Playing With Food, Finally Respected
I could never help it. My mom was never happy, but squishing mashed potatoes around my plate was always the best option to end a meal.
I’m sure Carlo Giovani’s mom was never pleased. But jeez, I hope she is now. Look at these:
Obamart
Word is out!
Prez Obama has chosen which art will decorate his humble abode for the remainder of his term.
Yup, Barack and wifey got to dig through the storage of three Washington museums: the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; and borrow 45 pieces to dress the West and East Wings of the White House. Imagine that.
Taken from the Guardian: “The Obamas have selected work by Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Josef Albers and Sam Francis. These are the great giants of postwar art, quintessentially and ineluctably American, yet, at times, acerbic critics on the national condition. It seems clear the Obamas have a personal liking for abstract expressionism, but they are also projecting a clear message: they are thoughtful, comfortable with abstraction, aesthetically sophisticated. And patriotic.”
Any president that picks Josef Albers is a winner. Check out other picks:
Josef Albers - Study for Homage to the Square: Nacre
Josef Albers - Homage to the Square: Midday
Jasper Johns - Numerals, 0 through 9
Ed Ruscha - I Think I’ll…
Richard Diebenkorn - Berkeley, No. 52
Edward Corbett - Washington, D.C. November 1963 III
Nicolas De Stael - Nice
George Catlin - Buffalo Chase, with Accidents
Alma Thomas - Skylight
Edgar Degas - The Bow
William H. Johnson - Children Dance
William H. Johnson - Folk Family
Ryan McGinley does Caves
So, my favorite episode of Planet Earth hands down has to be “Caves”
The shit that can happen underground is nuts. It’s not fair that such gorgeous underground landscapes exist that nobody gets to see.
Of course, Ryan McGinley gets access to some cave and throws naked people around and it looks rediculously amazing. Surreal nudies. Check em out:
See full series here: Moonmilk
Remind me to sign up for this
Modern History
Last week I went to the Met and a piece by Sarah Charlesworth entitled, April 21, 1978, caught my eye. She had reproduced the front page of newspapers from around the world, and besides the header, blocked out all type so only images were left amid blank white spaces. She was tracking the reproduction of one specific photographic image seen floating around each page:
It is a picture of Aldo Moro taken during his capture by the Red Brigades, holding a newspaper from the day before, April 20, 1978, declaring him dead. Obviously false. For Moro’s full story click here.
The key point of this piece lies in the manipulation of text and image, and how “Charlesworth was able to reveal some of the ways that image choice and placement were invariably politically motivated… Perceiving the photographic image as a strategic instrument for the exchange of information and the creation of values within in our culture, as Charlesworth describes it, is crucial to unraveling these persistent questions about the mass media and our relationship to it.”
Hierarchy is engrained in every designer’s brain as a way to communicate importance and visual direction. I often forget how powerful this is.
I am a direct contributor to mass media.
I have the power to change the way people think.
This is strange to me. It could be a gift or a curse, or both. Who knows. But, this piece made me start to put things back into perspective.
Sarah Charlesworth’s full project can be found here
I’ve been trying to figure out how to turn some drawings into sculptures
and I believe i’ve fallen in love with dioramas.
Check out Lori Nix’s work.
Must watch
I know you don’t really love scary movies, and I wouldn’t say this is exactly scary. However, I was left feeling slightly paranoid, excited and confused all at the same time.
Bust out the silkscreens
I just bought these on ebay.
A future drawing is in here
But Does It Float?
Brilliant curating by Folkert & Atley: But Does It Float?
