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Monday, December 31st
The New Art Year
As we embark on 2008, I wanted to create some resolutions not only for myself, but for the art world at large. I've based these things on my experiences as a collector. No one is perfect, least of all me and the art world certainly doesn't need my opinions, but because I love art, artists, museums and galleries so much, I think these could help things really ROCK in 2008. Enjoy!
1. Art gallery operators: Please smile occasionally and TRY to be welcoming to visitors. This may actually help you sell art on that VERY day. Of course, many galleries are warm and inviting, but many are not.
2. Artists: Please stop slamming art fairs. We know that they present all sorts of hazards and issues, but they ARE indeed legitimate venues for LIVING art. Ultimately, let's be glad that they exist. If they vanish, that would NOT be a good thing. I don't know. I guess I've stayed too long at the fair.
Michael Corbin on 12.31.07 @ 09:16 AM EST [more..]
Thursday, December 27th
The Sad Tale of the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art
 The Museum of Contemporary Art, in my home town of Sydney, Australia, is located at one of the most beautiful and spectacular spots in Sydney on the edge of the beautiful Sydney harbour at Circular Quay, adjacent to the historic Rocks precinct. As Australia's only museum dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting and collecting contemporary art from across Australia and around the world, the MCA is an extremely important institution for the promotion and presentation of contemporary art in Australia. From the description above you could be forgiven for picturing the MCA institution as a triumphant expression of contemporary art practise that reflects the experimental and cutting edge nature of the art that they exhibit. But unfortunately, this is not the case. What should be a highly successful contemporary exhibition space is instead an under-achieving, awkward and problematic museum that seems to be doomed to a life of being ignored and passed by, regardless of how good the exhibitions are.
Nicholas Forrest on 12.27.07 @ 11:47 AM EST [more..]
Tuesday, December 25th
Mr. Speivolgel
 Recently I attended an art opening at an upscale gallery in Manhattan. It was an exhibit showcasing the work of eight artists from different parts of the world. Very eclectic show: abstracts, representationals, oils, acrylics and so on. The air was charged with energy and the works were presented by the gallery in a sleek and sophisticated setting. Three of the canvasses were not only unframed, but rusty tack marks, puckers and tears were clearly visible on the raw sides of the canvasses. The three paintings were the work of a known artist. They were beautifully executed for subject matter, but I was surprised at the presentation. I was shocked that the gallery hung them as such, because the "Unfinished Look" was distracting and had nothing to do with the subjects of the paintings. It was not as if these works were making a statement for a work in progress. The paintings themselves were quite finished. They were not of the "grunge school," either. Even if the works had been neatly stretched and left unframed, it would have been less obtrusive and more in keeping with the quality of the show and the prices!
Ellen Fisch on 12.25.07 @ 07:52 AM EST [more..]
Thursday, December 20th
2007 Lows and Highs
We’re nearing the end of 2007. It’s been a good year. And like most years it’s also had its low points. For me especially this is a good time to review things before I begin a new year.
Bombs Away in Bean Town (Feb.07):
I began the year a little late with my first blog in February. I was flabbergasted by the stir caused in Boston by the guerrilla advertising campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Those little lite brite icons placed in various parts of Boston that made the national news by Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28 as part of an elaborate national marketing campaign. The LEDs were considered suspicious, prompting Boston authorities to close down major road and waterways to investigate. Turns out there had been other bomb scares earlier in the day so they had their knickers in a twist already. Turner Broadcasting later admitted having the LEDs placed in ten major cities (including Boston), and apologized for the misunderstanding. Despite the uproar, Berdovsky and Stevens mocked the critics and the media in interviews despite being charged with "placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct”. Turner Broadcasting has paid one million dollars to the Boston Police Department to cover the cost of their investigation and another million in good will funding to settle any criminal and civil claims.
Walter King on 12.20.07 @ 05:02 PM EST [more..]
Monday, December 17th
Folk Art and the Art Market
 I recently came across the website for the American Folk Art Museum which, although provides plenty of nformation and history of American folk art, left me with more questions than answers. Although I had a general idea of what Folk Art was before visiting the museum’s website, I had not really considered the place of folk art in the current art market and the circumstances that have resulted in a revival in the interest of Folk Art. The generally accepted definition of Folk Art is hand crafted artworks created by individuals that have had little or no formal artistic training that reflect the culture, tradition and heritage of a particular and identifiable social group. I find this definition to be a bit broad and unclear so I did some further research on the definition of the term "folk" which resulted in several meanings most of which are relevant to the definition of Folk Art.
Nicholas Forrest on 12.17.07 @ 08:09 AM EST [more..]
Thursday, December 13th
Picasso and the Bulls
 A visitor to his home once asked Pablo Picasso, "What is art?" Picasso picked up a bicycle seat and a pair of handlebars and combined them to make a bull's head. "What is not?" he said.
It's not surprising that the famous Spanish artist would select the image of a bull to whimsically illustrate the secret of art. From childhood until the final years of his life, Picasso showed a burning passion for bullfighting. Bullfight scenes and variations occur over and over in his work, recurring more than any other single symbol.
Major Picasso exhibits have been popping up all over North America of late, 30 years after his death, including the spectacular Cubist Portraits of Fernande Oliver at the National Gallery In Washingtin DC (until Jan 18). But it's to Barcelona that Picasso fans should head to immerse themselves fully in the artist's work -- and to get a genuine Spanish feel for the way in which bullfighting influenced his art.
The city's Picasso Museum is located in Barcelona's medieval quarter -- the Barrio Gotico, where narrow streets twist and wind beneath overhanging balconies -- on Montcada Street.
Ron Butler on 12.13.07 @ 09:11 AM EST [more..]
Monday, December 10th
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2007: THE REAL STORY
This isn't the story that I had planned to tell about Art Basel Miami Beach 2007. It's the real story.
As I approached Exhibition Hall D outside the box office to buy my $65.00 permanent, four-day pass to the fair, I crossed paths with Miami Beach
artist Alfred Perez.
"Can I give you a card for my show?" he asked. "Sure," I said. He told me that his show was running from three until seven that evening. "I'll be there," I said. He was wearing a harness holding his paintings ... one on his chest, the other on his back. He also had a huge stack of postcards and was standing close to the exhibition hall, but he left a respectful distance that screamed he wasn't connected to the fair. In short, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to promote his work. Art Basel hadn't even opened yet and the moment that I saw Perez standing there handing out postcards for his show, I knew that I had the real story. More on that in a moment.
Michael Corbin on 12.10.07 @ 08:35 AM EST [more..]
Thursday, December 6th
Art Paris in Abu Dhabi
 Art Dubai in March this year may have been the first ever regional Art Fair but I think Abu Dhabi trumped it this month with Art Paris-Abu Dhabi. It was held over three days in the Emirates Palace hotel, a rather appropriate venue seeing as its gold and marble ornateness does bear a passing resemblance to the Palais de Versailles. Art Paris has been a key event in the French arts calendar for the past 9 years. This collaboration gives French and other European galleries good exposure in the region and also provides a prestigious platform for the Middle Eastern galleries.
Valerie Grove on 12.06.07 @ 09:02 AM EST [more..]
Monday, December 3rd
Knots
 I can’t really tell what triggered what. If my interest in the East led me to embracing painting [I emphasize ‘embracing’], or if it was painting that led to the possibility of being interested in ideas we habitually situate in the Orient. Ideas, I must add, I completely refuted until well into my mid 20’s. In any case, painting and a growing fondness for things Tibetan were the grains of sand that would eventually bring the machine that kept me in University, and on a completely different track, to a standstill.
I can see how, to those watching me from outside of me, these two passions spelt disaster: painting was keeping me away from my studies and a promising future, and Buddhism was slowly but surely keeping me away from the habitual me they had grown accustomed to. Basically, they thought I had gone mad, and while I could feel the attraction for those ‘new’ ideas, I could feel with equal force how attempts were made to bring me back into the fold and I often found myself questioning my own sanity.
Jose Freitas Cruz on 12.03.07 @ 08:12 AM EST [more..]
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