moment for I well knew that no such artwork was in the
collection. However as we approached the new building there stood a two story
high metal sculpture by Kelly near the entrance, heralding the changes to come!
We then entered a fairly modest reception area that in turn leads to a gigantic
lobby. The size of the lobby, or what they refer to as the central court, was
all out of proportion to the modest size of the Barnes; it seemed bigger than
the actual Barnes. Was this a space to hold parties, election celebrations …
what? </div>
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Off this space was the Kelly exhibit, in a large white room
that had the piece my friend described, as well as several other works. It was
a great show, but why was this exhibit here and where was the Barnes? It felt
like we were in an outpost of the Philly Museum. It was a while before we
entered the actual Barnes Collection as my students and I were puzzled, disoriented
actually, by the lobby and sat there for some time pondering the need for this
vast space.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The original Barnes was a Beaux-Arts design by Paul Philippe
Cret, who also worked on the Rodin Museum that the new Barnes now sits next to
on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The exhibition rooms of the old Barnes were
replicated and fitted inside a boxy building designed by Tod Williams and
Billie Tsien Architects. This “relocation” makes those spaces feel like the
period rooms at the Met, as if the rooms are now on view as well. Of course the
collection is laid out in all its eccentric glory, much the same, as before. Soutine,
Renoir, van Gogh, Seurat, Picasso, door hinges? It is what it always was, a
great collection presented in an unusual and unconventional manner that encourages
looking. It makes you pause; it’s a slow read. But now the rooms are crowded. I
don’t recall ever being told to step back from a work during previous visits.
This time it happened four times in the span of an hour as I simply tried to
maneuver around people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The popularity of the new location is a problem. It dampens
the unique qualities and experiences of the original Barnes. There is great art
to be seen, for sure, but now it’s set in a more accessible location replete
with the typical shortcomings of the current museum scene. Tourism, crowds,
starchitecture and with the emphasis on including contemporary art the trappings
of the art market loom, not far behind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Barnes is required viewing. It’s still a destination.
But this destination has changed, forever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coming soon: the entire town of Marfa is moved to a mall in New
Jersey!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-8207625531999108912013-11-28T08:23:00.000-08:002013-11-28T08:23:22.033-08:00Gallery UpdateLeon Kossoff at Mitchell-Innes & Nash (534 West 26).<br />You don’t often get to see this much Kossoff here in the States.<br />Massive amount of drawings. The kind that say “anyone can draw, and I’m going to do it with more intensity than anyone can draw”. Sketchy madness.<br />And the paintings? From a distance the paint pulls together forming crudely raucous images. But up close the image dissolves into gobs of gooey, molten lava-like surfaces devoid of any representational gestalt. The paint is less psychological than Soutine, but physically denser.<br /><br />Went to see Cyprien Gaillard’s “altered readymades” at Gladstone (530 West 21). The light in the rear space is amazing. The way it brings out the color on the metal surfaces reminded me of the light in Chamberlain’s buildings in Marfa, Texas. Same thing here, the surface colors and textures are rich, but Gaillard doesn’t manipulate the found as much. Instead he relies on the drama of size and material. The light is amazing.<br /><br />KAWS at Mary Boone.<br />Didn’t stay long at this monumental, neo-pop awfulness. Guess I didn’t like it.<br />Like they used to say “when in doubt make it bigger”. And he did.<br /><br />Brancusi in New York. Paul Kasmin (515 West 27)<br />Didn’t mention this last time but Brancusi’s photos in the back room are the best. These vintage images made back then with their worn edges and varying degrees of finish are a living time capsule and perhaps the best way to see his work now. They’re alive.<br /><br />Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-13273933973358519242013-11-27T22:00:00.000-08:002014-01-14T17:50:23.610-08:00Does anyone have a problem with the fact that estates are cranking out the work of dead artists?<br />
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Had the most pleasant gallery viewing today. The weather was
cold, wet and otherwise miserable. Which meant there was hardly anyone in the
galleries. </div>
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A must see is the Ad Reinhard exhibit (November 7 - December
18, 2013) at David Zwirner, 537 West 20 Street. Museum quality survey of his
black paintings, his cartoons and slide show. 3 shows in one, with 3 different
experiences. 1: Paintings that reveal themselves through a slow, quiet,
meditative visual read. 2: Laugh out loud super complex comics and jokey
illustrations. 3: Time-based travelogue, slide projection.</div>
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Once in a lifetime exhibit. Must see more than once.</div>
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Went back to the Serra exhibits. Even better the second
time. Felt entirely different from what I had remembered. Noticed that he spot
welded some of Inside/Outside’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>curved sections, but I didn’t hold that against him. </div>
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Currently there seems to be two views of Serra.</div>
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1.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>His
work exists in a realm of his own making, and he’s at the top of his game. He
can do any thing he wants with metal.</div>
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2.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>All
right already, he mastered the metal, we get it. Can he please move on to
something else? His early work was more influential.</div>
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Does anyone have a problem with the fact that estates are
cranking out the work of dead artists?</div>
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Went to the "Brancusi in New York" exhibit at Paul
Kasmin. Small polished bronzes in an intimate setting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A jewel like exhibit of classic pieces. </div>
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Of course the work was cast from molds made years after he
died. Is it ok to say that once an artist dies the production should stop? You
can still get freshly minted Rodins. Of course Moondog by Tony Smith is a great
piece, made by the estate and exhibited at Paula Cooper in the late 90’s. Glad
to have seen it. But does anyone have a problem with the fact that estates are
cranking out the work of dead artists?</div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-19871008751181412182012-10-10T19:36:00.002-07:002012-10-10T19:36:35.795-07:00Exhibit at UMASS, Amherst<div style="text-align: center;">
Some Moments<br />An Installation by Peter Dudek</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Herter Art Gallery<br />125A Herter Hall<br />University of Massachusetts Amherst<br />September 12th—October 12th, 2012 </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVnGclalvACeIaVibbPpa-o4e_W-VAuCu9qfZMN5IIFBRsA6F0an-joJH9_30Fx5_dUpXCAavBWMKaS85HAzxxPKU02vwC1aJtx5iOsdPDGsB1k_fnYXfObKyYd-tNvTydsjM4834qE8/s1600/Herter2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVnGclalvACeIaVibbPpa-o4e_W-VAuCu9qfZMN5IIFBRsA6F0an-joJH9_30Fx5_dUpXCAavBWMKaS85HAzxxPKU02vwC1aJtx5iOsdPDGsB1k_fnYXfObKyYd-tNvTydsjM4834qE8/s320/Herter2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-83920605690158982602012-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:002012-06-09T09:50:08.417-07:00Bescom Lodge<div style="text-align: center;">
The Lodge is in full swing with a large offering of free events and sundry workshops.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi225r8W9Mm-GgX4QjC11emjRcpABJTtiYBUEfRpOn1aDLADeaEkDsf2wk3a1zXf-lC-my8kg13NVuDcpo795BI-Fb89O54w8iJAJUS72GCNHaVCMloh7HeBew_NZT-TeWaHiuAUGCRP1o/s1600/Sign.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi225r8W9Mm-GgX4QjC11emjRcpABJTtiYBUEfRpOn1aDLADeaEkDsf2wk3a1zXf-lC-my8kg13NVuDcpo795BI-Fb89O54w8iJAJUS72GCNHaVCMloh7HeBew_NZT-TeWaHiuAUGCRP1o/s320/Sign.gif" width="212" /></a></div>
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See <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1639507831">www.bascomlodge</a><a href="http://.net/">.net</a> for complete details!</div>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-84286196596386740882012-06-09T09:46:00.002-07:002012-06-09T09:46:10.669-07:00Exhibition: Range (part two)<style>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Range (Part 2): A
cultural exchange between the Berkshires and Hampshire County.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Maggie Mailer, Michael McKay, Christin Couture,</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">David
Ricci, Monika Sosnowski, Peter Dudek and William Hosie. </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span> </i></b><span class="st"><b><i><em>A.P.E.</em> Ltd. <em>Gallery</em>, </i></b>126 Main Street <em>Northampton</em>, MA 01060. Phone: 413.586.<wbr></wbr>5553. </span>
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The exhibit runs from July 3 – 18, 2012.</div>
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There will be a Salon on Tuesday, July 10, at 6pm: a
moderated conversation between artists from Pioneer Valley and the Berkshires
followed by a reception. Moderators: Leslie Ferrin with Curator Peter Dudek.</div>
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On Friday, July 13, there will be an Opening Reception
(5-8pm) during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arts Night Out</i>.</div>
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Peter Dudek, curator </div>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-19659305453786582632012-03-31T09:41:00.005-07:002012-03-31T09:41:56.380-07:00<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: MS Serif,New York,serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 22px;"><span style="color: green;">Bascom Lodge reopens for Lodging & Dining on June 1.<br />
Opening Weekend Festivities begin at 11am on Saturday, June 2 with
Native American events: tipi raising, drumming, mountain blessing,
storytelling, music and more.<br />
And on Sunday June 3rd at 6pm there will be a Beekeeping demo.<br />
All events are free and open to the public!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: MS Serif,New York,serif; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif; font-size: 22px;"><span style="color: green;"><a href="http://www.bascomlodge.net/">http://www.bascomlodge.net/</a> for more info.</span></span></span></span></span>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-29578112723398409342011-10-20T21:47:00.000-07:002011-10-20T21:51:35.333-07:00Last Events of the Season @ Bascom Lodge<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: #333333;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" ><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-size: 18px;"><b>Sunday, October 23: "The Galileo Affair" @ 6pm</b></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span> <br /><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" ><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" >Bill Minardi examines Galileo's conflict with the church, his trail and condemnation and the impact it had as an example of the "conflict" between science and religion. </span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" ><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Followed by a Prix Fixe Dinner @ 7pm (for dinner reservations call: 413-743-1591)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" ><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: #333333;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" ><span style="font-family:MS Serif, New York, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 18px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" >Wednesday, October 26: <b>"Movie Night"<span style="font-family:MS Serif, New York, serif;"> @ 6pm</span></b></span></b></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" ><span style="font-family:MS Serif, New York, serif;"><b> </b><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" title="http://www.mainstreetmail.com/engine/lt.php?c=4268&m=3551&nl=214&s=32b8b852575734890f65e34ffe4ce16d&lid=52403&l=-http--www.atlasfilms.org/" target="_blank" href="http://www.mainstreetmail.com/engine/lt.php?c=4268&m=3551&nl=214&s=32b8b852575734890f65e34ffe4ce16d&lid=52403&l=-http--www.atlasfilms.org/">Rich Remsberg</a> returns with a selection of Civilian Conservation Corps films made in the Berkshires.</span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><i><span style="font: 16px new york; color: #333333;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;font-size:180%;color:#333333;" > </span></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Followed by a Prix Fixe Dinner @ 7pm (for dinner reservations call: 413-743-1591)</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: times new roman,times; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.mainstreetmail.com/engine/lt.php?c=4268&m=3551&nl=214&s=32b8b852575734890f65e34ffe4ce16d&lid=52404&l=-http--www.atdf.org/"><span id="lw_1315804450_1" target="_blank"></span></a></span></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bascomlodge.net/Events.htm"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><a target="_blank" title="http://www.mainstreetmail.com/engine/lt.php?c=4268&m=3551&nl=214&s=32b8b852575734890f65e34ffe4ce16d&lid=52405&l=-http--bascomlodge.net/Events.html"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank">http://bascomlodge.net/Events.htm</span></a></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">The Lodge closes on October 30th</span></strong></span></span></p>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-21673245990467431162011-10-15T07:31:00.000-07:002011-10-15T07:33:34.705-07:00Bascom Lodge<span style="font-size: 18px;"><b><span style="font-size: 18px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" >Sunday, October 16: "Author, Gladys Montgomery", @ <u>6pm</u>.</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: 16px;font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;" >An illustrated presentation/discussion of her two new books: <i>Storybook Cottages, America's Carpenter Gothic Style</i> and <i>An Elegant Wilderness</i>,<i> Great Camps and Grand Lodges of the Adirondacks.<br /></i><a href="http://www.bascomlodge.net/Events.html">http://www.bascomlodge.net/Events.html</a><i><br /></i>413-743-1591<i><br /></i><span style="font-weight: bold;">Free & Open to the Public!</span><i><br /></i></span>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-53518868504734371632011-09-26T16:58:00.000-07:002011-09-26T17:00:57.329-07:00Coming to Bascom Lodge<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><b>Wednesday, September 28:</b> </span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><b>"The Watershed and Us" </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; "><b><span style="font-size: 18px; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;color:#000000;"><b>@ <u>6pm</u>.</b></span> </span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 16px; ">Learn more about our watershed and how communities can protect the water quality where we all live. Presented by Alison Dixon, Berkshire Outreach manager of the Housatonic Valley Association.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px; "><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 18px; ">Sunday, October 2nd:"<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><span style="font-size: 18px; color:#000000;">BURLESQUE, BOOKS AND BASCOM LODGE! </span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;color:#000000;"><b>@ <u>6pm</u>.</b></span> </span></span><br /></b>Performance, with Karen Lee, Marc Zegan & Friends.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;">An extravaganza!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><span style="font-size: 16px; font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><a href="http://bascomlodge.net/Events.html">http://bascomlodge.net/Events.html</a></span></span></div>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660696051952222892.post-70510652570799627902011-09-20T14:18:00.000-07:002011-09-20T14:22:55.984-07:00September 21: Tap Dance @ Bascom Lodge<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday, September 21:</span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"Tap Dance" @ 6pm</span></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Free & Open to the Public<br /></span></b><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span target="_blank"><span target="_blank" style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span target="_blank" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Recently referred to by the New York Times as the "Pied Piper of Tap Dance” and the "Mayor of Tap City” (the annual </span><a href="http://atdf.org/tapcity.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span target="_blank" id="lw_1315804450_0" style="border-bottom-width: 2px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">New York City</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Tap Festival</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">), performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tony Waag</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> takes his audience through a rhythmic romp that represents 30 years of pursuing a career in the American art form known as Tap Dance.</span></span></span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span target="_blank"><span target="_blank" style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span target="_blank" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span target="_blank" style="font-size: 14pt; "><span target="_blank" style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; "><span target="_blank" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To be followed by a prix fixe dinner, call 413-743-1591 for reservation</span></span><span target="_blank" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 12pt; ">s!</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span target="_blank" style="font-size: 14pt; "><span target="_blank" style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10pt; "><span target="_blank" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 12pt; "><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', times;">For more event info go to <a href="http://bascomlodge.net/Events.html">http://bascomlodge.net/Events.html</a></span></div>Peter Dudekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13128220023201680002noreply@blogger.com0