Artists Unite Issue

The doors hadn’t even opened, and already the line wound past the corner and wrapped around itself several times. Such was the draw that five paintings worth a couple hundred million, in one room, by one artist could have. I hadn’t managed to make it over to the Neue Galerie before, and the quintet of canvases by Gustav Klimt was a pretty compelling reason for a visit. Was it really worth it? Do you need to make it over there before they’re likely to be sequestered in private collections, away from your eyes forever? Viewing an original work of art with ones own eyes is so personal an experience that I can’t adequately answer those questions. The difference between seeing the art vs. looking at a reproduction is so vast, that personally, I always find it worth it because I learn so much, and the experience provokes so much thought, even in those rare cases when I find the reproduction outclasses the original.

Displayed behind glass, “Adele Bloch-Bauer I” (55-1/8″ x 55-1/8″, oil, silver, and gold on canvas, 1907), the painting for which Ronald S. Lauder paid $135 million, is still undeniably stunning. I’ve seen it a thousand times in reproduction, but had never seen it. The gold is more matte than it seems in photos, shimmering rather than glittering like tesserae, exuding more warmth than bling. While the skin is porcelain smooth, some of the gold areas are textural and built up. The composition flows like music, and respecting the boundaries of utmost decorum befitting the sitter, it does nothing so much as exude sexiness and desirability.

Seeing the photo of Adele Bauer-Bloch on the exhibition signage, I was a trifle surprised to see she was, how can I put it? A bit mieskeit (Yiddish for “Oy vey, a fashion model she isn’t!”). Yet both of Klimt’s portraits of her, especially the one pictured here, manage to be exactingly true likenesses, and portray an incredibly attractive, sexy woman. Klimt conveyed something ethereal that cleary eluded the camera. The combination of her seductively languid yet intelligent gaze, the unusual pose of her long-fingered hands (apparently to hide a physical defect), and the sinuous shapes all work together to overtake the senses and render the viewer helpless. The hieroglyphical motifs around her face and adorning her flowing robe (see detail) heighten the aura of sensual mystique — one could almost believe that Klimt has encoded a secret message about the relationship between himself and the sitter. This painting is inarguably the star of the show, but the other pieces in this war-restitution package to the heirs of Bloch-Bauer are captivating in their own right, and besides which, there’s more to see at the Neue Galerie to merit the $15 cover and wait in line. The colors of the “Birch Forest,” “Apple Tree I,” and “Houses at Unterach on the Attersee” are all more subdued than they appear in goosed-up reproductions. The “Birch Forest” conveys the subtleties of the diffuse light deep in the woods. Klimt has stylized the scene but not to the point of being decorative. The influence of pointillism is apparent, but Klimt’s approach is far from derivative. The palette and compositional rhythms accurately express the nature lover’s experience. (The color of this reproduction is horrid.)

The later portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer is ungilded and the handling of the paint much rougher by comparison, yet it is also a large, imposing canvas (74-3/4″h x 47-1/4″w). Adele continues to captivate, her head propped atop an elongated neck hidden by a bejewelled choker. Michael Kimmelman aptly describes this “second Adele, painted in 1912: a slender, sinuous Coke-bottle-shaped figure, more chaste than carnal…” yet still a magnificent presence, as she towers above the viewer in this life-size portrait.

In the adjacent gallery, a wall of drawings by Egon Schiele (not x-rated), such as “Erich Lederer Drawing on the Floor, 1912″ had a freshness, directness, and confidence that brought to mind contemporary painter Elizabeth Peyton, though stylistically there’s not much connection. This gallery contained numerous sketches and drawings by Klimt, including two that were racy enough to make the crowd collectively blush, even by today’s standards (”Reclining semi-nude facing right” and “The Virgin”). These two pieces were heavily erotic and voyeuristic while being neither lewd nor pornographic, a glaring contrast to most of the sexual imagery we encounter at every turn these days. Also on display at the Neue Galerie are some paintings and drawings by Oskar Kokoschka, some very eerie drawings by Alfred Kubin, Viennese furniture and tableware, and more fine examples of German and Austrian art.

(FYI: the Klimt show has been extended to October 9th, 2006.)

Hey Friends,
I am glad to be playing some fun gigs this month!

Click here for additional show info:
http://www.karenhudson.com/gigs.html

Back to business here in the Big Apple:
SAT Oct 14th An Beal Bocht Café 245 W 238th Street, Riverdale, NY FREE Full Band Show
MON Oct 30th Rodeo Bar 10PM 375 Third Ave, corner 27th St….Full band show—
So what if its Monday? Don’t miss it! www.rodeobar.com

PLUS:
Announcing the Fall/Winter season of
Riverdale Round-up at An Beal Bocht Café
Please mark your calendars for this fabulous monthly show, with a cavalcade of stars, bringing a little bit of downtown—uptown, to my neck of the woods! I hear they’re calling this monthly hang—“Rodeo North”! Thanks to a great group of die-hard country music fans (especially Arthur and Susan, Tom, and the Despas Clan), the bar is continuing the series.

So be sure to high-tail it up to the Bronx, to this little watering hole, serving up Guinness and
Shepherds’ pie, on a beautiful tree-lined street with ample parking…trivia/giveaways

Saturday Oct 14th, 9:30 PM
The next Riverdale Round-Up at An Beal Bocht Café

features Karen Hudson River Band (info above)
Yes, that’s right, back by popular demand–
Hostess Karen Hudson and her partners in crime are all psyched up to serve up
their fave honky-tonk classics, a dose of 60’s country rock and her finely penned alt-country originals.

Upcoming Riverdale Round Up shows:
Nov 11-Sit and Die Co. Already veterans of the Round-Up these guys will return with their lo-tech lite show and some haunting Hillbilly ballads, boogies and blues.
Dec 2-Reckon So A little bit o’ Honky Tonk, Western Swing, Roots Country & Bluegrass with guitarist Danny Weiss & Mary Olive Smith
Jan 13-Li’l Mo and the Monicats- We’ve got a thing for this band that swings!

**************
DID YOU KNOW?
There used to be a place called the Village Barn, on W 8th Street in Greenwich Village.
It featured 3 live orchestra shows, musical chairs, low hurdle races, and hobby horse races, plus
square dancing. From what I gather by looking at the menus I have collected,
the games seemed to involve lots gals with their pantaloons showing!
A five course martini cocktail and Pot Roast dinner cost a mere $4.38! The club closed in the 60’s and became
Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland Studios

You are invited to The Darfur Benefit Concert featuring
Naqshon’s Leap. We are raising funds to end the genocide against
the people of Darfur.

Patron tickets includes priority seating and dessert reception with
members of the band • Family rates available
Cosponsored by JCC, the JCRC of UJA-NNJ, and the Interfaith
Brotherhood/Sisterhood Committee of Bergen County

With today’s busy lifestyles and so many galleries, we all bemoan how hard it is to get to see a lot of what’s going on out there. That is unless you’re willing to put on some comfortable shoes, strip off a few layers of clothing, and spend an hour or two or three facing down that beast we love to hate, the salon show of our age: the Art Fair.

The current one in town, ART(212), is by my estimation worth the trip. It’s by far less of a test of endurance than the overkill of the contemporary Armory show held annually on the Piers. Furthermore, the work is of significantly better quality than the boatloads of dreck I thankfully don’t specifically remember but do generally recall being bombarded with at both the Armory show and the Affordable Art Fair (with the unfortunate name), even though some of the galleries have shown at more than one of these fairs. (Don’t confuse these other shows with the ADAA show at the Park Ave Armory. That’s the more “blue-chip” one, more modern than contemporary.)

Still, one has to be prepared for art-overload. Just do the math. There are 60-plus galleries, let’s say each with an average of 5 artists, and with a rough estimate of 2 works per artist, that’s 600 pieces to view. That allots a luxurious 18 seconds per piece, which isn’t bad, considering that the average viewer spends no more than 13 seconds, tops.

I gave the quickest of overviews of the show in a previous post, and will provide a few more glimpses and opinions about the overall experience. Curated special exhibitions presented by the Asia Society, and El Museo del Barrio were welcome additions to the scene. They seemed to get lost a bit in the chaotic swirl of activity, but I was glad I made time to stop and check them out, and in particular found myself drawn into a video called “I Parking” by Korean artist Junebum Park (video still shot below) — one of a series of videos presented by the Asia Society.

Aside from the work, there is the personal interaction with the dealers to consider. Some dealers who show perfectly good work would really benefit by taking a course in basic social skills. Like many artists, I collect whenever and however I can. I would be extremely reluctant to buy work from an impolite or inconsiderate dealer, unless I absolutely couldn’t live without the work of that artist. Even so, I would go out of my way to seek out another source for that artwork. I won’t name any names, nonetheless, I doubt the dealers in most dire need of a tutorial in basic manners would be capable of recognizing this shortcoming in themselves without seeing their names in black and white. Conversely, I do like to mention the dealers who would be highly qualified to give such a tutorial. Once again, Mixed Greens earns respect for their informative and welcoming staff (this time, it was Monica Herman — their booth included a fine presentation of ink drawings by Giles Lyon, and a subtle, corner piece by Mary Temple), and both Vassilios Doupas, owner of the apartment, and Viviette Hunt, Director of Richard Levy Gallery (both mentioned in my previous post) deserve special recognition for their intelligence and attentiveness. Good dealers realize there’s more to it than having good work.

Still, we really do go to these shows to see the work. There was a fair amount of worthwhile work by photographers evident here. I was excited to be introduced to the work of Malick Sidibe at BrancoliniGrimaldi, and Robert Mann Gallery was a good stop to get a survey of excellent work, both new and old, with examples by Mary Mattingly (new), Bernd & Hilla Becher (new-ish), Edward Muybridge’s studies of human locomotion (old) and John Stuart studies of locomotives (old: 1878-1880). Robert Koch Gallery from San Francisco had a terrific booth, with large-scale photos by nearly-peerless photographer Edward Burtynsky, which were well-paired with architectural photos by Michael Wolf (see below). Vicki DaSilva’s “fluorescence” photographs (mentioned by Peter Ferko here) stood out at Art Gotham.

Among the interesting work at Marcia Wood Gallery, it was hard not to be pulled in by a huge piece by Devorah Sperber. Called “After van Eyck,” (see below) it was 122 inches high by 100″ wide, and comprised of 5,024 spools of thread that make up a inverted, pixellated version of a van Eyck portrait, which rights and resolves itself to become perfectly evident when viewed through a clear acrylic sphere placed in front of the installation. There’s something quite wonderful and visually impelling about this piece upon first viewing, not the least of which is due to its size, rich color, and obsessive nature. Further thought, however, made me wonder if the piece had much to offer beyond the initial “wow” factor. I’d have been more impressed if Sperber’s work involved pixellated versions of original compositions she created, rather than quoting other artists. It didn’t seem to bear the repeated looking that, say, a Chuck Close does. Close also challenges the ways we take visual interpretation for granted, even using a similar kind of image deconstruction, but his point of departure is original, and he invests so much in the technique and variety of his methods, that they offer many layers for contemplation. (You won’t know that unless you see his work in person, but that’s true of most good art!). Sperber will be having a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum in 2007, curated by Marilyn Kushner. Kushner is an excellent curator, and I expect I might come away from that show with an expanded appreciation of Sperber’s work.

Hudson Franklin had a Guston-esque ink drawing by young artist Michael Bernstein (left) that made me curious to see more; relative newcomer Foley Gallery had works on paper, and explained they also have a strong focus on photography; Franklin Parrasch was one of the few 57th Street galleries in attendance, with a solid showing of more established artists, espeically from the west coast; and there was a notable presentation of unique works on paper by Valerie Hammond at M%, which is actually a consulting firm for corporate and private collectors, rather than a gallery.

Peter Ferko and Drawing Center curator Kathy Carl are at the show today, and will likely have more insights to add soon. The show’s up until Monday, so be nice to the dealers, even those who don’t return the favor. It’s an exhausting ordeal to be “on” for five days running. I don’t envy them!

“…a continuum from good to okay” is how roberta fallon put it in her fallon and rosof post yesterday. Wendy and I had a long discussion about it at dinner Monday night. And as I consider not just objects on walls or floor, but actions with ephemeral outcomes or sociological leanings from artists like Harrell Fletcher and read about curator Chris Gilbert in Art Forum or artist Peter Walsh in NYArts I continue to wonder about the deluge of great and less-than-great art in play and how to take it all in and navigate.

1.) When work is conceptual in nature, as I was saying to Wendy over insalata mista, it might sound great, but so what? Of course, some concepts are so brilliant that you just read about it and say ‘wow’ (brings to mind the Whitney biennial of 2002), but is the outcome of the concept actually interesting (ditto)? And/or is it enough to have a great concept? Perhaps post-post-modern art will be like Herman Hesse’s glass bead game where strategy and conceptual novelty is displayed before the cogniscenti. It seems like a trend that is unfolding already. Especially in Eastern and Central Europe, there is a great tendency toward and appreciation for clever concept and arcane scholarship. Dominik Lejman, of Poland, comes to mind as one whose concepts deliver a result worth seeing in its own right. Wendy sees grant proposals for projects constantly and expresses a weariness from listening to yet another artist after artist talk about their ideas–not out of job fatigue, mind you, but out of the lack of any exceptional quality. At dinner, she wondered, ‘are there just too many artists?’

2.) At that point, the more traditional visual artists can be added into the discussion. I invite you to read Ms. Fallon’s entire article at the link above, but consider this quote, which is how she starts:

What stands out in this otherwise overwhelming flow of art is work that conveys passion and heat. I don’t mean things that are merely loud or noisy or full of red. Passion in art conveys itself with energy, focus and humanity.

…and this one, which is how she concludes:

In art, as in most things, geniuses are few and far between. Mostly the art world contains hardworking artists, and what you see is a continuum from good to okay—with occasional zingers that fall off the chart at either end.

I told Wendy about a conversation I had with an artist several years ago who said, “now you have all these art schools cranking out scores of artists every year, but the number of talented artists is still the same.” Louise Bourgeois was quoted as saying, “artists are not made, they are born; there is very little you can do for them.” So what about all the rest? Sky Pape lent me episodes of a 1990’s documentary called Art City (the source of the Bourgeois quote) in which artists talk about how they plug away, how they don’t make money, how they made money in the 80’s and blew it, etc. Or, how about more socially progressive countries like Denmark or Holland where artists are supported by cultural policy. Not to mention the model in which artist isn’t segmented off from person, as in native cultures that have more integrated relationships between life and work.

There are going to be a lot of artists who are between good and okay. And I’m happy to hear about their work; to see the work; to interact with the artists. Suddenly the whole discussion reminds me of Peter Shaffer’s play, Amadeus. But that play didn’t answer the question of whether Salieri should write, given a Mozart, just that he shouldn’t be jealous, so there’s no help there. No, the musicians–and artists–below the level of Mozart are going to continue to show us their work, and people in Wendy’s position and in more self-determined viewing patterns are going to have to navigate through it based on a host of “intelligence.” As Wendy said, “people making stuff and wanting to communicate about it is fine, it’s when they want to sell it to me that I object–cause it’s a really hard sell. Wanting to ‘make it’ is like a neurosis at this point.” We’ll just have to watch for the moments–the “zingers”–on the plus side that make us put up with it; the inspiration that makes us want to be part of the arts community.

There’s something to dread about art fairs — the crowds, the heat, the plain overwhelmingness of so much to look at — but ART(212) at the 69th Regiment Armory (26th and Lex) provided plenty of solid work, and a few standout pieces that make it well worth the trip. Suprisingly, some of the best pieces were shown at galleries from outside of New York, all the way from Greece, Italy, Canada, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. I will post more after today’s gallery crawl, but here’s a quick sampler (info on images below):

1) Photo by Malick Sidibe, who won the Hasselblad Award in 2003, is one of two you’ll find tucked around a corner at BrancoliniGrimaldi’s booth.

2) Jonathan Callan makes incredible things with books and paper. His work is at The Apartment (from Athens, Greece), and say hello to Vassilios Doupas because you’ll be glad you did.

3) Please excuse this terrible photo of two fine paintings by John Brown, at Olga Korper Gallery from Toronto, Canada. Korper also has a pair of Robert Mapplethorpe photos that still have the power to stop you in your tracks. (A lot of excellent photography at this fair, overall.)

4) This small reflective piece of copper and charcoal by Constance Dejong, based on the golden mean and perfect rectangle, is one of a pair on view at Richard Levy Gallery, from New Mexico.

Here’s a more complete write-up of the show. It’s up until the 1st, so try to get there. For $15 you’ll get an eyeful. We can compare notes!

Join us for the gallery crawl tomorrow. We’ll meet at the Neue Gallerie, 5th Ave & 8th St at 11am to check out the Klimts, and then the plan is to be at the Met Museum’s roof garden by 12 noon to see Cai Guo-Qiang’s Clear Sky Black Cloud. Then we’ll head over to the Asia Society, and then see if we’ve got the time and energy to choose from a couple of additional intriguing options. Call 917-992-4001 if you can’t make it by 11 but want to drop in mid-crawl.

And that day will be Saturday, September 30th when you come to hear

Life in a Blender playing with Brooklyn cult favorites–The Cheesebeads
at the Living Room on Ludlow Street, just below Stanon, NYC

Blender played shows early on with the Beads and after drifting apart in the
late 1980s, we all reunited at McGovern’s and an unnatural, enduring bond
began.

The Beads haven’t played in many a moon so this is a rare treat and their
searing guitarist is flying in from Portland for this show.

Praise be! Blender and the Beads!

Don’t miss the best pedal steel in this town, or any other for that matter!

Fill your ears with the Lonesome Billys twice this week:

Weds 9/27 at Lakeside Lounge
Ave. B at 10th St.
1 set around 9:45

Sunday 10/1 at Rodeo Bar
Third Ave. at 27th St.
2 sets starting at 10

Thursday September 28-Sunday October 1

at the 69th Regiment Armory, Lexington Ave at 26th St.

ART(212) is a new contemporary art fair featuring 60 leading international galleries showcasing contemporary works by emerging and mid-career artists.

Private Preview, tonight, Sept 27, 6-9pm.

Fair dates and hours: Thursday through Saturday Sept 30, 12 Noon -8pm, Sunday Oct 1, Noon-6pm

General Admission: Adults $15, Students/Seniors $12, Children under 12 Free. Tickets available at the door; no advance purchase necessary.

For more info on special exhibitions and events at the fair, visit www.art-212.com or call 212-366-4139

Join us for the September gallery crawl!

back when i had a car to drive, i spent many an evening commute listening to the goofball-but-serious advice of Dr. Drew on “Loveline.” The doctor has just released results of a study  (via Arts and Letters) on celebs. seems the folks you see at openings vs. those artists who can’t leave the studio express a tendency after all:

The study — soon to be published in the Journal of Research and Personality — confirmed that celebrities are more narcissistic than average Americans. And — surprisingly — they seem to start out that way, leading Pinsky and Young to surmise that narcissistic people seek out careers in the limelight, rather than becoming narcissistic when they earn fame.

There’s a nice photo show up right now at Art Gotham, a  two-year-old space on W. 27th. Vicki DaSilva creates paintings on her landscapes by drawing light tubes across the terrain. The effect is pretty rock and roll, yummy vibrant colors and undulating curves that derive from movement along a track system that traces the hill’s ripple. Truly an intervention that exists in DaSilva’s mind until the film develops, the exposures are about an hour long and require moving the light through that whole time. The show is up until October 28.

This week’s (Sept. 25) New Yorker includes a story on MoMA that raises the controversial practice instituted under Glenn Lowry of shopping the galleries for contemporary art. Lowry himself reportedly makes recommendations to curators based on his crawls through Chelsea, etc. There’s historical precedent, but more reserve in recent history.
What do you think of the Modern as a “discoverer” of new talent vs. the museum of those already deigned “worthy?”

Sven Nykvist, cinematographer to Bergman and a host of other directors, has died at 83. From the NYTimes.

I admit that as of late, the content of my writing could easily be mistaken for pornography. Yesterday I read a recent passage to a friend; we were both in agreement that the graphics sounded cheesy.“The language in your other piece was better, “she said, tactfully, “but I must say, you do get the job done.” She cleared her throat and smiled a tight smile. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink beneath her freckles.

Her comments conjured images of my mind as a cobwebbed catacomb with dank and musty corridors, a basement filled with funky smells that make your nose wrinkle. Surprising things happen there, in secret, between players who would rather not be named. Writing mentors would tap my inner censor on the shoulder and say,” Accept the whole mind, observe what is there, know it, claim it and craft it.”

Fine. I will not crumple into a little ball my flaming pages of naughty sex. I will accept and follow in faith the labyrinth of my brain as I work on the book I would be pleased to put my name to. Until the words in the conceptual air of my mind meet the words in the earthly manifestation of my senses, and filter through my eyes, the breath in my nostrils, on my skin, and tickle the hair follicles in my pores, I will be patient.

And I can introduce them, these disparate expressions. I can let the two shake hands, let them hesitantly kiss one another politely upon each cheek, let them search one another’s eyes, each boring into the other with eager hungry looks, the desperation escalating until the hesitant peck turns into an open mouthed lusty embrace. Hands are cupping buttocks, squeezing, entering clothing, digging into the space between flesh and fabric seeking the warm wet places, probing relentlessly, deeper and deeper…. until “voila!” here I am in the basement of my mind, once again.

Which brings to mind that Tim has fashioned a little painting studio in the literal basement, parts of which could be easily mistaken as being damp and odiferous. He has parked himself in a tiny corner and filled it with light by installing a light box in the ceiling and nailing an easel fast to the wall. Next to him is a working, but abandoned toilet. He glued a long stretch of rope to the ledge of one wall. The resistance creates a makeshift shelf where he lines up glowing miniature vignettes of New York City he has painted. Eleven thus far belong to the “Quest” series, and all are of fires escapes; one would never quite know how various in design and beauty these structures are without Tim’s assistance. Mundane architectural details symbolize the Quest for elusive Truth and ultimate Solutions. Three siblings currently join the Quest paintings. They are of the “People” series and capture what one might see while strolling or rushing, as the case may be, through the busy streets of Manhattan. Smudged tubes of oil paint in various modes of squash lay on an old kitchen table nearby. This is the painter’s mother lode, messy, but rich and full of possibility. From it emerge jewels of sunlight and shadow on modest panels constructed by the artist himself; humanity expressed in steel, brick, traffic and open sky. He holds the viewer’s chin, just so, as your eyes follow the line of sight indicated by his pointing finger to the vision he is desperate for you to see, if you will only stop to look.I am heartened by what jewels may be found in the basement.

******************

Images of works in progress by Painter Tim Folzenlogen

Paintings by Gail Comes

Opening: Tuesday October 3rd, 2006, from 6-9pm

Paintings on view 10/03/06 until 10/23/06

at Kanvas, 219 9th Ave (btw 23rd & 24th St)

New York, NY 10011

212-727-2616

www.gailcomes.com

Here’s a look at Mr. Kapoor’s new Rockefeller Center installation. I was taken aback by how large it is. The west-facing side shone a sky blue with a hint of the Center’s main tower. I’m sure I’ll have more on a cloudier day with a better camera to take advantage of the sky side. There are a great many self-portraits already taking place on the Fifth Ave. side

all images, Anish Kapoor, Sky Mirror, 2006, New York, photos (c) P.Ferko on the Treo; -)

Get ready for September’s Gallery Crawl next week.  The plan’s still a bit loose, but it looks like we’ll stop at the Met Museum’s roof garden (and maybe see a thing or two inside), ogle the Klimts at the Neue Gallerie, zip over to the Asia Society, and then see if we’ve got the time and energy to choose from a couple of additional intriguing options.  We’ll probably be getting started on the early side of the day (before the crack of noon).  Check back for details in the Events section.

You’ve come a long way, baby.
Here’s some news that might even please the admirable Guerilla Girls and Anonymous Female Artist, aka Militant Art Bitch:  Two of the three visual artists who received $500,000 MacArthur “Genius” awards this year are female (Anna Schuleit and Shahzia Sikander share the spotlight with sculptor Josiah McElheny).  And the 2006 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize of $300,000, awarded to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life” goes to Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat, whose multimedia work explores Islam and gender relations.

Congratulations, folks!

(Image at left: Copyright Anna Schuleit, “Lady in Orange” Pencil and ink on paper, 6″ x 8″, 2006.)