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Streets: Vhils (Los Angeles)
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Overtime: Nov 3 – Nov 9
- Installation image from Dominic Samsworth exhibition at SWG3 Gallery.
- Leonardo di Vinci self-portrait drawing was removed from Turin during WWII so Hitler would not gain magic powers.
- Natali Cohen Vaxberg placed under house arrest for defecating on Israeli flag.
- Diane Ducruet's images from her Mother & Daughter series censored in France.
- Protests continue at Guggenheim in NY over alleged Abu Dhabi Museum labor abuse.
- Tony Shafrazi's landlord trying to evict him from his SoHo loft.
- Ronald Lauder warns Bern Art Museum about accepting Gurlitt trove before provenance has been fully investigated.
- Adolf Hitler watercolor to be auctioned at the Weidler auction house in Nuremberg, Germany.
- James Cuno of The Getty speaks out against repatriation. Jonathan Jones thinks British museums should return objects and artifacts to their "rightful owners".
- Story of the line drawn across the Berlin Wall.
- Statue erected in memory of Steve Jobs dismantled in St Petersburg after Tim Cook came out as gay.
- North Korean embassy in London opening doors to the public for the first time to showcase art from Pyongyang.
- Valentin Carron going to be sued for plagiarism.
- When forged artworks have their own fakes.
- Case of Picasso electrician in possession of allegedly stolen works to go to trial.
- Dia's use of a Dan Flavin work inside a cave for a Allora and Calzadilla work stirs controversy.
- Scott Indrisek criticizes Venus Over Manhattan's recent exhibition programming decisions.
- Pure Evil has some advice and words of wisdom to aspiring street artists.
- Never before seen notebooks used by Jean-Michel Basquiat to go on view at the Brooklyn Museum in April.
- A look at some of the artwork in Abu Dhabi's Guggenheim Museum collection.
- A summary of the LACMA Art + Film Gala.
- British Museum releases scans of artifacts to let you 3D print your own works at home.
- J. Paul Getty Museum acquires Édouard Manet's Spring for over $65mil. at auction.
- Jerry Perenchio to gift 47 works worth over $500mil. to LACMA.
- Charles Claude Johnson Spink and Edith Spink donate 225 works to St Louis Art Museum.
- Benjamin Genocchio reviews the Fondation Louis Vuitton museum.
- Growing number of food carts a problem in front of the Met.
- Banksy's Art Buff street piece removed from wall to go on sale one month after appearing.
- Exhibitor list for Art Basel Hong Kong 2015 released.
- A look at the Artissima art fair in Italy.
- Photo London coming - seeking to be the best photography fair in the world.
- Scott Indrisek reviews the Independent Projects art fair.
- Profile of collectors Nelson Blitz and Catherine Woodard.
- Kelly Crow's profile of Christie's Xin Li.
- How Jay Gorney is operating without a physical gallery space.
- Judd Tully reports on Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern evening sale. Eileen Kinsella also has a report.
- Judd Tully reports on Christie's Impressionist and Modern evening sale. Eileen Kinsella also has a report.
- Wang Zhongjun revealed as buyer of Van Gogh flowers.
- Lauren Bacall's letter to Henry Moore among the items that will be at auction at Bonham's.
- Christie's expands New York ground floor space with more room for private sales.
- Online sales hoping to achieve higher prices for works.
- Art market in UK hurt by The Artist's Resale Right levy.
- Churner & Churner gallery in Chelsea will close at the end of November.
- New owner of building housing Zach Feuer Gallery and Independent Fair asks them to leave.
- Profile of Frank Stella.
- A look at Michael Heizer's City, a project that is over 40 years in the making.
- How Uber allows Drew Heitzler to get out more and drink more and attend more art-related social events.
- Profile and studio visit with Michael Dotson.
- R.H. Quaytman talks about the work in her latest exhibition.
- i-D interviews Asger Carlsen.
- Russ Heath creates comic about being appropriated by Roy Lichtenstein and praising the Hero Initiative.
- A look at Aelita Andre and other child art prodigies.
- Could Banksy be a woman?
- Billboard featuring Dan Colen and Kalup Linzy nude and kissing unveiled on London Bridge.
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Bjarne Melgaard seeking an unpaid intern to create large hair based sculpture and paintings.
- WSJ visits and talks with Kara Walker.
- Terrance Hayes poem paired with Alex Israel painting.
- Billy Name answers some questions.
- Nick Waplington show at Little Big Man Gallery opens.
- Studio visit and interview with Spencer Tunik.
- Pussy Riot, aka Enraged Vaginas in Russia, talk with Klaus Biesenbach at MoMA PS1.
- Q&A with Rashaad Newsome.
- New items available at Peter Sutherland's webstore.
- Tyler Stout 2015 lunar calendar available for pre-order.
- Beyonce dressed as Frida Kahlo and Jay Z as Basquiat for Halloween.
- Jeff Koons to design album cover for Jimmy Page.
- Ai Weiwei photographs clothing for V magazine.
- Vladimir Putin exhibition in Moscow includes a painting of him spanking Obama.
- SFDevotion sets the Guinness Book of World Records record for his Street Fighter collection.
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Pejac For Sushisamba Restaurant (London)
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Overtime: Nov 10 – Nov 16
- Blair Thurman's first solo exhibition with Gagosian Gallery.
- RIP: Richard Duardo, who died at the age of 62 in his sleep.
- RIP: Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani, who died at the age of 48. More about his collecting habits and the sale of the most expensive watch in the world. Artnet lists the top 10 Al-Thani family acquisitions.
- Ryder Ripps' ART WHORE project at the Ace Hotel in New York. The work is widely criticized.
- Theft of up to 302 works of art from Turkey's State Art and Sculpture Museum revealed to be an inside job.
- Six former Spanish government officials investigated over alleged corruption surrounding purchase of Goya works.
- Sotheby's third quarter 2014 private sales transactions fell 61% to $153.5mil.
- Study shows over 70% of visual artists who took part in publicly funded exhibitions in last three years in UK received no fee.
- FIAC LA 2015 postponed until 2016. May actually be cancelled.
- Friends of the Parks sue Chicago to block the building of the Lucas Museum on lakefront.
- How the fall of the Berlin Wall affected artists.
- Online shop in China shut down probably due to Ai Weiwei t-shirts.
- Profile of Chris Marinello, one of the world’s most experienced art hunters and restitution experts.
- American Association of Museums has a reputation for going easy on Nazi-looted artwork.
- Michael Elion's Cape Town memorial to Nelson Mandela criticized.
- Shepard Fairey speaks out against Time Magazine appropriating his style for their cover.
- A guide to the words and terms used at art auctions.
- A guide on which venue to choose when selling artwork from your collection.
- A guide on how to investigate an art dealer's reputation.
- Artnet's top twenty hottest art world hangouts.
- Report: Brooklyn cultural institutions drew more than 4.5mil. visitors and generated more than $300mil. last year.
- Dyslexie, a typeface designed specifically for people with dyslexia by Christian Boer exhibited at Istanbul Design Biennial.
- The art collection of Detroit Institute of Art officially safe from creditors.
- MOCANoMi and ICA Miami reach a settlement from their dispute.
- Frick Collection's plan for expansion receiving lots of opposition.
- The Smithsonian unveils $2bil. plan for Mall renovation.
- The Chinati Foundation's Sustaining membership includes Matthew Day Jackson print.
- Pierre Cardin opens new Past-Present-Future museum in Paris.
- What the Met has planned for the Whitney's old home.
- Information on the 2015 Triennial at the New Museum released.
- A look at the Mahatma Gandhi statue that will go up in London's Parliament Square.
- A glimpse at the new Harvard Art Museums.
- Diane von Furstenberg and others contribute to $12mil. restoration for Jewish Museum & synagogues in Venice.
- Oprah Winrey helps fund the Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center.
- Judd Tully covers Sotheby's contemporary art evening sale. Artnet also has a recap.
- Judd Tully covers Christie's record-breaking contemporary art evening sale. Artnet also has a recap.
- Judd Tully covers Phillips' evening sale. Artnet also has a recap.
- Steven A. Cohen revealed as buyer of $101mil. Giacometti Chariot sculpture.
- Colin Gleadell analyzes some artists and auction lots from the week's sales.
- Kenny Schachter talks about some auction lots in ArtTactic's podcast.
- Jeff Koons turns some Birkin bags into readymades during a benefit for Project Perpetual.
- Jeffrey Deitch strolls the auction previews in New York.
- George W Bush paints a father-son portrait. He discusses it on the Today show.
- Annie Leibovitz’s photograph of 14 of today’s influential women gallerists for Vanity Fair.
- David Titlow wins £12,000 Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize.
- Nate Lowman, Simon de Pury, and Leo Fitzpatrick are DJing this year's RxArt party.
- What's eating Cady Noland?
- Craig Hubert takes on Banksy.
- The Kansas City Star reviews the Michael Manning show at Bill Brady KC.
- A show of Robert Heinecken's Polaroids.
- Profile of Olafur Eliasson.
- Sven Sachsalber will spend two days trying to find a needle in a haystack at the Palais de Tokyo.
- Ben Davis reviews Takashi Murakami's Gagosian Gallery show.
- Christopher Knight reviews Sayre Gomez's show at Francois Ghebaly Gallery. Artsy looks at his work.
- Alex Israel and Josh Smith produce a one-day show at Reena Spaulings.
- Rachel Rose has won the illy Present Future Prize, which was presented at Artissima.
- A look at Frank Gehry's Dr Chau Chak wing building in Sydney.
- New Dave Kinsey prints available at BLK/MRKT.
- Rosha Yaghmai's panties available at LA><ART shop.
- Why the Kardashians are so into art.
- Kim Kardashian coming out with a art book of selfies called Selfish.
- Met Museum attempts to cash in on the attention paid to Kim Kardashian's buttocks.
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Streets: Thierry Noir (London)
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Recap: Kenny Scharf @ Pace Prints
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Studio Visit: Phlegm
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Streets: Shepard Fairey – Nelson Mandela @ South Africa
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Overtime: Nov 17 – Nov 23
- Sacha Goldberger interprets portraits of comic book superheroes as Renaissance figures.
- RIP: Andrew Bucci, who died at the age of 92 after a brief illness.
- Aristophil accused of running a Ponzi scheme via financial instruments in the books and manuscripts market.
- Fallout surrounding Bill Cosby's rape accusations spread to the institutional art world.
- Zahi Hawass accused of assisting German hobbyists steal samples from Great Pyramid at Giza.
- Kurt Perschke accuses Shell oil company of appropriating his red ball art project idea.
- David William Noll pleads guilty to vandalizing Banksy street pieces in Utah and gets five years probation.
- William Ruprecht steps down as head of Sotheby's and the company may go private.
- Jerry Saltz thinks the art world has gotten too conservative.
- Jonathan Jones does not think that photographs should be shown in art galleries.
- Arts scene doing well in Turkey, however, artists still face governmental censorship and other hardships.
- United States considering cultural property protection czar post to prevent looted objects from entering country.
- Kunstmuseum Bern expected to decide soon on whether to accept the estate of the late Cornelius Gurlitt.
- Student accidentally crushes one of Ai Weiwei's porcelain crabs from a installation.
- Previously unseen pictures of Che Guevara taken right after his execution surface.
- Piero della Francesca’s The Resurrection to undergo restoration funded in part by Aldo Osti.
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Archaeologists discover three unique mosaics at the Ancient Greek city of Zeugma, in south Turkey
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ArtPrize to open second edition in Dallas in April of 2016.
- Mass MoCA will become the largest contemporary art museum in the United States in 2017.
- Faena Forum, art center in Miami designed by Rem Koolhaus, to open in Dec 2015.
- MOCA's future exhibitions include Matthew Barney, Sturtevant, R.H. Quaytman, William Pope.L, and Kerry James Marshall.
- Institute of Contemporary Art Miami upcoming shows include Shannon Ebner, John Miller, and Ryan Sullivan.
- Hammer Museum adds courtyard bridge designed by Michael Maltzan and opening in Feb.
- Tate Gallery to exhibit artworks in 3D form, within virtual world of Minecraft.
- Elizabeth Armstrong named as new director of Palm Springs Art Museum.
- Art museums are becoming another status symbol for international billionaires.
- Savannah College of Art and Design to exhibit Andre 3000's jumpsuits with phrases on them.
- Bomb Magazine has a Kickstarter to raise funds for operations.
- Georgia O’Keeffe painting sells at Sotheby's for $44.4mil., a record for a work by a female artist. Sarah P Hanson analyzes the Sotheby's American Art sale
- Rare Warhol New Coke print once owned by U2 to be auctioned at Bonham's.
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One of Napoleon's two-pointed hats was sold at Osenat to a South Korean collector for $2.2mil.
- Artnet's list of The Top 10 Uber-Rich Art Collectors.
- How guarantees in art auctions are affecting the market.
- Kenny Schachter dishes gossip and analyzes the fall auctions in New York.
- Bendor Grosvenor thinks that the evaluation of art today is driven too much by it's price.
- Stephen Haller Gallery and Stux Gallery merging to form Stux + Haller.
- How artists like Ryan Gander and Yinka Shonibare spent their art prize winnings.
- William Kurelek painting given as a gift of appreciation for apple strudel and vegetables could sell for $20k at auction.
- Mickalene Thomas creates wine label for Bedell Cellars
- Profile of David Hockney, who also answers a bunch of questions.
- Mark Farid raising money for project where he be in virtual reality for 28 days straight.
- Steven Meisel shoots the 2015 Pirelli calendar.
- Ben Davis reviews Pierre Huyghe's LACMA retrospective.
- Artsy interviews Maurizio Cattelan.
- Paul Kasmin gallery now represents Laylah Ali.
- Adam McEwen now represented in NY by Petzel.
- Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin now represented by Lisson Gallery.
- Paul Chan wins Hugo Boss Prize for 2014.
- Shepard Fairey now represented by Jacob Lewis Gallery in New York. He also talks about his work with Fusion.
- Kelly Allen discusses art and environment at her new Geek Group maker space.
- Carolina A Miranda reviews Sarah Thornton's book 33 Artists in 3 Acts.
- Steve Duneier yarnbombs 17 sandstone boulders in the Santa Ynez Mountains.
- Jaden and Willow Smith discuss what they think art is, among other topics.
- Prince Charles is shy and declines to view portraits of himself drawn by students.
- Body art enthusiast Jenya Bolotov spends seven years transforming himself into a human platypus.
- IKEA recreates classic paintings as photographs with their furniture in them.
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Streets: Nick Walker –“Love Vandal” (NYC)
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Streets: Rostarr for The Standard (NYC) – Part I
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Recap: Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans (San Diego)
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Streets: Reka (Washington, D.C.)
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Overtime: Nov 24 – Nov 30
- Images from Liz Deschenes: Gallery 7 at The Walker Art Center.
- RIP: Lewis Baltz, who died at 69 from complications of cancer and emphysema.
- Shia LaBeouf claims he was raped during performance of #IAMSORRY.
- Scientists warn that paintings with cadmium sulfide (yellow) is deteriorating to white.
- St. Louis Museums close following the day after grand jury decision on Michael Brown case.
- Bunny Mellon sale brings rat infestation to Sotheby's New York.
- Recently ousted Sotheby’s CEO William Ruprecht will receive $4mil. in severance.
- Paul Chan thinks winning Hugo Boss prize was a result of a complete misunderstanding of [his] work.
- Marrakech may soon become photography's global HQ, but locals are unhappy about it.
- Helene Hegemann causing a debate about plagiarism vs "mixing" in her appropriation of literary material.
- Oakland City Council requires private developers to set aside 1% of their project costs for public art.
- The street art that sprang up in Ferguson.
- Coloring books for adults becoming very popular in France.
- Julie Baumgardner's list of the sexiest male artists include Ed Ruscha, Nate Lowman, Matthew Barney, and more.
- Artnet provides some useful pick-up lines on occasion of Art Basel Miami Beach.
- Kunstmuseum Bern accepts bequest of artwork from collection of Cornelius Gurlitt.
- Souls Grown Deep Foundation gifts 57 works by African-American artists to the Met.
- New York Botanical Garden announces "Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life" exhibition opening May 2015.
- Stephen Moss reviews Institute of Sexology exhibition at the Wellcome Collection.
- Bert Rodriguez turning his apartment into a museum with work by himself.
- Yves Bouvier to build Jean Nouvel-designed art hub on Île Seguin island in Paris.
- The Economist writes about the art at One World Trade Center, curated by Asher Edelman.
- Lê Phổ oil painting sells for $840k at Christie's in Hong Kong. The price is a record for a Vietnamese artist.
- Liu Yiqian buys 600-year-old imperial embroidered silk artwork at Christie’s for $45mil., a record for a Chinese work.
- Lorenzo Zambrano Sotheby's sale totals $17.6mil., breaking the record for a single owner sale of Latin American art.
- Artnet looks at the top 50 living artists that performed surprisingly well at auction in 2014.
- The exhibitor list for the Armory Show 2015 art fair.
- Saigon's not for profit San Art launches online fundraising effort.
- ArtNews previews works from galleries at Art Basel Miami Beach.
- NY Times writes about the art scene in Miami.
- Brian Boucher describes his experience performing inside Yves Klein’s Tactile Sculpture.
- Lavanya Ramanathan profiles Sarah Thornton.
- Interview with Benedikt Taschen.
- Tilda Swinton collaborates with Olivier Saillard on a performance piece at Palais Galliera.
- What Terence Koh has been up to.
- John Giorno joins the artist roster at Elizabeth Dee Gallery.
- Lawrence Weiner wins Roswitha Haftmann prize, which includes $156,076 in prize money.
- Anri Sala wins Vincent award for contemporary art, which includes €50,000 in prize money.
- Nathaniel Mellors wins Contemporary Art Society Annual Award for 2014, which includes £40,000 in prize money.
- A look at Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian's NY home, which includes work by Robert Davis and more.
- Simon de Pury's latest projects with his wife as de Pury de Pury.
- Jim Sanborn offers another clue to his Kryptos sculpture at CIA headquarters.
- Art in America reviews Korakrit Arunanondchai's show at The Mistake Room.
- A look at Facebook’s artists-in-residence program, headed by Drew Bennett.
- Artnet's 12 turkey-themed artworks on occasion of Thanksgiving.
- Paul McCarthy limited edition available.
- Darren Almond limited edition Art Edition books with prints released by Taschen.
- Ella Kruglyanskaya screen print available from House of Voltaire.
- The Vinyl Factory and Mo' Wax release limited edition Rammellzee record.
- Dan Colen cashmere peanut scarf in yellow available from the Whitney shop.
- David Hammons basketball drawing and Richard Prince hood among the works in Beyonce and Jay Z's collection.
- James Franco selfies calendar included with Paper Magazine.
- Swizz Beatz talks about art and art collecting.
- Dyed armpit hair may be the next beauty trend.
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Rewind: Nov 3 – Nov 30
- A Q&A with Adam Neate.
- A look at Futura's solo show in Shanghai.
- Neckface, pin collector (via Booooooom).
- Etam Cru working on their "Coffee Break" mural in Rome.
- Chor Boogie at The Cubes in Times Square.
- Thomas Houseago walks us through his Moun Room.
- Bert Rodriguez turning his apartment into a museum.
- Bumblebee Loves You hard at work on another print.
- Scott Benzel-Inversion V Sound Corridor installation at Various Small Fires.
- Time-lapse of David Choe's book signing at GR2.
- Overview of The Avant Garde Collection at OCMA.
- Max Gärtner show coming up at BC Gallery.
- Farewell - Issue 2.
- David Benjamin Sherry discusses his work with MOCATV.
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Basel Week Miami ’14 / Streets: Shepard Fairey x Cleon Peterson
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Basel Week Miami ’14 / Streets: Anthony Lister
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Streets: Daan Botlek (India)
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Interview: Lala Abaddon
Arrested Motion (AM): When did you start making art?
Lala Abaddon (LA): That's a tough first question, especially for someone who has issues with the concept of time... My whole life, I have been envisioning things, creating elaborate worlds and theories in my head, sometimes putting them into physical form, other times just storing them somewhere safe and cool in the recesses of my mind until some divined moment. I wrote a lot through childhood and my teenage years, a lot of scathing and disturbing poetry, and I have been taking photos on film for as long as I remember, sometimes pairing them with my poetry. My Dad gave me my first camera and was the first person to teach me how to use it.
AM: What kind of works did you begin with?
LA: Most of what I created before I fully realized that I was "creating" was poetry and photo based. Once I found the confidence to make something that I could potentially share with the world, I really examined the idea of what it was I wanted to make. I settled on the goal of discovering a way to express complex narratives or tropes through analog photography. I wanted to share a period of time within one image; to make something solitary yet in motion. I wanted to make an image more than one image, like when you see a photograph or painting that has the weight of years behind it, but I also wanted to present it in a new or unique way that was fluid depending on the person viewing it.
AM: Do you have any formal art related education background?
LA: I took the basic fundamental art and design classes in college before I officially "dropped out." For me, taking those classes confirmed for myself that I was an artist, and they taught me that every day practice is what will help your work advance. So I left, and have been treating my work that way since.
AM: When did you start making woven works?
LA: I made my first two woven pieces on June 8, 2013 and I haven't really stopped weaving since.
AM: Well, that is a precise answer. How did that first happen?
LA: Basically, I was examining the concepts of time and space that I mentioned earlier and was cutting up some of my photographs and ended up weaving them back together in a simple basket weave. I was really into the idea of deconstruction and reconstruction in all of its physical and metaphysical applications at the time. Also, looking back I know I had recently finished The Obscene Bird of Night by Jose Donoso, which was life changing, and weaving is a constant theme in that book. So, I think subconsciously that spurred my impulse to weave the strips. I touch on this "moment" in the installation I am doing for my upcoming solo show - I am even using the book and actual page I have narrowed the genesis down to.
AM: Were you aware how far you could take this concept at first?
LA: I remember thinking a couple days after making the first, ohhhh, I should do this BIGGER, and with different patterns. I quickly went to 8x10's and 16x20's then by September I was working on a 36x24'. Since then, I've accepted that its applications are endless and have been working on creating time to explore all of the possibilities. Until then, I'm just storing any of the ideas that come to me for later use.
AM: How do you pick prints you work with?
LA: I start by allowing my intuition to guide me though my photo catalog and I screenshot anything that speaks to me that day. I arrange multiple images on my screen and just allow my mind to see and envision what they would look like woven together. I compare the flow or think about where the high contrast and low contrast areas will be. Occasionally, I will layer them in photoshop to get a feel about how everything lines up. Sometimes, I use photographs I took years ago that I had no idea would be suited for this one thing. Other times, I think of the kinds of photos I would like to use, and then paint or create these images and then photograph them.
AM: So you make the photos yourself?
LA: All of the photos I use are my own images, and all of my images, even the ones that are re-photographed multiple times, are from 35mm film. The film I use, the lens, the light and time of day I photograph in, are all specific to my work - they give me my raw image as I do not edit my photos in photoshop. Recently I've been painting on a macro level and photographing the paintings, then pairing those abstractions with a series of flowers I photographed in natural light that subsequently have a brilliant palette. I print all my photographs up to 13x19" in my studio but send out for larger prints as I have yet to acquire a large scale printer. I also have been working with different paper types, including double-sided matte photo paper that has a texture like velvet and then also this semi-transparent Japanese Washi paper.
AM: Is there a story behind your work or is it more about its visual aspect?
LA: Oh, there's a story. It's a very long one. It's a story I've been telling since the beginning and don't think I'll ever be done telling. But then the visual aspect of it IS the story. Love Tooth refers to the pain of first love/lust since you get your love tooth (aka wisdom tooth in western culture) during your formative sexual years. For the work I am doing now, the story is a bit more involved and focuses more on some other concepts I've been exploring my whole life like alternate realities, the idea that you carry access to the past, present and future within your own mind, the interconnectedness of the universe and therefore human interconnectedness, the space between realities along with the expansion and decompression of your own personal universe…
AM: And how important are the patterns you're using?
LA: The patterns are very important. The patterns are everything. They are a metaphor to the patterns of life and the universe. For Love Tooth I used them to portray a complex feeling, wether it be desire and confinement or feeling overly saturated in men's lust... The patterns carry the flow of the whole piece and if you have one that is just totally insane and confusing, you're going to get that feeling from the piece in the end. Sometimes that's what I want to say, other times I want it to be beautiful and rhythmic and flow gracefully. Other times, I just want to turn the world upside down.
AM: Do you create the patterns as well, and how do you do it?
LA: It depends on the piece, really. I have created them, I have adapted, manipulated or edited traditional weaving patterns, I've used obscure weaves I found in books published in the 17th century. I like the idea of using something so dated and formal in a sense and then giving it new life, but I also like creating completely new designs. I've been working on creating more complex patterns, there's a lot of resources to do so, but none better than graph paper, a pencil, highlighter and headphones.
AM: Do you know of other artists that use similar technique?
LA: I know of artists who weave fiber into pictures, like the amazing Erin M. Riley, and I know artists have explored weaving as a component to their work, like Tauba Auerbach's woven canvases, but I have not seen anything too similar in technique when you factor in how I utilize the design element of the weave patterns. The few example sof photo weaving I have seen is with your simple basket-weave, not damasks or crackle weaves or undulating twills. But I think art is moving in a direction where you use traditional techniques to create something modern, so I'm sure we will see more exploration in this vein in the future.
AM: Being such a prolific and hardworking artist, how much did your technique changed from when you first started?
LA: I think my technique has improved leaps and bounds all around. First is my confidence in the use of color. I am always reaching for a fresh balance and unique pairings. The weave patterns have always been challenging, but the craftsmanship itself has improved greatly. I used to hand cut each print with a ruler and box cutter, even the big pieces, but now I have a 42" and 54" Rotatrim (stationary rail cutter) which allows me to still manually cut the prints but in a more precise way so the margin of error has gone down incredibly so. Also, I am better about plotting the weave, which is to say, placing the strips after they are cut onto my "loom" the right distance apart to accommodate a very tight or very loose weave. I'm kind of hard on myself when it comes to improvement, so I always notice things I am pretty sure no one else will notice, but I try not to make the same "mistake" twice. To me, it's about remaining calm and patient while literally doing the best that you can.
AM: Sounds like a lot of work. How long does an average piece take you to finish?
LA: My large pieces take me a month or more to weave. So, anywhere from a few days of just weaving to 30 days of weaving. But of course you have to factor in the numerous rolls of film needed to create the two images, editing them, printing them, working on the pattern, plotting the weave, etc. I'll have a bunch of pieces in various stages of the process as any given time.
AM: What was the biggest one you created so far?
LA: The biggest I've completed is 30x40" because that was as big as my Rotatrim could accommodate! I recently purchased a 54" Rotatrim and am working on a 54x36" landscape for the solo show.
AM: Do you have any new ideas you'd like to work on in the future?
LA: I have to ration the use of my ideas because most that come to me take a considerable about of time to actualize. Right now I'm fulfilling an idea I've been developing for a while which is the idea of a Metaweave. The Metaweave is a self referential piece that not only references itself, but myself, my life, my complex and confused memories. I have been in this state of dissatisfaction with my work where I really wanted it to evolve past its rectangular structure, so I have been obsessed with deconstructing, and then reconstructing the weaves themselves past the point where I used to consider them finished. I am touching on that now with dissecting some of the completed Metaweaves and then doing a webbed embroidery between the pieces, as well as breaking the flat plane of the framed weaves with an semi-interactive installation designed to take you inside one of the pieces.
AM: Any plans of entering the 3rd dimension with your work?
LA: My next series is going to push the "re-deconstruction" even further and I am looking forward to taking these huge pieces that I have woven for months, and then burning, tearing, cutting, and stretching them apart, only to reconstruct them to create even more space and time within the narrative of the piece. It's all about making myself uncomfortable. When you are comfortable as an artist, you're in trouble, and it is very comfortable for me, now, to sit for hours and make this perfect composition without any glitches in the pattern... it has become conventional to me and my number one mission in life is to upset the constructs of convention.
AM: Do you have any big dreams art career wise?
LA: Like ideas, I have a million billion dreams art-career wise. I dream constantly, when I am awake and when I am sleeping and anywhere between. I envision my work everywhere. I'd love to be in a museum, I'd love to eventually be in MOMA, which is a very special place for me. I'd love to do more installations. I'd love to have one piece to work on for an entire year. But when it comes down to it, I just want to continue to live a life where I get to create on a daily basis, and I want to be take everything as far as I can and stretch the boundaries... surprise myself and facilitate growth within myself and others. I want to say more, be more, do more, and hopefully bring people together in the process.
AM: What was the biggest most important moment in your career so far?
LA: Things keep building on each other so every moment seems increasingly important. I have to say I am overjoyed to be able to have a two floor gallery to do my solo show in. I have thought about everything being completed and I know that moment will stay with me forever as a very special achievement. Lately though I've been overwhelmed with support and astonished to be grouped with artists I really truly admire. I recently donated work to benefit two great organizations and my work was selected for a live auction with Hank Willis Thomas and Barnaby Furnas, it did quite well and went to a great collector. I've always tried to bring about positive change, so supporting things that I believe in through art is a pretty phenomenal honor. Also I was selected for a year long residency in NYC through the Artha Project and they have already done so much for me in pushing me to challenge myself and helping me find the resources I need to make an impact. It just feels very good to be welcomed and supported.
AM: Sounds like you're getting a lot of good response to your work. How does that make you feel?
LA: I LOOVE seeing people react to my work. It's a lot of sudden realization, a lot of "whoa dude." I know from far away my work looks digitally manipulated, so you get a lot of people that see it close and have this "Sudden Clarity Clarence" face when they see it's actually hand woven. A lot of people try to figure out or explain the process. Sometimes it is quite overwhelming for people and I can tell they feel this sudden connection to it. I have shared tears and hugs with people who really get it, really feel the emotions I've put into each piece. But more than anything, I love when people come up to me at shows and share their thoughts on my work, that it can affect people has been extremely motivating and enlightening, I really enjoy it. A lot of people have told me I'm insane when they see the tedious level of detail, but that's ok, because I quite possibly am. I'm just happy that every day more people are able to connect with me through my work. It's very personal for me, so feeling that connection with someone is really an unexplainable feeling.
AM: Do you have any shows or projects planned for the future?
LA: Yes! My upcoming solo show with Castor Gallery, March 2015. It will be a unique and transcendental experience. It's based on my theory of Liminal Continuance and it is a physical examination of time through the alternation of line between two planes of space as well as the metaphysical study of the space between two realities, hence, liminal. Each piece in the show touches on a significant moment, a feeling of a person that influenced my life, and attempts to exemplify the warping time does to memory. The show as a whole will drag you into my mind and immerse you in these alternate realities I've been envisioning constantly. This show is a comprehensive introduction, a prelude to the future story I want to tell. It is to show the world what I can do with painting, photography and weaving. The next show will be completely different. My mind is already on that... the next step, breaking it down even more, confusing you, the viewer, confusing myself. I can see it already, and in the right time, it will build.
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Basel Week Miami ’14 / Streets: Faith47 x Alexis Diaz
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