Radiohead remix and music blogs galore!

To whoever submitted "Everything In Its Right Place" for our music cds, and anyone else who also digs that song, check out this really awesome remix by Gigamesh. You can download it straight from this link:

Everything in its Right Place (Gigamesh/Discotech Remix) - Radiohead

and if anyone's curious about its source:

Technocolorkids music blog: Gigamesh

its a music blog that is updated almost daily with free downloads, mostly in the house/electronic genre...and here is a similar music blog run by some friends from back home that also has daily downloads for music lovers (again mostly house/electronic and occasional rap):

Shifty Rhythyms

enjoy!!

Group Project - 11/19/09

These are pictures from our group event on Jacqueline's roof. The attendance was a little dismal and the weather was less than ideal, but the sound pieces we put together in combination with the lights and noises of the city (and some wine) made for an atmospheric experience. Also, some orbs showed up to keep us company.









Here is the clip from David Lynch's Mulholland Drive that I based my sound loop on:

Arts & Social Change Internship

Provisions is a leading arts and social change research center in Washington DC featuring library, online publications, traveling exhibitions and interactive public art.

We need highly creative individuals who take initiative in developing and completing topical projects; who are willing to learn by doing; who have excellent written/verbal skills; and fluency with computers and the Internet. Interns are needed in the following areas:

Web development for new website
Blogging and social networking
Community arts project management
Grants and fundraising management
Communications and public relations
Library management
International exchange (Balkans Project)
Video editing

Although these are unpaid internships, they offer excellent opportunities for gaining professional experience and working at a high level of responsibility.

Please attach resume and brief cover letter outlining your interests and indicating the length of time you are available (minimum 2 months @ 20 hours/week). College credit may be available.

More: http://www.provisionslibrary.org/

Tim Burton Major Museum Retrospective

Entering a gallery space through a giant mouth with spiked teeth and shocking colors, Tim Burton’s show proved to be exciting at its very conception. The mouth swallows the viewer down a hallway filled with video animations shooting out into a black-lit room. The feeling was like a set in one of his movies, dark, and yet humorously brilliant. Wall to wall people scrunched together to peek at drawings from his days in Burbank, California. Many of the character studies shown were done after hours working for Disney and all the pent up energy from being an animator and concept artist there. The pent up energy exploded into monsters, exaggerated features and anthropomorphic creatures. Distorted sculptures of metal with the repetition of spiked teeth and big eyeballs continue around the space. Mock ups and video studies along with costumes from many of his movies, including the Edward Scissorhands costume as well as alien anatomy from Mars Attacks. Television ads and music videos further prove Burton’s extensive range of expression. I greatly enjoyed this video “Bones” by the killers using animated gestures of skeletons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar5BKXg60ME

If you are in New York it is a must see.

Murakami at Gagosian

This in-process shot of Murakami's latest painting, Picture of Fate: I Am But a Fisherman Who Angles in the Darkness of His Mind, is the most engaging image associated with this whole fiasco. I was so excited to see this work, and was so disappointed with the final product. The Gagosian website touts "highly refined classical Japanese painting techniques" used to execute the piece. Something about Japanese laquer? Did they mean to say the airbrushes they used were made in Japan? The surface of the work is complex, but chaotic. Highly predictable marks and patterning leave nothing for the eye to latch onto, and no way to travel over the surface. Maybe I need to watch more anime? I could only get interested when I got REALLY close to the surface, and then I got nervous that the guard watching the piece might have a few choice words for me, or maybe a tazer or something. I also don't feel too convinced with the ties that Murakami claims to be making with Zen Buddhism in this piece. Well actually it's the press release that chooses to do some name dropping of "another famous outsider" from Japan, the aescetic Daruma. I'm not sure Murakami's work is best approached through comparisons with spiritual figures of the long ago past. He seems to be more about the present, especially the Western/Eastern dichotomy. The current "superflat"culture developed following the dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man, the first of many uniquely American entities to fall on Japanese soil.
I think this more recent historical issue is an important and engaging aspect of Murakami's work. Also, over the past few years he has gone from selling Louis Vuitton bags to titling works after quotes from Zen monks. Is he making fun of Zen traditions? Or the people who claim to uphold them? I'm not sure. As Alan Watts might say, "Murakami is funny thing". Maybe I havn't figured him out yet. But that is still a bad painting.

Guido in the BlackBox

Guido van der Werve's Everything is going to be alright is one of the most somatic works I have seen this year. Walking into the dark room, before I even sat down on the bench, I could feel the power in the work. It hit me right in the gut, and the feeling slowly went from bodily to mental to back to bodily, tying the two realms together in ways that most contemporary works cannot. As the bass rumbled in my belly, my rational mind reeled with the realization of how dangerous this seemingly simple walk was, and how pitifully small he was in front of that giant boat! I thought of all those painters I never admit that I really like, Friedrick and Church and that whole bunch of landscape painters who were concerned with the now poo-pooed notion of the sublime. I guess this is the part where I should talk about being a hopeless Romantic, as a preface to admiting that watching the work maybe even made me cry. just a little bit. I made sure to pretend everything was cool as I walked out of the BlackBox. But really, I wanted to grab the woman who was watching the video with me and point out, in case she wasn't getting it, how awesome this video was. Here is Guido preparing for an earlier piece he did where he built a rocket to try to send home a meteorite he found.
And here is what the Hirshhorn website says about him: An accomplished classical pianist, composer, and chess player, he studied industrial design, archeology, and Russian before focusing on fine art—first on painting, then performance work, and finally, film. To date he has completed ten short film works that he describes as “possible scenarios of imaginary realities.”

Damn. I know at least one of my classmates has a crush on him. For me the feeling is a little bit different, but equally salient. I just want to give him a big hug and be like, "can I tell people you're my brother?" I think it would be ok, going along with those possible scenarios of imaginary realities, and all.

Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens

The current special exhibition at the Phillips seems to be a "slow read", it has taken me several weeks of seeing the work on a regular basis to start to really get it. or maybe I am just a slow reader. Either way, there is a lot more going on in Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens than what a quick walk through reveals. Or, for that matter, than what the docents reveal. My first response to the show was that it is just all about fashion photography and combining art with popular culture. Many of the photographs depict famous 1920s models that some of the museum visitors recognize and get pretty excited about. But there are a few more levels of the show that might attract different crowds. After wandering around the floor and exploring all the rooms, I realized that perhaps the most important part of the exhibition is the map of Africa that is tucked back in the corner of a small room. It is titled something like European Colonialization of Africa in the Early 20th Century. I was surprised to see that less than a century ago, almost no area of Africa was considered an independent entity. Big fat Dutch, French, German, and English fingers are everywhere. So this puts an interesting spin on the photograph of the smiling, shirtless young woman with the slightly dark skin and slightly frizzy hair as she poses with what looks to be an important ceremonial headdress resting on her own carefully styled coif. I won't go into all the unspeakably horrible issues associated with colonialism in Africa, especially stories about childen being thrown into diamond mines to work and never let out until they just die in those dark holes. (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcKC6wil0Sg&feature=related for a good overview)
So there is that darker, less discussed historical aspect of the exhibition. And I recently just realized a third aspect of the show that I am really enjoying....the actual sculptures! At first I could only read them as reference props for understanding the photographs. But now I am noticing that some of them are really powerful objects. I spent a solid five minutes staring at one small statue with a painted face, and he won the staring contest. Very creepy little dude.
So this is actually a pretty great show, but if you do go see it, for god's sake don't lean on the cases...it will really piss off the guards.

Yinka Shonibare gave an excellent lecture at the Hirshhorn. He is definitely what I would call an 'artist's artist', as he made no attempt to appease the crowd (especially the historians and critics) or worry with political correctness. When asked about the Black Gold series, and why he chose to make two of them, the curator asking the question was obviously fishing for some sort of deep conceptual aspect of the work to elucidate for the eager audience. Shonibare replied matter-of-factly that he made two because he wanted to sell them. To make money. It was such an honest answer that I think no one could hold that against him, for he obviously does draw on deeply held beliefs and grapple with personal issues when he makes his work. And he knew exactly when to end the playful banter and answer a question with a bit of sober honesty, and just lightly touch on issues of race, equality, and bigotry.
Shonibare's persona falls perfectly in line with his work...somehow both serious and playful, funny, amusing, but more than a little weird. I will even say, fucked up. He mentioned that the movie The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and her Lover served for inspiration for his own film, which delighted me. It's one of my favorite movies; its intense weirdness is surpassed only by the beauty of its cinematography. And yes, it is available on Netflix.
Well how did I get from costumed astronauts to genital eating thieves? I'm not sure, but it made sense in my head, and I am sure Shonibare would be ok with that. He spent a good deal of time complaining about how people often are upset by contradictions they see in his work. He explained that artists don't always have to make sense, which was an unpretentious way of pointing out that paradox and contradiction are deeply embedded in reality and make for a richer experience with the art. He ended his talk with little fanfare with a statement that was equally simple, but worthy of going into my notebook with quotation marks and a date..."I make the art I want to see". Could it be I actually learned something tonight?

Matthew Ritchie at Andrea Rosen

Matthew Ritchie presented his most recent body of work at Andrea Rosen gallery in New York, and I managed to stumble into his opening on the evening of our bus trip. Confused and delirious after six hours of gallery hopping, I braced myself for what I expected to be a pretentious crowd of New York art snobs standing around acting cool. I was pleasantly surprised to find a relatively small group of people milling about drinking bottles of beer. They were all dressed in the traditional uniform of black jeans, black shirt, black scarf, and black hat, but other than that they seemed...pretty normal. And unlike DC openings, where I feel out of place when I actually want to sneak a peek at some of the actual artwork, this event seemed to be focused on the work. There was more looking than talking going on, and a few people even pointed to particular spots on some paintings.
So while I was pleasantly surprised by the vibe of the place, I am afraid I can't say the same for the work itself. The sculptures looked very similar to previous 3D works, and the paintings have lost their personality completely. Ritchie works with scientists to build complex ideas and stories about various representations of the universe, and he used to make paintings that seemed complex enough to embody such lofty concepts. The most recent bunch, however, have been created mostly through indirect means, creating hazy, flat surfaces. They could have been digital prints they looked so slick. I didn't stick around to try to see Ritchie, or to check out the band that was setting up to play, but I wouldn't mind having the chance to ask him what he did with all those nice complex painterly gestures he used to put into his work. And I bet if I did ask him, he probably has a pretty legitimate answer. Hopefully I will run into him soon.

Lincoln Schatz Systems Building on Systems

Lincoln Schatz

Systems building on Systems

Visiting artist Lincoln Schatz came to GWU for a lecture on his latest projects interviewing neighborhoods in Chicago about the violence in their community. His documentation records conversations with Lincoln interviewing individuals and their experiences involving shootings and other violent happenings. Once the video is recorded, it is converted to a software which rewrites the information in a new language choosing random time. The random sequence becomes less of a documentary and transforms into a artistic social change project determined by the software, it then layers sound with the image. The result is then transferred to his website http://www.ceasefirechicago.org/and other Chicago venues to continue the conversation.

Public art, social media, participation and social change inspire his technologic creations. He studied at Bennington College in Vermont where he earned his BFA. Since then he has shown works all around the world. Nationally his works have been recognized at the Catherine Clark Gallery in San Francisco and the Cube gallery in New York.

I attended lunch at the Thai Place with the other MFA’s where we got to sit and chat with Lincoln about ideas. He asked us, “What are you looking at?” We went around the table to describe our research. Shortly after lunch I had the opportunity to have a critique with him. His knowledge of networks and community building encouraged me to promote community events and push the idea of flash mobs. The impact of feedback is the driving force with his media and I encourage others to follow him at http://lincolnschatz.com for inspiration.

Curator's Office: Jiha Moon, An Exact Place

Jiha Moon’s new exhibition is currently installed at Curator’s Office. I attended the opening last Wednesday night. It was not the first time that I had visited the Curator’s Office but, it was the first opening. It was unfortunate that the opening was taking place during photo week. The normally congested space of Curator’s Office was extra tight with all long their lens. The only up side to this situation was that it was Jiha Moon’s work in the space. Her complex use of a limited palette allowed the work to sing through the din of people. One piece that I was particular drawn to was Mongrel, 2009. It is a dynamic composition weaving together paint, thread and paper.

http://www.curatorsoffice.com/current/

hours
Wednesday - Saturday
12 - 6pm
and by appointment

address
1515 14th St NW
Suite 201
Washington, DC
20005

Civilian Art Projects

Terri Weifenbach
Woods
-
Carole Wagner Greenwood
A Little Give and Take
Exhibition runs:
Friday, November 13, 2009 - December 19, 2009

Friday the 13^th I attended the opening of Civilian Art Projects new exhibition space at 1019 7^th Street NW. There are two artists hanging in this new space. Upfront is the landscape photography project, Woods by Terri Weifenbach. These photographs are optical investigations of figure and ground executed by examining a densely wooded landscape. In the gallery space during the opening I was unable to gain a sense of how these images were functioning on this formal level. In the back portion of the gallery the sculptural work of Carole Wagner Greenwood is installed. These pieces are construction of plaster, linen and other found objects and left in a rather raw state. The work appears to be flirting with formal ideas in form and narrative. Carole Wagner Greenwood had also included a new EP release as a portion of her installation. The EP was not available for listening.

For me one of the most interesting aspects of this opening was the new not quite open restaurant next door. They had opened their doors early for a little trial run and the finish on the bar had not even quite even dried yet. They were offering a small choice of beer in the can or white wine in plastic cup. The staff was charming and the space was comfortable. They had also installed landscape photographs on the walls. These images had been face mounted on brushed aluminum. In the future when journeying to Civilian I will be stopping in to check out the full menu.

http://www.civilianartprojects.com/index.html

1019 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 / p. 202.607.3804
Hours: Wed 1-6pm | Thur - by appointment | Friday 5-8pm | Saturday 1-6pm | and by appointment

Civilian Art Projects

Last Friday I went to the opening of new space Civilian Art Projects. Arriving a little early I popped into a new bar next door for a drink. Turns out the bar was completely brand new and I was their first sale ever. Celebrating all things new, I finished my drink and went next door to Civilian's new space. A few blocks up from the previous location, it's now located in between Gallery Place Chinatown and the Mt Vernon Square Metro Station at 1019 7th Street NW.

The exhibition featured two artists, Carole Wagner Greenwood and Terri Weifenbach. Woods, Weifenbach's photographed woods in the DC metro area. Greenwood's sculptural work included text, plaster, linen and other found objects installed using familiar altar making techniques. Using gold leaf and other adornment, Greenwood made a shrine with candles, plaster and wood. It felt similar to missions in New Mexico. Her work was raw, using nails and canvas with splattered plaster.

Jayme McLellan, director of the space was in attendance. As well as the local DC scene. Civilian's space has a great potential and I am looking forward to future shows in the gallery.

Economy of Scale

November 7 - December 23, 2009

Last Wednesday I attended the opening for the Economy of Scale, the current photography exhibition at Hemphill. An exhibition curated on the notion of does size matter? In a time when Jeff Wall is making mundane images that are as big as a billboard and they are selling for a half million dollars or more you might get the idea that size does matter. The exhibition at Hemphill offers the viewer a wide range of work in all sizes that plays with the ideal of scale on many level. The artist range form Robert Frank to anonymous and this suggest that the viewer should forget about the whom and just think about the what. I however was so taken with a small Robert Frank, Men of Air, NYC, 1948 that was placed by the entrance that I had a hard time letting going of the whom. During the opening it did appear that the maybe the best work was being kept in the back. After a quick zig around the cocktail table it appeared that there were hidden treasures gracing the back walls. I am sure that there was another piece by Franz Jantzen and a large Colby Caldwell just waiting in the hall.

http://www.hemphillfinearts.com/ 1 5 1 5 1 4 T H ST N W W A S H I N G T O N , D C 2 0 0 0 5 2 0 2 . 2 3 4 . 5 6 0 1

Conversations with Artists, Mel Chin

Tonight I attended the Phillips Collections, Conversation with Artist series featuring Mel Chin. To set the stage for an overview of his career as an artist and activist Chin opened the lecture by serenading us with Suspicious Mind. Mid song a banana came flying towards him from behind the audience. This banana and Elvis ballad introduced the year of 1968/69 when the first print ad ran for Chiquita Banana’s. In his artwork The Extraction of Plenty from What Remains: 1823, Mel Chin directly references the damage done to Central American countries that the United States imports crops like bananas, mahogany and coffee. The artwork itself is constructed of these elements as well as mud and goats’ blood.

Chin spoke in length about the production of this piece and the over arching effect that it’s creation had on him as an artist or as he stated ”unbecoming an artist”. He went on to address the development and construction of several other works giving the audience a frame work for understanding how and why he had come to his current project “Fundred”. In this work he is addressing the pervasive and crippling lead contamination of New Orleans and with the help of school children Chin has created a way to appeal to the United States government for the resources to neutralize the lead. Chin is a dynamic speaker who understands how to connect with his audience. As an artist his work is a dynamic mix of research, teamwork and the possibility of social change.

http://www.fundred.org/about/

Fun Little Local DC project

http://www.pandaheadmag.com/

NO HAY BANDA: Tomorrow at 7 pm.

cows and music---good ol damien hirst.

Damien Hirst Music Video

TIM BURTON at the MOMA

Tim Burton show opens on the 22nd at the MOMA in NYC. I'm planning on going next week probably leaving either late Monday or Tuesday morning if any one else is interested in a quick New York research opportunity.

Mel Chin at the Phillips Collection

Conversations with Artists—Mel Chin

November 18, 2009, 5:30 pm, Tour/Lecture

Chin's unconventional and politically charged projects investigate how art provokes greater social awareness and responsibility. Chin often engages others in creative partnerships: in his ongoing Fundred Dollar Bill Project, he asks students to decorate mock currency to raise money to treat soil contamination in New Orleans.

Free; registration required: CSMAprograms@phillipscollection.org

Mel Chin is a public art ecologist/botanist/bad ass environmentalist who has done site specific installations on toxic waste sites using 'hyperaccumulator' plants which soak up heavy metals from soils. PBS' Art21 did a piece on Mel Chin. Get excited! Sign up, as of yesterday there was still space.

PES

In thinking about video class next semester, here are some videos by artist PES Roof Sex , Western Spaghetti and Fireworks

It's All Happening

We got so excited about the Flash Mob we are planning more social misbehavior! Please check out our group Guerilla Was Underground (GWU). Please check us out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerilla-Was-Underground/177318614343 and join us for future missions. The page is brand new and we will continue to update it and link it with other DC groups (Carrotmob, DC Defenestrators and more!) Thanks to all who came and supported the positive energy. Let us know if you have a mission in mind we would be happy to rally.

David Getsy Lecture-tonight at 6:00p.m.

The George Washington University Department of Fine Arts and Art History presents:

'I don't make boy sculptures': David Smith, Frank O'Hara, and Gender Assignment

a lecture by David Getsy

Goldabelle McComb Finn Distinguished Chair in Art History

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Senior Fellow

Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts

Tuesday, November 17 6:00pm

Room A-114

Smith Hall of Art

801 22nd Street

Washington, DC 20052

Massive High Five: by CNN reporter Lisa Dejardins

a little high five press:

http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/

Painting?

As I was watching to post below about the 6000+ paintings that were made into a video, I was reminded of this (see below). I dont know if it can be considered painting, performance or just a skill, but I always love to see how its done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhf3OvRXKg

Matthew Collings: An oral history of western art — interviews

AN ORAL HISTORY OF WESTERN ART NO 1. CAVE ART The Stone Age cave paintings we know today were done by the Cro-Magnons, who lived from about 50,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. The most well known examples are at the Lascaux site in France, and Altamira in Spain. These paintings, mostly of animals, but also schematic hunters and big-breasted erotic females, possibly images of worship, date back 25,000 years. An even more ancient site was discovered relatively recently: the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc cave in France. Archaeologists believe the paintings here to be at least 32,000 years old.

Interview with Ug, Ugrug, Gog, Gug and Grog.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_1_cave.html

Matthew Collings has created a new body of work that skillfully combine his role as critic and artist:

NO.2 THE PARTHENON

Interview with the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_2_parthenon.htm

NO.3 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

Interview with the Lord Jesus.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_3_jesus.html

NO.4 THE MOSAICS AT RAVENNA

Interview with Bishop Maximian.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_4_ravenna.html

NO.5 CAROLINGIAN MANUSCRIPT ILLUSTRATIONS

Interview with the Holy Roman Emperor.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_5_manuscript.html

NO.6 ICONS

Interview with Andrei Rublev.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_6_icons.html

NO.7 MICHELANGELO

Interview with Michelangelo.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_7_michelangelo.html

NO.8 BOTTICELLI

Interview with Sandro Botticelli.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_8_botticelli.html

NO.9 RUBENS

Interview with Sir Peter Paul Rubens.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_09_rubens.html

NO.10 REMBRANDT

Interview with Rembrandt van Rijn.

http://www.emmabiggsandmatthewcollings.net/03_ideas/03_10_rembrandt.html

Khoda, An Animated Film Made Using 6,000 Paintings

if only we had this kind of time...

Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.

“Khoda” is a fantastic animated video made as student project by Reza Dolatabadi using 6000 paintings that were specifically created for the 5 minute film. Each time you pause the video you see a new painting.

What if you watch a film and whenever you pause it, you face a painting? This idea inspired Reza Dolatabadi to make Khoda. Over 6000 paintings were painstakingly produced during two years to create a five minutes film that would meet high personal standards. Khoda is a psychological thriller; a student project which was seen as a ‘mission impossible’ by many people but eventually proved possible!

My Last One, I Swear

Last Friday I had the opportunity to go back to my undergraduate school and speak to the art club about my experience thus far at grad school. This was a really good time to practice what Mary showed us in terms of presenting our work to a group. In this case there was a panel of about 10 of us that talked about our programs, mostly MFA, and two Post-Bacs. We did basic intro then each had the opportunity to take the floor and show our work to the group with time for q&a. I didn't prepare anything in particular, just showed examples of my work as it progressed from first year to now, as well as my portfolio that I had applied to grad school with. It was really a good trial run for presenting my work to others, and what I found is that I can speak fairly well about it without sounding like I'm a complete idiot. Horray.

Another John Gerrard Story

So, last Wednesday, we had the luxury of hanging out with John Gerrard and his peeps at the Hirshhorn and the Ambassador of Ireland's house. Yes, I said it, Ambassador of Ireland's house. I could not help but feel like VIP as the receptions at both places felt a bit surreal. I had to snag a few pics, which I may try and add to this later. I almost wish that we had our critique before the receptions, though, because it would have been nice to be able to talk with him having met him during his big night. Regardless, he gave great feedback when I had my critique and really helped me focus on key parts of my work that hadn't really been addressed. I think that his reception was different than those at galleries, only because the bar and food were outside of the location of his work and you couldn't bring and food/drink inside the space. So, what ended up happening was most people would peek at the work when they get there then mingle outside after. And, because it was at the museum, there were only a few familiar faces around as opposed to the many you see at receptions in local galleries. I think I can say for those of us that had the opportunity to go, we had an truly memorable time.

Chicken Show Review

I really do not know where to begin. Koen is a true wisecracker in terms of his work and his obsession with the chicken and egg theory. The opening was a delight and many people were interested in seeing the chickens and chicken coop, and if they weren't then they came to the wrong show! Patrick actually helped to build the coop, and it is a pretty impressive construct. What I love about openings, besides the booze, is the familiar faces and networking. And, the good thing about it is that if you remember seeing someone somewhere, they usually remember you too and the dialogue can just go from there. And, Leigh is great too because I didn't have to work this show so she dubbed me "honorary guest," whatever that means, but she did say that if they ran out of drinks to let her know and she would grab me some from the back. And, best of all, she told me to come back and pet the chickens. I also ended up getting a USDA chicken coloring book out of the visit so it was truly a great night.
In terms of the work, I really got into the mixed media drawings, and the chickens as they were all cute and such. The video was interesting with the time and temperature logs. I only wished that the space could have been temperature controlled to reflect the temperature on the dial, which I presume was that of the necessary incubation temperature.
An interesting show from an artist truly interested in "foul play."

Show Review

So, I worked at the Lyrical Abstraction show at Conner a bit ago and was told that my job was to make sure no one took any beverage past the bar into the room where Mr. Lewis' painting was hung. It was different than bartending because when I tend at an art event it is usually all about the booze and serving the people. This was different in the sense that I was merely standing and could interact with folks after a certain point during the reception, as most of them had heard my spiel by then about the no booze in the Lewis room. I had conversations about the links between art and science, a favorite topic of mine. I also got to notice how people were reacting to the work, which I can't do while I bartend or even when I am at an opening because I am too busy chatting or looking myself. It was a busy night by the end because of the WPA's Options show, which was happening right upstairs. Most people would come and say I thought my friend's work was going to be here, but I don't see him/her or their work...I would tell them to drink up then go to the door to the left when they went outside and then up the stairs. That, or people would ask me about Morris Lewis' painting and how it was made, or what magma was (the medium used). It was a good time with fun conversation for the most part.
It is also worth noting how fabulous Mr. Leo Villareal's wife's shoes were. They were true platforms. It was a good time as usually at Conner.

In honor of today's Flash Mob

http://carrotmob.org/ Mobsters for social change! They are working on the group for DC.

John Gerrard...And I thought he couldn't get any cooler


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/garden/05qa.html?_r=1

Geoffrey Aldridge at Transformer

Transformer is excited to announce our
7th Annual DC Artist Solo Exhibition:

Geoffrey Aldridge: Hole in the Wall
November 21 - December 26, 2009

Referencing cultural history and the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Geoffrey Aldridge: Hole in the Wall at Transformer will feature a series of art interventions within our 14th Street, NW project space. DC-based artist Geoffrey Aldridge, represented by Conner Contemporary Art *gogo art projects, creates moments of reflection on the continuing struggle of the gay community for recognition and acceptance. Associating memory, perception and identity, this installation of works at Transformer will include video, sculpture, and spatial interventions that act as metaphors for these struggles.

For more information on Geoffrey Aldridge: Hole in the Walland other Transformer exhibitions and programming, please contact us at info@transformergallery.org or 202.483.1102.

Image: Geoffrey Aldridge, Yellow Brick Road detail

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis

very cool...give it a watch (the video loops twice so its really only about 4 minutes long)

Yinka Shonibare at the Hirshhorn

Thursday night, 7pm

During the opening week of the artist’s major midcareer survey at the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA), UK-based Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare visits the Hirshhorn to discuss his work with NMAfA curator Karen Milbourne. Like the Hirshhorn’s “The Age of Enlightenment—Antoine Lavoisier” (2008) on view in “Strange Bodies” until Nov. 15, much of Shonibare’s work poses questions about politics, identity, and cultural authenticity in a postcolonial world. “Yinka Shonibare MBE” is on view at the NMAfA Nov. 10, 2009– Mar. 7, 2010. This program is free.

Making Muses-Opening

Making Muses

An Art History/Fine Arts Collaboration

November 9–20

Opening Night

Tuesday, November 10

5 to 7pm

George Washington University

Smith Hall of Art

801 22nd Street, NW

www.gwu.edu/~art/

Tra Bouscaren

Murals Murals Murals

DC is not the only place where murals are going on with groups like Albus Cavus Mural that is written about below. Check out this project that was just finished in Philly:

http://www.muralarts.org/whatwedo/special/loveletter/

I heard about it from the artist I had interviewed, and the more I look at it, the more I want projects like this to come down to the district