Saturday, December 19, 2009

AFC Fundraiser

The Art Fag City Fundraiser: Make Jeff Koons Balls Float!


From Jeff Koons’ Three Ball Total Equilibrium Tank, Image manipulation: Man Bartlett

Who wants to see Jeff Koons’ balls float? Last year, I made Damien Hirst’s diamond skulls glitter and rotate, this year I take on Koons’ basketballs. Come Monday morning I promise an animated gif showing just how much buoyancy these things have. Exceed the goal, and who knows where these balls will land. Ultimately however, I know they yearn to be free!

Donation Levels

The Maverick Donor (choose your amount)


Or make checks payable to NURTUREart, with Art Fag City fundraiser in the memo. Mail to:

NURTUREArt
475 Keap Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Thursday, December 10, 2009

"Picturing the Studio"

from: Tom Moody


picturing-the-studio-450

I have some work in a show called "Picturing the Studio," opening Friday, Dec. 11 (tomorrow) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Curated by Michelle Grabner and Annika Marie, the exhibition deals with studio or post-studio practices and visualizing an artist's methods from the appearance of the work (that's my spin, not the curators'). Artists include:

Bas Jan Ader, Conrad Bakker, John Baldessari, Stephanie Brooks, Ivan Brunetti, Ann Craven, Julian Dashper, Dana DeGiulio, Susanne Doremus, Joe Fig, Dan Fischer, Julia Fish, Nicholas Frank, Alicia Frankovich, Judith Geichman, Rodney Graham, Karl Haendel, Shane Huffman, Barbara Kasten, Matt Keegan, Daniel Lavitt, Adelheid Mers, Tom Moody, Bruce Nauman, Paul Nudd, Frank Piatek, Leland Rice, David Robbins, Kay Rosen, Amanda Ross-Ho, Carrie Schneider, Roman Signer, Amy Sillman, Frances Stark, Nicholas Steindorf, and James Welling.

The work of mine in the show is a pair of smaller "paper quilts" from this late '90s series, using office paper, photocopying, and cloth tape as a medium. (Back in the day I was calling this "corporate tramp art.")

Monday, December 7, 2009

Fred Tomaselli

Spoonbill Wood background banner


Tomaselli banner


Dear Spoonbillians-

Please join us Thursday December 10th at 7:30 PM for a conversation/signing with Fred Tomaselli. Mr. Tomaselli will be speaking with Ian Berry, co-curator of the an exhibition of the artist's work. Mr. Berry is a curator at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College, where the exhibition will be on view 6 Feb 2010 - 6 Jun 2010. The show is currently on view at the Aspen Art Museum and the last stop will be The Brooklyn Art Museum, which opens on October 8, 2010. This career survey is the also the subject of a beautiful fully-illustrated catalogue recently published by Prestel and edited by Mr. Berry.

Refreshments will be served as always. Please arrive in a timely manner as seating is limited.

Thanks again for reading & we hope to see you soon at Spoonbill.


Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers

218 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn New York
11211
(718)-387-7322

New & Used Books in the Arts & Letters
Bought & Sold Since 1999


Fred Tomaselli the catalogue
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book cover

Complex explosions of color and line, swirling patterns, and collages made of natural objects are signature elements of Tomaselli's work. His large-scale assemblage paintings, often built onto wooden surfaces and later varnished, are rich creations laced with historic and cultural references.

They invite close viewing and this beautiful large-format volume allows readers to study in brilliant detail the intricacies of each piece. In addition to full reproductions, there are also illustrations of details magnified to reveal the paintings' texture that is so critical to Tomaselli's technique. An interview with the artist provides enriching background while essays by the authors as well as the prominent art historian Linda Norden offer insight into the context and themes of this fascinating American artist. An excerpt from an unpublished word by bestselling writer David Shields, who is an ardent fan of Fred Tomaselli, rounds off this volume.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Comics

From: David Sandlin
PictureBox & Desert Island Present:

The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

Saturday December 5th 2009: 11 AM - 7 PM
Our Lady of Consolation Church
184 Metropolitan Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Free admission

Download the festival program here for a map and schedule.


The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival consists of 3 components in 3 nearby locations in Williamsburg, Brooklyn:

-Over 50 exhibitors selling their zines, comics, books, prints and posters in a bustling market-style environment at Our Lady of Consolation Church, 184 Metropolitan Ave.
-Panel discussions and lectures by prominent artists, as well as an exhibition of vintage comic book artwork at Secret Project Robot, 128 River St.
-An evening of musical performances at DBA, 49 S. 2nd St.

In the cozy basement of Our Lady of Consolation Church (184 Metropolitan), exhibitors will display and sell their unique wares. Exhibitors include leading graphic book publisher Drawn & Quarterly of Montreal; famed French screenprint publisher Le Dernier Cri; artist's book publisher Nieves of Zurich, Switzerland; Italian art book publisher Corraini; master printer David Sandlin; and tons of individual artists and publishers from Brooklyn.

Featured guests include the renowned artists Gabrielle Bell, R. O. Blechman, Charles Burns, Anya Davidson, Kim Deitch, C.F., Carlos Gonzales, Ben Katchor, Michael Kupperman, Gary Panter, Ron Rege Jr., Peter Saul, Dash Shaw, R. Sikoryak, Jillian Tamaki, Adrian Tomine, and Lauren Weinstein, among others.

FESTIVAL GUEST SIGNINGS
184 Metropolitan Ave.

1:00: Jillian Tamaki and Lauren Weinstein
2:00: Matthew Thurber, Ron Rege, Jr., C.F.
3:00: Kim Deitch, R.O. Blechman, Dash Shaw
4:00: Ben Katchor and Gary Panter
5:00: Mark Newgarden, David Sandlin, Lisa Hanawalt
6:00: Gabrielle Bell & R. Sikoryak

The commerce portion of the Festival is partnered with an active panel and lecture program nearby at Secret Project Robot, 5 minutes down the street at 128 River St. This mini symposium will run from 1 to 6 pm and is being overseen by noted comics critic Bill Kartalopolous.

PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE:
Secret Project Robot
128 River St. and Metropolitan

1:00 GARY PANTER & PETER SAUL
Two generations of painters, Gary Panter and Peter Saul, will discuss their shared history, image-making, narrative, and the joys and dilemmas of making difficult work. Moderated by Dan Nadel.

2:00 PANELS AND FRAMES: COMICS AND ANIMATION
Comics and animation operate very differently, yet retain deep historical and
stylistic connections. R. O. Blechman, Kim Deitch, and Dash Shaw will discuss the
relationship between the two forms with moderator Bill Kartalopoulos.

3:00 BEN KATCHOR
Ben Katchor has chronicled the pleasures of urban decay and other metropolitan
phenomena in comics including Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer and The Jew
of New York. Katchor will read performatively from his comics and discuss his work in this rare spotlight presentation.

4:00 FLATLANDS: COMICS ON THE PICTURE PLANE
Do comics need a third dimension? Lisa Hanawalt, Mark Newgarden, Ron Regé, Jr.,
and David Sandlin will consider the tension between comics' illusionistic worlds and
their status as images on a picture plane. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.

5:00 LIVE COMICS DRAWING
In a one-of-a-kind comics drawing session, Frank Santoro will present Gabrielle Bell and R. Sikoryak with a rough page layout based on his principles of composition and design. These two artists will translate Santoro's layout into two unique pages of comics, live, before your very eyes.

Also: An exhibition of 1950s original comic book art curated by Dan Nadel

PERFORMANCES
Death by Audio
49 S. 2nd Street

Finally, at the end of the day visitors can troop over to Death by Audio at 49 S. 2nd Street, for an evening of musical performances by cartoonists, organized by Paper Route, and including performances by Kites, Ambergris, Sam Gas Can, Boogie Boarder, Nick Gazin, Graffiti Monsters, Dubbknowdubb.


The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

Exhibitors and Artists:
Our Lady of Consolation Church
184 Metropolitan Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
11 AM - 7 PM

Panel Discussions, Lectures & Art Exhibition:
Secret Project Robot
128 River @ corner of Metropolitan Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
1 PM - 6 PM

Musical Performances:
Death by Audio
49 S. 2nd St Between Kent & Wythe
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
9 PM onward

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Joanna Malinowska




Joanna Malinowska
"Time of Guerrilla Metaphysics"

December 10, 2009 - January 24, 2010
Opening Reception:
Thursday Dec 10, 6-9pm


“Time of Guerilla Metaphysics” consists primarily of a giant sculpture of a Boli, which is a spiritual talisman created by the Bamana people in what is now Mali in West Africa. The Boli is a small, amorphous sculpture with a vague bovine appearance, composed of sacrificial materials relevant to the natural and spiritual world, including cattle dung, kola nuts, earth, blood, honey, etc. The sculpture is the literal representation of the Bamana conception of the cosmos, and is kept in a special place and is overseen by a group of male priests, blacksmiths, and village elders who are essentially the keepers of cosmic order.

In Malinowska’s version, the Boli is absurdly huge and created using her own set of idiosyncratic building materials and techniques. Instead of the more elemental Bamana materials, Malinowska’s list takes a turn into pure wonder. Water from the Bering Strait, hay, scraps of Spinoza’s Ethics, plaster and the sweater of Bolivian president Evo Morales are all combined to create a boli that is the embodiment of Malinowska’s Theory of Everything.

Not stopping there Malinowska presents (in no particular order):

1. A replica of Malevich’s famous Black Square painting of 1915 (for the Boli to look at).
2. Two mammoth tusks
3. A black wooden cube, not a minimalist sculpture, but rather a reconstruction of a percussion instrument designed by the Russian avant-garde composer Galina Ustvolskaya, whose musical voice has been described as emanating from a black hole.
4. A wooden cane wrapped in felt, after the one used by Joseph Beuys for enchanting a coyote, mechanized to periodically rap the aforementioned black wooden cube in order to create mystical sounds for the Boli to hear.
5. A hand painted Ghost Dance dress stuffed with balloons filled with air from the prairies near the Oglala Sioux reservation.
6. A slightly delirious video of scruffy inhabitants of Brooklyn’s McCarren Park performing the Solar System model falling apart.

All this and more are tender threads, false starts and fragments from those who have gone all the way in search for alternative realities. It is a wild and complex vision. At its heart, “Time of Guerilla Metaphysics” is an experiment of potentially wondrous or catacysmic results; never have such strange and disparate elements been combined and the world reimagined with such particular abandon. The cynic will naturally say that Malinowska is romanticizing exotic cultures and western cultural celebrities. On the other hand, the dreamer will just as naturally blink her eyes in wonder.

Canada
55 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002

212 925 4631
canadanewyork.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Bike

New Bright Bike Kit

From:


Untitled Document

1. Bright Bike V2.0 DIY Kits for sale!

Bright BIke V2.0
Black pinstripe wrap on a black bike: hidden in daylight - bright white in lights

Bright BIke V2.0
Yellow Caterpillar wrap on a green bike