Some uppery-state goings on.

The NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) event this weekend at the Basilica in Hudson, NY.  The exhibit that features the participation of many galleries is being described as a " a site-specific project" and not an art fair.

The event is happening this weekend, Sat & Sun from 11-6pm.  A slate of performances is scheduled on both days, check the NADA website for details and a list of participating galleries.   There are also some "after hour" events happening on Saturday evening including a reception taking place at Club Helsinki.

...And if you happen to be up in that area, the Thompson Giroux Gallery is inaugurating a new space in Chatham, NY with an opening reception for a group show on Saturday, July 30 (4-7pm).  Artists featured in this exhibit are:  Peter Acheson, Rick Birkett, Claude Carone, Dan Devine, Carol Mangan, Melissa Sarris, Arthur Sordillo, Marion Vinot.  The gallery is located at 57 Main St, Chatham, NY 12037.

Eye Candy Friday: Slushy Ice Pop

Mount Fuji from Kazio Sosnowski on Vimeo.

Just think nice cool thoughts.
To help you along, an image of snowy covered Mt Fuji on which to meditate.

I came across this whilst searching for information on the Edible Sculpture Party 5 - an annual event organized by Tim Davis and Lisa Sanditz which was in danger of not happening this year.  But it is happening, and this year it'll be held on the western lawn of CCS Bard. 
Here's the gist:  sculptures are created.  sculptures are judged and critiqued.  sculptures are eaten...In exactly that order. 
Here's a video, also shot by Kazio Sosnowski, of last year's Edible Sculpture Party.
The joint kicks off at 5pm, if you've got a hankering to indulge.

Josiah McElheny talk on Blinky Palermo at Dia Beacon 7.9.11 @ 2pm

Josiah McElheny will be conducting the first of four artist talks/walkthrough events as part of the Blinky Palermo Retrospective exhibit at Dia:Beacon. 
Working with Josiah on his exhibit up at the Hessel Museum last month, I learned a bit of what he'll be presenting tomorrow.  I don't know the details, but he's working on a theory that relates to the nature of color, light and fabric vs. painted surfaces....As I said, I'm not well versed  in where he's going.  I do know he had the desire to attain swatches of fabrics dating to the 70's which ideally equate to the material Blinky was working with in his fabric paintings which are on view in the galleries at CCS Bard.

Well, let's just say Maykr comes through again...Angelika's mother had some fabrics stored away that fit the bill, correct vintage and everything....So if you're curious, head over to Dia tomorrow at 2pm to see what Josiah has in mind for Mama Rinnhofer's fabrics.

Future artist walk throughs of the Palermo Retrospective be conducted by  David Reed, July 24; Cheryl Donegan, Sept 25 & Liliana Porter Oct 15.

Eye Candy Friday: Priming One's Appetite

Well, it's been all Cy Twombly all the time here at Kamp Maykr for the past few days.  Since the artist's death on Tuesday, I've been prowling through the internet, following wormholes of information and personal reflections on the man's work and taking measure of my own feelings about his work.  I had the thought today that I'd gladly agree to submit to some experimental scan of my brain to determine what goes on in there when I see a work by Twombly, be it a painting, drawing, sculpture.  His photographs are knockout images their beautiful, rich in a dizzy worn out way.  They are heavy in their own way. 

 A's brochure from the Museum Brandhorst exhibit.

But I receive them in a slightly different manner than the other works.  Angellika, who's in Berlin at the moment emailed the image above (and another less clear detail image) to me today just after her trip to the Hamburger Bahnhof (she was graced with the luck last week to see an exhibit of 120 of his photographs at the Museum Brandhorst in Munich).  Upon simply clicking to enlarge the detail jpg I discerned an immediate increase in the amount of saliva in my mouth.  Pavlovian, for sure.  I don't remember when I first discovered Twombly.  I do know that I was first introduced to his "chalkboard" paintings and I was immediately drawn in by them.  There's some sort of hard wiring in my reaction when presented with the majority of his works.  I must say that it has taken longer for me to warm up to some of the large ginormous flower works in recent years.  One thing that was clear to me from early when viewing his works is the recognition that  I was and am utterly incapable of creating paintings such paintings. I'm so grateful that he's been able to make such paintings.  I think his work has been instrumental in getting me to make the work that I do make now.  (I'll let you, Dear reader, determine what that says about me....or him).  It's heartening to see the volume of personal statements of appreciations that have bloomed on the web in recent days. 

Some roses at Museum Brandhorst in Munich.

 Some of this scrambling around online has been prompted by trying to rouse some content and chase down interviewees for the Dead Hare Radio episode devoted to Twombly we'll be airing on WVKR on Tuesday at 5pm (don't forget it's archived as a podcast too).  I admire journalists who do this kind of work regularly.  Pressures of a deadline, cramming in as much research and reading as possible while reaching out to possible interview subjects, hoping they'll respond in a timely manner is all interesting but wearing, and that just gets you to the point of starting the difficult part: interviewing.    I find it nerve racking.  It can be very rewarding, but I have certain anxiety issues that seem to respond robustly to the prospect of speaking with a knowledgeable stranger and trying to render myself an utter rhube.  A bottle of cold beer has joined my recording equipment as requisite implements in my interview toolkit.  I realized this afternoon that an interview can at times be exactly like a blind date.  I was on a blind date once where I somehow felt comfortable talking about my (minor - and since passed) fascination with cannibalism.  I won't go into details.  It seemed to be going well, yet when that second date just never materialized after repeated attempts to make it happen, I could only think it might have been that cannibalism talk sealed that particular bit of my fate.

The reward of pushing through that personally held anxiety (and this has been true of much of our 4 months of making Dead Hare) is being able to be witness to the insights of some very intelligent and thoughtful folks.  For this Twombly episode, I've been privileged to speak about Twombly with David A Ross, Tyler Green and John Waters.  Their willingness to share their time is greatly appreciated.

I'll just say there's much too much more reading and exploring to do; so much information related to Twombly that I haven't been able to do much more than cursory perusing before bookmarking for a follow up.  And that's just online.  I still have yet to make my way through most of the GIANT volume of writings on Twombly that's sitting here next to me.  It's a good chance for reverie.
In case you are new to Twombly, there is even a 5 step instructional lesson on How to Spot a Painting by Cy Twombly on ehow.com.  This task is rated moderately easy.

Ok, so for a little candy:
This post on chicfaced.com pairing paintings by Twombly and runway designs by Dian Von Furstenberg features some amusing rhymes.

And talk about Candy.  There's nothing sweeter than the classic series of photos taken of Twombly and his home by Horst in 1966 for Vogue.  The Holler and Saunders blog has the most complete set of these images online that I've seen yet.

There's much much more out there to see....not just candy, but a full meal of visual pleasure.  Try to do it in person, though, if you can.

Cy Twombly

I've been reflecting on Cy Twombly's work since I heard of his death yesterday.  There's a lot to unpack and rummage through for me here, and I'm working it out for a post in the near future.

I'm thinking that next week's episode of the Dead Hare Radio Hour may focus on Twombly's work.

We're taking Twombly related comments on the Dead Hare Hotline:

(480) 442-7311

Leave a message about Twombly, his work, and your experience of it.  I'll likely use whatever I get on the show...

Dead Hare Radio this week: Bik Van der Pol

Bik Van der Pol: "Are you really  sure a floor can't also be a ceiling?"  2010 Enel Prize at MACRO in Rome.

image courtesy of MACRO

For this week's episode of Dead Hare Radio, I was joined in the garden of MoMA by Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol who, together are the collaborative duo Bik Van der Pol.



Bik Van der Pol  were the artists in residence at CCS Bard this past Spring.  Their 2008 exhibition project at the Hessel Museum in 2008, "I've Got Something in My Eye" had some unintended consequences; one being an uproar debating the relative value of artists to birds, and two, the near liberation of Pinocchio (which I have posted about before).

 image via the blog called :  _____________ which also has a detailed, first hand description of the caper.

Since I'm such a fan of this moment, I'm embedding the video again here for your viewing pleasure:



All of the previous projects that Jos and Liesbeth mention in the interview are documented in their website.  Take some time and dig around in there to find out more.  

They're scheduled to open a projection New York's Lower East Side for Creative Time in September.

Special thanks to Ryan Magyar for being our attentive studio audience for this interview.

In the event you haven't heard of them, this is Eva & Adele....another artistic duo - of another sort.

Thanks to v<o>brainsee (Dead Hare Theme & Dead Hare Prayer) and the Erthlyngz (Jam to the Present Tense )for their musical stylings in this episode.

Eye Candy Friday: Turning the Tables

With this revolutionary holiday weekend, here's a point to ponder: what do the spectators look like from the fire work's POV?   via: mashable.com


Video by jeremiahjw via mashable.com