Rainer Ganahl...
seriously, the best fashion show I have ever been entertained by. Very hilarious, and the models looked like real people....because they were. There were children, matronly ladies, dashing young men, beautiful ladies, and I am surprised there was not a dog or cat.
The purpose of the show was to introduce a pretend fashion line called "Commes de Marxist". The event was a staging of fashion in a manner that expressed a political idea and a series of social alternatives. The production covered sex-work, labor, health, and prison in a 45-minute poetry reading that alternated between spoken word and call and response. While the performance art was secondary, it was primarily the most exciting attribute of the show.
Wool felt is something I have never seen on a runway before. I appreciate the ideas that were being expressed with the wool felt. The pieces were highly innovative, despite the lack of diversity in design. Unfortunately, the construction of the pieces were fundamentally lacking in quality; a lamentable theme in this show. The people the artist hired to create his designs were often not the best at what they did. While it is important to support your friends, and include them in projects; sometimes it is better to go outside your circle and find people that can do a good job quickly and efficiently.
The artist excelled at designing menswear. The menswear was excellent, it was tailored to perfection as long as the models were not wearing the suitjackets. The performance art that went along with the menswear sections was well-thought out and creative. It is my opinion that the artist should direct his focus on creating menswear. Menswear was definitely the high-point of the evenings fashion designs.
Sex-work is a hot-button issue that is rarely explored, and the
artist captured the spirit of the issue in spectacular fashion. "Marx on Sex-work", was the entertaining title for the swimwear portion of the program. Models were dressed in ingenious designs that required careful assembly. Each piece was diverse and equally impractical for actual swimming. .As far as the artistic integrity of the overall composition
was concerned, womenswear made interesting statements about
sexualization v. sensualization of culture. I was disappointed by the fact that menswear was not included in the swimwear category.
Overall, the performance was entertaining. The entertainment value made up for the laxity in production quality and development. The presentation was smooth and the soundtrack of beatnik poetry created an authentic amateur production. When Rainer links up with a collective that can help him produce his ideas at a higher level, he will be unstoppable.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Squared Logic
The thing that annoys me the most about art openings, is the food. I think it is very crass to serve beer out of a bucket of ice. At least have a some snacks that do not look like they came from a kmart deli. I can reclaim better hors d'oeuvres and no one would even know. They are inexpensive, easy to create and should be a staple of the scene.
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I went to see three show yesterday. One of the shows was by Shoshona Brombacher, an amazing Jew artist. The second was Sonia Almeida, there has been a bit of buzz about her work, and Eugenio Espinoza (I had no idea who he was but the press release sounded interesting).
Shoshana's work I am very familiar with. I met Shoshana over a year ago, and I have watched her ideas and compositions become organized and well-presented. Her exhibit was a part of a social event, and I unfortunately missed the actual event, but I was able to view some of the art.
Jew Art tells a story. The brush strokes are bold and impressionistic. The colors have a tendency to be pale and blend together in a way that can be lost if done improperly. There is also a tendency to depict too many elements of a tale onto the canvas, making the story become a muddle of ideas and images. Shoshana can tell a story and the viewer can see words on the canvas where none exist; because she is that vocal with her style.
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Sonia Almeida will be great in about five years. She understands composition, every piece she created was interesting and balanced. Even though the layout was less than ideal, it did not take away from the overall effectiveness of the exhibit.
The concepts are well designed, but the color schemes and execution are a bit sloppy. An additional concern is the cleanliness and completeness of the work presented. Ideally, Sonia needs to work on finishing and developing her brush technique. Her paint layers did not look planned, and brought down the quality of the imaging. When painting on plywood, it is ideal to cover the product with a layer of varnish to seal the painting, and give it finalized appearance. A layer of varnish forgives a lot of mistakes and raises the value of the piece.
I am going to start following her work if I can, because I am very interested in what she is able to come up in the future.
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Eugenio Espinoza...apparently has been making art for years. I went to see his show called "Going Blind Faith".
The press release was amazing, but after I saw the actual exhibit, I feel like it was insulting him. For example, "...painted oil on aluminum works lean against the gallery's walls-balancing at a single point or against the length of one wall. The six gray metal cubes in the center of the gallery are spare testimonies to a focus on repetition and space in the artist's practice." The translation: "...it was not worth the time to figure out how to hang these sheets of aluminum, so we just stacked all three of these sheets of aluminum against the wall. The six gray metal cubes in the center of the gallery that appear to be benches are a testimonial to the lack of ideas that led to the creation of this project, and the lack of ideas that led to the creation of everything else in the space.
...he started marking art in the 60's
...the exhibit is monochromatic sheets of metal that are structurally unsound, and the only interesting piece is hidden in a corner of a room where the object of attention is a black and white canvas that has nothing to do with the concepts in the other pieces.....
Maybe it is time to do something different.
...or maybe it is the start of something different.
...in which case the arrangement of all the variables environment should have had the objective of "leading" the viewer "blindly". The pièce de résistance being the black and white canvas against a side wall of the second room.
If that is not the case, then Eugenio should make furniture. I think he would be an excellent furniture designer. His aesthetic for simple monochromatic design is conducive to contemporary environments.
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I went to see three show yesterday. One of the shows was by Shoshona Brombacher, an amazing Jew artist. The second was Sonia Almeida, there has been a bit of buzz about her work, and Eugenio Espinoza (I had no idea who he was but the press release sounded interesting).
Shoshana's work I am very familiar with. I met Shoshana over a year ago, and I have watched her ideas and compositions become organized and well-presented. Her exhibit was a part of a social event, and I unfortunately missed the actual event, but I was able to view some of the art.
Jew Art tells a story. The brush strokes are bold and impressionistic. The colors have a tendency to be pale and blend together in a way that can be lost if done improperly. There is also a tendency to depict too many elements of a tale onto the canvas, making the story become a muddle of ideas and images. Shoshana can tell a story and the viewer can see words on the canvas where none exist; because she is that vocal with her style.
-------------------------------------------------------
Sonia Almeida will be great in about five years. She understands composition, every piece she created was interesting and balanced. Even though the layout was less than ideal, it did not take away from the overall effectiveness of the exhibit.
The concepts are well designed, but the color schemes and execution are a bit sloppy. An additional concern is the cleanliness and completeness of the work presented. Ideally, Sonia needs to work on finishing and developing her brush technique. Her paint layers did not look planned, and brought down the quality of the imaging. When painting on plywood, it is ideal to cover the product with a layer of varnish to seal the painting, and give it finalized appearance. A layer of varnish forgives a lot of mistakes and raises the value of the piece.
I am going to start following her work if I can, because I am very interested in what she is able to come up in the future.
--------------------------------------------------------
Eugenio Espinoza...apparently has been making art for years. I went to see his show called "Going Blind Faith".
The press release was amazing, but after I saw the actual exhibit, I feel like it was insulting him. For example, "...painted oil on aluminum works lean against the gallery's walls-balancing at a single point or against the length of one wall. The six gray metal cubes in the center of the gallery are spare testimonies to a focus on repetition and space in the artist's practice." The translation: "...it was not worth the time to figure out how to hang these sheets of aluminum, so we just stacked all three of these sheets of aluminum against the wall. The six gray metal cubes in the center of the gallery that appear to be benches are a testimonial to the lack of ideas that led to the creation of this project, and the lack of ideas that led to the creation of everything else in the space.
...he started marking art in the 60's
...the exhibit is monochromatic sheets of metal that are structurally unsound, and the only interesting piece is hidden in a corner of a room where the object of attention is a black and white canvas that has nothing to do with the concepts in the other pieces.....
Maybe it is time to do something different.
...or maybe it is the start of something different.
...in which case the arrangement of all the variables environment should have had the objective of "leading" the viewer "blindly". The pièce de résistance being the black and white canvas against a side wall of the second room.
If that is not the case, then Eugenio should make furniture. I think he would be an excellent furniture designer. His aesthetic for simple monochromatic design is conducive to contemporary environments.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Rats Are Really Sweet And Cuddly
MAREPE!!!
I love looking at pictures and image of her work. So when I had an opportunity to visit the Kern gallery, and see her work live in person, I was very very excited.
...when I arrived my heart sank. What she had created was a series of sculptures using bicycles, household objects, and random things. While her technique and craft were exceptional, the exhibit itself was flawed in several fundamental ways. The first:
I love looking at pictures and image of her work. So when I had an opportunity to visit the Kern gallery, and see her work live in person, I was very very excited.
...when I arrived my heart sank. What she had created was a series of sculptures using bicycles, household objects, and random things. While her technique and craft were exceptional, the exhibit itself was flawed in several fundamental ways. The first:
- Layout: A person can have the most unique and expressive show in the world, but if the exhibit is not properly placed, it takes away from the experience.
- Functionality: The biggest statement a sculpture can make, is to create an interactive piece that is functional. It is one thing if one is a sculptor and planning to create a marble mermaid. It is another thing entirely to design a beautiful bike that does not work. Or build a digging mechanism with the shovels pointing in counterintuitively at the sky.
Monday, July 15, 2013
It's A New Day
My name is Sparro Kennedy. I am 26 years old. I am an artist. I and
writing this blog because I found an article about myself, that made me
realize that while I understand art, I know nothing about actual
artists.
Until I turned 24, I had never lived anywhere longer than six months. Until one day, I came back to New York, passed Mount Vernon, and pitched a tent in Zuccotti Park. I pitched a tent there, because I was angry because I will never have the opportunity to be wealthy. Consequently, I began collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would make wealth concentration reform a policy. After I collected over 5000 signatures, my briefcase was stolen, along with my designs for a fashion show. It is my opinion my bag was stolen for the designs...other people have more sinister views that I do not agree with.
After Occupy, came Gay Squat. I have never ever ever in my life had so much fun. I literally lived La Boheme. It was the Court of Miracles for every punk, gypsy, thief, hacker and artist in New York City. Eventually it all fell apart, as these things do, but while it lasted...it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.
Since then, I have done a residency at the Peace House in D.C., I have traveled with the Rainbow Family and set up an artist community in Connecticut. In the meantime, my friends have begun the slide, their alcoholism is no longer funny. The drug use is no longer casual. Some of them have died, others have disappeared, and the ones that remain look less beautiful every day. One of my friends looked at me and said "you do not have to be here, the best thing that you could do, is go figure out how to do what you have been doing. You are the best, it is just that no one knows it."
I do not know if I am the best, I have never been able to afford the materials to be the best. At any rate, art is not a competition or race. It is the study of self-expression. It is the ability to be able look at a situation, and illustrate the reality of it all with a stroke of a brush, or a tap of a pen. Most of all, it is the ability to be able to express rage, love, peace, passion and voice in a way that is organized, concise, and neat.
I have studied the masters, I have been to paris, and africa and seen the greats. I have travelled around the country and sat in artist studios and observed. For the most part, the great artist have a style of painting that is very distinct. Everything is organized, right down to the brushstrokes. Even in abstraction, everything makes sense. I cannot express how many times I have gone to galleries and have been reprimanded for looking too close.
I can always come back for my friends. It is not selling out to move on. The first step for me, is to gain a current understanding of the current masters. The people who have patrons, display their work in galleries, and are able to recognized and respected for their craft. I am not yet ready for their league, but why stand on the sideline if I am not prepared to handle a brush.
Until I turned 24, I had never lived anywhere longer than six months. Until one day, I came back to New York, passed Mount Vernon, and pitched a tent in Zuccotti Park. I pitched a tent there, because I was angry because I will never have the opportunity to be wealthy. Consequently, I began collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would make wealth concentration reform a policy. After I collected over 5000 signatures, my briefcase was stolen, along with my designs for a fashion show. It is my opinion my bag was stolen for the designs...other people have more sinister views that I do not agree with.
After Occupy, came Gay Squat. I have never ever ever in my life had so much fun. I literally lived La Boheme. It was the Court of Miracles for every punk, gypsy, thief, hacker and artist in New York City. Eventually it all fell apart, as these things do, but while it lasted...it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.
Since then, I have done a residency at the Peace House in D.C., I have traveled with the Rainbow Family and set up an artist community in Connecticut. In the meantime, my friends have begun the slide, their alcoholism is no longer funny. The drug use is no longer casual. Some of them have died, others have disappeared, and the ones that remain look less beautiful every day. One of my friends looked at me and said "you do not have to be here, the best thing that you could do, is go figure out how to do what you have been doing. You are the best, it is just that no one knows it."
I do not know if I am the best, I have never been able to afford the materials to be the best. At any rate, art is not a competition or race. It is the study of self-expression. It is the ability to be able look at a situation, and illustrate the reality of it all with a stroke of a brush, or a tap of a pen. Most of all, it is the ability to be able to express rage, love, peace, passion and voice in a way that is organized, concise, and neat.
I have studied the masters, I have been to paris, and africa and seen the greats. I have travelled around the country and sat in artist studios and observed. For the most part, the great artist have a style of painting that is very distinct. Everything is organized, right down to the brushstrokes. Even in abstraction, everything makes sense. I cannot express how many times I have gone to galleries and have been reprimanded for looking too close.
I can always come back for my friends. It is not selling out to move on. The first step for me, is to gain a current understanding of the current masters. The people who have patrons, display their work in galleries, and are able to recognized and respected for their craft. I am not yet ready for their league, but why stand on the sideline if I am not prepared to handle a brush.
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