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.

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”

The post Artiholics Exclusive Interview: The Teenage Programmer Behind Björk’s Biophilia App… The One MoMA Recently Acquired appeared first on Artiholics.

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)

The post Mask Faced & Bare Breasted Performance Artist ‘Narcissister’ Video Installation on The Bowery appeared first on Artiholics.

Ai Weiwei The Fake Case, is the second in what looks to be a possible series of art documentaries about China’s most famous artist, Ai Weiwei. Filmmaker Andreas Johnsen seamlessly picks up exactly where director Alison Klayman left us at the end of her award winning documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry.

After being released from an 81 day government detainment we are launched right back into Weiwei’s world as he struggles to balance being a father, an artist, and a strong political voice; all while living and working under constant surveillance of repressive communist regime which has taken away his passport, and wants nothing more than to silence him.

AI WEIWEI THE FAKE CASE  has it’s US debut this Friday (May 16 – May 20, 2014) at NYC’s IFC Center, where director, Andreas Johnsen will be in attendance for Q&As all opening weekend.  Advanced tickets for the premiere went live last night and ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

If you are like me, you will do yourself a favor and watch the first documentary Ai Weiwei Never Sorry (currently available on Netflix Streaming) before hitting the theater, as it completely sets up the story, and this film doesn’t waste time with exposition. It goes ALL IN straight from the jump.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

The two films are seamlessly meshed.  So seamlessly in fact that because I watched them both back to back on my iPad in bed last night I am almost a little blurry as to which events happened in which film.

Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry ended with Ai  being released and being out on a $1.5 Million bail for alleged tax evasion, which as said in the trailer above, isn’t a real thing in China.

If you recall at the end of the first film we found him released and returning to his compound at night, surrounded by reporters in the dark, lit up by flashes and camera lights.  He had a government gag order that barred him from interviews so he apologetically made his way through the crowd and closed the metal door behind him, and that is where we were left.

Trying as much as possible to resume as much of his life as he was legally allowed to while suffering from sleeping disorder and memory loss, he began re-bonding with his son after his three month absence.  His world had been rocked, as he realized the truly scary “nightmarish” power of the government, who when the cameras were off made it perfectly clear to him that they didn’t have to give him his passport back, they could rearrest him at anytime, and that he was still being watched 24/7.

Much in the way former hackers who’ve infiltrated government websites are forbidden from operating computers, the verdict was still out as to the possibility of  Ai Weiwei resuming his online presence.  For a man in his 50s, you will never find a guy so social media savvy.  He is hooked into twitter (https://twitter.com/aiww), and has used it’s power beyond what any other artist has thought possible.

With 245 Thousand followers, and having posted over 106 thousand tweets, he is tuned in.  He also always has a film crew following and documenting him, he documents his experiences with a smart phone and iPad himself, snapping pictures constantly.  I can only imagine how a guy that plugged in must have felt stripped of a huge part of his feeling of who he is when he was placed in a white room with no WiFi.

When someone has that sort of fan base, and the news comes out that the government charged him $1.5 Million to be released, they come to your rescue.

His bail was paid by donations, either mailed to his studio, or tossed over the studio walls.  Crumpled bills and paper airplanes sailed into his garden.  Unfolded and unwrinkled the bills totaled up to cover the amount he had needed to be released.  He was humbled, and overwhelmed by the power the internet wield.

Like countless artists before him, he turned his suffering into beauty with is series of six perfectly scaled down hyper-realistic sculptural dioramas depicting the six parts of his daily life during his 81 day imprisonment  in a taped up box of a room with two fatigued guards watching him day and night while he ate, slept, and shat.  The creation of which is chronicled in the film.

The six pieces, titled S.A.C.R.E.D., premiered during the Venice Biennale and is now on view at the Brooklyn Museum in his current show titled According to What?

AI WEIWEI THE FAKE CASE screenings in NYC start Friday, May 16th, 2014 at IFC Center and end Tuesday, May 20th. Only 30 screenings will be available, so get your tickets now.

Not in NYC?   AI WEIWEI THE FAKE CASE may be coming to an arthouse theater near you, here is a current list of upcoming playdates in the US.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Ai Weiwei New Documentary Picks Up Where ‘Never Sorry’ Left Off appeared first on Artiholics.

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

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

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

Now that’s what I call practical.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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

This afternoon in cities around the globe, people are gathering in town squares to beat the shit out of each other.  Luckily they are using weapons purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond.  That’s because it’s International Pillow Fight Day! If you want to join in on this fun interactive flash mob, check out the list of cities and see where one is happening near you.  Then just show up, and bring a pillow.

If you want to take the fun to the next level, and you have a decent Halloween costume still laying around, the theme for this year’s fight is Superheroes vs. Villians.  If you are in NYC, the pillow fight takes place at Washington Square Park at 3:00pm.

Rules: Please follow these guidelines to ensure a safe and fun pillow fight for everybody!

• + Soft, feather-free pillows only!
• + Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
• + Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
• + Remove glasses beforehand!
• + Deposit pillows in donation boxes or take them with you.
• + Pajamas welcome.

If you don’t want to join in the fray, you can come with a camera and take pictures.  It’s not often you get to see 5000 New Yorkers whomping on each other with pieces of fluffy furniture.  For every five pillow people there is one person who just shows up to take pictures, so you also never see this many cameras in one place.

A great venue for marketing your artblog for example.  If you have a funny, or important  message you want out there to the world, write it on your pillow.  It will be photographed hundreds of times, it will be posted to facebook hundreds of times, and it will be posted on flickr, used in magazines, and shared by social media, 100s  or 1000s of times.

And you have a good shot in getting interviewed.

I attended and photographed the second annual International Pillow Fight Day in NYC back in 2007.  I drew the ArtSucks logo on both sides of a pillowcase and sent my girlfriend Molly in to do battle.  She is only 5’2″ but packs a wallop.  That pillow fight day took place at Union Square Park, but I assume they have outgrown that park and have since moved to their current location, Washington Square Park (the one with the arch and the fountain in the Village).  Here are some never before published photos of the insanity:

Thanks to the writing on the pillow it was easy to keep tabs on her in the crowd, well, before all hell broke loose and the fight started and feathers started flying, then not so much.

It’s not a party till some pillows start to get damaged, then it starts to look like a truck transporting chickens exploded.

The match that lights the flame.

This is seriously fun, you will see more people smiling and laughing than you have in a while, and you will be smiling too, even when you are getting clubbed in the head.  It is pure childish fun, and something you don’t get to experience as an adult very often.

The guy wearing a shirt that reads “MEAN PEOPLE SUCK” getting clobbered by a pillow that says Art Sucks.

A pillow fight selfie 🙂

Someone brought a futon mattress to a pillow fight.

I hope you didn’t need to use those lungs.

This guy thought ahead.

This ginger haired girl had a chicken fighting technique of pillow fighting.

Having the height advantage is good, but also makes you a good target.

Guys can ride on shoulders as well, it just takes a little team to get them up there.

He soon becomes just another pillow in the crowd.

Best bet is to wear leather or at least something not wool or a material that feathers like to embed themselves into.  A lesson I learned that day.

As the fight winds down the park looks like a snow globe that has been freshly shaken, and the particles are starting to settle.  People are winded, and their arm muscles (muscles many of them aren’t used to using) are completely spent.

Written and photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

Many thanks to Molly Roberson for taking a pillow beating to get these shots. International Pillow Fight Day was created as a flash mob art project by Newmindspace.

The post It’s International Pillow Fight Day! appeared first on Artiholics.

Last night the first episode of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge premiered on Syfy.  Much like one of the network’s other reality show contest properties FACEOFF the show pits ten potential creature designers against one another to create an original camera ready puppet based on some broad parameters set-up to guide each week’s challenge, with a two or three day deadline, and the worst designer of the week gets eliminated. Grand prize winner at the end of the season gets the traditional 100K and a job.

Coming into the contest the bulk of the designers already have years of experience in creature making some own their own studios, some have worked on big budget feature films, some work for Disney.

These are already talented creature designers who really could submit their resume and portfolio to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and be considered for an actual job and not have to go through these on-air contests, but whatever, it makes for good TV.

In 2012 I was invited to attend New York Creative Week, and was fortunate enough to see a presentation by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. It was fascinating to see how many commercials they are behind, which you would probably never have guessed because many of them don’t look like classic “Henson Muppets.”

Prime example, look, it’s Snuggle. He went creepy CG for a while, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop was hired to redesign him as a physical puppet again, this required them going back and studying the original commercials (as the original bear had been lost) and designing a new Snuggle from scratch.

Original Snuggle

Jim Henson Creature Shop Snuggle.

As well as seeing the pre-puppet drawing, leading into the finished product.

Sketch of Dominar Rygel VXI from Farscape. Finished Dominar Rygel VXI puppet.

A puppeteer demonstrates how voice and movement bring a puppet to life.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Jim Henson’s Creature Reality Show Premiered Last Night on SyFy appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Sunday, March 9th, 2014

Sunday between 8pm – 10pm I will be performing two 10 minute butoh inspired pieces at THE (UN)FAIR.

Belly full of artifacts by Betty T. Kao
A scientist and a monk reshuffle photos of world events, scientific papers, and diagrams to try to decipher the mystery, and understand what the events of the world are leading toward for it’s strangest sentient being, humankind.

The papers are constantly rearranged as a detective or pathologist would, to see how the data relates to each other, the info comes together to form different shapes, but mostly that of the human body. Performed by Betty T. Kao and Amanda Flowers

Unfair Performance Schedule:

Find us at the freight elevator on the 3rd floor.

THE (UN)FAIR (Free And Open to the Public
500 W 52nd St. New York, NY 10019

Artiholics is a Media Sponsor of The (UN)Fair

Photographs from Thurs 6th, Benefit party art show. Panoramic pictures by Lauretta Prevost

Written by Betty T. Kao

The post Belly Full Of Artifacts: Performance Art At The (UN)Fair Sunday appeared first on Artiholics.

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

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

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

Listed in descending order from Most to Least expensive:

THE ARMORY SHOW:  March 6th – 9th 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCOPE ART FAIR:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $25  – Student $15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE ART SHOW:  March 5th – 9th 

General Admission: $25

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Scoop on The Art Show From An Artiholic:

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

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

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

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

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

INDEPENDENT:  March 6th – 9th 

General Admission: $20

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

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

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

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

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

Ever Seen Live Performance or Live Art at Independent? No

The Scoop on the Independent From An Artiholic:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VOLTA NY ART FAIR:  March 6th – 9th 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOUNTAIN ART FAIR:  March 7th – 9th 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPRING / BREAK – $5

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

CLIO ART FAIR – $FREE

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

THE (UN)FAIR – $FREE

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

MOVING IMAGE- $FREE

NEW CITY ART FAIR- $FREE

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

New York – Thursday, March 6, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

Artwork by Matt Neuman.

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

Artwork by Paolo Pelosini.

Artwork by Rodolfo Edwards.

Artwork by Ted Barr.

Photos by Mel Rosenthal.

Francesco Lecci, Artribune U.S. Contributor

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

Alessandro Berni, the US Editor of Artribune.

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

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

Artist and founder of Artefuse, Jamie Martinez.

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

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

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

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

Rain Shaking Scene,2013 by Han Hong Park

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

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

Photographer Alessandra Guidetti.

Photo of myself by Alessandra Guidetti.

Architect Aida Miron 

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

Photo of me by Jamie Martinez.

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

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

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

Written and Photographed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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

New York – Friday, February 28, 2014

One of the people in these 25 different family portraits looks familiar.

In 2008 over the course of one year artist Christine Rogers posed for 25 family portraits in mall portrait studios.  Unlike your family portraits where you posed lovingly with your family, she is posed lovingly with strangers who looked like they could be related to her.  She met these people in various malls across America.  Check out the photos from her series “New Family,” and then read the interview, the shots are hilarious, and the story behind the project and the making of it just makes it that much better:

Artiholics: “How did you find these people to pose with you?”

Christine Rogers: “They are strangers in a mall who resembled me.  These are really documentary photos, probably the most documentary work I’ve ever done.”

Artiholics: “So what was your pitch to get strangers to pose with you?”

Artiholics: “How long did it take you to collect all 25?”

Christine Rogers: “I worked on it for a year.  Mostly at various malls in Boston and New Hampshire, some on Las Vegas.  I liked that I spent about a year.  I say it’s ongoing in theory,  we’ll see if i need to make more one day.”

Artiholics: “So each one you have a different outfit?  I love that it spans an entire year and you wear different clothes, it’s not like a fake casting call on one day.”

Christine Rogers: ” Yeah, that was tough I don’t really have a lot of clothes, I had to dig deep.”

Artiholics: “Why did you pick 25?”

Christine Rogers: “I was 25 when i started, it felt like a good number.”

Artiholics: “If you were born into 25 different families and got to the age of 25, this is how your life would have looked – captured in one frame, that makes sense.”

Christine Rogers: “Ha that’s a really nice way of looking at it.  I love those corporate picture studios too because they pose you based on your relationships.  A “husband and wife” have a certain pose, “friends” have a certain pose.  So we sort of instantly believe the relationships to be true because of this form they follow.”

Artiholics: “That is nuts, but psychologically it makes total sense.”

Christine Rogers: “Sometimes the photographer would have no idea and sort of not be able to figure out our relationship just quite, maybe we’re related maybe we’re married maybe he’s my dad? So she’d ask and i’d say, ‘I was thinking father.’ and the guy posing with me would say, ‘NEW WIFE!’ and she’d just look blankly and proceed totally confused.”

Artiholics: “Hah, that’s hilarious!”

Christine Rogers: “They’re very special to me. they’re really the only art object I’ve allowed to cross over into my real life and become sort of special to me on a personal level if that makes sense.  The personal backstory to the project is that I never met my dad, so ever since I was little if a guy looked at me for more than 10 seconds I’d start to wonder if it was my dad coming for me”

Artiholics: “Oh, this really takes the project to another level.”

Christine Rogers: “I made these thinking one of these men could be him.  It started with fathers, and then it evolved, because I would like a sister.  My parent’s divorced when I was 8-months-old and he was not allowed to see us.  I know I must have tons of half brothers and sisters out there that I’ve never met, so they could have been there too. ”

Artiholics: “This has just turned into an UPWorthy project, or something you’d see on Oprah.”

Christine Rogers: “There was always an electric charge with strangers for me because of this unknowing.  There was a wonder about them, magic, or what have you.  Part of it too I guess I wanted to send out a ripple into the universe something that would strike him, or hurt him somehow.”

Artiholics: “So maybe he will see this article and can get in touch with you.”

Christine Rogers: “It’s funny now to say…these are very childlike fantasies I think. Since the time I did this project in 2008 I’ve found out that my dad has died, so these are the closest I’m gonna get to reality.”

To view Christine Roger’s other photography work, including the follow-up project to this work in which she confronts the fact that her father is dead, check out her website https://www.cerogers.net

The post Her Family Portraits Are Just Like Yours… And Yours…And Yours appeared first on Artiholics.

It is a common misconception that art and sports are the most opposite of worlds.  This may have been the case in the original Ancient Olympic Games in Greece when athletes competed naked or in heavy armor in the hopes of winning olive leaf crowns to honor Zeus, but things have changed. The olive crowns have copyright symbols.

AP Photo/Sergei Grits

Every country’s athletes are branded from head to toe.  From their equipment, to their outfits, to their logos, to their sponsors’ logos, their high-tech streamlined speed suits, down to the Olympic Mascots and even the Medals they vie for.  All of these things are designed by artists.  Unsung & uncredited paint slinging, typography laying, color coordinating heroes who from behind the scenes help to make our athletes look badass while they are kicking ass.

Tear sheet via. Vogue Magazine – February 2014

In the Winter Olympic Games one of the most freedom an artist can be allotted (as far as paint-per-square-inch) is in the design of the snowboard artwork for a top athelete. It is really like designing the front and back of three vinyl album covers if you think about how big those boards are, and how much screen time they get.

Bottom of Shaun White’s Olympic Snowboard – Image via. White Lines

When I heard from friend and fellow artist Ashli that she was friends with Derek Nobbs. the artist who designed Shaun White’s Olympic board, I reached out to him and scored an exclusive interview for Artiholics.com  Let’s get the scoop on how he landed the most coveted bit of painted real estate in Sochi.

Never Surrender – Nobbs 72-©.

In corresponding with him he emailed this picture of the painting “Never Surrender” which is previously unreleased and includes much of the board’s top art.

Image via Getty Images

Artiholics: How long did it take for you to get the art finished?
Derek Nobbs: “It’s not finished. I only finished what was required for the board at the time.  I’ve been meaning to get back to working on them so they will be complete stand alone paintings but I haven’t had the time to finish them all. Hopefully I will get those originals done this spring and will have them available to collectors.”

Artiholics: The bottom of the board would have been made up of pieces from multiple paintings I imagine?  
Derek Nobbs: “Yes, I don’t have any complete pics of the bottom of the board. I did the knives one piece and the coolest looking skull on the other. There are two different skulls on the bottom, one with an eye patch and a mustache and one with no patch and a beard. I do have this progress shot which I posted on my instagram @dereknobbsart.”

Image via Cameron Spencer, Getty Images Europe

Artiholics: So your “mostly finished” art is done in what medium?
Derek Nobbs: “I work in watercolor, gouache, and ink.”

via Shaun White’s Facebook

Artiholics: Artists everywhere are probably wondering how you got chosen to do the artwork on the two time Winter Olympic Gold Medal Snowboarder’s board?
Derek Nobbs: “Shaun and Burton dug my work, especially my nautical pieces so that’s the theme they asked for.”

“Sleep With The Waves” ~Mixed Media 12 x12″ ©DEREK NOBBS

“The Sea Chantey Club” ~Mixed Media 10 x10″ ©DEREK NOBBS

(Getty Images – via ABC News)

New York Times Magazine – January 10th 2014

Artiholics: Have you designed boards for any other athletes?  
Derek Nobbs: “Just Mr. White.“

Shaun White Winning The Winter X Games in Aspen.

The White Collection – Snowboard Pro – BURTON

Artiholics: Have you made boards for him before?  
Derek Nobbs: “Yes I made one for the previous year. He rode it in the X Games among other events. The board he rode in this years Olympics features the same top art as the year before, although the background color has been changed to black.”

Skull halftone on board. #dereknobbs #dereknobbsart #skull #twc #burton #shaunwhite

Artiholics: So, what sort of art direction did Shaun give you?  
Derek Nobbs: “Very vague art direction leaving it up to me.  Other than the theme, and some very specific elements like a hummingbird or the idea of a two sided/mirrored approach to the base design. Ideas came from Shaun, Burton, *JDK , and myself. They did a lot of picking out elements from my body of work to apply to the design.”
*JDK is the design firm in charge of Burton’s TWC (The White Collection) which is Shaun’s high end board.

Artiholics: How many sketches did you have to do before you got the go ahead to finish in paint?  
Derek Nobbs: “I did probably did around 30 sketches, if I remember correctly. Everyone wanted this to be the best it can be since it was going to be the board Shaun rode in the Olympics. Ultimately I got final say in what I delivered but there was a lot of push and pull, pick and choose, like there is with any commercial project, but I think in the end everyone was happy with the results.”

Artiholics: Did you get a chance to watch the Olympics?
Derek Nobbs: “I don’t get cable or satellite tv. I did see a few clips online.”

Artiholics: I just read that Shaun White gave the boards he used in Sochi to Make-A-Wish kids after the games, have you heard about that? (click above image to read story)
Derek Nobbs: “I hadn’t heard that but I think it’s great! “

Thanks to Derek for taking the time to talk with us! To view more of Derek Nobbs’ work, check out his website DerekNobbs.com, you can read his blog here, like him on instagram here, or follow him on Facebook here.

Written by Cojo ‘Art Juggernaut”
Derek Nobbs’ artwork was published on Artiholics with his permission and is copyright ©DEREK NOBBS.

The post Artiholics Exclusive Interview With The Artist Behind Shaun White’s Sochi Olympic Skull Snowboard appeared first on Artiholics.

Macaulay Culkin dead center with the blonde pony tail and beard.

On Wednesday, February 5th, Two Boots celebrated the opening of a new location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (look out Roberta’s). Community leader and owner of the space Phil Hartman (no, not the late comedian) honored the legacy of Driggs Pizza with a star studded celebration in Brooklyn.

Anchovy Warhol.

Pizza Underground entertained the crowd with their beatnik, too cool for school performance ensemble. Alongside with the band, Anchovy Warhol, their patron saint, a parody and homage to Andy Warhol, displayed his video art.

Why yes, that was  Jimmy Fallon, the soon to be host of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Starting Feb 17,2014 on NBC), who happened to be bartending for Macaulay Culkin. Why wouldn’t it be? This is New York. Fallon sincerely entertained the crowd with his infectious high-spirited energy. After a hundred dollar bill tip, he cheered the patrons and lifted his fellow bartender friend into the air.

Fallon tending bar and holding court.

Jimmy Fallon hanging with Macaulay Culkin.

Maybe the Welders hanging with Jimmy Fallon

Questlove from The Roots,
DJ Max WoWch and DJ Jaclyn spun sets as party goers rubbed elbows with ?uest Love and former soap opera vixen Jordan Lane Price, among other celebrities hidden throughout the show. Brooklyn-based act, Maybe The Welders, a rock and roll band with an old timey hop sound, danced throughout the crowded back room. Dancer Zuzu Mrozek did a burlesque inspired piece during their set.

Maybe The Welders

A Nicolina Art mural on the walls of the newest Two Boots.

Phil Hartman has long been a supporter of the arts, and a fan of the history of New York. Showing his love for cinema, Two Boots is known for their gourmet pies named after pop culture icons, such as Mr. Pink, Steve Buscemi’s character in the film Reservoir Dogs. For some time Hartman owned the now defunct Pioneer Theater, an underground venue screening art flicks and indie work. They hosted cult following screenings, such as Donnie Darko, along with a talk back with writer and director Richard Kelly. It was a great day to celebrate the arts and what makes New York so special.

Two Boots Williamsburg is now open at 588 Driggs Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Written and Photographed by Betty T. Kao

The post Macaulay Culkin Folks Out & Jimmy Fallon Tends Bar @ The Two Boots Williamsburg Opening appeared first on Artiholics.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Tuesday, February 11, 2014

“Street Night Art” is the brainchild of Maria Constancia Urriutia, dedicated to bringing people from all walks of the art spectrum to share and create art. When asked where the need for such an event arose from she explained:

“Every time I would visit my friend in Al Quoz I would get lost among the ugly industrial buildings, it seemed so desolate and bland that I thought that this would be a great space to create real –live art.” – Maria Constancia Urriutia

Her observation lead to the creation of the Street Art Night Project, a vision that came to life in Dubai’s Al Quoz district on the January 24th, 2013.

STREET ART DXB YT from Hyku Desesto on Vimeo.

The hugely successful event drew thousands of visitors from Dubai’s diverse melting pot and invited spectators to view art in motion. Far away from the pristine Dubai malls, art enthusiasts were invited to a more humble setting. From mural artists to ‘street artists’ the event catered to the rustic painter, the developing artist and the more established artisan.

Artist: Moones
Approximately 50 artists participated. This “real time” experience offered spectators an insight into the journey of creating art, watching the story unfold before your eyes and to witness the fruition of the symbiotic relationship between the artists themselves.

Artist: Say One

Artist: Fathima Mohiuddin
One artist said ‘The emotive response from the audience helped to further guide the art-piece along it’s journey, it’s something that I have never experienced before, it was truly inspirational.”

Alongside the art creation, visitors were able to see Arabtec’s buses which had been painted by graffiti artist Gary Young and with the help of over 50 children from Start World Academy in Dubai. The electrifying atmosphere was overseen by performances from DJ Lobito, Dubai Drums and Beatbox Ray, the renowned local performer who joined Nina Plapp’s cello performance. Children were able to express themselves on canvas throughout the evening whist taking advantage of the refreshments.

The interest piqued from this event has cemented the need to recognize artists from all walks of life and to share in the experience of creation. The art scene in Dubai may be in its developmental stages  but it seems that tastes and styles seem to be growing at an exponential rate and events such as this will develop the spirit of community and bringing art to the street.

Visitor posing

Artist: Justin Mcmahon

Artist: Olga Gonzalez

Artist: Saleh Al Shukairi

With the DAF team of Artists

Written and photgraphed by Qinza Najm

The post Dubai’s First Street Night Art appeared first on Artiholics.

New York – Wednesday, January 22, 2014

A beauty, and powered much like the Flintstone’s vehicle which gained mobility “courtesy of Fred’s two feet” this will be going nowhere fast if you haven’t eaten your Wheaties.  German artist Hannes Langeder, 45, spent six months and 1,000 hours constructing the life-sized pedal-powered eco-friendly car, which cost €13,000 (£11,000) to build.  A real Porsche GT3 RS runs about £130,000, and also runs on gas.

Let’s look to high end structural engineering and design to see how to modify a recumbent bike into a smoking hot Porsche.  Why would you do this?  You have to really love the look of a Porsche from the outside, yet not give a microcosm of a shit about any other attribute a Porsche might possess.

If you do like Porsche’s this badly,  you must next ask yourself “Can I afford an actual  Porsche?” It the answer is yes, you may want to, buy the Porsche.

I guess there are only a few reasons why you would want to devote countless hours and money to design and craft a prototype bike/Porsche.  Reason number one would be that  you care extremely for the environment.  Your level of care has to be directly proportional to your shallowness towards outwardly  looking good on a surface level.  This would make you a good candidate to want to construct the bike/Porsche.

Reason number two would be if you are part of a Porsche enthusiasts club, but have had your license suspended for DUI.

If either of the above apply, then this may calm down that Porsche hard-on you’ve been tucking behind your waistband since puberty.

***Attn: If you’ve built something this cool, let me know so we can show it off for you.

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post The One And Only True Muscle Car appeared first on Artiholics.

   Large drawings, some over one kilometer in length take shape under Sam’s rake.They can take the form of geometrical patterns, figurative work, or sentences.

“I try to integrate my work in the nature as well as the nature in my work. It’s all natural and disappears in a few hours.”

“I take photos of my drawings before the tide erases them.”

“Then I try to tell another story.”

He has brought his rake and his camera with him to beaches in France, Spain, Morocco, England, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and Bermuda. The best photos are printed in a limited series on brushed aluminum for the grain and light.

But this is just the beginning for him, there are more beaches in distant lands to rake.

Basically every sandy coastline on Earth has the potential for being one of Sam’s canvases, it’s brilliant really.  It’s like an impermanent series of Nazca lines…Now that I’m writing about this I am already dreading the thought of hipsters getting inspired by these pictures, and wanting  to co-opt this concept and invade Rockaway Beach with rakes this Summer.  Please, please, please, if you are reading this and had that thought yourself.  NO…We are on to you.  Be a fucking original.

Learn More on Sam’s Website www.sam-dougados.com and like him on Facebook

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post French Artist Creates Mile Wide Beach Graffiti in The Sand appeared first on Artiholics.

When proposing a building design, an architect will draft a realistic architectural rendering.  This is a fiction, the illusion of a 3-D concept model of a building which only exists on paper.  This sort of rendering makes it easier for a client to “picture it” as a finished structure in relation to the existing architecture and being a physical fixture in the world around it as very little is left to the imagination.

If you are an entrepreneurial mogul such as Jay Z setting out to launch and brand a previously unknown Cognac, you find yourself with a unique challenge. How do you go about giving something that didn’t previously exist in the marketplace a chance to compete with other high-end alcohols, all of which already have a strong foothold on the nightclub’s coveted top shelves?

Aside from paying top dollar for that shelf placement, you can also skew your advertising with some fantasy. You realistically render it into reality.  Place the liquor in an atmosphere in which your product “should” exist.  A beautiful photograph of the largest musician in the world sitting in his massive Tribeca penthouse with a $6,850,000.00 view, wearing a $4,000 Tom Ford suit, smoking a $45 cigar, while admiring his print of Basquiat Untitled (1983).

This “Insta-cred” elevates the alcohol to the level of all that is around it, as we (as well as products) are judged by the company we keep. It’s validated as an intrinsically high status liquor because of its dominant placement in a world of previously validated status symbols.

So with this in mind, let’s come up with a further proposition. You are Jay Z.  You love the fine art world, are a collector of the arts, and seek acceptance by the upper crust fine art elite as an artist.  You feel like the modern day Basquiat, like the modern day Picasso, yet you aren’t garnering any fine art respect.

You would like to be dually embraced as an entity that exists outside of the “Mtv Rap World” as well as continue to be looked upon by rap fans as somewhat of a god among men.  How do you bridge the gap between a hip hop performance and performance art?

By using the business model of selling an unknown Cognac to a high-end consumer. The key would be to craft a narrative that places you into a position of power as a reputable performance artist.  A lot of art world players would have to be precisely aligned “in the same picture” to give the illusion of uniformity, so that your product — in this case “Jay Z” himself — is not only integrated into the fine art performance art world as a supporting element, but as a powerful entity with dominant placement (the glowing bottle in the foreground).

Throughout this new album Magna Carta Holy Grail Jay Z sings about the various art pieces he wants to own, or currently owns.  If you want to build an art collection of that scale, it would total slightly less than $500 Million dollars, which if he had his heart set on it, he could buy up all the pieces he mentions and still have $500 Million left in the bank.  There are some things money can’t buy, and apparently art world Insta-cred isn’t one of them.  Let’s examine in detail.

Because this song is so fine-art-centric, Picasso Baby director Mark Romanek is quoted as saying he was directly inspired by the documentary The Artist Is Present. The film chronicles Marina Abramović ‘s retrospective at MoMA which was highlighted by her daily “duration performance piece” whereupon she would sit facing members of the public one-by-one, making a lot of them cry.  The artist was present, and you were eye level, an equal.

To “sample” this performance (with a few tweaks) and jump into duration performance art piece without having previously existed in the fine art performance world takes balls, but if you have a nice warm glowing bottle- it’s part skill, part psychology, part who you know, and a lot of creative fine tuned editing.

A few months ago the Internet blew up because Jay Z was in Chelsea secretly filming (not so secret to the art world twitter heads) a six hour performance art piece at a small white wall gallery reminiscent of the Marina piece- and Marina was invited. This was edited down to a 7-minute (11 minute with credits) “Performance Art Film” aka Music Video which “isn’t a video.” Watch the HBO film Picasso Baby (above), and as you do, think about Jay Z’s positioning, posturing, and the way it’s cut.

As the performance was going on in real time, the internet buzz from people watching the vines and reading the live tweets were mixed between “this is an amazing piece of performance art” and “this isn’t art.”

A musician on a stage in front of an audience is performing, and Jay Z is a hip hop artist, so yes, this is performance art… if you do it in front of 60,000 people (his normal audience size) or 60, it doesn’t detract from the art of performing, so I don’t see what the beef is.

You might have thought you were coming to view or participate in a performance art piece, but you were also unwittingly invited to a sparring match. A shootout at high noon.

A Matrix duel in a white dojo, and tough luck, you are Morphius- oh, and you have to sit on a bench……against Bruce Lee…

…with slight of hand skills.

I’ve got 99 Problems and Marina ain’t one.

and fists……forming invisible guns… you are no match.  Because you aren’t the cowboy in the white hat, he is, and you also don’t have a voice. There are a lot of people with pure white shirts in the crowd, but he never squares off with any of them. There is a lot of subliminal shit happening here.

A one-sided rap battle in which you have literally no chance of winning or even anything close to looking superior.  Not because you are an inferior artist, but because you don’t get a chance to defend yourself.

If you have ever seen 8 mile, or watched any Rap Battles on Youtube, you will have noticed that the protocol is very much the same as this performance.  One rapper gets the opportunity to get up in the other rapper’s face, tearing them down with rhymes as an audience reacts.

They have to just stand there silently and take it… but the beauty of the rap battle is that the person taking the punishment gets a chance to retaliate with their own rhymes, while the initial rapper takes his turn remaining silent as the audience reacts.  Not so in this case, as the only one with a mic is Jay Z.

Was this a duration performance?  Yes.  Was it one where the artist stands above you, yelling down at you from a white pedestal, directly into your face,  in an all white room, wearing white, while you sit there and have your reaction filmed from multiple angles and by dozens of smart phones? Yes again.

I wondered about how Marina might have felt in accepting the invitation to be upstaged at a performance which would be ripping off her own performance, knowing it would be edited.

There was a lot of subliminal psychological stuff going on in this film, to position Jay Z as an authority figure in the fine art high-brow performance art world.

For one, the constant battle for height with Marina.  We reduce our height to show subordination to others and increase height to gain status.

Shaking a finger “no” at her, and laughing when she pushed her face on his… very weird shit happening.  I’m really breaking this down, probably too much, but 6 hours was edited to 7 minutes. These exact seven in this exact way. Pretty sure they thought about every second of footage.

In editing this tight, there are no accidents or misplaced frames.

I’d imagined Marina might have felt something like the former The Police front man Sting to P.Diddy.

Do you remember when P.Diddy and Faith Evans did a tribute song to the Notorious B.I.G. and they “sampled” Sting’s I’ll be watching you, with “I’ll be Missing You?”

Later, after there was no signs of this going away, Sting showed up on stage in a (If you can’t beat em’ join em’) appearance to sing the hook underneath Puffy literally talking over what was once his song. Although it appeared as though Sting refused to change the lyrics from I’ll be Watching You to I’ll Be Missing You, it still seemed to be giving P.Diddy the OK, even if it was reluctantly.

Marina looks like Sting.  This is her world, but Jay Z is more famous.

It seems like people were kind of enamored.  Some people danced and played along, others were being beat down by shadowboxing and words being thrown in their face.

You know when you are on the subway and those groups of 3 kids with a boombox get on, and they start the music super loud and then start spinning around the poles, doing flips and stuff very close to you, where they almost hit people?  It’s the proximity that makes it uncomfortable, and if you embrace it and let yourself be impressed, you will be part of the show, but if you bury your head in your phone and don’t want to participate, it becomes more awkward.  And when you look awkward, you get dominated.

Jay Z came off looking like Jesus Christ walking into the room giving out gold bars.  Yes, if he wasn’t famous nobody would give a shit about a guy talking in rhyme about what art pieces he “wants to line his castle” with.

Yeah, the discomfiture is probably what sets it apart from being a rap concert. Plus having all those alpha art-world personalities in the room and basically making them sit on a bench.
The balls behind the concept: I’m going to rhyme talk at your face, about how I want to own artwork – really loud, and you will sit there awkwardly, and this is art.

Were they swept up in the moment? They felt like they were special, because they were invited to be there, and in the room with one of the most famous musicians currently on the planet.  Like the Marina piece, they got to look into his eyes and connect.  They got to be performed to one-on-one.

Actors, film makers, painters, gallerists, art critics etc..

It is a very strange little art video, and there is a lot to be learned behind the psychology at play here. To put it in the rap musician mindset… If I sign with a record label that already has a lot of big named acts on their label, that makes me legit, and makes me on their level, a big name act – so when Jay Z throws these big performance artists into his video and they dance around with him, it’s fake legitimacy. But since they are into it, do they in fact make it legit?

I did like that there is a line in the song about him being the next Jean-Michel, and that’s one of the only lines where you don’t actually see him saying it. That would be too pompous a line to come out of his mouth on camera, and he felt that, and edited appropriately.

All this said, I think Jay Z is a genius.  To say he isn’t  an artist is absurd.  When it comes to marketing, making hit music,  and the business of art – he is on par with Andy Warhol.  Andy once said:

“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” – Andy Warhol

Jay Z has got that part of the art game on lock.

The post Jay Z’s Empire State Of Mind: The Hip Hop Picasso is Present Baby appeared first on Artiholics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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

The post Haddon Sundblom, The Father of Modern Father Christmas appeared first on Artiholics.

Santa Claus or “Saint Nick” has had many different representations as a visual image. The following list is a collection of 7 different depictions of Santa Claus at different times throughout the tradition of Christmas.

1. “Saint Nicholas” is depicted above; a Greek archbishop of Myra (which today, is Turkey) who lived around the 4th century AD, who was known to be charitable, especially loved by the youth. This is a Roman Catholic depiction of Saint Nicholas done in oil painting.

2. Illustrator, Thomas Nast’s depiction of “Merry Old Santa Claus,” from Harper’s Weekly, January 1, 1881.

 3. Andres Serrano, the artist who became infamous for popularizing an image of Jesus Christ submerged in a glowing container of yellow urine. Andres Serrano in a lecture he gave at City College (CCNY), described this photograph, suggesting the irony behind the image of a black man who is homeless, wearing a Santa Claus suit. This man was very poor, and he had virtually nothing to give, yet he ironically is dressed as an iconic giver.

4. Oh the childhood nostalgia of the Coca Cola Santa Claus. The way Coca Cola represents him gives me that Christmas feeling so quickly. What about this Santa Claus is so iconic? Look closely at the image- it seems to be done in oil painting, and especially on the boot, it has that Van Gogh “painter’s touch.” On the belt you can see where the artist’s brush was dragged down to create that white highlight. The red cheeks are reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. It’s the painting aspect that we cherish so much. On a side note, thanks to images like this, Coca Cola has created a bridge between rotting tooth decay and obesity to good old Saint Nicholas, the Christian archbishop that warmly gives. Santa Claus has become the giver of 65 grams of sugar per 20 ounce bottle. What’s that in your bag Santa Claus? Diabetes? Where’s the iPad that I asked for?

5. Santa Claus as illustrated by Frank A. Nankivell in Puck, v. 52, no. 1344 (December 3 1902). This Santa Claus is quite the lady’s man is Nankivell’s illustration, which seems to be done in water color and ink.

6. Santa seems to have a deep contemplative pause as he has a moment with two dolls in this Japanese illustration by an unknown artist. Notice the boots- the defined lines show the differentiating shadow- the darker areas have more condensed areas of lines, while the lighter shades have lines spaced farther apart. The shadow that Santa casts is done in a wash of water and red ink. This illustration is done on a slightly yellow tinted paper, with red and blue washes, conveying a primary color scheme. It is definitively Japanese with the inscriptions to the lower right hand corner.

7. Good jolly Santa Claus is off to war in this poster from the Office for Emergency Management, from the War Production Board, circa. 1942. This postcard was printed around a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Santa is a valuable image, used to promote Coca Cola, and our country’s propaganda to defend itself.

Written by Andrew Kaminski

The post Santa as Visual Art in 7 images appeared first on Artiholics.

New York City – Monday, December 16, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Published with permission by Creative-Capital.org

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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