no wonders.

heat

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 03:30:00 +0000

The Return

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:10:00 +0000

I have not updated this blog in over a year because at some point I felt like I did not have to, anymore. But I think it's good to have hobbies, and I should resume.

Abstracted Journeys on View at the Gagosian Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Ellen Gallagher, Greasy, 2010

via the Gagosian Gallery

To properly consider Ellen Gallagher’s “Greasy” (2010), a mixed-media work in a solo show of the same name on view at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, a visitor is required to travel to the back wall of the gallery space. In order to do so, one must first navigate around five long-limbed tables that display collages encased in translucent vitrines. These works from the eight-part “Morphia” series depict forms of magnified cartoon proportions that appear otherwordly; one flaunts newspaper horns from one angle, and quivering eyelashes from the other, its tail fanning out into slivers of print. In each, the surfaces of egg-washed paper appear decidedly clinical in the empty space of the white cube gallery, and it is with silence and delicacy that the viewer comes to “Greasy” on the right of the first gallery’s far wall. The effect of travelling to it is disorientating. Encountering the 79.5 x 74 inch canvas invites extended contemplation, proving to be an additional journey beyond the physical one already exercised. A work of ranging material -- ink, oil, graphite and printed-paper -- “Greasy” shifts between abstraction and figuration, with rhythmic lines appearing at times to take the form of distorted physiognomy. The metaphor of the journey continues to be particularly apt for this work, as it maintains a sense of familiarity only momentarily. The packed surface never allows the eye to settle, and figuration becomes noticeable only after close inspection. Gallagher’s “Greasy,” then, represents an animated journey between material and meaning, as it is the case that the viewer gains knowledge of the work’s possible polemics only after a rigorous interrogation of formal elements.

Though Gallagher’s canvas is rich and sumptuous in the range of media used, the artist uses empty space to aggregate her rhythms. The surface of the painting “appears to have undergone various degrees of obliteration, ” with white ink covering the entire expanse of the canvas. Magazine clippings, most noticeably the letters “e” and “o,” are visible above the ink, though the graphic details of bottles, jars, and tubes are whitened out. They appear in patches, disjointed between the inked spaces. The white expanse itself is bridged by deep cracks, chipped as if under the threat of becoming shattered. The cut-paper appears almost carved.

It is from these ink-soaked incisions that a looming shape emerges from the bottom left of the canvas. The paper curves in a way suggestive of the female form, although the roaming filigree of intricate drawing and collage - constantly shifting the viewer’s attention around, over, and across the work – make it seem impossible to decisively decide the gender of the depicted form. Lines that appear as graphed squares are interspersed, further complicating one’s view of the outlined body. Imagery from clippings similarly competes for attention by threatening to be shown through the white ink. While it is these same clippings that provide shape for a shoulder and arm, the viewer is generally forced to chart topography, mapping out the elevations that seem to appear out of oil and cut-paper. Much like how a mountain’s contour lines are represented on a map, the figure disturbs the otherwise rhythmic patterns of line.

Graphic images, both hidden and plainly visible, do not provide many clues to a central meaning. The presumed red spear held by the figure, as well as shapes in the form of clocks and bottles are lost in a collage. Instead, one is left to contemplate the use of material as it relates to the corporeal outline. As tattoo is branded on flesh, so is ink absorbed on paper. Seeing the figure as inked, or marked, provides a new context for he ghostly structure. Abstractions, in this case, dwell halfway between body and art.

Using abstract and minimal techniques, Gallagher’s “Greasy” employs both abstraction and minimalism. With varied techniques, formal elements are used to create figuration, despite the ease at which the process seeks to disguise it. Perhaps the work's title speaks to this visual slippage.

Photographs by Tina Barney

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:35:00 +0000

These photographs by Tina Barney are from a series called Players now on view through December 18 at Janet Borden Gallery in New York. What I love most is their visual tension: there is a certain confrontation that immediately takes place between viewer and subject. They are editorialized subjects of wealth and privilege, presented for my condemnation.

Family Commission with Snake, 2007

via Janet Borden Gallery

The Hands, 2002

via Janet Borden Gallery

The Young Lady, 2002.

via Janet Borden Gallery

via Art Observed

Paintings by Justin Allen

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 14:56:00 +0000

Justin Allen creates oil on panel paintings that are rendered in many layers of oil and glaze. Though small in size, some take up to two years to complete. Reminiscent of a verisimilitude of light and color as seen in the works of Dutch interior painters like Jan Vermeer, Petrus Christus and Has Memling, Allen's pieces are striking. They seem decidedly youthful, simple and pure in form, objects un-seduced by their own beauty. Allen believes that he "paints the contemporary with a deep appreciation for an older vernacular."

Round Trashcan, 2005-2007

7" x 9," oil on panel

Couch, 2005-2006

18" x 24," Oil on linen mounted to panel

Fire-Hydrant, 2006

7 3/4 " x 8.5, oil on panel

Inflatable Pool, 2005-2007

8" x 16," oil on panel

via the artists's website

"Untitled (When Will You Be Happy)" | Jitish Kallat

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 02:44:00 +0000

via TEN MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

Sculpture | Sarah Braman

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Sculptor Sarah Braman creates sculptures that "are not about things, they are things. They don't exist as a reference, representation or metaphor, but as themselves." Maybe this video provides all the commentary that is needed.

via VVORK

CBC Coverage of El Anatsui

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:07:00 +0000

CBC has recently published an interesting article with fantastic images on El Anatsui's exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum, which was just recently extended through February 2011. I first came across the piece on art historian Chika Okeke-Agulu's blog who pleas with commentators and journalists to stop referring to Anatsui's work as "fabric," "textile," or "wall hanging." He writes, with emphasis mine:

"I used to consider these descriptions of the artists' sculptures naughty or simply stupid. But now I believe it amounts to denial of the status of these works as Sculptures, and of the artists achievement in this genre, and I am having none of that. It makes me think of the days when African sculptors were described as 'carvers.'"

In past writings, I have referred to Anatsui's work as "not really sculptures, could be termed installation art, and safe-to-say wall hangings." While I said this as a way to describe the complexity of the artist's work, I'm glad to have been called out on what might just be a flat out mischaracterization. Still, I would defend writings that refer to his pieces as installation art, as their visual impact really encompasses and surrounds the senses much in the spirit of installation.

"Left Right Left Right" | Karla Black

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:18:00 +0000

Left Right Left Right, Karla Black.

Compost, top soil, red building sand, golden hoggin gravel, hairspray, polystrene, spray paint

image via VVORK

Turkey Day Things.

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:56:00 +0000

found at c-monster,

but courtesy of Smithsonian Archives of American Art

I adore this charming snapshot of Jackson Pollock, his mother, and Lee Krasner getting ready to carve the turkey. The Smithsonian Archives Blog has posted some nifty drawings of turkeys as well, and then, there is, of course, Turkzilla. Happy Thanksgiving to all readers out there!

Photography by Maia Flore

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:06:00 +0000

French photographer Maia Flore creates sublime photography that is somehow provocative but not pretentious.

via Beautiful Decay

"Distillation" | Roxy Paine

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:16:00 +0000

Throughout the gallery spaces and offices of James Cohan Gallery, Roxy Paine's large scale installation of "circulatory systems, arboreal forms, and industrial power-plants" is on view through December 11, 2010. All of the material is bent and soldered, and parts that are painted red or are highly polished are chosen carefully to recall blood vessels, tree branches, and technological weavings.

While this may seem too literal, the work is most engaging when the "metaphoric situations for processess" are fully expanded. It is interesting to see how our bodies weave in and out the space that Distillation occupies, just as nature is shown to bend to technological invention within the work.

images via Art Observed

The Hippo Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:13:00 +0000

image via BoingBoing

BoingBoing has a post that features the above image from the Hippo Room in the Mammalogy Department of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). The author writes:

"Museums keep research collections like this tucked away in attics, basements and back rooms. In these quiet, little sanctuaries, touching is allowed. Getting access (albeit limited) to the collections at the University of Kansas' anthropology museum was one of the high points of my undergraduate experience...the AMNH even has a few secret corridors where it stashes treasures. Great stuff!"

I understand the general excitement of gaining access to objects and artifacts that a general public does not get to see, but at the same time, why is it that the majority of a museum's holdings are found in storage? With the 21st century museum gift shop and cafeteria, we are left with less art in our exhibition space, and fewer objects on display. We are left to ponder the secret life of study collections, the hidden alternative that only comes with restricted access. With little information on AMNH's shelf-life available to a general audience, the absence of objects speaks volumes on taste, notions of value, and matters of authenticity.

These are just hippo heads, so I think it is fine to just marvel. But what if they were art representative or made to stand in for, entire countries or cultures? Exhibitions and collections are being asked to do more for less, have knowledge or information serve as representational. There are several books that cover this phenomenon more deeply, but seeing this picture just made me want to rant a bit.

Sol LeWitt & Eva Hesse

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:57:00 +0000

With a week of work stress and not writing personal statements, it is rather serendipitous that I stumbled upon this letter that Sol LeWitt wrote to sculptor Eva Hesse while she was living in Germany in 1965. One of the most popular letters between artists in the second half of the 20th century, I just find concordance with the repeating "Just stop...grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself."

via We Find Wildness

Jennifer Rubell's "Padded Cell" of Cotton Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:11:00 +0000

This food installation by Jennifer Rubell is called "Padded Cell" and consists of a giant wooden box with walls made out of cotton candy. Pink and sugary in all its glory, guests are (or maybe were?) encouraged to eat its walls. The piece was done for a fundraiser at Performa.

via 16 Miles of String

As Sarah Douglas says eloquently on Artinfo, the piece also serves as a reminder "of the standard pink insulation material found in suburban homes." As a child, my house was constantly the subject of construction / do-it-yourself adventures, and my parents made it clear that the insulation would certainly make our skin crawl in irritation, or worse, just be flat out "bad for you." So I can only imagine the glee of guests/participants stuffing their faces with block shaped sugar made to suggest something toxic.

art egos

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:59:00 +0000

Art critic and writer Lindsay Pollock recently blogged on Jeff Koon's desire to "live larger than most hedge fund moguls and gazillonaires," in reference to the artist merging two of his upper east side apartments that were both purchased for above ten million dollars each. I thought the posted picture, created a la MS Paint, was pretty fantastic and a great summation of art-ego:

Work by Valerie Hegarty

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:36:00 +0000

Valerie Hegarty creates work that is as much about deconstruction as it is about construction. Objects are used as props to tell how the past relates to the current American socio-political arena. The most successful pieces are the ones that explore the potential of alternating history's references behind well known art works:

Rothko Reflection, 2007

Rothko Sunset, 2007

Niagara Falls, 2007

Unearthed, 2008

via ALMOST VELVET

"I am a Forest" | Alex Schulz

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:23:00 +0000

The best kind of stop-motion animation is the short and nifty kind, as in this piece by Alex Schulz:

via Changethethought

"Dead Drops" | Aram Bartholl

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:08:00 +0000

Artist Aram Bartholl has launched this fantastic public art intervention called "Dead Drops." It is an offline, peer to peer file sharing network in which pedestrians are invited to go to certain places to drop or find files. To create the project, Aram inserted USB flash drives into places ready accessible such as walls, buildings, and curbs. Each location, or "dead drop," contains a .txt file with directions explaining the project. These images are from a location next to the New Museum:

via today and tomorrow

Pumpkin Carvings by Ray Villafane

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:05:00 +0000

In honor of Halloween, I am posting these incredibly detailed pumpkin carvings by Ray Villafane. Villafane sculpts in other media besides...pumpkin, but began carving them for his art students in a small school district in Michigan.

He even has a carving tutorial!

via Street Anatomy

Simon Starling

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:07:00 +0000

English conceptual artist and winner of the 2005 Turner Prize, Simon Starling provokes "unexpected crossings between objects, materials, and events."

Though the end result makes the process most evident, each piece also encourages the viewer to consider the story behinds its construction and transformation. His assembles are various in scope; sometimes they are elegant installations and sometimes they are contemplative photographs.

via We Find Wilderness

arrivals / departures

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:36:00 +0000

An interactive exhibition curated to "solicit and register a broad sense of 'travel'"

via [daily dose of imagery]

Sunflower Seeds | Ai Weiwei

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:18:00 +0000

The Tate Modern is host to an installation by Ai Weiwei that involves over 100 million molded and hand-painted ceramic sunflower seeds. Lining the entry hall adjacent to the main doors of the museum, the Chinese artist commissioned help from the village of Jungdezhen to create the interactive installation, which means no two seeds are the same. Once laid down, the piece becomes 1000 square meters long, and several inches thick of hand crafted artwork. The hall is flooded at a depth in which visitors could walk and even immerse themselves, "like a grey beach of pellets."

Going beyond normal levels of interactive art, the seeds have apparently since turned to dust and are now roped off. Can it still be considered successful if people are unable to wade through its ripples?

images via colt + rane

Tearing through the page

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Inspired by torn and creased images from comics and newspapers, Polish photographer Jan Kriwol creates these nifty photoshop delights. They appear completely real, though obviously the work of a skilled ad designer.

via yay!everyday

Trompe L'oeil Art by Georges Rousse

noreply@blogger.com (Roger D. Arnold) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 01:29:00 +0000

French photographer Georges Rousee creates these trick of the eyes using no photoshop or post-processing techniques, instead relying on painted scenes or set decor that the artist stages himself.

"Trained as I was in the mathematical reasoning that establishes a relation between definitions, rules and theorems, I logically thought that all the developments of art history were like these rules and theorems, and that I could use them not as a homage to "such and such" but as an established principle which in turn allowed me to construct other hypotheses and other experiences. I therefore introduced "action into the photographic field" and the possibility of controlling images (my own) by controlling, as a director does, every parameter of the image."

via i like this art and trendland