Real Talk: 01.30.10

"All artists are vain, they long to be recognised and to leave something to posterity. They want to be loved, and at the same time they want to be free. But nobody is free."
::: Francis Bacon:::

Clic Gallery | MAGDA BIERNAT | Continental Bounce

CLIC GALLERY presents an exhibition


CONTINENTAL BOUNCE
BY MAGDA BIERNAT

February 2 - March 2, 2010

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 4th, 6-9 pm


MAGDA BIERNAT's graceful, color-saturated photographs of architectural structures recently won her first place in the Architecture/Interiors category at the 2009 International Photography Awards. CONTINENTAL BOUNCE showcases the photographs taken during the year she spent traveling the world, photographing the built environment and living spaces in 17 countries. Her vibrant, minutely detailed shots are deliberately void of any known geographic or cultural identifiers, and the viewer is left to search out any possible clues of location as they look at an arid South African township, a futuristic Taiwanese diving resort, or the interior of a yurt in Mongolia. Biernat's photogaphs of uninhabited rooms and homes express a sense of the disorienting universality of human spaces. The compositions are quiet and pristine, but despite the emptiness of the scenes, there is a warmth and richness to the images, and a respectful fascination with the unexamined landmarks and objects of everyday life.

A native of Poland currently based in New York, MAGDA BIERNAT has exhibited in Europe and the United States since 2001. Her photographs have appeared in Metropolis Magazine, Afar Magazine, and ELLE Décor. CONTINENTAL BOUNCE is her solo debut at a New York gallery.


Clic Bookstore & Gallery
424 Broome Street, New York, NY 10013


Tue-Sun 12 pm - 7 pm
broome@clicgallery.com
212-219-9308


New York - East Hampton - St. Barth
www.clicgallery.com

Leonardo da Vinci as MONA LISA?

ROME (AP).- The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is shrouded in mystery: How did he die? Are the remains buried in a French chateau really those of the Renaissance master? Was the "Mona Lisa" a self-portrait in disguise? A group of Italian scientists believes the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains — and they say they are seeking permission from French authorities to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing. "We don't know what we'll find if the tomb is opened, we could even just find grains and dust," says Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating in the project. "But if the remains are well kept, they are a biological archive that registers events in a person's life, and sometimes in their death."

If the skull is intact, the scientists can go to the heart of a question that has fascinated scholars and the public for centuries: the identity of the "Mona Lisa." Recreating a virtual and then physical reconstruction of Leonardo's face, they can compare it with the smiling face in the painting, experts involved in the project told The Associated Press.

The leader of the group, Silvano Vinceti, told the AP that he plans to press his case with the French officials in charge of the purported burial site at Amboise Castle early next week. But the Italian enthusiasm may be premature.

In France, exhumation requires a long legal procedure, and precedent suggests it's likely to take even longer when it involves a person of great note such as Leonardo.

Jean-Louis Sureau, director of the medieval-era castle located in France's Loire Valley, said that once a formal request is made, a commission of experts would be set up. Any such request would then be discussed with the French Ministry of Culture, Sureau said.

Leonardo moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who named him "first painter to the king." He spent the last three years of his life there, and died in Cloux, near the monarch's summer retreat of Amboise, in 1519 at age 67. The artist's original burial place, the palace church of Saint Florentine, was destroyed during the French Revolution and remains that are believed to be his were eventually reburied in the Saint-Hubert Chapel near the castle.

The tombstone says simply, "Leonardo da Vinci;" a notice at the site informs visitors they are the presumed remains of the artist, as do guidebooks.

"The Amboise tomb is a symbolic tomb; it's a big question mark," said Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a museum dedicated to Leonardo in his Tuscan hometown of Vinci. Vezzosi, who is not involved in the project, said that investigating the tomb could help identify the artist's bones with certainty and solve other questions, such as the cause of his death. He said he asked to open the tomb in 2004 to study the remains, but the Amboise Castle turned him down.

As for the latest Italian proposal, Vinceti says preliminary conversations took place several years ago and he plans to follow up with a request next week to set up a meeting to explain the project in detail. This would pave the way for a formal request, he said.

The group of 100 experts involved in the project, called the National Committee for Historical and Artistic Heritage, was created in 2003 with the aim of "solving the great enigmas of the past," said Vinceti, who has written books on art and literature.

Arguably the world's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it drew some 8.5 million visitors last year. Mystery has surrounded the identity of the painting's subject for centuries, with speculation ranging from the wife of a Florentine merchant to Leonardo's own mother.

That Leonardo intended the "Mona Lisa" as a self-portrait in disguise is a possibility that has intrigued and divided scholars. Theories have abounded: Some think that Leonardo's taste for pranks and riddles might have led him to conceal his own identity behind that baffling smile; others have speculated that, given Leonardo's presumed homosexuality, the painting hid an androgynous lover. Some have used digital analysis to superimpose Leonardo's bearded self-portrait over the "Mona Lisa" to show how the facial features perfectly aligned.

If granted access to the grave site, the Italian experts plan to use a miniature camera and ground-penetrating radar — which produces images of an underground space using radar waves— to confirm the presence of bones. The scientists would then exhume the remains and attempt to date the bones with carbon testing. At the heart of the proposed study is the effort to ascertain whether the remains are actually Leonardo's, including with DNA testing.

Vezzosi questions the feasibility of a DNA comparison, saying he is unaware of any direct descendants of Leonardo or of tombs that could be attributed with certainty to the artist's close relatives. Gruppioni said DNA extracted from the bones could also eventually be compared to DNA found elsewhere. For example, Leonardo is thought to have smudged colors on the canvas with his thumb, possibly using saliva, meaning DNA might be found on his paintings, though Gruppioni conceded this was a long shot. Even in the absence of DNA testing, other tests could provide useful information, including whether the bones belonged to a man or woman, and whether the person died young or old.

"We can have various levels of probability in the attribution of the bones," Gruppioni said. "To have a very high probability, DNA testing is necessary."

The experts would also look for any pathology or other evidence of the cause of death. Tuberculosis or syphilis, for example, would leave significant traces in the bone structure, said Vinceti. In the best-case scenario — that of a well-preserved skull — the group would take a CAT scan and reconstruct the face, said Francesco Mallegni, an anthropology professor who specializes in reconstructions and has recreated the faces of famous Italians, including Dante.

Even within the committee, experts are divided over the identity of the "Mona Lisa."

Vinceti believes that a tradition of considering the self-portrait to be not just a faithful imitation of one's features but a representation of one's spiritual identity may have resonated with Leonardo.

Vezzosi, the museum director, dismissed as "baseless and senseless" the idea that the "Mona Lisa" could be a self-portrait of Leonardo. The painting is "like a mirror: Everybody starts from his own hypothesis or obsession and tries to find it there," Vezzosi said in a telephone interview. He said most researchers believe the woman may have been either a concubine of the artist's sponsor, the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici, or Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The traditional view is that the name "Mona Lisa" comes from the silk merchant's wife, as well as its Italian name: "La Gioconda."

Associated Press writer Deborah Seward in Paris and Ariel David in Rome contributed to this report. / By: Alessandra Rizzo, Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

Source: AKN

REAL TALK: 01.21.10

I don't believe in art. I believe in artists.

-Marcel Duchamp

FIRST LOOK | Banksy "Exit Through The Gift Shop"

Fifty24SF Gallery | DAVID CHOE "Character Assassination"

OPENING RECEPTION:February 5, 2010, 7/9:30 PM

248 FILMORE ST.

SAN FRANCISCO

This exhibit runs from February 5-March 24, 2010

upperplayground.com

fifty24sf.com

i.heart.art@ COUP D'ETAT ART COLLECTIVE'S "Live To Change Something Through Art"

Coup d'etat Art Collective and Restoration Plaza have teamed up with Puma to create the "Live To Change Something Through Art" Exhbition. I had the honor and the privilege of interviewing the guys, courtesy of Creme-Magazine, and viewing the works that are on display. This exhibition is up until February 28, 2010 so be sure to visit it before BK before that date. To view a few videos of participating artists in the show, click HERE. The Skylight Gallery is open to the public from Wednesday to Friday from 11AM to 6PM and on Saturday from 1PM to 6PM. Exhibitions are free of charge.

Restoration
1368 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY 11216

FIRST LOOK : Krink Jumbo K-51 Markers

What a breath of fresh air? These new markers by Krink remind me of childhood projects in art class. But these are not for kids but for adults to enjoy. Available in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, they are quick drying and usable on almost any surface imaginable: glass, metal, canvas, wood and more. With a ink capacity of 30ml and a "Made in the USA" stamp, these babies are coming to your local art store soon.

Source

MOCA | 30 Works for 30 Years | Anselm Keifer "Departure from Egypt"

Anselm Kiefer, Departure from Egypt, 1984, oil, straw, lacquer, and lead on canvas, 149 1/2 x 221 in., collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, purchased with funds provided by Douglas S. Cramer, Beatrice and Philip Gersh, Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg, Joan and Fred Nicholas, Robert A. Rowan, Pippa Scott, and an anonymous donor

www.moca.org

THE GRENADE ROOM | The Chair and the Maiden | Anton S. Kandinsky

SPARK THE REVOLUTION

ANTON S. KANDINSKY PRESENTS HIS GOLDEN GRENADE TO BE IN CONTENTION WITH THE SHOT THAT WAS HEARD AROUND THE WORLD. A SYMBOL OF THE WORLD'S GREED AND EXCESS, THE GOLDEN GRENADE EMBODIES ALL THE CONTEMPORARY DESIRES OF WEALTH AND INDIFFERENCE TO THE NEEDS OF FELLOW HUMANITY. IN WHAT WILL BECOME ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING STATEMENTS OF THIS CENTURY AND CENTURIES TO COME, THIS ICONIC IMAGE AND ITS SUBSEQUENT DESTRUCTION WILL BE A CALL FOR REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN WHICH VALUES ARE FUNDAMENTALLY RESHUFFLED; DESTROYING, BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY, THE INDIFFERENCE TO THE HUMAN CONDITION. KANDINSKY HOPES TO REPLACE THE AGE OLD MANTRA OF GREED AND DESIRE WITH THE VALUE OF ART AND ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS; TO FINALLY PLACE ART IN ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE OF ADMIRATION AND SIGNIFICANCE. TO SIMPLY STATE THAT THROUGH ART AND ONLY ART CAN THERE BE A RESOLUTION TO ALL OF MANKIND'S WEARIES.

THE GOLDEN GRENADE WILL BE CONSTRUCTED OF PURE GOLD, THE ANTIQUITY OF WEALTH, AND EMBELLISHED WITH DIAMONDS. UPON ITS CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLETION OF ITS WORLD TOUR, THE GRENADE WILL BE MADE LIVE AND ITS DETONATION IN A REMOTE DESERT, RECORDED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO COME.

YOUR SUPPORT IN THIS HISTORIC EVENT WILL BE THE SPARK OF THE REVOLUTION...

Source

KING OF THE STREETS: Banksy or Robbo

Remember late year I posted of Banksy's new work down at Regent Canal to beautify old graffiti ? Well it seems as if he covered up work belonging to street artist Robbo and a battle has begun. Robbo, no stranger to the London graffiti scene, has struck back and covered a partial of Banksy's work as well. Lets see how long this battle will last. For a more in-depth look into this "minor" mistake, head over to Mare 139 and decide who's right and who's wrong.

BECHTLER MUSEUM OF MODERN ART | European Modern Art | Opened 01.02.10

CHARLOTTE, NC.- The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the only museum dedicated to the exhibition of mid 20th-century European modern art in the southeast, opened to the public Saturday, January 2, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The building, designed by world renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta, is destined to become an iconic structure with its boldly cantilevered fourth floor exhibition gallery, soaring glass and steel atrium and terra cotta exterior. Only a handful of the artworks in the Bechtler collection have been on public view in the United States. Until now, the collection was privately held by the Bechtler family and has since been committed to the city of Charlotte.

The museum is named after the family of Andreas Bechtler, a Charlotte resident and native of Switzerland who assembled and inherited a collection of more than 1,400 artworks created by major figures of 20th-century modernism and donated it to the public trust. The Bechtler collection reflects most of the important art movements and schools from the 20th century with a deep holding of the School of Paris after World War II.

For more, click HERE.

SOURCE: AKN