Greatest Art Documentary

Ok well there is soo much layers to this film that it’s a bit difficult to say what it is definitely. Now it took me a while to get to writing about Exit Through the Gift Shop because I felt compelled to fact check it. When I have to get my ass off the couch and look through my computer to find out if a movie is accurate then it is successful on just accomplishing that. Now to reiterate, I do consider myself an artist and am subject to all its trappings and biased so my review of this film is going to have its preference.

I have been a fan of street art since I got hold of the book Dirty Graphics & Strange Characters back in 1999 when a fellow art student recommended it to me. But the film is awesome not simply because it’s a documentary on street art, which it is to an extent but more over that it’s a study on Mr. Brainwash aka Thierry Guetta. For the first quarter of the film we get a feel on all the major players of street art, Invader, Shepard Fairy, Swoon, and Bansky to name a few. Get a sense what they stand for and what they are trying to say with this movement of a new wave of graffiti art and it relevance today. But to my confusion it takes a crazy turn to covering this french man, Guetta and was wondering why should I care about this guy. The reasons reveal itself in the end of the film in a very satisfying way.

There has been a lot of questions as to how real this french man is. People have speculated that it’s Bansky’s prank on the art world since he directed the film. I am not in that lot, in fact I believe Bansky has realized the irony of what Guetta really is, what he has done and what he continues to do to street art. After all he has shown during Art Basel this year.

To anyone who has seen this film and continues to believe that Mr. Brainwash is a fabrication, I say they miss the point completely.

American Gods

Kick ass interview on comics. Check it out.

Basel Hangover

Well Okay, Basel is over for another year. It was a fantastic year again and I am looking forward to next year. That being said I will cover how this year went and am happy to report that it was far better than last year. And this is due to the fact that this year I simply had more access to the fairs. I was able to get into every opening night to most of the fairs short of two. So my experience this year is far more tangible than any pervious years I have been.

I will begin with Basel itself, which is fundamentally the same as every year but with the added incentive of opening night which was superb. In fact I refuse to attend Art Basel in the future if I am not included in the opening night. The people, the art, the energy is extremely palpable and transcended previous recollections of Basel itself. I have also compiled a list of fairs I enjoyed this year in order of preference.

1. Scope
2. Pulse
3. Aqua
4. Basel
5. NADA
6. Art Miami

Let’s start from descending order and Art Miami was not as good this year as it was the last. It seemed to have fallen back on old habits. Long gone are the days where the fair was dominated by South American artist with their Victorian sensibilities which is an acceptable loss for me. But it seems to have trouble establishing a theme as a show. What does it stand to represent? Surely not the edgy fresh art of the next generation or the established artist of the past fifty to eighty years where it can be bought and sold for the next eighty years. From what I have observed it seems to be catering to which Gallery has the most money or influence to show in the fair. Which is the same to an extent with all the shows but unlike the others there is a lack of an overall message, where art does matter, and what is being said.

NADA was quite refreshing, and I have nothing to refer it to since this was my first year there but what was witness in this fair was quite inspiring. The galleries were a nice mixture of engaging work with a number of possible charlatans. The hotel presentation really added to the experience along with the phenomenal view of the beach. The show was comprised of hungry galleries looking to showcase exciting contemporary work and I look forward to witnessing what will be presented to the public next year.

Coming back to Basel I will not dwell too long on this particular fair because it’s fundamentally the same in structure and why change what works. In one end of the fair you have more established bankable artist where one feels more like museum walking rather than gallery walking. The other side is the meat and the high end upstarts are presented in full force. I know most of these artists but it is always good to see them every year and there are surprises peppering in here and there. Add to this some lectures and some artist showcase booths and your Basel experience is complete, a guilty pleasure.

I have been to Aqua Miami for the past two years and this is the first I have had the pleasure to visit in its original location in the Aqua Hotel. This is a big reason it has earned this spot. The location is convenient as far as its proximity to the fair but it has the added incentive of being casual and somewhat intimate. This fair in composed of smaller galleries around the country and Canada but it the most exciting galleries in there caliber. I do hope it stays in the hotel next year but much like everything else it will be circumstantial.

Back in the Ice Palace I land in Pulse Miami and the work in this fair was impressive. I have always considered this fair to be the number one show in all of Miami ever since its first appearance in Miami. The galleries present an assortment of wonderful ideas and artist to the show. I always judge my fair experience by my attention span as trivial as this measurement may be. If my mind starts to wonder for a long time and I am not paying attention to the work then the fair is not successful in my eyes. Now this will happen regardless but with a good fair as in the case of Pulse the attention span is much longer. Many times just when I became accustomed to work one would catch my eye and I would be back in the game. I found myself coming back for more.

I believe Scope began three years ago in Miami and I always felt it had promise but felt short from Pulse and Aqua because it seeming to have had galleries that pretended to come out with fresh and contemporary work. This year was such a shock to me to find that Scope attained such a great deal of respect and inspiration and this with Art Asia always anchoring it down with its insipid work. Not only did it have my attention but it also touched me as an artist in the sense that I’m gonna have to rip some of these artist ideas off. Crazy were the installations and video art not to mention the conceptual paintings that seem to dominate this art fair in every corner. To its benefit the show felt more like a carnival rather than a fair. I pray that next year Scope will maintain its sensibility and it will have my gratitude if it excels it.

I’m gonna get back to painting now, till next year.

Picassos found in someone's garage

I read this story on NPR and thought, wow Picasso really painted all the time. I'v got to pick up my brush and get back to work.

New Basquiat Bio Pic

I always found it strange Julian Schnabel decided to release his first film as a biopic on Jean Michell Basquiat. The film was good for what is was but they never struck me as having a particularly close relationship. Now Tamera Davis has released "Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child” which is done in documentary style. It has its pros and cons like any other film but I did find that it did fill in the gaps that the Schnabel film didn’t cover and it seems a bit more intimate. Basquiat seems more lucid.

Well this is not an entry to compare the two films so let me talk about the Davis film. The pros are more in connecting his art to his experience in the art world and society on the whole. How his rise to fame was covered was also a treat from his graffiti work to doing group shows to galleries. Also the interview footage was especially delightful particularly when both Warhol and Basquiat are together. Better to say that if one is a fan of this artist this film will be especially insightful.

Now my concerns or grip would be the over simplifying him as a person or better yet an artist. It come across as a bit too romantic which is something that one should always be mindful of when doing a biopic on an artist. I wanted to know more about the father, mother, and more of a speculation on why he left. Also there was the girl friend who seems really nice but it would be interesting to know a little more about her relationship with him. Now these are all personal concerns and I am positive that they don’t want to share such intimate information so I understand.

Overall I enjoyed this biopic and recommend it to anyone who wants to see more of this artist, and hear his tale.

Macy’s Murakamis

I thought it was worth noting. Parade

MOCA Lecture

I have been invited to present a lecture on the 8th of December from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of MOCA by Moonlight series. So come on by.

Closing Reception

It's a sad day but the show will be over on the 18th of November. Come on by if you haven't seen it yet. I have been told its quiet the experience.

Family, Friends, and Other Oddities

Update on the chinese artist

Well... here is the begining of the article a current article about the artist I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. "Chinese avant-garde artist Ai Weiwei said Saturday that he has been placed under house arrest to prevent him from attending a party commemorating the forced demolition of his newly built studio in Shanghai."

Here is a link: Chinese Artist

OPENING NIGHT

Opening night for my solo show “Family, Friends, and Other Oddities” was really great. Here are photos of the show if you want to check it out.

Family, Friends, and Other Oddities

Opening Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,

I present to you the greatest solo show in all the land and lucky for you it will be here in Miami. So come on by and crush a bit of wine.

Family, Friends, and other Oddities

Color as an emotion

For quite some time I was focused on the technical aspect in my work and especially in this series. Proportion, perspective, lighting, etc… Of course if there is anything that slipped in to each piece of the work it would be expressed in brushstroke and paint application. Which begs the question what would be the point of creating a number of painting purely based on family and friends if there is nothing more than technique? My answer came in the form that the truth comes out no matter how suppressed it is. And so I made a conscious effort to just observe and if something notable came out then I would catch it after the fact.

This painting of my niece is to me a reminder that color is one hell of a factor in emotion, along side paint application and proportion. It is a direction I will take in the next paintings to come. Color.

One of the greatest work of art from China

I read this story on The Guardian and thought it would be great to mention simply because of its irony. Here is an installation thought out by an artist, Ai Weiwei, and carried through by a good number of Chinese people. The artwork is uniquely Chinese due to its process which was by about 1,600 people in a small city of Jingdezhen where they were contracted to manufacture 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds. The intention was to fill a room 1/3 in size and the public was suppose to walk, run, and hold them in hand to as they run through fingers and toes. The problem is now they pose a health risk because the dust the porcelain produces is toxic to lungs.

The reason I site this particular work of art is because of its correlation to China today. I do not know whether it was the artist intention but it does speak to China being this manufacturing giant which has little thought to what repercussions such accomplishments have. I sight the toxic drywalls, food, and toys that have been revealed over the last couple of years not to mention all the pollution it produces, not that this country is clean of such pollution but I digress.

Now I do not know if it was the artist intention for this problem to occur with the work as it being its true concept. Of course, if it was he would not say such a thing in public due to that fact that the Chinese government would not like such an idea to be expressed. But despite that the work has not for fill its original intention I do like my own interpretation of this artwork, even more that the artist did not realize the repercussions to such an accomplishment. For me the work speaks more to the issues China is having today on the world’s stage due to its massive economic growth.

This is my stepfather.

This is my stepfather Juan. He is of Mexican decent but was born in the U.S. so it would be accurate to say he is chicano. I find him to be a great subject to paint and draw from because of the expressions he makes, if fact I may indulge in the future to do an extensive series of paintings and drawing just on him.

In my opinion he is a walking work of art.

Bear and Bird Gallery

This piece will be on display at the Bear and Bird Gallery for the Monsters Under My Bed Show this Friday. Come by and check it out among other artist that are showing this month.

Presenting new Paintings at Basha

I must say it does feel good to be showing this Pawn Shop painting. I am particularly excited over this piece. So its going to happen this Friday at Basha Gallery so stop on by and crush a wine wink, wink.

Say Hello to Amber.

Here is one of the paintings that will be featured in my solo show. This was when my niece came by to visit. We spent all day in the pool and she doesn’t seem to be conscious of how much time we spend in there. Hours can fall off the clock but she still wants to say in. So I took a picture of her in her snorkel and goggles which she loved soo much. The irony was that she lost them that day. Not to worry I’m going to get her a new pair. After all one must snorkel in a pool.

Family, Friends, and Other Oddities

Upcoming Solo Exhibition

I have an upcoming one person show in the CS Gallery on the 29th of October. In the next couple of weeks I will be sharing more information about the show including what the exhibition will be about, talk about specific paintings, and an interview in my studio.

Alex Prager becomes a director

I am a huge fan of Prager's work as a photographer but as a director there needs to be more effort dedicated to storytelling. Not that there is no story in this short film is that it’s boring and predictable. The cinematography is soo good I can overlook it plus I’m under a Mad Men kick. Check it out.

Go Philli Go!!! Again.

Philli has some cool lookin murals.

Museum of Bad Art

This is one of the best dog paintings I have ever seen simply because I cannot stop looking at it. A painting is one which has been featured in the Museum of Bad Art story on NPR. I may visit if I'm ever in Somerville.

Harvey Pekar has died

The only knowledge I have of Harvey Pekar is that a movie was made based on his life that I found entertaining. I have not read any of the comics he has written or seen any of the guest appearances he made on David Letterman. That being said I am sad that this guy is dead. He very much embodied the everyman shlub as the term is coined. And yet he is an artist by any measure because he put it out there, man. The mundane existence that is an American Splendor and I will make an effort to pick up an issue and read his story.

NPR on Monet

For the purpose of full disclosure, I was not a fan of Claude Monet when I was younger and have grown to appreciate him. I always found his work to be too nostalgic and precious and too extent I still feel this way. However, given the context of his work I do realize that it was very much a break thought given the academic paintings of the time. Most of these consisted of Roman or religious themes and stories that were created to elevate or inform the viewer toward historical events. And so here is Monet and of course the rest of the impressionist personally I prefer Degas and Lautrec more over.

The reason I mention Monet now is that NPR has an interesting story about him. Here is a link to the story. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.
Influence on Monet
Monet the Garner
Study of Light

This guy is cool.

I came across Hollis Brown on Beautiful Decay and found this work to be quiet engaging. Now I have seen a number of 80’s reference art but this stuff is bitchin!! By the way this image is made out of permanent marker. Yeah permanent marker. I mean I question cleaver art sometime but this one rubs me the right way.

More Chuck Close

Chuck Close is in my blog again for another reason now. It is worth noting that while most Close interviews are pretty much all the same due to the way we makes himself so accessible to interviews. This one is different. He is covering a topic I can relate to too an extent and this is his difficulty with facial recognition. Apparently it is the bases for his work and I have never really known about this affliction or that it was something Close was grappling with for a long time. It is a really good interview on Radio Lab and worth checking out: Radio Lab

Ladies and Gentlemen Dennis Hopper

I have been familiar with Dennis Hoppers work as an actor with films such as Rebel Without a Cause, Easy Rider, and Blue Velvet. I even liked him in Water World. For some strange reason I haven’t seen Apocalypse Now but will make an effort to check it out. And before I forget one of my personal favorite scenes in all of movie history was the one with Christopher Walken in True Romance. Audience if you have not seen this movie, go see it, if for nothing else but for that scene.

I had also heard of his interest in painting and photography but what I was not expecting in this interview what he had to offer as an art collector. Now I don’t know if it’s because I had always known him as Dennis Hopper the crazed actor but his knowledge of art history and what is more rare in my opinion is his experience in art collecting. This is very impressive. After all I can sit in a classroom and have a professor show me slides on the process of art in history or I can read it in a book. But to have to witness it in life, wow. He bought one of Warhol’s soup cans that he hand painted, hand painted!!! This is before it was a big deal which makes it a bigger deal. Needless to say totally geeked out when I heard this.

In any case here is the interview he did on Fresh Air: check it out

We got Synthetic DNA!!!

It's pretty self expainitory. Here is a link to the story: Synthetic DNA

All hail Pervis Young

He passed away April 20, 2010.

white people like Banksy.

I was reading this blog, "stuff white people like" and read this great entry.

David Lynch and Dior

If you need a David Lynch fix then this will do for a while.

All hail Frank Frazetta

He passed away May 10, 2010. I will remember him as a high school legend and a 70's illustrating god.

Michael Crichton Collection

Well I was back on NPR and heard a story on his collection of Pop Art paintings he aquired over the years. It was an interesting story and recommend a listen on your spare time.

The opening is this Friday.

Come on by and take a look at the show. The Museum of Contemporary Art also has their monthly Jazz Festival.

This is a cool

Space Monkey from Leo Burnett on Vimeo.

But I'm not so sure about the ending, reminds me of that crying American Indian ad back in the day.

Showcasing Chuck's photos

The Joseloff Gallery has seen fit to focus on Chuck's skills as a photographer. It is an interesting concept to just have his brushes put away in order to focus on his skills behind the camera. He may have something when I saw a series of pictures on a more mature Brad Pitt. It was interesting idea to focus on "Old Pitt" rather than it being your typical celebrity photos. There could be something here for Chuck Close.

Graffiti in Brazil

Basha Gallery

Mark your calendar boys and girls. I have a gallery opening coming up in two weeks.

Here's a link to the gallery: Basha Gallery.

The Treats series

This really began, at least on a visual level with the Materva can. For a while I was contemplating how I would approach still life paintings.

I despise doing still life paintings.

It is an approach that is not terribly interesting to me and since I have the tendency to explore subjects that do not interest me… this is a good sign for a series.

When I did the Materva can then I began to think about other treats that I grew up with and are still around to this day; items that are indicative to Miami. Treats by their definition bring about good memories and so I focus on snacks I enjoyed. In any case I recommend these treats to anyone who finds them. Try it, at the very least for the experience.

Go Philly!!!

Well I was on NPR again and heard a story on a print show. Looks like Philadelphia is at it again with a festival consentrating on the neatest prints. Here is a link to the event Philagrafika. Of couse here is a link to the story on NPR, enjoy.

Caravaggio

I was boning up on my Caravaggio when NPR did a story on him. I learned some new things, check it out if it peaks your interest: Caravaggio

Calle Ocho 08

I haven’t been to Calle Ocho since I was very young and decided to go back in 2008 just to see if it has changed at all. What I was to discover is that it has gotten bigger, louder, and more crowded, if that was possible. The day started out manageable but it then it became hotter and more claustrophobic. I suppose it does have its charm but I got pass that after a while. The only thing that kept me going was how annoyed my girlfriend became. She had never been and her reaction to the event was very amusing to me. I collected a number of photos of the event and decided to make a drawing of one in my sketchbook as shown above.

The question remains, why draw such a claustrophobic event?

My answer, its Miami.

The Infinities

"But lo!"

Hermes exclaims.

"See what they made of this mess of frottage. It is as if a fractious child had been handed a few timber shavings and a bucket of mud to keep him quiet only for him [to] promptly erect a cathedral, complete with baptistry, steeple, weathercock and all. Within the precincts of this consecrated house they afford each other sanctuary, excuse each other their failings, their sweats and smells, their lies and subterfuges, above all their ineradicable self-obsession. This is what baffles us, how they wriggled out of our grasp and somehow became free to forgive each other for all they are not."

An excerpt from The Infinities
By John Banville

Heard about this book on NPR. I found the quoat notable.

Bear and Bird this weekened

That's right boys and girls stop on by and check out your favorite neiborhood artist showing his painting of a can of soda. Here is a link if you need any direction or to have questions answered about the show: Bear and Bird Gallery

Inglorious Art

I ran into this image on the Juxtapoz site and thought it was worth noting. Personally, I'm a fan of the movie for a number of reasons but I do realize that not all Tarantino movies are for everyone. However if your a fan of foreign movies and are not to squeamish this is a movie for you. In any case enjoy the art that didn’t make the cut: Inglorious Art

Materva

I just submitted a painting for the Bear and Bird Gallery. Its for a Florida theme show so naturally I entered a painting of a can of Materva. If your interested in taking look at the painting in person stop by and check it out.

The future?

Right now in Miami, three major collectors have their private warehouses open to the public:

Margulis Collection
Rubell Family Collection
De La Cruz Collection

These warehouses are set in a Museum setting and have a very impressive collection. Historically artwork has been cared for by different institutions beginning with the Royalty/Imperial to Religious Institutions up to the current keepers of art which are the capitalist institutions and the national/ government/ city run institutions. My thoughts is in the new shift. An extention of the capitalist institution which is the private collectors.

Recently NPR did a story on one example: Private Museums

Conceptual Realism

It does sound pretentious but there is something in this term Conceptual Realism that I find holds true. I will allow Robert Williams to continue:

Applying Realistic Art to Conceptualism – A Statement of Intent

For many years modern artists have intended to create paintings that fit into the understood explanation of conceptual art, and not all of it has simply been pop art. However, the majority of modern paintings have tried to slip under the safe recognized title of “pop.” Although pop has been the most obvious refuge, there are some real problems with this idiom. Pop art needs, and totally depends on appropriation – copying something popular. The need to reference itself back to the population’s common favoritisms encumbers art’s ability to experience the entire spectrum of the hypothetical. In other words, it’s very limited. Copying, or just recreating an object in a larger size suggests an atrophied imagination.

With the exception of pop art, there is a problem with the acceptance of realistic fine art painting into the formal art world of conceptualism. Basically it’s the contemporary art world’s hatred of craftsmanship. Facie dexterity has been frowned on and discouraged for almost sixty years. At best, it has been classified as the quaint expression of a hobbyist, more suited in the quest for a blue ribbon at a county fair. Unfortunately, because of many artists who have timidly restrained their imaginations this dim view has proven justified.

Acceptable or not, craftsmanship and the ability to draw and paint without the aid of computer or photography is a positive human compulsion, and is just as valid a virtuosity as singing with a beautiful voice, or a piano concerto played with nimble fingers. All representational painting shoud not be categorized with sentimental and innocuous works that placate the requirements of modest morality, something on the order of eyewash.

A well executed oil painting with intelligent purpose should not find itself the exclusive trappings of the interior decorator of the sanctimonious moralist espousing public and family values.

The key word is supposition, It must be suggested that art inspired by over-imagination, rendered in precise clarity, and compelled to masquerade as conceptual art can only flourish if it represents itself honestly in the service of the purely hypothetical.

Here is a link to his site if you want to see more, Robert Williams.

Haitian Disaster

Just a quick note if anyone would be interested in dontating funds to help out in this earthquake disaster here are some links:

Action Against Hunger
Salvation Army
Red Cross

And if you want to do research on where you want to send your money go to Charity Navigator.

MIA-Art Fair

After the wonderful spectacle that was Art Basel and all its events it is nice to have a fair that eases us back to reality. The MIA Art Fair is more like the after party where you see familiar art work and faces. For me it's a lay back summary of last year’s events from its homage to 25 years of Cuban American Art to new and exciting Art Stars which include the Artists of Primary Flight and the Spinello Gallery. I was amused with the Federico Uribe installation RISK and it’s cleaver use of disposable objects.

I believe the show will do well due to the phenomenal weather conditions that are taking place up north; there are a lot of snow birds down here. This fair is a sweet spread, much like a buffet, there is a little something here for everyone.

Photo above provided by the Miami Art Exchange