You can call me SL, this is about living.


Tara Donovan's (Untitled) Mylar, 2011
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive

Tara Donovan's (Untitled) Mylar, 2011
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive

Tara Donovan's (Untitled) Mylar, 2011
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive

March 23, 2011

"...greater than the sum of its parts"

It was either last year or the year before last when I saw a piece by Tara Donovan at The Armory Show. I never forgot the piece because (1) the work was by Tara Donovan (2) the piece failed to impress me. I remember being so disappointed because normally her work resonates strongly with me, emotionally and intellectually. Now I understand why. As soon as I walked into the gallery on West 22nd Street, everything became clear. The piece that previously failed to impress was a very small fraction of a larger installation that is now on exhibit.

The work is breathtaking. The Mylar (like the other materials she uses: toothpicks, tape, Styrofoam cups, pencils, buttons) was transformed until it became something else. The reflective surface on the piece gives a great illusion of depth, and the installation as a whole reminds me of mercury drops. I witnessed many people enter the gallery, turn to their companion and just smile. Love that. It is a piece you want to stay with and remember forever.

At one of The Pace Gallery's other locations on 25th Street, Tara Donovan's "Drawings (Pins)" were on exhibit. Unfortunately, that show has closed and another show is in its place. Her pin drawings are equally impressive and were a hit with the crowds. Each large scale drawing is covered with hundreds/thousands/tens of thousands of nickel-plated steel pins. The work reminds me of Agnes Martin but still uniquely Tara Donovan. There were a large number of school groups (which I think is great and educational), and I saw a few teens getting up close and personal with the work. They were touching the pins in one drawing, pulling and pushing the pins in and out. Oh no! I had to say something and I did. I glanced around for their chaperone who was nowhere in sight, and the museum guard was texting on his cell phone. I cannot really blame the students for wanting to touch the work. The materials are familiar, and Donovan's work always plays exactly on that--the viewer's familiarity with the materials. She then surprises the viewer by transforming everyday materials into something unexpected, precious topographical landscapes that are great works of art.

archives: Art
Artist Unknown, Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive
Artist Unknown
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive
photo credit: I.Theorin, Artist Unknown
South Slope, NY from 2011
March 20, 2011

Street Art continued...

Look what appeared, artwork from the same Street Artist I discovered last month. The name of the artist remains a mystery to me. I kind of like it that way, (s)he is "my new Banksy."

I came across two works walking home from the garden, and a few days later The Swede found another work in the South Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. I hope to see a lot more of this artist's work and to discover what other neighborhoods/cities/states/countries are adorned with it.

archives: Street Art
clockwise: blueberry banana pancakes with strawberry butter, burger and salad,
fries and ketchup, yule log, three versions of coffee and one iced tea
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive
looking out onto Astoria Boulevard
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive
fries and ketchup
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive
March 18, 2011

A good french fry.

When I come across a good one, I will remember it. I love fries but do not eat them too often for obvious reasons. The Swede and I called up friends with the intent to catch up over coffee and dessert. We chose a local spot, home to the salty lemonade. When we got there, The Swede was the only one who ended up getting dessert. I looked thoroughly through the display cases at the gorgeous offerings, but in the end decided on fries. Sounds boring but nine times of out ten, I will favor savory foods. AND a good fry is underestimated. (Once in a great while, I indulge in fries from the unmentionable Mc...)

I also abandoned my plan to get coffee and went for a gingerade instead. They were out so I contemplated getting salty lemonade ("sea salt lemonade" to them). But I could not bring myself to order it although I promised to give it another try. Instead I settled for an iced tea. One of our friends had the blueberry banana pancakes that came with a side of strawberry butter. The pancakes were amazing, as was the strawberry butter (of course). They tasted "homemade." I think that is what keeps me going back to Astor Bake Shop, the "homemade" feeling--in the food and the simplicity of the décor.

archives: Food
José Parlá's "Order, Pattern, Organization, Form and Relationship"
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive
José Parlá's wall installation (Title Unknown)
Chelsea Gallery District, NY
from my 2011 archive
Hope Gangloff's "Vio et Livres"
Chelsea Gallery District, NY
from my 2011 archive
Hope Gangloff's "Land's End (Vic Masnyj)"
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive

March 17, 2011

Gallery Run

The Chelsea Gallery District is home to several hundred galleries. I typically keep to 19th Street north to 26th Street between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue. I head out to do a "gallery run" with one or two shows in mind, then weave back and forth, up and down the streets going into any gallery that catches my eye.

This time it was Hope Gangloff's show at the Susan Inglett Gallery that initially piqued my interest. There are no doubt amazing shows happening at any time of the year. However, I do find certain times more exciting (and inspirational) than others. This visit was one of those times. I caught Hope Gangloff's show on its final day so it is no longer on exhibit. The scale of her paintings are large enough to command your attention, but are small enough where you feel an intimacy to them. The subjects in the paintings have a bluish green tint to their skin and initially I thought these subjects were sad characters. After a longer look, I realized they were not. They are comfortable with themselves and what they are doing (or not doing). Gangloff's paintings are beautiful and personal, and I hope to see many more.

On the other hand, José Parlá's "Walls, Diaries, and Paintings" Exhibition is still up and will remain so through April 16, 2011. Parlá is certainly an artist I will be following. His works are richly saturated with color, calligraphic strokes flow freely throughout the plane, and some works are heavily layered with found papers. Each work is powerful in its elegance, and they are interesting to view from both afar and from close range. But the scale of his work left me wanting. His work has a strong relationship to Street Art, and I wanted to feel immersed by their scale. There is one larger than life installation in the corridor from the entry to the larger exhibition space in the back. This installation has the scale I desired for the other works but lacks the intensity and richness of those works. Go figure. Even so, José Parlá has a fan in me! If you have the chance, check out his show.

P.S. When in the neighborhood, I always try to pop into Printed Matter to check out my favorite zine and see what other interesting publications are on offer.

archives: Art
softneck and hardneck garlic scapes from my 2011 archive

March 15, 2011

Hello garlic!

The garlic I previously mentioned is doing great. The rosemary, thyme, Swiss chard, and garden gnome are not looking so hot but they DID survive. The garlic has thrived and the softneck scapes are a good five to seven inches tall. Wow. I am very excited as this early start will ensure some robust garlic bulbs. (I do know there are no guarantees in the garden, but I will remain hopeful.)

If you look closely in the foreground, the smaller scapes emerging are the hardneck garlic. I have never grown them before and am excited to witness their progress. Loving this warmer albeit wetter weather.

archives: Garden
Terence Koh performing "nothingtoodoo"
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive
Terence Koh performing "nothingtoodoo"
Chelsea Gallery District, NY
from my 2011 archive
45 tons of rock salt (sans armature)
Chelsea Gallery District, NY
from my 2011 archive
March 14, 2011

"nothingtoodoo"

This is the last week Terence Koh is performing "nothingtoodoo" at the Mary Boone Gallery. This is the fifth week of his performance which began February 15, 2011 and ends on March 19, 2011.

This was the second time I embarrassed myself at that gallery. The first time was when I walked into an exhibition and said very loudly to The Swede, "Who is this artist?" The Swede quickly shushed me (which he never does). The Artist, Jacob Hashimoto (whose show it was) was standing nearby talking to someone. It was not a huge faux pas, but nonetheless embarrassing. Back to the second time.

Immediately upon entering the gallery, I noticed something was different. The reception area is devoid of anything. There is not any text on the wall announcing the exhibition, press release literature that typically sits out is not there, all artist publications on display are gone, and the walls have a faux concrete finish on them. The entrance to the large exhibition space is draped with two overlapping white curtains. I felt something special was behind those curtains. As I parted the curtains, I said enthusiastically, "Oooooh, I wonder what's behind here?"

All eyes turned to me...I walked into the middle of Terence Koh and his excruciatingly painful-to-watch performance. For the five weeks of his performance, he shuffles on his knees around a 45 ton rock salt pile (sans armature), Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm without taking a break.

The setup is bare and silent. As a viewer, watching a person clothed in a plain white garb moving knee by knee slowly around a pile in the middle of a gallery is a humble experience. I immediately felt sad for him which I did not feel when I watched Marina Abramović perform at MoMA. Sitting (as Abramović) versus being on your knees (as Koh) is the difference to me. The performance took me through the emotions of begging or being inferior. Koh is reduced to a wretched state, and he willingly succumbs to the dominance of the pile. And we, the audience are the voyeurs watching him do it which is what I suspect--what he wants.

archives: Art
Manhattan Union Square, NY from my 2011 archive

March 11, 2011

Street Art continued...

Normally street art or graffiti on a truck will not particularly catch my eye. In an overloaded visual culture, it is just another thing that whizzes by in my periphery. But I have noticed that for some reason or another, work done on a truck is not typically as masterful as a piece you will see on a wall or some other stationary object. My guess is that the artist wants to be able to go back and see their work from time to time.

Upon exiting the subway on a extremely windy, dark, and rainy night, this truck instantly caught my eye. It stood on the street aglow from a nearby street lamp, and the colors popped in contrast to the dark and wet asphalt. It was lovely.

If you notice the woman in the upper left corner of the frame, she was probably looking down and laughing...I was taking the picture with one hand while my umbrella whipped around violently in the other. Anything for a picture, right?

archives: Street Art
"Suze Orman Author Event" at Barnes and Noble
Manhattan, NY from my 2011 archive
video still of Kathy Griffin
Manhattan, NY from my 2011 archive
Suze Orman signing books
Manhattan, NY from my 2011 archive
March 10, 2011

Money

Suze Orman! Love her. She released a new book, and tonight I went to hear her speak about it. Comedian, Kathy Griffin (hilarious) introduced Suze. Below is an excerpt:

"I love money, I love money, and I don't mean like in a weird Gordon Geckko way like you have to like hurt people to get money."

I have great respect for Suze and have gained a wealth of knowledge from reading several of her books. I am really looking forward to reading her new book, "The Money Class" and then doing more research online. She is an amazing public speaker and very funny.

Many people brought their children which I think is a beautiful thing. It is endearing to see preteens excited about a financial advisor! They snapped away on their cell phones and got their books signed (too cute). In our society, it is taboo to speak about money. But the reality is--we need to speak about it and know how to manage it. Here is to breaking that taboo--$!

archives: Books + Movies
hardneck and softneck garlic cloves ready to be planted from my 2010 archive
rosemary, gnome, and a sprig of thyme
from my 2010 archive
garlic scapes emerging from the snow
from my 2010 archive
March 9, 2011

Promises

It is warming up. Spring is on the way (finally!) and that means it is time to plan for the garden. The Swede and I have an individual plot in a community garden. We were waitlisted for over a year and late last spring we were issued a plot (we were ecstatic to say the least). It is essential to stay connected to nature in some way when you live in a "concrete jungle." And the refuge of the garden has proven to be therapeutic, especially after a long day at work.

Last fall after overwintering our plot, we planted some hardneck and softneck garlic cloves. I had researched (and heard) that garlic can overwinter which would give it an early start once the weather warms up in the spring. The hardnecks were purchased at a Farmers Market and the softnecks were purchased at a supermarket chain. The cloves were planted sometime in November and to my surprise they had sprouted and grown by late December. It was amazing to brush away the snow and to see that the cloves had made progress during such extreme temperatures. Apparently while I was freezing, the cloves had no problem at all with the weather.

We made the decision to leave various plants in the garden instead of potting them and bringing them home to see if they would survive. That included rosemary, thyme, oregano, lemongrass, Swiss chard, and a few other things I cannot remember now. I will report back on what made it and what did not. For Garden Season 2011, I am making a promise to do a better job with documenting our plot (and our bounty!).

archives: Garden
Artist Unknown, The Mattress Factory Art Museum
Pittsburgh, PA from my 2007 archive
photo credit: I.Theorin
Astoria, NY from 2011
The New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY from my 2011 archive
The Statue of Liberty statue
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive

March 8, 2011

Statues

"Love Thy Neighbor." Is that how the saying goes?

I live in an apartment on a street dominated by apartment buildings, as most people in New York do. Out for a walk, The Swede and I noticed something new in our neighborhood. A LARGE, Statue of Liberty statue in front of one of the smaller apartment buildings on our street. Do not get me wrong, I love the Statue of Liberty. But we were stunned and had to laugh a bit (or a lot) about this kitschy addition to our neighborhood.

It immediately raised many questions: (1)"Who owns this thing?", (2) "Where did they buy it?", (3) "How much did they pay for it?", (4) "Are the other people in the building OKAY with it?" Only in certain cities/places can you get away with this type of nonconformist decor. In the small town where I grew up, I am sure that you would have neighbors complaining. But here in New York, anything goes.

To quote another saying, "To Each His Own." This statue has inspired another documentation project, so here is a collection of statues I have stumbled upon out and about. More to come.

archives: Statues
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