Boise, Idaho – Monday, May 19, 2014

Carrier Pigeon is not an art magazine. Such a description is a gross understatement for this quarterly publication. Instead it is a statement that gives the finger to the traditional concept of fine art which is more about commodity than artistic innovation.

The editors’ guiding philosophy is an “artist-run magazine of illustrated fiction and fine art” to replace the stagnant contemporary art scene. Carrier Pigeon puts creative control in the hands of the “contributing writers, illustrators, fine artists, and designers in order to promote respectful interdisciplinary collaboration” and a “loyalty to each artist’s vision, without regard to current trends”.

This approach creates a community that privileges the presentation, creation, and engagement with art. This allows a forum where the sincere and the personal can once again be the genesis of art as opposed to assembling popular trends for status, profit, and consumption.

The reliance on a taxonomy of styles and genres that removes creative impulse is absent. Instead, an alternative is now available where there is permeability between borders and an interconnectedness between creative expressions. This magazine takes risks by offering a juxtaposition of arts both written and visual in which each individual part is successful on its own but when viewed together creates a dialog of art.

Each issue features six artists and six pieces of collaborative fiction and art. The artists are given a space to present and contextualize their work. This allowed me to explore the intent and how the work is realized in that space. The art becomes an entity engaging in discourse. This dialog  is achieved by the various aesthetic approaches found in each issue.

The second issue of volume three gives a space to Allen M. Hart’s collages. His works create a new narrative from the scraps that compose them and mirrors the radical protests found in the work of Schwitters and Dadaists collages. The same issue presents Fumiha Tanaka’s work which is haunted by the theme of the epiphyte (a plant that grows non-parasitically upon other plants or objects). Her etchings on zinc play with the ground zero where the human meets nature. The fiction and art collaborations offer the same exciting discoveries. It is a wonderful merging of the written and the visual. The artist and writer work together and each inspires the other. This mixing of genres has allusions to Blake’s work and was central to many Modernist creations. When each issue is viewed as a whole, I saw intersections that create a paradox where the tranquil and chaotic inhabit the same space. I witnessed a birthing of an art that is discovering its possibilities and limitations.

Carrier Pigeon also strives to bring the reader into their project as well and encourages engagement in the creative process. Most issues have interactive elements much like the science museums of my youth where even the most artistically challenged can be part of the community.

Take volume 2 issue 3 whose cover becomes a replica of one of Adam Lister’s magnetic art projects. In lesser hands such a feature could be viewed as a superfluous gimmick. Carrier Pigeon though creates a place of discovery and innovation that blurs the boundaries between artist, audience, and art.

This space of social experiment, interaction, and inspiration highlights an art that is concerned with creating a living work not a disposable artifact. Carrier Pigeon’s collaborative and community minded philosophy moves beyond just the magazine.

They work with Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop which offers a space to assemble each issue. The founders are also working on a non-profit residency program that will soon give artists the tools and space in which to create.

Carrier Pigeon is one of those rare publications that actually create an artistic community. The solipsism that plagues fine art is absent and instead of yelling “Look at ME!!!!” the editors instead say “Look at THEM!”

This is not a magazine for those who want the bland and the deceased. This publication is for those who want something that moves and evolves. Carrier Pigeon is a rare project of passion that succeeds and gives a forum to art that deserves to be acknowledged. A  year subscription can be purchased for $100 or single issues for$25.

Visit their website CarrierPigeonMag.com and make sure you like them on Facebook.

Written by Chris Caruso

The post Carrier Pigeon Takes the Definition of an Art Magazine to the Next Level appeared first on Artiholics.

I was having a conversation with a fellow artist at a gallery opening the other night in Williamsburg, and he was telling me that he wants his work to not only be beautiful, but also to have a practical function.  That conversation resonated with me when I stumbled upon this ingenious and elegantly designed and scientifically crafted work of art titled “The Drinkable Book” by Water Is Life.

Editorial design by Brian Gartside, chemically treated paper design by chemist, Dr. Theresa Dankovich.

Not only is it typographically beautiful, the color and layout stunning, the words within are a tool for learning, and the pages themselves…well…one book can keep a person in the third world alive for four years for a few pennies.  Watch and learn.

Now that’s what I call practical.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Functional Literary Art That Could Save Millions of Lives…Literally appeared first on Artiholics.

Once again the week has arrived where the titans of the art world (global art world) flock to NYC for Armory Week to take in the art work and show off the art wares.  Parties, social climbing, art writers, buyers, dealers, artists, and gallery inbetweens swap stories and mingle in converted warehouses, armory’s, post offices, and climate controlled piers along the Hudson river.

The week takes it’s name from the Armory Show, which is the grandaddy of all of the week’s fairs, but any seasoned art traveler will now that the Armory is just the tip of the art fair iceberg.  Satellite fairs pop-up and take orbit, each with it’s own respective gravity and collector base, trying to pull the titans toward them, and each year the satellites either get larger, or fizzle out.

We all know that in NYC, time is money.  Rather than spend a lot of both shuttling yourself around town without any direction as to which fairs  (and social affairs ) might appeal to you, we at Artiholics.com have created this handy guide to NYC Armory Week.

Listed in descending order from Most to Least expensive:

THE ARMORY SHOW:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $40  |   Students – $20  |  Armory / VoltaNY Dual Pass: $50

Wednesday – March 5, 5pm – Midnight @ MoMA | The Armory Party $175 – $10,000 Tickets
Thursday – March 6, 12pm – 7pm
Friday – March 7, 12pm – 7pm
Saturday – March 8, 12pm – 7pm
Sunday – March 9, 12pm – 7pm

Featuring: 200+ Of The largest art galleries in the world showcasing their artist’s most sellable work, the worlds top collectors, art writers, etc.  Art wise you will see: Lots of Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Neon, Random Artists In Costume, Collage, Interactive Art, New Media, Photography, Performance art, etc..

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: Peter Max

Unofficial Art Patriarch: Kenny Scharf & Damien Hirst.
Notable Artists / Gallerists Associated With This Show:  Damien Hirst, Barry McGee, Kenny Scharf, Tracey Emin, John Wesley, Jenny Holtzer, Olaf Breuning, Yayoi Kusama, Julian Opie. Nancy Chunn, Marina Abrovonich, Kehinde Wiley, Retna, Ryan McGuinness, Nick Cave, Chuck Close, Gagosian, Chitra Ganesh, David Kramer , Kim Jones, Pierogi, Warhol, Basquait, etc.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: The variety of Blue Chip and Museum Artists’ work in one place.
Possibility of Live Nudity: Not Good

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at The Armory Show? Yes, I’ve seen a Marina Abrovonich performance, although it was with an actor not Marina.  Live drawing by Ai Kowada Gallery’s Fukuhara.  Also weird performance artists doing their thing in the crowd.

The Scoop on The Armory Show From An Artiholic:
This is the one show all the satellite shows revolve around.  It has anywhere from 200 – 300 international galleries represented in a given year, and is a lot to take in, and a lot of walking.  Make sure to wear your comfy shoes and prepare to see a lot of neon, glitter, and museum quality presentations.  The sculptures are as polished and pristine as it is possible to make them, the wall paint is flawless.  If you go to as many of the art fairs as I do will start to feel like you walking through a brand new IKEA after a while (the scale of the two piers are enormous) .  If while you are seeing world class art in this familiar Big Box Store format your eyes  become blurred and the work starts to become indistinguishable from Norwegian furniture, take a seat in their cushy bar areas and get a drink.  You don’t need to push your eyes that far, the brain can only accept so much eye candy before it goes into shock.

For the price of admission you get access to both the Modern show, and the contemporary (each with it’s own pier), so you can see work from older masters, as well as the masters that are still alive and working today (based on which pier you are checking out).

Positives: Buying the Armory / Volta NY combo ticket for $50 is the best deal in town.  There is a shuttle bus between the two venues, and you get to experience the opposite worlds of the big box store IKEA experience of the Armory, along with the intimacy of Volta NY. You will be seeing the best most sought after artists in the world hanging in a show that is only up for an extended weekend, buying frenzy is a thing to behold.

Negatives: The size and scope of this show can be daunting and overwhelming to a beginner, just start at one side and work your way through it to the other side, move to the next row and do it again.  Think of it like a giant supermarket, but instead of cereal and canned goods, you are looking at artwork worth 10’s to 100’s of thousands of dollars by artists you have seen at The Whitney and The Met.  You will not see these galleries taking to many risks. At SCOPE, The Unfair, and Fountain artists aren’t paying the insane per-square-foot rates as at The Armory so they can go edgier.  This show is squeaky clean – most booths on a factory produced precision.  If you prefer to see a little of the artist’s hand (blood, sweat, and tears) mixed into the paint, you might want to check out some of those other fairs.

Location: Piers 92 & 94:  711 12th Ave New York, NY (@55th Street & the West Side Highway)

Website: https://www.thearmoryshow.com/
View Our Armory Show Photos From Previous Years

SCOPE ART FAIR:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $25  – Student $15

Thursday – March 6, 3pm – 6pm (Platinum VIP Preview Gala)  –  6pm – 9pm (First View Benefit & Press)  $100
Friday – March 7, 11am – 8pm
Saturday – March 8, 11am – 8pm
Sunday – March 9, 11am – 7pm

Featuring: Drawing, Collage, Sculpture, Painting, Performance Art, New Media, Neon, Photography.

THIS YEAR’S SCOPE (SPOILERS): SCOPE Art Fair NY 2014 VIP Opening Reception Was Packed (Photos) – Artiholics

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: Ron English

Unofficial Art Patriarch: Ron English.
Notable Artists / Gallerists Associated With This Show:  Augusto Esquivel, Jordan Eagles, Karim Hamid, Ron English, Banksy, Luke Chueh,  Russell West, gilf! Hiroko Tsuchida, Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, Andrea Stanislav, HuskMitNavn, Kikyz 1313, Camille Rose Garcia.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: Performance art piece where a female artist walked around the fair nude from the waste down.
Possibility of Live Nudity: It’s Possible.

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at SCOPE? Occasional Live Painting, Occasional Live Performing Installation, Occasional Live Music.

The Scoop on SCOPE From An Artiholic:I’ve personally attended the 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 incarnations of the fair.  It’s one of the satellite fairs that didn’t have a permanent home until 2013 and was constantly competing with Pulse as they have very similar vibes, that is until Pulse decided to slide into May and be a part of Frieze Week, thus freeing Scope up to take control of the more serious emerging contemporary art galleries.  I watched this fair bounce from Lincoln Center, to a tent on the West Side Highway, and finally to it’s current NY location in the giant post office building Skylight at Moynihan Station next to Madison Square Garden.

Scope is a good dowsing rod for what trends are most likely to be prevalent thought-out all of the art fairs during Armory Arts Week.  Mostly pretty good art, there are some major international galleries represented, as well as a lot of NYC talent.  Scope is what galleries at Fountain aspire to graduate up to.

Positives: A ton of good work, lots of roaming artists, friendly gallerists.  The show has really come into its own since Pulse left.  A good mix of low and high brow to appeal to a wide audience.  Gets a lot of solid press, and a lot of sales.

Negatives: Some galleries are obviously not yet ready for prime time and stick out like a sore thumb.  When you start to notice trends, you will see them repeated and repeated in multiple booths. Location is far from Armory. 

Location: Skylight at Moynihan Station 360 West 33rd Street, W 33rd St, New York, NY 10001

Website: https://scope-art.com/
View Our SCOPE Photos From Previous Years

THE ART SHOW:  March 5th – 9th 

General Admission: $25

Wednesday – March 5, 12pm – 8pm
Thursday – March 6, 12pm – 8pm
Friday – March 7, 12pm – 8pm
Saturday – March 8, 12pm – 7pm
Sunday – March 9, 12pm – 5pm

Featuring: Solo Shows, Museum Quality Gallery Shows, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Collage, Photography

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: John Leguizamo

Unofficial Art Patriarch: Andy Warhol & James Rosenquist
Notable Artists / Gallerists Associated With This Show:  Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Rosenquist, Henri Matisse, Mark Rydan, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, George Condo, Ray Johnson, Phil Guston, Wim Delvope, Sperone Westwater, Charles McGill.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: The Egon Schiele / Gustav Klimt exhibit.
Possibility of Live Nudity: Not Good

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at The Art Show? No, this is a serious art fair.

The Scoop on The Art Show From An Artiholic:

This fair is decades older than The Armory Show and has a sterling reputation as presenting some of the best in the business.  Blue chip art, museum art.  Most of what you will find here by artists who’s names you will recognize from your Christie’s and Sotherby’s catalogs.

Positives: You will see museum quality work, amazing drawings and paintings from many dead modern artists, and some current living blue chip artists, as well as original portraits of famous artists.  If you are a fan of really good drawing, and seeing drawings by some of your favorite dead artists, this is a good place to get a glimpse of artwork that exists outside of museums and is sold to private collectors.

Negatives: This is a lot like the Modern section of The Armory Show.  It is old masters, mixed with some more elite contemporary artists.  The crowd is extremely highbrow and it’s easy to feel under-dressed when attending.

Location: Park Avenue Armory – Park Avenue at 67th Street, New York City

Website: https://www.artdealers.org/artshow.html
View Our THE ART SHOW Photos From Previous Years

INDEPENDENT:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $20

Thursday – March 6, 6pm – 8pm (Private Vernissage)
Friday – March 7, 12pm – 7pm
Saturday – March 8, 12pm – 7pm
Sunday – March 9, 12pm – 6pm

Featuring: Sculpture, Kinetic Sculpture, Collage, Car, Interactive Art, Neon, Animation, New Media, Painting, Photography

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: John McEnroe

Unofficial Art Patriarch: Dan Flavin
Notable Artists / Gallerists Associated With This Show:  Ella Kruglyanskaya, Steve Claydon, Thomas Julier, Oliver Mosset, David Shrigley.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: A random DeLorian with no flux capicitor.
Possibility of Live Nudity: Not Good

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at Independent? No

The Scoop on the Independent From An Artiholic:

To me this fair always felt the least like a fair, and even refused to call itself a fair.  The floors have big open spaces in the middle rather than the sectioned off walls that the other art fairs are known to have, all the galleries share the same light.

Since it started The Independent has always been free admission to the public, and the focus has been more about the art than the selling.  It is many people’s favorite fair because of the amount of sculpture, and minimalism and distinct lack of drawing and painting.  I am in the minority, and the lack of drawing and painting drives me up the wall.

I don’t know exactly what changed with Independent’s business model,  but this year it costs $20 instead of costing nothing to get in ($20 is a distinct price increase from free).

Positives: A ton of big sculptures on four floors.  The possibility of a random car in the middle of one of the floors.  The permanent Dan Flavin instillation on the staircase in between floors is always inviting – not technically part of the show, but a welcome break from the different levels.  Top Floor Cafe, with Roof Access

Negatives: Extreme lack of drawing and painting. Super snobby curators who really don’t want to talk to you, which is another thing that makes this unlike the other art fairs where the exhibitors actually want to interact.  I have hundreds of photos I’ve taken of artists and curators at the various art fairs, and Independent is the only art fair I have taken zero shots of any curators or artists.  I am acting the same as I do at the art fairs but never get approached.  Located in Chelsea it is close to other art openings, but far from The Armory Show piers.

Location: 548 West 22nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues in the heart of the Chelsea gallery district.

Website: https://independentnewyork.com/
View Our INDEPENDENT Photos From Previous Years

VOLTA NY ART FAIR:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $15  |   Students – $10  |  Armory / VoltaNY Dual Pass: $50

Thursday – March 6, 11am – 2pm (Guest of Honor) 2pm – 5pm  (VIP / Press Preview)  6pm – 9pm (Public Vernissage)
Friday – March 7, 10am – 8pm
Saturday – March 8, 10am – 8pm
Sunday – March 9, 10am – 5pm

Featuring: Solo Shows, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Collage, Interactive Art, New Media, Neon, Photography

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: Delroy Lindo

Unofficial Art Matriarch: Amanda Coulson
Notable Artists / Gallerists Associated With This Show:  This changes every year, as all booths are solo shows.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: Very focused solo shows that aren’t like the typical art fair.  The ability to see a depth to an artist’s work, unlike the other top tier fairs that would only showcase one or two pieces by each artist.
Possibility of Live Nudity: Not Good

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at VoltaNY? Yes, I’ve seen Break Dancing & Pastry Eating Contests

The Scoop on Volta NY From An Artiholic:
Volta NY rules.  It is the offshoot of The Armory Show so it has the top tier credibility of The Armory, but also has the intimacy that comes with solo shows.  It feels like you are attending 90 gallery openings where the artist is in attendance, and you are the only guest.  You get a real one-on-one experience with each booth and are able to engage with the artists.

It is an invitational show, and all the artists have to be represented by a gallery, so there is no room for amateurs, and no buying your way in.  I have had nothing but positive experiences with Volta NY, and since they moved down to SoHo from their previous residency at  7 West 34th Street they really have the space you need to fit everyone and not feel like you are walking around a fair in a converted office.

Positives: Buying the Armory / Volta NY combo ticket for $50 is the best deal in town.  There is a shuttle bus between the two venues, and you get to experience the opposite worlds of the big box store IKEA experience of the Armory, along with the intimacy of Volta.  This is a show I would love to one day solo in, and you can’t get much higher praise from me than that.

Negatives: If you don’t like meeting artists, or seeing solo exhibits, and prefer to see more salon style gallery showings presenting a diverse group of artists from a gallery’s stable, then you won’t like this show.  If you aren’t planning on attending The Armory, this show is kind of out of the way in relation to the other shows.

Location: 82 Mercer Street., New York, NY  (Between Spring and Broome Streets)
Website: https://ny.voltashow.com/index.php
View Our VOLTA NY Photos From Previous Years

FOUNTAIN ART FAIR:  March 7th – 9th 

General Admission: $10 – VIP Pass: $50 – Weekend Pass $15

Friday – March 7, 12pm – 7pm (VIP Press Preview / Open to the public)  7pm – Midnight (Opening Night Reception) Music Lineup: DJ Nick Zinner
Saturday – March 8, 12pm – 7pm (Open to the public) 7pm – Midnight (Saturday Night Event) Music Lineup: THE DEEP!
Sunday – March 9, 12pm – 5pm

Featuring: Solo Shows, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Collage, Interactive Art, New Media, Neon, Photography

Featuring: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Live Painting, Live Performance, Performance Art,  Music, Collage, Car, Interactive Art, Neon, New Media, Photography

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: Mia Tyler
Unofficial Art Matriarch: Swoon
Notable Artists / Gallerists Associated With This Show:  Alison Berkoy, The Murder Lounge, Brian Leo, Dave Tree, Casey Porn, Jonny Fenix, Veng, Victor W. Cox, Ryan Cronin, Chris Smith, Alex Emmart, Rob Servo, Leah Yerpe, JMR, Brandon Friend, Christina Ray, Mighty Tanaka, Leo Kesting, Front Room, Munch, Dacia.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: Nude Body Finger Painting.
Possibility of Live Nudity: Very Good.

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at Fountain? Yes, tons.

The Scoop on The Fountain Art Fair From An Artiholic:
I love fountain, it is such a fun fair to attend and you get a lot of bang for your buck.  Lots of good artists, also a lot of not so good, but the needles in the haystacks are in the numbers at this fair.  This is truly the independent fair as usually it’s one artist, or a group of artists splitting a booth on their own.  No galleries need be involved, although a lot of booths are represented by galleries.  It’s one of the cheapest art fairs for artists to get work in (per square foot) so the bar is set a little lower than a Scope or Pulse, and leaves the door wide open to untrained artists, street artists, and Brooklyn artists on the rise.

You will see a lot of drawing at this fair, a lot of painting, and a lot of pop.  I have heard it referred to many times in art circles as “amateur hour” but there are generally some stand outs in the masses, and as years go by you will start to see artists who got their start at Fountain’s careers shoot them up to larger galleries, and land them larger exposure at the top tier fairs like Scope and Volta.

You will be likely to meet a lot of artists if you wander around this fair, as most booths are artist run.  It is a great way to talk to artists and have them talk to you about their work.  Almost everyone is friendly and open here, and there is very little pretension.  You will find a few street artist wanna-be-banksies aka Mini-Banksys, who don’t want to have their photo taken, which is annoying as fuck, and almost comical.

When I  first attended this fair in 2009 it was on the frying pan pier.  In a tent that leaked when it rained.  There was a basement floor called the Murder Lounge where a small collective of Greenpoint artists would always show together. Fountain in gaining credibility and exposure has moved several avenues over to the Lexington Ave Armory and now has a solid foundation and doesn’t have to worry about dark clouds.They still have a section of the new location called The Murder Lounge, but it’s more of just a tribute.
Fountain is a 1917 work widely attributed to Marcel Duchamp. The scandalous work was a porcelain urinal, which was signed “R.Mutt” and titled Fountain. Submitted for the exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in 1917, Fountain was rejected by the committee, even though the rules stated that all works would be accepted from artists who paid the fee.  The exhibition took place in the building where The Fountain Art Fair now resides almost a hundred years later.

Positives: A lot of fun, a lot of really great artists and a lot of good drawing.  Live painting, performances, music.  It is almost like getting a first glimpse into the unsigned talent of the art world.  You see what bubbles up from Brooklyn, Queens, and the outer boroughs before it gets snagged up by the machine.  The Friday opening night reception is the most fun you will have at any of the art fairs with open bar and live music – it becomes a party – and I will see you there.  If you are a fan of drawing, street art, illustration, comics, lowbrow, or graffiti, you will really enjoy yourself.  If you are a collector you can find a great deals on artwork by emerging artists here, and fill your apartment for a fraction of the price you would have to pay at the other fairs.

Negatives: Depending on your perspective, you will either come away loving, or hating Fountain.  If you like drawing and painting, you will have a good time.  If you really enjoy The Independent, you will probably not like Fountain so much.  If you are looking for Museum Quality work, you will not like Fountain.  It is very unpolished, but that’s what gives it it’s underground handmade charm.  Although I have a great time at Fountain it is one of the lower tier fairs and doesn’t get much love from the mainstream art press, but art blogs and Scene and Alt magazines like Paper are all over it. 

Location: Centrally Located at the 69th Regiment Armory (Lexington Avenue & 26th Street)
Website: https://www.fountainartfair.com/
View Our Fountain Photos From Previous Years

SPRING / BREAK – $5

THIS YEAR’S SPRING/ BREAK (SPOILERS): SPRING/BREAK Art Show Is Your Elementary School On Psilocybin- Artiholics

CLIO ART FAIR – $FREE

THIS YEAR’S CLIO ART FAIR (SPOILERS): The Clio Art Fair 2014 Inaugural Show Opening Reception- Artiholics

THE (UN)FAIR – $FREE

THIS YEAR’S (UN)FAIR (SPOILERS): THE (UN)FAIR is Back, Bigger, & More Popular Than Ever – Opening (Photos) – Artiholics

MOVING IMAGE- $FREE

NEW CITY ART FAIR- $FREE

The post Artiholics New York Armory Week Art Fair Travel Guide 2014 appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Thursday, March 6, 2014

It is always a crapshoot when a new satellite art fair decides to join the Armory Arts Week fray. The already saturated lineup of round robin fair hopping is somewhat a well oiled machine, throwing a new wrench into the mix will either make the machine run smoother, or can jam up the works and die on the vine.  Some will to mutate to another month, or even focus on another city to survive (see Bridge, Red Dot, Verge, PooL, Pulse, Korean Art Fair, Dutch Art Now).

I always am one to root for the underdog and when the new upstart Clio Art Fair contacted us about being a media sponsor I figured why not at least check it out and throw our Artiholics logo and some press their way for support. Touted as The Anti-Fair for Independent Artists (aka without permanent NYC gallery representation) it seemed to be just that.

Located in Chelsea at The Highline Loft, 508 West 26th street and 10th Ave, if you didn’t know it was happening as there is no outdoor signage, you might walk right by.

The signage is in the lobby and is oddly missing it’s media sponsorship logos. Elevator up to the fifth floor and you will arrive at the venue. Two large rooms separated by a median wall.

I got some wine and cheese and set out to meet some of the artists.

Guang Zhu with her work, a steel set of mathematical floating cubes.

Artwork by Matt Neuman.

Pop Dogs, the mobile art installation to discuss the global issue of dog over-population by exploring the global cycle of craving, consumption and abandonment.

Artwork by Paolo Pelosini.

Artwork by Rodolfo Edwards.

Artwork by Ted Barr.

Photos by Mel Rosenthal.

Francesco Lecci, Artribune U.S. Contributor

Artist Michelle Kaufman standing behind her furry pink letterform sculpture “POWER.”

Alessandro Berni, the US Editor of Artribune.

Artist Verdiana Patacchini in front of a drawing she made with acid and aluminum.

I’ve noticed a pattern trend of seeing neon signs that flash and then have an alternate meaning –  this sort of thing is big at The Armory Show.

Artist and founder of Artefuse, Jamie Martinez.

The insane thing about this piece is that when you look at it with the naked eye it looks like an abstract pattern of triangles, but if you see it through the viewfinder of a camera or back up several dozen feet the image instantly comes together as a tiger.

“El Tigre” 16″ x 20″ Oil on Cotton. Thousands of triangles took him five months to complete.

This is a puffer fish in a cage, also by Jamie, but really hard to photograph.

This bed is titled Torturing Wishing Despairing Withering, 2012 by Crayon Minyen Hsieh

Rain Shaking Scene,2013 by Han Hong Park

Vulnerability Part 1, 2010 composed of worn underwear, by Floor Grootenhus.

Artwork by the late artist Luoratoll, presented by Michela Bondardo pictured above.

Photographer Alessandra Guidetti.

Photo of myself by Alessandra Guidetti.

Architect Aida Miron 

This is an eclectic mix of artists of all disciplines. Sculptors, painters, photographers. I was glad I was there for the VIP opening reception and was able to meet some of the artists.  The reception was priced at $90 a head, which is a little steep for an unproven entity, especially when the extremely popular Unfair was having their opening reception 30 blocks away for free, with free wine, popcorn, and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream served to you by THE ACTUAL Ben & Jerry.

Photo of me by Jamie Martinez.

Jamie Martinez was off to meet up with some of his writers at The Unfair, which happens to be the other upstart Anti-Fair Fair Artiholics is a media sponsor of so when he left I grabbed my coat and went along for the ride.

If you are in Chelsea this week checking out the Chelsea Fairs: The Moving Image, The Independent, The New City Art Fair, The first ever Highline Open Studios, be sure to swing by and check it out Clio, and tell em Artiholics sent you.

Artiholics is a media sponsor The Clio Art Fair
508 West 26th Street and 10th Ave

Written and Photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post The Clio Art Fair 2014 Inaugural Show Opening Reception appeared first on Artiholics.

INDEPENDENT:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $20

Thursday – March 6, 6pm – 8pm (Private Vernissage)
Friday – March 7, 12pm – 7pm
Saturday – March 8, 12pm – 7pm
Sunday – March 9, 12pm – 6pm

Website: https://independentnewyork.com/

About Independent (In Their Words)
This year will feature over fifty international galleries and non-profit institutions representing fourteen countries.

Featuring: Sculpture, Kinetic Sculpture, Collage, Car, Interactive Art, Neon, Animation, New Media, Painting, Photography

Celebrities / Celebrity Artists I’ve Personally Spotted Here: John McEnroe
Unofficial Art Patriarch: Dan Flavin

Turner Prize nominee David Shrigley.Painting by Ella Kruglyanskaya. 
Notable Artists Associated With This Show:  Ella Kruglyanskaya, Steve Claydon, Thomas Julier, Oliver Mosset, David Shrigley.

Coolest thing I’ve seen here: A random DeLorian with no flux capicitor.
Possibility of Live Nudity: Not Good.

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at The Independent? No

The Scoop on The Independent From An Artiholic:
To me this fair always felt the least like a fair, and even refused to call itself a fair.  The floors have big open spaces in the middle rather than the sectioned off walls that the other art fairs are known to have, all the galleries share the same light.

Since it started The Independent has always been free admission to the public, and the focus has been more about the art than the selling.  It is many people’s favorite fair because of the amount of sculpture, and minimalism and distinct lack of drawing and painting.  I am in the minority, and the lack of drawing and painting drives me up the wall.

In an effort to document drawing in The Independent in three years I managed to take only a handful of pictures of actual drawings, and three out of four are just reproductions of licensed characters and mascots.  I still always have hope though, I went to two Whitney biennials in a row that had little to no drawing, and then the 2012 biennial was bursting with drawings – so things can change drastically overnight.  I am excited to see what this year’s show brings.

I did hear one of my all time favorite curator /patron interactions as she explained in a British accent the price of these three “Untitled, 2012”  pieces by Oliver Mosset (above)  Polyurethane on Canvas 96 x 48 inches

It went something like:

“How much are these?”
“Ninety thousand”
“Dollars?”
“Yes, each.”

I don’t know exactly what changed with Independent’s business model,  but this year it costs $20 instead of costing nothing to get in ($20 is a distinct price increase from free).

Positives: A ton of big sculptures on four floors.  The possibility of a random car in the middle of one of the floors.  The permanent Dan Flavin instillation on the staircase in between floors is always inviting – not technically part of the show, but a welcome break from the different levels.  Top Floor Cafe, with Roof Access

Negatives: Extreme lack of drawing and painting. Super snobby curators who really don’t want to talk to you, which is another thing that makes this unlike the other art fairs where the exhibitors actually want to interact.  I have hundreds of photos I’ve taken of artists and curators at the various art fairs, and Independent is the only art fair I have taken zero shots of any curators or artists.  I am acting the same as I do at the art fairs but never get approached.  Located in Chelsea it is close to other art openings, but far from The Armory Show piers.

Location: 548 West 22nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues in the heart of the Chelsea gallery district.

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Have you ever heard of an artist named Haddon Sundblom? No? Well you’ve seen his work. You could say he’s one of the most famous character designers ever. He created the iconic Santa we know and love. He based him on Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 Poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Sundblom had his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman model for the initial painting.

The illustration above was a commission from Coca-Cola for an ad that ran in a 1932 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, and later ran in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others. Sundblom continued painting Santa for Coke for the next 32 years.

According to Coca-Cola’s : 5 Things You Never Knew About Santa Claus and Coca-Cola:

The Santa Claus we all know and love — that big, jolly man in the red suit with a white beard — didn’t always look that way. In fact, many people are surprised to learn that prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop’s robe and a Norse huntsman’s animal skin.

In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper’s Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union.

Haddon Sundbloom painted Santa from 1932 -1964. Coca-Cola advertising continues to feature images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works. These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the company’s archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, in famous locales including the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the NK Department Store in Stockholm. Many of the original paintings can be seen on display at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga.

So this holiday season, raise a glass of eggnog (or Coke), or eggnog with rum (or rum and coke) to Haddon Sundblom, the forgotten father of father Christmas (and a freelance illustrator).

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

(via. artiholics via. coca-cola, header photo via. love hate advertising)

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Each year at this time I make the trip to my childhood home and stare at a refrigerator full of holiday cards from distant relatives and old family friends. Many of these cards include an annual photo, each year the same people in the same configuration, in front of the same fireplace, or a new vacation location. In the spirit of the season, here are fifteen artworld family photos.

Merry Christmas from the Impressionists

1. Above is the painting A Studio in the Batignolles by Henri Fantin-Latour. This image depicts a bunch of the French Impressionists, including Manet, Renoir, Monet, and the critic Emile Zola. An oil painting of an artist’s friends and colleagues that probably took weeks to complete really makes you appreciate the immediacy of Instagram.

Let It Snow, the Futurists

2. This is a Futurist banquet in Tunis with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, author of the Futurist Manifesto, front and center. (image via)

Winter Greetings, The Ashcan School

3. Here we have the Ashcan School artists at the painter John French Sloan’s Philadelphia Studio in 1898. The original “Philadelphia Five,” included the great American artists George Bellows and Edward Hopper, among others. (image via)

Spreading Holiday Cheer, the Stieglitz’s

4. Meanwhile, over in New York is the Steiglitz Circle. This is an early photo, so Alfred is in there, but not Georgia O’Keeffe or Arthur Dove.  (image via)

Peace, Love & Joy from Weimar

5. This is a photograph from the Meeting of the Contstructivists and Dadaists in Weimar, 1922. Pictured here are some of the movements’ heavy hitters like Theo van Doesburg in the middle with his makeshift hat, El Lissitsky, Tristan Tzara, Hans Arp, and Hans Richter. (image via)

Happy Holidays from The Bauhaus

6. Here are members of the Bauhaus on the roof of their building, 1926.From left: Josef Albers, Hinnerk Scheper, Georg Muche, László Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer, Joost Schmidt, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Gunta Stölzl, Oskar Schlemmer.(image via)

Seasons Greetings from The Surrealists

7. And here are the Surrealists – among them, Tristan Tzara, Andre Breton, Salvador Dalí, Jean Arp, Yves Tanguy, Max Ernst, and Man Ray.

Feliz Navidad!

8. While Frida and Diego have a variety of options to choose from for their annual holiday greeting card, we need at least three people to fit in our group theme. Here they are with architect Albert Khan. (image via)

Celebrate The Season with The Irascibles!

9. Can you imagine what their Christmas party would have been like? Everyone drunk, night ending with fist fights and arguing over representation. From left, rear: Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottleib, Ad Reinhardt, Hedda Sterne;(next row) Richard Pousette-Dart, William Baziotes, Jimmy Ernst (w. bow tie), Jackson Pollock (in striped jacket), James Brooks, Clyfford Still (leaning on knee), Robert Motherwell, Bradley Walker Tomlin; (in foreground) Theodoros Stamos (on bench), Barnett Newman (on stool), Mark Rothko (with glasses). (image via)

Merry Fuckin’ X-Mas from The Factory

10. This Richard Avedon portrait of the Warhol Factory, “Andy Warhol and members of The Factory, New York, October 30, 1969”, would actually be a really amazing thing to see on your mom’s ‘fridge. In addition to some beautiful feathered 1970’s hair and a whole lotta D, this photo features the fabulous Warhol Superstars Viva, Candy Darling, and Brigid Berlin. (image via)

Happy New Year from the Castelli Family

11. This is an invitation to the birthday party of legendary galleriest Leo Castelli by Hans Namuth in 1985 with Castelli and  his artists: Ellsworth Kelly, Dan Flavin, Joseph Kosuth, Richard Serra, Lawrence Weiner, Nassos Daphnis, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg, Salvatore Scarpitta, Richard Artschwager, Mia Westerlund Roosen, Cletus Johnson, Keith Sonnier, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, James Rosenquist, and Robert Barry.(image via)

Christmas Greetings from Mr. Chow’s

12. Here is another group shot that includes man-about-town Andy Warhol. The staged group photo seemed to be a popular format in the late 80s. (image via)

Fort Greene Felicitations

13. This image which features artists from music and film as well as art such as Lorna Simpson and Spike Lee. You can see these people featured in the documentary Brooklyn Boheme, which is available on Netflix. (image via)

Holiday Greetings from Christie’s

14. While flipping through a recent Art in America print issue, I clocked this double page spread which is not a cover photo for a feature on the auction house, but an advertisement. An advertisement for what, exactly? Well I’m not quite sure other than that these Christie’s staff are serious, they have names, and they sure seem to like hanging around on installation equipment. It mostly bums me out, thinking about the art handlers who had to unpack, move, place, and then re-crate those big Basquiat and Mark Grotjahn paintings in the background for this casual photoshoot. (image – author scan from Art In America November 2013)

Warm Winter Wishes from Work of Art!

15. And finally, everyone’s favorite bunch of reality artists – the cast of Work of Art Season 1. Just kidding! (image via)

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New York City – Monday, December 16, 2013

The good folks at Creative-Capital.org have offered Artiholics.com an exclusive (one day) jump on publishing videos they shot of their 2013 Creative Capital Artist Retreat. It’s a rare glimpse into the artist’s creative processes, as the peel back the cover to reveal the inspiration behind their work, as well as what they have learned and how they’ve grown as artists along the way . These videos have not been made public, so you can only see them here on Artiholics. I sat down and watched a bunch of them, and picked some I think might be of interest…

Jen Bervin
Jen Bervin (2013 Literature Creative Capital Awardee) presented her project “The Silk Poems.”  In her experimental book “The Silk Poems” she wants to “explore the cultural, scientific, and linguistic complexities of silk, mending, and the body on nano-imprinted silk film.  The pages will be combined into a transparent book, a single small sheet, with every poem present, that can be read / projected with fiber optic light.” – Jen Bervin
This video includes a clip from a TEDx talk by Fiorenzo Omenetto, a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University who is researching biomedical silk.
Read more about this project here: creative-capital.org/projects/view/744

Degenerate Art Ensemble aka Joshua Kohl and Haruko Nishimura
Degenerate Art Ensemble (2013 Performing Arts Creative Capital Awardee) presents their project “The Predator’s Songstress.”   They make “Performance work inspired by punk, comics, cinema, nightmares, and fairy tales.  Driven by the power of live music and our own style of visceral movement, theater and dance.” -Joshua Kohl
Find out more about their project here: creative-capital.org/projects/view/775

Patty Chang
Patty Chang (2012 Visual Arts Creative Capital Awardee) presents her project “The Wandering Lake.”  She talks about some of her earlier performance based work, and it’s evolution into borderline surrealist documentary video instillations, which led to her “The Wandering Lake.” 20th-century explorer Sven Hedin coined the term the “Wandering Lake” to describe Lake Lop Nur in western China when he was commissioned by the Chinese government in the 1920s to find a modern silk road that was accessible by car.  The Wandering Lake is a video installation based on Patty Chang’s journey by camper from Europe through Central Asia to China with staged performances along the way.
Learn more about her project here: creative-capital.org/projects/view/708

Simone Leigh
Simone Leigh, sculptor and video artist (2012 Visual Arts Creative Capital Awardee) presents her project “What’s Her Face.”  She uses sculpture to interpret how a belief system might be transferred from one object to another through sculpture.
Find out more about her work here: creative-capital.org/projects/view/714

Connie Samaras
Connie Samaras (2012 Visual Arts Creative Capital Awardee) presents her project “Edge of Twilight/Tales of Tomorrow” at the 2013 Creative Capital Artist Retreat.  Watch as she talks about her “Edge of Twilight” photos of an all Lesbian Retirement community, which of course led her to her current work, creating a lesbian time travel video.

Learn more about her project here: creative-capital.org/projects/view/728

Wakka Wakka Productions
Wakka Wakka Productions (2013 Performing Arts) presents their project “Made In China.”  Wakka Wakka are puppet makers and puppeteers, who have received awards for “sophisticated puppet theatre”. Named after a phrase Fozzie Bear makes when a joke doesn’t go over very well, their uncomfortable delivery could have used a little better timing.  Captain Kirk would cringe at these uncomfortable pauses.  Somebody must have told this guy to Sloooow down, and enunciate- and he took their advice and multiplied it by 10.  Ben Stein talks faster than this guy in Ferris Bueller’s day off.  Spoiler, it takes 2:26 to see a single puppet.  Once it gets to their reel, then it takes off.  The puppetry is pretty damn cool.  The puppet show they got a grant for “Made In China” is political.  “A dark musical comedy, about the complicated relationship between the US and China.”
Find out more about their project here: creative-capital.org/projects/view/788

About The Creative Capital Artist Retreat
The Retreat is the centerpiece of Creative Capital’s artist services. The 2013 Retreat in Williamstown, MA, was our largest convening to date, bringing together 350 artists, arts professionals and arts advocates. This four-day event included presentations by 86 artists on their works-in-progress, consultations and networking events, and focus sessions on key issues in the field. Peter Sillen (2005 Film/Video awardee) and C41 Media interviewed Creative Capital staff, artists, consultants and supporters at the Retreat to learn more about the transformative experience of the Retreat.

Published with permission by Creative-Capital.org

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post ARTIHOLICS EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Creative Capital Artist Retreat 2013 appeared first on Artiholics.

Michael Anderson, the 45-year-old legendary NYC collage artist and White Hot Magazine art world photographer who is noted for designing the graffiti sticker lobby at the Ace Hotel, and the Eco-Friendly Times Square billboard for Target was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Saturday after having fallen off a building, breaking his back.

UPDATE: Still hospitalized, he is in the early stages of his recovery process.  He is lucid and has been able to get online and respond to concerned posts.   He is positive about his injuries and has messaged me through facebook that he ” will make a complete recovery.”

Michael Anderson’s friends have just setup an indiegogo account in his name to try to help out with his medical expenses (which most likely will be substantial) Michael Anderson Recovery Project.

Since 1997 Anderson’s collage work has appeared in over 50 group shows, he’s designed large scale theatrical sets for half a dozen plays, and been featured in about a dozen solo exhibits. (Here is another video interview with the artist about his work – for French website arte.tv)

This is the same artist who WAS ONE OF THE TWO WINNERS from last week’s Red Bull Curates Cooler Art Project.  Scoring free trip to Miami, and a show at Scope.  I would have photographed him at the event but he was in Stockholm, Sweden shooting the Absolut Art Awards for White Hot.

His girlfriend attended the Red Bull Curates in his stead wearing his clothes!

Michael Anderson’s work can bee seen on his website ChamuconeGro.com

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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New York, NY – Thursday, June 20, 2013

Miniature art is impressive, especially when it involves objects you can easily identify or have handled first hand.  Seattle artist Diem Chau carved the alphabet, as well as corresponding animals who’s first letters begin with the letters of the alphabet out of what appears to be a 64 pack of Crayola.  Rather than clay, rock, or bronze, her sculpting medium crayons and graphite pencils.

Zebra is a cheat, where did you get the black?  C’mon!  Oh, and the Z is backwards.

This should be her theme song… never realized how much of that song is instrumental…

To see more of her A-Z series, check out her Flickr and you can read her blog.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

[via Colossal]

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Today Groupon posted this map on their facebook page.  I love Groupon, and I love maps, hand drawn typography, and infographics, so you figure win, win, win, win… well, sorta.  This map is pretty good, but it leaves a lot out and has some inaccuracies. Everyone in NJ and Eastern PA go to “THE SHORE” not the ocean, not the New Jersey Shore, and especially not BOARDWALK, just “The Shore” which means Jersey Shore (we also would go to lakes and rivers btw)

Manhattan should say “the Hamptons” or Long Island, and Brooklyn / Queens should say “The Rockaways,” AC (Atlantic City), or “Coney Island.” Most of New England could say Cape Cod, Nantucket, or Martha’s Vineyard.  And from taking summer trips to Tennessee with Molly’s family and having never once been to Dollywood, I know for fact that’s bogus.  They vacation in Panama City, Florida (also known as “The Redneck Rivera.”

I’m pretty sure anyone who lives around the great lakes, don’t go to Florida (it’s the one time a year they can swim in their lakes).  I assume Hawaiians might want a break from time to time and when they go on vacation it’s to “the mainland” and when the do, they go to VEGAS.

I’m heading to AC this weekend for a first dip in the Atlantic of the summer, and yes, I will walk on the boardwalk.  Where are you from and where did you go in the summer on vacation.  I’ll draw a new map and do this shit up right.  Please post below!

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post America Divided By Where We Summer: Infographic appeared first on Artiholics.

New York, NY – Tuesday, May 28, 2013

If you are a “content creator” aka a creative person who posts your work to the web for public ingestion, you already know that the internet can be a cruel and unforgiving mistress.

My girlfriend turned me on to an online cartoonist called The Oatmeal which if you’ve never seen it, is a funny read, and a wormhole you might fall into for a few hours, so clear your schedule before venturing forward. The online comics are in the form of giant top-down scrolling viral infographics.  The art is very basic (detailed stick figures really) but the simplicity works well with the writing, which is funny.  Much in the same way that South Park works in spite of it’s crudeness.

If you are an artist, writer, blogger, or vlogger who creates content for the web (especially if you have a significant other who doesn’t), you should read this comic by The Oatmeal: Some thoughts and musings about making things for the web.

I identified with a lot of it, and even if you aren’t creating original web content, this and the other strips on the site are fun reads.

[via TheOatmeal]

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post The Trials And Tribulations Of Being Creative For The Web: The Oatmeal appeared first on Artiholics.

What kind of douche would tag a cartouche?  According to CNN, his name is Ding Jinghao unchained? (The D is silent 母亲 笨蛋!), a 15-year-old Chinese tourist whom actually carved the words “Ding Jinghao was here” into a 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian Temple. This idiot does not know even the most basic rules of etiquette to graffiti writing.

The first rule would be to never tag your “real name” because it will make it a lot easier for you to get in “real trouble.”

The next would be, when you do tag something, you don’t need to write “was here” like KILROY, because the very fact that you tagged it implies that yes, you were there (making ‘was here’ redundant).,

If you have to do a “throw up tag,” try not to do it on an ancient cultural artifact while visiting a foreign country, they tend to frown upon that.

And finally, if you tag on top of someone else’s “piece,” the artist who created the original will have beef with you.  As the original artist of this piece is a long-dead 3,500-year-old mummy, the beef of course will be in the form of a Pharaoh’s curse, which will most likely (If you believe the movies) result in this Chinese “Teen Banksy” vomiting and shitting black blood while scarabs and hissing cockroaches crawl into his flesh from under his fingernails, and exit out of his orifices.

Great Job…Dingbat.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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One of the cooler events the Skirball Center For The Performing Arts hosts is the annual season finale of NBC’s The Apprentice.  The show is always packed with celebrities, the Trumps of course, and some of the best dressed millionaires of New York.  Whenever I am not busy and the big show comes to town I try to make it down there to see the taping, meet some of the celebs, and of course attend the after party which (like everything TRUMP) is opulent.  Even though I haven’t seen an episode of the actual show in years, you fall right into the drama.

I was literally one of the first people to get a seat.  Back row of the orchestra, dead center.

You can see me circled in red in this screen grab from the show.  My girlfriend Molly is also circled in red on the right.  The show was live and it was a two hour season finale so group by group the various celebrities were brought to the stage to talk to Trump.  He would basically ask them why they didn’t make it to the end, and they would respond with some version of  “because you fired me.”

The final two players in the game were magician & comedian Penn Jillette from Penn & Teller vs. a country music star named Trace Adkins. When Trump announced Trace as the winner and fired Penn the confetti came down, the stage was swarmed by the celebrities families, and everybody was happy.

The second cameras went off Molly grabbed me and brought me on stage.  I’m standing behind George (one of the Trump’s minions judges from earlier seasons).  As you can see it’s a very odd class portrait.

Left to right we see Penn Jillett, Ivanka Trump, Marilu Henner, Gary Busey, Donald Trump, Omarosa (who’s celebrity is entirely a creation of having been on this series), Dennis Rodman, Stephen Baldwin (aka the other Baldwin), La Toya Jackson (aka the other Jackson), Dee “you will never see me without sunglasses” Snider from Twisted Sister, Trace Adkins, Trump Jr. and Trump Jr.

Molly poses in front of the cast as they pose for photos.

George who was blocking part of my shot joins the cast.

One of the cooler celebrities we ever got to meet, I’m a genuine fan of this guy.  Penn is a genius, and the only reasons he lost to Trace Adkins was because of things he wrote about Trump and his politics in the past, as well as the fact that the show probably has a huge viewership in the South and they wanted to appeal to their target demographic.  I told Penn that we were big fans of Bullshit.  One of only a few people on earth you could utter those words to and it would make them proud.  Molly then said to him “And what happened tonight, that was Bullshit.”  Penn grinned and nodded. You can see Teller and Gilbert Gottfried walking around behind them, not often you get photobombed by Gilbert Gottfried.

Trace Adkins is a country music star.  Molly’s family is all from Tennessee and this guy was representing Nashville.  Molly said to him “I’m from Murfreesboro.” Trace replied “Are you lost?”  Molly responded “Yeah, pretty much.”  She then told him that it would sure make her momma proud to get a picture with him.  He obliged.  Molly looks really short in these pictures, but both Penn and Trace are 6’6″.  Between them, the 6’7″ Dennis Rodman, Donald Trump at 6’3″ and Dee Snider, and Gary Busey both being over 6′ this had to be one of the tallest non-sports-related reality show casts in history.

Myself and Gilbert Gottfried.

The audience had cleared out, the house lights were dimmed, and for a short while people were still on the stage taking publicity photos and whatnot.  They soon boarded the VIP buses to the wrap party on 42nd Street.  I stuck around with Molly until she closed up the theatre.  We then drove up to the party in our car.

It’s amazing how quickly the crew can break down a set.  This is literally 15 minutes after the last of the celebrities left the stage.  Cast was off the stage at 11:30pm, this photo was taken at 11:45 pm.

Amazingly fast.

The final contest was designing and marketing an Delish ice cream flavor exclusive to Walgreens.  We got to eat a lot of it at the afterparty.  Penn’s flavor was a Vanilla & Chocolate Magic Swirtle (which was delicious with toppings or without).  Trace had a Maple Macadamia Mash-Up.  I love Maple, and I love Macadamia nuts, but for some reason this ice cream tasted like something you would eat around the holidays if that makes any sense.  It tasted like a flavor you eat around Christmas, not year round, very odd.

There was a lot to eat that was cooked, and we were starving.  I started drinking some Cape Codders.  Everything was top shelf.

Molly with Hard Rock Johnny looking slimmer than ever.

The dance floor wasn’t empty for long.  After people got full and loosened up this floor got packed.

I got to meet Lil Jon.  I mentioned to him I had drawn a comic strip with him in it in Complex Magazine in the early 2000s and he knew the name of the strip and started explaining it and shook my hand. Whenever someone draws a celebrity in print they see it and keep that shit. He probably has had it hanging in his office for a decade.

Here is a panel from that Complex Magazine strip.

It was kind of loud in there…as he was talking I wanted to yell “WHATTTTT? WHATTTT?” Dave Chappelle style.

Dennis Rodman leaving, when you are 6’7″ with an 8″ Mohawk, a revolving door become a problem.

The Celebrity Apprentice spelled out in tiny delicious cupcakes.

Molly grabbed one of the golden ones.

The most famous circus clown in the world Bello and Molly.

Terrific party, so much fun, thanks Trump & NBC.

We hit the red carpet once again.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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I stumbled into the opening of Bass! How Low Can You Go? at Lelia Heller Gallery on West 25th Street last Wednesday.  The show was named after a rap song, which was named after the lyrics of an earlier rap song.  Curious.  I wonder if Flavor Flav is getting any royalties or kickbacks from the sales in this show? Those giant clock necklaces don’t buy themselves!

“Too black…Too Strong…Too black…Too Strong…” are the opening lyrics of the song this show is based after. What was great about this crowd and this opening is that it’s a nearly 100% chance that nobody in attendance identifies with those lyrics, owns a copy of the Public Enemy Vinyl “Bring The Noise,” or has a clue who Chuck D is. Most likely they will know Flav as nothing but a weird reality TV star. Yeaaaahh Boyyyyee!

This was later remixed by Simon Harris into a piece-of-shit song called “Bass! How low can you go?” which was just composed primarily of samples from the the Public Enemy Song.

I personally first heard the song by playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (as many white kids from the burbs in the 90s probably did) which featured the Antrax / Public Enemy Version. (Listen to this if you want a 90s flashback).

Chuck D signing Public Enemy Comics at NY Comic Con 2007 first sign of the Hiphopocalypse.
The funny thing is, if the gallery had extended an offer, Chuck D would probably have come to the opening.  I remember back in 2007 at the New York Comic Con when I was a guest in Artist Alley,  my mind was blown when I was walking the event and  saw Chuck D signing “Public Enemy” comic books.

In the same way that Simon Harris sampled from Public Enemy, a lot of rap takes samples of what came before and remixes it into new work. This show is very much in the vein of younger artists sampling from artists that came before them.

The show includes work by Erica Baum, Raphael Danke,Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Sheree Hovsepian, Anthony Pearson,Gibb Slife, Alighiero Boetti, Agostino Bonalumi, Enrico Castellani, Lucio Fontana, Dadamaino, Paolo Scheggi, not to mention Robert Rauschenberg & Andy Warhol.

Internationally renowned art collector, and the show’s curator Amir Shariat explains:

“When Chuck D raps ‘He can cut a record from side to side,’ he is cannily referring to Terminator X, the legendary Public Enemy DJ.  Erica Baum and Gibb Slife allude to the voyeurism of Warhol, while the former revels in the genius of Michelangelo. Antonioni’s masterpiece Blow Up and the latter can’t stop our innate thirst for news and gossip.  Sheree sculptures then take Rodin to the next level or should I say the Tower of Babel? Anthony, a sesasoned record collector, meets Bonalumi head on, takes his hand and shows him the way to America.  Rachel meets Enrico and Enrico meets Rachel: it’s not the economy stupid, it’s the fabric of society!  Raphael D rounds them all up and shouts “Danke” to Agostino, Andy, Dadamaino, Enrico, Lucio, and Paolo. Fontana’s 1946 White Manifesto sums up the exhibition: ‘Matter, color, and sound in motion are the phenomena whose simultaneous development makes up the new art.'” -Amir Shariat

Bass! How Low Can You Go? is currently on view Lelia Heller Gallery until June 1
The gallery is located on the corner of West 25th Street and 11th Avenue

Written and Photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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You too can appear on the cover of Time, if only as a reflection.  Today is your last chance, before the Frieze Art Fair New York big top three ring circus packs up its tent and moves on.  The mirrors with the classic red time border and very “un-Time-like” colors and uncharacteristically outlined Time logos are works by contemporary Los Angeles based artist Mungo Thomson in the Galerie Frank Elbaz (Paris, France) booth.

Apparently Mungo has been doing Time mirror since at least the early 2000s and it gets even more interesting if you put two of the Time mirrors across from one another with just a tripod filming, creating recursive reflection, or a “house-of-mirrors effect.”

Mungo Thomson: June 25, 2001 (How the Universe Will End) and (reflected) March 6, 1995 (When Did the Universe Begin?), 2012, enamel on low-iron mirror with poplar and anodized aluminum; courtesy the artist and SITE Santa Fe  [From an article on SantafeNewMexican.com]

There were a lot of mirrored and high-polish pieces of art in all of the art fairs this year, a trend I should have picked up on it earlier.

People before me were taking a picture of themselves in the cover, and people after me as well.  This must have been a constant flow of photos, as everybody has a camera phone, if not a camera, and you don’t get many opportunities to shoot yourself in a full body mirror in the middle of an art fair.

Knowing that since I was here by myself this would be the only photo of me at Frieze, I took a few to make sure I got a decent one.

The work wasn’t labeled, but the curator was nice enough to write the artist’s name down on their business card for me.  You can see behind it a guy is taking a picture of himself with an iPad.  The weird thing about taking a picture of yourself with an iPad in the mirror is that the apple logo will be reversed.

Oddly enough, I have actually had a self portrait printed in the real Time Magazine because I thought it would be a fun thing to do.

Click the image to read about it on ArtSucks.

Frieze runs May 10 -13 rain or shine.

Written and Photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post The Crowd At Frieze Art Fair On The Cover Of Time Magazine appeared first on Artiholics.

Art Production Fund and the New Museum have teamed up for “After Hours 2: Murals on the Bowery.” 15 artist were selected to paint the lockdown gates of several store fronts along the Bowery.  Sounds cool in theory but the not as cool as these pictures (from the article on artlog) portray, as I saw them driving down the Bowery the other night.  These murals are only visible when the stores who’s window space they occupy have their lockdown gates pulled closed. Which means the store is closed.

So any special lighting the windows or awnings might have had is off.  The murals just end up looking like art in an unlit room, or graffiti on a wall in a dark alley.  No spotlights were provided with the project, just paint.

I like how the murals have an end date.  Are the businesses going to paint over them on September 29th?  What would be the point?

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

[via artlog]

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David Shrigley, the artist who makes these adorably morbid dog sculptures has been nominated for the most prestigious art prize England has to offer British artists under 50 years of age.  The Turner Prize.  You can read more about what being nominated for The Turner Prize is like if you read the book 7 Days In The Art World by Sarah Thornton.   The picture above with the little pup I took  at The Independent in 2011 (read on ArtSucks.com), and it was one of the only things I enjoyed about The Independent in 2011.

According to Animal NY  the other nominees are: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye for “Extracts and Verses” at Chisenhale Gallery for paintings; Laure Prouvost for Wantee commissioned with Grizedale Arts at Tate Britain and her installation for the Max Mara Art Prize for Women; and Tino Sehgal for This Variation at documenta (XIII) and These Associations at Tate Modern.

The winner gets $38,000 and bragging rights, but it’s an honor just to be nominated, an honor that comes with an $8,000 consolation prize, which beats the shit out of the Seiko watch and boxed edition of the home game you get for losing on Jeopardy.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

[via AnimalNewYork]

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New York, NY – Friday, March 22, 2013

Making all attempts to beautify the subway with random MTA Arts For Transit projects, we are still constantly hit with gaping eyesores such as the ad above.  Sometimes I feel like I need to talk to major companies who pay good money, not only to hire an artist, but also to print art like this, and pay for subway car ad space   Apparently, according to the illustrator they commissioned to draw this hideous portrait, some old drag queen named Jenny McCarthy has a show, called The Jenny McCarthy Show on VH1.  “STRAIGHT UP…WITH A TWIST” (*the twist is, she has a DICK).

Seriously, when you are using reference for a woman who was Playboy Playmate of the year, you want to at least nail the face, not draw from some gross online gif

Take a tip from Andy Warhol guys, when you are drawing a classic beauty who isn’t 19 anymore, less is more.  This goes for drawing any woman. Like the song, you want to “Accentuate the positive” and “eliminate the negative”.

Emphasize the eyes and lips and blow out rest of the face a bit.  Every line counts when drawing a woman’s face.  Every line indicates years.  This artist went crazy with eye bags, a line under her lip, at least 8 other little cheek and eye lines and a severely hard line on her nose.

Look at the gif compared to the art, she has a straight jaw line in real life, yet for some reason the artist decided she wasn’t plump enough, must round out the jaw, add a little chubby chin on the end of that round jaw as well.  What the hell was he/she thinking?  And who approved this art?  Too many lines can ruin a beautiful woman’s face.

Not only that, they drew her with more roots than she actually has.  The drawing needs a dye job, this is something that in a drawing. . . YOU DON’T HAVE TO DRAW.  Also, if you notice, Jenny McCarthy has very shiny lips. not SOLID BLACK lips with a tiny white oval on the bottom lip.  She has sexy lips, you drew her like she put on lipstick with a black Sharpie.

Jenny McCarthy may have deep eye bags, and under eye wrinkles (in reality) but you wouldn’t know it from her press photos. This is because they are RETOUCHED.  As an artist, or commercial portrait artist to be more specific, you are obligated to do the retouching as you draw.

I understand that Jenny is known for being tongue and cheek while also being sexy, we all remember the famous Rolling Stone cover.

But this misses the mark.  It is less sexy, and more confusing, sad, and desperate.   Next time VH1, give me a call.  I rarely work in this style much anymore, but I have done it for a lot of big companies, and will still pull it out on special occasions.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Bad Subway Ad Featuring Jenny McCarthy Line Drawing appeared first on Artiholics.

The newest episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead titled “Clear”  is now being heralded as possibly the second best episode next to the series pilot, and I can agree, it was amazing.  Not only for the full circle storyline of Rick and Carl visiting their home town and running into Morgan, the man who initially saved Rick and gave him the will to go on living, but finding Morgan living in a beautiful world of Art.

Is and has Morgan been a secret artist all along, or has the isolated world he’s been thrown into unlocked his true love of art, and his inner artistic potential?  The minute Rick, Michonne, and Carl step out of the car the screen begins to fill with a giant sculptural installation piece spanning a full town block.  From this point on in the episode there is rarely a shot that doesn’t have art somewhere on the screen.

Were you to find these sculptures installed in a Chelsea Gallery, they would fit right in without controversy.

The writing directly onto abandoned cars is classic Duchamp esque Dada.

The great use of type on the intersection broken up by the white lines, the three rows of abandoned cars, multi-colored arrows painted directly on the street leading in different directions, the various writings on tarps.  Ladders leading to strange windows color coded to match the arrows on the road.  An oddly placed blue door standing upright in the road leading to nowhere, this is brilliant.

Look at the detail of these punji stick sculptures.  Reminds me of Toothpick Explosion

Cages combined with bamboo with little living rats and birds in the core.  These sculptures have a living element, to compliment their killing element.

This looks like an umbrella stand of death.

The tower with various ropes and pulleys  in the middle of the parking lot created to be able to traverse the road from above without being bitten, is not only functional but beautiful.  Morgan truly has a gift.

Sometimes art can appear a bit dangerous.

Honing his craft Morgan has opted to let a little of the Walker clothing and sinew remain on this one, it adds a tactility to it that it otherwise wouldn’t possess.  Stunning!

The Artist In Repose

“Let me give you a tour of my studio, actually, I will talk to you more about my work when I regain consciousness.”  The interior of the building is art on a whole other level.

Aside from all the great words of varying sizes and colors, erased, written over, crossed out etc, there is on one wall with an amazing birds eye line art drawing of map of the town, and the areas of the town that have been cleared, and the areas that are burnt out.  This map reminded me of a Loren Munk Painting.

Rick is in awe of the amazing written text.  It far surpasses graffiti, in that it’s methodical to the point of excess.

Being trapped in a prison so long, Carl thought he might never see the color blue next to orange in such a beautiful way.  The R being reversed adds to the illusion of the artistic fall from sanity.  The artist has obviously thrown his full self into his artwork.

Michonne, surrounded by art for the first time in years is reminded of her love of sculpture.

Her favorite work is of course Venus de milo.  I only assume this of course, because she is somewhat of a sculptor herself.  She sculpted two of her own out of zombies earlier in the series.

The artist and her work “Venus de zombros.”

Here Rick is thinking:  “His overlaying of words, his color choices.  It’s not what he wrote, but what he wrote over, or crossed out that really gives it power and meaning.”

As the artist wakes up Rick fervently asks him how much he would have to have for this work.  “I know removing a wall will be difficult, but you must understand, money is no object.”  Rick forgets that money actually is “no object” in a post zombie apocalypse, but for the past few episodes he has been following ghosts around, so you look past this.  The walls of the prison are too drab, and this is just the right thing that would bring some life back into the old place.   Rick tries to commission a drawing installation for just one cell block, but Morgan puts his foot down.

“Listen, I don’t work on commission mother f**ker.  I make this art for me.  I pour my soul into these words, don’t you GET THAT?!”

Rick decides the least he can do is interview the artist.  He asks him a series of questions that end up putting Morgan in an awkward situation.

It reminded me a lot of this scene from the movie Basquiat.

So the question you have to ask yourself is, is Morgan going crazy, or is he just ahead of his time?

Art by Jean Michel Basquiat

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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