Since discovering that Madrid's Reina Sofía museum had "misplaced" Richard Serra's 76,000 pound Equal Parallel/Guernica-Bengasi sculpture, the artist has agreed to recreate the missing sculpture. According to the New York Times, Serra will (re)produce a twin of the original for $99,238, basically the cost of the metal sheets to reproduce the piece. The sculpture will be shown next year at MoMA before joining the Reina Sofía's permanent collection. "It's a very happy ending," said museum director Ana Martínez de Aguilar.

This is a happy ending indeed - although to have something in storage for so long that the storage company goes out of business and you have no idea where your stuff went - in particular your 78 thousand pound sculpture - maybe its time to introduce some inventory systems into your museum.

Johnny Ryan
Johnny Ryan has been publishing Angry Youth Comix in one form or another since 1994. At first he really sucked, then he just sort-of sucked. These days, Fantagraphics his publishing AYC and it's totally great! You can also see his stuff in LCD, Goody Good, Measles, Zero Zero and Nickelodeon.

Letterpress printed on Rives BFK cream in 6 colors.
Signed and numbered. Edition of 100.
Size: 14 x 10, 2004

Follow this link

"...one of the reasons for Giorno Poetry Systems: if you don't do it yourself, nobody is going to do it for you."—John Giorno

Giorno Poetry Systems was an artist collective and non-profit organisation run by poet and performance artist John Giorno with the aim to connect poetry (in various forms) to a larger audience. Giorno realised that, at the mass market level, poetry was running behind other arts. He reasoned that artists in music and paiting etc., would act whenever an idea arose in their minds, while the availability and progression of poetry was limited to books and magazines, let alone multimedia or performance. JG wanted to change this situation by communicating to his audiences through everyday means such as telephone, television, and records. Giorno started to explore tape and phonograph recording, with William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, using a variety of tape experiments such as loops and cut up techniques.

Enter the Dial-A-Poem Poets
Giorno initiated the the Dial-A-Poem Poets concept, which he claimed would later influence the creation of information services over the telephone, such as sports and stock market. Fifteen phones were connected with individual answering machines: people would call and listen to poems they were offered from fragments of various live recordings. The GPS poets were the rock stars of poetry—sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally. When GPS was starting out, it was largely made up of Giorno's friends - William S. Burroughs, Allan Ginsberg, John Cage and a few others. As the phenomenon spread, poets, artists, and musicians joined up with GPS in droves. Artists like Lou Reed, David Johansen, Nico and Patti Smith worked alongside Burroughs, Ginsberg, Giorno and Lydia Lunch, appearing on Dial-A-Poem and on many of GPS's albums. Several of the New York downtown rockers got involved in collaborative projects with GPS poets.

In 1978 the Nova Convention, a three-day tribute to Burroughs that crowned him patriarch of heroin and wisdom, featured performances by Patti Smith, Frank Zappa and many others, including Laurie Anderson, who made her debut public performance. This was one of the highlights of GPS - this was also available on record and is considered by many to be the best example of verse based art in the seventies.

John Giorno has stopped publishing audio, in fact this happened just as cd recordings were becoming commonplace. This is a shame because the artists that were recorded by GPS are some of the most influential artists of their time. Lately, Giorno is focused on writing and performing. He has hosted many charitable benefits in recent years, particularly for AIDS research.

Following are a few sound files or GPS these were gotten from the always amazing UBUWEB web site.

David Johansen - Imagination Cocktail
William S. Burroughs - Dinosaurs
Jim Carroll - A Peculiar Looking Girl
Exiled in Domestic Life - John Giorno
Excerpts from Silence - John Cage

The National Building Museum is currently displaying JS's photography and the exhibit ends Sunday.

Schulman is known for his photographs of mid-century modern architecture - most notable Neutra and the Case Study House program. Probably the most interesting thing about JS work to me is the staging of the image. JS's work process is very well documented in a couple of publications already - however the good thing about wednesday night is that Mr. Schulman will be in town to answer a bunch of questions he's probably been asked before.

I should really set aside my cycnicism because I think JS is really a great photographer.

See him speak at the building Museum wednesday night - check the web site for further details. www.nbm.org

Tomorrow or Wednesday - Giorno Poetry Systems

I stumbled across this in the Wall Street Journal last week and have finally gotten around to posting it. Greylodge has a space that is linking to You Tube and is linking to increasingly, rare and avant-garde films. On YouTube, there are 1969 art videos by Nam June Paik, an iconic 1930 film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, as well as a clip of Dalí in a chocolate commercial - I'm sure that's tasty.

Anyway to facilitate a better understanding I thought I might share a few of the links as well as the page I'm talking about - enjoy.

The Greylodge link dump is at: http://greylodge.org/gpc/?cat=26

Here are a small list of things that are available:

Jean Michel Basquiat - Painting Live, Downtown N.Y. (1981)

Jean Michel Basquiat Interviewed By Glenn O’Brien On His New York City Cable Tv Public Access Show Tv Party

Andy Warhol: The Complete Picture - Pt1 | Pt2
Documentary by Chris Rodley. Starring John Cale, Salvador Dalí (archive footage), Crispin Glover, Dennis Hopper, Mick Jagger, Udo Kier, Lou Reed, Donatella Versace, Andy Warhol, Mary Woronov.

CIAO! MANHATTAN Lost Footage
Filmmaker David Weisman recently discovered over 30 hours of pristine 35mm outtake footage from the film, believed lost for decades.

The Alphabet - David Lynch short film 1967

Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) - David Lynch short film 1966

Stellar by Stan Brakhage

Salvador Dali - Lanvin Chocolate

The Mortified Man by Mike Dennert
Based on a true story about a man in Kansas who fell into an outhouse while trying to retreive his money. “First you laugh. Then you gag on your laughter. All of a sudden, it’s not funny at all. It’s horrible. Horrible and sad. It’s Fate.” –William S. Burroughs

Towers Open Fire, W S Burroughs - Anthony Balch, 1963

Hans Richter - Rhytmus 21

Nam June Paik - Electronic Moon No 2 (1969)

Nam June Paik - (1969) - Videotape Study No.3

Luis Bunuel - L’age d’or

Tom Waits - it’s alright with me Directed by Jim Jarmusch

"There is always hope, but that must be combined with irony and, more important, skepticism."
- Anselm Kiefer

There is a danger in titling a show - "Heaven and Earth", it is the concern that you can't really be prepared for one because in doing so you are ignoring the other. You could think of this as balancing spiritual as well as earthly concerns or even political and personal ideology. Artists in post-war germany (WWII) have had a unique challenge in creating images that inspire utopia while at the same time having to deal with memories of the past. Theodor Adorno's quote - "After Auschwitz, to write a poem is barbaric" clearly demonstrates a dual problem with post war German art. This is a problem that has only been solved by a handful of artists - most notably Joeseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer and very few others.

The Hirshhorn has devoted the entire second floor to this exhibition of large scale painting, sculpture and book arts. This massively sprawling show is challenging and at the same time approachable. I have always thought of AK as more of a painter - with some sculptural elements, this show presents a more rounded approach to his work. For me the book work was by far the most surprising and in its presentation to most problematic and eventually the least successful of the work shown. I'm going to stay away from the book pieces for this review because I think the presentation - due to the potential danger of a fragile piece of multiple page art is almost impossible to show in a safe environment.

That said a high point of the show for me was "Sefer Hechaloth" (above) I thought of Rene Duamal's unfinished novel "Mt. Analogue" - the place where earth is connected to heaven, and a mans story discovering and eventually attempting to climb the mountain. This painting is a simple image of steps connecting the earthbound to the spiritual, is to me the lynchpin of the exhibition although that said this is not that easy an exhibition for the viewer. This overall theme of heaven and earth is only a starting point to connect with the viewer on personal, spiritual, and political levels.



While this multi-leveled connecting is happening - at the same time, iconic imagery is presented as well, the obvious choice for this is a sculpture - "Book with Wings" this lead and tin artwork is exactly what the title says - its a book with wings and in this case are we to think this is a holy book or a diary of hidden thoughts? (you could think of this as a book of hidden knowledge or conspiracy - the decision could be yours either way)

Kiefer is probably the undisputed master of monumental painting this is hammered home with the inclusion of "Ash Flower" incorporating an image of Albert Speer's ceremonial Hall as well as a sculptural flower, this 150 x 300 inch painting, quietly and incessantly controls the entire gallery that is trying desperately to hold it in. It is a transformation of the physical and symbolic form that drives much of this exhibits works and is displayed with a grace and lightness that seems at odds with it's size and presence.

This exhibit stays clear of the imagery of World War II that Kiefer has used to counter balance his ideas in other works, it also stays away from what some have come to believe is a cult of personality around the artist and his work. "Heaven and Earth" is a dense and complicated show - I have tried to give a few guide marks - I will end this as I started this with a quote from the artist.

"We can't escape religion, but there is a difference between Religion and Heaven, and one doesn't necessarily lead to the other."

I planned on having a overview of the Kiefer show at the Hirshhorn today, I really did. However I kind of screwed up my wrist last night playing hockey so it looks to be a day late - sorry. (the more important thing is that we won - thanks) Below are some random things you might find interesting.

Things to do at the Hirshhorn in the near future
Sam Gilliam presents: "Mr. Kiefer What Is Your Message" September 8 at 12:30 - meet at the information desk.

The Hirshhorn also presents its artist talks via podcast available through iTunes - the is a Oliver Haring and Hiroshi Sugimoto talk available right now.



Adam Shecter
I have recently discovered his work and it seems really interesting to me. I'll admit that I'm not a big video/computer art guy but this seems engaging and not just difficult because it can be. I plan on going deeper in depth in the next few days.

Try this link: Adam Shecter

"But for this disease I never would have known I was loved this much."

Arthur Lee of (the band) Love has recently undergone stem cell transplants to fight leukemia. I mention this for two reasons - 1. Stem Cell research is vital to developing new ways to keep people alive and 2. Arthur Lee is a legend not enough people know of, and should. Last Thursday, Lee became the first adult in the state of tennessee to undergo a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from an umbilical cord. Until now such transplants in Tennessee involved children being treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Doctors estimate Lee has a 10 to 20 percent chance of long-term survival.

You've probably heard the big hit from Love, one of the first psychedelic bands of the sixties, "alone again or". You probably didn't know that Last year the bands 1967 album Forever Changes, turned up at No. 40 on Rolling Stone magazine's latest listing of top 500 albums of all time. To me it's not just a nostalgia thing - that album is great and Lee (who is as erratic personality-wise as prince) is a great rock personae - always doing what he pretty much wanted to do - usually for the worse. I could call him "the man called destruction" - but that belongs to Alex Chilton, while your at the record store, check him out too.

Well color me impressed. I was able to visit the old patent office this weekend and was delighted at the transformation of the museums. If I may talk about what the building used to be in the recent past. The building was a dark, cramped, literally chopped into two parts. The open square building always had 2 walls that separated each museum from the other, pair this with cramped and dark hallways - this was not the place you thought of when you went to visit art. (probably ever)

The new building is a delight - bright, great lighting and spacious. The separation between the two museums has gone away as well - this is a brilliant idea. with the revitalization of the 7th street corridor, the building is in a newly active part of town and the gleam of this building should last a long time.

I know there is a school of thought as to why this museum exists as we have the National Gallery - which should be the defacto musseum (it is), however the national psyche just does not work this way. Really the Smithsonian has very little problem with this as well - how else can you understand the Hirshhorns' place in the Smithsonian as well as the many specialist museums that are all over the country.



Lets get to the art.
I entered on the Portrait side - I'm not a portrait fan so I went to the left to get to the other side and immediately was in front a pretty good Mark Tansey painting (above). I think Tansey is often overlooked, so it was great to see one right off the bat. A few steps later I find myself in the folk art area and I see the newly cleaned The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly by James Hampton (below) made of tin foil and bottle caps - it gleams and sparkles like I have never seen it before. Also I came across a strong Rev. Howard Finster.



Moving forward, I came across the William Christenberry show. I didn't even know this was on display. I'm a big WC fan so I spent about 30 minutes in there. The great thing about this presentation is the scope - it covers all of his work - photos, sculptures, paintings and lightly touches on his artwork about the klu klux Klan. It was great being able to see a wide range of Christenberry's work - for me, this was a real treat. Had a star moment there as well - WC was giving a small group of folks a tour of his work and was really accessible to everyone going through the galleries answering questions if they had any. Pretty cool to see on a Saturday afternoon.

The third floor has the lincoln room - this is a great space and will be the premier space in the gallery - filled with natural light and comfortable sofa's the room is big enough for large scale exhibitions to sit comfortably - the James Lee Byars show in New York last month would have been great in this space.



I also attended the William Wegman show I had been very curious to seehow that would be presented - it would be so easy to see a show of Man Ray and Fay Ray - and to forget about his earlier work in video and conceptual art, it would be equally easy to miss his newer work incorporating travel post cards in his paintings. I found a great balance between each part of his work. I've always enjoyed the Polaroids of the dogs however I was surprised by how many multiple images he made (images that are like a diptych or triptych) that expanded and contracted space in such a sophisticated way. Of course a large scale postcard work was there as well and although I prefer the one I saw at Art Basel Miami this winter it's equally strong.

The museum as well as the Christenberry and Wegman show are highly recommended.

Please drop by tomorrow for my notes on Anslem Kiefer: Heaven and Earth at the Hirshhorn as well as a bunch of other stuff this week

Mark Tansey
Howard Finster
William Christenberry
William Eggleston
James Lee Byars
William Wegman

... The Robert Ryman connection is right on the mark, (pun intended). Besides allowing the viewer to see the support materials, (quite beautiful), it also objectifies the painting, which is a rather important detail when one the most often made comments - has to do with 'transcendence'. An additional reason, although more for artists sake, is to show that the painting is indeed traditional linen, which is fragile, stretched on wooden stretchers, this makes an even-surface sanding close to an impossibility, physically sharp edges are a sign that it was indeed painted on the stretcher, not stretched after.

A big thank you from Mr. Ross for his input and if you have not, do yourself a favor a check out his show at Stephen Heller Gallery in New York if you can. (I think it is still up)

Kammy Roulner
KR has some interesting and smart-assed drawings at Mixed Greens Gallery - the price is right as well. drawings start at 150 and barely go over 500. I really enjoyed them, I think you will too.

The portfolio page is here