Airport Art

While traveling from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Boston this afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to find one of Duane Hanson's tourist-look-alike sculptures in the Fort Lauderdale Airport! I made my dad snap the following photo with his iphone:

You can even see our shadows over the sculpture. I love subtle public art and this one is perfectly playful for its' functional and literal site. Well done.

KEEP IT UP FORT LAUDERDALE

Review: ICA Boston's Permanent Collection On Display

The past thirty years of art history have been symptomatic of crisis of cultural authority. In the modern period, works of art claimed to represent some authentic vision of the world based on universal truths. Postmodern work attempts to undermine the reassuring stability of modernism’s master narratives. The breakdown of binaries has allowed for the emergence of a more encompassing art world, with the presence of voices and materials previously denied by modernism. Artwork being produced now comes directly out of postmodernism, and in many cases works that are distinctly postmodern are placed under the banner of contemporary. The problem with this combination is that it extends the term contemporary to art of the past thirty years. The ICA Boston faces a similar problem by thematically placing work from the 1970s along side work produced several years ago. In our fast-paced society, cultural institutions are unable to stay up to date with the mass amount of works being produced, consequently many contemporary collections rely on artists and mediums that have already been canonized instead of taking genuine risks.

This fall on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston is the fourth exhibition of the permanent collection, entitled In the Making, which offers “an in-depth look at how artistic approaches to medium transform familiar subjects into resonant images and experiences” (ICA Website). Each gallery in the exhibition focuses on a single medium, either photography, painting, sculpture, or video. However, the only practice that is well represented in the show is photography, which accounts for seven of the twelve artists whose work is displayed. Even so, there is a strong female presence in the exhibit, which features the contemporary art veterans Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman and Marlene Dumas, as well as recent recruits to the museum circuit Tara Donovan, Rineke Dijkstra and Cornelia Parker.

Sherman and Dumas are members of the recently termed Pictures Generation, whom found their subjects from photographs culled from newspapers and magazines. Their work is symptomatic of postmodernism because both seek to undermine traditional, master narratives by ambiguously displaying the female body in a variety of imagined environments. Sherman and Dumas’ works are essential to understanding the immediate history of contemporary art, however, the work itself can no longer be described as contemporary. Since the 1970s, Cindy Sherman and Marlene Dumas have had very successful and noteworthy careers and are no longer really cutting edge. Their work has been canonized and is represented in many public and private collections. They have their own market and are safe investments for an institutions such as the ICA. Furthermore, their highly refined critiques of the social constructions of gender and sexuality, feel very characteristic of 1980s postmodern art. It is hard to divorce these objects from their cultural context and connect them to the present. As well, they do not speak to the technology driven contemporary era.

While Cindy Sherman and Marlene Dumas’ work feels static in the collection of the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Tara Donovan’s sculptures are more representative of contemporaneity. However, these works are connected by their denial of traditional narratives and modernist myths. Sherman, Dumas and Donovan similarly use alternative means, such as household objects and subjects from popular culture, to confront the viewer. In order to understand the progression of contemporary art and the relevance of Tara Donovan, it is necessary to be familiar with the work of Cindy Sherman and Marlene Dumas.

Overall, the ICA's permanent collection provides a good introduction to the changes that have occurred in the art world over the past thirty years, as a result of postmodernism, and its effect on younger artists. However, the collection has failed (like many other institutions, particularly the MoMA) to address the current condition of art (globalism, "festival culture", multiculturalism). Ultimately, the collection is trapped by its limited, Western conceptions of art that view the contemporary as a continue of modernism.

BEARDEER

Check out my new band, BearDeer, which we created during the snow storm in Allston this past weekend. we rage, hard. 

http://www.myspace.com/beardeerband

 

I play the synth/keyboards, be sure to look for my awesome audio textures.

Holiday Season Survival

The fall semester has finally come to a close and the majority of us (students) have returned to our respective parents' houses/cities for seasonal celebrations. Its nice to finally have a break from the daily grind of the past few months, however, heading down to my father's in south florida typically means one thing--movie marathons. My own holiday tradition is watching apocalypse now on christmas eve.

With that in mind I wanted to make a list of my favorite movies to watch while your feeling bored/lonely, stranded (unable to drive or get far enough away) and without the usual gang of delinquents by your side. Here are some classics and favorites i will be living vicariously through over the next couple of long days:

1. Blade Runner (1982)

This Sci-Fi thriller is perfect for escaping from the dysfunction dynamics of family dinner tables and questioning whether your relatives are truly human or actually robot replicants as you have always suspected.

2. Beyond The Valley of the Dolls (1970)

This crazy Russ Meyer movie has almost absolutely nothing to do with Valley of the Dolls, except that both classics reveal the downfalls of the decant hollywood lifestyle. More importantly, this favorite of mine, reminds us that some down time from the party life is necessary for avoiding manic, homicidal episodes. It won't ever kill you to miss a few parties to hang with the fam, but you definitely will have to fight for your life when running with this crowd.

3. Charade (1963)

Audrey Hepburn + Cary Grant + suspense + 1960s Paris... need i say more? Charade is just a straight up good time no matter what the circumstances.

4. Far From Heaven (2002)

Whenever confronted by elder family members about the crisis in the morality of today's youth and told stories that take place 'back in the good ole days', I remember this compelling Todd Haynes movie and remind myself that I would never want to live in the extremely repressed 1950s America, despite the problems that plague us today. At least now I don't have to abide by such rigid social conventions and could channel by energies/frustrations outside myself, leave my gay husband, or have an interracial relationship. Isn't our new generation progressive?

5. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

While I have only been recently acquainted with this movie, The Baader Meinhof Complex should be on everyones' must see lists. The film portrays Germany's homegrown terrorist group, the Red Army Faction, whose radical, young members where a serious threat to German democracy during the 1970s. Its something different. Just watch it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS. STAY WARM. SPEND $$$.

The Wild One: Pauline Kael...?

Bellow I have posted my introduction and conclusion (so FAR) for a paper on (my problems with) the New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael for my class on arts criticism with Professor Marx:

“The hot-pants Queen Victoria of American film criticism”, Pauline Kael is considered by many to have been rebellious for adamantly attacking mainstream values and championing alternative sensibilities in her reviews of popular cinema. Her racy and occasionally vulgar prose was shocking for many readers, which made Kael’s criticism seem defiant, even though the ideas she set forth in her reviews of movies were not radical for the time. Despite the perception of Kael as a rebel, she did not actually champion the subversive filmmakers of underground and art house cinema. Kael dismissed truly revolutionary and experimental films in favor of New Hollywood movies, which challenged the way that major studios produced movies. Kael only references the work of avant-garde filmmakers, such as Kenneth Anger and Andy Warhol to strengthen her reviews of New Hollywood movies. Ultimately, Kael remains a conventional film critic because she overlooks or entirely ignores filmmakers that operate outside of the Hollywood sphere. In addition, Kael dismisses art house films because they threaten her argument that intellectualism kills the visceral pleasure of movies.

Kael disregards experimental films that are actually subversive to champion studio films that make small subversive gestures. Kael never clearly defines her idea of a “subversive gesture” and Alan Vanneman asserts, “Kael sounds like she's back in high school, where "freedom" is making some smart remark the teacher doesn't hear” (Vanneman). Kael claims that movies are successful when they make the audience feel alive, yet she overlooks avant-garde films that provoke an intense audience response. In her famous review of Last Tango in Paris, Kael’s compares the first screening of Bernardo Bertolucci’s film to the first performance of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, The Rite of Spring, at which the audience degenerated into a riot that required police intervention. Kael argues that the erotic film is a breakthrough movie and “Bertolucci and Brando have altered the face of an art form” because the movie elicits an intense response from the audience (Kael). Kael’s enthusiasm for Last Tango in Paris is elucidated in the following passage:

The closing night of the New York Film Festival, October 14, 1972: that date should become a landmark in movie history comparable to May 29, 1913—the night Le Sacre du Printemps was first performed—in music history. There was no riot, and no one threw anything at the screen, but I think it’s fair to say that the audience was in a state of shock, because Last Tango in Paris has the same kind of hypnotic excitement as the Sacre, the same primitive force, and the same thrusting, jabbing eroticism (Kael 450).

Even though, the screening of Last Tango in Paris did not elicit a violent or aggressive response from any audience member, Kael still considers this a historic moment in movie history. However, Kael never mentions the screening of a film by Luis Bunuel that provoked the audience to totally trash the theatre and slash the film screen itself ( Joan Hawkins 60). Furthermore, Kael completely ignores more experimental filmmakers that provoke overwhelming audience responses, such as Jack Smith, whose movie Flaming Creatures was seized by police at its premiere and officially determined to be obscene by a New York Criminal court for its surreal, graphic depiction of sexuality.

In the end, Pauline Kael wants coherent movies, filled with wit and feeling that make little jabs at the establishment, not radical films that question the entire structure of society. Kael identifies herself with “the plain folks” who go to the movies for trashy entertainment. Watching Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures while smoking marijuana at the Charles Theatre in New York is too intellectual and primitive for Kael.

Works Cited:

• Kael, Pauline. For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies. Plume (September 1, 1996)
  
• Hawkins, Joan. Cutting edge: art-horror and the horrific avant-garde. Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (May 8, 2000)
  

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

Jack Smith is my idol. I want to wholly consume everything he ever made. I need the documentary about him entitled "Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis". It is not even on netflix, goddamn.

Fred Wilson: Installations of the Hidden

Tonight I went to see the artist Fred Wilson give a lecture on his work at Boston University. I was happily surprised to discover that he is an engaging and funny public speaker and doesn't take his practice as seriously as some similar artists (ahem, Andrea Krasner). I had heard about Wilson in several of my classes, such as "Theory + Practice of the Museum", "Contemporary Art", and "Likeness, Identity + Culture" and was interested to see his current work and how he thought of himself in the history of art. Honestly, I really love going to see lectures by canonized artists to see if they've become complete pompous assholes or are still down to earth. Wilson's demeanor was pleasantly approachable and he acknowledged the many different perspectives and artisans that went into the creation of his installations.

Wilson is most well-known for his 1992 installation "Mining the Museum", which entailed rethinking the collection of the Maryland Historical Society. Wilson juxtaposed objects from the collection, some of which had been hidden for generations in "deep storage", to expose a slave narrative that is usually ignored by the museum's heavy focus on upper-class material culture.

In his lecture, Wilson asserted that he hopes to shift the notion that museums are objective spaces to reveal that each institution has a strong point of view. In addition, Wilson argues that museums focus on aesthetics not really the meanings that objects connote. Furthermore, throughout his work, Wilson plays on the preconceived notions that visitors bring to various kinds of museum displays. While I find Wilson to be an incredibly conceptual artist, interested in a symbolic gesture that evokes institutional critique + revisionist theory, I also believe that he is very aesthetically attuned. All of Wilson's pieces are beautifully balanced and symmetrical, even though his intention may seem obvious and simplistic.

Moreover, I was happy to find that Wilson's newer work has evolved to encompass the deconstruction of larger narratives, including the horror of war and the corruption of the contemporary oil trade. Overall, I am very happy I decided to drag myself over to Morse Auditorium instead of going home and napping.

Greatest British Painter of the 20th Century: Francis Bacon at the MET

Although, this post is several months late (especially since I was first at the exhibit its opening week), it is never too late to discuss and view the wonderful British painter Francis Bacon. The show at the MET this past spring and summer elucidated the powerful impact of Bacon's paintings on the viewer. This was the first chance I have ever had to view so many of Bacon's work in one visit. Here are a couple of photos I snapped at the exhibit:

I will include a through review of the exhibit shortly, its midterm season at the moment, cut me a break!

The Cultural Arbitrators of YOUTUBE

Last month an ART video i made, entitled "AN EROTIC TALE" was taken offline and i received a warning from the highly esteemed youtube arbitrators, but there is NO NUDITY in the video, and all of the content was FOUND ON YOUTUBE. The more titillating scenes are derived from fan videos of famous popular movies such as the Blue Lagoon, Wild Things and Jungle Fever. I am not exactly sure what they consider inappropriate considering all i have done is recontextualized and edited their material to flow to Madonna's "Erotica". This erotic tale has expanded to address the arcane distinction between erotica and pornography in this country as well as the legacy of Puritan moralism on supposedly democratic inventions. This video was originally created for a one night gallery show in New York City, where the video was projected on a wall of the venue. Furthermore, this was made with the intention to be work of art, NOT something for old men surfing youtube to masturbate to.

I have posted the "controversial" video here with the hope that it will not be censored for attempting to address how BIZARRE the erotic truly is.

Besides hating on youtube, this new semester has been extremely busy and tiresome, it feels as though i don't even have a second breath, but i sort of like it that way. I am currently taking a course on Arts Criticism so hopefully sometime soon i will post some of my commentary on legendary arts critics such as James Agee, Pauline Kael and Noel Carroll, as well as some of my own reviews of recent exhibitions. Until then, keep it real.

FUN TIME

I love photoshop.

ATTENTION

ATTENTION
The following video(s) from your account have been disabled for violation of the YouTube Community Guidelines:
AN EROTIC TALE - (prestoenamel)

Most nudity is not allowed on YouTube, particularly if it is in a sexual context. Videos that are intended to be sexually provocative are also generally not acceptable for YouTube. There are exceptions for some educational, documentary and scientific content, but only if that is the sole purpose of the video and it is not sexually gratuitous.
Your account has received one Community Guidelines warning strike, which will expire in six months. Additional violations may result in the temporary disabling of your ability to post content to YouTube and/or the termination of your account.
Date Received: September 03, 2009

The video i made for a gallery show this summer in New York was taken off of youtube.
.... and i found all of the clips on youtube

WATCH IT NOW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny44LSMzB1Y

PLAY/PRACTICE

summer session!

THE WEATHER IS BEAUTIFUL, GET OFF THE INTERNET AND GO ENJOY YOURSELF!

This American Life is truly a god send. and on the top of my reading list is "Nausea" because nothing exists that is greater than ourselves. 

Yo BK You On Kings

Well I guess I have figured out how the Brooklyn Museum is making a little extra cash money during the hard-times, by offering its renovated entrance to network television. It sounds sort of like the Bk museum is selling out, but hardly, the facade of the building located on Eastern Parkway is featured in the new prime-time drama "Kings". The show imagines the city of New York as the capital of a North Atlantic monarch, and the entrance of the Brooklyn Museum is meant to be the king's city palace, which is actually supposed to be situated where the Time Warner building is in Columbus Circle, according to the view from inside the castle, and yes I do have quite a bit of free time and pay attention when shows are filmed on location, support New York.

I have always loved the Bks doors and am proud to see it appear as such an important structure in "Kings". And by the way, its an amazing show, it just aired and already made me sob, plus the first episode is based on the David and Goliath story, how can that go wrong. Check it out on Hulu, thats the only way those of us living in the stone age without televisions can watch it, but I heard it normally airs on sunday nights too. 

In other Brooklyn news, I watched Notorious, the film based on Biggie Smalls life, well the first half... um really? what was that? Although the guy that was supposed to be Puffy had a nice trash stash. 

Blair's Nflick Queue

LIVE FLESH

Heres the trailer for the Pedro Almodovar dvd which arrived from my netflicks queue. its a keeper alright.

More on the movie front.... this Friday, The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brighton is playing Rocky Horror Picture Show at Midnight! Lets dress up and scream at the screen all night long!

 

I'm Coconutty for Milk

Gus Van Sants' Harvey Milk for Next Prez!

I am very pleased that Sean Penn won best actor at the academy awards for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in Milk this past sunday night. It was one of the best films I have seen in theaters in a while, sorry Benjamin Button n that vampire love flick, you just didn't make my list. I am usually not happy with the acad-awardz but this year they had me covered. I'm also into the fred astaire revival. 

Other things I am currently into: basement shows in Allston, Ninjasonik was a lotta fun, although it smelt like gas and some guy pushed himself against me and rubbed my waist. Yeah, that when I decided to get some air. And Thermaflu, its a wonderful product. 

Disco Biscuts is playing Boston this weekend. Checkz it out. 

Annnnddd amazing news LEONARD COHEN is coming to Boston in May! but the tickets range from 350 to a thousand buck-a-roos, anyone want to get me an early birthday present? please? hes already 74, how many tours does he really have left in him?

The Fine Arts are lacking in my life right now, except that I recently received my February issue of Art In America, I have three midterms coming up wayyy too soon for comfort, but hopefully I will have a moment to spare. My love, Sid Vicious graces the cover, highlighting a review of the Elizabeth Peyton exhibit, previously reviewed by muah. It looks like its gonna be a good time.

Allston Brighton Art Expo -- Be There You Square!

The 23rd Annual Allston-Brighton Art Exposition is coming up and will be on display March 28th through April 25th at the Honan-Allston Branch Library! Gotta represent my Bostonia hood, and if you attend, you will hopefully have the chance to purchase a Blair Spotswood Dowd original at a bargain price, which is worth the trip if you ask me.

Other happenings around town include the anticipated ninjasonik and japanther show tomorrow at le gay gardens, which also happens to be practically across the street from mi casa, i'm ready to throw down

South End Surmise

Apparently the hot hip place for galleries in le Bostonia is the South End, I had heard this before, but never had the chance to check it out, or remember that gallery crawls are the first friday of the month (I always remember on the second friday). Now very exciting news, I may be lending my services, for no price, to a South End contemporary art institution, that for now will remain nameless, in case at the last minute the owner drops me. I am very excited to check out the neighborhood, and my new-- new years eve resolution is to explore Boston more. I hope I'm not just feeling adventurous because we've had such nice weather the past two days.

Talking Bout My Girl

Tracey Emin on the loose! This video is kinda old, but I just can't seem to get enough of it. I want to be free like her and make self expressive art with my vomit

Naive Realism

Ah its that time of year once again. Summer internships. what am I going to do with myself? I am still looking for a job/internship for spring! and all around me people are talking about summer. We spend so much time planning. I am overwhelmed with applications for everything. I want a break, and then I have to realize that once again its valentines day. This time I will let no one ruin the holiday for me. I will ruin it for myself. The plan is a saturday afternoon trip to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (i.e. the ICA). Hopefully the museum will be worth the trek from my Allston apartment, two T trains and the airport shuttle bus. The Shepard Fairey exhibit Supply and Demand recently opened, the ICA was nice enough to send me a poster for the show, now hanging in my bedroom. I will hopefully post a review of the exhibit soon, and I am also hoping to see Milk this weekend. if i can get out of bed.

Get Heated

Anyone suffering from the barren cold, heed my advice:

GO TAKE A HOT YOGA CLASS!

Release those toxins that have been building up all winter, open up your chest and sweat out all that bad energy. Yoga is certainly a living art, so get moving.

My recommended yoga studios:

In New York City my favorites are YogaWorks and Yoga To The People

In Boston try All One Yoga or Back Bay Yoga. Maybe I'll see you there, I try to take a class a day.

The Jan Blues

With school starting again, how could anyone be happier about the continuous snow and slush? I am struggling to write transfer applications, my third year of college applications, in a row. I should be a college advisor, lord knows I have enough experience. I have so much reading this semester I barely have time to check out the current exhibitions in Boston. The only recent news I have of the area is the closing of the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, which is strange because I was actually at Brandeis last weekend to visit a friend who goes there. The members of the student population that I met at various frat parties did not have much concern about their artistic community, but it is a great loss to the larger community, setting a horrendous precedent for universities across the country suffering from the poor economy. And they're going to have to sell their works at such low prices! Ah I hate it when art is treated like such a commodity, when the market goes, so does the business belief in art as a worthwhile investment. It makes me want to switch entirely to performance and youtube video art, forget painting, look at how monumental Warhols and Johns get treated when the money trail dries up. And furthermore art has still remained a lot more reliable than stocks. I'd put my money on Burden's smoking gun. 

Everyone Is Missing Something But I Feel Left Out

On my way uptown to my mother's apartment this afternoon, all of these guys started taking off their pants on the R train. I was peacefully listening to Courtney Love and thinking about how much I hate my ex-boyfriend when the first guy removed his pants around canal street, I was shocked, but no one else seemed to notice. Then I looked around me and more and more guys were removing their jeans and getting off the train at the next stop. Then girls started too, I never knew 15 year old girls could have cellulite. I looked out the window at 14th street and at least 15 people standing on the platform were in their underwear. 

I wanted to yell at these people, did they not know it snowing above them? I cannot figure out why these people did this. The only explanation I could get was from a pantless girl, who just shrugged and said "Its New York City". What was going on? Why did I not know what was going on? Was there some massive facebook group or something? I've seen youtube videos of the silent raves in union square and London, could this have been some kind of new performance piece? can someone please tell me what happened? have i just lost it?

What Gives Sally?

Dear Ms. Mann,

       Why did you charge students $18 to see your lecture at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston this fall? Doesn't the museum already give you bank and pay for your plane ticket/hotel? Sally, I really like your work, but please don't be so elitist next time.

Live Forever Peyton, You Go Girl

Elizabeth Peyton at the New Museum:

            I love Peyton's painterly portraits of 90s rock stars. Walking through the exhibit at the New Museum I had so much fun trying to guess which androgynous face belonged to which indie persona with my friend Andrew, especially because he had no idea who anyone was, which set me up as the guardian of knowledge. The facial characteristics in each portrait take on similar attributes which surprisingly resemble Peyton herself. The faces are sharp, pointed and translucent. There is a beautiful melancholy expression to each character, although I could have just wanted to see the vacant faces as introspective, wounded warriors of the pop culture struggle for depth and identity in a superficial world. Were Sid Vicious and Kurt Cobain contemporary prophets or lost drug addicts that have been mystified by youth culture's want for meaning? Well, Peyton's water colors, thin acrylics, and color pencil depictions are quite pretty whatever the intended reflection may have been, and its also quite a throw back to 90s indie rock. I am listening to Pulp as I write this and I must admit the show made me smile.