90s – Matthew Langley Artblog

Photos of the end of CBGB’s & OMFUG

Published June 15, 2011

I stumbled over these at the amazing blog “Dangerous Minds” and thought it might have some interest to anyone who might be looking. Normally I would shy away from someone who just took a bunch of photos – these are a bit different seeing as they are by Chris Stein (of Blondie, Adolph’s Dog and TV Party fame – I know I probably could have stopped at Blondie…). I think the source in this case is worth mentioning seeing as he was there for pretty much the entire run of Hilly’s bar.

Eventually these will interest anthropologists as they find layers and layers of counter-cultural graffiti and stickers creating a historical layer of exactly what happened at 315 Bowery

Visit Chris Stein’s blog at rednight.net

Speaker

“the Bathroom”

John Chamberlain at Paula Cooper

Published March 24, 2011

Like many folks, I’ve enjoyed John Chamberlain’s artworks of crushed, bent and twisted steel – usually made of car parts. Admittedly my enjoyment is purely from looking at the physical embodiment of some Dionysisian example of this work. Thats not as shallow as it may sound because, yes, I do understand that his work – built with a spontaneous “fit” versus a traditional planned approach is the core of the work. In a way if you were to compare his work to one of his contemporaries such as Mark di Suvero you could make the case that Chamberlain is Dionysian to di Suvero’s Apollonian. And that’s not a bad thing – far from it. In pop music you could call Iggy Pop Dionysian and David Bowie Apollonian. To get back to the point Chamberlains physicality and his control or at the least, his relationship to control is almost always interesting.

However today while I was at Paula Cooper I had the realization that Chamberlain’s work in todays context is political and well as physical. Walking through the gallery with these artworks from the early 60’s through the 90’s I saw pieces of Detroit, bent and twisted, sitting on a pedestal of sorts – waiting to become part of history. Not unlike the Detroit of today.

I realize that is not the “approved reading” of his work – but today it just screamed at me.

2 Comments

Bowie, Hirst, Schnabel, posted without comment

Published March 8, 2011

1 Comment

Anne Truitt at Matthew Marks

Published May 25, 2010

Matthew Marks has 13 sculpture’s By Anne Truitt span a broad overview of her career. The show is a strong showing of works by Mrs. Truitt and in the exhibition illustrates the intelligent use of paint and surface – form and space that one immediately recognizes when thinking about and being with her artworks.

Frankly the show in its way is going to be for the front of the room as it were – there are no hidden surprise that are going to bring the masses back to her work, no spectacle that can be gushed at as “cool”. However the work is “cool” it always has been. Cool in that calculated way that allows viewers who spend a bit of time with the work to be surprised by a subtle shifts and influenced by the pairings around the gallery.

I’m glad to see the estate at Mathew Marks, it seems to be the right kind of pairing for work such as this. More so it seems that the work has come back to a strong New York base that it once had at Andre Emmerich.

Two Points (one good – one bad):

The Good
One of my biggest dislikes in the recent show at the Hirshhorn was the “floating islands” that the work sat on. While they were necessary to protect the work, they elevated the work in a way that worked against the very nature of the work. This show does not have that issue and the work is stronger for it.

The Bad
The odd thing about the installation are the three smaller rooms at Marks – depending on the artist these rooms are problematic in exhibitions there – and this show is really no exception. Three works (1962’s White: Four, 1963’s Gloucester, 1969’s Plinth) are given separate rooms while the remaining ten artworks are in the main space.

I think it makes sense for “White: Four” and Gloucester since the two of those are early pieces and very different from the rest of the work stylistically, but Plinth is a column like the ten in the main room – granted a bit larger but not different enough where it deserves to be put out in the reservation away from the rest of the show, but really this is my only complaint with the show.

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Teenbeat 26th Anniversary. (Teen Beat 453)

Published May 4, 2010

This post is probably only of interest to either 5 or 6 of the people who read this blog or everyone. I hope it falls somewhere in the middle. Teenbeat Records is having it’s 26th Anniversary this year and is celebrating with a bunch of shows on the east coast this summer. You should go.

UNREST – TEEN BEAT 26TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
July 6, at Johnny Brenda’s
with,
THE ROPERS,
KEVIN BARKER (Currituck Co.)
MC: Jonny Cohen

HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY
July 7, at Maxwell’s
THE ROPERS,
BLOODY AMATEUR (Tel Aviv/Prosaics)

CAMBRIDGE, MA
July 8, at T.T. the Bear’s Place
BOSSANOVA,
ROBERT SCHIPUL,
YASMIN KUHN (Flying Saucer)

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
July 9, at The Bell House
VERSUS,
THE RONDELLES (original trio),
BOSSANOVA,
COTTON CANDY
MC: Patrick Bryant (SOMERVILLE SPKOUT)

WASHINGTON, D.C.
July 10, at The Black Cat
UNREST (’83-’86, Tim Moran, short set),
UNREST (’88-’89, Dave Park, short set),
VERSUS,
THE RONDELLES (original trio),
BOSSANOVA
MCs: Jonny Cohen and Patrick Bryant

CARRBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
July 11, at Cat’s Cradle
TRUE LOVE ALWAYS,
BOSSANOVA
MC: Patrick Bryant (SOMERVILLE SPKOUT)

The following videos were made in 1993 at my friend Jimmy Cohrssen’s old record store, Go! around the time when the “Isabel Bishop” ep came out.