Tumblr of the Week: Gourmet Scum

I really enjoy it when artists add captions or speech bubbles to their drawings of people. Maybe it stems from my love of comics or maybe the added commentary makes the experience that much better. The Tumblr of the Week today belongs to an 18 year old artist from Chicago named Meredith, who seems to be pretty heavily influenced by 80's aesthetics. Something about these marker doodles does give me flashbacks to certain old sitcoms I used to watch on television. Find more of these goodies on Meredith's blog!

If you're addicted to tumbling as well as doodling, follow Doodlers Anonymous on Tumblr for even more daily inspiration. You might even see yourself on there!


SOURCE: Doodlers Anonymous - Read entire story here.

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New release by Palgrave Macmillan: The Supermodel and the Brillo Box

The Supermodel and the Brillo Box is a new book by economist Don Thompson, author of the successful The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. Written in the same engaging style, and centred around the same theme, namely What are the reasons behind extreme prices at the highest levels of contemporary art?, the new book takes off where the previous one ended: on the threshold of the 2008 financial crash.

Don Thompson writes not just about facts and economic factors, but also digs into many personal stories of major collectors, artists, dealers and auction houses, shedding light on how they all form a part of the bigger picture. However the author does not pretend to be able to explain everything. He often states that he cannot exactly define why an artwork is worth 9 or 8 figures instead of 6 or 5 – the factors are variable and in constant evolution. He is also critical about the popular notion that contemporary art is a great investment by demonstrating that a moderate-risk bond portfolio is likely to give you a much more favourable return. Here’s a cross section of key topics throughout the book, ready to be casually dropped in conversation at your next cocktail party.

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An artwork is like a chocolate truffle

Did you know that when a collector is shown an artwork available for sale at a price he can afford, his brain reacts in the same way as when he is shown a chocolate truffle? But neurological research aside, artworks also come with a “job-to-be-done” says Don Thompson. As other luxury goods and symbols of wealth and power, it needs to fulfil numerous other roles than just the functional and the esthetic ones.

Every sale needs a good back story

We all love good storytelling and an artwork that comes with an outstanding story is all the more cherished. Thompson describes how provenance (former celebrity owner is a jackpot), direct link to political activism or even just a clever title (what if  The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living was just called Shark?) add to the value of an artwork as much as its formal aesthetics. Famous New York dealer – and Larry Gagosian’s mentor– Leo Castelli said that one of his responsibilities is “myth-making of myth material”.

The trouble with authentication

With prices for contemporary art going berserk, authentication became a powerful yet risky business, with its own particularities. While in the US the Andy Warhol Authentication Board ceased activities after being sued by wrathful collectors one too many times, Europe gives the “moral” authentication rights to the artists’ legal heirs. How that functions in case of widow being asked to authenticate an artwork donated to her late husband’s female companion, we leave to your imagination. 

Not all collectors are equal

The book takes a very small slice of the art market and as such also a small slice of the collectors. But even this restricted group comes with different flavours: some collect for gain and power (Mugrabi), others out of passion (The Vogels, Sandretto Re Rebaudengo), or combining both aspects at once (Saatchi). Now what is your motivation?

The art market is a beauty contest

With so much buzz around the investment potential of contemporary art, Thompson argues that collecting can be seen as a “Keynesian beauty contest“. Consequently, astute collectors/investors do not choose art based on purely their own taste but also on what they think will be liked by others.

For the called are many and the chosen are few

You might feel daunted facing Thompson’s tough statistical evidence of the limited chance of becoming famous (and make a 6-figure income) as an artist. Fret not thyself – for at least the ways to reach the top are truly diverse: “some have become successful and generated high prices for being great at drawing or coloration, for being innovative or controversial, or just for being celebrities…“.

The Überdealer as the creator of new values

Similar to the artists’ fate, only a handful of galleries have been able to take full advantage of the contemporary art boom of the recent years. Without surprise, Gagosian is mentioned as the overlord and his model as the most successful and scalable approach to the current market. The book gives few signs of hope for the mainstream dealer, other than working with early career artists… until Larry picks them up. Or not.

There’s – a little bit of – life outside of NY and London

The contemporary art world might have become globalised, but at the end it all comes back to where the money and the power is: New York and London. This goes for galleries as well as for the artists they represent. The Middle East (Abu Dhabi and Quatar) and China (Bejing) are the new kids on the block, honoured with their share of branded art fairs and gallery outposts.

The digital infancy of the art market

Although there have been multiple trials in selling art over the internet, few have become mainstream. In Thompson’s view the “online” aspect has mainly worked for mid market art and for print editions while initiatives that tried to reach the top of the market (e.g. the VIP Art Fair) didn’t manage to break through. Artsy, which is more focused on helping people discover art, appears as one of the rare winners. (On the one hand, we agree with Thompson’s analysis that selling online, especially high-end artworks, will remain limited. On another hand, digital innovations that focus on facilitating the current art processes and transactions are gaining momentum. Think of ArtBinder – an app that allows galleries to show their inventory on tablet and mobile. It has already signed up most important galleries, as we noticed during the last Frieze Fair. Ed.)

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It is fascinating to discover stories behind the biggest sales of the last 6 years and to peek into the top-echelons of the art world. Don’t forget to keep in mind ‘though, that you really are reading about a tiny elite segment. That goes for the artists (Cattelan, Murakami, Hirst, Weiwei), for the dealers and auction houses (Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth…), as well as for the collectors that pay the astronomic prices (Abramovich, Brand, Mugrabi & Co).

The Supermodel and the Brillo Box is a must-read for contemporary art enthusiasts. It describes an art world seen through the eyes of an economist, so there is more attention to value and value creation that to creative process, art theory or aesthetics. It is an original view and one that rarely gets so well expressed – and that is makes this book unique.

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The Supermodel and the Brillo Box: back stories and peculiar economics from the world of contemporary art is available through the publisher’s website, at selected retailers and on amazon.

thompson don

SOURCE: Happy Famous Artists » Blog - Read entire story here.

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Chicago Celebrates Women Building Change

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Although women have become increasingly visible in the fields of art, architecture and design, they are frequently underrepresented in institutional exhibitions.

In the field of architecture, where women represent 50 percent of students enrolled in architecture programs, but only 18 percent of licensed architects, there is a pressing need to encourage the creations of females by bringing it to the attention of the public.

"Women Building Change," an exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, aims to do exactly that by highlighting outstanding works by female architects living and working in the city of Chicago. Organized by Chicago Women in Architecture, which was founded in 1974 and is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, the show includes architectural drawings, photos and other visuals of local buildings and the work of local architects.

It is held in conjunction with a number of other events, including a design dialogue between Elizabeth Diller of Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Reed Kroloff at the MCA, and a bus tour of several new buildings by women in Chicago on August 9.

The latter will lead ticket-holders to the new UNO Galewood Charter School, a glass and concrete masterwork designed by UrbanWorks, a female-owned firm. It will also feature a tour of the boathouse at Clark Park, which was designed by Jeanne Gang.

Gang is perhaps the most prominent of all of the architects featured in the exhibition. She has made an indelible mark on the skyline of the city with Aqua, an 82-story mixed-use structure that looks like stacks of paper stacked on top of glass to form a weightless tower in the sky. The skyscraper won many awards, including the 2009 Emporis Skyscraper of the Year award, as well as a place on the shortlist for the 2010 biannual International Highrise Award. Gang herself received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2011. If anyone will raise the profile of female architects, it will be in the wake of her legacy -- and at 50, she's just getting started making her mark on the built world.

"Women Building Change" is on view through December 2014 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

--Brienne Walsh is a writer and photographer who, in addition to ARTPHAIRE, contributes to publications such as The New York Times, Art in America, Interview, ArtReview, Modern Painters, Departures, Paper, New York magazine, and Forbes among others. She has also appeared as an art expert and blogger on television programs including Today and Anderson Cooper Live. Brienne received her BA in art history from Brown University in 2004, and her MA in Critical Studies from Columbia University in 2011.
SOURCE: Arts Blog on The Huffington Post - Read entire story here.

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Penguin Defends “Creepy” Cover Of “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory”

dahl book cover

“Members of the public reacted angrily when the new edition – part of the Penguin Modern Classics range – was revealed [last] Wednesday. The cover was deemed ‘misleading’ and ‘creepy’. Author Giles Paley-Phillips said it looked ‘more like Lolita‘. But Penguin said it stressed ‘the light and the dark aspects’ of Dahl’s work.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal - Read entire story here.

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China’s “Sex And The City” (Chairman Mao Would Be Horrified)

tiny times

The Tiny Times film franchise “is a wholesale celebration of conspicuous consumption … a cross between Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada.” The series has greatly irked “those who think individualism and materialism have gone too far in China.” It has also pulled in $200 million so far.

SOURCE: ArtsJournal - Read entire story here.

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The Times Are Not a-Changin, They Have Already a-Changed

Today from our partners at Art Practical, we bring you Chris Cobb’s essay on counterculture, money, and the annual Burning Man festival. Cobb wonders: “…what if successful tech companies—the ones whose leaders have bought into the Burning Man/Black Rock value of art that ‘connect[s] community members in creation, curiosity, and wonderment’—decided to allocate one or two percent of their investment income to cultivating the arts in the Bay?” This article was originally published on July 9, 2014.

Sean Orlando, Nathaniel Taylor, and David Shulman. Raygun Gothic Rocketship, 2010; installation at Pier 14, San Francisco. Courtesy of Black Rock Arts Foundation. Photo: David Yu.

Sean Orlando, Nathaniel Taylor, and David Shulman. Raygun Gothic Rocketship, 2010; installation at Pier 14, San Francisco. Courtesy of Black Rock Arts Foundation. Photo: David Yu.

1. The Decline of Bohemia

It’s hard to say something new about how the Bay Area art establishment is falling apart. Everybody already knows that rents are skyrocketing, artists and musicians are fleeing, and a four-year art degree now costs a quarter of a million dollars. Even prominent curators are being forced to relocate because of evictions and real-estate speculation. It’s enough to make any sane person wonder if the struggle is worth it. So, retreading acknowledged, it still might benefit artists to take a fresh look at what has brought the city’s cultural life to this moment, and where we can go from here.

Can I quote Bob Dylan?

“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief
“There’s too much confusion, I cant get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth

The harsh truth is that things are changing rapidly, which has resulted in a collective sense of confusion and helplessness. It reminds me of a scene in the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz, where an imprisoned artist finds out he won’t be allowed to paint ever again and so he uses an axe to chop off his own fingers. This profound act of self-destruction dramatizes the collective plight of the prisoners, making them realize that if they don’t get off the island, they too will have whatever makes them unique taken away or crushed. Each inmate is left to consider his own disheartening future.

Read the full article here.

SOURCE: DAILY SERVING - Read entire story here.

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ART-O-MAT: Pocket Art

buck cellar101

Many art lovers simply don’t have the budget to purchase original works of art.  Enter the Art-O-Mat – re-purposed cigarette vending machines that have been converted to sell pocket size original works of art.

North Carolina artist Clark Whittington created the first Art-O-Mat in 1997 which he showed along side his paintings at a solo show at a local cafe. The machine sold his black & white photographs for $1.00 each. The art show was scheduled to close, however, the owner of the Penny Universitie Gallery, Cynthia Giles, loved the Art-O-Mat and asked that it stay.  It remains in its original location to this day. Following the show, the involvement of other artists was necessary for the project to continue. Giles introduced Whittington to other local artists and the group “Artists in Cellophane” was formed.

“Artists in Cellophane (A.I.C.), the sponsoring organization of Art-O-Mat is based on the concept of taking art and “repackaging” it to make it part of our daily lives. The mission of A.I.C. is to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form. A.I.C believes that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable.”

The Art-O-Mat dispenses original art-works and may include paintings, photographs, sculpture, collage, illustration, handmade jewellery, textile arts, and more. There are 82 machines in at least 28 American States, one in Quebec, Canada, and one in Vienna, Austria. There are around 400 contributing artists from 10 different countries currently involved in the Art-o-mat project.

For more information, to get involved, or to find an Art-O-Mat near you, visit Art-O-Mat.org.

took ashevilleartworks

SOURCE: Daily Art Fixx - Art Blog: Modern Art, Art History, Painting, Illustration, Photography, Sculpture - Read entire story here.

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Now Philly’s Fringe Festival Has A Fringe Of Its Own

fringe fringe

Fringe/Fringe “was conceived by Joshua McLucas, 21, a Swarthmore College senior who thought the 18-year-old Fringe Festival, and even its little sister, the Neighborhood Fringe, were just too mainstream, too big, and too expensive for his fledgling [redacted] Theater Company.”

SOURCE: ArtsJournal - Read entire story here.

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Here’s What a $650 Knockoff Koons Balloon Dog Looks Like

AlibabaBlueDog

Photo: Courtesy VLA Sculpture.

Beijing-based company VLA Sculpture is selling stainless steel and resin balloon dog sculptures that look a lot like those of a certain art world star (hint: his name rhymes with “balloons”) now having a retrospective at the Whitney Museum. The works were for sale on China’s largest e-commerce site, Alibaba.com, though the original link does not appear to be active anymore and a search of the VLA Sculpture site turns up no balloon dogs.

Two weeks ago artnet News received a detailed brochure notifying us that the Jeff Koons balloon dog lookalikes, which come in a variety of colors and sizes, are now being offered in resin as well as stainless steel. Some clients had complained that stainless steel versions are too expensive, a VLA rep named Rebecca informed us.

On the morning of August 12, another email arrived asking whether we are still interested in purchasing one of the pups, with an attached photo showing an example of our potential acquisition (see above). “How many pieces do you need and what’s the nearest port?”

This one, presumably the smallest sized example, measuring 19.7 inches high by 19.7 inches long and 7.88 inches wide, is priced at $650 for the stainless steel version and $780 for the resin variety. The larger resin pieces are cheaper than the stainless steel. While we don’t profess to be Koons or canine balloon sculpture experts in general, we immediately noticed that this puppy is not quite as perky as the real thing; note the lack of detailing where the legs meet the body as well as the shape of the tail (especially at the very end), and the fact that the angle of the back legs appears to be quite wide. But hey, can you really complain when you may be able to  impress your friends by passing off this faux Koons pooch as the real deal, and save a few million dollars in the process?

Each of the four color options—orange, yellow, red, and blue—in the PDF is illustrated with an image of a Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture in situ. The picture of Balloon Dog (Blue) is of an edition of the work owned by Eli Broad that was shown at LACMA; the picture of Balloon Dog (Red) is the example of the work owned by Dakis Joannou, photographed while on display at Christie’s last year. Balloon Dog (Orange) is illustrated by an image of the artist’s MCA Chicago retrospective (the same image had been used to illustrate the original Alibaba listing, though the background been stripped out even before the link became inactive).

The post Here’s What a $650 Knockoff Koons Balloon Dog Looks Like appeared first on artnet News.

SOURCE: artnet News - Read entire story here.

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George Tooker: 1920 – 2011

Born on August 5, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York, George Clair Tooker Jr. grew up in suburban Bellport, Long Island and took painting lessons from a family friend as a child.  Tooker  graduated from Harvard University in 1942 where he studied English Literature and continued to pursue his interest in art.

Tooker was discharged from officer training school in the U.S. Marines during World War II due to illness brought on by stress. In 1943, he enrolled in the Art Students League in New York and studied under leading social realist painters Reginald Marsh and Kenneth Hayes Miller.  Tooker was introduced to the medium of egg tempera by painter Paul Cadmus, with whom he spent six months together traveling and studying art in Italy and France in 1949. In 1949, Tooker also met painter William Christopher, who became his lifelong companion.

In 1950, Tooker began to earn both recognition and income from his art and in 1953, the Whitney Museum bought his best-known painting, The Subway. Further recognition followed, beginning with a solo exhibition at a New York gallery in 1951; followed by four  more solo shows and numerous group exhibitions.

“Working on wood panels or Masonite board, Tooker painstakingly built luminous matte surfaces, inch by square inch; soft, powdery colors complemented the rounded forms and fabrics of the paintings.” His early work depicted social and public issues, and stresses the loneliness and alienation of modern urban existence. In the 1970s, the Tooker began to explore more personal states of being expressed in symbolic imagery, often drawn from the bible, mythology, and classic literature.

Tooker’s works have been associated with the Magic Realism and Social Realism movements but he resisted attempts to define his works as such. “I am after reality — painting impressed on the mind so hard that it recurs as a dream,” he said, “but I am not after dreams as such, or fantasy.”

In 1960, Tooker and Christopher moved to Vermont, where they had a weekend home. Tooker taught at the Art Students League between 1965 and 1968, and they spent winters on the Mediterranean coast of Spain as Christopher’s health declined. Tooker returned to Vermont, in 1973 after Christopher’s death.

“In the 1970s, the Tooker began to explore more personal states of being expressed in symbolic imagery, often drawn from the bible, mythology, and classic literature. Tooker, though greatly respected, remained apart from the modernist trends that dominated American art for much of the second half of the twentieth century.”

In 2007, Tooker was awarded the National Medal of Arts – the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States Government.

George Tooker died on March 27, 2011 at his home in Hartland, Vermont.  He was 90 years old.

The-Subway-George-Tooker-1950
Highway-George-Tooker
Cornice-George-Tooker-1949
Embrace-of-Peace-George-Tooker
The-Waiting-Room-George-Tooker-1959
Ward-George-Tooker-1970
George Tooker, Un Ballo in Maschera, from the portfolio The Metropolitan Opera Fine Art Collection II- 1983
Coney-Island-1947
Mirror-II-George-Tooker-1963
Bathers-George-Tooker-1950
Window-VII-George-Tooker
Government-Bureau-George-Tooker-1956

Sources: New York Times, Terra Foundation
Post inspired by David Platt

SOURCE: Daily Art Fixx - Art Blog: Modern Art, Art History, Painting, Illustration, Photography, Sculpture - Read entire story here.

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Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees

Not only is George Dubinsky’s newest collection made of wood, it’s also inspired by the way trees grow and celebrates wood as a natural, living organism.

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

The co-founder of Edgewood Made, Dubinsky takes a page from the book of trees, especially the way knots subtly alter the structure of wood. Even the construction of the furniture mimics the way the wood grows through the use of coopering. Pairing craftsmanship and Danish modern design, this collection of furniture thoroughly embodies the essence of wood.

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category

Furniture Inspired by the Growth of Trees in main home furnishings art  Category


SOURCE: Design Milk » Art - Read entire story here.

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The End of Genius and the Rise of the Compassionate Artist

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In his recent Times Sunday Review piece "Love People, Not Pleasure" (NYT, 7/18/14), Arthur C. Brooks quotes the Buddhist Dhammapada to the effect that:

"The craving of one given to heedless living grows like a creeper. Like the monkey seeking fruits in the forest, he leaps from life to life...Whoever is overcome by this wretched and sticky craving, his sorrows grow like grass after the rains."

In the piece Brooks deals with the need to seek external pleasures (fame, money, sex) "to fill an inner emptiness. They may bring a brief satisfaction but it never lasts and it is never enough. And so we crave more." The Brooks article segues neatly into another piece in the same issue of the Sunday Review, Joshua Wolf Shenk's "The End of 'Genius'" (NYT, 7/19/14) Shenk writes,

"The lone genius is a myth that has outlived its usefulness. Fortunately, a more truthful model is emerging: the creative network, as with the crowd-sourced Wikipedia or the writer's room at 'The Daily Show' or--the real heart of creativity--the intimate exchange of the creative pair, such as John Lennon and Paul McCartney and myriad other examples with which we've yet to fully reckon."

Getting back to the Brooks piece can we conclude in the age of networking, of the hive mentality, fame will no longer be one of the illusory pleasures available to creative and others who seek to accolades as an analgesic to emptiness? Abstract expressionism thrived on this once highly touted notion of fame. Rothko, Pollock, De Kooning were larger than life figures who spun their own mythologies and whose eccentricities were tolerated for the sake of talent. They were given the license to venture where angels feared to tread. The path of destruction they left behind was excused as the price paid by genius. Virginia Woolf, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Cesare Pavese and John Berryman paid an even more severe price, if the cultivation of an aloof and self-consciously alien artistic persona is at all connected to their suicides. Self-destruction and the destruction of others didn't seem too high a price to pay for the sake of Art. But was it or is it ever worth the cost? The moral philosopher Ronald Dworkin dealt with a similar problem in his final book Justice for Hedgehogs. Can the pursuit of good really be justified when it results in extreme self-sacrifice (that ultimately entails the destruction of the self)? How great is greatness? How exalted are the productions of so called great men? Beauty may be truth and it may be mind blowing, but it's like planned obsolescence. It has a certain expendability. Great artistic endeavors may be immortal but they're also human and by definition corruptible and imperfect. Without the qualities that mitigate against ultimate greatness, we would not be able to see ourselves in them. Art would be food for gods, rather than men. For good or bad, in the 21st century artists, writers, and poets have received a demotion and are looked at as craftsmen who satisfy our need for works that are beautiful and edifying. Nowhere in the Poetics does Aristotle outline society's need for superior individuals who create oversized reputations bought at the price of their own well-being and those closest to them. Flaubert said it best, "be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work."

This was originally post to The Screaming Pope, Francis Levy's blog of rants and reactions to contemporary politics, art and culture

photo of Cesare Pavese
SOURCE: Arts - The Huffington Post - Read entire story here.

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