James Turrell at the Guggenheim

When I first experienced a James Turrell exhibition in Chelsea in 2004 it captured my imagination immediately.  I'd never experienced anything like it, so when I heard of his show at the Guggenheim I hit it up.  If you are a New Yorker you have no excuse, you must go and see this for yourself even if you know nothing about contemporary art.  


Experiencing James Turrell's art is a spiritual experience.  His terrific blend of aesthetic and science creates art that is similar to the beauty and power of the natural world.  Just like Andrew Goldsworthy, James Turrell has an incredible talent for making art that is selfless and profound, simple and awesome.

The main attraction of this exhibition is his Aten Reign.  It's a surreal experience especially if you're familiar with the interior of the Guggenheim.  At once he both desecrates the architecture and honors it.  This tunnel of light completely alters the interior yet adroitly reflects it's unique form... It's kind of like he destroyed the space in a kind of sacrifice only to re-create it in a purer form of its original self.  As a side note, while gazing upward at the changing light I couldn't help but to think of Georgia O'Keeffe's abstract flower paintings... 

The other works that James Turrell is showing at the Guggenheim are very special.  His drawings possess an inner glow that I've never seen before, his projected rectangles of light are striking in their simplicity and the illusion of space they manifest, and in darkness the rectangular cutout in the wall of the upper gallery recalls to mind the starkness and ascetic space of the The Rothko Chapel.  His work at the Guggenheim is sublime, conceptual, challenging, and diverse.  Go experience it!

Here is his biography...

Born in Los Angeles in 1943 to a Quaker mother and a father who was a school administrator, James Turrell attended Pomona College, where his studies concentrated on psychology and mathematics. He later received a master’s degree in Art from Claremont Graduate School. Turrell’s work has been widely acclaimed and exhibited since his first showing at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1967, which established him a leader in the nascent Light and Space movement

Andrea Wolf: AIM Biennial at Wave Hill

I went for a visit to Wave Hill on one of their "Summer Wednesdays" in order to cool down from the intense heat of the city.  There, I visited "Bronx Calling: The Second AIM Biennial" at their terrific Glyndor Gallery.  One artist caught my attention above the rest... Andrea Wolf.  She had four pieces being shown there... each one slightly different from the next.  They all were small scale and composed of video projection onto flat rectangular surfaces.  The videos from each were "unextraordinary" as if random uninteresting snippets were selected from your parents Super 8 footage of a trip they took 40 years earlier.  But there was an undeniable charm to these four pieces.  They were nostalgic, curious, and entertaining.  Not to mention that each was created with great care and craftsmanship... especially the tiny video projectors that jutted out from the wall which oddly added to the interest of the work as if they were intended to be sculptural components.

I found Andrea Wolf's website and thought that I might share the link with all of you http://memoryframes.org/andreawolf/.  Take your time exploring her wide range of work.  The first three images below were taken at Wave Hill, while the rest of the images were selected off of her website.

Paul and Damon McCarthy: Assholes, Blowjobs, Incest

 Well, I just had to do it.  I've known about Paul McCarthy's work for some time but never made it to any of this shows.  I pretty much hatted his work before I stepped into Hauser and Wirth, and I still more or less hate it after I've seen his nasty art in person.  But as always when you experience something first hand you take away with you more than if you just read about it in a magazine or saw a clip of it on-line.  I have to admit that McCarthy has won my respect as an artist even though this exhibition made me want to puke.  

In a nutshell his show will leave you with a taste in your mouth probably not dissimilar to anal discharge.  If you want to spend your afternoon feeling as if you just licked a McDonald's toilet bowl in Tijuana after two gay men rammed each other up the ass then you'll love Paul and Damon McCarthy's "Rebel Dabble Babble" at Hauser and Wirth.  It's a multimedia spectacle of incest... Complete with brother/sister blowjobs, intercourse, bitch slapping, incessant cursing, old man asshole, husband/daughter humping, and repulsive gooey yellow fluids.  For how completely disgusting this show is, dare i say it is done with artistry and thoughtfulness.  

Below is a video of Paul and Damon McCarthy speaking about their work on this project, and here is a link to an Art21 video on Paul's work http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/paul-mccarthy.

According to the Hauser and Wirth website...

‘Rebel Dabble Babble’ is a large and complex installation and video projection work originally inspired by both Nicholas Ray’s 1955 classic Hollywood film ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ and the furious rumors that swirled around the off-set relationships between its director and his stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo. This densely layered opus confronts definitions of power and role-playing, and expands far beyond the ’50s movie and related legends. Ultimately, ‘Rebel Dabble Babble’ is a meditation upon the archetypes and Oedipal tensions that define family dynamics as they have been played out in private homes, in the evolution of art history, and in the role of the entertainment industry in shaping our expectations and self-images. 

(Read more of the press release at http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/1731/paul-mccarthy-and-damon-mccarthy-rebel-dabble-babble/view/)

Paul McCarthy might be commenting on the "quasi-incestuous affairs between Ray and his actors" in the entertainment industry and "the archetypes and Oedipal tensions that define family dynamics" and that's fine and well that he does... but you have to question why Damon McCarthy and Paul McCarthy (who plays both Nick Ray and the father of Jim Stark in "Rebel Without a Cause") seem to so authentically enjoy this carnival of debauchery.  And that's precisely why his work is so controversial and powerful... because Mr. McCarthy is one hell of a creepy guy, so much so that to even go to one of his exhibitions you feel as though you're participating in an act of abomination. 

And lastly, I dedicate this post to the poor gallerinas that have to sit at the front deskat Hauser and Wirth and hear the "hullabaloo of clanging and clamor, yelling and coital grunting" day in and day out.  My heart goes out to you!

***FYI all images were found on-line

Andy Goldsworthy's "Storm King Wall"

So much art exhibited in galleries and museums across the globe asserts the individual and the power of the ego.  I think this is a good thing considering that our everyday lives in society cannot always accommodate the individual's eccentric and sacred self expression.  But in the art world where the status quo is exactly that, it is rare to find art that transcends the individual consciousness and touches upon something greater... more graceful and meditative than the self.  Andy Goldsworthy is one such artist of this type among others like James Turrell, who is now showing at the Guggenheim.

Andy Goldsworthy's "Storm King Wall" and "Five Men, Seventeen Days, Fifteen Boulders, One Wall" at Storm King is a masterpiece.  Being outside viewing art seems so natural... and when you're out there in the midst of it all it feels like the obvious context for experiencing it... I think it's interesting we've become so accustomed to looking at art in white walled cubes that outdoors seems like a treat.  He has two wall pieces there that were constructed 10 years apart from one another.  I'm not sure if they connect, but the both of them together dodge trees, boulders, go up and down hills, into bodies of water, across flat ground, and end at a highway.  I fell in love with this simple and yet very complex take of his on the traditional stone walls that you find up and down the Hudson River Valley region.  It's interesting that for every natural feature it dodges or crosses or scales it gives life and recognition to those features that you might otherwise be only slightly aware of.  If you're in NYC take a trip up river and experience this fabulous park and work of art.

Best Art Venues In The Lower Hudson Valley

Storm King Art Center

To commemorate the beginning of the summer season I put together an edited list containing art venues within driving distance or a train ride from New York City along the Hudson River.  Most of these are my personal favorites, although only one I have not yet made it too (HVCCA).  The list is in order from closest to Manhattan to Beacon, NY.  Here is a link to a google map I made showing these locations... http://goo.gl/maps/ucwpy.  If you had to choose only a couple of places to visit, go and experience Dia:Beacon and the town of Beacon (easily accessible by Metro-North) and Storm King Sculpture Park (expect to be there all day).  

***Note: all photos were found on the web and the descriptions of each venue was found on their website.

Wave Hill

www.wavehill.org/arts/exhibits/

"Wave Hill is a 28-acre public garden and cultural center in the Bronx overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. Its mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts." 

Mikhail Zakin Gallery

http://tasoc.org/galleries

"The Art School at Old Church is an art school and fine art gallery in Bergen County, NJ (North Jersey) offering fine art and craft classes for adults, teens, children and families, as well as workshops, art exhibits, outreach programs & much much more!"

The Arts Students League: Vytlacil Campus

http://www.theartstudentsleague.org/ResidencyVytlacilCampus/ElizabethVSullivanGallery.aspx

"The Elizabeth V. Sullivan Gallery at the Art Students League's Vytlacil Campus in Sparkill, NY opened in January 2012 as a dedicated exhibition space. Hosting six exhibitions per year, the Elizabeth V. Sullivan Gallery shows a broad range of established artists including modern masters, with a focus on solo exhibitions by the League’s exceptional faculty.  Set in the historic home of modernist painter Vaclav Vytlacil, these exhibitions serve to educate and enlighten; to broaden the viewer’s understanding of the art making process."

Edward Hopper House

www.edwardhopperhouse.org

"The mission of the Edward Hopper Landmark Preservation Foundation is to preserve and maintain the birthplace and boyhood home of artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967); to maintain an archive of Edward Hopper documents and memorabilia; to serve as a resource for scholars, art historians, and art lovers worldwide; to function as a multi-arts center for artists to display their work in all media, and to encourage and nurture community engagement with the arts."

Rockland Center for the Arts

www.rocklandartcenter.org

"RoCA is a multi-arts center dedicated to creating and promoting art through its School for The Arts, exhibitions, workshops, literary and performing arts events, Summer Arts Day Camp, and outreach programs. [...]  Originally known as the Rockland Foundation, RoCA was founded in 1947 by a group of renowned artists, including Aaron Copland, Paulette Goddard, Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, Maxwell Anderson, and Helen Hayes. Their intention was to create a new cultural center, separate from New York City, taking advantage of the immense creative talent that had recently migrated to the region."

PepsiCo Sculpture Garden

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_M._Kendall_Sculpture_Gardens

"The Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens is a collection of 45 pieces of outdoor sculpture at the PepsiCo world headquarters in Purchase, New York. The collection includes work from major modern sculptors including Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and Alberto Giacometti."

SUNY Purchase: Neuberger Art Museum

www.neuberger.org

"Initiated in 1974 with Roy R. Neuberger's donation of 108 works of art, the permanent collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art has grown to over 6000 works of uncompromised quality and variety. Featuring prestigious examples of modern, contemporary and African art, holdings include the Roy R. Neuberger Collection of American Art, the Aimee W. Hirshberg and Lawrence Gussman Collections of African Art, the Hans Richter bequest of Dada and Surrealist objects, the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist art, and American, Mexican and European master works from the collection of the late Dina and Alexander Racolin. The Neuberger Museum of Art continues to collect and exhibit its permanent collection, enacting Mr. Neuberger's commitment to supporting the work of contemporary artists who examine and expand the ideas of our day."

Gaga Arts Center

www.garnerartscenter.org

"GARNER Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) not for profit arts organization. We are located in the Garnerville Arts and Industrial Center in the lower Hudson Valley of New York, just 45 minutes from Manhattan. A sprawling old, red brick, pre-Civil War textile mill that is now the home of a thriving arts community including the studios of painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, woodworkers, and of course, loads of unique performance and exhibition space."

Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Arts

www.hvcca.org/

"The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, located in Peekskill, NY, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and education organization founded by the Marc and Livia Straus family. The Center is dedicated to the development and presentation of exhibitions and interdisciplinary programs that enrich our understanding of contemporary art, its contexts, and its relationship to social issues. HVCCA is also committed to the enrichment of Peekskill, a multicultural community that has recreated itself as a major arts destination. HVCCA operates a 12,000 square foot exhibition space and is the primary sponsor of the Peekskill Project, an annual, city-wide exhibition of site-specific artwork."

Garrison Art Center

www.garrisonartcenter.org

"THE RIVERSIDE GALLERIES at Garrison Art Center consists of three exhibition spaces. Each year the galleries feature a number of exhibitions that include solo shows, curated group shows, juried shows and several educational exhibitions. The Trudy and Henry Gillette Gallery, the largest of our spaces, has recently been completely renovated with support from generous friends of the Art Center. This space accommodates a variety of exhibitions annually that include sculpture, large scale painting, installation, photography and more. It is also suitable for performances, small concerts, gallery talks, lectures and readings.The adjacent Anita Hart Balter Gallery is approximately 300 square feet. It is used for more intimate exhibitions, small installations and digital media."

The Marina Gallery

http://themarinagallery.com

"Exhibits of Contemporary Art by notable Hudson Valley Artists and also houses a Fine Art Restoration shop.  An artist-run gallery that exhibits Contemporary Art and also offers Fine Art restoration work by Marina Yashina."

Storm King Sculpure Park

www.stormking.org/

"Widely celebrated as one of the world’s leading sculpture parks, Storm King Art Center has welcomed visitors from across the globe for fifty years. It is located only one hour north of New York City, in the lower Hudson Valley, where its pristine 500-acre landscape of fields, hills, and woodlands provides the setting for a collection of more than 100 carefully sited sculptures created by some of the most acclaimed artists of our time."

Dia: Beacon

www.diaart.org/sites/main/beacon

"In May 2003, Dia Art Foundation opened Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, as a museum to house its renowned permanent collection of major works of art from the 1960s to the present. Located on the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, Dia:Beacon occupies a nearly 300,000-square-foot historic printing factory. The galleries are named in honor of Louise and Leonard Riggio for their extraordinary generosity, which has helped make possible the realization of this museum." 

Jeff Koons: New Paintings and Sculpture

I had to catch a glimpse of Jeff Koons' "New Paintings and Sculpture" at Gagosian Gallery in New York before it closes July 3rd.  The first thought that came into my head being at this exhibition standing in front of Koons' paintings was: what am I doing here?  What would my old painting professor from SUNY Fredonia think if a student created these paintings?  The student would surely have had to have a damn good explanation at the very least.  Only an artist like Jeff Koons, whose work is highly sought after and sells for millions, could create work like this and show it at the most famous gallery in the world.  So whats the deal?  Am I missing something about this series of "Antiquity" paintings?  Or is this just another example of the power of suggestion and the backwardness of the art world.

I am reminded of art critics Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith who choose to collect affordable artwork from flea markets and garage sales instead of paying thousands for art exhibited in galleries.  I also think of children's artwork... wonderful drawings and paintings from six and seven-year-olds that I would love to be the proud owner of.  There is something interesting…Koons' "Antiquity" paintings would not gain even a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the attention they are currently gaining if they were made by a student or emerging artist.  In other words, if Michelangelo's David was created by a student at SUNY Fredonia the work of art would be celebrated equally as much as it has been coming from the hands of Michelangelo himself.  On the other hand if the antiquity paintings were found in a students studio at SUNY Fredonia it would gain no recognition whatsoever.  What does all of this tell us?  The artist's name is a brand and art is no longer solely valued according to technical skill or sublimity.

I now understand that the reason why I came to see this exhibition was to question art.  Is this the true function behind Jeff Koons' work...  To force us to question our conception of what is and is not fine art?  It would be easy to either hail him or detest him.  His work is to be reacted to... thought about, talked about, argued about.  After all isn't that the artists job in contemporary society?  

Lastly, I think his sculpture is much more interesting.  His bronze hulk, granite gorilla, and stainless steel ballon sculptures are mesmerizing because of their optical illusion, size, and quirky pop culture imagery.