LOOK INTO MY OWL

We’ve hijacked NOWhere Limited to show our own work for three weeks. The opening is this Saturday at 4pm, hope to see you there. More on the show including opening night photos next week. Here is the official word on an interactive project that will run for the duration of the exhibit.

“Make Art/Take Art is a collaboration between Scott Lickstein and Elisha Sarti and perhaps…you! For this project, the artists have created 16 black ink drawings on collaged backgrounds as well as a stack of “blank” collaged surfaces. The drawings are displayed in a grid formation; the slot for each drawing on the grid is numbered. Interested parties are invited to take one of the exhibited drawings in exchange for their own drawing, which must be completed on site using one of the provided blank surfaces and black ink marker. The drawings on display will be constantly changing, so that a participant may take a piece that has not been drawn by Elisha or Scott but by a random participant. For the duration of the exhibit, each slot will also be available for sale online for $15. Buyers of each slot will acquire whatever random piece occupies the slot number at the time of purchase.”

Mawashi Geri travels the world and reports the people and things he’s seen. The attractive photographs offer a wide scope of subjects and yet each negative captures something that is wholly Marashi Geri.

“Let’s go back to the beginning, to flesh and blood, to soil and water, to shadow and light… everything together, mixed, and glorify it with movement. With you.”

Mawashi Geri

Cathy Lo is interested in what makes her Cathy Lo. In the series “Aesthetic Compounds” she has developed a complex system for defining her various states. The compositions relate to the viewer as beautiful designs culled from very personal imagery. These silk screened canvases have been organized like equations. Consistent syntax admits her audience into a show of personal material and memory that would otherwise remain inaccessible.

Be sure to check out the interview with Cathy Lo over at Scene 360.

Over the years, Simone Decker has built a very impressive body of work. Her oeuvre extends in many directions. The one common thread is the consideration given to the audience and their place in space. The primary importance of the “idea” in these works is evident. When a thorough idea is coupled with excellent craft, possibilities exist without restraint.

Please have a l00k at Simone Decker’s website you will be amazed.

The New Museum has put together a huge summer show. “After Nature” showcases more than ninety works of art spanning three floors of the building. The theme proposed in this exhibit is one of a gloomy future. Feelings concerning the dystopian stress of the exhibition aside, it is worth the trip just to extend a gaze toward the untitled installation by Maurizio Cattelan (above).
“After Nature” also includes work from Allora and Calzadilla, Pawe Althamer, Micol Assaël, Fikret Atay, Roger Ballen, Huma Bhabha, William Christenberry, Roberto Cuoghi, Bill Daniel, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Nathalie Djurberg, Reverend Howard Finster, Nancy Graves, Werner Herzog, Robert Kusmirowski, Zoe Leonard, Klara Liden, Erik van Lieshout, Diego Perrone, Thomas Schütte, Dana Schutz, Tino Sehgal, August Strindberg, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, and Artur Zmijewski.

After Nature
17 July - 21 September 2008
New Museum
NYC

Very pleased to find this video. Graffiti-Post Graffiti is an episode from “ART/new york” the long lived video series on contemporary art. The excerpt below has rare interviews with Jean-Michel Basquiat, Crash, Futura 2000 and Keith Haring. To order the full episode head over to ART/new york, be sure to look through the program guide for other titles.

“Arbol de la Vida” (Tree of Life) by Margarita Cabrera is currently on exhibit at the Walter Maciel Gallery. The sculpture is a life-sized replica of a John Deere tractor made entirely from slip cast ceramic.
The foundation for this piece is steeped in Mexican tradition. The story claims that a storm god planted a giant tree that bore fruit in a complete drought. The story is still told through crafts forming the tree from metal with hanging ceramic birds and insects.
In the version presented by Cabrera, the tree has been replaced with a tractor. This irony is presented to call attention to dying art forms and cultures due to globalization.

It’s always nice to see an artist switch medium and still remain effective. Witness this hand sewn vinyl Hummer, an earlier work by Margarita Cabrera.

Margarita Cabrera
Arbol de la Vida
28 June - 16 August 2008
Walter Maciel Gallery
Los Angeles

Here’s a reminder to check up on the awesome force that is Specter. He’s one of the key components in the elevation of the street to fine art. These works are all dependent on the spaces they occupy. The thoughtful, site specific projects have a huge impact on people that notice them on the street or find them online. A basic disruption of reality occurs in Specter’s visions, therein lies the power.

Check the Specter website for much more.

The Elizabeth Dee Gallery is currently screening 4 videos from Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn. “Masters of None” (above) along with “All Together Now” (below) mark a departure from narrative and dialogue driven work for the duo.
The stress of Dodge and Kahn’s endeavors often involve exploration into a post civilized society. In showing the viewer how to start over, they hope to expose problems with our current structure.
The gallery has also made available “I See You Man” and “Nature Demo” for examination.

Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn
14 June - 2 August 2008
Elizabeth Dee Gallery
NYC

Asimo, the long lived robot from Honda continues to evolve. Recently, Asimo conducted a special session of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. I can remember when this thing could hardly walk. Now it runs! See the video below.

The San Jose Museum of Art has offered up the exhibit “Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon”. The kitsch show has little to do with robotics, instead the focus is on the notions of an ideal generated in the 1950’s. The inspiration for the show came from an impression that robots in use today are not stylistically humanoid.
There is plenty of eye candy from some very talented artists including Michael Mew (above) and Nam June Paik (below). The concentration of “Robots” is on nostalgia and little in the way of evolution is explored. If one makes the approach with this mindset the show will not disappoint.

Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon
San Jose Museum of Art
12 April - 19 October 2008
California

The experimental video “games” of William Lamson are definitely worth a l00k. These videos I’ve classified as games because most of the trials involve rules and a field of play. In “Vital Capacity” (above) more permutations occur than would seem possible. Head over to William Lamson’s website and have a look for yourself.