Museum Bound? Skip the Acoustiguide and Ditch the Docent, Advises Joe Queenan

“Just look at the paintings and relax.” Better yet, laugh. Such is the advice of Joe Queenan, whose latest Wall Street Journal column takes the form of “three tips for surviving the art museum.” His first rule? Avoid the acoustiguide. “Art phones have turned museum-going into a dreary chore,” writes Queenan, who we suspect didn’t opt for the experience-enhancing headphones at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recent Alexander McQueen blockbuster. “It’s like being back in high school, where you’re expected to memorize everything.” He’s also no fan of docents, who he describes as “blathering idiots who think they missed their calling as stand-ups” and “living proof that people should not be allowed to retire, because in retirement, the pathologically garrulous cease to be merely annoying and become truly dangerous.” (We’ll spare you the bit about dispatching NATO warplanes on a docent destruction mission.) Focus on his third tip: Don’t be afraid to laugh at the art. “If an art museum is clicking on all cylinders, you shouldn’t be able to get out of there without doubling over in laughter at least three times,” writes Queenan, who offers examples ranging from Francois Boucher‘s toddler hunters to comtemporary works. “If you can’t laugh at Anthony van Dyck’s boozed-up cavaliers, Thomas Gainsborough’s cadaverous, blue-faced debutantes, or Damien Hirst’s 13-foot shark in a few thousand gallons of formaldehyde, you’re really missing out on some great fun.”

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Record Sleeves of the Month: vinyl special

We’ve already posted up a glut of beautiful music packages this month but feel it’s time for another round up. This time there’s a distinctly vinyl flavour with releases from Massive Attack, Box Codax and Martin Creed, Tom The Lion, and the latest 7″ release on Fred Deakin’s Impotent Fury label…

The Vinyl Factory joined forces with Turner Prize winning artist and musician Martin Creed, and also Box Codax – the band formed by Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy and Manuela Gernedel along with lyricist Alexander Ragnew – to create a limited edition art and music release.

The 12″ white vinyl release has a song by Creed on one side (Where You Go), and a song by Box Codax (Dawning) on the other. The colourful central vinyl labels have been hand-painted by Creed and each of the 100 pressings come in plain white card window sleeves signed by both Creed and McCarthy. It’s music and it’s an original painted artwork so you’ll need £100 to buy one from vfeditions.com.

Also from The Vinyl Factory is Inhale Gold – a 12″ vinyl release containing two new Burial remixes of Massive Attack tracks Four Walls (previously unreleased) and of Paradise Circus, a track from the Heligoland album.

The sleeve is adorned by a hand numbered, gold glitter screenprint designed by MA’s Robert Del Jaja (aka 3D).

The glitter screenprint has a rough, slightly sandpaper-like texture so to prevent the sleeve “doing a Durutti Column” (Durutti Column‘s first album, The Return of the Durutti Column, Factory, 1980 had a sandpaper sleeve) and wrecking the sleeve next to it on your shelves, the release is shipped in a transparent plastic sleeve.

Only 1000 of these releases were pressed at £25 each. I think they might have already sold out on pre-orders – though you can check here: vfeditions.com/product/view/43 and sign up to The Vinyl Factory’s mailing list if you don’t want to miss out on future releases.

The latest release from Fred Deakin’s Impotent Fury label is one in an ongoing series that feature similarly engineered embossed and die-cut card sleeves. Each release is packaged in a different colour package sporting its own unique pattern on the back.

Actually, we featured the video for one of the two tracks, by Frank Eddie, Let Me Be The One You Call On the other week. Here it is again in case you missed it:

Design, direction, animation by Mr Kaplin and Airside Nippon. The release is limited to just 500 pressings. To buy it / find out more, visit play.airside.co.uk/products/let-me-be-the-one

Daniel Mason of Something Else is a man obsessed with creating products of high covetability – and this is no exception. Devised, developed, produced and supplied by Mason, this is a special collectors edition slip cased set of artist Tom The Lion‘s two 10″ EP records, released on Theatre Records.

The mock leather, screenprinted slipcase contains two case bound and foilblocked gatefold sleeves which each house two coloured vinyl discs plus a lyric sheet printed on bible paper. The EPs can be bought separately but this package comes in the slipcase pictured above and also houses all the music contained on the vinyl discs on CDs which are included and housed in uncoated coloured card CD wallets. Lion illustration by Konstantinos Gargaletsos.

 

To find out more about Tom The Lion and this very limited release, visit tomthelion.co.uk.

 

 

Hokusai: original mangaka

The sketchbooks of 18th century artist Katsushika Hokusai are packed with humour, charm and glimpses of everyday life. Pie Books in Japan has just published them as a beautiful collected edition…

Shunro, Taito, and, later in life, Gakyo Rojin or ‘Old man mad about painting’: Japanese artist and illustrator Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) went by several pseudonyms.

But the Hokusai moniker by which he’s best known was adopted when he was 38 and used for the next 18 years. In showcasing the pick of his ‘manga’ sketches in a new 700-page edition, Pie has revealed a man who was certainly crazy for his art.

Hokusai drew anything and everything but his cartoons of human figures, sketched in just a few bold lines, convey character, expression and movement in a way that we can still relate to. Some of them look like they are straight out of contemporary manga. Just look at the sketches of hands (above) – the one on the right seems to depict someone deterring an unwanted grope.

Hokusai’s take on ‘Ukiyo-e’ woodblock printing depicts ordinary folk and the houses they lived in, tackles proverbs and the Japanese landscape (his most famous and most recognisable series of works is probably Mount Fuji in 36 views).

With Hokusai Manga, Pie has produced a wonderful book that includes a brief but astute commentary on a man whose work proved to be an influence on Art Nouveau but, in his own time, captured the breadth and character of everyday life in Japan.

Pie Books; £35. More details at piebooks.com.

Richard Prince On Bob Dylan’s Paintings: ‘They’re More Acoustic Than Electric’

Whether or not you had the opportunity to see the recent exhibition of paintings by Bob Dylan at Gagosian Gallery in New York and regardless of your opinions of the famed singer-songwriter’s way with acrylics or choice of source material, treat yourself to Richard Prince’s wonderfully Joycean take on the matter. The artist penned an essay for the exhibition catalogue, and it has been published on the New York Review of Books’ blog for all to enjoy. Prince proves that he can wield a simile as deftly as he does an appropriated cowboy: He compares one of Dylan’s canvases to Cézanne’s Bathers, works he admires in part because “The paint is nice and thin, like it’s been applied directly on the wall of a Roman emperor’s home,” and likens getting to Dylan’s Los Angeles studio to “that scene in Goodfellas when Ray Liotta parks his car outside a nightclub…I think it’s Copacabana…and goes in a side entrance, down a hall past a lazy-ass watchman, into the kitchen, through another hallway, and out into the main room and ends up right next to the maître d’, who then ignores the people in line waiting to get in and hugs and kisses Ray and his girlfriend and shows them right down in front of the stage, where a small table, two chairs, and a plug-in lamp suddenly, miraculously, appear.” And that’s just the opening paragraph. Before assessing the works (“I think Dylan’s paintings are good paintings. They’re workmanlike and they do their job.”), Prince offers this smashing description of Dylan’s studio, or at least what he believes to have been Dylan’s studio:

It didn’t look like any artist’s studio I’d ever been in. It was on the second floor and was around five hundred square feet and furnished with furniture that looked like it had been found on the street. There was a small Casio keyboard on a keyboard stand. There was a store-bought easel and a carton of art supplies on the floor. The carton was one of those plastic containers the USPS holds mail in. I’m not sure what was on the wall. I think there was a gold record or a plaque that said something about a record industry milestone. There was a small balcony with a couple of wrought-iron chairs and a table. It was a mismatched set. Except for the art supplies, there wasn’t a single thing in this room that would tell someone, “Art is made here.” It was kind of astounding. It was like Dylan was painting in a witness protection program.

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Core Deco

Matt W. Moore’s Op Art takes on new forms in his most functional venture yet
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From what we’ve seen from Matt W. Moore, the Portland, Maine-based artist behind MWM Graphics, he leaves no question that he’s rabidly productive. And now, he’s taking his signature “Vectorfunk” optical artwork one step further into a new dimension (literally) with the debut of a four-piece collection of design objects called Core Deco. Created with the help of friends skilled in different disciplines—from manufacturing to silkscreening—the inventive ceramic tile coaster set, shelves and jacquard afghans are all made in the U.S with function as their goal. We talked to Moore about the story behind his designs and the unusual approach he took to the brand’s site.

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How long did it take to develop the collection?

Core Deco has been years in the making. I’ve always had a desire to design and produce functional design, furniture and home goods. This past winter I decided to go full speed ahead with it.

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What challenges did you encounter when transforming your designs into three dimensions?

I am pretty good at imagining how a graphic or mural will look in an environment before it is created. But for the three-dimensional products I have been making cardboard mockups… Learning the benefits and limitations of a manufacturing process is the best way to push it as far as it can go.

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The presentation of your products on the site, especially the videos, is refreshing.

Doing the videos is a great way to show the dimensionality of the 3D items. Seeing how products exist in their environment is crucial and photos simply cannot tell the whole story. Especially the Diamond Corner Shelf. The shadows and geometry of it are awesome as you walk past it. With the Ceramic Tile video we are hinting at how awesome a bathroom or kitchen backsplash would look with a full-on mosaic of the tiles.

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What influenced your designs?

My travels have really informed my design sensibility and the aesthetics that I gravitate toward. The tile mosaics of Spain and Brazil. The modern architecture of Moscow and Seattle. The beauty of nature and the juxtaposition of organic forms with man-made geometry. Coming into this realm of product design as an outsider has proven to be exponentially educational and exciting.

What are your plans with the range?

I plan to launch a new collection of goods each quarter, always focused on unique functional design.

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In 2012, we’re planning some pop-up shop experiences around the Northeast. That will be a lot of fun, to go into an empty environment and trick it out with Core Deco goods — to really show how it all works together. We’re definitely open to building retail relationships with boutiques that share our vision.


Giant Lego Man Washes Up on Florida Beach

An eight-foot-tall man returned from a swim on Tuesday morning in Siesta Key, Florida and was promptly detained by authorities. The 100-pound fellow, who resembles a giant Lego figurine, is made of fiberglass. The front of his green tank top reads “No Real Than You Are,” and the back is emblazoned with the number eight and “Ego Leonard,” the name of a Dutch artist whose creations have previously washed up on beaches in England and the Netherlands. “I am glad I crossed over. Although it was a hell of a swim,” wrote the artist, replying to an e-mail from a writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “Nice weather here and friendly people. I think I am gonna stay here for a while. A local sheriff escorted me to my new home.” According to a press release issued by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, “Mr. Leonard is being kept in a secure environment until his owner comes forward.” Lego is not amused. A spokeswoman for Legoland in Orlando told the Herald-Tribune that the Lego man is a counterfeit and not endorsed by Legoland. Meanwhile, the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau is eager to keep him in town. “We were trying to spring him out of jail,” said Erin Duggan, communications director for the tourism bureau. “We had offered to give him a home at the visitors center, where people could come and have their pictures taken with him.”

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Scratching beneath the surface of the streets

Scratching the Surface project, Cali, Colombia

Portuguese street artist Vhils makes portraits by hacking, drilling and ripping into buildings. His first monograph has just been published by Gestalten and contains some striking imagery of his work…

Vhils is the moniker that artist Alexandre Farto uses for his street art, which has appeared on – or rather, out of – walls across cities all over the world.

In their preface to the new book, the Wooster Collective’s Marc and Sara Schiller write: “By removing bits of plaster and paint, by peeling away layers of history, Vhils reveals the emotion and humanity of his subjects, who are largely unknown – photographed on the streets of Portugal or London, or pulled from old magazines and newspapers found at local flea markets.

“This excavation, often a process of violent removal, stands in sharp contrast to the delicate portraits discovered hidden underneath.”

Scratching the Surface project, Los Angeles, US (collaboration with JR)

Scratching the Surface project, Nu Art Festival, Stavanger, Norway (photo: Angelo Milano)

“In Vhils’ hands, vandalism becomes an act of creation,” the Schillers continue before concluding with a quote from Vhils himself. “In this act of excavation,” he says,” it’s the process which is expressive, more than the final result. It’s a process of trying to reflect upon our own layers.

“My aim is not to come up with solutions but to conduct research – to confront systems, materials, processes, elements, to create friction and confront the individual with the process.”

Scratching the Surface project, Kashima (Gunkan Jima), Japan (glue and ground dirt)

Part of Scratching the Surface exhibition, Lazarides Gallery, London

From Museum Ruins show at Mace Contemporary Art Museum, Elvas, Portugal

To Have Or To Be series (billboard posters dipped in resin, white paint)

Detail of portrait from Scratching the Surface project, Cali, Colombia

Vhils is out now from Gestalten; £37.50 and available to buy, here. More of Vhils’ work at alexandrefarto.com.

 

CR in Print

Thanks for reading the CR Blog but if you’re not also reading the magazine in print, you’re really missing out. Our October issue includes the story of Blackpool’s Comedy Carpet, a profile of Jake Barton whose studio is currently working on the 9/11 Memorial Museum, plus pieces on branding and the art world, guerilla advertising coming of age, Google’s Android logo, Ars Electronica, adland and the riots, and loads more.

And, if you subscribe to CR, you also receive our award-winning Monograph booklet every month for free.

If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

 

Shadow play

Working in hand-carved Linden wood and bronze, Turkish artist Yasam Sasmazer creates life-sized figures of children: her first UK exhibition is at London’s Aubin Gallery now

Illuminated Darkness features several of Sasmazer’s figures, lit to create dramatic shadows on the walls behind. According to the artist, shadows represent the darkness in our souls’ hidden side and the most frightening part of our personality.

Illuminated Darkness is at the Aubin Gallery, Redchurch St, London E2 until November 4. Details here

Rocky Opening to the Musee d’Orsay Briefly Delays Checking Out Its Non-White Walls

It was a bit of a shaky restart for the recently rehabbed Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Planning to reopen on Thursday after a reconstruction effort to the 200-year old former train station that cost nearly $30 million and required a closure of two years, the museum was hit by staff protests, which pushed back its opening. The NY Times reports that the staff, most of whom were security guards, were angry over planned “broad government cutbacks that see retiring civil servants – including museum workers – not replaced by new hires” and decided to use the reopening as a publicity-heavy method of getting their message across. That temporary disruption eventually lifted on Friday, giving people a first look at the addition of more than 20,000 square feet, the newly hung Impressionist masterpieces, and most importantly: get a look at the color of those new walls. Perhaps one of the more talked about aspects of the rehab effort is the museum’s decision not to go with the standard all-white gallery walls. Saying that “white is the enemy of painting” given that it can reflect light too brightly and create a subtle aura that washes out the works of art, the museum decided to go with subdued shades of green, gray, etc. Thus far, no one seems particularly bent out of shape over the decision, but the Guardian‘s Jonathan Jones has stood up for white walls in one of his most recent columns, arguing that “there are lots of whites, good and bad” and that sometimes it’s just the best color for art to exist alongside.

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Andy Warhold Foundation Dissolves Its Authentication Board

If you happen to find what you believe is a real piece of art made by Andy Warhol in your attic’s crawl space or at some flea market, you’re now going to have a bit more difficult of a time trying to get it authenticated. Though that might not be such a bad thing. The board of directors of the Andy Warhold Foundation for the Visual Arts have announced that they have voted to dissolve the Andy Warhol Authentication Board, the 16 year-old group of six members who would meet three times per year to evaluate pieces, deeming them real or fake. Over the years, the group had found itself fighting off a number of controversies, most recently over their stamping “denied” on the back of work they’d found to not be authentic, allegedly to help drive up the cost of real Warhols, and larger scandal last year when it was revealed that a Brillo Box sculpture the organization had authenticated was made three years after the artist’s death. But now that will all be in the past, as last week was the final date one could request a review. Here’s a bit from the announcement:

The Foundation’s decision to dissolve the Authentication Board was informed by a strategic review of the Foundation’s core programs and reflects the Foundation’s intent to maximize its grant-making and other charitable activities in support of the visual arts.

The Directors further expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the exemplary work and expertise provided by members of the Authentication Board over the past 16 years. The Authentication Board will honor all requests for review received prior to October 19, 2011; but will no longer accept requests for review after that date.

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