Passionate Gathering: Herb & Dorothy screening @ Dia:Beacon 3.12.11

Angelika Rinnhofer's reworking of the Herb & Dorothy poster for the 2009 kork advent project.

There are collectors, and there are COLLECTORS.
The first is the type of collectors are essentially consumers.  Their looking for a product.  Sure that product may well be unique and handcrafted, it may touch them a some level, but it essentially fills an external need ( decoration, meaningful gift, etc.) but it's purchase is not primarily motivated by an internal drive. Artists and galleries may bestow upon these folks the moniker of collector, perhaps hoping that calling him/her so will make him/her so.  The tendency for an artist to refer to one as a collector is de riguer in the artworld, but it might also placate some deep seeded need to make something more of the transaction than there is. 

The second type, the COLLECTOR is the kind that artists and galleries dream of.  This person is driven by a passion for the intangibles that accompany the equally passion inducing tangibles of a work of art. This type of individual is committed (or challenged by) to the ideas and the philosophy - the program - of a given artist or gallery, believing that the experience of the exchange entails far more than the exchange of an object - or multiple objects over time.

Herb and Dorothy Vogel are a couple that exemplify the endeavor of COLLECTING.  The Vogels represent a collector that artists adore and value, and gallerists are tend to be uneasy with....given their manner of circumventing the galleries, acquiring works directly from artists.
The Vogels' passion for art and ideas affirms the pursuits of someone like me (as an artist) and further motivates me to do what I do.  (Not for the hope of having work purchased, but because their passion affirms the passion I feel in exploring what I do; it gives proof of concept that these things that are pushed and pulled - the whole activity that throbs in the studio is vital - to someone else (regardless of the particulars of taste and selection.)
The Vogels are the subject of an fascinating documentary from 2008 entitled Herb & Dorothy.  I recommend it highly.  I could go on, but I won't.  Here's the trailer:



The film Herb & Dorothy will be screened at Dia:Beacon on Saturday at noon as part of a weekend long program to raise funds for the refurbishment of The Beacon Theatre on Main St.  Admission for the screening at Dia is $20.  A Q&A panel with the Vogels, the filmmakers, artist Charles Clough and Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Executive Director Jack Cowart will follow the film at 2pm and a reception at 3:15  (cost for the panel talk is $10 and $20 for the reception.)
The Beacon Freeze Frame Fundraiser continues on Sunday with a 12 pm Screening of the film Fresh at the Howland Cultural Center followed by a Q&A panel and then a treat of fresh, locally grown food at the Beacon Theatre ($20, $20.)

The Vogels are not alone.  They are extraordinary, given the details of their lives, and the generosity of their gift, not to just one institution, or even a handful, but to the country.  The Vogel 50x50 is a program in which the Vogels donated 50 works of art from their collection to museums and art centers in each of the fifty states.  Seriously, if you haven't seen the film, and you are near Beacon this weekend, check it out.  As one who is on one side of the experience of an artwork, (the maykr side) it's to see the result of the devotion of those that don't create the stuff, but fill their lives and homes with what is essentially an vital document of a slice of human creative thought, ingenuity and aspiration.

I've mentioned here before that I work, from time to time, at the CCS Bard| Hessel Museums, installing shows.  Last Summer, the Hessel held an exhibit of works selected by Matthew Higgs from the collection of Marty and Rebecca Eisenberg.  The title of the exhibit,  At Home/Not At Home addressed the very notion of collecting and living with art.  The Eisenberg's domestic situation is very different from the Vogels' but the close proximity in which both families live with the work is very much in keeping.  As can be seen in the film, the Vogels' tiny apartment was and is crazily packed to the ceiling with artwork.  The Eisenberg home, though not crazily stacked to the ceiling with artwork as is the Vogels' apartment, is still filled, cheek by jowl, with artwork filling every possible niche, nook, cranny....and where there are no walls, certain conducive works are installed in front of windows. 

It's easy to tell when paintings, sculpture et al are displayed for tasteful effect.  It's equally easy and damn thrilling to see art deployed in such a way as to demonstrate just how essential it is to the sustenance of the inhabitants of that space.

Art 21 "Compassion" airs tonight on PBS. "Fantasy" preview screening @ BCC on Oct 10 4pm

If you weren't able to make it to the Art21 Sneak Preview Screenings of Art 21 Episode 1 at the Beacon Community Center last Saturday or at the Beahive last night, the episode will be airing tonight at 10pm on WNET 13.

A preview screening of Episode 2 "Fantasy" will be held at the Beacon Community Center on Saturday, Oct 10 at 4pm.

Fantasy features the work of  Jeff Koons, Mary Heilmann, Cao Fei and Florian Maier-Aichen.

I've mentioned some of the various attributes to the Art21 world and the accompanying educational programs.  Stacey Ward Kelley and Jennie Duke, both teachers in Beacon Public School  are two of 15 chosen nationwide to participate in the Art21 Educator's program.

Stacey and Jennie will be presenting a development workshop for visual art teachers in the Beacon and Newburgh City School District's on Nov. 3.  Via Beacon Citizen Network .

Update:  "Compassion" will be viewable on the PBS Video Portal until Nov 13, 2009

On Today:

The NYC hub of ecoartspace is hosting an opening reception today called Down to Earth. Simon Draper and Todd Sargood, E Odin Cathcart, Jeff Bailey and Cathy Lebowitz will be representing the Habitat for Artists in the exhibit. The reception is taking place tonight from 6-8pm at 53 Mercer St down in the city.

Of course, Walkway over the Hudson opening events are scheduled today in Poughkeepsie.  There's a live feed on the website. the parade is scheduled to happen at 1:30.  Given the weather today, I hope there's plenty of non slip tape up there on the floor... It's a long way down.

Open Space will be presenting the comedy stylings of Beacon's own Sam Anderson and a lecture by David Rees called "How to Win The Lottery"  The hilarity will be happening from 8 to 9:30 tonight.

Finally, don't forget the screening today of Art21's "Compassion" at 2pm at the Beacon Community Center at 23 W Center St.

Art21 preview screenings in Beacon, NY: Oct 3 & 10 at the BCC and Oct 6 at the Beahive.

"Compassion" will be screened on Oct 3 at 2pm at the Beacon Community Center, and on Oct 6 at 8pm at the Beahive.

Art21, the Peabody Award winning series of documentaries on art and artists in the 21st Century is coming 'round again for its fifth season in October.

Since 1997, each Art21 season features a handful of themed hour-long episodes that present segments on three or four artists, in their own words, describing the nature their work and the issues behind it.

This season's 4 episodes are organized around the the four themes of Compassion, Fantasy, Transformation and Systems.

Over the years, the scope of Art21 has developed and amazing set of educational material and programs around the documentaries.  As the featured artists respond to and incorporate various political, social and personal issues into their work, The material has the position of demonstrating how to use art as a tool for their student's comprehension in all other subjects.  Additionally, the Art21 blog features a rotation of invited guest bloggers to chronicle aspects of the artworld most significant to them.  Daniel Fuller , a former Beacon resident, who is now the Senior Program Specialist at the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative was one of the  guest bloggers over the Summer.

An initiative that has grown over the past two seasons Art21's program of Access Events where the program teams up with institutions and groups internationally to host preview screenings and events to accompany the series on PBS.

Several screenings are planned in the Hudson Valley including Newburgh, New Paltz and Kingston.

I have scheduled Preview screenings of Episode 1 (Compassion) on Oct 3 at 2pm and Episode 2 (Fantasy) on Oct 10 at 4pm both at the Beacon Community Center at 23 W Center St.

The Beacon Art Salon and the Beahive will be screening Episode 1 on Oct 6 at 8pm. 

Episode 1 "Compassion" highlights the work of Carrie Mae Weems, Doris Salcedo and William Kentridge.

Episode 2 "Fantasy" features Cao Fei, Florian Maier-Aichen, Jeff Koons and Mary Heilmann.

Beacon has a rare distinction for a city of its size as it has had ties to many of the artists who have been highlighted in the documentaries over the years through the presence in town of Dia, Minetta Brook, Tallix and the Beacon Cultural Foundation.  In the case of the episodes we'll be screening at the BCC,  Jeff Koons who's in episode 2 had many of his highly polished steel sculptures fabricated in Beacon at Tallix.  The Beacon Cultural Project brought Carrie Mae Weems, of episode 1, to Beacon for an exhibit at the Beacon Project Space in 2002 and supported a project by her that was conceived as a series of interviews in a Main St storefront called the Record Shop, and concluded, in 2005, in an exhibit for the BCF in the Library Gallery of Bulldog Studios called Sited for the Record.

"Fantasy" will be screened on Oct 10 at 4pm at the Beacon Community Center.

This event is part of Art21 Access ‘09, a celebration of contemporary art and Season 5 of Art:21-Art in the Twenty-First Century sponsored by Art21. Art21 Access 09 is held at over 300 museums, schools, libraries, art spaces, and community centers and is organized in collaboration with Americans for the Arts’ National Arts and Humanities Month. Visit art21.org for more information.

This Saturday's art activities.

Here are a few of the things going on this Saturday- in addition to the items in my two previous posts...check back, time permitting, I'll be adding more.
Spire Studios is holding an open studio party starting at 6pm. I don't know all the details yet, other than there will be an exhibit of Todd Sargood's work in the old Pack and Paddle space on the first floor.

The Beacon Institute playing host to the Dutchess Indie Film Festival, a screening of local films from 6 to 9pm. In its gallery space, the Institute is showing arial photographs of man-made sites along the Hudson taken by workers for the Center of Land Use Interpretation from 2004-2008.

400 square is hosting an opening reception for an exhibit of photography by Diane Smook. The exhibit "Portraits from the Garden: An Uncommon View" will remain on view through July 9. Saturday's reception will take place from 4-8pm.

bau's 54th exhibit will feature work by Linda Richichi called Revolution. A reception for the artist will be held from 6-9pm.

Jesse Lebwohl-Steiner show off his goods in Reflections and Cycles, an exhibit of video documenting performances from the early 2000's at Gallery G, 15 E. Main St. (on the creekside of the building.) You can hardly go wrong when one of the works listed is about watermelon and love. Take note, this exhibit includes nudity -- of the male variety.

Sculptor Herman Roggeman is holding an open house at his Metal Concepts studio beginning at 6pm. Metal Concepts is located at the very eastern end of Main St. (9 Hanna Lane) near the old Tallix complex.

Mike + Doug Starn's Big Bambú will be open on Saturday from 11-4pm.

Don't forget the Hudson River Market which takes place every Saturday 10 - 5pm in the grassy patch at Cross and Main St.

Fovea Exhibitions will be holding another outdoor multimedia projection on that same grassy patch starting at dusk. Man vs. Nature features images from local and international photojournalists. This presentation, curated by photo editors Kelley Kingman and Amrita Singh is the first of the series to solicit submissions for considerations.
Bring a blanket or chair. In the event of rain, the projection will be moved across the street to Bumblebee Art & Music at 163 Main St.

Video Artists in Dialogue Series at HVCCA kicks off

Terror Pidgeon Dance Revolt
Kickin and Screenin is the name of this year's series of screenings of video works at HVCCA taking place on Thursdays through April and May.
The first installment takes place Thursday, April 16 from 7-10pm and it will feature the work of Terror Pidgeon Dance Revolt! and Eric Barry Drasin with Cameron Wisch.

Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!’s front man Neil Fridd walks the line between musician and performance artist. His performances are a sensory overload of sound, light, and funky costumes. Crowd participation is a must; Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!’s performances are “an interactive dance party” giving the audience a unique opportunity to participate. The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! released an EP on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop record label.

Visualist Eric Barry Drasin and Drummer Cameron Wisch will be premiering a new Audiovisual Collaboration that involves video projections, camera tracking technologies, black lights, body paint and an intense drum set.

Future installments will feature Joe Diebes (April 30), Paul Clay (May 7), and Oded Hirsch (May 28). Discussions with the artists will follow each night's screenings.
Admission is 7.50. Students and HVCCA members pay $5. (Students with a school id will receive a full year long HVCCA membership free.
Beer and wine will be served.

Art/New York screenings continue, at bau. Punk and New Wave bonus tonight at 7pm

Bau's current project of hosting screenings of the Art NY video series by Paul Tschinkel is the most interesting thing the collective has done in a very long time. Devoting the month to sampling these video amounts to a conversational point of departure that is informative and entertaining. It's a real service to the audience.I've only made it to one screening thus far, but I'll make sure to take better advantage of the remaining two weekends.
Last Saturday, my viewing of the half hour Basquiat interview was fully informed by the the recent appearance of Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman. Marc H. Miller's interview with Basquiat is the quintessential illustration of an intellectual train wreck, the sole survivor of which was the artist. It was painful and ultimately entertaining within that pain. The interviewer, Marc. H. Miller was very much out of his element, even though as an art historian and curator (with a Ph.D., no less) he ostensibly might have had a clue as to how to get down to the substance behind the artist's work, and enact a conversation with the artist. He didn't. His questioning was reaching, as if in the dark, and ultimately insulting to the artist as he tries to verbally diagram each component within one of Basquiat's paintings. Basquiat rolls with it, and then rolls over Miller, ultimately responding to questions with a mouth full of green beans. Priceless. I felt sympathy for Miller, trying to squeeze out a certain amount of footage, and he was doing his darnedest. Interviewing someone is not easy, even for those in the profession, I'm sure.  In fact, through the course of the interview, I realized that the Basquiat/Miller match up had less in common with the Joaquin on Late Night stint than with the video below:
Neither the home schooled kid nor the artist, both fully present for the interactions would conform to the canned form of responses expected by their respective interviewers.
I found another earlier video from 1974, exhibiting Miller's "man on the scene" m.o., also shot by Tschinkel. In this case, his halting, awkward questioning embodies a conceptual charm fitting the topic of the interview, and the varied reactions by his respondents as they discussed their creations of genitalia in clay as part of a participatory workshop organized by Miller and Tschinkel.
Make A Penis And Vagina Out Of Clay from Marc H. Miller on Vimeo.
If I didn't post this video here, you can bet it would have ended up as an Eye Candy Friday feature.
The Art New York videos will continue to be screened through March 8th. Today's schedule will have an additional treat at 7pm with an hour of Punk & New Wave footage of performances caught on tape from 1977-1982 at CBGB, Max's and the Mudd Club. The documentaries scheduled for today are: at 4pm, Cindy Sherman and at 6pm, Chuck Close.

bau 50: Art/New York. A month of screenings at Beacon Artist Union

Beginning on Saturday, Feb 7 and continuing on Saturdays and Sundays through March 8, bau will be presenting screenings of programs of the video series Art/New York. Art/New York is a series of video profiles of contemporary artists produced by Paul Tschinkel. Each episode is devoted to a single artist. Started in 1979, the series consists of 62 individual programs of varying length (28-70 min), most of which focus on a single artist. Admission to the screenings is free and open to the public and when his schedule allows, Tschinkel will introduce films in person. Below is the full schedule of screenings. Refreshments and related discussion will likely follow each video. For more information on specific programs, visit the Art/New York website or view. bau is located at 161 Main St., Beacon, NY. Additional information on bau's presentation can be viewed here. Below is the program schedule.

Saturday, February 7
2PM Jean-Michel Basquiat
4PM Nam June Paik
6PM Gornick/Basquiat
Sunday, February 8
2PM Louise Bourgeois
4PM Kiki Smith
Saturday, February 14
2PM Eric Fischl
4PM Robert Mapplethopre
Sunday, February 15
2PM Alice Neel
4PM Jeff Koons
Saturday, February 21
2PM April Gornick
4PM Nan Goldin
6PM Jean-Michel Basquiat
Sunday, February 22
2PM Elizabeth Murray
4PM Barbara Kruger
Saturday February 28,
2PM Minimalism
4PM Cindy Sherman
6PM Chuck Close/ Eric Fischl
Sunday, March 1
2PM Nam June Paik
4PM Eric Fischl
Saturday, March 7
2PM Chuck Close
4PM Louise Bourgeois
6PM Robert Mapplethorpe
Sunday, March 8
2PM Cindy Sherman
4PM Minimalism

Hues of Hudson screening and discussion at Van Brunt Gallery Feb 1, 3pm.

Hues of Hudson is a documentary video produced by and directed by John Sullivan about art and artists in the Hudson Valley. Sullivan produced the video this fall as a senior project at Marist. The video which can be found on youtube in two parts, features interviews with Carl Van Brunt, Sara Pasti, Simon Draper, Thomas Huber, Paul Smart, Michael Sabilia, Norm Magnusson, Benjamin Krevolin, Franc Palaia and Jose Acosta on the state of art in the Hudson Valley.
Van Brunt Gallery will be hosting a screening and a discussion of Hues of Hudson on Sunday at 3pm as part of the Habitat for Artists Goes Inside project which is occupying the gallery through March 2.


Hues of Hudson, Part 1 (above) Part 2 (below).

Hermitage kicks off the new year with film screening

Jon Beacham will be hosting a screening of three of his own films on January 1st at 7:30 pm at Hermitage. This is the third in an ongoing series of screenings that kicked off back in June with an outdoor screening of Nathaniel Dorsky's Hours for Jerome, Part 1 & 2.
The three films making up Thursday's program are:

-China Town 8mm Color 5 minutes 2004
-Untitled 16mm Color 10 minutes 2005-2006
-Return 16mm Color 8 minutes 2007

Drawing Revealed screening and discussion in Brewster, NY.

Drawing Revealed, the video documentary that accompanied an exhibit of the same name at the Garrison Art Center in January will be screened on Nov 8, 2008 as part of the Putnam Arts Council's Independent Film Series.
The Screening will be taking place tomorrow at 5pm at The Lodge at Tilly Foster Farm, located at 100 Rte 312 in Brewster.
After the screening, there will be a panel discussion featuring Jaanika Peerna who shot and directed the film with Susan English, and Michael Enright who edited the film.
Admission is free, but reservations are strongly recommended. Call (845) 278-0230 to reserve.
This film is part of an independent film series presented by the Putnam Arts Council and sponsored by SLS Health of Brewster, NY.

notice of this event came by way of the folks at Collaborative Concepts.....thanks.

Beacon FilmFlam, Saturday, Sept 13 noon-10pm

Billed as "An arts-crafts-puppet village and outdoor film festival", The Beacon FilmFlam will be taking place on Saturday, September 13 from noon to 10pm. Taking place in the grassy lot on the corner of Main St. and Cross St (across from Hudson Beach Glass), an arts village with arts and craft vendors, music and puppet shows will be inhabiting the space until 6pm. The film festival is scheduled to take place beginning at 7pm (dusk). All the pertinent information can be found at the website above. FilmFlam is a cooperative effort of the Beacon Artist Salon and Fovea Exhibitions.

Submission deadline for Film Flam Film Fest nearing

The Beacon Art Salon and Fovea Exhibitions Gallery Beacon are sponsoring a film festival in September. Deadlines for film submissions and vendor registration are coming up. Here are the details:
The Beacon Art Salon & Fovea Exhibitions presents
The Beacon Film Flam
An arts-crafts-puppet village & outdoor film festival
Saturday, September 13, 2008, Noon – 10:00 pm
At the lot on Main Street’s West End at Cross Street
Arts Village: Noon – 6pm Film Festival: 7pm (dusk) – 10 pm
Fine arts and crafts vendors will sell their wares throughout the day. Music performances, puppet shows and film showings are free to the public. Featured fine arts include photography, painting, art gifts, ceramics and more.
The film festival will include a video presentation by Fovea Exhibitions (tba), followed by a screening of selected short films by both emerging and established filmmakers. Featured films will include art films, animation, comedy, drama, docu-drama and student work.
The Beacon Film Flam is September 13, 2008

Deadline Reminders:
Artist-Vendors Registration = Friday, July 25th
Film Submissions = Wednesday, July 30th.

ARTS
If you are an artist interested in selling your art or craft during at the Beacon Film Flam arts village, the deadline to receive your registration is Friday, July 25th.
Print out a registration form here:
http://www.giraffeandturtle.com/files/FILM_FLAM_Call_for_Artist-Vendors.pdf
FILM
If you are a film maker and would like to submit a short film (30min & under) or a short short film (10 min & under), the FINAL deadline to receive your submission is Wednesday, July 30th.
Print out a submission/info forms here:
http://www.giraffeandturtle.com/files/Film_Flam_Info_Submission_Form.pdf

For more information visit http://www.giraffeandturtle.com/bas.html or contact Stacey Ward Kelly at 845-401-8798.

Learning from losing and moving in tribes

It was a largely out of town audience that benefited from the Howland Center's refreshingly cool geothermic climate control for Sunday evening's screening of Beautiful Losers. The film was presented by Open Space and follows the circle of artists embodying the DIY ethic (one to which I fully subscribe) who congregated at the Alleged Gallery in NY's East Village in the early 1990's.

The film traces the history of the group through to the development of the exhibit of the same name that travelled about the country in 2004-05.

The film is fun, interesting and for me, as Kalene Rivers said in her pre-screening introduction, inspiring.

In casting about on the net for Beautiful Losers info, I discovered that Beautiful Losers is also the title of a novel from the '60's by Leonard Cohen. From the book's listing on Amazon:

One of the best-known experimental novels of the 1960s, Beautiful Losers is
Cohen’s most defiant and uninhibited work. The novel centres upon the hapless
members of a love triangle united by their sexual obsessions and by their
fascination with Catherine Tekakwitha, the 17th-century Mohawk saint.
By turns vulgar, rhapsodic, and viciously witty, Beautiful Losers explores
each character’s attainment of a state of self-abandonment, in which the
sensualist cannot be distinguished from the saint.

Although I'm not sure about the whole love triangle bit (although you know what happens with close knit circles of creative types, or any types for that matter), the last sentence could easily apply the youngish artists depicted in the film. The manner in which their work is carved from and wallpapered onto every surface of their physical and psychic environment and, consequently, ours blurs the borders of high and low, real and fake, random act and polished intention. Much of this is done in the public domain, as it were, whether it's obvious or not, and irritating a desire for Asserting their vision on the street scape, and vice-versa are utterly immersed.A wonderful aspect of this genre of street art is its marriage of personal expression and personal preservation in that it is both out on the fringe in method, but it's also enveloped in a raw form of marketing and merchandising necessary for the survival of the young, impoverished artist. It's a way of life, and at least at some level, it doesn't carry so much of the stigma of selling out one's vision for financial gain, as in other corners of the art world, because it's not based on a pretense of higher purpose. I know this is not absolute, and that there are rifts along this line within this world, which is discussed by Barry McGee in the film, but there is an inherent relationship between creating and consuming a form of culture of one's choosing which is not being provided elsewhere which translates easily to commerce as that is a form cultural missionary work. How else are you going to remake the world in your vision, if the world is not providing you with what you want to see, wear and represent. That's a pretty central tenet of the whole street art phenom. Eventually, homemade becomes prefab. Mike Mills discusses this in the film when he says that these artists and their peers have reached the upper levels of art departments in advertising and merchandising firms, and have thereby influenced the tone in which the rest of society is entreated to consume. Where once they defiled the billboards, some are now designing them - awaiting defilement from a new generation. It's a beautiful circle of life.
Waiting for the film to begin, Keith Zahra was telling me of upcoming plans at the gallery., Keith said that he's continually learning something new from the exhibits that have been coming through the space, including the current exhibit. The Native American Lowbrow exhibit on view now with work by Chris Pappan includes, in addition to the painted portraits of Native American porn stars, several drawings on ledger paper. The significance of these ledger drawings goes far beyond one artist utilizing available material, but invokes a tradition that hearkens back to the Plains Indians attaining paper in the Nineteenth Century, in the form of ledger books carried by soldiers, missionaries and traders. The presence of this newly available material influenced the manner Native Americans transmitted their visual culture:

In the mid-nineteenth century, warrior-artists developed a new genre of
figurative arts using bound ledger books and paper to depict heraldic images of
life on the Plains-both before and during this tumultuous period of history.
While these nineteenth century warrior-artists documented the impact of
conflict, captivity, and cultural domination in their ledger drawings, their
twentieth century descendants continued to use visual narratives on paper as a
stepping stone into mainstream American fine arts practices. Today, many
contemporary artists look back to the ledger drawings of their forefathers to
create art that critiques America's contested histories while also reconciling
themselves with the cultural genocide of a past that has left severe scars in
the lives and memories of many Plains peoples.

Excerpt from wall text in the exhibit Picturing Change: The Impact of Ledger Drawings on Native American Art at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2004

Fast forward 150 years and still flowing is that current of of creative inventiveness, continually forging fresh means in which to transpose visual expression, piggy-back like, onto the hulk of society's continual walk to work.

One Final Note, Dan Weise, of Open Space has been down in the Dominican Republic teaching a class on street art, murals, and, it seems, a bit of web/graphic design. Check out the diary of his trip here.
So, imagine a case where a lowered brow, constricting the aperture through which knowledge and ideas are received by the consciousness, increases the pressure of that flow to the level of a powerful jet, thereby severely expanding the mind. And permanently so.

Beautiful Losers screening at Howland Center, July 20, 6pm

Marc Schriebman pities all of the less-than-beautiful losers of the world.

*Note that Marc's only affiliation with the film is that he was standing next
to this flyer when I came upon him on the street.

Open Space is hosting a screening of the film Beautiful Losers at the Howland Cultural Center on Sunday, July 20 starting at 6pm.

Beautiful Losers Synopsis:

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential
cultural movements of a generation. In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of
likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery.
Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip
hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led.
Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art
world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a
movement that has been transforming pop culture. Starring a selection of artists
who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the
telling of personal stories...speaking to themes of what happens when the
outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists
and today's youth.

Seating is limited. Tickets are $8 and you can purchase them Here.

Saturday, June 21; day and night out on the town.

Here are a couple of images of Edie Nadelhaft on view at Pearldaddy through Aug. 3. Edie's piece Blue in Utah adorns the cover of the June issue of Chronogram.

At the end of the day, we made it down to Hermitage for the screening of Nathaniel Dorsky's Hours for Jerome parts 1 & 2. The screening set up outside behind Hermitage and the adjacent silos was very well attended and one of those happenings that make one grateful to live in a community in which folks have the desire and energy to make such an effort. Indeed there are many such folks in this community these days. After the screening most people made their way inside to view the current exhibit of work by and relating to d.a. levy. John and Christian at Hermitage have created a compilation of levy's poems called [can we hold hands out here] in a letterpress edition of 125 for $20. visit their website for more info.

Outdoor film screening tonight at Hermitage, 9pm

Hermitage will be hosting an outdoor screening of Nathaniel Dorsky's Hours for Jerome, Part 1 & 2.
The screening will be taking place behind the silos adjacent to Hermitage, along the tracks at full dark. You are asked to arrive by 9pm.

This film was shot between 1966-1970 and edited over a two year period ending in July 1982. Hours For Jerome (as in a Book of Hours) is an arrangement of images, energies, and illuminations from daily life. These fragments of light revolve around the four seasons. Part One is spring through summer. Part Two is fall and winter.
16mm color. 45 minutes.
We will be screening this film outside Hermitage behind the silos and right alongside the railroad track. The film will begin at full dark, so please arrive by 9 O'clock. This film is a rare treat and has been out of circulation and experimental film programs for some time. Don't miss this opportunity to view this beautiful film by a world renowned film maker working in silent film projected at silent speed projection.
(18 frames per second vs. sound speed at 24 frames per second).

mini round up

Richard Bruce's work is included in a group exhibit called "East West Dialogues: mysticism, Satire and the Legendary Past" curated by Dr. Layla S. Diba at the LTMH Gallery located at 39 E 78 St in NY. The exhibit opened on Wednesday night and will continue through June 27.

I have work included in a exhibit on view through May 30 at the Bard CCS Library at Bard College.
Curated by Tom Eccles, the group exhibit, "Observed and Considered" also includes work by Mark DeLura, Peter Acheson, and Daniel Berlin. A few images of the work on display are at my personal blog.

Coming up next week, two evenings of screenings will be held on May 27 & 28 at the New Museum as an introduction of an upcoming exhibit at Bard CSS called The Greenroom.

...The Greenroom, a large-scale exhibition exploring the "documentary turn"
within recent contemporary art practice and its heritage in relation to the
history of film, documentary photography, and television. Set to open in Fall
2008 at the The Hessel Museum of Art and Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard
College, The Greenroom, curated by CCS Bard graduate program director Maria
Lind, will feature works by more than forty artists and extend beyond the
exhibition format to include a long-term research project and related
publications. The research project is a collaboration between The Center
for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, and the artist and theoretician Hito
Steyerl.These preview screenings, organized by curatorial assistant and CCS Bard
graduate student Fionn Meade, include selected works from artists participating
in The Greenroom exhibition.This event is co-sponsored by the Vera List Center
for Art and Politics at The New School and the Center for Curatorial Studies at
Bard College.

The screenings will be held at The New School, Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th Street (enter at 66 West 12th Street), 5th Floor, between 5th and 6th Avenues, NY.
Admission:$8, free for all students, as well as New School and CCS Bard faculty, staff and alumni with valid ID, and members of the New School.For more information, please call CCS Bard at 845.758.7598, write ccs@bard.edu, or visit www.bard.edu/ccs.
Information on the line ups for both evenings are posted here.

Via The Cultivated Home, we learn that Kathy Moss has work in a group show called Nature: Themes and Variations which will be opening tomorrow at Argazzi Art in Lakeville CT. 22 Millerton Rd (Rte 44) Lakeville, CT; 860 435 8222. The reception is happening from 4-7pm and the exhibit runs through July 1. Kathy is also included in the Flourish, a group exhibit on view now at Robischon Gallery in Denver, through June 21.

Joan Mellon, who had a lovely solo exhibit at ParaSite back in April 2006, will have work in a group show called No Chromophobia at OK Harris Gallery. No Chromophobia opens on Tuesday, June 3, from 5-7. The exhibit will run through July 11 and after a hiatus will continue from Sept. 2-6.

Speaking of Chromophobia, Kirsten Kucer mentioned that after having read the book in our book club, she's been seeing references to it all over, whether explicit or by default. David Batchelor was recently featured in a couple of talks held at the Tate Modern, one on his work, and the other, a panel discussion on the subject of white. Both are available on iTunes, or through the Tate's website. I was very interested in hearing both discussions, but if my memory serves, either one or both were rather dry. Batchelor mentioned he is set to release a new book which will be a collection of writings by various artists on the subject of color.

Tacita Dean Talk and Screening at Bard College, May 14

I understand that Tacita Dean will be giving a talk and screening two of her films at the Weiss Cinema located on the campus of Bard College. The two films to be screened are "A Bag of Air"(1995) & "Mario Merz"(2002) The program is scheduled for Wed, May 14 from 5:30-7:30. The Weiss Cinema is located in the Bertelsmann Campus Center.

This program is presented in conjunction with the CCS Bard exhibition Another
Time, curated by Milena Hoegsberg as part of her master's thesis project. Tacita
Dean's work "Kodak" was featured in the exhibition that was on view from April
11-27, 2008.
This event is made possible by a generous grant from the Beudert Foundation.

I received the information via email from Milena although I haven't been able to find any listing or information about the talk online. If you're looking for information about the talk, I suggest calling the Bard CCS office at 845.758.7598.

Drawing Revealed video screening, March 6, 2008 in Garrison NY

There will be a screening on March 6 of the accompanying video to the Drawing Revealed exhibition held in January at the Garrison Art Center
"Drawing Revealed: Artists in Conversation" will be screened at the Depot Theatre in Garrison at 7:30pm. There is a $5 admission and the filmmakers and featured artists will be in attendance for a discussion afterward. Here are the details.
The Drawing Revealed exhibit was written up by Ben Genocchio in the NY Times, and by Beth Wilson in Chronogram who in the same column also mentioned Van Brunt Gallery's Little Big Things exhibit.
A write up of the Times writeup of the exhibit appeared in the PCNR in early Feb.