Simple Town

Bill's B-Day

XXIV

Mine eye hath play'd the painter and hath steel'd,
Thy beauty's form in table of my heart;
My body is the frame wherein 'tis held,
And perspective it is best painter's art.
For through the painter must you see his skill,
To find where your true image pictur'd lies,
Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still,
That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes.
Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done:
Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me
Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun
Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee; 
Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art,
They draw but what they see, know not the heart.

William Shakespeare

Simple Town

Moca Fresh

Here is a link to an event I am participating in.

https://secure.maestroweb.com/List.aspx?OrgID=720&ItemCategory=Last+Name-+C&Selection=2

Simple Town

Great Things Come In Many Small Pieces

I had a chance to go to the Seattle Art Museum and see the Do Ho Suh piece Some/One, 2001

to quote a local dealer, "It sure is a crowd pleaser."

Laguna Art auction

Here is a link to an upcoming auction in which I will be participating.

http://lagunaartmuseum.org/Events/auction2009.html

INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S.On Ethics, Is The Art Market Worse Than Stock Market? ( My 2 cents)

So do art and ethics mix? Having worked for art galleries for years the idea of ethics seems valid. I know for a fact that the art market is built upon insider trading, lacks transparency and flourishes on speculation and hype.  Now is the art world less ethical then the stock market? It could probably be said that both have their ups and downs and it can be said that the art market operates entirely of its own accord, but in light of recent events how can one possibly think that the stock market operates more ethically?

It is true that stocks and even more tangible assets such as houses have rules and regulations that hopefully guard investors from losing large sums of capital, yet as we have seen value is in fact only a perception and can fluctuate drastically. So what drives the perception of value up? Obviously, it is fueled by demand and as demand increases so does perceived value.  So why should art differ in that regard? For art galleries their model of business should be to get as much as they possibly can for a work of art, and like all other products they should use the most effective means of doing it. Whether it be advertising, holding special event and or catering to the tastes of those at the upper echelons of the business. Now as for the ethics involved in that type of business model that can only be measured by whether or not the gallery becomes blatantly fraudulent in its representation of an artist i.e. producing counterfeit works, or lying about the artists career and sales record. However, all else is fair game. 

Now as for the stock market it would seem that the same rules apply, companies sell shares with the idea that as the business grows so will its potential to make money, and as a result of investing early on those with shares profit. In most cases this seems a simple transaction and again the ethics involved become apparent only when a company becomes fraudulent. Examples again seem to be the misrepresentation of earnings and or capital; recent examples can be seen in the Bernard Madoff “Ponzi” scheme.  So it would seem that both the art market and stock market have inherent ethical dilemmas, but with the question “which is more ethical” it can only be stated that stocks which affect more individuals and which hold larger percentages of wealth obviously have more detriment to a society if ethical breaches occur. So if we consider the volume and people affected stocks would have to be the less ethical of the two markets.

In addition art has one other saving grace. As an object art works function with two very different properties one of a tangible object and the other as an intellectual one.  So no matter how much an object sells for its intellectual properties belong solely to the artist and those who view the work.  As such through the generosity of patrons and museums art works do in fact belong to everyone regardless of price. That in my opinion seems pretty ethical.

 

Just for V-Day

Jan van Huysum

[Dutch Painter, 1682-1749]

Low Life Slow Life

Paul McCarthy's current curatorial project at the California College of the Arts Wattis Institute is a romp through influence and personal taste and offers insight to the aesthetics of a contemporary legend. It blends humor and ideas of the body to create an exhibition lacking nothing but ketchup.

Maria Lassnig

Simple Town

Unrecognizable

In the eyes of intimacy absence breeds confusion of the heart. 

To have before you a new face one that you know but do not recognize

My glass is always 1/2 empty

To lack the spark which ignites the eternal flame; Mediocrity.

Cultural Extraction

The beauty of being an artist is that after you achieve a certain level of acclaim and notoriety you can as much as fart and it is seen as some sort of cultural extraction. As long as it's pretty no one cares that stinks.

Perfect Puryear

There is a magical quality to the current Martin Puryear exhibition at the SFMOMA.  When you enter the first space you become aware of the scale and majesty of the works and yet their elegance beckons you to approach.

The works tactile quality comes from Puryear’s ability to utilize the raw textures and forms of his materials, in most cases various woods, but also steel, wire, rattan, and leather. It is only fitting that the first work you encounter is Ad Astra 2007. It is an astounding piece that resembles a horse drawn wagon tipped upwards by the weight of is cumbersome load. The work incorporates the found wheels and axle of an actual wagon, and wooden planks arranged to create a large askew cube that situates the sculpture on a large base. It then incorporates entire tree trunks to recreate a tongue like protrusion (the pole extending from a carriage or other vehicle between the animals drawing it) that reaches over 100ft into the atrium of the museum. As to why it is there we know not, but its title means “to the stars” and as it reaches into the heavens it seems to call out to God, “could you be so kind as to bare this burden?”  

One of the earliest works in the exhibition is Some Tales 1967-9. It is a grouping of forms that resemble tools hanging in a shed. They are a clear vision of the artists concept and a poignant starting point to the artist's development. It is his iconographic craftsmanship that is situated to traverse the line between pure form and representative object. As he has stated, “The most interesting art for me retains a flickering quality, where opposed ideas can be held in tense coexistence,” that idea becomes clear throughout the exhibition.

One of the most complex and astounding works in the exhibition is C.F.A.O 2006-7. In this composition Puryear incorporates a wooden wheelbarrow, a relic the artist supposedly found while doing a residency at the home of well know 20^th century sculptor Alexander Calder. It consists of a grid like construction of 2” by 2” pine that surrounds the concave carving of a white head that emerges out of the wheelbarrow bed. The head form in this case is reminiscent of an African mask from the Gabon tribe. This mask like head adds additional layers to the interpretation of the work especially in the context of the artist's race; African-American. Also adding to the analysis is the fact that the wheelbarrow and mask both serve as objects with functional roles, the wheelbarrow as a movable lever, and the mask as a ceremonial object. It is increasingly difficult to distinguish the intent of their appropriation but the effect is transcendent. Now to infer as to their meaning. It is possible to say that the work is about the weight of displacement the African American culture suffered through the slave trade, or also the anachronism of past religious histories, yet in the gallery the piece evokes the cool geometry of minimalism, given its grid like construction and history of the incorporated wheelbarrow, so that regardless of its intent it becomes is a complex diagram of the artist’s ability to weave seemingly disparate genres and histories into a unique visual vocabulary.

Throughout the exhibition one see sculptures that challenge their materials, and transcend the confines of the gallery to exist in the collective unconscious of the viewer as both tools of humanity and objects of art.

 

2332 Review "Sofa,King,Cool"

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/art-review/on-the-wall-on-the-couch/

“A bit claustrophobic at times, but I guess that’s what you get after you’re hit by a Tornado.”

The Wizard of Oz the current exhibition at CCA’s Wattis Institute is definitely a trip into a different world, or at least a very nostalgic one. With works like Andy Warhol’s image of Marilyn Monroe, a black and white film still of a sign reading Kansas by Bruce Conner, and a drawing by Raymond Pettibon of an ejaculating penis pointing towards the lower half of a women in a skirt, all hovering above the head of a super-sexy afro chic, you get a sense of the imagery that was being evoked. But the theme is poignant and its correlations to today are astounding. The original movie starring Judy Garland in the role of Dorothy was released in 1939 at the tail end of the Great Depression and amidst World War II.

With all themed shows it is a fine line between illustrating the themes or just glancing past them, and for this show the latter held mostly true. It is an exhibition full of eye candy as delicious as that in Oz. And yes they have the “Ruby Slippers.” But there are also oil paintings of San Francisco at night by Robert Bechtle. Wonderfully illustrated works by Clare Rojas of aged women and men in fields. A neon sign shaped as bold capital letters reading America by Glen Ligon, buzzing with the hope and electricity needed to fuel it. In addition there is also a strong list of other artists that have contributed.

Jennifer Bornstein
Ulla von Brandenburg
Walker Evans
Simryn Gill
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Loris Gréaud
Joseph Grigely
Carsten Höller
Evan Holloway
Steve McQueen
Gareth Moore
Rivane Neuenschwander
Harry Smith
Donald Urquhart
Cerith Wyn Evans

Even though this exhibition is not necessarily a hopeful one it reminds us that, “there is no place like home.” Even amidst all of its hardships.

http://www.wattis.org/exhibitions/oz#

The Alphebet Soup of Watteau

For those interested in the paintings of Antoine Watteau author Jed Perl's, Antoine’s Alphabet is a nice exploration into the themes and influence of this 18th century painter. The books' segments are arranged according to the alphabet with each letter guiding the reader through the historical, and or theoretical, influence that Watteau had on other pivotal artist of the past two centuries. The book pleasantly takes us from Watteau's portraits of the Commedia dell'arte clowns, Harlequin and Perrot, and turns them into perpetual pranksters who emerge throughout the centuries and find their way into works by Cezanne, their souls in the plays of Samuel Becket, and dance their way through ballets with Nijinsky. And while it is still uncertain as to whether we are retreating from or retuning to Cythera, this book enables us to indulge in the pleasures of the moment and remain as transfixed as a lover in Watteau’s garden.