Exhibit wanting to turn street lights into stars is up, but did it light up visitors?
Envoy Enterprises is showing photographs by James Holland for the next two days.
Given how I was working on a constellation series about a year ago, I was assuming James Holland’s application of constellations in his street photos would evoke some meaning. Shame on me for having expectations!
The photographs of city lights were beautiful and simple on their own. However, the “connect the dots” aspect of the work made it seem immature. The result just looked like an extended glares from street lights. James’ created the lines by drawing on a glass clamped to the camera lens. Interesting technique.
Even though the end results weren’t moving, as a New Yorker, the purpose of this series of works is not lost on me.
“Without the opportunity to see natural constellations, he would link streetlights together in his mind, turning an ordinary view into something fantastical”
Press release
In cities like New York, it is difficult to see the stars. The only time the city goes dark is if there’s a blackout otherwise, people’s windows, cars, billboards, store fronts, etc are always lite up. Street lights and city lights illuminate surroundings instead of the stars or the moon.If have seen the exhibit as well, feel free to share your thoughts.
Envoy Enterprises is located at 131 Christie Street. Lights will do dark on “Sky Lines” on August 28th.
His work is beyond just painting “stuff”
Ever walk into a room that was no longer lived in, say in an old house, where it still felt like a presence was there?
Can you imagine capturing that feeling in a painting? Matt Klos is capable of doing just that.
“Baltimore based painter Matt Klos paints familiar spaces caught in the act of existing”. Press release
When moving his family into a house that had already been part of the family’s, the option was presented to toss anything that wasn’t needed. Most items that weren’t being used were moved to the basement which has enough room to serve as a studio for Matt.
The initial glance at the postcard promoting the exhibit first struck me as stuff that he painted. Stuff put in a basement or garage somewhere. Instead, there was an experience awaiting me once I entered the gallery.
His paintings managed to have soul.
My brain wasn’t trying to figure out context or try to make sense of what it was seeing. Looking at the work was an experience that brought my mind to a place where no thinking was needed.
“Treasure Chest” (c) Matt Klos http://www.mattklos.com |
His oil paintings in the gallery ranged from small to large which provided a balance of being up close to a work or being a few steps away. The small paintings were about 4” x 6” and larger works of about 19” x 30”. The surfaces used for his work included panel, linen, museum board, cigar box lids and copper. Each had this air about them that you weren’t alone.
The viewer wasn’t just looking at a painting of something but rather experiencing it (I know right…how many times am I going to say that). How did he do that? I think it was because he was painting things that had a personal meaning to him. It wasn’t just stuff. If the objects could speak, they would have a story to tell. Each has a past and had a purpose. Matt is skillful enough to capture that essence in his work. Very well done.
Check out the work on Matt’s website http://www.mattklos.com to see more of his intimate work.
Matt Klos‘ “Keeping Things” exhibit on view until August 21st, is at the Prince Street Gallery located at 520 West 25th street, 4th floor.
Josama Madera’s work at Collective Consciousness in DUMBO
Wouldn’t your world be more interesting with a couple of cartoons stirring things up? Well if you don’t expect that to happen while sober, check out Josama Madera’s work at Collective Consciousness in DUMBO (10 Jay Street, Suite 605, Brooklyn, NY) through August 31st. You can’t get any closer than this show to see Gary Coleman dressed in an Alf costume (remember the show “Alf” 80’s peoples?). Also where else would you see Speedy Gonzalez jumping a subway turnstile huh?
For this and other pics from the opening reception, visit: | http://ccnyc-events.blogspot.com/2010/08/eyecon-cept-nyc-great-success-amazing.html |
Josama’s painting technique can be described as ‘rough around the edges’ where a fair amount of dry brushing creates a cray-pas look and feel. It is quite interesting and shows how versatile oil paints are. With this technique Josama uses, he enhances the feeling of the streets.
It’s not pretty, it’s rough and tumble and may not always be that pleasing to the eye, but that’s the world you are in for it’s up to you to survive.
In the world Josama created for the viewers, he makes it more enjoyable place to be…well maybe not so much. In bodegas, subways, on building stoops and street corners, Josama includes the imaginary characters children in these environments escape to via their television.
There is no divide anymore in Josama’s work: real and fantasy collide in an amusing and sometimes disturbing way.
In one painting, there are Care Bears passed out in a subway car. In another Mickey Mouse looks to be falling down the stairs after drinking too much. A shoot out in front of a store involves Bugs Bunny in another painting of Josama’s. Then Tom from “Tom and Jerry” is wielding a knife above the head of Pink Panther.
Seeing his work was certainly an experience. His work is fun, disturbing, rough, affordable and certainly memoriable. Check it out if you can either by visiting the gallery or visiting his website (http://ripjosama.com).
Peace out.
Do you feel entitled to ‘connect’ with artwork?
So just a few days ago I decided to wander around the Lower East Side for a bit and check out what the gallery/art scene is in that area. I’m very much used to galleries in Chelsea so I went to LES with a map and an open mind.
Overall, I saw work that certainly had me questioning
What can be considered “art”??
Someone recently asked me, “What is art to you?” I’ve asked myself that for years and it usually comes to mind for me when I experience artwork that I don’t connect with. Its creation is still art because what art to me is the creation of something that didn’t exist before from sculptures, writing, music, cooking, computer programs even. Each of those, and others, uses different tools of the trade to create something out of nothing.
So with the works I saw that had me shaking my head, yes, that’s art. Whether it’s worth the price being asked for it or worthy of valuable gallery wall and floor space is up for discussion. That is what makes the art world interesting.
I feel that as an artist
I ‘should’ be able to connect with other people’s creations.
because I create myself. I’m a painter/drawer so I know the experience of truly creating a piece of work by combining the tools of a blank canvas, brushes, paints and an idea. I honestly felt that some of the work I encountered, left me shaking my head. Seeing two pieces of wood for example, attached to make a right angle and painted turquoise is personally, um, not my cup of tea. I seriously thought it was something left behind after construction of some sort, but in fact, it was on the price list. The creation of it and the agreement of showing it at a gallery space was not up to me. I’m just a bystander and those involved in those decisions saw it as worthy to be shown and to be worth several hundred dollars.
Though there will always be people that don’t get it, love it, or don’t care for it. That experience between the outside world and your creation is another aspect of art.
Art can make us feel, be it inspiration or frustration.
You and I complete the piece.
The ART of Graffiti at Benrimon Contemporary
And I thought I was cool when I learned how to do bubble letters in Junior High!
Aight New Yorkers, ya’ll know graffiti when you see it with tags and characters. This exhibit at Benrimon Contemporary takes the appreciation and beauty of its work to a new level. The work will be up until August 10, 2010.
Now when I walked outside after viewing the show, there was a couple that asked me about what exhibit was being shown. I tried to sell it but not everyone understands or wants to appreciate graffiti. Whether you think you do or not, there is no harm in checking it out. Either you will gain an appreciation you didn’t have before or be further impressed with the kind of work that can be done with an aerosol can.
When I visited the gallery, I had a chance to talk with curator Mario Ramos. He along with Claudia Bumbas are owners of 1HUNDREDB, a LES storefront that serves the urban art culture.
Featured are pieces by PNUT, Cap1, Stayhigh149, Noc167, Richard Hambleton among others with tribute to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Stayhigh149 has a NYPD ticket dated 1969 proving that he is one of the founders of bringing street art to the masses.
On their blog http://1hundredb.blogspot.com/ or flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/1hundredb they also have pics from opening night with the numerous artists it includes. I included an example where it looks like the event was a nice chance for the artists to show appreciation for each others work and for fans to meet in person the mysterious artists who’s work they’ve only seen on the streets.
Mario is an awesome guy and this is an awesome show. When I walked in 2 days after the opening (which had over 1,000 people) , I could still smell the fresh paint from a live installation (subways doors included ;)) done on one of the gallery walls. He pointed out that while looking at the tags on the mural, it may look like a mess at first, the taggers respect each other’s space. If by accident someone writes over someone else’s tag, the offender would write “Sorry” to the other person..
We talked about how the form of art has become one more thing to issue fines or jail times for. Some parts of Europe are turning into what NY was in the 70s and 80s, as NY artists seek places around the world to express themselves.
Artists now are now using stickers to leave their mark.
Now advertisers are leaving their mark on the subways. $$$$$$$$$$ (To the MTA that if given all the money they would need to get out of their convenient deficit, would still have NO IDEA how to manage their money. Honestly I feel if business students took on the MTA finances, they would have it solved in a semester)….but anyway.
"See, Also" goes beyond sight at Central Booking Art Space in DUMBO
The show was curated by Omar Olivera, a native Brooklynite now residing in Queens and part of the Central Booking team. He also included a piece in the show that made pixels fun and colorful. Most of us encounter pixels when we enlarge a picture too much, taking something we are familiar with and turning it to a nearly unrecognizable and grainy image. Omar
While I described pixels as taking a picture and enlarging it, the way Omar approaches the use of pixels reminds me of the Impression style of painting. The technique used with Impressionistic work is that colors aren’t blended perfectly, the human eye is a part of completing the illusion. So while the colors in a painting can, from a far, appear to be blended well, when you get up close, you see the brush stokes and the separate colors of paint. Omar celebrates those stokes and colors.
Part of his work includes a light box and several patterns of pixels printed on transparencies, a way for the audience to experience layering pixels and allowing the eye to blend the colors together. Another part of his piece took up an entire wall of Central Booking Art Space which was pretty much a large painting of pixels.
Another work that caught my attention was several dozen drawing on paper each hung by a silver binderclip on a horizontal line along a wall. The drawings were very neat with clean lines and hardly showed any erasures. The drawings did not seem connected to one another. Part of the experience was just the act of thumbing through them wondering what was going to be seen next.
Part 2: Artists Panel Discussion at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
Here is the conclusion of what the artists thoughts were on their work and the process of creation.
Big Strokes & Big Quotes at the "Big Picture" Panel @PJFA (Priska C. Juschka Fine Art)
Most of the work artists have on the walls of their homes are done by their friends. Obtained either as gifts or as part of an exchange.
Tom claims to have over 50 pieces of art which drew “Wow’s” from the audience of about 40 enthusiasts.
For Kamrooz, friends of his that aren’t painters usually are photographers so he has works of theirs on his walls. Also he likes to pick up early works of artists as he takes an interest in seeing how their work changes over time.
Liz mentioned that she has a self portrait a friend of hers did while they were in grad school together. (Liz went to Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia). She also has images of dogs and horses.
For Ryan, the idea is usually set in mind. Tom put an interesting spin saying that art is one type of documentation that is allowed to be correct. Very good point. It can stir controversy but noone can argue that the artist’s view is incorrect.
- Your thoughts on the divide between ideals and evidence. What you want to convey versus what you see.
- Inventing work with its own internal logic or leave something for the audience to grasp?
- Do you have more in common with conceptual or abstract style?
- Do your paintings surprise you?
- Discuss source material as it relates to your work.
- What musician or band has influenced your work?
Does smeared paint on canvas leave you feeling dirty?
Try Orbitz gum…..hahahaha. That laugh felt good.
So back to painting. When it comes to totally abstract work, it’s mostly a miss for me. If you appreciate some structure, like myself, please raise your hand.
Even with my own work, my ‘abstract’ paintings aren’t full blown
type of abstract. Just that it’s lacking something to recognize within the painting. I’m thinking it through though as I go along.
I started thinking about this when I had a reaction to some works in a gallery I visited recently (neither gallery nor artist will be named). My reaction was to tell the world that those paintings were a piece of crap. Random sh*t on a canvas doesn’t do it for me though a Jackson Pollock, for example, would.
The difference?
The creation of a Pollock work is like a workout as he is always moving around the canvas. Sometimes he would think about where the dribble of paint or brush stroke would be and of what color and sometimes he would just let the drops fall as they may.
However there are works, mostly on a small scale, that look like complete crap and is taking up valuable gallery wall space. It’s one thing if a kid in kindergarten is just playing around and it might be cute if you know the kid. Yet if someone who considers him/herself an artist is just smearing paint on canvas, I just want to hang my head. Was the artist pressed for time so they threw something together? It’s something I personally can’t make sense of.
Me, however, will continue to put thought into what I paint and how it’s painted. Everyone is welcome to like, love, hate, or not care as they will.
Paying tribute to the traditional roles of women
Currently, Ceres Gallery [547 West 27th Street Suite 201] has an exhibit featuring their member artists which closes Saturday July 17th. I’ll get to my thoughts on some of the work I saw in a moment. First I want to give props to Ceres. I didn’t know it existed until I visited (gallery spaces in Chelsea turn over fairly frequently). The mission of Ceres is:
AWESOME stuff Ceres. Hopefully artists in any career and creative part of their life can also appreciate what you’re doing.
The work that were shown at this exhibit was wide-ranging in size, subject matter and techniques. The work from their member artists here: http://www.ceresgallery.org/artistmain.htm
One portion of the gallery space featured work by Dare J. Boles Lot of Women. One of the 16 she has on display is shown here.
Dare is a mixed media artist using patterns, pictures of faces and objects, as well as textures to create layers in her work. Without the use of shadows, the work remains very much 2-dimensional. The pieces at this exhibit was no larger than 16” x 20” and all reasonable price ranging from $325 – 900. Huge difference from a non-profit versus a for-profit where you would see several more zero’s on the price list (of course through the sale of work is how the galleries help to pay the rent).
She had an interesting mix of work all centered around what womens roles are within their respective societies. Her pieces spanned from African, Asian, Muslim, American, African-American cultures as well as several others. She adds “Historically, a woman’s role in life has been determined by society.” The same goes for the role of men.
In some societies these roles of care-giver are positions women are born into and perhaps not encouraged to think for herself while for others, it has now become a choice to have your purpose to be that of pleasing men or to be a housewife. One may feel that women in the world have come a long way to claiming independence as entrepreneurs, Presidents, Prime Minsters and choosing to be single mothers. In Dare’s work, are the women in her work unfulfilled or content? From her pieces, I felt respect for those that have and have had these roles. IT just made me think about what I would be doing if I lived in the 1800’s or even 800’s.
Fortunately, I’m happy in my present.