Archie Comics has decided to "update" the look of Betty and Veronica. While I'm sure this is viewed as a great idea, in execution it is quite a poor one. Dan DeCarlo's drawings have been the source for these american icons for years - well since the mid sixties. I feel DeCarlo's drawings have always set the standard and basis of style for a number of comics - from the Hernandez brothers (Love and Rockets) to the newish Disney stuff. Increasingly the older drawing style works in both a "High" and "Low" style, this might be due to its more iconic approach - less like a young persons take on what they might look like. I guess its like seeing a movie made of a book or comic you have known forever. And hating it.

Anyway. this is not the usual artblog stuff, but I thought it was worth noting. By the way, the new issue is on the left.

Labels: Bad Review, Comics, general notice, thoughts

Let's start with my catching up with yesterday information about Flow.
Arthur Roger Gallery (New Orleans) is showing Nicole Charbonet (top) whose built and developed paintings are a new interest if mine - I became interested after seeing them in ArtPapers magazine and in person they are as strong as they seemed.



Kenise Barnes (Larchmont NT) is showing Robert Flynn (above) who does these amazing charcoal and graphite images of sod. I know this sounds weak - but it's just the opposite. These are amazing images and deserve your attention. A recent work is based on trophies and "boy toys" (my phrase) - well worth searching out. I understand he also does some amazing sculpture of items found in Home Depot - it sounds good so I'm waiting for that.
Miller Block (Boston) is showing Lori Nix who was gotten enough words from me in the last few days. So you know that you should be looking at her work a good bit.

After Flow yesterday, I had even lower hopes for the Bridge show. So I walk in and am handed the second largest and physically intimidating catalog of the last week - its almost the size of "Parabola" that I mentioned on wednesday ok, it's half that size - but its still big -like an old issue of "Interview". Again Flow is probably the best of the fairs after ABMB and I was also surprised by the high quality at Bridge as well. I really did think these two shows were just me too art fairs - I was so wrong. Both of these shows have set the bar very high, in fact it might be that these "late bloomers" are the real future of what is going on in Miami for the next few years as far as growing the orbiting events. Neither one is using the whole location, nor are they tied to any single location giving these events the ability to grow and shrink with almost no downside. Don't get me wrong, AQUA is a great event, however the AQUA Hotel is already full so what's next? Other than a deeper editing in the gallery selection process, I'm not sure.



So lets get to what I saw... Johnnie Winona Ross (above) is showing a painting and a great set of prints at Elin Eagles-Smith (San Francisco) - since we last spoke about JWR - he has developed a waiting list for his paintings - but a few prints are still available. I'm as thrilled with his work as I was last year.
Trillium Press has some great things going forward, including a book of David Mamet Cartoons.
Front Room Gallery (Brooklyn) is showing works by Emily Roz Who creates large grids of images taken from movies and television. Using Polaroid film she is able to mimic the look and feel of images flickering on screen. She also is able to hold up a mirror depicting formula and genre of the american landscape.
PierreFrancois Ouellette (Quebec) is showing John Latour as a re-staging of his show, "Lost Words". Latour is one of four who make up this show - his work occupies a space between Joseph Kosouth and edited FBI documents.
Andrew Edlin (NYC) is showing swiss photographer Mario del Curto (below) photographic the work of architect Richard Greaves. These feel like the work of someone photographing the folk art of the American south however most of these were shot in Canada - and it hardly matters. The images are eccentric and familiar, yet have are fascinating in a way thats hard to ignore them.



Back to AQUA
I meant to spend a few moments with Isaac Layman, however when I as there he was pretty busy with some folks so I put off the conversation with him for a later date. That said, lets touch on his work a little so you can see where my excitement is coming from. IL's work sits in a relationship between the detail and the whole - it shows that the parts are more complicated than the larger whole. These images recall a sort of updated cubism that is all the more fascinating in that he is building images based of many smaller images toward a collective whole. A macro/micro type approach. Isaac Layman is showing at Soil

Platform had a number of nice Jaq Chartier's paintings. These are always a strong and continue to impress me with the vernacular of the image that is built and referenced throughout all of the works.

Labels: Art Basel Miami Beach, Collecting, Drawings, general notice, Jaq Chartier, Lori Nix, Miami

Let's start with the celeb sightings today - frankly I'm tired and need to do the easy stuff first. Jay Z and Beyonce this was a total fluke. I was leaving through the most inconvenient door - because where I was going was right on the other side. I get my bag checked and the next thing I know - I'm looking at this really beautiful woman - with big eyes and the most perfect skin I've ever seen. Pretty amazing, so it took me a few moments to see the bodyguards - and then there was HOV. The amazing thing is that I always assumed that he was like 6'2" in fact he is more like 5'10". 5'10" nicely dressed though. It was then I realized who it was - I'm the worst on that stuff (although reading this week, you'd think it was all I do.



Dennis Hopper I attended the "art loves movies" event last night for a special screening of "Easy Rider".(full disclosure - I had never seen this all the way through before) Hopper mentioned that at the time he was influenced by Allen Darcangelo, Ed Ruscha, and a few other of the california artists at the time. Funny thing you can really see this during the quieter road scenes, which granted act as a transition between scenes, but still the influence is there.

The secret mass transit system I think some people know this, but did you know there is a mass transit system that effectively links all the art fairs together? Here are the basics - every fair has a bus that goes from ABMB to the other events - AQUA, NADA, and ~pulse. So your basically looking at a web of bus trips that emulate from the big show at the convention center. This has probably saved me and a number of folks a ridiculous amount of money in cab fares.



NADA This is a good show. Saw some really interesting stuff here - most of it I had not seem before. Murray Guy is showing Matthew Higgs (above), and other than having a great first name, his work is just great. While reusing book elements, he isolates them and allows the viewer to apply outside thinking to his work. This is not far from the process that William S. Burroughs and Bryon Gysin developed in the seminal book "The Third Mind". Samson Projects (Boston) is showing the classical nudes of Gabriel Martinez. Galerie Olaf Stuber (Berlin) is showing just a couple of photos by Poison Idea. Galleri Christina Wilson, and White Columns had a few really interesting pieces as well.



Flow Art Fair is probably the best of the smaller fairs. I know this is saying quite a little bit. here's the deal, the galleries are positioned below ABMB but above the NADA and AQUA fairs - and maybe this is just me but the quality seems higher than all of the rest (with the exception of ABMB). I was real dubious of the show - thinking it was just a me too type of event. A bought a Lori Nix(not the one above) from the Block Gallery in Boston. I was pretty giddy after that and completely ignored doing any kind of legitimate note taking. So sorry about that - I'm going back Saturday and I'll have some real notes for you then.

Labels: Art Basel Miami Beach, Boston, Collecting, Ed Ruscha, Film, general notice, Lori Nix, Los Angles, Miami

It's going to be one busy town this weekend - I mean even breakfast was insane. at 10:30 on a thursday you would think breakfast was starting to slow - in fact it was just getting busier. Saturday morning this town just might explode. While the town is getting heated, so are some of the major collectors. The Art Newspaper which told the story yesterday about the hotels jacking up prices, the collectors are saying the same about the dealers. Leslie Waddington is quoted as saying, "What are they complaining about? dealers also hike the prices when things are going well."

I'm thinking as the fair gets bigger, the next step will be the larger galleries hosting their own show around the fair - there are enough empty store fronts that a Pace or Gagossian could easily host their own event - catering to clients with a larger inventory, and more exclusivity. This has been the norm in traditional retail for years - shows within shows. I would not be surprised to see the mega galleries take this route at some point - soon.

AQUA Art Fair
Aqua had more ups and downs this year than last. However the highs are higher but the lows are much lower. I would rather not name names - and I will not. That said there are a few galleries here with the stink of trying to be too far ahead of some "avant-garde" curve, which is not going to come. However I would like to point out a few galleries that are really showing a rigorous and exciting program.

Steve Wolf Fine Arts out of San Francisco has a great showing of a number of artists. Soil from Seattle is an interesting artist co-op. Isaac Lymon (image above) has some very interesting photo/collage work - well worth looking into. I hope to interview him one-on-one Saturday. I'll be sharing that conversation as long as my fingers hold out. Other Gallery (Winipeg) is the biggest pleasant surprise on the whole show. This gallery is showing innovative, original and somewhat quirky artworks. Michael Dumontier (bottom) is a real standout to me, with his reductive, simple and engaging artworks. Especially his "matchstick" works. Irivine Contemporary (DC) had a strong showing - especially interesting are the photo works of Kahn & Selesnick (below) whose work is showing in January. This is well staged work but not like a Gregory Crewdson - these have a depth and a feeling of authenticity - not of a fantasy, but of reality. Amy Kaufman at Trawick (SF) I could use a good bit of research on her work as it seemed interesting as well. Sixspace Culver City CA, has a interesting group of artists including Coop, and Glen E. Friedman.



More on AQUA later in the week.

ABMB - Art Positions
There is a type of High Art/ low art game that is being played in the Art Positions containers. Almost all of this work is forgettable and I hate saying this - I'm lead to believe that these are people with new ideas and approaches, however it seemed like it was a well organized attempt to take the mantle of cutting edge art from whoever is currently holding it and I have no idea who that is. Artists have been working on the high/low for quite awhile now - it's not like this is a terribly new idea or even approach. So where are we going?

This dour thought has lead me to think about the long form video that is presented in the "black cube". People rarely "sit" through these videos all the way - so I wonder about it's long term power as an art form. Is there a better way to present this kind of work? I know that art needs to grow, and video is doing this - but where do we go from here? Because the current approach to presentation is about the worst possible.



ABMB
I saw a husband and wife buy a Warhol "Brillo Box" today and it was a great thing to watch - you could see the pride in the collectors buying it, you could see the happiness in the sellers selling it, then a pragmatic question came from the wife. "Is there a way to protect it when we entertain guests?" which was a great question because along with the pedestal that the "Brillo Box" was sitting this sculpture became the perfect height for all their friends to put empty glasses on during a party. So I sat back and listened to the five of them (husband, wife, gallery owner and two assistants) come up with ideas to temporarily protect the box. It was almost like a scene out of a sit com - charming as well as amusing. Still watching the couple buy that piece - beaming with pride - and I'll admit a was proud for them as well.

INK
Ink was a charming and wonderful small show. At the same time it was held in hotel suites - which made it nice not to have to go into someone bathroom to look at the art for a change. The whole fair was different - very polished and sedate - but lacking that go, go, go, sell, sell sell approach of the other fairs. I had a lovely conversation with Diane Villani about how great it was to see Jennifer Bartletts "Rhapsody" at MoMA as well as her beautiful series of prints called "House". If I could I would have bought them there and then. INK just had a happiness and calmness that has not been seen elsewhere.

If I'm not mistaken INK has come about due the Art Basel not inviting the Print House's back to the big show - I do believe that there is a certain school of thought that believes the print arts are second to the other art disciplines. I can see this happening to the book/artist book crowd next - they have been relegated to a hallway out side of the show, but in the same building. The ateliers and books as art crowd needs to be represented under the big tent somehow - lets hope that INK can carry on, but that ABMB will find a way to bring some of the print houses back.

Tomorrow: Flow, Bridge and ~Scope art fairs

Labels: Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Books, Collecting, general notice, Video, Washington DC

There is such a buzz of excitement around all of Miami - as I was driving down Collins Ave from the airport, I saw at least three other art fairs loading in so there is a good bit of action and expectation in the city right now. Today was just a really busy day - not exactly a day for viewing much, but I did see a great Botero. I don't remember who has it - or for that matter who bought it already - but all I could say was wow. It just stopped me in my tracks It's a painting of a nun who is just exploding with internal conflict with these two little parsed lips desperately holding it all in. Just a fantastic painting.

I spent most of my time just trying not to bump into people - and I realize ABMB really opens tomorrow - so I expect it's going to be really pretty crowded this year.

On the social end of things we had a free concert from Peaches on the beach - she seems a bit past her prime - she would have been great three or four years ago -she's playing at the opening of Art Positions (these are the containers at the beach) but at least the organizers are trying to keep that area young (and she is german) so I can see how the choice was made. Plus she orbits the whole art thing a bit anyway.

Friday night Dennis Hopper is introducing a screening of "Easy Rider" which although Hopper has a art connection, it is still a pretty cool thing

But the big news was my meeting Russell Simmons - granted I only meet him for like 10 seconds but we are talking about Russel Simmons here - totally cool. I'm not even that big a hip hop fan. By the way, RS is one of the founders of DEF JAM records and the PHAT Farm clothing line. He was at a party being thrown in honor of Kehinde Wiley.

I discovered a really great magazine called "Parabol". Each issue is curated like a show, but the really cool thing is the size - folded out its 33 inches tall by 23 inches wide opened its 33 by 46 inches. When its open its like the width of a double bed - the typography just screams off the page and there is no better way to look at art when its reproduced at such a great size. Many of you know I've been looking for issues of a magazine from the eighties called "The Manipulator" it has the same qualities as "Parabol".

That is kind of it for ABMB today, however I was given a program guide for The Pompidou and the big news is that there is a Herge Show starting this December. Herge is probably best known for his comic "Tin-Tin" and who doesn't love Tin-Tin. (note to Jimmy Cohrssen - I want at least one t-shirt from that show)

Tomorrow I'll be visiting INK, ABMB, Aqua Art Fair and the Art Positions - so its a pretty big day.

One last note - hotels here have been charging almost double what they usually charge and people are screaming. Some folks are paying 600 - 700 a night for poor service at a premium price - so my 70 dollar hotel seems like a great value.

Labels: 80's, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Books, Comics

Starting tomorrow, it will be postings of 4-5 days worth of activity at ABMB and assorted orbiting events - I'll even try to have pictures.

Labels: Art Basel Miami Beach, general notice

I'm quite surprised that I have not seen anyone comparing and contrasting these two shows - they seem to go together intellectually quite well. After Art Basel I'll be in New York and will do just this thing - look for it in about 2 weeks - maybe 3.

Labels: Brice Marden, general notice, Museums, Painting, Sean Scully

Jack Flam highlights the above mentioned Matisse painting in Saturday's Wall Street Journal (page P12) and makes the audacious claim that it was truly the beginning of 20th century art. He cites a few facts, they include (but not limited to); the numerous studies made for this piece, the full size cartoon, its size (6 x 8 feet), color and rhythm. There is certainly enough knowledge about this painting to warrant serious thought and I thank Mr. Flam for that, but I don't agree with his proclamation.

"Le Bonheur" certainly has a great provenance - previously owned by Leo and Gertrude Stein - where it was seen by practically every artist who was in Paris including Kandinsky and Picasso. After the Steins split - it landed eventually in the Barnes collection/foundation (this is in Philadelphia - and if you follow the art world at all - I assume you know of the Barnes foundation). The painting really wasn't seem by the public until the Barnes Collection went on tour in the mid 90's - and really by then the genie had been out of the bottle since the early 20th century.

It's debut at the Salon des Independants was the only image Matisse presented at that show - and he always framed to image to be seen as a masterwork - and historically it is a shocking painting due to its color use and rhythmic lines. Of course the painting was panned by the press at the time - as was all of impressionist artwork. So that alone can't be the reason for it's greatness. It is a masterpiece of modern art - make no bones about it. I just don't see it as the flashpoint of 20th century art - I also don't know what would be. Some might suggest that it would be Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignion" but I'm not sure I would accept that either.

I'm thinking that "Le Bonheur" is a spectacular painting by a true genius - the trouble is - calling it the best is like trying to decide who invented rock and roll. So many people were around and so many great ideas were swirling around - we as viewers (or listeners) can only look and learn.

I do believe that there is some serious thought yet to be done in the Matisse versus Picasso vein. However that writer is not me.

Labels: Museums, thoughts, Wall Street Journal

At the Library of Congress - This Thursday and Friday only. Leonardo's study for the "Adoration of the Magi".

For more information visit the LOC at www.loc.gov

Labels: Museums, Washington DC

Is the always popular holiday book sale. This year it features books from the Nazareli Press - do the gallery a favor - you've drank the free wine all year, so buy a book. Reading is fundamental afterall...

Labels: DC Galleries, general notice, Washington DC