Now imagine taking a stroll in a park – let’s say the Morningside Park in Upper Manhattan – and seeing a large sculpture of a reclining figure. Instead of Buddha, however, reclining on the grass is Liberty herself.

Part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program, “Reclining Liberty” is a piece by Harlem-based artist Zaq Landsberg. It is a plaster resin sculpture of the quintessential American figurative symbol, resting with her eyes closed. The materials she was made of are sturdy enough to support anyone who would climb, sit atop, or lean up against her. If you ever wanted to see and interact with Liberty, now is your chance; especially since the copper paint and an oxidizing acid really make it look like the actual Statue.

Morningside Park’s Reclining Liberty

The symbolisms behind the artwork are many: Landsberg intentionally combines the traditional Buddhist iconography with that of New York and the United States at large, questioning the ideals that the Statue of Liberty represents. The artist also considers the meaning and significance of monuments, America’s relationship with its own history, and the way certain aspects of it have been celebrated to the exclusion, and even detriment, of a large part of its own people. “Reclining Liberty” could also be perceived as a symbol of a country succumbing to a grueling pandemic, in which even the tallest of statues can be worn down.

Is Liberty simply tired from all the challenges of the contemporary moment? Aren’t we all?

About Zaq Landsberg

Zaq Landsberg specializes in large scale, site-specific sculpture that is often installed outdoors. Much of his work, by his own admission, involves “things that look like other things” – for instance, his “Peshmerga Fighting Vehicle” from 2017 is a replica of a real-life truck used by the military forces in Kurdistan, while the 2014 installation “SkyWatch” is an eerie, spider-like NYPD watch tower. He is also the creator of the “Republic of Zaqistan”, a two-acre piece of land in the American West.

Landsberg’s interest in the concept of monuments extends beyond “Reclining Liberty,” through artworks dealing with visual representations of historical figures such as Robert E. Lee and Christopher Columbus. This is also the second time the artist used the Statue of Liberty in his art: it follows the 2012 project titled “Face of Liberty”, in which half of her head was emerging from the Governors Island.

You can visit Zaq Landsberg’s “Reclining Liberty” in Morningside Park, near the West 120th Street and Morningside Avenue entrance to the park, until April 2022.

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Please tell us a little about where you are from? And what is your background as an artist? 

I was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA. It’s a suburb on the Southern side of Pittsburgh. My family rented three rooms on the upper floor of a house there. When I was eleven years old, we moved across the river to Dravosburg, which is yet another suburb on the Southern side of Pittsburgh. We lived in the projects there, and that’s where I lived until I left school.

During the time I was a boy, the steel industry was in full blossom. Everywhere around you, one was surrounded by fire, earthen ores, molten metal, lots of smoke, big machines and industrial noises.  It was really sexy. Today I still love to visit old factories and railroad yards with heavy equipment and huge machines.   

In Pittsburgh, there was some sort of philanthropic program that identified young, artistically inclined students in public school. Through that program, I attended fine art classes at Carnegie Institute for several years, and then later at Carnegie-Mellon University. I studied at CMU at night and on weekends throughout my high school years.  Later, I enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston.   

Carnegie-Mellon was a very classical fine art program. Hours and years spent drawing bottles and human anatomy. The Museum School on the other hand, was the exact opposite. No rules and run with scissors as fast as you can. In fact, pick up some knives and razor blades while you’re at it. It was a change of direction that electrified me.

So you can say that I had a fairly rich academic start to my practice. I’m really grateful to the instructors that I had. I’ve been working in my studio and exhibiting as much as I can ever since. Besides all of that art school stuff, I have two degrees in Electrical Engineering. Who would have known? I actually chose my engineering major based on a sculptural project I was thinking about using electro-magnetism. I could have used a good life coach when I was young.

The academics had value, but the art seed germinates only once you come to terms with the “why” of your practice.

What made you want to become an artist?

Well, since so much of my youth was spent in art school in one way or another, I was very comfortable in an artist’s skin right from the start. There wasn’t a someone or a something that triggered it all for me. I had my artistic heroes and sheroes, but I think it’s more that art gives me a vehicle to think deeply about things.  I become very mentally invested in certain ideas and concepts. Painting is my way of sorting it all out. Actually, my studio practice is a sort of neurosis of mine. You might call it an addiction or even a compulsion.  It’s something I feel that I have to do, something I’m driven to do. If I spend too much prolonged time away from working, I just feel a bit undone. It’s always been that way for me. 

Is there name/category for the kind of art you create?

Because of the materials that I use, my work has been referred to as Haute Pâte, or Matter Painting. There was a time, say maybe ten years ago, when the way I was using the material aptly fit that description. Nowadays, I can’t say that I agree or disagree with those labels.  I am using the Earth as a painting medium but the way that I’m using it is dry rather than some material mixed with paint. Does that qualify as Haute Pâte? It’s thick, gravely stuff affixed to the surface. There are probably people who feel very specific about those terms. As far as I know, I’m unique in what I’m doing.

If we talk about my subject matter, I’m interested in consciousness, and I approach that through metaphysics, physics, and spirituality. The images are mostly abstract, I think.  Sometimes even primitive. Abstract is more real than real, when you’re trying to ask hard questions, in my opinion.

Often there is a message behind art. What is the message behind your art?

When looking at one of my paintings, you’re sharing a snapshot of a moment of time of my stream of consciousness. Maybe that’s more like a babbling brook. You will literally see what I was thinking about at the time I painted the piece. It will have notes, formulae, lyrics, glyphs and so on that are relevant to the topic that I was analyzing and unpacking at the time. The paintings do not read literally though. The composition itself dictates what stays and what is erased. When I watch people looking at my work in the gallery, I’ll catch them trying to read the painting or identify the math. That makes me laugh to myself. There is no secret message to unlock.

Do you have a targeted audience for your art?

That’s a really interesting question. I’ve never thought about a target audience. Now that you bring it up, it’s possible that I’m painting just for myself. The target audience is me!  Isn’t that funny? I should send myself a survey to see how I feel about it. I haven’t noticed that my work is collected by any single sort of demographic. The most frequent feedback that I hear is that “it just makes me feel good.”  I can’t think of a higher compliment, actually.

You state in your artist statement that your body of work is also an attempt to tap into the core of human experience. Can you tell us more what you mean by that? What do you see as the core of human experience? 

It’s a somewhat contrarian view these days, but I think that no matter where you’re from, when you’re from, no matter your race, sex, or culture, people are pretty much the same once we strip off the learned beliefs that end up creating otherwise arbitrary differences.  Sometimes we choose to pick up and carry a flag for those differences, but at the core we’re basically the same. We are Humans, all of us together, motivated ultimately only by love or fear.

If you allow the assertion that we all share a common inherent “humanness,” then at a primal level we all experience the universe in the same way. Because I’m an artist, I’ll give you an example by way of what happens when we see something.

We tend to experience symbols and glyphs in the same primal way no matter who we are.  You can in fact observe this when you look at the ways that ancient cultures, separated by distance and time, used common graphical symbols. A cross, a figure eight, a spiral, curves vs. angles and so on work the same in one place in space and time as they do in another.  We see with our human mind, not with our eyes.  

Looking at this a bit more deeply, it would seem that our minds are connected at a core, root level. Think of islands in the sea. The islands are separated on the surface of the water, but underneath the sea they’re connected through the same Earth. You and me are islands, but we’re connected. A collective, consensus humanness. Interestingly, developments in quantum physics seem to be touching upon the mathematics that identifies how this happens at a quantum level. Physics is affirming metaphysics. So, to answer your question more directly, it’s possible that we are all that there is. At least as far as we’ll ever be concerned. That deserves looking at.

Are you currently working on new artworks?

Always! Constantly! Feet don’t fail me now.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m sort of driven in my studio practice. I’m running a race that never finishes. I started working on this series that I call “Multiverse” around the beginning of the year. This is looking at the ideas around parallel universes. I think there’s still some distance to travel with that, unless a new shiny penny comes my way.

Looking to the future, what are any upcoming projects and art exhibitions that you have? 

I’ve got a few of the early Mulitiverse pieces at the gallery in Atlanta. I’d like to exhibit a larger body of that work sometime this year, but at the moment there’s nothing scheduled for that. My next solo show on the books is in 2022.

On the horizon, I’m thinking about the role of consciousness in the creation of physical reality. I’ve been reading about string theory for some time, and especially the areas of math that involve the presence or absence of an observer. I’m having fun with that and I think there’s enough brain food in that topic that will lead to something soon for me. Then there’s a life/afterlife thing that I’m noodling on too. We’ll see what happens.

COVID-19 has impacted so many parts of our lives. How did Covid-19 impact your work?

You know what, I don’t think it impacted my work at all. I feel a bit odd saying that out loud, but that’s the honest answer.  

I spend eighty percent of every day alone, working in the same room. The social isolation is what my daily routine was anyway. I do miss going out and spending time with friends like I used to, but my work hasn’t changed because of Covid.  Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I’m an open book. Drop me a line.

Bob Landström’s Website

Instagram: @boblandstrom

The post Meet the Artist Bob Landström appeared first on Artiholics.

You are an artist and you also perform in shows. Which side of the job do you like and enjoy the most?

I like when everything blurs together and it’s a lifestyle versus a job or a show. It is not just painting, not just performing. I like being ongoing. I paint on my face, then I smash the paint into a canvas, then I stack that onto my chest, then I slam it into a wall, while making a song. Then the song inspires me while I’m drawing. I let it all out, non stop. Sleep less/do more. When we dip back into this “human” life of roles and routine we become less in the moment.

You bridged the gap between the Art and Club world in the 90’s; can you tell us more?

I was a naive kid working clubs in ’93 for food money. I drew at all my events, jobs, even when I WAS A D.J. or did the door or ran events. From booking Wutang to Fat Joe, I was still  drawing all the people that came out. I filled sketchbooks and everyone was like YOOOOO! “Why don’t you just show your work?”  and I was like “ whhhhhhat???”

As a kid I had no clue. I grew up struggling and with no art education so the Club world x “my” people put me on, and then I started organizing art shows at the clubs. Once I saw that I could organize I put other people on. I did things every week back then. I was curating in a way, from dance shows, raves, punk, palladium, horrible bars etc but I left all that and moved on into showing and full time artist life around 18, 19 years old.

Your signature line work has made an impact on NYC. Can you tell us some of the details of what that line is and how it impacted NYC?

I don’t think it’s up to the artist to determine if the work impacts anyone. New York City is constantly changing, the lines are fluid and always moving, overlapping, changing, like this crazy place. Everyone has a line of work, I’m just channeling the rhythms  worked on as a kid and what I develop daily now, to hopefully make new language.

The lines developed from growing up here as a coping mechanism, drawing life, faces, places and movement. Everyone’s experience in New York is different. Growing up I was an extreme outsider to art. The line work I developed was without exposure to the art, even though I was born here. This kind of lifestyle is often overlooked in “art” storytelling when we think of NY. I hope we can start to think of other artists from rough areas that made it, but the common story is born into, or came for it???

I was born sick, as a kid I suffered from extreme illnesses and just became known as the kid that stayed inside and drew weird lines. Outsiders come from all over the world to New York to make art. I was an outsider in my own town, I just drew all the time and it took all the other New Yorkers to tell me to look at these drawings, to look at Warhol, that I was an artist and to go see a Chuck Close show. I was a strange street kid- I was always  getting into trouble living by the side of the road. My NYC story is odd, but many can relate; they just don’t all get the chance to speak and I hope that changes in this extreme twisted culture.

How would you define your work, technique, and what your message is behind it?

I work around the clock every day. I’ve always been this way since I was a kid. My focus has been being free, making, making, making- from doing collage, sculptures, drawings, paintings, masks, music, immersing myself. I like to throw paint on my clothes, cakes on my head and do jackass performances. I need to escape the system and all this man made bullshit construct by creating all the time and fully being lost in the moment. I don’t want to conform and be a part of anything.

You say that your paintings are inside paintings, can you explain to us what you mean by that?

I try to create paintings that are not one dimensional. Even if it’s as simple as strange Miss Piggy if you look closer you can see a skull, a flower and an exploding eye, then maybe yourself. I have to compete with life. People are busy. If I’m making work and want people to see, I have to think of my competition, this huge thing called life which has so many pictures.

There are layers into layers, pushed, smushed and splattering all around fields of color that shift, faces inside of worlds and if you move in close you can discover hidden levels. I’m doing my math, drawing from different angles, different foregrounds, and multiple perspectives. It’s not a straightforward story, it’s more like a painted Matthew Silver bit.

What is art for you?

Art to me isn’t described by the word art. It isn’t something in a box, destroyed by intention, it just is. All the rest is just human bullshit, needs and wants. The thing that works is when it transcends into the next dimension.

You opened the Alien X the living installation. What inspired this installation and can you share with us more about it? What is it about?

We just did an installation on our Lower East Side rooftop with the city skyline, and have another one coming up. We recorded the whole thing live and it’s available to watch. www.michaelalanart.com/thelivinginstallation

During our performances we are creating human paintings, that change and melt and transform on our bodies and in space. In short we slap ourselves up with anything you can think of. We create robots, slam materials on our head, scream and transform and meld our skin, wreaking and creating objects, blindfolded and covered in paint. We speak about the human condition and the artist as a clown and the underlying emptiness of capitalism. My 84 year old mother performs! Jadda cat is my partner. I am just a clown.

People think of New York and they think of Graffiti and Hip Hop and an underground performance scene. We are continuing that old school punk ethos. New York has been shut down and there’s not been too much going on and we are trying to contribute to its rebirth. We designed the show to be accessible in the open air or by live feed so that people have a way to experience art safely again. We also at random daily walk around as living art.

Since artists seem to always be creating or thinking of their next creation, please share with us any of your future projects and dreams.

I have so much work around me piled up and in progress, and series upon series and so many various styles that I can barely keep up. I just keep working and I let it guide me to where I’m going. I want to keep finding the new without an agenda.

 My next show is this upcoming Saturday, May 22nd.

www.instagram.com/michaelalanalien

www.instagram.com/thelivinginstallation

www.facebook.com/MichaelAlan1.0

www.michaelalanart.com

https://michaelalanalien.bandcamp.com/album/michael-alan-alien

The post Meet the Artist Michael Alan Alien appeared first on Artiholics.

Please introduce yourself and your artistic background.

My name is Scott Abrams. I don’t really have an artistic background.

What kind of art do you create?

I make art with oil paint, words, and other items that I glue onto canvas. The previous year, I used stencils to make a lot of work with animals in dialogue, mostly humorous. I also made a few minimalist pieces, with words on their own, and a large amount of work with items glued onto canvas.

What is the message behind your art?

Message would be too strong a word for anything that I do. My hope is to illuminate conflict in a way that can be a little bit funny and a little bit strange. 

How do you combine the language, the humor, and art?

Combining language, humor and art, that’s the magic. Where exactly one finds the kernel of an idea that eventually gets translated onto the canvas—it’s a mystery to me. I usually get ideas at night and in the early morning and put them onto Post-it notes, though lately my practice has drifted more towards drawing. In this aspect, I’ve been teaching my hand to follow my head. That’s probably where the humor comes from. 

What inspires you and your creations?

What inspires me? I try to create work that I find funny and that I love deeply, or once did.

You are also a writer and in college you studied literature and philosophy. Please tell us more about your literature background and how being a writer has impacted and is impacting your works.

Philosophy helps me get to the root of a problem. Literature helps me understand that the root is probably conflict. I love literature for its wild use of imagination, and it helps me understand things that I can’t see or experience personally. 

Being a writer was the starting point for me as an artist. Much of my early work was just writing in black marker. I did study literature in college and continued to read a lot after that. It gave me templates for what an artist is or can be as well as the framework of finding humor in conflict.
Not only are you an artist and a writer, but also a businessman. You established several companies in real estate and healthcare. Can you tell us more about that?

Business is challenging, but refreshing, too. I originally got a law degree, but I wasn’t cut out for it, so I fell into business because I had to make a living. I actually like the contrast between business and art. Some days you prefer thinking about money, some days about art. It’s like having antennas in many different worlds.

Are you currently working on a specific piece of art?

I am not working on any specific piece of art at the moment. I do work almost every day for about 4 to 6 hours. Mostly, I am trying to improve my ability to make images.

https://www.scott-abrams.com/

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To wind up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art must have been an interesting journey. Could you please tell us a little about yourself and the journey that brought you there.

I’m a chemist. I studied chemistry in Italy and then crystallography which is the discipline that studies crystalline materials particularly minerals; I obtained my PhD in Italy. Then I came to the US for a postdoctoral period at the University of Michigan continuing along that line with regular chemistry. That’s where I started looking for an alternative career in the industry.

Simultaneously, I discovered American art museums and found that they are very interesting and different than European museums, especially the Italian ones.

There is a degree of integration among different professions and also a broader array of professions within the museum. I discovered that there were scientists working in museums. Here in the US I found they have science labs that we are supporting the restorers, conservators and the art curators in their investigation which was a big discovery for me. Very few people were hiring scientists in museums and it was just a few university laboratories doing this and there were no scientists in museums, and even now there are no scientists in museums in Italy.

So I always had the thought to do this but I always left it as a thought thinking it would be nice but I can’t.

I discovered this field, then I just picked up the phone and started calling all the labs in museums. I spoke with their scientists and asked about an opening. I had a list of 12 it names to call. I still remember in fact my wife Jennifer, who at the time I was dating, said who told me that since I had a list of contacts to just pick up the phone and call.

And I wondered how to do that because I wouldn’t do that in Italy. She reminded me that this is not Italy and this is how you do things in America. So I just called them.

Everybody was very nice. There weren’t many opportunities. But the last person I called was the scientist at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He said yes and he informed me that they had a fellowship I should apply for and so I applied. I actually went there on my own. I took a Southwest flight that probably stopped in 16 places before getting to LA to go for the interview.

They offered me a job that paid very little. I could manage and so, after a lot of trouble to get the Visa permit, I started in LA. I still remember when I went there for my interview because it was March and there was still snow on the ground in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I was living at the time. I got to LAX (which is not the best place in LA) but when I saw the palm trees I said, I’m going to get this job. So I started it and that September I moved to LA. I spent two years there as a fellow which is basically a very Junior position but it was an extraordinary experience because I really had a fantastic mentor, great colleagues, and it was really so integrated. There I got to work on everything from paintings to ancient Egyptian silver and bronze sculptures, Modern art. So really that was how I learned. After two years, I had the opportunity to get a research position at the Freer Gallery in Washington DC, which is the collection of Asian art of the Smithsonian. There I started working on a special project on Japanese art.

Then, after two years LA County Museum of Art called me and told me that the person I worked with there had retired and asked if I was interested in the job of senior scientist there. After some time there the Met museum called. Even though I loved Los Angeles, I could not say no to New York. New York is where things happen and and my task at the MET was really to create the first scientific research department in the all history of the MET. The MET had a few scientists, but they were working on different conservation areas, in different environments. So they asked me to come in, bring them together and create a bigger structure. Therefore, I gave up surfing in the morning before I went to work and I moved to NYC.

I’m still here, 16 years later.

You are a very successful scientist, what is your role/job description at the Met museum?

Now every day the first thing I do is to arrange the calendar for the following week because out of 16 people on my team I can only bring in six people every day because of Covid-19 occupancy restrictions, so I’m just like the guy who takes down bookings for the tennis courts or something like that. It’s not very exciting and you can imagine everybody wants to be here. A lot of my work is administrative. I created a team, I assembled a work structure; as a non profit we have to do a lot of fundraising that is looking for grants to secure positions to take care of the maintenance of equipment and to purchase new equipment. My biggest priority right now is really helping museums and the Arts to achieve more representation and more diversity.

We’re lucky that in the sciences we have an amazing pool of talented scientists of color, so we can take advantage of programs that existed in the past. We increased the minority representation in the sciences and our task now is reaching out to these candidates letting them know that this is a great career and they can join the museum and contribute and help us become more representative of America. To do that I just need to do a lot of knocking on doors to get money.

Because today is a very quiet day I could come in to do the interview with you and also work in the laboratory. I’m thinking it’s a luxury for me. I can shut off the paperwork and go to the laboratory where I’m putting together a new instrument that will allow us to do more work in identifying materials in works of art. Tomorrow I have a new Junior scientist who’s a PhD candidate here at City College and who works with me.

I also work on Japanese art. That’s my skill, my passion. I’ve done a lot of work to study artworks such as the famous Great Wave by Hokusai. If you Google me you’ll see that I talk a lot about that. Our job is to discover how those prints were made, and also to really look through materials, through the technology, through the identification of artists pigments and processes, and understand more about the society that produced these works.

Our aim would be not to just stop at the surface or under the surface, but scrape down and tell a story that really says something new about Hokusai and understand art through the lens of the components and physical nature of the object.

How do you apply your scientific expertise to the artworks that the museum deals with? Can you give an example?

For example, in Hokusai’s Great Wave (you can look up in our collection website) you see there’s a beautiful and dynamic live representational force of nature in the Great Wave where tiny little men are about to be washed out by the wave. One of the things that was very interesting to me was the use of blue. Now the woodblock printing in Japan in the 1800s was the most advanced color reproduction technique in the world. So even though it was a pre-industrial society, there was no steam power, no machine, etc., they could achieve amazing results in several fields.

They were able to achieve amazing color quality, amazing quality control over print that were sold at a very low cost. It was commercial illustration, it was not art. You start seeing prints like the Great Wave, my own hypothesis is that we have the beginning of artistic prints in that they go beyond even what was already highly achievable at that time in the sense that the depth of color and the color range is amazing. Our brain processes variations in light (expressed in drawings with light and dark shading) as variation in depth in space. Hokusai and the master craftsmen who printed this work knew this intuitively, and they took extra care with lighter and darker shades of blue to create depth and movement. The observation is that these works are truly exceptional, and trying to deconstruct them to see what makes them amazing in the use of color and then going into analysis to prove this theory is part of the work. Therefore, we use a variety of tools, and the most important ones are the eye and the microscope, as you really want to get close to it and observe it. I’m not that good but my colleagues that work in conservation really have highly trained eyes and they can very often tell me what I’m going to find. They are always right. And then we go on with non-invasive analytical techniques. These are instruments that allow us to identify the materials without removing particles from the work, eventually it may be necessary to do what we call micro sampling, that is removing microscopic fragments.

We have a fiber optic instrument that shines just like regular white light and we capture the reflection of the color, and we can see through a spectrometer broken down in each wavelength rather than the eye which has only three receptors, the eye sees blue, green, and red.

Blue, green, and red are amazing colors because we have color vision essentially by seeing these three colors. This instrument instead has hundreds of receptors so we can really get a very complex picture that gives us the fingerprint of a certain color. We can tell whether it’s Indigo or Prussian Blue.

So what we discovered was how those two pigments were mixed which makes the printing more complex, time consuming, and ultimately more expensive, if you see that the publisher chose to go through this route and created something that clearly has more added value, more artistic quality. Then, this is not a normal print, and I think that that is an important statement to make because it says something about the time that was done and what people wanted and it gets a bit more complex. You can imagine that landscapes are important to those who love to travel. And that’s normal for us. We don’t even think about it. You have a landscape in front of you and say, oh I would like to visit the place or I visited that place. I think about older times like special feudal society when they were not allowed to travel and could not just pick up and go with money; but also needing to be authorized by their local sovereign lord. You could not just go somewhere else and not work for him.

So what we see in Japan in Tokyo is that people had a little bit more money and

people started traveling. So maybe it’s a pilgrimage. Maybe it’s going to a famous sanctuary or famous art place. So if you’re a person of means you travel and you commission a painting that shows a famous place.

If your personal means are less you may buy a print and maybe still travel so the print could be a souvenir. If you’re somebody who cannot travel at least you can afford the print because now you see the landscapes around you. There is always a correlation of what you see in paintings and what you need to make that painting.

Before the 1820’s (The Great Wave is from 1830s) you cannot find landscape prints in Japan.

Quite simply because they didn’t have a blue color that you can use for print that would give you the bright blue of the sky and the deep blue of the ocean. All they had was indigo, which is the color of blue jeans, a bit of a dull color. It doesn’t really work. If you make it really concentrated it comes out a dull grey-blue.

If you want to you can make it a little like the blue sky but it won’t be the real blue sky and so at some point Prussian blue from Europe arrived in Japan. And that’s about 1820 the moment it arrives you have landscape prints. This is not a coincidence.

We traced the use of colors which is the very basic step into looking at a piece of art with the curators or art historians. We then join in and so it’s a little bit of a forensic conversation, a little bit of art historical background. We go in through a step-by-step approach using not the eyes but microscopes, for non-invasive analysis as well as x-ray laser based infrared tools.

Have you ever come across a forgery?

We generally don’t comment on forgeries and similar issues. There are other issues which are not outright forgeries, but it’s where a piece has been restored and and so a part is not original and some of them could be historical and some could be very new. So it’s more about deciding which one stays and which one goes. I know it’s a very fascinating topic, but I am sure there are actually less forgeries than you think. We haven’t seen many those. We also have the opposite which is when we have an object that may be classified as a reproduction or a copy and with true analysis we can tell that it’s actually the real thing. That’s far more exciting because instead of condemning something you can actually bring it back from obscurity.

What do you think of the art world right now during Covid-19? What has the impact been as far as you see?

I can tell you only what I know about-that it is certainly a crisis.

This is hitting all of us really hard.

I say it’s a catastrophe because right now the MET is losing an enormous amount of money. We’re trying to stay open and we really wanted to stay open, not so much to find revenue. As you know, we have a particular admission policy where New Yorkers and New York State residents “pay as they wish”.

The fixed price ticket is only for people outside of the State of New York. But with Covid the only people who come to the museum are New Yorkers and New York State residents. Our revenue is very small right now and really I would say the decision was to open because we think we represent something for the city for our members, for our public, and we wanted to be there.

The reopening was not about the money. As you look at museums closing around the country it’s very sad and I hope that museums can stay open and will decide to stay open if they can.

It is a great time now to visit and experience the museum because there are only very small crowds. Everybody is wearing a mask. Everybody is distancing. You can relax in the galleries.

What has been the most challenging part of your job?

We are a frontier profession but the field is still making advances that are considerable. Also we are at the border between different disciplines so it’s really a matter of communication. It’s really learning the language of other professions while communicating our work in a way that is responsible and relevant to others, and fighting every day for our own relevance. Really the ones at the table are the ones being part of the messaging in every sense.

What has been the most enjoyable part of your job?

I like to talk all over the world about my profession. I’ve been honored to be with scientists who achieve far more than me and we talked to school children and we see them get excited when we bring them here in the labs. We want to do more and more of that. That is absolutely enjoyable.

Then, the other part that is amazingly enjoyable is being in the lab and developing something new, creating a new instrument, making a new discovery. That is something that by itself is worth all the work that you put in.

You most likely do not work alone. What kinds of things do the team members do to assist you with your work?

The staff is highly specialized: chemists or geologists. Most of them are with PhDs where 80% are women, 20% men. Every year we have two to three postdoctoral fellows. We have had over 200 since I came here: interns from High School to graduate, undergraduate to graduate, and post graduate fellows to high level scientists coming.

That’s a very broad crew. We have people specializing in different areas. So I have a person who specializes in analysis of paintings, a person specializing in organic material now. This is sort of the oil, the tempera order. We have a person specializing in organic analysis for the rest of the collection. We established it recently, three people who are in charge of the environment. They study air quality, temperature, humidity, and light conditions.

It’s a luxury to have so many. We’re probably the largest in the US in a museum.

These types of diversity of scientific training and discipline is very important when you think of an art museum like the MET. We collect anything and everything from ancient Asia art

to the contemporary world. There isn’t another museum in the world that has a collection so broad and I don’t mean this to brag. For example, the British museum has the widest archaeological collection but does not have the diversity of art that the Met museum has.

It doesn’t matter how big you are, but it’s about the diversity.

The post Meet Marco Leona from the Metropolitan Museum of Art appeared first on Artiholics.

Hi Emanuele,

You are the Prince of Venice. Please tell us about your fascinating story and your background.

It’s a very long story. I am the son and heir of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia and only male-line grandson of Umberto II, the last King of Italy. My family unified Italy.

My great-great-great grandfather King Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of Italy and then we reigned in Italy until 1946 when the Republic came after the referendum. Since then, we were in exile in Switzerland. We couldn’t go back to Italy and I was not born in my country. In 2002 I was able to go back to Italy finally to visit my country, but my family exists since the year 1000. We are one of the oldest royal families in Europe if not in the world so from France to Switzerland to returning we were a bit all over Europe. 

What made you decide to start a food truck and now a restaurant?

Casualty. One day years ago I was at a big event in Los Angeles, and I discovered the food truck scene.

In Europe, it was not very well known so I arrived and I see all those beautiful food trucks with plenty of colors, but I wanted to eat Italian food. So I was with a friend and I was looking for an Italian food truck and I didn’t see one so I came back home and I said, okay, I’ll do one. So I wanted to do something a bit special. I decided to do fresh handmade pasta and celebrate pizza, Sicilian arancini, desserts, salads and let’s say good Italian food that I think you find here at very expensive restaurants or you don’t find them. I wanted to introduce this food to the Americans and with a very good quality and in a rather good price.

Are you planning on starting a chain of restaurants?

The idea is to go into franchises and I hope, even it’s a difficult time, to open a chain of restaurants. But if we manage to do a good business, not to lose money in this time, I think it shows that the concept is a winner concept. So I’m even more excited to open in these difficult moments and to see that people are responding very well. The restaurant from day one had success but it’s increasing and people are coming back and this is for me something wonderful. So yes the idea is to open then a chain of restaurants all over America.

What are the specialties at your restaurant?

We have very good food. Our arancini are made by a Sicilian cook. We have many food selections. What I like about my restaurant, without taking anything away from anybody else, is that when you enter my restaurant you see that the chef is from Naples, my pizza chef is from Sicily, my manager is from Venice; they all are Italian. I think you need Italian people to have an Italian restaurant. We still have the food truck, but we are holding off now because of the pandemic.

Do you think that the Italian cuisine is a form of art?

I think the Italian cuisine is our culture first of all. There are incredible cooks and chefs that are artists but my goal is to have incredible cooks more than artsy chefs that go on TV. I want people to discover the Italian taste and thus taste our culture. I want people to try the grandmother food. All grandmothers are incredible cooks.

You are a prince, the grandson of the last king of Italy, but you like to be in the front line at the restaurant and you are definitely down to Earth. What is your approach to life?

It’s difficult to describe myself, but I was always very down-to-earth and I’m like, yes, I come from a big family, have a big name, but I’m a guy that works and wants to please people and wants to be friendly with them. I never put distance between me and others or between me and people I could meet. I could meet the President of the United States or my dishwasher and I really treat them in the same way. So this is how I am made.

Prince of Venice Website

Instagram

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Ana Schmidt is a contemporary landscape artist and an urban planning architect based in Bilbao, Spain, though she has also lived with her family in Bochum, Saigon, Bangkok, Barcelona, and now Bilbao; she has traveled across 25 cities around the world. This becomes an important role in what she brings into her works in both her professions. Ana has received a Master of Science in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Barcelona and ARC Living Master from the Art Renewal Center. Ana has constantly studied the works of old masters from the history of art. Whether it’s the color application, the idea of depicting the concepts, or even the techniques right from step one it looks like Ana has her hand over it very well and depicts her concepts, idea, and stories onto the canvases. Ana’s skills of observation and capturing the realistic landscapes on the canvas in a beautiful painting might remind us of the 20th-century landscape artist Richard Estes.

Well, Ana Schmidt is one of the artists of the present times who brings back the concept of landscapes and makes us realize the aesthetics of the thing which may be right in front of our eyes, called as “landscapes”. Ana’s command over creating realistic artworks captures the viewer’s attention just in a single glance. Ana has exhibited internationally in different cities of the USA, Germany, Spain, and UK. She has exhibited her artworks at more than forty exhibitions. Ana’s solo exhibitions include Mall Galleries, London, 2019, Arte Contemporanea Gallery, 2015, Rieti, Italy; Cervantes 6 Gallery, 2015; Oviedo, Spain; l´Occhio Gallery of Art, 2013, Venice, Italy; Torrene Areto Exhibition Space in Getxo, 2012; Spain and Basque Architectural Association in Bilbao, Spain, 2010. Ana has received multiple awards for her artworks, such as First Award at the Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2018 at the Mall Galleries, London, Second ARC Salon Award in the landscape category, USA, 2018, first and third Award in the landscape category, American Art Award 2017, USA, Third ARC Salon Award in the landscape category, USA, 2015, Acrylic works: Radical Breakthroughs Award, USA and won many more in Spain, Italy, and other countries.

Here is how Ana describes her Landscapes; “Landscape can be seen as a throwback, but it is also a distinctly contemporary concern. As the historian Simon Schama writes in his book Landscape and Memory (1995), it is “a text in which generations write their recurring obsessions”. This text continues to be written and reworked today in our cities and throughout the territory. The idea of landscape, whether approached in a literal way or a more esoteric view, is the common thread of my works. Sometimes it is a redesigned landscape, sometimes purely depicted: from human-height views to panoramas that represent entire cities; they offer a meticulous vision of the metropolis and question issues such as one’s own experience of urban life, urban growth, economic inequality, etc. They embody the different realities in the contemporary city: “the banal and the impressive coexist in the same territory.”

Ana talks about her profession as an urban planning architect concerning her theme of urban landscape paintings. Ana believes that architectural buildings have a lot to say about cultures, a reflection of society and traditions which she brings in her landscapes. Ana says, “Of course, my academic background and actual practice as an urban planning architect is at the base of the choice of these topics. Almost every landscape is a cultural landscape, is a place in which man has intervened and therefore is the reflection of a society, of its customs. The city is more than a physical structure. It is, among others, a state of mind, a moral order, a pattern of ritualized attitudes and behaviors, a network of human connections, and a body of customs and traditions with particular practices and discourses. Urban landscapes are, therefore, in addition to real environments, environments of signs that are constructed in the interaction between our own subjectivity and that of others, they are relational constructions. The city, the landscapes I paint are a metaphor of the human mind and condition.”

Ana feels that people are losing their roots with modern times. The spectacular urban marketing policies that have proliferated in the last years in almost any city are global. Nowadays, cities have icons, the marketing-icons that distinguish them, but these icons do not represent the identity of a place, of the people. On the other hand, planning policies create a confusing pattern at the fringes of the cities such as conflicts over land, complex highway connections that leave empty land, a new hybrid landscape, banal at times, but where people use it, stroll around and write their narratives and graffiti tags on the walls. Well, this present scenario seems to be visible in her paintings.

Well, if we observe closely there is more to Ana’s realistic architectural buildings: the foreground and background consist of elements such as foliage, cracked walls, haze, puddle, objects which are used in day to day life, etc. These places are empty; it looks like a lot has happened here in the past, which brings in the memories, emotions, and feelings attached to it. As a viewer, there is a freedom to create our own stories while looking at the painting and imagine the moments one might have had in the past that reminds of different people, incidents, and objects. The time and people pass by but the land remains.

Talking about the medium and material, Ana works in acrylics on canvas. Well, at first glance the realistic landscapes seem to be in oils. Ana describes her painting technique when she says, “The technique is very similar to that of the ancient oil painting, although the drying process is different. I use a very limited palette to achieve my colors. Over a red-brown layer, I draw the motifs and paint them with a succession of layers, alternating the opaque layers with the transparent ones. I use a glazing medium to increase flow and to obtain a clear and transparent glaze. I use a wide variety of brushes and I apply the paint fairly diluted since in my paintings the stroke is not perceived.” Ana’s color palette also includes Prussian blue, cobalt blue, yellow oxide, and cadmium red.

Ana Schmidt’s paintings have been featured in many art magazines, which includes Catalogue The Columbia Threadneedle Prize, Figurative Art Today, Mall Galleries, Federation of British Artists, 2018, 13th International Art Renewal Center Salon Catalog, International Realism, ACC Art Books, 2018, Acrylic Artist Magazine, winter issue, Beauty amidst the ruins, 2016, Guía Leonardo, 2016, Arte y Libertad, XI 2016, Fine Art Connoisseur, Sept/Oct issue 2015 and Catalog NordArt 2015 are some of them. Ana has been working constantly on her upcoming projects, “I should have shown a selection of urban landscapes at NordArt 2020, but due to COVID restrictions, the event has been suspended and will be held in 2021. I am still working on new pictures related to this subject, the urban landscape. Nevertheless, I am also working out a new series, in which I want to recover the human figure as a central axis of the narrative,” explains Ana.

It’s not always important to go beyond what already exists to create something unique, as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Landscapes will always stay an integral part of every human’s life since that’s the only place where he is born and spends his entire life.

www.schmidtana.com

ana.schmidt@bizkaia.net

schmidtana.com@gmail.com

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Please, introduce yourself. When did Love Ghost get started? Why the name Love Ghost?

Finnegan Bell – singer/Guitar Player, Ryan Stevens – Singer/Bass Player, Daniel Alcala – Guitar Player, Corey Batchler – Keyboards, Samson Young – Drums. Love Ghost has been a band since 2013, a few members have come and gone through this journey, but this line up has been the same for half a year. We are called Love Ghost because at the time I was obsessed with both Love and Death, but Love Death did not sound right, so we decided on Love Ghost.

How would you describe the kind of music you play?

It is a combination of many genres, but we like to call it Trap Rock. Honestly, it is a mixture of Grunge, Emo, acoustic/singer-songwriter, R&B, Punk, Trap and Hip Hop.

Your new single “ll Be Fine” just came out and even if there are some dark themes in the song, there is a message of hope for the listener.

Can you tell us more about the creation of this song and its message? What does it represent to you?

The song was made fast, like in a day. It’s really an acoustic song with trap production. I know what it’s like to have no one there or to feel like everyone hates you. I’ll be “Fine” is about depression and I hope it’s helping people that struggle with depression and people that feel ostracized. What “I’ll be Fine” really represents to me is having an internal voice that tells you that you will be fine, even when no one else does.

How is the pandemic impacting your music?

It sucks that there are no live shows, but we are making lots of music on our own, so that is good. We also do have a live stream coming up on the streaming platform sessions live on Saturday September 12th at 7:00p.m., and we are really excited about that.

What are some future projects and dreams for the future?

We have tons of unreleased music, and we want to have hella collabs in the future. As a band we are writing all the time.

Who/what has influenced your music individually and as a group?

We try to take inspiration from everywhere. A few people who inspire us are Kurt Cobain, Lil Peep, Tupac, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Machine Gun Kelly, Juice Wrld, Alice in Chains, City Morgue and Lil Bo Weep. We also listen to a lot of underground music on
Soundcloud- so it is always changing and growing.

Apart from the group, do any of you have individual projects that you are working on?

We are all song writers in this band. Daniel has Qing and Corey has Little Trauma.

Could you describe the creative process you have when developing a song?

Sometimes one of us comes in with a fully formed song, and the others give feedback and fill-in their parts. Sometimes all of us meet to write together, and we start with nothing, and by the end of the session we usually have the start of a cool song.

Has there been a performance that you each particularly remember that stands out from the rest? And why is that?

Yes, the festival we played in Ecuador. The love we received there was insane and made it very memorable.

What do you do for refreshment when you are not performing?

We write music, watch cartoons (shout out Scooby Doo, Disenchantment and Seis Manos), Ryan, Daniel and Samson also play video games.

http://loveghost.com/

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My name is Gianfranco Meggiato, I was born in Venice in 1963 and am a sculptor of abstract works in bronze, aluminum, stainless steel and marble.

Please describe your journey to starting your life as an artist. How did you start your career and what brought you to start showing your works?

Since I was a child I felt a particular inclination for art, drawing, modeling, I studied for five years at the Istituto Statale of Venice, where I came into contact with different materials: wood, stone, clay, plaster, bronze.
Already at sixteen I participated in a collective exhibition in Piazza San Marco, at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, organized by the municipality of Venice, where I presented my first work created at school: a perforated stone panel on both walls; it already contained the initial seed of my future plastic research.

What is the process behind the creation of your works?

Unlike many other sculptors, I never start from a drawing or from a project, but instinctively, directly, by modeling the wax directly by heating it in special stoves and then modeling it with the help of a heat gun and lavacrete.
It is a very long and complex job and a work is sometimes done over and over again until the satisfactory result is achieved.

What inspires your artworks?

Telling you what inspires my works is not easy, in the sense that my sculptures arrive a little on their own. It is not that when I start working in the morning I already know what I will do, but as I proceed, the idea born takes shape and develops.
As Joan Mirò said: “Images take shape while I work. In other words, instead of deciding to paint something, I start working and while I paint the image imposes itself or offers itself to my brush.”
Here in this definition of Mirò on making art I find myself very much there and in my opinion the artist is nothing more than an energy receptor which then manages to transform matter whatever their medium, plastic in my case.

Your sculptures are elegant and very powerful. Is there a specific meaning or message behind your Art?

On the general meaning of my artistic research I can say that I model my sculptures often inspired by the biomorphic fabric and the labyrinth that symbolize the tortuous and tormented path of man aimed at finding himself and his own precious inner sphere. In this context, space enters into all my works and emptiness becomes as important as fullness. 

Lately I have been increasingly attracted to the foundational concepts of quantum physics
One of the best known experiments in the field of quantum physics is that of the double slit (a variant of Young’s experiment) where the results change as the conditions of observation and execution change.
In essence, subatomic particles are fired through two slits and their behavior changes, changing their nature from beam to wave, depending on whether or not there is the presence of an observer assisting with the experiment.
A question then arises: what is the true nature of man if he is able to modify, with the mere presence of an observer, the behavior and nature of subatomic particles?
Here I think that contemporary art must be in line with its time, also having the courage to touch uncomfortable scientific themes.
Some of my latest works: Uomo Quantico, Respiro Quantico etc. refer precisely to a way of making art linked to these scientific theories where space and time would not exist but everything would happen at the same time and in the same space.
In creating the sculpture, I then proceed to perform separately, without an overall view, each single element that will constitute together with the others the final sculpture that will appear when all the elements are composed in the same space and at the same time.

In general mine is a plastic research that tries to touch current issues and inner research.

You exhibited all over the world, tell us about your experiences. Any favorite places? 

I must say that in my opinion, before being in museums, art must be among people and that is why in recent years I have given much space to monumental installations placed in squares or in particularly symbolic public places.
One of the installations that touched me most was: “La Spirale della Vita” made in Piazza Bologni in Palermo on the occasion of Manifesta 12, between June and September 2018.

The installation dedicated to the 878 innocent mafia victims, made in the shape of a spiral of twelve meters in diameter, made up of jute bags, culminated in the center with a vertical sculpture 4 meters high entitled: “Il Mio Pensiero Libero” because in the end only a free thought can free us from the spiral of death.

This installation was particularly felt and experienced by the Palermitans who came to see if the name of their relative or friend was among those imprinted in the jute bags; the Spiral of Life had then become a mausoleum to their dead.

When art interprets the common feeling of a people, remembering the fallen and at the same time giving a message of hope, I think it can be said that it has achieved one of its highest goals.

Tell us about your icomos-UNESCO award. What is it awarded for? When did you receive it? How did you feel? Was there any impact upon your career after receiving this award?

The Icomos-Unesco prize was awarded to me in Florence in October 2017 “for having masterfully combined the ancient and the contemporary in sculptural installations of great evocative power and aesthetic value.”
In June of that year at the International Sculpture Park of the Marca museum in Catanzaro I had created a circular installation of 20 meters in diameter consisting of 4 thousand jute bags with 8 monumental sculptures inside entitled: Il Giardino delle Muse Silenti.

These military jute bags were symbolically placed in defense of our values, of our culture, also given the repeated terrorist attacks that had occurred in that period: “Not soldiers behind the fortifications but sculptures: the Silent Muses, after having inspired the poetry the Muse defends it, the last bulwark against barbarism and death.” (Luca Beatrice)
This which had been my first large installation had immediately made me aware that this was my way.
I was thrilled by an art made of “social” installations to face the drama of the contemporary era and the Icomos-Unesco award received had made me understand that I was in the right direction.
At the end of the installation, the Marca museum has acquired and placed on permanent display in the international sculpture park, a work of mine 4 meters high: Il Mio Pensiero Libero.

How is the Covid-19 influencing your Art? What is the impact of the virus on you? How are you using the quarantine time?

In 2019 on the occasion of Matera European Capital of Culture I had created the largest contemporary art installation of the event.
An installation of 25 x 20 meters was made with more than 5 thousand bags colored with the 7 colors of peace, in the shape of the hand of Fatima, a symbol common to Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians.

The founding theme of the installation was: Everything is One, imprinted on the bags in the 30 most spoken languages in the world.

Well the year of Covid-19 made us understand how prophetic that phrase was.
We are all cells of the same organism and a body must remain united if it wants to defeat the virus.
In June of this year, the art magazine ArteIn dedicated the cover to my installation.

“Today“– writes Luciano Caprile for ArteIn –“we can open the drawers of the soul and take advantage of this difficult period as an opportunity for growth and enrichment. In this respect, the great hand of Gianfranco Meggiato, open to all humanity, makes us understand how truly everything is one (…) and how each person’s physical and spiritual salvation depends on safeguarding this conviction.”
Personally, I used the time of quarantine to model new works in view of the next exhibitions.

What are your plans for the future?

For the summer of 2021 I am planning a large exhibition with about twenty monumental works in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world where great international sculptors, from Igor Mitoraj to Jan Fabre and many others, can be viewed.

The theme will be “Know Yourself” the famous inscription on the pediment of the temple of Apollo in Delphi.

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Korean art has become the new vogue, as it continues to intrigue and impress the art world. Traditionally, Korean art was about harmonizing with nature and refraining from expressing in extremities. But with the current Eastern-Western fusion wave, a new narrative is beginning to form. Whether it’s the 2012, ‘Gangnam Style’ or the recent Oscar winning movie ‘Parasite’ by Bong Ho, Korean art is everywhere. From incorporating their native art references with the ever-changing western one to starting their own movement, Korean artists are consistently challenging the conventional boundaries. Here are some outstanding Korean visual artists that have recently caught our eye.

Generally very prolific and highly-appreciated in the US, some of the selected Korean Artists are independent, such as Hera Kim, Minjin Kang,  and Hyun Jung Ji;  all the others are represented by a gallery:

Hyun Ae Kang, Kim Seungwoo, Kim Jeong Yeon, Krista Kim, Cha Yun Sook & Hayeon are represented by BOCCARA Art Gallery; and Yang Jong Yong is represented by Vivian Choi Gallery.

FUSION AND REPETITION 

Hyun Ae Kang

Born in Seoul, Kang is a famous second generation ‘Dansaekhwa’ or ‘monochrome painting’ artist. Her work follows a Buddhist and Taoist ideology where she creates abstract paintings and prays before initiating each painting process. She uses the canvas as a surface which is to be multi-layered with meticulously applied, thick paint strokes. The viscosity of the texture and the methodology is reminiscent of her sculptural practices. Her color choices and strokes, create a vibrant, energetic sensation, much like Divisionism, and the laborious process of paint application is meant to remind one of the painful Buddhist meditation that is practiced repeatedly in order to attain Nirvana. Having received recognition in 1993, Kang’s works are housed in several prominent museums. Her work can also be seen at an upcoming retrospective at Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim, California, in 2021.

Kim Seungwoo

Seungwoo painstakingly assembles hundreds of thousands of coins and buttons to create hyper- realistic human body figures and sculptures. His life-sized figurines and flowing geometric patterns are made to communicate the question in his mind – ‘Art is Money, or Money is Art?’ These remarkable, detailed sculptures are so hypnotic that they make one temporarily forget that they are made out of a token of monetary value. As the coins themselves are assembled with a lot of hard work, the sculpture itself becomes reminiscent of the phrase- ‘hard earned money’, and its form comments upon the human desire to acquire it.

Seunwhui Koo

Koo’s works are a reflection and commentary of her life in New York city. Her work entails a combination of the human body and pig’s head displayed in various setups. Having received her Bachelor’s degree in Sculpture from Kyungpook National University, South Korea, Koo went on to experiment with the fusion between the Eastern and Western cultures. The idea of Good fortune (Eastern) and greed (Western) are two very different connotations of the pigs to her, and are the central motif in her work. She often uses either black and white, or vibrant colors, in a vast array of mediums to execute her ideas. The whimsical quality and the numerous pigs in her work, invites the viewer to indulge and investigate them further.

A NATURAL CONNECT

Kim Jeong Yeon

Yeon’s sculptures and installations are an amalgamation of the Korean concept of nature based energies, expressionism, calligraphy and conceptual art. She often uses naturally found materials such as marble and wood, and executes her work in minimalistic patterns and colors. Her installations are often dreamlike, representing an inner sanctuary and sense of security. Their enormous scale envelopes the viewer and provides a sense of comfort and connection with the natural elements attached to them. Her sculptures have a serene rhythm and flow that instantly helps one immerse themselves into harmony with Mother Earth.

Cha Yun Sook & Hayeon

This mother- daughter duo create textile and paper-based artworks that pay a homage to their Korean culture and celebrate human connection with the natural world. Yun Sook grows the herbs that are used to dye the Hanji material that are incorporated into their work and also uses these inks as healing remedies. The duo conduct performance acts, where they often cut and shape their fabrics into natural motifs, like flowers, in order to depict a mesmerizing natural landscape, or use it to spontaneously clothe themselves or the viewer with their dyed fabrics to make an exclusive dress that symbolizes nature’s relationship with oneself. Their installations are designed to mimic their intent, so their work often flows from the walls, over the ground, re-creating a peaceful environment.

A NEW MOVEMENT 

Krista Kim 

Kim’s work is a response to the LED lights that are exposed to us through the various devices that we constantly use. Her intrigue in the dialogue between digital technology and human perception was so strong that she has founded a revolutionary art movement called ‘Techism’. Her works are often based on digital algorithms, which result in bright and deeply saturated hues. Based in Toronto, she has exhibited her work all over the globe and has now collaborated with the fashion brand Lanvin. Her work offers a fresh perspective and makes us question the way we see our mundane electronics.

There are several other artists that have also intrigued us – Hera Kim uses drip like patterns to create abstract imageS that help her express and process her pain. She treats the painting process as a form of repetitive prayer, that allows her to ‘fossilize’ her emotions. We loved Yang Jong Yong surreal work which depicts ordinary objects with unusual alterations, that defy physical limitations and are placed in an alternative space. Artist Minjin Kang experiments with hyperreal colors and minimalistic styles to create a fantasy world that is viewed through an architectural lens. On an illustrative note, we liked Hyun Jung Ji‘s vibrant works that depict faceless human figurines and tangled lines which represent her childhood journey.

Contemporary Korean art offers new narratives and challenges our perception and definition of art. This cross-cultural representation, which was previously unexplored, is now beginning to make its mark. And, with several galleries moving towards a re-opening, you can finally have a view and not miss out on this new Korean wave.

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Clio Art Fair is a unique form of fair because it gives artists the freedom to use different types of material to create their work and they can deviate from the accepted art practice and definitions, unlike in the usual concerns in the art business where there are too many rules on how art should and should not be; after all art is about freedom to express yourself and your thoughts right?

To celebrate or to make famous are the terms that define the Greek word “Clio” and for the second time in 2018, the 7th edition of Clio Art Fair is going to do as per its meaning and norm; to celebrate and make famous works of already affirmed creative minds. The world of art will converge in New York City and this weekend will undoubtedly be an amazing one for artists and art lovers. The four spectacular days from 11th October- 14th October 2018 will be defined by dialogue between artists and collectors, artists and curators, positive energy, colors, and free public viewing. Art lovers will get to see different artworks not forgetting the faces behind them and there will be a chance to buy any piece of art that you will love from paintings, sculptures, digital art and more. Talent from all over the world will all be under one roof.

From October11-14, a group of 69 worldwide artists will be exhibiting their works, they will showcase their prowess and prove their creativity and originality as far as art is concerned. These creative minds will convince the world that art is beautiful, art is capable of bringing people together and that it is a career just like any other. The 7th edition of Clio Art Fair has the privilege to showcase thrilling works of artists such as Francesca Schwartz, Paulina Cerda, Amanda Armstrong, and Emiko Aida among many others.

Art is always up for grabs with every edition of Clio Art Fair and with its unique approach to art, it continues to highlight the achievements of artists. From upcoming artists to the well-known ones, all stand a chance to exhibit in New York. Clio Art Fair is home to creative artists sharing their expression of art to the world.

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New York City is the capital of the art world, but if you aren’t an artist or an art collector, the idea of leaving your comfort zone and going out to see some art might seem a bit overwhelming. If you are a resident, or are planning a trip to the big apple, you might have a hard time navigating the couple hundred museums and over 1500 art galleries all within a few subway stops of your hotel (or apartment). We’ll make life a little easier for you. In alphabetical order, here are The Top 40 World Class New York Art Museums.

American Folk Museum

Asia Society and Museum

Bronx Museum of the Arts

Brooklyn Museum

Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA)

The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution

El Museo del Barrio

Frick Collection

Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College

Hispanic Society of America

Japan Society

The Jewish Museum

Kosciuszko Foundation

Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)

MoMA PS1

Morgan Library & Museum

Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology

Museum for African Art

Museum of American Illustration: Society of Illustrators

Museum of Arts and Design (MAD)

Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA)

Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Museum of the Moving Image

National Academy Museum and School

National Museum of the American Indian

New Museum

Nicholas Roerich Museum

Noguchi Museum

Queens Museum

Rubin Museum of Art

Scandinavia House

Sculpture Center

Socrates Sculpture Park

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (The Guggenheim)

Staten Island Museum

Studio Museum in Harlem

Ukrainian Museum

Whitney Museum of American Art (The Whitney)

Don’t want to break the bank? The Smithsonian’s once a year “Free Museum Day” is Saturday, September 27th  (that’s just two days after my show opens in the Lower East Side) Select partner museums around the country are free that day with the admit two coupon you can download and print from the web. You now have zero excuse to not go out and absorb some culture!

Written and Researched by Cojo ‘Art Juggernaut”

The post Artiholics Tourist Guide: New York City’s Top 40 Art Museums appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Monday, September 15th, 2014

The Summer Art Festival at the Waterfall Mansion has been attracting a plethora of personalities since its inception. Artiholics covered the opening back in June when SAF14 opened its doors, and from then onwards the mansion has been exerting a gravitational influx over the NYC art world. That is not particularly surprising: we are talking about a seven level town house in the Upper East Side devoted to the Arts from the ground up.

Stepping into the mansion you will find unique carpets made using ancient Tibetan hand-knotting techniques that have been thoroughly researched and meticulously reproduced by Joseph Carini. Sit and you’ll rest on the sculptural designs of Antonio Pio Saracino, whether reclining in his Hexa lounge chairs or straightening back upright in the slightly flexible steel of his Deer chair. Look around, and you’ll meet a collection of cutting edge contemporary and renowned modern art.

You will be amazed by the shockingly hyperrealistic figural human sculptures brought to life with the help of the most cutting edge Hollywoods special effects technique by artists Jamie Salmon and Jackie K. Seo. Maybe not so coincidentally, Academy Award  winning photographer and filmmaker Zana Briski hangs two of her depictions of nature in the same floor, along side the realism of Robin Antar, an artist who enjoys enlarging consumer brands in rotund marble reproductions.

The accumulation of surprises throughout this UES space has impacted the public with an overall sense of awe that has rapidly communicated and widened the scope of its visitors to an international sphere. The chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Buenos Aires, a board Director from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and international art experts such as Michela Bondardo  and Peter Frank have shared the magnitude of the  impact of the works within this space.

This process of “scope widening” was recently reinforced with a concert -the Summer Musicale- where East and West met harmoniously. Members of the Shen Yun Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall played traditional Chinese music. They were followed by the Solisti Ensemble and its selection of classical European music including the anonymous Romanza de Amor (for violin and Spanish guitar) and, the once considered unplayable, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35.

It was a frank dialogue between the East and the West. The East represented by the guzhen, a pluck-string instrument (part of the zither family), which is one of the most ancient Chinese musical instruments. The West represented by two violins. One manufactured by Giuseppe Guarnerius “del Gesu” in 1741, – a prime example of Antonio Stradivarius’ school from his Golden Period; and a second violin by J.B. Guadagnini, manufactured in 1751. The value of the violins may be ineffable but their prices were discussed in several circles and estimated altogether over $30M.

The Summer Art Festival continued its “scope widening” with the Summer Tasting, a culinary exclusive event where artisanal award-wining chefs from Korea, Taiwan and India offered samplings of their latest creations.

And finally yet another international audience expansion: a private event for the Unided Nations Foundation and the Caterpillar Foundation aimed at fostering a conversation about innovative partnerships and global development, within the enlightened atmosphere of the SAF14 art collection.

Written by Alejandro Pardo
Photographed by Dulce Avila Romero

The post The “Scope Widening” Effect of the Summer Art Festival appeared first on Artiholics.

San Francisco, CA – Thursday, September 4, 2014

In June, New York-based artist Vanessa Albury gave an exclusive interview to Artiholics on the eve before her journey through the Arctic Circle.  Along with 26 other residents, Albury took part of the Summer 2014 Arctic Circle Residency.  Aaron O’Connor, who leads this program, directed a diligent crew that housed, fed, and safe-guarded the residents as they all worked on individual and collaborative research in the Arctic environment. This program brings artists, writers, musicians, educators, and scientists together to study one of the coldest, harshest regions of the world (-10 degrees Celsius). In total, the residents visited 18 landings.

Our report on this residency continues, first, by reviewing Albury’s unique documentation of the journey (a few images come from the program itself).  In the above photo, Albury captured a star-shaped sun with strong beams of light  high above the horizon after midnight. For 17 days in the Arctic, no nighttime sky appeared, nor stars, or sunsets.  Everyone worked in sunshine and then hours later slept in its bright energy.

View of the Antigua, Photo courtesy of the Arctic Circle Residency Program

In the photo above, we see the temporary home for the residents–the Antigua, a 152-foot Barkentine sailing ship equipped with 3 masts.  Furnished with cabin space, a kitchen, deck, and a communal salon, the Antigua presented the safest arena for the travelers to bond and discuss projects.  Albury credits O’Connor and the guides Theres Arulf, Sara Orstadius, and Sarah Gerats (she is also a performance artist), as the masterminds behind the Antigua’s daily activities. With what seemed like innate finesse, the team juggled the needs of each resident on any and every task or equipment necessary for the multifarious projects. For Albury, they located landings close to glaciers and helped arrange portable power sources for her bulky projector.  Other projects required similarly specific considerations. The team communicated with everyone tirelessly and effectively for each daily expedition.  Above all, O’Connor, the guides, and the crew kept the residents safe.

Safety became a major concept keenly felt and then explored by some residents like Albury.  During the travels, many participants felt awakened to the high degree of precaution constantly surrounding them. During hikes through icy terrain, the three guides doubled as polar bear guards and would scout the path of the expedition. They formed safety zones encompassing 300 to 400 meters at the widest point, in which the residents could work on projects.  While traveling, the residents walked in a line or tight group, sometimes with only one guard.  Albury fondly describes the polar bear guides  as “amazing, rifle-totting, adventurous women.”   If any polar bears appeared, entire hikes could be redirected or even aborted.  Thanks to a presentation on polar bears by one of the guides, Sara Oristadius, the participants came to understand that “polar bears are fearless, curious and ferocious.”

On deck and anywhere close to the edge of water, residents had to be aware of the immediate doom resulting from a simple slip. Man-overboard in the Arctic does not resemble Man-overboard in warmer seas.  According to the captain of the Antigua, in the waters around Svalbard, Norway (where the journey began) you would not die due to hypothermia, exactly.  Before that, your layers of heavy clothing would pull you down into endless depths. There’s just no way to keep afloat without a lifesaver.  On top of that, if the ship is sailing, it would be very difficult for any crew member to keep an eye on a small head bobbing in water. Closer north, any fall into the water could result in death from hypothermia.  On land, danger comes from above. The explorers kept a minimum distance of 200 meters from any glacier to avoid sudden calving, the deadly splintering of heavy or sharp crashing ice from the tops of glaciers.

Photo of Vanessa Albury working with her pinhole camera during one of the landings in the Arctic Circle. Courtesy of the artist.

However hazardous the expedition felt, the members of the Summer 2014 Residency all returned safely. They may have joked about Scurvy, hoarding the limited supplies of chocolate, and other jests emanating from paranoia, but the group never stopped looking out for one another.  Albury found herself in deep conversation with the writer and co-resident, Susan Rogers on this sensitive topic.  Rogers talked about the precautions taken for safety, i.e. the strict boundaries to protect against polar bears and the rules aboard the ship. Albury could relate, thinking of the ships’s rails.  She also contemplated the “edges of life and living,” while recalling tales of whalers and early explorers, many who did not return from these Arctic expeditions.

Albury thinks of how those crucial moments come from the simplest places. It could have been just one small item left behind that might have made all the difference for those explorers who perished.   An entire journey could be ruined, or an entire life might splinter and end from simply forgetting to think about the entire scope of needs for an expedition.  While sharing these thoughts with Rogers, Albury noted that this interest may resurface in her future work, stating also that, “the best gift a residency can give an artist is fodder for new thoughts and new ideas.”

  Another series of photos come from capturing the different scenes splashing round and round the porthole (11” diameter) in Albury’s cabin.  All residents stayed in similar rooms during this two-week expedition.  Sometimes, a view of the icy landscape and edges of shoreline are caught in this round window.  More often, bubbly blue, clear, and green waters completely invade Albury’s round window.  Leads one to wonder if the ocean is not actually one large glass of soda.

I am reminded of stargazing, and how surely hypnotic those porthole scenes might have appeared to someone resting from long hikes through snow.  Deeply, I enjoy those moments when art objects resemble or rather, cause a sense of star-gazing in me, a relaxed state where one dreams quietly, not even noticing that you are—as they say, in the moment.

This series of pictures feels intimate, as the images come from the artist’s private quarters, which is a part of the journey that shouldn’t be forgotten.  The porthole views remind us that we cannot leave the vessel out of this story.  It played a very real and present part of the exploration and residency.  Not everything took place outside.  Albury noted that this was certainly true for the residency’s writers.  While many joined in on the daily hikes, the writers often stayed in for hours to practice their craft.

Albury’s craft also involves developing her film, when possible.  In past residencies and travels, she has been known to scope out the right closet or bathroom to turn into a temporary dark room, which is what she also did aboard the Antigua. Though she brought several heavy pieces of equipment, Albury did not pack an enlarger.  The type of developing she worked on involved chemicals and exposed film.  A dark room on a ship works well, only when the ship is not moving, or when her neighbor does not need his shower.

Photo courtesy of Vanessa Albury.

One of the more relaxed characters in Vanessa’s photos includes a portly “Red-Bearded Seal”. The name might be related to the patch of rusty bronze color of the fur or skin on his face, but I’ve seen humans with more red and beard than this fellow. Place those terms, “red-bearded seal” into an Image Google Search, and you will come across a few male homo sapiens.  Lying on his left side, Albury captured the seal softly blinking his coal lump eyes as he allowed the group to come as close as one meter. The residents and their guards did spot polar bears during two expeditions—a single bear the first time, and then a mother and 2 cubs the second time. Four bears in total made a record for any ship traveling during those 2 weeks. No one was allowed to get as close to a polar bear as Albury got to the blinking seal. Almost immediately, when the first bear dived into water, the group had to quickly return to the ship.  Polar bears swim fast, act stealthily, and are skilled at hunting.  During the second sighting, the traveling group only redirected the path of their hike.

Near the end of the residency, Albury documented one of the final hikes around the curved path in this picture.  Note the dark grey stone and the blue ice covering the curved rim.   Layers and layers of ice create the most fascinating shades of translucent blue, frosty on some edges, other times jagged, or fragmented.  In another shot of the terrain, Albury captures blocky rocks that have the grey color of elephants.

After hikes like this (some lasted up to three hours), the travelers came home to a warm Antigua set with healthy, filling meals.  Albury recalls a “lovely chef” who catered to all the food allergies from the group.  The artist remembers abundant servings of pudding (with almost every meal!), dishes with fish, pork, chicken, pastas, and European fashioned salads (cucumber, tomatoes, corn, and onions, notably salads made without leafy-greens, which Albury missed).

Most of the images reviewed above come from the artist’s documentation of the journey, but this does not describe her artwork very well. We should not think of Albury as a photographer.   During our 2^nd interview, we talked about how often people refer to her as a photographer. It’s an easy mistake.  After all, the artist did return from her past two residencies with hundreds of rolls of film. However, the goals between this artist using photo-based processes and a photojournalist, for example, vary widely.

Net Diptych (Bodøgaard XVI & XVII).  Vanessa Albury created this Cyanotype  print using nets and rope. 2014

Albury’s work centers on how light behaves, the mood of it, and our response to these images.  They often carry abstract forms that she experiments with, often incorporating other sound or performance-like elements from projectors.   The different ranges of cameras available to us, the kind that have been replaced by a lot of digital technology still interest Albury.  Holga cameras (her favorite), pinhole photos, or projectors are all devices that allow her a range of ways to experiment with light.  The different film speeds and shutter capabilities from these cameras give the artist many options, almost like the varying colors on a painting palate. When looking at her work, I do feel as though I am looking at paintings.

Documentation of Waves (The Impossibility of Distinction for Mr. Palomar. Projectors, recorded sound. Vanessa Albury, 2024

To better illustrate Albury’s use of photography, we can refer to the show she participated in right after the Arctic circle Residency.  In an exhibit named The Dream Time curated by Rachel Mason at Trans Pecos in Queens, Albury showed a projection piece to a sitting audience. She projected 48” x 48” black and white 35 mm slides depicting a dozen different images.  The pictures move in an irregular pattern. Some repeat more than other, so that viewers cannot spot a pattern. Simultaneously, the audience heard clicking projector noises that ticked against the sound of Albury’s heartbeats while she settled into a rest mode. By making those components work together, Albury aligned “The delicate human body to the corporeal nature of waves.”  The artist also found herself incorporating the meditation in Italio Calvino’s essay “Reading a Wave.” In this piece, one of Calvino’s most known characters named Mr. Palomar contemplates the colors, constant movement, and motley body that waves take on—how they never cease to change. Can Mr. Palomar possibly observe just one wave without the legions of others? Like snowflakes, have any two waves ever existed with complete a likeness?  The piece is documented in the image above, and it is titled Waves (The Impossibility of Distinction for Mr. Palomar).

To echo an earlier conversation from our first interview, Albury says that  “Photos are objects.  We tend to think of them as these windows into the world, but they are not.  They are objects,” and the artist treats them as such.  Instead of seeing photos as just images, Albury considers the entire scope of factors that come from taking a photograph – the processing, the act of capturing light phenomena, or the site specificity of projections.  She focuses on these elements can be recombined with other elements, like sound, and result in these exploratory ways of drawing in viewers.   In pieces like the Waves (…Mr. Palomar) the key concepts come from mixing sound with images.  Another future project will bring fire to the development process.  Albury found inspiration from the duality of heat (there is some with, ie the midnight sun) and the obvious cold elements of the Arctic.  Spotting that phenomena unique to the polar environment inspired this unusual photo process. She plans to burn an image while developing it.  We’ll have to wait to see the end results of that creation/destruction process. Call the items resulting from this Fire-Photo-Bath, Albury’s artifacts. We may not be there for the ritual, but can see the end results and observe how they contrast and work together.

Net (Bodøgaard XXIII), Vanessa Albury, Cyanotype Print, 2014

The Arctic environment kept Albury from completing some of her work. For one project, the artist intended to project images of decaying buildings upon glaciers. She wanted to connect failing or neglected man-made buildings with these majestic formations of nature that are also sadly breaking down. Her idea work intuitively found a connection between the environments, for they both seem “vulnerable and on the edge of collapse” wrote the artist in an email exchange. The decay of both formations originate from man’s actions.  Those projections would cover the glaciers and easily be removed without a trace left in the surrounding environment. In order to project, Albury sought glacial caves where her projections could fully appear in the shadows.  However, she could not safely get close enough to the caves due to the dangerous summer calving.  Still, Albury called these “beautiful failures.”   At the time, her co-resident, Jess Perlitz, who is a sculptor and performance artist, offered to create a large projection screen out of snow.  After Perilitz fashioned the screen, Albury  said it looked like a tiny white theater.  In the end, the power source still did not allow Albury to use the projector properly.  That day, Perlitz also constructed a fort made of cinder block-sized snow bricks, and later the residents “had a house, a theater, some industry in the form of a snow brick mining site and a graveyard, all in a day’s work and through Perlitz’ practice,” wrote Albury in an email.

Photo courtesy of Vanessa Albury

In one instance, Albury found a way to project onto cave walls.   The large part of this projection project still remains to be continued.  Without the least bit of dissatisfaction, Albury said she intends to return to the Arctic terrain, during one of the seasons outside of the Summer Solstice.  This was a fantastic first run for future work.  Partly, the wanderlust now ingrained in this artist must have been talking.  In our interview, we spoke about the places where art making comes from.  For many, it involves stationary hours in the studio.  For this photo-based artist, travel to distant lands will influence many of Albury’s concepts.  So she’ll need to travel and understand how to do it.   As someone who has never gone camping, I asked Albury how easy or hard would it be to make a trip to the Arctic Circle.  For her, the path would take lots of work, but thanks to this residency, it seems clear to Albury how she could make that trip happen.

End Notes:

Out of 27 residents, 7 came from foreign countries.  The rest are U.S. citizens, like Albury.  The Summer 2014 group had an unusually high number of females to males, however, Albury says that past groups more often carried an even number of males to females.  Everyone spoke English, including the crew and guards.  Canada Goose gladly sponsored Vanessa’s travels by providing her special attire for -10 degree Celsius weather.  The Arctic Circle Residency program ships 2 groups (about 30 people in each group) to the Arctic Circle every year.

Written By: Audrey Tran

The post Vanessa Albury’s Journey through the Arctic Circle Residency – Part II appeared first on Artiholics.

You’ve may noticed that a good number of bus shelters and billboards around the city are not so lame anymore. In the rush of traffic and commutes we don’t normally pay attention to trifles such as outdoor advertisements, but lately there have been some reasons to wait for the next bus.

It won’t take you long.  You can spare a couple of minutes to spend with the art displayed in your bus stop. If you just scan it with your smartphone you’ll immediately discover more about the piece, the artist and its history, as well as the museum it comes from.

This is not a natural phenomenon as you can expect, but a nationwide campaign to promote American art and raise awareness for a group of museums. The art will be displayed in all sorts of billboards, telephone kiosks, subways, newsstands, bus shelters, and oversized screens such as the all mighty LED screens of Times Square.

This artistic campaign is a collaboration ( #ArtEverywhereUS ) between the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and five museums: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and The Whitney Museum of American Art. These museums aim both at educating the public and of course sparking interest in the American art they display at their sites.

Once you are aware of the existence of this campaign, the images surprise you everywhere. There are 58 different art works disseminated around the City, and all over the country, but that’s too much of a wide field for this modest urbanite. The big screens in front of the Madison Square Garden spot art from time to time. The horribly overcrowded Port Authority Station displays “The Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme” by Joseph Stella in the steps of a random staircase. Inside metro cars, or in a pathway at 14^th Street, the list becomes too diverse. You can drive by 23^rd Street between 8^Th and 9^Th Avenues and get instinctually stopped by a big Rothko that resembles a STOP sign. We can travel to Egypt in 8^th and 38^th Steet. Or reconcile with your lovely one at Broadway and West 91^st because after all we get along so much better than the couple in Grant Wood’s American Gothic.

American Gothic, 1930 by Grant Wood

My Egypt, 1927 by Charles Demuth

Written and Photographed by Alejandro Pardo

The post What the ART is Going on with my Bus Stop Advertising? appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Sunday, July 13, 2014

The Cripple of Inishmaan, at The Cort Theatre on Broadway (now in it’s final week, closes JULY 20), is performed by a very talented ensemble. The writing and production are brilliant, it might not give you what you want, but it gives you something incredible.

In the short attention span era of entertainment and media consumers, this play entertains. Irish playwright Martin McDonagh crafted hard hitting, funny, and roughly loving dialogue that keeps everything moving at an excited pace.

The twists aren’t predictable, the dark humor works well. The audience reacts with both uproarious and uncomfortable laughter, sighs, and gasps. It is a play that is especially suited for the quick paced, quick witted New York audience whom come to this Broadway show. Of course, we are the city that perfected the slam and the come back.

The play centers around the hopes and dreams of a boy who is only known for being the town cripple. He isn’t staring off among cows, as the towns people always say, in their loving slander. Billy spends time among the cattle, reading books to get away from his fussing aunts.

But in this town everyone sees what they want to see. They downplay Billy as a simpleton, even though there is nothing wrong with his mind, as the town doctor keeps trying to remind them of. The daily pass time is the ceaseless gossip of the towns people. However, Billy is a sharp witted young man, he makes it to the filming of a movie on a neighboring island, a journey that takes him to seek fame in Hollywood.

Daniel Radcliffe delivers a nuanced performance that is intense and heartfelt. Radcliffe proves to be a very devoted and versatile actor. You feel the strength of his masked sorrow during the most dramatic scenes. In a particular gut wrenching lonely episode, his body language conveys such pain, it’s ridiculous to realize he does this eight times a week. A revolving set keeps the dramatic pace going, with no interruption for curtain calls or scene changes.

There is a real connection that comes through all the actors portrayals. Even on a Tuesday matinee, everyone puts out their best. The gossiping Johnnypateenmike (played by Pat Shortt) who takes his payment in eggs for the long-winded “news” that he provides, turns out to be the most altruistic person at heart. The banter between the aunts amuses. The harsh-tongued, but protective adopted Aunts played by Ingrid Craigie and Gillian Hanna, come across as the people in life whom you know so well. The people with a wry sense of humor reserved for private company and close family, whom love you so much, that they kind of hate you if you don’t need them. There is so much well crafted timing and delivery of dialogue, it makes you think “Oh no, she didn’t”. Only someone whom loves you so much, could get away with such sneering remarks. This is great writing.

The Cripple of Inishmaan is a supporter of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. A portion of the proceeds from the question and answer talk back night goes toward The Trevor Project, whom Radcliffe has been a long time supporter.

Author pictured above.

Written and photographed by Betty T. Kao

The post The Cripple of Inishmaan, Daniel Radcliffe Delivers in the Talented Ensemble Broadway Show appeared first on Artiholics.

Bridgehampton, New York – Monday, July 14, 2014

The ArtHamptons Fine Art Fair enjoyed record attendance and sales last year,  it returned for the 7th edition this past Friday through Sunday, with an opening preview on Thursday Night. This year the fair is themed “Escape,” which is right up the alley for an event held in one of New York’s most desired summer retreat destinations.

The first major art event in the Hamptons this summer, organizers expected to see sales figures follow or supersede the record set last year. Artiholics enjoyed an exclusive preview black card access preview of the art and its crowd at the ArtHamptons Black Card First Look and Opening Night Preview.

The fair features 87 National and International Galleries, and art spanning 12 countries. This years show also promised to transport visitors into Korea’s thriving contemporary art scene with a Korean Showcase.

I took a break from painting the 10Subjects and helped my summer assistant Keziah get some flyers printed and bagged up with buttons pressed to give out at the show.  Keziah and my girlfriend Molly and I loaded up the car with gear, put on our Hamptons casual clothes and left the city.

Getting stuck in Long Island traffic didn’t set us back too much.  We arrived at the VIP black card first look an hour into the preview.  There was already a pretty solid crowd of Hamptons elites at work and socializing dressed to the nines, so we did a first lap around the fair to check out the art, the wine, and the overall scene before pulling out the camera and getting to work.

The first person I recognized right next to the central alcohol area was the musician Moby.

Suzanne LaFleur (Lawerence Fine Art).

Mary Ann Hill, Sandra Pelleher, and Parvi Parik.

Avalokitesvara 2, 2013
Long Bin Chen
Samuel Owen Gallery

Andre Hurni.

Kim and Amanda Coruzz.

Roxine Brown, Charles Fischler, and Sheila Delaney.

Nicole Ianniello and Mateo Suarez.

Catherine Smith, Jonathan Smith, and Jennifer Mabley.

Ruth Appelhof Guild Hall Executive Director.

Lightning Cat, 2014
La Roc
Lawrence Fine Art

Ellen and David North.

Jin Lee Sang and Young Kim.

Michele Zuflacht, president of the Suffolk County Women’s Bar Association and legal commentator on Court TV with glass artist Thomas Coates.

David Carr and real estate broker Felicia De Chabris.

Paul Bollo and Robert Florio from Sotheby’s International Realty.

The Gentle Breeze, 2013
Like Nothing Happens, 2013
Li Jin
Dubner Moderne Galerie D’Art

Michael Reynuso and Nicole Grill.

Anastasia Kun and Darius Kun.

Max Rowen, Matthew Hollander, Liam Chaskey, and Rowenna Chaskey.

Haley Dunham-Otero and Dennis Ketcham.

RJD Gallery owner Richard Demato and Eve Gianni Corio.

Richard Demato.

Amy Gause from American Art Collector Magazine and Richard Demato.

Artist Sherry Wolf in front of Mondrian Girl, at RJD Gallery.

Joni Palmer with Sherry Wolf.

Cindy Lou Wakefield and Lawton Wakefield (Producers of Art Hamptons)

Robyn Cooper and Alan Cooper

Ana Rosa and Lloyd Simon.

Artwork by Lee, Yong-Deok
Pyo Gallery

Pat, Pat, Bob, and Larry Siedlick of The Montauk Beach House.

David Levy, Piav Kasia, Kay.

Cherice Taylor and Eric Taylor.

Carol and Michael Weismen (former executive producer of NBC Sports), with Michael and Barbara Bebon

Lauren Roberts and Andrea Wernick.

Rae Phoenix.

Mitchell Summer.

Buck and Amy Wessel.

Y.K. Lee and Peter Stockfish.

Jill Sand and Dr. Barry Weintraub.

Judy Patron, Nancy Abel, and Deborah Peters.

Street Artist JQ.

Event and wedding planner Katherine Orzano.

Jon Gruen and Jeffrey Leff.

Karen and Alex White.

Rachel Speckenbach and Keriann Fitzpatrick.

Life coach Susan Korwin.

Katya Musacchio, Jennifer McDonald, and Molly Brutomesso.

Paul and Elish Match.

Timothy Kokott, Janet Finket,and Lindsey Nobel.

READ PART TWO – Artiholics Art Hamptons VIP Preview (Part 2 of 2) – Artiholics MORE PEOPLE- AND MORE ART

Photos by Keziah Quek
Photo Assistant Molly Roberson
Words by Cojo “Art Juggernaut” and Keziah Quek

The post Artiholics Art Hamptons VIP Preview Party Coverage 2014 (1 of 2) appeared first on Artiholics.

Last month when it was announced that Björk’s Album of apps Biophilia was being purchased by MoMA for its collection I noticed they hadn’t mentioned Max Weisel.

What I thought was the most profound thing at the time the album was designed was that a large portion of the apps on the album were designed and programmed by a teenager.

I met Max at the 2012 Volta NY pre-party  at Villain in Williamsburg few months before this article in Vice was written.  He told me about how he and developed apps for Björk’s Biophilia album, and that they constructed a playable iPad rig on stage, so he could control a lot of the music and was now touring with Bjork.

I was a huge fan, and had a huge crush on Björk in my teenage years (who didn’t?), and he introduced me to a few of her Icelandic choral background singers who were also at the party; Ester Auðunsdóttir invited me to come to their show at Roseland ballroom the next night as their guest .

Needless to say, the show was an INSANE mix of music, singing, performance art, and technology.

I caught up with Max in June 2014.  We chatted online, me from my studio in NYC, he rather appropriately on a tablet in an airplane flying to California. We talked about the inclusion of the app in MoMA’s permanent collection, his involvement in the project at such a young age (he designed the app at 18) and how it all came together.  Enjoy the Artiholics Exclusive interview with artist / programmer Max Weisel.

Artiholics:  So how did Björk find you in the first place?

Max Weisel: At the beginning, Björk had the idea to do an app album. Normally, when someone goes to do a music video or something like that, the label has people they can reach out to. They know production companies and directors. Björk herself knows a lot of people too of course. However, when they started this project (early 2010) no one was making apps for albums.

She was talking with her manager who she’s been with for 30 years and he suggested they reach out to the developers of her favorite apps. I had made some small apps at the time. Nothing too crazy in the music / creative space. I woke up one day to a comment on my wordpress blog asking for my info on behalf of Björk. I actually laughed it off and assumed someone was just messing with me. However, curiosity got the best of me. I started looking into the name attached to the comment and found a record label and a phone number. I called them up.

“Hey, this might be odd, but someone wrote a comment on my blog asking for my info for Björk”

Artiholics:  Where were you living at the time?

Max Weisel:  Arizona with my parents, I was 18 and had just graduated high school (barely :P).  The person on the other end of the line was like “Yeah! Thanks for reaching out. We’re still figuring this out, but let me get your info and I’ll shoot you an email.”

A week or so later, I got an email from Björk and her assistant with some of their ideas and the themes she was thinking about for each of the songs on the album. We kept emailing back and forth for awhile and I started putting rough concepts together.

Header photo by Joris Bulckens

Interview by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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The Hamptons, New York – Thursday, July 10, 2014

In the mood for a summer art fair and some upwardly mobile schmoozing this weekend?  Pack up the family, rent a car, and get ready for a brisk two-hour road trip to Art Hamptons, the official art fair of the Hamptons. 

#ArtHamptons  is the premiere international contemporary & modern art event of the summer. Two fellow Artiholics and I will be in attendance.  We will be leaving the city sometime in the next hour for a hopefully uneventful Summer drive to the fair, in our “Hamptons Casual” attire.  We of course had to google how casual “Hamptons Casual” is.

Hamptons “REALLY” Casual.

The festivities kick off with the first look from 5-7pm where we will be photographing and hobnobbing with the black card social elites . Nothing but the best hor d’oeuvres by Cheffe Colette @ The Inn Spot on the Bay, complimentary open wine bars sponsored by Sequoia Grove, sparkling wine & specialty cocktails (courtesy of AVIV 613 VODKA).

After that from 7-9:30pm we will be taking even more pictures with the VIP’s at the opening night preview party, where we will witness thought-provoking performance art, enjoy complimentary wine bars, sparkling wine & specialty cocktails, and tour through 85 prominent gallery displays from 10 countries.

Art Hamptons is open to the general public Friday and Saturday from 11am to 8pm, Sunday, 11am to 6pm.

https://www.facebook.com/ArtHamptons

60 Millstone Rd, Water Mill, NY 11976  < This is where we are going on google maps, because the gps doesn’t know where Nova’s Arc is. Wish us luck!

Follow-up article coming Monday 7-14-14

Photos by Rick Friedman for Art Hamptons.
Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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My favorite type of performance art (the type that involves female nudity) is taking place tonight at Petrella’s imports, a newsstand on Bowery and Canal in Manhattan, that has been turned into an art space.  The piece, by Narcissister, involves a video being projected onto a building opposite the newsstand depicting various women performing mundane everyday tasks while topless and wearing the Narcissister mask.

“It’s not just about freedom for women; it’s the idea that freedom for one means freedom for all and that it makes larger statements about freedom and equality.”

A quote by the anonymous artist who created the character of Narcissister in 2007 and has been portraying her in public ever sense from a recentan interview with writer Andrea Park for Metro.us. In the interview Narcissister goes into more depth about the project, her appearance on America’s Got Talent.

Read the full article and interview by Andrea Park on Metro.us, which also contains a NSFW gallery of Narcissister walking around the streets of NYC with mask on and breasts out.

Narcissister’s installation will show at Petrella’s Imports at Bowery & Canal at 9 p.m. on Friday; you can also see her photography at the Rockaway! arts festival from June 29 to Sept. 1 at Fort Tilden in Rockaway Beach.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

(via metro.us – photos by Miles Dixon)

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