Nashian Art

Living in Newton and not actually knowing that many artists (or people) here, perhaps I am not really in the position to make an accurate assessment of the situation, but here goes: I feel like there could be a lot more communal activity amongst the artists here. It seems the majority of art is made by individuals or couples with very singular interests and ideas. They are all vying for representation by the same handful of galleries or juried shows and this (palpable or not) creates a certain amount of tension and rivalry.

There must be a way to alter this model in a way that still keeps the Darwinian selectivity to cull the best art, but removes the individualism and self-centricism. What I mean to say is, if there was a way of giving other people a stake in each other’s work, by means of group curation or group production, I think we would be in a better place to grow and expand the community.

These are more conceptual/idealistic ideas for sure, but here’s one proposal: a weekly or bi-weekly meet up where artists can talk about the kind of things they’re working on, ideas they’re thinking about, books they’re reading, shows they’ve applied for, shows they’ve been to, open discussion about the future of art, discussion on the efficacy of video art, (I could go on and on…….).

Basically I wish there was some sort of an open door group (NOT a critique session) where artists could get together and bounce ideas off one another, even come up with communal objectives. I always love that scene in A Beautiful Mind where the guys are at the bar and John Nash (played be the adorable Russell Crowe) explains the principles of his economic theory (if we all go for the hot one, we all lose, but if we all go for her slightly less hot friends, we all win). I think we can translate this idea quite neatly to our own struggles to find modes for dissemination and exhibition, to take back the control, even a little, from the galleries and exhibition spaces we are more or less beholden to.

Discuss amongst yo’selves…

MAP Magazine

I was recently asked to write a review of the Simon Starling show at MASSMoCA for the Scottish art magazine “MAP”. It’s a really great magazine that seems to get better by the issue (now at 19). It looks at contemporary art from the viewpoint of Scotland, but is not narrow in its breadth or depth (think Frieze). They’ve got a great website too: mapmagazine.co.uk . You can pick it up all over the place in the UK and in NYC at St. Mark’s, McNally’s, and some Hudson Newses (like the one in Penn Station), the full list is on their site. I’m not so sure if it’s cool to put the review up here. You can email me and I’ll send it to you if you want to read it.

3 and a half days in The City

Just been back from the art mecca that is New York City. I used to really hate NY, with its people and its taxis and its people. Slowly, though, I am finding some new, more manageable parts of the city. This time I spent a lot of time walking around Soho, whereas I had previously spent the most time in Chelsea, which now, seems a little tedious and boring. Also, I did some pretty serious shopping, bought like 6 shirts (I love MUJI, 50% off!!). I’m pretty pumped about that. But now for the art:

Brooklyn Museum:

I had never been before, went to see the Yinka Shonibare show, an artist who is huge in Britain, a Nigerian/English Black man who works almost exclusively with a palette of “traditional” African fabrics. Most pieces consisted of mannequins in colonial/Victorian dress (made of these extraordinary fabrics), creating a disharmonic bright ball of wonderment, while marking the brutally obvious dichotomy between the two cultures. I had seen some of Shonibare’s work in the past, but when accumulated, the work added and multiplied to create a greater end product. Entering each room was a new surprise, I love that in a show.

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/yinka_shonibare_mbe/

Deitch Projects:

The show at the Wooster St. Branch was entitled, “Black Acid Co-op” and I knew I was in for something when, upon entering, I was asked to sign a release from liability. This seemed pretty reasonable in hindsight. The show was a series of room, all interconnected, mimicking an abandoned meth lab in an apartment and various retail locations. The rooms were absolutely fantastic. My favorite was the first room, a brightly fluorescently lit room of wigs on polystyrene heads. Another, towards the back, is a massive empty room, with paint pealing. So simple, tragic, incredible. The gallery space next to it, white walls and red carpet was exciting too. I felt like I was walking into a 21^st century Ed Keinholz installation. He couldn’t have done it much better. This fits in nicely with what I’m reading, “The Conspiracy of Art” by Baudrillard. He accosts the notion of art as simulated reality of banality. I think there are holes in it, but mostly a great piece of writing.

http://deitchprojects.com/projects/sub.php?projId=284&orient=v

Vice Photo Show:

BORING. I can deal with the pictures in the context of the magazine, but putting together a show of them just reinforces the fact that they are kind of a joke.

http://www.spencerbrownstonegallery.com/000featured.html

Jen Bekman Gallery:

A nice show of text-based work. Fits together nicely, some great work, all on a small scale, which is nice to see altogether. Decent for a summer group show.

http://www.jenbekman.com/

New Museum:

First, I saw a gig of experimental music by Terry Adkins and Charles Gaines, which was, as advertised, very weird. It was an ode to Bessie Smith, and a bit difficult to follow (and listen to).

Upstairs in the galleries, there was a massive show of David Goldblatt, a fantastic photographer in Black & White, that totally lost his way with color. The photos were hung with paper clips (always suspect) and were decent digi prints, though consistently washed out. The show was spread over two full floors and I think it was probably twice as much as he needed. Many of the color images were weak, and the hanging (one big color, one small B&W, one big color….) was amateurish and unflattering. The other show was Black Panther posters that belonged somewhere else. I think the New Museum is suffering from ICA Boston syndrome: such a nice building and they cant find anything decent to fill it with. This was my second time, 0 for 2.

http://www.newmuseum.org/

FLAG Foundation:

An incredible new space in the Chelsea Arts Tower, they have been showing world renowned artists in group shows with the help of one fantastic benefactor. Better shows than you’ll see at most museums, and of course it’s free. There were two shows on when I went, one of altered landscapes, an overdone subject, with all the regulars (Gursky, Demand, Foncuberta, Gutschow) and a handful of new faces, but all excellent work. Upstairs there was a show of unrepresented artists making work about the recession. A good collection of varied work, not exceptional, but very solid. This is their first show with work for sale, but they jut put collectors in touch with the artist and, I assume, take no commission. Seems from the surface to be an incredible organization, will definitely be back to see what’s in store for the future, can’t wait.

http://www.flagartfoundation.org/current/

Julie Saul:

A miserable show curated by Isaac Mizrahi (who would’ve guessed) and three new photos by Bill Jacobson (no relation) that looked just like every other Bill Jacobson photo I’ve seen. Although, I saw a new book he’s coming out with that looks fantastic! And in focus!!

http://www.saulgallery.com/

That was about it. A short trip, but pretty successful. Went to a bunch of bookstores (Strand, St. Mark’s, Printed Matter, Bluestockings, McNally) and managed to only buy 5 books. If I only had time to read.