Art Focus: Ruben Pang
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Streets: Augustine Kofie (Mexico)
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Basel Week Miami ’13: Vanessa Beecroft x Kanye West @ Mana Wynwood
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Recap: RVCAloha x POW! WOW! (Oahu)
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Overtime: Dec 23 – Dec 29
- Kanye West gives Kim Kardashian a Hermes bag painted by George Condo for Christmas.
- RIP: Eliseo Garza Salinas, who died at age 68 due to murder.
- Calders heirs lose $20mil. fraud lawsuit against the estate of his longtime dealer, Klaus Perls.
- About the Ghent Altarpiece, which is the most stolen artwork of all time.
- US pressures German government to return a trove of Nazi-looted artwork to rightful owners.
- French officials return Egyptian antiquities looted after Arab Spring that were to be sold online.
- eBay removes the listing for Micheal D’Antuono's anti-Zimmerman painting from its site.
- ARETE gallery shuts down Joan Miro exhibit because artist's foundation found fakes.
- Detroit's abandoned buildings drawing photographers and history buffs instead of developers.
- Guggenheim project reveals the difficulty in determining authenticity in conceptual art.
- 6 months after LAUSD released its new plan for arts education, the plan still has no budget.
- Giorgio Vasari’s The Last Supper painting slowly restored after being damaged in flood.
- Rebecca Guest charged for vandalizing "Jeremiah the Innocent" mural in Austin.
- Roberta Smith calls show at Met one of the most superficial shows I have ever seen at this great museum.
- Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina freed from Russian prison.
- Albrecht Dürer’s father may have also been an artist.
- The increased popularity of and rise in visitations to art museums.
- Three Studies of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon now on view at Portland Art Museum.
- Turkey signs 20-year lease for a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, securing a venue until 2034.
- MoMA's show based on Ileana Sonnabend's dealing career.
- Cheech Marin has 66 works from his collection in a exhibition at MCASD.
- Sotheby's looking for a new venue in Manhattan while trying to sell it's current one.
- Sotheby's has hired Domenico De Sole as Lead Independent Director.
- Walter Robinson looks back at the art market of 2013.
- Felix Salmon thinks that the current art market bubble has not peaked yet.
- The 10 most expensive lots sold at auction this year accounted for over 5% of total auction sales.
- Indian art market could hit the $200mil. mark next year, according to Dinesh Vazirani.
- The market for illustration, led by Norman Rockwell's works, is starting to heat up.
- The Wall Street Journal's choices for the world's best museum gift shops.
- Eli Broad, Jeffrey Deitch, Marina Warner, Tim Marlow and others choose their favorite book of 2013.
- Garrison Keillor on Deborah Solomon's book on Norman Rockwell.
- Artsy's 10 Artists in Christopher Wool’s Web of Influence.
- Laura Cumming's choices for the best art of 2013.
- Roberta Smith reviews David Hockney's survey show at the de Young Museum.
- Jerry Saltz advises folks to visit the Frick for its Dutch Masters show.
- Richard Meier Model Museum opens at Mana Contemporary next month.
- Charlotte Bravin Lee on why she feels Banksy is overrated.
- Process and behind the scenes shots of Jeff Koons and Lady Gaga's collaboration.
- Simon Beck's snow art.
- Rowan Moore's choices for the best architecture of 2013.
- Artnet's Art House: An Introduction to German Expressionist Films.
- 35 celebrities re-imagined in classic paintings via Photoshop.
- Slate writes about Kanye West's dominant year.
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Projects: Cyrcle., Remi Rough, Wais, Interesni Kazki, Mr. Jago @ The Z (Detroit)
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Streets: World Roundup (Dec 2 – Dec 29)
Philippe Baudelocque in Paris. Photo by saL.[/caption]
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Painted by LIBRE along with Spel, Kafy and Dual from the HEM Crew and Skof in Tijuana for the "Pintemos Mexico" program.[/caption]
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David de la Mano in Uruguay.[/caption]
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Chor Boogie at 5 Bryant Park in New York.[/caption]
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Inti in Santiago, Chile for Festival "Hecho En Casa."[/caption]
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Dust in Berlin, Germany. "Memory" in honor of his late grandfather.[/caption]
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Dadi Dreucol for the "SAFE" festival in France.[/caption]
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monsieur Qui in Paris.[/caption]
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Hellbent for the Ralph Lauren Denim and Supply’s Art Wall Project in Manhattan.[/caption]
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Deih on the Menorca Island, Spain for the Mô Art Urbâ Interactiu.[/caption]
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Gaia in Rome (arranged by 999Contemporary).[/caption]
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Isaac Cordal in Spain.[/caption]
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Aakash Nihalani - "L.A. Leaker" in Los Angeles.[/caption]
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Hyuro in Valencia, Spain.[/caption]
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Ludo in Paris (via Public Ad Campaign).[/caption]
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Ernest Zacharevic in Malaysia. "$INCERITY" : Any city however small, is in fact divided by 2, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich. These are at war with one another. - NATIVE IN$TRUCTION$(Quote from The Republic by Plato)[/caption]
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Streets: SpY –“Cameras” (Madrid)
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Interview: Alex Lukas @ Breeze Block Gallery
Arrested Motion (AM): You recently relocated from Philadelphia to Chicago. You were a a part of the Space 1026 collective in Philly and that must have been a big part of your life and a bit of a wrench to leave. What were the reasons behind the relocation?
Alex Lukas (AL): I actually moved my studio out of Space 1026 back in 2010. I was a member there for about three years - from 2007 until I left. That was a really important and formative time for me, but in 2010 I realized I needed a space of my own. Philadelphia is an amazing place for artists. It's an affordable city with great spaces and a wonderful sense of community. Space 1026 was very welcoming to me when I moved to the city, but in 2010 I outgrew the square footage I had there and made the leap to be out on my own.
As an aside, one of the most interesting things about 1026 is its constant evolution as an on-going experiment in making, showing and supporting the art community in Philadelphia. The make up of the collective is defined as whoever has a studio space at 1026. Everything is very democratic - or at least a wonderfully organized anarchy. Once you stop paying rent you don't really have a say in the decisions that are made. That is by design. It allows the current members to really be the stakeholders and take control, but it also means it is constantly changing. It was different when I arrived in 2007 than it was when it was founded in 1997, and it was different in 2010 when I left than it was in 2007, and it is different today. I think that is a really exciting thing, but it can be confusing for people looking at Space 1026 as a "collective" or even a cohesive group of artists or to make sense of the gallery program.
Chicago is going to be a new adventure. My girlfriend is an MFA candidate at SAIC so I followed her out there. I'm really excited to learn more about this city's tradition of alternative spaces and apartment galleries. It seems like, or I hope there is, a kinship to the artist-run spaces that I really like on the East Coast.
AM: In between this move you took up an artist residency in Omaha at The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts between September and November this year. You’ve completed a number of other residencies in the past too. What support do you find you get as an artist from residencies like this?
AL: The Bemis Center was an amazing experience. They offer really wonderful space to work, great support from the staff, a vibrant community of other artists and a generous monthly stipend. I really like experiencing different cities or parts of the country that I might not otherwise go, like Omaha. It's interesting to spend an extended period of time in a place like that. I find it really exposes you to a part of the country in a way you don't experience just passing through. Last year, I spent a month in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains, about 20 miles outside of Sheridan, Wyoming for a residency. It was a really formative time, as was the time at the Bemis Center. I think that exposure to different landscapes, for my work personally, and to different communities is a huge value residency programs offer.
AM: Which I guess leads us onto your upcoming exhibition at Breeze Block Gallery - Prints & Photographs; Copies & Concrete. I understand you are using a multitude of the medias we’ve seen in your work previously, perhaps along with some new elements such as concrete? Can you tell us a little more about what you have planned?
AL: I've been incorporating unique screen-printed elements into my work for a long time now, but with this exhibition I've tried to work more within the tradition of printmaking as a tool for multiples. When I was first making 'zines years ago, I experimented a lot with putting screen printed and hand painted pages through the photocopier. It was the only way I could think to economically add color to the black and white photocopied pages. That methodology of necessity - of making the most with what tools you have - has been really important to me over the years. I built my own exposure unit for burning silk screens in my parents' basement when I was right out of college and I've been trying to refine my skills ever since. I've never taken a screen printing class. I've only learned it from watching my peers, asking questions when I can, and a lot of trial and error. Being a part of Space 1026 was a huge help with this. Watching the members there screen print and being part of that community was an amazing learning experience. Most of the artists there come from a similar taught-by-friends lineage as well as an interest in 'zine making and poster printing.
For Prints & Photographs; Copies & Concrete, I'm presenting a bunch of new work that I'm describing as "print-centric." I've made a 12-part print portfolio in a small edition of 15 that shares a title with the show; it contains various offset lithographs, screen prints over photocopies, a few pieces that have hand-worked elements, a diazotype, digital c-prints, and a unique photocopy that is passed through the machine multiple times.
There are larger offset lithographs included in the show. Offset lithography is a commercial technique generally used for large volume printing. You rarely get to access it as an artist making low-run print work so I feel very lucky to have been able to produce these pieces. Alongside these offset editions, I've taken some printer's proofs and worked over them, treating them like the found book pages I generally use. There will also be a series of five new drawings that, while unique, are created around the same compositional matrix and reference a print tradition.
Finally, I'm showing some new monotype-on-concrete sculptures. These forms are inspired by the detritus and disused structural remnants I see often in vacant areas. These sculptures involve pouring concrete onto painted surfaces so it transfers as the mixture dries. This is something I began experimenting with at the Bemis Center but haven't exhibited yet.
AM: Where do you source the books that for the basis of your cityscape pieces? We’ve seen flooded, vegetated and more recently burning landscapes. Does your process differ for each of these environments?
AL: Yes, the processes for each differ slightly. The burning building imagery was something I experimented with heavily a few years ago in my work that fell by the wayside. I recently started to investigate it again. I'm really compelled by this idea of what happens when the social safety net we've set up as a society (the ability to call 911 and have the fire department come) collapses. I've been collecting low-end coffee table books of American cities for a while now to use as the source material for these works. I scour used book stores for simple titles like "New York City" or "Cleveland". Generally books made from the 70s through the 90s are the best. The moire patterning and color halftone from the offset printing of that era is really great. I also like that some of the facades of the skyscrapers have names of companies that have since changed or gone under, so the resulting work questions the past versus the future.
AM: I’m fascinated by the intricacy of this labor intensive method you use for these pieces. Not everyone understands print making techniques as an original artform and see "printmaking" much more as a method of reproduction. Can you talk a little about this process and how much work goes into each of these unique works?
AL: I think it is important for an image to be specific to its medium. None of the works in this show - or any of my prints - are just reproductions of my drawings. There are no giclee prints. I think people sometimes underestimate the amount of work that goes into an edition. It is a very different set of problems than a unique work because the piece needs to be designed for production. Each medium provides a different set of problems and possibilities. Offset lithography produces a beautiful line, amazing tone and can be done in high quantities very quickly, but the inks are very transparent and the presses require a lot of experience to use. Screen printing can involve opaque or transparent inks and can be done fairly easily but is much more labor intensive than offset. I also approach my prints with a lot more freedom to continue to make decisions well into the process of printing. If an image needs more depth or compositional changes it is possible to continue to add and add. This is very different than the regimented way I approach my drawings which are developed from a tight sketch. As I mentioned, I'm including a number of pieces where I work on top of printer's proofs. These are an example of how the ephemera produced while printing is incorporated into my studio practice later on. It also allows me to experiment in ways I don't with my drawings - such as working directly over photocopies, and incorporating photographs into the work itself. I've had some wonderful experiences working with printmakers as well. Even if I develop the imagery, the best printmakers really become collaborators in the creative process.
AM: You refer to what many would call paintings as your "drawings." Is there a reason that you prefer to use this terminology?
AL: I could just as easily call them "paintings." I just identify the act as "drawing." I use so many materials in my work - ink, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, latex, spray paint - and so many tools and techniques - brushes, nib pens, silk screen, airbrush - that I think I could label these "drawings" as any number of things. They are mostly on paper, so that speaks to a tradition of drawing more than painting, but I often present my work mounted on panels or on some sort of sculptural construction. In a day in age when art encompasses so many pursuits - painting, sculpture, performance, video, book, web-based, social practice, ephemeral site specific happenings - I wonder how important any sort of traditional hierarchy of genre and material is. But then I see a line like Roberta Smith wrote just before Christmas in her review of the David Hockney retrospective at the de Young in San Francisco. In the listed reasons for her initial dislike for Hockney's work (in an otherwise glowing piece) she described it as "more drawing than painting" and I'm reminded that this self-labeling might be detrimental because drawing can still be viewed as "lesser than."
AM: Are your drawn landscapes based on real environments that you add to, or purely imaged? I presume there is a link between these pieces and your location based photography seen frequently within your ‘zines…
AL: All the landscapes in my drawings are imagined. I find a lot of inspiration in observed places, objects, situations and environments, but the final compositions and the vast majority of the elements are imagined. I take a lot of photos, especially when traveling. For years, these snapshots were just for reference and memory, but more recently I've begun to incorporate the photographs themselves into the 'zines as well as displaying them as diazotypes (the old ammonia-based blueprint process) alongside my drawings.
AM: Obviously graffiti forms a big part of these landscapes. How deeply seated is your relationship with graffiti? Were you ever a rattle-can rebel?
AL: I did a little spray painting little in high school, but nothing serious. Honestly, I'm not super interested in a lot of the "artistic" graffiti I see these days. I'm much more interested in teenagers writing underneath bridges or people carving their names into rocks. I love that historically this inclination to mark one's passage has been around for a long, long time. You can still see William Clark's signature on Pompey's Pillar; Independence Rock in Wyoming is covered in names, the carvings of Basque sheep herders from the 1800's can still be read in the bark of Aspen trees in across the American West. I think this impulse to write one's name and commemorate one's passage is really fascinating so I seek places where this type of name writing happens. I've been driving around the country a lot over the past few years and I try to take back roads as much as I can. I'll look for overpasses or pull-offs where kids drink and light bonfires. One of my favorite finds is a rock underneath a bridge in suburban Philadelphia where someone wrote in white spray paint "Sean's Seat." As a viewer coming across this rock, you know a simple set of facts - Sean sat here - and you're sharing with Sean the experience of being underneath that bridge, but past that, the story is wide open. I have my idea of who Sean is and why he was there, but it might be completely different than someone else's who comes across the same writing and thus is presented with the same facts. Presenting that type of very open-ended scenario is what I try to do with my drawings.
AM: On the buildings you regularly featured motifs derived from security patterns from the inside of envelopes. Can you explain the significance of this?
AL: I'm really attracted to abstract Washington Color School-esque murals I see in a lot of cities; anonymous geometric patterns painted on the sides of businesses or concrete retainer walls. I was trying to re-create this style of mural in my drawings and being disappointed with the results. At some point I stumbled upon the patterns from the inside of security envelopes that are so ubiquitous and I decided to appropriate them. The patterns have that anonymity yet remain familiar. I digitally distort these patterns and screen print them into my drawings. This process removes my hand and distinguishes the patterning from the drawn marks of the landscape, similar to how a mural sits in its surroundings.
AM: We've seen in recent exhibitions that you have included some installation-based display structures for your work including potted plants. Can you talk a little about this approach and its significance?
AL: The structures and the florescent lights are inspired by vacant commercial spaces. I was really interested in the vacant storefronts in Center City Philadelphia - they'd generally leave a few of those long florescent tubes glowing twenty four hours a day. That type of hinting at habitation is a theme I work with a lot. Presenting the drawings alongside living plants reiterates the concept of regrowth that I've been exploring in my drawings.
AM: The large-scale pieces you do that are presented curved and wrap around a viewer were quite interesting to us. Will you or have you ever gone a full 360 degrees (which would require a unique entry point), and what are you trying to accomplish with these pieces?
AL: I wanted that specific piece to envelop the viewer's peripheral vision, increasing the sense of the isolation I deal with in my smaller works. It was inspired by late 19th century cyclorama paintings like the one at Gettysburg, which do surround the viewer totally. My 2011 work had a 14 foot diameter and was 33 feet long, surrounding the viewer for 270 degrees. I'd love to try a full 360 degrees some day but something that scale is still a little beyond my reach. Conceptually I was interested in talking about themes of defeat and solitude which contrast the tradition of cycloramas depicting the moments of a decisive victory and national pride.
AM: Back to your ‘zines, you’ve released a number of publications over the years. Do you feel that the different printmaking techniques you use within the ‘zines is a direct parallel with your art-making practices?
AL: Going back to your question of calling my drawings "drawings" and not paintings, "'zine" is a really just shorthand way to reference these publications. I really think of them more as artists' books and art objects as opposed to a fan-zine. I try to utilize and emphasize the form of book and the way the viewer interacts with the object when creating them. Holding a book is different than looking at a painting hanging on the wall. I think the ideas that I'm addressing in these books influence the drawings and vice versa.
Specifically with this exhibition, I have tried to approach the work that hangs on the wall similar to how I've been approaching the work that is presented in the books. The process of making the book is very multi-disciplinary, involving printmaking, photography, drawing and I think some sculpture as the book itself is becomes an object. It's been really rewarding. I think I've been hesitant before to display work other than my drawings in a gallery exhibition, but this compartmentalization and exclusion of the photographs and prints seems unnatural now. Increasingly all of these other things I make while making the drawings are moving out of the realm of process and into final product. That blurring of boundaries has been explored previously in my book work so I'm excited to continue it at Breeze Block.
AM: You have a new ‘zine coming out in conjunction with the Breeze Block show. Is this a continuation of the recent series of publications you’ve released?
AL: Yes, it'll be the fourth 'zine in an ongoing series. Each volume is titled with a hard to pronounce or otherwise vague series of letters I've found written on something. Previous titles have been VIID, DMM, RTMA and this new title is ANFX. They all incorporate a wide variety of printing techniques and contain drawings, photographs, installation views and a lot of material created specifically for each book.
Discuss Alex Lukas here.
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Paintings: Yayoi Kusama –“I Who Have Arrived In Heaven” @ David Zwirner Gallery
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Overtime: Dec 30 – Jan 5
- Kendrick Lamar music video features Eddie Peake and his work and is conceptualized and directed by Darren Romanelli.
- 96 artifacts disappears from the Aswan Museum’s storehouse. Theft likely a inside job.
- Contrary to American Hustle's claim, Worcester Art Museum’s Rembrandt is authentic.
- A exhibition about prestigious and famous forgeries.
- Knoedler fakes are still out there with unknown whereabouts as more victims sue the gallery.
- Banksy street pieces vandalized and damaged in Utah.
- Ai Weiwei wants to travel outside of China and feels that his art may be suffering as a result of ban.
- Hrag Vartanian's 10 Biggest Art Disasters of 2013.
- Christian Viveros-Fauné looks at the art market shadiness of 2013.
- Antiques Roadshow painting purchased for £400 turns out to be a Anthony van Dyck piece.
- Artspace releases the winners for The 2013 Artspace Special-Achievement Awards
- Ben Davis has four predictions for the 2014 art world.
- Derek Gillman's time in charge of the Barnes Foundation and his next moves.
- New England's museum scene in 2013.
- Blake Gopnik gives us his picks for the 20 most-anticipated art exhibits in 2014.
- How funding for the arts in NYC may be affected with the new mayor de Blasio.
- Tara Gallery opens in Santa Monica and is devoted to showing contemporary art created by artists from Iran.
- Georgina Adam looks at what the 2013 art market may mean for the future of the market. Her predictions for 2014.
- Paris art market heating up, breaking records and becoming the sixth largest auction market in the world.
- New York Times talks to Christie’s auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen about auctions and evaluating bidders.
- Kenny Schachter takes us on a tour of the St. Moritz gallery scene.
- A look at the breakout art stars of 2013.
- LA Times' The most fascinating arts stories of 2013.
- A survey of Expert Art Predictions for 2014.
- Jerry Saltz on Anders Ramsell's animated Blade Runner Aquarelle Edition.
- Lucien Smith's Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin was the most favorited work on Artsy in 2013.
- A look at Pei-Shen Qian’s non-forgery works.
- Alexey Kljatov's snowflakes and snow crystals macro photographs.
- Extensive interview with Rashid Johnson.
- Richard Serra interviewed by Charlie Rose.
- Josephine Meckseper interviewed in Interview Magazine.
- Interview with Lizzi Bougatsos.
- Kozyndan answers 12 questions for Stormcloudz.
- Hyperallergic, on the affects and reactions to Banksy's success.
- Ugo Rondinone collaborates with Pierre Hugo to create a series of seven gold jewelry mask sculptures.
- John Cusak's new graffiti writing and art career.
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Streets: Invader (Switzerland)
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Interviews: Bill McRight –“Willing To Lose” @ Breeze Block Gallery
Sage Vaughn (SV): Did you go to art school? Did you ever go to jail?
Bill McRight (BM): I went to a liberal arts school for undergrad but majored in fine art. Then, I went to grad school in Brooklyn. It was pretty cool I guess. I haven't been to jail - got arrested a couple times as a kid for criminal mischief, but I don't think I was ever even in a holding cell though.
SV: You like Tom Sach's zip guns? When are you going to make your version?
BM: I like a lot of Tom Sach's works - the zip guns and the cabinets with weapons and stuff. I have debated making zip guns. I have no knowledge of how that stuff works though - I'm not even that into guns... I feel like a knife is a lot more personal than a gun. I have made quite a few tattoo machines and given and gotten some pretty tight tattoos that way.
SV: What's your thoughts on the effect weapons have inside such a sterile place like a gallery?
BM: I think that weapons in a gallery is unsettling. People often don't know how to react. I have gone back and forth on presentation. Sometimes it's in these really raw wooden boxes, sometimes it's been shanks hanging on string from a board with nails (definitely the most sketchy), but for this show I went with a more "scientific" presentation. The shanks are in shadow boxes with glass over the face. It looks really clean even with these dirty "artifacts." I like showing these this way because it reminds me of a weird museum presentation. Oh, I also included this one cabinet kind of box with a bunch of weapons and this one panel I made out of old boards I got out of a basement and then hung everything off of it. The work on old wood just looks like a crazy person made it.
SV: How are your homemade body boards coming along?
BM: I haven't made that many paipos. I actually have been thinking a lot about these - need to get a good sander and will resume production by spring. I think the hand plane I made for body surfing helped me understand how the paipos need to work a little better. This is a project I can't wait to get back to. It is rad to make stuff you can actually use beyond looking at it on a wall. I can't wait to get back to body surfing either, that's really my favorite thing - just the ocean and me. It's fun with friends and it's fun solo (that's a bit more scary though). The best times have been going a few days in a row. One day I was out with a couple buddies and some kids were already out there, at one point a sea lion popped its head out of the water maybe 10 feet from my buddy and all of us were in the shallows real quick.
SV: What kind of pieces did you make for your upcoming show?
BM: Oh shit, I guess I started answering this a couple questions ago. Anyway, I made 7 shadow boxes with 2-3 shanks in them, 5 shadow boxes with individual shanks, 8 of these little stainless steel camping mirrors that have skulls engraved onto them, 8 ball point pen drawings on stationary from galleries and businesses, one cabinet thing full of weapons, and a panel with some larger weapons on it. I'm planning on a couple of things on site as well but I don't want to ruin any surprises.
SV: Do you usually have a concept for the work for a show, or is more of a sample of your works for a period of time?
BM: I usually wait 'til the point where I should have started maybe two weeks earlier and make as much stuff as I can in a short amount of time. This show is a little different. I knew about it way in advance and didn't want to do the last minute thing, so it's kind of a concept and kind of a sampling. I usually start with one idea and watch it grow as I work. There was a time I built a shack inside of a gallery and the whole inside was painted red and had a red light and a heat lamp in it. Also, there was the time you and I collaborated, making bats and throwing water balloons of paint, that was so good.
For this show, hmmm, I mean, it's been an interesting time in my life, things are good for the most part but there has been some dark stuff that definitely influenced this work as well. I think the drawings and engravings have been a meditation on mortality. The weapons have evolved over time too - the ones in this show have more detail and personal touches, ornamentation if you will. There is stuff engraved on the blades or handles, some have special paint jobs, so they seem even more alive to me. I guess none of this gives a very clear concept but it's there. It's playful and serious at the same time. There are inside jokes and me remembering what it's like to be a kid. I think this might be the most cohesive body of work even though its spread across a few mediums. It all makes sense to me at least.
I forgot to mention the name of the show - it's Willing To Lose. I stole it from an interview on WTF and it sums up my feelings lately. I think the actual quote was something like "i'm willing to lose" then Marc Maron interrupts and is all "that's beautiful! what a beautiful statement!" And then Josh Homme says "I'm willing to lose myself fighting for what I believe in, my family, my work..." Those aren't exact quotes but it's something like that. I like the idea of doing what you need to do but being willing to lose, you know get lost in the things that make you who you are and not having to "win" or even be successful - just doing what you do because you love it.
SV: Has moving to LA affected your work?
BM: I know that it has influenced my work but I don't know how directly. I'm probably happier than I've ever been and dealing with things instead of pushing shit aside and letting it pile up. I think it's made my work more playful, and it's helped me branch out with stuff. I think the work has become broader in thought and I just want to make stuff all the time and do it bigger and better. LA has probably helped me to focus and unfocus at the same time. I'm having the urge to make so much stuff beyond what I've made before. I can't wait for the chance to expand to furniture and make whole environments that everything belongs in. It's coming soon.
SV: You ever listen to Frank Zappa?
BM: I don't think I have, maybe through a college roommate but that stuff has eluded me for the most part. Born Against was the sound track to most of this new work.
SV: How many skulls do you think youve drawn in the last year?
BM: I don't know, maybe 1000, probably not quite that many, but at least 500. That's not all real finished art quality skulls, but I draw some and then throw them away immediately - a lot of them were drawn on post-it notes. Let's say between 500 and 1000. I have 12 skull tattoos at last count and want to just keep getting those.
SV: What do you think the effect is of such a repeated action with a singular subject?
BM: I think doing anything repetitively makes for variation. I have drawn so many skulls, but to look back at them they have changed a lot. I see new ways to make them look and things i can add to them. It becomes a meditation of sorts. I think drawing so many of these things has made me get good at it, and if I start to get bored with it, I just push myself to do something new with it. They started as a thing to do when I got stuck and have become a go to subject that has become second nature but is still challenging to me.
SV: If money/time was no object, what would you make for the next year?
BM: Honestly, more complicated versions of the weapons. That's the first thing - then furniture, paipos (plywood bodyboards), hand planes for body surfing. I also want to make cast aluminum skulls, so that's going to happen no matter what. I would be getting huge stainless steel sheets and polishing them to mirror quality then engraving giant skulls and flowers. I'd also get a plasma cutter and do sheets of metal with the lines cut out. Let's see, you really opened up Pandora's box here. I'd probably be building structures, making embroidered patches and engraving all the flasks forever. I think that would fill the year nicely.
SV: Small Tiger vs Andy Warhol? Mammoth vs Richard Serra as a robot?
BM: Andy and the tiger would be friends and the tiger would let Andy ride him like Battle Cat and He-Man. I imagine robot Richard Serra would be made out of huge sheets of steel so he would easily crush anything. But at the end of the day, Phil Collins Pham would wreck everyone with his judging stares. Phil Collins the cat wins.
SV: Heard from J Shockley, you used to do some major print making… Tell me about the steamroller.
BM: I did tons of linoleum cuts and some wood cuts. My buddy Dennis "Wolfbat" McNett used to have his students do 4 x 8' woodcuts and then print them with a steam roller. I did a couple of those, usually really fast and not as detailed as the smaller stuff. It was pretty fun though.
SV: What do you think about sexy art?
BM: Like Frank Frazetta or the guy who paints sexy robot ladies? love it! I think art should be sexy no matter what it looks like. I like super clean and shiny stuff and I also like dirty stuff, if it was made with passion it's sexy. Is that the right answer?
SV: What artists are you into right now?
BM: Man, this is gonna be all over the place, Leonard Baskin is one of my all time favorites and a go-to for me. Lately, @brendan on instagram kills me. I find the stuff that Joel Morrison is making interesting; Ralph Eugene Meatyard forever. Ben Venom is one of my favorites and a valued friend; Jon Bocksel the same. I couldn't be happier about doing a show at the same time as Alex Lukas. I work in the "art industry" as a day job so I don't find myself at galleries or even looking at art as much as I used to. Oh, Eddie Martinez makes me pretty stoked when I look at his stuff. I don't know who else, you, people who are my friends and make stuff get me the most hyped. That and dead people.
SV: Art history? Thoughts...
BM: Interesting, it wasn't in my thoughts when I was in school but like I said dead people's art is awesome. I think I might find regular history more interesting though. I think art was probably better before the internet made the life span two hours or whatever. How long does stuff stay in an Instagram feed?
SV: When making your weapon pieces, what are you feeling? Anger? Focus? Release?
BM: Probably release, focus and playful. I get hyped when I think they are coming out good. it makes me feel invincible (I don't know how to spell).
SV: I know youre not a violent person, but would you be stoked if one of your pieces ever ended up as evidence in a murder trial?
BM: Yeah, probably, especially if the murderer had bought it and then killed somebody with it (this is sort of sarcastic).
SV: After our spiked bat vs. water balloon installation at THIS, i realized we both were never destined for the Major Leagues… Did you ever play sports? (this is such a stupid question). I just wanted to mention we did that rad installation together. It was one of the most pleasurable art experiences I've ever had. I have never laughed as much in a gallery in my life. I'm always so nervous that the work is good enough, the gallery has their shit together, the collectors will show up, etc... It was such a beautiful moment for me.
BM: HA! Yeah I played soccer as a little kid, skateboarding (is that a sport) & bodysurfing (again is that a sport?) as well. Andrew Schoultz once called painting murals in the sun "art athleticism" - I like that sport. That bat and paint balloon show was the best thing ever. I want it in print that we need to do that again, we should try to do it at BRUTAL next year! That install or performance or whatever was the best time in a gallery, grown men giggling all night long - perfect. I hate having a day job but love the fact that I can take risks with art and not worry as much about selling. I mean, please buy my art but it should be fun all the time.
SV: If your art and my art fought, yours would kick mine's butt, but the aftermath could be pretty rad… Just saying
BM: Lets make them fight more often, I think mine would just be intimidating and then it would reveal its real feelings and they would probably just hug it out xoxo.
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Streets: Shepard Fairey (NYC)
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Art Focus: Zaria Forman
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Streets: Swoon – Bowery & Houston Mural (Part II)
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Overtime: Jan 6 – Jan 12
- Davina Semo's exhibition RUDER FORMS SURVIVE opens at Marlborough Chelsea.
- RIP: Clinton De Menezes at age 43, murdered while protecting a friend, after saving his wife and daughter.
- Paul Conrad's "Chain Reaction" sculpture could receive additional funding for preservation from Santa Monica.
- Denver Museum of Nature and Science will deliver its 30 vigango totems to the National Museums of Kenya.
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Bavaria drafting a national law to ease the return of Nazi-looted art to its rightful owners.
- The hunt for stolen and looted art in Poland.
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Damian Brenninkmeyer, former head at Christie's, ordered to have marriage counseling for beating his wife.
- Gregg Pierleoni accused of embezzling from company and spending on Thomas Kinkade artwork, among other things.
- Rauschenberg Foundation trustees sue for $60 million in fees and trial set to get underway later this year.
- Florentijn Hofman threatening to close Taiwan exhibition early in protest at an apparent copycat attempt.
- 200 people protest the conversion of Ebrington Turner Prize gallery into office space.
- A Satanic group wants to erect a 7' statute of Satan near Oklahoma City.
- Gwen Goodwin claims in court that Melissa Mark-Viverito placed a curse on her in the form of a public art project.
- Tim Haries found guilty of vandalizing portrait of Queen, which he did to highlight the "social justice issue of our time".
- Video surfaces purporting to show attack on Park City Banksy street piece.
- New regulations involving ability to 14-day period to return goods threatening to undermine online art market in Britain.
- Artspace provides a primer on The Pictures Generation.
- Mera Rubell tours 37 Baltimore art studios in 36 hours.
- Solutions for a global art world.
- Fidel Castro makes appearance at art studio opening after 9 Months out of public view.
- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has a groundhog problem.
- MOCA reachess goal of $100-million endowment and now has new objective of $150 million. Some possibilities for the museum's next director.
- Attendance at Frick Museum spikes due to Tartt novel.
- Shepard Fairey showing alongside Jasper Johns in show at The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.
- Jeffrey Uslip named chief curator of CAM St. Louis. Shows by Mark Flood, Kelley Walker, and Joe Goode coming.
- Budi Tek's Yuz Museum in Shanghai has a soft opening. First show in May.
- MoMA unveils redesign of building, featuring retractable glass wall, new space and opening of its free first floor.
- Keith and Katherine Sachs donating majority of their art collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- Christie's rapidly expanding private sales division.
- Nigerian art market increased 21.8% from 2012 to 2013.
- Christie’s CEO Steven Murphy talks about the market in India and Indian art.
- Art Remba's artwork rental business.
- Profile of Russian art collector Alexey Ananiev.
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Art & Style this year includes Lucien Smith, Torey Thornton, Oscar Murillo, and Travess Smalley.
- Financial Times talks with Nicholas Penny over breakfast.
- Hyperallergic's 10 Best NYC Art Shows in 2013.
- Thomas Struth's latest series involves photographs of Disneyland.
- David Lynch's photography of old industrial factories and buildings.
- Alexsandro Palombo creates some erotic images of Homer and Marge Simpson.
- David Hockney's iPad art.
- Oscar Murillo among the nominees for The Times South Bank Breakthrough Award.
- Edith Abeyta crowdsourcing on Craigslist and paying for contributions to a art project.
- Lola Montes Schnabel featured in Magnetica Magazine, with an interview by Pedro Matos.
- Gregor Hildebrandt shares some songs that inspire his artwork.
- Robert Indiana on NPR discussing his retrospective and the success he received from Love.
- Alex Prager answers 25 Questions.
- Blair Thurman interview by Bill Powers.
- Damien Hirst unveils Mickey Mouse painting to be auctioned for the benefit of Kids Company.
- Larry Clark's $100 photographs sale at Home Alone 2.
- REVOK: Made in Detroit book with individually-painted cover available from MOCA.
- Marcel Dzama print available at Whitechapel Gallery.
- Uprise has Andrew Schoultz skate decks available.
- Sam Flores edition of 25 on wood available on Upper Playground.
- Katy Perry to guest curate Madonna's Art for Freedom project.
- Bleeding Cool has a conversation with Shia LaBeouf about authorship and censorship.
- Jessica Chastain gets put in shots influenced by classic paintings.
- Adele buys painting by Darren Coffield and wants to commission a portrait by him.
- Yours truly nominated for Rob Pruitt Art Award and included in Art in America's family portrait of the art world in 2013.
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Streets: Escif (Spain)
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Studio Visit: Ludo
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Streets: Ernest Zacharevic (Malaysia) – Part I
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