Sunday, August 31, 2008

Grand Rapids Art Museum shows Black & White Photography by Gordon Parks



GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Gordon Parks (1912–2006) was the first African-American photographer to gain an international reputation in the twentieth century. Prior to his recognition after World War II, African-American photographers were restricted to studio portraiture in black communities. Parks opened the field for African-American photographers with his accomplishments in documentary and fashion photography. His distinguished work for Life magazine was a pivotal influence on a new generation of black photographers who recorded the events of the Civil Rights Movement. On view through 28 September, 2008.

Parks was born the youngest of fifteen children in the small prairie town of Fort Scott, Kansas. When his mother died in 1927, he was sent to live with his sister in St. Paul, Minnesota, where his brother-in-law turned him out when he was still a teenager. Homeless on the winter streets of Minnesota, he survived through jobs as a dishwasher, busboy, and piano player barely managing to earn a living. He eventually got a steady job with the railroad as a dining car waiter.

During one of his runs on the transcontinental train from Chicago to Seattle he picked up a magazine left by a passenger. It featured images from the Farm Security Administration of the desperate rural poverty of the Great Depression by photographers Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, and John Collier. Seeking to find his own voice, Parks purchased a camera for $7.50 in 1938.

The first photographs he shot revealed a significant talent. He quickly sought opportunities to work as photographer and ways to make a living in the profession. In 1940, laid off his job, hungry and desperate, he walked into a stylish dress shop in St. Paul and told the owners he wanted to do fashion photography. They gave him a chance and displayed the photographs he took in the store window. They caught eye of Marva Louis, wife of the champion boxer, Joe Louis. She invited Parks to work in Chicago and there he won a Julian Rosenwald Fellowship and a job with the Farm Security Administration in Washington, D.C.

In 1944 Parks rented a room at Harlem’s YMCA and began looking for work in New York. He took his fashion photographs to Harper’s Bazaar. They were impressed but explained that as a Hearst organization, they were restricted from hiring “Negroes.” Parks went to his friend Roy Stryker from FSA who sent him to Edward Steichen who scribbled down a name and gave it to Parks. “Go see this man at Vogue!” That afternoon Vogue magazine hired Gordon Parks. During the next four years, he traveled to the world’s fashion capitals on assignment for the magazine while continuing to work independently on other subjects that also interested him.

In 1948 he was hired by Life magazine. Gordon Parks was the first African-American photographer for Life, the publication - more than any other - that elevated the art of photography in the minds of the American public. Parks' work and life as an artist during the next five decades continued to expand. His photographs of the 1960s and 70s are compelling images of America in an era of social change. He wrote books, composed music, and became one of the first African-American filmmakers to win major awards. Gordon Parks died in 2006 leaving a body of photographic works of prodigious significance.

Organized by the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the exhibition America: Black and White consists of thirty-four photographs, including rare vintage prints recently acquired by the museum. The exhibition coincides with the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" Speech of August 28, 1963, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. A rare Parks photograph of King giving the speech is in the museum’s collection and included in the exhibition.

The mission of the Grand Rapids Art Museum is to provide a gathering place where people of all ages and backgrounds can enrich their lives through interaction with authentic works of art of the finest quality in a thought-provoking and creative way. In order to nourish and delight the mind and spirit, the Museum collects, conserves, educates, and interprets. Visit : www.gramonline.org

Guggenheim Bilbao director admits to E4.2m loss


NEW YORK. The director of the Guggenheim Bilbao, Juan Ignacio Vidarte, has admitted that the Spanish museum lost e4.2m of public money when it purchased Richard Serra’s The Matter of Time, 2005, using US dollars rather than euros to buy the work.

Mr Vidarte appeared before the Spanish Parliament’s Committee on Basque Culture in May to testify about a 2007 government audit of the museum’s finances. The investigation also uncovered the embezzlement of over e480,000 by former chief financial officer Roberto Cearsolo.

According to a report issued in 2007 by the Basque Court of Auditors, the museum paid more than $27m for the acquisition of art between 2002 and 2005, including Richard Serra’s commission of seven monumental sculptures for the cavernous ground-floor gallery in the Gehry-designed building.

The installation cost the authorities over $20m paid in three instalments in 2004 and 2005. Museum spokesperson Alicia Martínez told The Art Newspaper: “In 2002 we were going through a highly volatile time in the currency markets” and the museum entered into a “forward exchange contract”, expecting the dollar to rise against the euro.

Although museum officials declined to comment on the ongoing internal investigation and lawsuit filed against Mr Cearsolo by the Guggenheim, a press release issued by the ­institution states that on 11 April the museum received a letter delivered by Mr Cearsolo’s attorney with the former CFO’s signed confession. Included with the written admission of guilt was a cheque for over e250,000 and Mr Cearsolo’s promise to repay the balance of misappropriated funds.

The scandal has led Basque officials to contemplate a series of reforms over how public funds at the institution are spent. In late April the Basque parliament unanimously authorised a measure requiring the Guggenheim Bilbao to undergo annual audits to ensure greater transparency. Before the 2007 examination of museum finances, there had not been an audit at the institution since 1997.

Source: The Art Newspaper

Canvas Paper and Stone Gallery presents "Celebrating Abyssinia to Harlem" , Opening Sept. 5



Image: "Evacuation" by Mekbib Gebertsadik

Amaridian USA/Heath Nash featured in Metropolitan Home's September 2008 issue






Amaridian Gallery
and South African designer Heath Nash are featured in the September 2008 Metropolitan Home section of "The Goods." Nash, known for using recycled plastic bottles and other objects to create new objects, has created a series of multi-colored pendant lamps as part of his Other People's Rubbish series. Amaridian(the symbolic combination of two words - the Zulu word "Amadlozi" meaning "ancestral spirits" and the word "meridian" the imaginary lines that transverse the globe) is one of the very few galleries in the United States that is decided to art of African disapora more specifically South Africa. Located in the trendy area SoHo, the gallery houses more goodies by Nash as well as others. Be sure to pick up the magazine as well as visit Amaridian soon in order more of Nash's works.

Images courtesy of Dezeen.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Photo of the Day: Wooster in Berlin



If I could take a magic marker and doodle on my boss the days would go by so much quicker. Be inspired!

Source: Wooster

Art Quote of the Day: Kelly Moore



"I have been painting the devil alot lately because sin has been all over me once I decided I needed the money for that mobile home. I have done some awful things trying to get that downpayment together."


-Kelly Moore

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Photo of the Day: JR/Favelas de Rio



For more information on French photographer JR, visit his site at www.jr-art.com.

SHEN JINGDONG'S "HERO" CLOSING ON AUGUST 29, 2008



SHEN JINGDONG : Hero
Curated by Eric C. Shiner

Closing August 29, 2008
Reception: August 7, 2008 / 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm


ChinaSquare is pleased to present SHEN JINGDONG: Hero, curated by Eric C. Shiner. The exhibit will be on view August 5th to 29th with an opening reception on Thursday, August 7th, from 6 to 8 pm. Born in Nanjing in 1965, Shen Jingdong received his masters degree from the Nanjing Institute of Arts in 1991. He was then conscripted to the Military Drama Troupe until 2007. Shen Jingdong's work taps into the vulnerability of the venerable by examining heroes of China's Cultural Revolution – most notably, members of the military. Serving in the military drama troupe for 16 years provided the artist ample exposure to military life and time to consider soldiers as sentient beings, rather than mere emblems of Communist thought. The plastic, manufactured soldiers Shen paints is in contrast to the observed humanity from his experience, but allows one to view these cultural icons as government play things gazing out with placid, unquestioning expressions. The mix of ideological and consumerist subject matter definitively places Shen's work -- alongside works by Takashi Murakami - in the post-pop period, attempting to digest the nation's transition into a consumer-driven society.

Not surprisingly, such critical examination of the validity of Communist ideals has not gone unnoticed by China's central government. Just two years ago, one of Shen Jingdong's installations grouped Chairman Mao with political dictators of other countries and was promptly banned from a major Beijing international art festival.Despite the controversy surrounding his work, pieces have already been collected by the China National Museum of Fine Arts and the Art Retreat Museum in Singapore. Well-received both critically and at auction, there is every reason to believe Shen Jingdong's talent will
continue to unveil itself.

Recent press on Shen Jingdong : Hero, at ChinaSquare Gallery has included the L Magazine , Blackbook Magazine and a full page spread along side Yue Minjun, Zhang Huan, Qiu Zhijie etc in Italian high fashion magazine, VELVET.

Eric C. Shiner is an independent curator and art historian specializing in Asian contemporary art. An assistant curator of the Yokohama Triennial in 2001, Shiner is an active writer and translator, a contributing editor for Art Asia Pacific magazine, and adjunct professor of Asian art history at Pace University in New York City.

A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies this exhibition. For more information please contact the gallery at info@chinasquareny.com.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) presents 'New Photography 2008: Josephine Meckseper & Mikhael Subotzky


NEW YORK CITY - The Museum of Modern Art presents New Photography 2008: Josephine Meckseper and Mikhael Subotzky, the latest installment of its annual fall showcase of significant recent work in contemporary photography. New Photography 2008: Josephine Meckseper and Mikhael Subotzky is organized by Roxana Marcoci, Curator, Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art, and will be on view from September 10, 2008, through January 5, 2009.

"HEAD MASTER" by Katsuya Kamo

David Byrne bike racks, NYC, 2008


The Hipster', Bedford & North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn


The Coffee Cup', Amsterdam Ave b/t 110th and 111th St (near The Hungarian Pastry Shop)


'The Wall Street', Wall Street (north side)


The Chelsea', 25th Street in front of PaceWildenstein


The Ladies' Mile', 5th Avenue in front of Bergdorf's

These functioning bike racks are designed by David Bryne of Talking Heads fame. Not a stranger to experimental installation art, Bryne has been designing since the 1990s and recently took over the Battery Maritime Building to transform it into a giant musical musical instrument (mainly composed of pipes, radiators and columns); the result was an old pipe organ and renamed it "Playing the Building." Only on view for a year, the bike racks will later be sold through the Pace/McGill Gallery so enjoy them before they become too expensive to view.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibits " Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities"



The Museum of Modern Art presents Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities, a contemporary reinterpretation of the centuries-old European “cabinet of curiosities” or Wunderkammer. These cabinets date back to Renaissance Europe, when private collectors began accumulating exotic, wondrous, fantastic, or bizarre objects via travels, scientific experiments and investigations, and other collecting methods. The organization and display of such collections were attempts to rationalize and categorize a vast bounty of information, and today’s museums can be understood as an outgrowth of them. On view through November 11, 2008.

Monday, August 25, 2008

SATURDAYS @ Phillips de Pury & Company, London


Phillips de Pury & Company is pleased to announce our SATURDAY@PHILLIPS auction of Contemporary & Urban Art, Photographs, Design, Jewellery, Watches, Art Toys & Japanese Character Toys to be held on Saturday September 6, 2008
at 12pm in LONDON.

Viewing
2 September, 10am-6pm
3 September, 10am-6pm
4 September, 10am-8pm
5 September, 10am-6pm
6 September, opens 9am

Reception 2 September, 6-9pm

Enquiries
Tobias Sirtl +44 20 7318 4040
Catalogues
+44 20 7308 4039 / +1 212 940 1240

Please view the SATURDAY@PHILLIPS catalogue online. To order the catalogue, visit www.phillipsdepury.com.

Phillips de Pury & Company
Howick Place SW1P 1BB

Wallpaper* is proud to be the media partner for Saturday@Phillips.

Wallpaper* magazine has a special offer for visitors to Phillips de Pury & Company, subscribe today and you will receive a
30% discount on your subscription.

Marilyn+Peter Frank: "An Improbable Coincidence of Wants" at Rowland Contemporary



Marilyn + Peter Frank present their first solo show of sculpture, painting, video and photography at the famed Rowland Contemporary Gallery. Make sure you check out this one of a kind event. The information is listed below as well as their website.


Opening Reception: Friday, September 5, 2008 from 6-9 pm
Show runs through October 25, 2008

Rowland Contemporary is located at 1118 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607
(At the corner of Fulton Market and May St. in the West Loop)

The gallery is now open Fridays; Saturdays from 11-5; or by appointment.

To visit Rowland Contemporary, click here.
To visit the Franks website, click here.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

KNOWN GALLERY & GUERILLAONE PRESENT "ROYALTY ART SHOW"

"WHO KILLED BARACK OBAMA?" IN POLAND



To read the article accompanying this photo, please click here.

Photo: Peter Fuss, Who Killed Barack Obama, 2008

Milton Bowens "Stitches in Time" Exhibition at Avisca Fine Art


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Avisca Fine Art Gallery

Presents:

Milton Bowens
“Stitches in Time”
an exhibition of mixed media work

September 12 – October 3, 2008


Avisca Fine Art gallery proudly announces the opening of "Stitches in Time," an exhibit by Milton Bowens, on Friday, September 12, 2008 from 6-9 pm. The exhibition will feature Bowens' current series of over 40 mixed media works, which draw on the visual tropes of African-American quilting, and offer a profound commentary on the universal striving for freedom, love, and hope. The exhibition will run at Avisca Fine Art gallery from September 12, 2008 through Friday, October 3, 2008.

Metaphorically and aesthetically rooted in the African-American tradition of quilting, each piece in “Stitches in Time” is a tapestry of a history, politics, music, and faith that is African American, but is also decidedly American. The images in this exhibition powerfully evoke American Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and sketch a political heritage from Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama. Bowens’ work not only reflects on the American past but also on the potentiality of America’s future.

A native of California, Bowens began his formal art training at the Renaissance Art School in the city of Oakland. After high school, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the California College of Arts and Crafts, but after a year enlisted in the United States Armed Forces where he became an illustrator. Bowens continued his education in the Arts, attending both Austin Peay State University, TN and Fayettevile State University, NC while serving his tour of duty in the military. He has been the subject of over twenty solo exhibitions since 1992, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Avisca Fine Art will also host an informal afternoon of conversation with the artist on his work and on the topic "Art, Dialogue and Community", on Sunday September 14 at 3 pm.


Avisca Fine Art is a contemporary fine art gallery that showcases work by emerging and mid-career African American artists, and artists from the Caribbean and Latin American. Through regular exhibitions, outreach, and related educational programs the gallery is dedicated to the cultural enrichment of the Marietta community and the southeast region.

Event Date:
September 12-October 3, 2008

Opening Reception:
Friday September 12, 2008
6 pm to 9 pm
(Open and free to the public)


Place:

Avisca Fine Art Gallery
507 Roswell Street
Marietta, GA 30060

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday 12 pm – 6 pm or by appointment


Contact: Byrma Braham
Tel.: 770.977.2732 - Fax: 770.509.0598
E-mail: contact@aviscafineart.com
www.aviscafineart.com

Thursday, August 21, 2008

CURSE OF THE BLACK GOLD Opens August 28 at The powerHouse Arena



powerhousebooks.com | powerhousearena.com
37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: (718) 666-3049
email: info@powerHouseBooks.com

Alison Brady & Ryoko Suzuki at Randall Scott Gallery, Aug. 23-Sept. 5, 2008


Alison Brady, Teal Suitcase


Ryoko Suzuki, Bind No. 2


RSG is excited to bring you the final segment of our 8 Summer exhibition,
Alison Brady and Ryoko Suzuki


Alison Brady
Alison Brady's imagery lingers in the discussion of madness and alienation in relationship with contemporary culture. She aims to stimulate unconscious emotions, desires, and sexual compulsions, all unified within a dynamic that vacillates between the real and the fantasized.
These emotions are depicted in terms of visual conflict through her imagery, and manifested in terms of grotesque exaggeration. While investigating issues related to the unconscious, elements such as eroticism, twisted humor, and horror come across. The creation of dichotomies between the sensual and the horrific, the beautiful and the destructive; result in a body of work comprised of deeply emotional and disturbing depictions of the unknown.


Ryoko Suzuki
Ryoko Suzuki comments on the cultural boundaries subjected to females and children in her native Japan. "Bind", a series of images in which Suzuki bound her body with blood soaked pigskin, was her declaration of independence form the confines that her parents and society placed upon her. As a child, she was taught to believe in the information provided her on how to live her life. When Suzuki removes the bindings, off camera, the temporary scars are her coming of age, a passage into the adoption of her own individuality, sexuality and Womanhood.
Ryoko Suzuki, currently is based in Berlin. Her images have been collected by the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo.



Randall Scott Gallery
1326 14th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20005

202-332-0806
202-332-0807 fax
www.randallscottgallery.com
info@randallscottgallery.com

Hours:
11AM-6PM Wed-Sat

Location
1/2 block south of Rhode Island at 14th Street NW
2nd floor above Thai Tanic Restaurant


Source: Randall Scott Gallery

The Bronx Museum x Artist Darcy Dahl = Celebration of "Insula"



Wednesday, September 3, 9pm–11pm

South Wing Entrance

The Bronx Museum Project Space

11 Bruckner Boulevard (at the corner of Lincoln Avenue)




Please join The Bronx Museum of the Arts as we host a reception for multi-media artist Darcy Dahl in celebration of his exhibit Insula. On view at The Bronx Museum Project Space through September 13th, Insula is a series of kinetic animations projected onto drawings that begin with the human figure.

The exhibition takes its title from the limbic part of the brain that involves translating objective physiological states into subjective emotional experiences. On display twenty-four hours a day, the shifting illumination of forms presents a visual experience that is constantly in flux.

The project space is made possible through the generous support of Gordon Roth.



For more information about The Bronx Museum of the Arts events, visit http://www.bronxmuseum.org


Directions:


By Train

6 train to 3rd Avenue/138th Street

Exit near intersection of Grand Concourse and E 138th St

Start out going
South on Grand Concourse towards E 138th St

Turn left onto E 138th St

Turn right onto Lincoln Ave

Turn right onto Bruckner Blvd



By Bus
Take the Bx1 to 138th Street and 3rd Avenue

Walk to the intersection of 138th Street and Lincoln Boulevard

Turn right onto Lincoln Ave

Turn right onto Bruckner Blvd



The Bronx Museum of the Arts

1040 Grand Concourse

Bronx, New York 10456

tel/ 718.681.6000

fax/ 718.681.6181



Source: The Bronx Museum of Arts

"Catalyst" September Show at FIFTY24SF Gallery



FIFTY24SF Gallery Presents the Group Show “Catalyst”
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 4, 2008 from 7–9:30 p.m.


“Catalyst” is a group exhibition that will include eight of today's most prominent visual artists from the abrasive music community.

The exhibit will bring together an underground community of artists in which aural and visual expressions converge. Artwork on display will comprise of a wide source of media, including new two-dimensional paintings, drawings, video installations, screen prints as well as an installation of seminal works from each of the artists’ extensive catalogues. The exhibit will be curated by Brett Aronson.

The “Catalyst” group show will be on display at FIFTY24SF Gallery from September 4–25, 2008.

Featured artists include:

Josh Graham
Josh Graham is a graphic designer, visual artist, director, and songwriter. As a graphic designer, he has worked with a variety of bands including Jesu, Neurosis, Tombs, Grails, Blood & Time on their album art, silk-screened posters, and other merchandise. Graham has directed more than twelve music videos, including ones for Dillinger Escape Plan, Enon, Isis, Underoath, and Neurosis. As a songwriter, Graham performs in the critically acclaimed Battle of Mice, Red Sparowes, and his new venture A Storm Of Light.

For more information on Josh Graham, please visit: http://www.suspendedinlight.com/

Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner spent much of the 1990s smoking weed and claiming to be straightedge. Today, he is the figurehead of a bizarre religious cult known as Hydra Head Records, an elitist music sect heralded in the industry for its ability to sell the same product to its customers in six or seven different colors.

He formed ISIS, a band which performs in a style that is referred to as post-metal. Turner participates in several musical projects including working with bands Old Man Gloom, House Of Low Culture, Drawing Voices, and Lotus Eaters. He also does drawings and designs album covers.

For more information on Aaron Turner, please visit his blog: http://www.aaronbturner.blogspot.com/

Seldon Hunt
Seldon Hunt is an artist, designer, illustrator, photographer, writer, and filmmaker that has designed posters and cover art for many contemporary musical visionaries including Neurosis, Khanate, Jesu, Null, Hydrahead Records, Isis, Kid 606, Lotus Eaters, Troum, etc. He has made documentaries about ISIS, subculture in Antwerp, and recently Earth and Dylan Carlson. He has been featured in numerous publications including Terrorizer, Revolver, Rocksound, Versus, iDn, Vice, Computer Arts, and he has appeared in documentaries covering modern rock culture.

For more information on Seldon Hunt, please visit: http://www.seldonhunt.com/

Aaron Horkey
Aaron Horkey was raised in the small farming community of Windom, Minnesota. He is known for his debilitating social ineptitude, enjoys desolation, and he has a perverse attention to detail. Currently ensconced in a rustic whistle stop just west of the Mississippi, he whiles away the hours staring at his workstation and cultivating ulcers until eventually giving into the overwhelming desire to work in the yard. Horkey is the sole survivor of the Black Osprey Dead Arts Society and founding member of the Cottonwood County Druids Skateboard Gang.

For more information on Aaron Horkey, please visit: http://www.burlesquedesign.com/

Justin Bartlett
Inspired by religious and theological conflicts, environmental decay, and man's inhumanity, Justin Bartlett spends hours and hours obsessing over every last detail. Be it hand-drawn, corpse-ridden manifestations, or digital collage works, his work is an excessively detailed visual experience. Bartlett has illustrated and designed for a diverse range of bands including SUNN O))), Gorgoroth, Apoptygma Berzerk, Cadaver, Aura Noir, Trap Them, and Intronaut. He has illustrated for Adbusters and Vice Magazine and has been featured in Rock Sound and Terrorizer. As of late he is working on projects for Creature Skateboards and a Norwegian line of apparel called "Anti-Sweden."

For more information on Justin Bartlett, please visit: http://www.wearetherobots.com/

Stephen Kasner
Stephen Kasner was born in 1970 and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. The cloudy, icy winters and cold steel mills of the Northeast Coast ingrained a sense of existential struggle for survival and spiritual introspection in the artist from the beginning.

Kasner studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art, earning a BFA with a major in Illustration and double minors in Drawing and Photography. His interest in combining art with music has continually surfaced throughout his career. He has collaborated on visuals with many eclectic musicians, including Martin Grech, SUNN 0))), darsombra, Khlyst, Integrity, Lotus Eaters, and others. He continually pursues his own personal exploration in music under the moniker Blood Fountains, and he is collaborating with Dwid Hellion and Jacob Bannon as a trio called Irons.

Kasner's work has been exhibited worldwide with exhibitions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Berlin. His first solo exhibition in New York City will be held at Last Rites Gallery in February 2009.

To learn more about Stephen Kasner, please visit: http://www.stephenkasner.com/

Dwid Hellion
Dwid Hellion was born in Indiana and currently resides in Belgium. He is the founding member/frontman of pioneering hardcore metal band Integrity. He is currently a member of the band Irons. In addition, Hellion is also a visual artist who has created albums for Moutheater, Vegas, Pulling Teeth, and Living Hell.

For more information on Dwid Hellion, please visit: http://www.dwidhellion.com/

Florian Bertmer
Florian Bertmer was born in Germany in 1978 and to his mother's surprise drew his first skull at the age of five. He smokes a pack a day and drinks way too much Coca Cola when he is not at the drawing table. He is currently studying Illustration in Münster, Germany. He has worked for Converge, Napalm Death, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Integrity, Pig Destroyer, The Hope Conspiracy, Dillinger Escape Plan, Job for a Cowboy and many other bands.

To learn more about Florian Bertmer, please visit: http://www.myspace.com/soulboy69

***************************************************************************************************************
Upcoming Shows at FIFTY24SF Gallery
October:
Upper Level Gallery: Word to Mother, Empte, Misty Avlia Ovalles
Ground Level Gallery: Koralie

November:
Upper Level and Ground Level Gallery: Insect

FIFTY24SF Gallery Contact Information
Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Sunday from 12–6 p.m. and by appointment
Address: 252 & 248 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
Contact: Kimberly Verde / Phone: (415) 252-9144 / Email: Kimberly@FIFTY24SF.com

Source: Lisa Revelli at Upper Playground

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

FRIDAY NIGHTS, K2 LOUNGE @ The Rubin Museum of Art



Every Friday
Time: 7:00 - 10:00 PM / Guest performances start at 7 p.m.
Admission: Gallery admission is free to all - Fridays 7–10 p.m. + Free Gallery Tour

The Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) is home to a comprehensive collection of art from the Himalayas and surrounding regions. The artistic heritage of this vast and culturally varied area of the world remains relatively obscure. Through changing exhibitions and an array of engaging public programs, RMA offers opportunities to explore the artistic legacy of the Himalayan region and to appreciate its place in the context of world cultures.

RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
150 West 17th Street
Manhattan, NYC
T: 212-620-5000 x344

For more information: www.rmanyc.org/programs-events

Artist Quote of the Day: Andy Warhol



"Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art."
-Andy Warhol

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Famed Photographer Johnny Nunez for Rockport's "Are You Estabished" Campaign



Famed celebrity photographer and friend Johnny Nunez has been hand selected to appear in Rockport's new Established 71 Campaign aimed at marketing rising talent in the arts as well as introducing a diverse shoe collection globally. There is more information listed below in the official press release. Go Team Nunez!


CANTON, Mass.--(Business Wire)--

Building on the global momentum of its Established 1971
collection, The Rockport Company will introduce "Are You
Established?"--a marketing and advertising campaign featuring rising
talent and influencers in music, entertainment and fashion. Launching
this June, the campaign includes a series of portraits, visually
depicting the unique style and personality of each talent and fresh
looks from the new Established 1971 collection. The campaign will
include:

-- Terence J - Terence is an established television host, radio
personality and community leader. As the co-host of BET's 106
& Park, Terence has contributed to making the show the highest
rated music series of all time and has helped 106 & Park
expand into additional global markets.

-- DJ Cassidy - Cassidy's unique musical taste and style of
blending different musical genres, make him the go to DJ to
stars such as Diddy, Oprah, and Kanye West. Cassidy recently
performed at Jay-Z's wedding reception.

-- Raheem DeVaughn - DeVaughn is a Grammy-nominated R&B artist.
His recently released sophomore album "Love Behind Melody"
debuted at #5 on the Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart.

-- Johnny Nunez - Nunez is a world-renowned photographer to the
stars. He is recognized as one of Wire image's top five most
connected photographers and his photos appear in countless
publications featuring today's hottest celebrities.

-- Bee Nguyen - Nguyen is a marketing guru and fashion
tastemaker. Formerly a footwear brand manager, his
entrepreneurial spirit and impeccable sense of style has led
him to launch Hot Air, a luxury sportswear collection,
currently sold in over 35 retail outlets.

"We partnered with authentic, highly-respected tastemakers
connected by their stories of perseverance and success,"
said Shari
Fabiani, Rockport Established 1971 category director. "Rockport will
capture the essence of Established 1971 through their stories and
distinct styles and showcase contemporary collections and innovative
technologies that define the brand."


Developed by Rockport, the "Are You Established?" print campaign
will begin in June and run through the remainder of this year in
issues of national magazines such as XXL, Antenna, Vapors, Giant, Slam
and Complex. The campaign also includes online and outdoor advertising
as well as events, featuring each talent, in cities nationwide. Some
key styles--inspired and influenced by trends and themes found
worldwide--launching this summer and featured in the campaign include
the:

-- Bridgeport 2 - urban-contemporary update to the classic boat
shoe with unique color patterns and premium material
combinations

-- Heisley - eclectic high-top style popping with silver metallic
mesh materials

-- 7100 - iconic, old school Rockport shoe updated with a
"liquid" metallic shimmer

Launched in 2006, Established 1971 is a luxury-inspired
metro-urban division within The Rockport Company. The collection
seamlessly meshes street-inspired style with advanced technology to
provide shoes that are not only on-trend and stylish, but also offer
the support, stability and overall comfort that has defined the
Rockport brand for nearly 40 years.

About Rockport
The Rockport Company, LLC, a leading brand within the adidas Group
portfolio, designs, distributes and markets lifestyle footwear and
accessories for men and women worldwide. Rockport is headquartered in
Canton, Massachusetts. For additional information on Rockport, please
visit www.rockport.com.

For The Rockport Company, LLC
Valerie Chiam, 212-605-8303
Valerie@epiphanymediallc.com

Image courtesy of Daylife.com.

COMING SOON: MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICA, SOHO, NYC




Monday, August 18, 2008

Keith Haring Celebrated with exhibit at Ludwig Museum



Budapest, Hungary - Keith Haring, having died of AIDS at the age of 31, would be 50 years old in 2008. His anniversary is going to be celebrated with several exhibitions and events all over the world. The Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest contributes to the celebration with a unique exhibition organized in co-operation with the Keith Haring Foundation in New York. It will be the first time that such a comprehensive overview on his oeuvre is exhibited in Hungary, which is fascinatingly rich and multifaceted, although it embraces merely a decade.

Haring’s characteristic figures, the ‘radiant baby’ and the ‘barking dog’ are well-known to millions of people. He developed this easily recognizable style (based on line) as a means of expression first in the New York Metro system by drawing on empty advertisement spaces. He was inspired by the work of graffiti artists and hip hop culture. Several other trends and artistic strategies also influenced his work, from Abstract Expressionism to Andy Warhol and Pop Art. Although he used various materials and surfaces – paper, waterproof canvas, huge mural surfaces, cars or even human bodies – he always created his paintings and drawings with a single light gesture, without making sketches or corrections.

For Haring, art’s most important task was communication. He wanted to reach as wide an audience as possible, which is why he promoted his works not only in museums and exhibitions, but on a variety of surfaces in various forms. Keith Haring’s art could be found on public spaces or on products he sold in his own shop - the Pop Shop. Although it was his intention to make his art accessible for the general public, today the price of his works sets records on the art market that are unaffordable to most.

In his works the criticism of American consumer society merges with elements of Christian iconography or symbols of civilizations outside Europe (or the Earth.) The inhabitants of this characteristic universe are cartoon figures, televisions, computers, dollar signs, pyramids and flying saucers; also included are his iconic people and dogs, angels and monsters. By means of his unique, complex system of symbols, he evokes the universal visions of violence and power, love and desire, and illness and death. One of Keith Haring’s last works, the Altarpiece belongs to the Ludwig Museum’s collection. It is to be exhibited in a new context within the framework of this exhibition. The Keith Haring Foundation’s mission is to protect the legacy of Keith Haring, his art, and his ideals. The Foundation also supports children’s charities and organizations involved in the fight against AIDS.

The exhibition will be displayed in the Ludwig Museum on 800 square meters, with 11 paintings and more than 80 graphics representing Keith Haring’s oeuvre between 1979-1989. The exhibition is curated by Krisztina SzipÅ‘cs. Visit The Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art at : www.ludwigmuseum.hu/

Image credit: Keith Haring - Andy Mouse, 1985 - Acrylic on Canvas - 34 x 34 inches, Estate of Keith Haring

Source: Art Knowledge News

High Art & Low Country: A Friend-Raiser with Jonathan Green at The Morris Museum of Art




The Morris Museum's
Friends of African American Art invite you to attend a low country celebration

High Art and Low Country
A Friend-Raiser with Jonathan Green

Friday, September 5, 2008
FoAAA and museum members, $35
nonmembers, $50
6:00 p.m.: FoAAA members-only reception
6:30 p.m.: Lecture
7:00 p.m.: Low country boil & entertainment

Low Country Casual
RSVP by August 29


Morris Museum of Art
1 Tenth Street
Augusta, Georgia 30901
706-724-7501
www.themorris.org


Image: Jonathan Green, The Congregation (detail), 1990. Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Brooklyn Museum announces "Fall Art Classes"




Gallery/Studio Program
The Brooklyn Museum's Gallery/Studio Program offers fun and challenging studio art courses for students ages six to adult. Through instruction in the gallery and studio, each course develops skills in viewing and creating art. Participants explore the Museum's renowned collections, discover new art materials, and create their own works of art inspired by objects in the galleries. Classes include instruction in painting, drawing, sculpture, film, and digital photography.

Schedule
Saturday Classes: October 4-December 13
Sunday Classes: October 5-December 14
No Classes: November 29 and 30

Most classes are two hours long; the digital film class is four hours long.

Registration forms and a detailed list of the courses can be found by clicking here. Forms may be mailed, faxed, or dropped off at the Museum's Independence Community Foundation Visitor Center from August 4 to September 28.

Scholarship and Work-Study

To learn more about receiving a scholarship (for ages six to eighteen) or participating in the teen work-study program, please click on the following links:
Scholarship Information
Work-Study Program
Applications are due September 10.


Photo Credit: Aaron Deetz

SOA INVITES YOU TO THE "SEEN ON AUDIO" EXHIBIT



The Sound of Art has partnered with 55DSL to bring you SEEN ON AUDIO. This will be an exhibit of sorts;Artists from the SOUND OF ART camp have all created pieces of art that reflect the theme from 55DSL's current collection - AUDIO DIGITAL. Creating art using found objects, an emphasis on how environmentally conscious visual artist can be by partaking in the recycling movement.

55DSL will be exhibiting their newest collection - AUDIO DIGITAL.

The art work will be complemented by the sounds of a live DJ on the 1's and 2's...oh yeah, the DJ's is none other than the legendary PETE ROCK...

...and of course all elements of a great NYCelebration will be in full effect: wine cellar sorbets, drinks, giveaways and good people.

Looking forward to seeing you at the classic SOA experience and witha partner like 55DSL it could onyl be FRESH!!!

Here are the Facts:
DATE: THIS THURSDAY, AUG. 21, 2008
TIME: 6-9pm
SPOT: 55DSL STORE
281 Lafayette St.
(btwn. E.Houston and Prince St.


RSVP: rsvp@soundofart.net


Source: The Sound of Art

Friday, August 15, 2008

What were the "Brucke, Die (The Bridge) ?"







The Die Brucke (The Bridge) were an important avant-garde group of German Expressionists based in Dresden, 1905-13, with radical political and social views expressed through modern, urban subject matter or landscapes and figures. Influenced by the latest Parisian ideas and primitive non-European art. Look for bright colours, bold outlines and deliberately unsophisticated techniques.

Cumming, Robert (2001). Art: A Field Guide (pg. 379). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Images: Lithographic poster by Fritz Bleyl; Marzella (1909-10) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Our Father Who Art in Heaven, hand-colored woodcut by Max Pechstein, 1921.

T. Magic: Global Meltdown



Fellow artist and friend in my head, T. Magic, is now revealing the release of this highly anticipated, highly needed 'Global Meltdown' T-Shirt. Available only in black and white, this limited edition is on a 'first come first serve' basis for the first 50 customers. Once you own one of these items you can truly call yourself a "T. Magicworld" citizen

Now available at:

www.tmagicworld.myshopify.com

FALL SNEAK PREVIEW @ THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK




The Museum of the City of New York has just unveiled a stunning new gallery, new terraces, and curatorial center—the building’s first expansion since 1932! Join them in October as they celebrate the gallery’s inaugural exhibition entitled "Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940." Please refer to the information below and mark this event on your calendar!

Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940
Oct 3 through Feb 22


The 1920s and ‘30s witnessed a burst of creative energy in the fields of architecture, design, and fashion. Shaping new styles of buildings and furnishings, redefining fashion, and giving visual form to avant-garde performing arts, architects and designers forged a still-influential modern aesthetic. The era’s most creative figures rarely worked in isolation, preferring instead to participate in international dialogues that crossed national boundaries and linked capital cities in collaborative artistic enterprise. Between the world wars, no two cities engaged in a more fertile conversation than Paris, capital of 19th-century refinement, and New York, the upstart challenger that represented 20th-century dynamism.

Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940 will explore not only architecture and design, but also film, fashion, and the performing arts. Styles from Art Deco to neo-romanticism will be examined along with the work of such legendary figures as Helena Rubinstein, Coco Chanel, Salvador Dali­­, and Josephine Baker, and lesser-known figures such as costume and set designer Pavel Tchelitchew. The exhibition and its accompanying publication (Monacelli Press, forthcoming in September 2008) will bring together never-before-exhibited drawings, furnishings, decorative objects, costumes, photographs, posters, and films.

Featured image: Radiator grille (detail) inspired by the 1925 Parisian decorative arts exposition and featured in New York's Squibb Building, 1930. Designed by Buchman & Kahn. Museum of the City of New York, Ely Jacques Kahn Collection.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Patrick Martinez & Munk One at FIFTY24LA Gallery




Be sure to check out one of my favorite galleries, FIFTY24LA GALLERY, as they reveal yet another breathtaking show featuring artists Patrick Martinez and Munk One. The information is listed so please if you're in the greater Los Angeles stop by the gallery and tell them I HEART ART sent you.

THURSDAY AUGUST 14TH, 2008. 7PM TO 9:30 PM
SHOWING THROUGH OCTOBER 4TH 2008

UPPER PLAYGROUND ALONG WITH FIFTY24LA GALLERY PRESENTS
NEW WORKS BY MUNK ONE AND PATRICK MARTINEZ

www.patrickmunez.com

www.enjoymunk.com

www.upperplaygroundstore.com