New York – Friday, March 7, 2014

I am really loving SCOPE’s venue at Moynihan Station, they must have knocked down some walls and gutted the place a bit more than last year because the size of the floor plan seemed massive.  Makeshift unvarnished wood steps leading to higher ground, and long benches here and there for sitting (a luxury not easily found at most art fairs).

Exposed ancient metal ceiling girders with peeling paint were everywhere you looked, if you looked up that is.   What a  great contrast with the polished and illuminated gallery booths, and let’s face it,  it sure beats a tent.

I arrived and cut the line to the press check in.  I always bring my SCOPE press lanyard which has the logo printed all over it.  They bothered to do that one year and have ever since opted for just the plain black, having the official one makes me feel like not just press, but SUPER PRESS.

Art Now NY scored the first Banksy I’ve seen in a NY art fair.  Fell off the back of a truck maybe?

Spotted street artist Buff Monster enjoying the show.

Pashmin Art Gallery, Hamburg, this artist Davood Roostaei was dressed as a cross between Michael Jackson and his actual paintings.

Art by Cazes Uriel.

I noticed at Villa del Arte Galleries, Barcelona they were carrying a piece by Castle Fitzjohns, New York artist David Datuna.

Fabien Castanier Gallery, Los Angeles was back again at SCOPE. Fabien posed for me in front of a few 44.75″ x 32.5″ pieces by Speedy Graphito.

Some really amazing larger than life hyperrealistic sculptures of Andy Warhol at different points in his life titled “ANDY” by Kazuhira Tsuji Copro Gallery, Santa Monica.  He should have been the one to do the Memorial in Union Square.

Really detailed drawings by Artem Mirolevich at Barbarian Art Gallery, Zurich.

Saw a piece by Matt Neuman at Asterisk Projects, Brooklyn, which reminded me a lot of his piece I saw the night before at Clio Art Fair but with 12 more targets.

Beautiful paintings by Malcolm T. Liepke at Arcadia Contemporary.

Really moody street scenes from New York City, by Kim Cogan, also at Arcadia Contemporary.

A bunch of pieces by David Kramer at Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis.

Whimsically disturbing line art paintings by Brian McDonald at Reaves Gallery, New York.

I ran into sculptor Cheedah Shikaage Itchi Suuwah (Thunder Wolf), and we had a long talk about the 3d Printing sculpture he’s getting into.  He showed me his new digital work on his phone, amazing stuff.

Some pop work at Krause Gallery.  Including these really cool dimensional pieces that look like they might be made from thousands of straws cut to precise lengths.

Galerie Mark Hachem, Paris | New York has some work with multiple layers of glass creating a full image by Ardan Ozmenoglu.

Large drawings by Maya Mukumizu, at Gallery G-77, Kyoto.

A bunch of pieces by Karim Hamid at AUREUS Contemporary, Providence, RI.

More work at AUREUS Contemporary.

Samurai – 1982, by Paula Rego, at Cordeiros Galeria, Porto / Portugal.

Ran into Jeremiah Johnson who’s piece “House of Worship” house made out of pill bottles is debuting at Fountain Art Fair today.

The cafe / bar / lounge area.

Work by Tiptoe at Vertical Gallery, Chicago.

Artwork by Stormie Mills, also at Vertical Gallery.

Safaeddin Emami, “The Battle of Pashan Begins” Silkscreen on canvas at Shirin Gallery, Tehran | New York.

A giant assemblage of Mixed Media on paper by Amanda Marie.  They are sold individually as 16″ x 20″ pieces, and 20″ x 24″ pieces, at Andenken Gallery, Amsterdam.

Drawings by Clayton Chandler, at C. Emerson Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL.

Drawings by Justin Nelson, also at C. Emerson Fine Arts.

A picture of me at Fuchs Projects booth by Rafael Fuchs.

Artwork by Petros Chrisostomou, Miguel Libarnes, Rafael Fuchs, Skewville, Aakash Nihalani, & Trey Speegle at Bushwick’s own Fuchs Projects.

Artist Naomi Campbell.  Her pieces combine X-rays, aluminum, copper, plexiglass and drawings.  They are abstractions about gaming, and the blurred lines between reality and video games.

Artist Victor-John Villanueva  poses in front of a piece in Fuchs Project’s booth, he didn’t make the work, he just has a similar color scheme.

Art by Valerio Adami at Barbara Paci Gallery, Pietrasanta.

Disturbingly haunting art by Michele Mikesell at La Lanta Fine Art, Wattana.

A requisite Swoon piece.

Some really interesting works by Peter Grich at VIMM Gallery, Prague.

This one reminded me of works by H.R. Geiger.

An entire booth of works by Shen Jingdon, at Coral Contemporary, Nanjing.

The Jayson Atienza shoe at the bucketfeet shoe exhibit.

Lots of glitter at the Natalie Kates Projects, New York

One half of the Gentleman’s Game art team Jason Douglas Griffin.

Gentleman’s Game artists Jason Douglas Griffin and Brandon Friend.

They have collaborative works in the Magpi Projects booth, and they have their own booth at Fountain – where they had just come after having just finished setting it up.

Artist Sebastian Wahl, also represented by Magpi Projects.

Artist Joseph Grazi, who has two pieces in the Art Now NY booth, including this shark.

Muffinhead, a living sculpture at Galleria Ghetta, Ortisei, England.

Some really angelic drawings by artist Amy Sol at Thinkspace, Culver City.

Hubert Kretzschmar, Techno Pop (front cover) at Licht Feld Gallery

Also by Hubert Kretzschmra.  I first met Hubert at the Art of The Rolling Stones Show.

Photographer Mia Tyler in front of a portrait of her father, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Photographer and curator at Fuchs Projects, Rafael Fuchs, in front of a few of the pieces from his most recent series about his horrible landlords.

Artist Bradley Theodore, aka Brad Digital.

Brad introduced me to artist Jaclyn Santos.

It was a great show as per usual, and AS I HAD PREDICTED earlier in the week. After taking it all in, I headed out into the night to shoot down to SoHo for Mark DeMaio’s opening at Sacred Gallery.  This week really is the Superbowl of art going.

Written and Photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”
(*editors note – I will set up all the galleries and artists names as hyperlinks next week when I have time)

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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

Website: https://scope-art.com/

About Scope (In Their Words)
With over 50 art shows spanning more than a decade, SCOPE has solidified its position as the premier showcase for international emerging contemporary art and multi-disciplinary creative programming. SCOPE’s extensive reach enables an unrivaled opportunity for networking with art patrons, creative professionals and a culturally relevant public audience. Renowned for presenting the most innovative galleries, artists and curators, SCOPE Art Shows in Miami, Basel, New York, London and the Hamptons have garnered extensive critical acclaim, with sales of over $450 million and attendance of over 700,000 visitors.

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

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

Augusto Esquivel

Notable Artists 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.
Possible Live Nudity: It’s Possible.

Live painting Justin Orvis Steimer

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

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New York, NY – Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Late last year Street Artist Essam was arrested for a highly charged NYPD drone fake ad campaign he hung around the city.  In mid-March I went to a fundraising art event at Mother hosted by Animal NY to help pay his attorney and court fees.

The list of artists that donated work to the silent auction included Clay Patrick McBride, Dan Witz, Peter Max, Tanyth Berkeley, GILF, Mr. EWOKONE, Patrick Waldo, Jaron Berman, QRST,Stash, SERVO, Army of One, Adam Dare, and many more.  There were also musical performances by Ben Morgan, Danny Musengo​, California Kings​, Motherwell Johnson​, and Ludlow Thieves.

I caught up with Essam a few months later to see what had resulted from the auction, and how the case was going after all the dust had settled.

Artiholics: “First off, can you give me a little run down of what exactly happened for any of my readers who might be living outside of NYC who might not have caught the story?”

ESSAM: “On November 28th the NYPD intelligence/counter terrorism unit came knocking on my door and arrested me for allegedly placing mock NYPD public service announcements all over Manhattan.  The ad’s said things like ‘Always Watching,’ with Bloomberg’s face, cameras and drones ominously watching overhead, and “NYPD Drones, protection when you least expect it,” with a drone firing a hellfire at a fleeing family. Needless to say the NYPD was none to pleased.”

Artiholics: “What charges did they slap you with?”

ESSAM: “I’m being charged with Grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, 56 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of a firearm for my great grand fathers antique revolver.”

Artiholics: “Who proposed the Free Essam silent auction?”

ESSAM: “The silent auction and concert were actually first proposed by my close friend Danny Musengo, the lead singer of Ludlow Thieves who headlined the performance that evening. I spent a week thinking, ‘I either let this ruin my life, or I try to use the momentum in the press to make something of this’. In hind sight it seems like a no brainer.”

Essam (Left) with Clay Patrick McBride.

Artiholics: “How did you get such an eclectic mix of artists to donate work?”

ESSAM: “Well, I received a formal arts education at SVA, and having been older than most other students due to my previous military service, I formed some very lasting relationships with the faculty, a few of which were instrumental in making the benefit happen. Mainly Clay Patrick McBride who was the MC for the evening, is a very well known and respected photographer in the music and sports industries and really went to bat for me. Through him I was able to meet many of the artists who donated, including one of the performers.”

Artiholics: “Anyone show up at the party you didn’t expect to?”

ESSAM: “I met a lot of people that I was honored to have in attendance to include one of the heads of Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, the wall street journal, a representative from Adam Harvey’s studio, but I was most surprised to see photographer Kareem Black, who’s presence usually signifies ‘this’ is the cool thing to be doing, and collector W. H. Hunt who is one of the bigger collectors and curators of photography in New York. There was also an Assistant District Attorney in attendance which made me a little nervous.”

Artiholics: “Did the party raise a lot of funds?  Anyone offer up a get out of jail free card?”

ESSAM: “I managed to raise about $13,000 front the event itself and another $10,000 through the sale of work online with 1xRun, which in total nearly covered the cost of my attorney, so i’m happy, though a get out of jail free card would have been nice. I did make a piece for Libertarian Billionaire Peter Thiel and sent it along with a letter to his place of business in San Francisco in hopes of at least having an ally in the fight but I never received a response.”

Artiholics: “Have you had to return to court since the party?”

ESSAM: “I have, I went back on May 1st, the case was adjured until August 5th.  To date there has been no progress in the case, My attorney is in communication with the district attorney to negotiate a plea bargain. The only real progress is soon I may finally be receiving my computers and hard drives that were taken in the raid.”

Artiholics: “What’s next on the horizon for you artistically?  And where can we keep tabs on your openings and events?”

ESSAM: “Right now I’m working with 1xRun on another edition of screen prints and I’m putting together work for a couple shows. No dates are set but you can keep updated with both my photography and my street art at www.eadamattia.com and www.freeessam.com, Free_ESSAM is on all social media as well.”

To support the FREE ESSAM campaign, you can buy a poster, the first two posters have sold out.  The third edition of posters are now available to purchase on 1xrun.com  (here)

You can also sign the petition to drop the charges against Essam, on ForceChange.com

Interview and Photos by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”
(header image by The Daily News)

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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”

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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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