news

PROARTS Juried Annual 2012

2011-11-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

Please come on out see some of "the best new work in the Bay Area"!

I am excited to announce that I have been curated into the PROARTS Juried Annual 2012.

From the PROARTS Website:

The critically acclaimed Juried Annual presents a survey of the best new work in the Bay Area selected by a Juror from the national arts community. The exhibition features works in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and photography. All works were selected through a blind jurying process by Chicago based curator Hamza Walker.

For more information click here.

SF Art Beat Interview

2011-11-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

From the San Francisco Art Beat:

San Francisco Art Beat visited artist Erik Richard Parra in his art studio in San Francisco’s Mid-Market. Filled with brightly colored large and small canvases, drawings, books, and writings, Erik’s studio chronicles decades of art exhibitions, scholarship, and tenure of teaching at local schools. We talked with Erik about San Francisco, the arts, and past and future artistic ventures.

Please click here to read the interview.

web update

2011-05-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

Please check out some new images in the works section and an expanded press section. I have worked out a little glitch with the image information but have only corrected the recent works section. I will be working to correct all title information very soon.

Thank you very much for stopping by. Please feel free to contact me via the connect page!

Solo Exhibit Opening May

2011-04-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

A Many-Sided Spectacular : recent paintings and works on paper

Hotel Biron Gallery

May 4- May 31,2011

Opening Reception May 12 from 7-11pm

Please come by to see some new paintings and works on paper!

SOEX is a very, very magical place. Please support them they do great work.

2011-04-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

MEGA MEGA MEGA

Southern Exposure's

Annual Fundraiser & Art Auction

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction, Mega Mega Mega, features a live and silent art auction, creative projects, delicious food, drinks, and music. This is always an extremely fun event which also provides critical, direct support for Southern Exposure’s programs. I am extremely excited to have donated this peice in support of all things SOEX!

From SOEX.org

VIP Reception: 6:00 - 7:30pm

Main Event: 7:30 - 10:30pm

Live Auction: 8:30 - 9:30pm

Silent Auction: Lots begin to close at 9:45pm

PURCHASE TICKETS

Online:soexauction2011.eventbrite.com

Phone: 415-863-2141

TICKET LEVELS:

Main Event: $35 in advance, $45 at the door

VIP Reception: $150 and up (A portion of your ticket is tax-deductible)

For a complete list of artists, food & beverage sponsors, creative projects, and more, visit: soex.org/soexauction2011.html

VIP Reception

Saturday, May 7

6:00 - 7:30 pm

Purchase a host level ticket to attend the Mega Mega Mega VIP Reception. Sneak past the crowds, enjoy catered food and specialty drinks, and place guaranteed bids on silent auction art work, all in an intimate environment.

Preview Exhibition

May 2 - 5

12:00 - 6:00 pm

Visit Southern Exposure to preview the artwork and place absentee absentee bids. Images of auction artwork will also be available on the SoEx website starting in late April. The Preview Exhibition is free and open to the public.

Collectors' Tours

Wednesday, May 4

Lunchtime snacks: 11:30 am - 2 pm

Evening drinks: 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Admission Free

Reservations Requested at soexauctionpreview.eventbrite.com

Visit Southern Exposure for a tour of the art works available in the auction. These preview events help both new and seasoned collectors make an informed decision when bidding on work. Events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.soex.org/soexauction2011.html

Expectator News

2011-04-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

I am excited about the positive feedback from Expectator, my recent installation at WE Artspace in Oakland. Please see these links for some press.

From If You Can’t Make it Good Make it Big Contemporary Art Blog, By John Casey click here.

From The East Bay Express, April 20, 2011, By Dewitt Cheng click here.

Expectator is at WE Arstpace and is on view through May 15, 2011.

wild country

2011-04-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

Wild Country

Opening Reception April 9, 2011 from 7pm - 12am

On display through May 7, 2011.

A group exhibit featuring

Erik Parra

Mike Kershnar

Albert Reyes

Dve MacDowell Aaron Lawerence

Serge Gay Jr

Nick Teodori

Hugh Leeman

Bo Heimlich

Lori Koenig

Derick Montez

Alexandra Zee

Krisitn Farr

Francisco Agudo

more info

Expectator

2011-04-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

EXPECTATOR

recent drawings, paintings and installation @ WE Artspace

April 3 through May 15, 2011

Opening Reception Sunday April 3, 2011 from 2-5 pm

from the press release:

"Expectator is a painting and drawing based installation composed of images that move beyond their borders into space. Images of organized sports’ fields of play and other popular outdoors leisure activities contrast graphic and painterly sensibilities to create an engaging visual experience simmering with narrative tension. These images are sourced from popular texts, as well as from personal memory and like their subjects they are implicit in all aspects (light and dark) of the conversation. Like so much crash up derby, the works in Expectator delve head first into notions of ascension and success in relation to forms of popular culture and the history of painting."

eMail Sign Up Form

2011-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that I have added an email sign-up form on the connect page, so please stop by and sign up for my infrequent-as-possible emails containing news about exhibits and such.

Thank you for your support.

Its MDR time again!

2011-02-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

If you are in the Bay Area on Friday, February 25, 2011 please come out to club Verdi and help me support an amazing institution. I will be drawing from 7:00- 8:00 pm. This is always a great time!

From Southern Exposure :

Friday, February 25, 2011 6:00 - 11:00 PM 

Donation: $10 & UP 

Event Location: Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street (between Hampshire and Potrero)

Mark your calendars for Southern Exposure's famous Monster Drawing Rally, a live drawing and fundraising event where more than 120 artists work side by side, allowing spectators to observe them in the act of creation. Drawings will be available for purchase for $60 each, immediately after their completion. All proceeds provide direct, critical support for Southern Exposure's programs.

In keeping with Southern Exposure's mission to provide an environment accessible to art and artists, the Monster Drawing Rally sets the stage for extraordinary interaction. Supplying the basic necessities of the drawing practice--pencils, charcoal, pens, markers, ink, and paper--Southern Exposure creates the context while the artists create the content of the drawings. The evening will consist of four one-hour shifts that each feature approximately 30 artists drawing simultaneously. The Monster Drawing Rally promises to be an action-packed spectacle you won't want to miss!

Small Works, Important Presence

2010-11-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to announce an exhibition of new drawings. I will be participating in the group exhibit Small Works, Important Presence, recent works on paper by Bay Area emerging artists: Lexi Babayan, Elizabeth Bernstein, Nicholas Bohac, Kija Lucas, Jenna North and Erik Parra, at WE Artspace in Oakland, CA. If you are in the Bay Area on December 5, 2010 please come say hello during the reception, which will take place from 2-5pm. I am also available to meet for a walk through of the exhibition for those who are interested, please let me know. The exhibition runs through January 2, 2011.

Aqua Miami

2010-11-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

If you are headed to Miami between December 2 -5, 2010, I will be exhibiting new drawings and collage work with Fouladi Projects at Aqua Miami, in room #220.

Between Currencies

2010-07-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

BETWEEN CURRENCIES | RECEPTION FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2010

Opening Reception: Friday, August 6, 5 - 8 pm
Shows Run: July 30 - September 11, 2010

In his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Between Currencies, Erik Parra examines the tension between the meticulously cut and the shredded with his sharp juxtaposition of vintage pop media clippings and multicolored paper cutouts. These images dwell in a strange temporality, serving both as documentation of the past and a proactive peek into future shapings of collective hopes and dreams. The tangled layers of artificiality eminent in both the medium and the message- between black and white and RGB, history and desire, question the relevance of a search for American authenticity.

Johansson Projects

2300 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94612

Hours: 12-6, Thurs–Fri and Sat 11-5

Information:

510.444.9140

kimberly@johanssonprojects.com

www.johanssonprojects.com

Creative Capital PDP

2010-04-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce that I am officially a Creative Capital PDP Alumnus. I would like to thank SOEX for an intense and very amazing opportunity.

Erik Parra

Welcome to the Brand New Erik Parra Dot Com

2010-04-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the newly redesigned Erik Parra Dot Com. This new website is a work in progress and I will continue to work with it in addition to updating new content. I have been building the site myself, with the help of Fivepoints Arthouse. I have designed the site to be easily updated so please check back often for news and new images of recent work. You can also connect via RSS on the connect page.

Please enjoy!
Erik Parra

RIP RR

2008-05-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Overwhelmed, I just found out that the great Robert Rauschenberg has passed. Rauschenberg's early works are very important to me, a feeling galvanized when I had the opportunity to catch this exhibition of his works while living in New York, a few years back. I remember spending hours at a time lost in those combines, history and that intangible that mesmerized me so. RIP Robert Rauschenberg, Thank You.

Time to Continue

2007-11-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

An explanation for the lapse of time can only be summed up in academic terms, that is to say I was consumed by academia. What is worse I was land locked in the center of the country with out adequate material to write about.

I was teaching color theory in the fine art department of a very large state school. At this particular research school, the fine art department is housed in the college of education and the various arts are equally without community and college organization. This is endemic of larger cultural problems with in the state, our country, etc. but this does lead to internal issues with regard to the organization of the department that are not your garden variety Hickeyean state of affairs. For instance color theory was considered an elective, that is not required by art majors, which never made sense to me, but I digress.

So there I was in the heart of middle America with out a thing to see worth writing about. Since this is no longer the case, I will resume writing about art, music and film my way, as I experience them here in San Francisco.

telling

2005-12-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Lenny Bruce Performance Film is the second to the last routine Bruce ever did because he would die one year later. In it he uses excerpts from his three obscenity trials to illuminate the flaws of trying him for obscenity law violations and the judicial system in general, all while delivering his routine. Going back and forth between trascripts from the cases, his bits and what are obviously newer adlibbed pieces we get to witness a very intelligent, creative person performing in a very relaxed way. Bruce is in the moment, comfortable enough to take risks that ultimately underscore his programme and pay off in spades for the audience.

attitude

2005-09-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have been watching this non-stop since I bought it a week ago, it is just that good. This is one of the first sort of comprehensive filmic ethnographies of punk that I have seen that get's it right. That is to say it is sensitive to punk as first, an idea or frame of mind and second, as an extension of American roots music blues, and rocakbilly. This film also addresses in a clear, logical way the America, London punk squabble by clearly delineating the bands that influenced each other vis a vis interviews with people that 'were in the pit' at these shows or who were integral in their respective scenes. There is an amazing short documentary about the LA punk scene which is a great suppliment to this book, this DVD also includes other shorts that address punk's affect on fashion, the influence of zines, timelines, an interview with the ever intense, self-proclaimed "Professor Hank". There is a tremendous amount of material handled in a clear, smart way but what else would you expect from a document created by Don Letts.

point-to-multipoint

2005-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is the exhibition announcement for the installation. Networks are a collection of smaller entities working together to form a larger entity. Communication, transportation and the nervous system, for instance, all share ten characteristics inherent to "systems" they each contain senders, receivers, channels, transport, traffic/payload, security, signaling, scheduling, terminals and ancillaries. There are two main kinds of networks, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint. In point-to-point networks traffic moves from one node to another such as with roads and telephones. In point-to-multipoint networks traffic moves from a central hub that controls the flow of traffic to different nodes, ie. nodes are not directly connected and resources and information are mediated. I was looking at several different systems local to Greensboro yet relevant to many neighborhoods across the country. I was also fotunate enough to be able to integrate aspects of my own studio research(outside of the residency) and inquiry somewhat seemlessly. The title of the piece refers to the numerous systems at play in the installation, the multiple layers of meaning as well as the installation's role as hub or mediator in the point-to-multipoint system of communication I have installed.

drumroll please

2005-08-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

I know I have not posted in a while but last week I was in full production mode and could not justify posting. I didn't even check my email but now I am finished and have some photos for you to look at. The top three are an attempt to capture the enitre installation and the bottome two are some close up shots of some of the cars. I have about 52 images and will post some more in the next couple of days.

sketch

2005-08-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if any of this is going to make sense so please be patient with me. This is one of the final planning drawings before I get into the space and start installling, fabricating elements, painting etc. The grid on the wall to the left will be a grid of these and to the right will be a painting of several historic buldings from the area, painted amber and white, just like an old tyme black and sepia photo. That rectangle hanging in front of the back is a photo of the city council of Greensboro from the seventies I believe, that sais " City of Greensboro: Responding to Citizen's Concerns" it is going to hang in front and sort of float, it will also be lighted during the evening/night. On the floor reading from left to right there is going to be a stack of books with titles such as "Modern Carpentry", "Living in Communities", "Architectural Resources", and "The Sociaology of Urban Regions" to name a few, on top of that stack will be an empty fishbowl. next to that will be a rug of sorts that I make which has a slightly abstracted floor plan of the entire space. Next to that will be a table with record player, phone, coffee cup and some board games, there will be some flexibility as to the exact objects, then there is going to be records leaning on the leg of the table that refer to the idealized notion of the west, via record cover photos, text etc. In front of that there is a huge ball bearing that will sit atop a red pillow, on a white pillar. The only other objects will be the floor plan of the area deliniated by cars and trains. I hope that was clear and I will post images of the project in progress.

Except I will be in New York until the 20th so I will not pot until then. Have a great weekend.

myspace

2005-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a view of the space that I have to work with, the photo on the left is taken from picture frame left and the photo on the right is taken from picture frame right. I know this sounds confusing but I will include a diagram and sketch for the overall installation tomorrow, for now let us refer to the collage wall and the back wall (which is painted black). The third and fourth walls going clockwise from the beginning are the hallway/entryway and the window, respectively. All of this will make sense as it grows, and after you see the sketch.

spirograph fun

2005-08-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here is another spirograph drawing. I am completely charmed by the outcome they are so elegant, simple and seemingly perfect upon first view but as you spend time with them you notice the slight imperfections that happen as the system is put into play and the design is made. It is these physical anomolies that, as in the case of snowflakes make each, individual. In this particular drawing I have made one very ordered and decorative and then took the exact same spirograph set up and made another with the same number of rotations however I did not hold the ring as tightly in order to subvert the spirograph process and product.

progress

2005-08-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of one of the drawings that I have been working on that will essentially cover one wall of the installation that I am working on. I have begun in earnest to prepare the space because the deinstallation is complete and I cleaned the space and will have pictures of this process starting tomorrow. For now I will post two drawings this one is spirograph on scanned, output image from a drawing intstruments catalog from the early 50's. I am scanning and printing for a couple of reasons first there is only one and I want to leave it in tact and second, most importantly, I want to use numerous pages to cover one wall and there just was not enough in one catalog.

around

2005-08-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Collaborative by definition means working together with other people. That also means working around what every one else has going on which can be frustrating at times but I have enough little projects that I can cope.

Here is a drawing that I made using a spirograph and some very cool letter-press, clip art plates that I found.
I know this post is a bit thin but I will post more later or tomorrow as soon as I get some pics of the smaller projects that I am working on. I will say this, I am quite excited as de-intsallation and recuration of the exsisting window piece have begun and now I can start working out arrangements/placement of objects and fabrication for my window. I will post a drawing of my proposed idea as soon as I get one that is satisfying as a drawing and not jujst a sketch.

tasks at hand

2005-08-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

I have come up with some goals that I have for the duration of the residency, obviously their relative importance is inversly proportional to their order, but I am going to try to accomplish all of these tasks. So here is what I am working on:

Projects I have going at elsewhere
-Mapping traffic use as people interact with space, patterns of migration
-Devising a hierarchy of “roads” arteries
-Devising a nomenclature to accurately define the use of the arteries
-Devising a system to for self governance of interaction with space, ie signage
-Small installations, with in the space, “paintings” with objects
-My large installation

we have pictures

2005-08-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Ok here is my attempt to upload some images of the scenario that I spoke about a few posts back, this amounts to a sketch. This is the first attempt to organize objects, formally, in space, in context. The Stay Puft Marshmellow man represents the oncoming natural disaster, it is a reference to a meeting we had prior to the installation in which someone made a comment about that particular toy representing a natural disaster. So there is the context of the reference as it relates to the history of the space but there is the reference to Ghostbusters, which was a natural "disaster of biblical proportions! What do you mean "biblical"? What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor. Real wrath of God type stuff! Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! "

Sit In

2005-08-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

I met with the director's yesterday and they are as excited about my proposal as I am. Hopefully after today I will post some long awaited images for you to see. Until I work out the bugs and get some images up, please check out this bit of Greensboro history an event that I had not forgotten about but it's location I had, that is until last night. It is really kind of amazing to walk by the Woolworth building, which is like three blocks away from the studio, where such an important event took place.

forward progress

2005-08-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

Moving forward with my project today I started setting up a small scale installation in order to work out some size, color content relationahips. I will try to post pictures shortly but for now words will have to do. I set up three lanes of traffic that have come to a complete stop due to a collision of epic proportions. A metro police helicopter has fallen out of the sky and crashed into the cab of a red eighteen wheeler causing a light blue sports car to crash into a brown sports car and if that was not bad enough there is some sort of natural disaster coming.

What object did you picture in your mind, to represent that natural disaster?
If you want a hint as to the natural disaster I have chosen I will give you hint, it references one of Bill Murray's funniest movies and it is 50 feet tall. In addition to this small installation (that will grow and change as I move toward the final installation) I have been making little drawings about the space, my experience here and certainly planning my proposed moves. I have also been attending meetings about the South Elm Street Redistricting Project you know revitalise the downtown and what not so if you have opinions about making the cement plant a good neighbor then they would love to hear from you. Well that is all for today, thanks for stopping by, more later stay tuned.

humbling moments

2005-08-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had one of those humbling moments. I went on a trip with some of the other resident artists to see John Coltrane's house, yes that infamous house where an amazing artist grew up and then returned to kick H very humbling and now a moment of silence. Now go play some Coltrane it is all I have been listening to since.

humbling moments

2005-08-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

to the library

2005-08-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is a little how Elsewhere works, if you would like more background go here, otherwise I shall begin in the library. Somewhere along the way the idea of a library was concieved and then a system for arranging the books was devised based loosely on the dewey decimal system and the internal structure that is shaping up the stuff of Elsewhere. So in the library there is a section for all of the sections found with in the space for instance there is a studio section, a kitchen section, a lobby section, a garden section, a bathroom section and there is even a library section in the library (there are a few more but not having been here they will not make sense). So books are arranged based on their titles and in what section they would make most sense, so there is room for interpretation and there is always room for a well formed argument and I believe that there is one hard and fast rule, well as hard as it gets here at Elsewhere, anyway, and that is that all books about animals go in the garden section as all animals deserve to be outside so books with animals in the titles as well as books about animals go in the garden as do books about sunsets, plants and general outsideness, for the most part. Books about art generally go in the studio, biographys generally go in the audience section, as do books about TV, Film, and bestselling fiction works such as works by James Michner. Romance novels go into the Freud's Office section and books about excercise, food and nutrition go in the kitchen. Literature and classics go in the library section and most books involving teaching or learning or various combinations there of go into the Educational Research Initiative section. But it is less straight forward because there are instances that would not make sense to outside observers, such as books that might have the word "bridge" in the title would go in the lobby section because there is a bridge in the lobby here. So the beginning of this post is just that a way to begin, shelving of books would not necessarily follow these guidelines especially if it refers first to the space and second to the history of the space which are some very important ideas when you are at Elsewhere. If you want to get into the library shelving system email, or post a message with a book title and I will tell you where it would be shelved and why.

The United States and Its Neighbors

2005-07-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have spent most of the day digging through some of the enormous amounts of "stuff" here, it is just like shopping at a really old, dusty thrift store. I am contiunally surprised to find toys and books that I have long since forgotten about. No concrete thoughts about what I am going to do yet, I am still finding my way in the space and in the programme but I am collecting books that have been used for educational purposes, (many of which I had as a child) for source material, I am thinking. Whatever I ultimately decide on it will incorporate images in some capacity. Stay tuned for more from elswhere.

I have been listening to:
Ornette Coleman "Shape of Jazz to Come"
Rise Against "Revolutions Per Minute"

mia

2005-07-30T22:18:00.001-07:00

culpa for the hiatus! I have been traveling and helping my father start his studio school (which is a whole summer worth of Blogs that I could not get to as I was entertaining, however I will, get to the Highlights intermitantly as the memories bubble back up to consiousness). But enough about me...This is my first evening as a Resident Artist at the Elsewhere Artists' Collaborative and it has been interesting getting to know the infrastrucure of the program. There seems to be a performative element to this program that many of the people here seem to really enjoy and it makes me a bit nervous, the whole performing business and all. It seems very much like reality TV in some ways but I am not exaclty certain how I can articulate this point just yet so this theme of my relation to acting and performing here at Elsewhere, specifically as seen through a "reality TV" lens, I will revisit. I did however, and I am very excited about this, find several textbooks that I had in grade school and am cooking up something very tasty for my project. I will certainly keep you posted but it is late, I have been traveling and have just absorbed an heroic amount of information so I depart but I will see you very soon.

mia

2005-07-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

exactly

2005-04-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in the New York Times Ken Johnson said this of Eric Fischl's new paintings at Mary Boone which I commented on below(maybe it was even that last time I posted, I never claimed to anything more than a lazy blogger).
"...What seems more urgent for Mr. Fischl is his desire to be taken seriously as a painter. He does paint with John Singer Sargentesque facility." (for a transcript of this review go here).

Now, I do not disagree with the first part of this statement it has been evident in his paintings since the beginning of his career. This is something that anyone can pick up on, if you really look at those early paintings in all of their awkwardness they are striving for something more, to be bigger and better. His desire is actually manifest right there on canvas. Now some would just say they are badly painted and that's ok with me until you get to his later paintings in which his facility seems to "improve", clearly he has stuck with it and what is driving this persistence? Desire, whether it is to improve, to continue out of love for painting or to be taken seriously as a painter does not even matter. After all it is not like he needs to worry about his career, selling paintings or being written in to the history books, he was chosen early on in his career and all of that has been taken care of. Yet he has continued to fail in public, attempting to be a better painter and while he has improved I think it is laughable to compare him to Sargent.

What is worse the Hot Shit Painter who can't paint or the Art Critic who does not look?

You do not need a Master's degree in Art History to see that Fischl does not hold a candle to Sargent. Rendering a variety of fabric, space, skin tones, emotions, and moods effortlessly, virtuosically John Singer Sargent raised the bar for representational painting. He created captivating pictures that elicit an instant physiological and emotional response. In short he created amazing paintings. This is a bar that Fischl will never clear, however I admire his persistence and if the art world did not lavish him with undue praise I would respect this pursuit even more.

notes from chelsea

2005-03-23T08:18:00.000-08:00

This is not a statement on painting per se or a meta statement about the state of painting nor will I be invoking that cliche that most people do when they begin to talk about painting, this is however about three "painter's" exhibits at three different galleries in Chelsea. I use quotes because one of these artists is relatively new to painting and has been quoted as saying that he had wanted to try it for some time, oh but we will get there.

I am going to start with the painter that was the most disappointing, Eric Fischl. These paintings are tired and dated yet not dated in the way my grandmothers shag carpet is dated but it is more complex, especially if you consider the Richter Havekost school of contemporary painting or as some say the Tuymens effect, you know photographically mediated image rendered in photorealistic detail blah blah blah. Fischl's paintings in their awkward harkening back to painting from life seem more awkward and dated than compelling or inviting. These paintings are stuck in an artworld that does not yet love the Tuymen's effect and are fighting for a presence, however the art world more than accepts the Tuymen's effect hence the awkwardness and datedness. Also paintings of people I don't know, much less care about doing things that are uninteresting is a recipe for me leaving the gallery, quicker and visually unsatisfied.

Next we have Damien Hirst at Gagosian (yes that is the same artist that caused a "sensation" in the late nineties) who has decided to try his hand at painting. That was hard to say with a straight face after all he has a workshop with a team of assistants who make his paintings for him and in the process validate the corruption of the artworld gift system. The Hirst brand needs to be sold so it needs to be manufactured en masse, that is to say this exhibit is not about paintings it is about Hirst's ego, the brand Hirst and the money that controls the artworld receiving a return on their investments. That he is working this way is somewhat honest or at least he is honest about it, what is, sad are all of those writers wasting time trying to determine this "move" and what it "means". It is about commerce and nothing more and in some respect that renders Hirst's voice as an artist suspect.

The best painting exhibit in Chelsea right now is Jules De Balincourt at LFL. These paintings are a little didactic and at times are a little naively painted and every now and then they feel a bit like Neo Rauch in the way space is organized but this adds to the experience, they are not perfect. Risks were taken and decisions were made in the name of the paintings and not in the name of commerce. The strength of this work is evident from far away and reinforced as you develop a closer relationship with the work as little surprises unfold the closer you get. Those surprises are in the way paint is applied, colors chosen and in the narratives. This is a very satisfying exhibit and after my third trip it keeps getting better.

we fixed the glitch

2005-02-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

I did not know this would be an issue when I began but apparently the settings for posting messages was set for members only. I have changed this and now everyone, that's right even you, can leave me a comment if you wish. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Rock and Roll.

Making Good

2005-02-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

I want to start this post off by saying that I admire artists who fearlessly continue to take risks even after recieving praise, accolades and a handsomely paying career in the art world. Artists like Lee Bontecou or Gerhard Richter for instance continue to grow as artists and their production does not sit still. I would also like to mention, at the risk of sounding like a jaded hipster, that I love Robert Rauschenberg's early work, you know this stuff because it was vital and important and very satisfying to look at. I could look at some of that work all day long and never get tired, but somewhere along the way, they became formulaic and he has been showing me the same thing again and again and it is more than obvious. His new exhibit at PaceWildenstein is a succinct example of the art world's Hero worship. I respect Rauschenberg as an artist for his contribution, it was great yet we as consumers, viewers, educated art participants should hold him to the same critical standards we hold everyone else. If we did that, then only one conclusion about his recent works comes to mind and it is the one that came to my mind when I left his new show: that he has grown comfortable and complacent, and Rauschenberg is no longer a challenging or vital artist. And that is just sad!

again with the shameless plugs

2005-02-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

I know this is cheating and does not really count as a post so in order to remedy that I will post again today but in the meantime check this new twist on an old favorite.

Settling

2005-01-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

Now that the dust has settled from all of my holiday activity, travel etc. I will be getting back on this here blog in a more timely fashion this year. Highlights from said travel include: Site Santa Fe Biennial which reassured me that the hype around Inka Essenhigh is deserved and not just the hollow inflation of an art corporation promoting from within. Her painting was one of the more memorable in the group. I also saw Roy Lichtenstein in San Francisco and the later work was well worth the price of admission.

Sleep and Sabbath

2004-12-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

The perfect music can enhance even the most mundane situation last night I had one of those musical awakenings. The perfect music for this grey, cold, slightly hazy New York fall evening was Sleep. It is quite similar to Black Sabbath, and in case you do not know the pleaseure of Black Sabbath go here ASAP. So it is down tuned, slower in tempo, accentuated bass with chugging guitars and these amazing, melodic guitar parts in the back, all very uplifting despite the cold and grey."Ozzy himself was impressed, saying Sleep were the closest band he'd heard to Sabbath's original 70's style and feeling." Praise most high, coming from the prince of darkness himself.

Math

2004-12-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

For those of you who love math and moviesthis website should be bookmarked. It is now my favorite site and I consider it an invaluable reference I mean nothing is more disheartening than a movie with unreal or fake math!

Notes From Chelsea Part 1

2004-12-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

A very dear friend and colleague loves Dana Schutz's paintings very much and I have tried desperatley to catch this enthusiasm for the work but to no avail. Saturday was the first time I had the experience of seeing the paintings in person at LFL Gallery in an exhibit entitled "Panic".

Walking into the first gallery I felt that sense of relief that comes from walking into contemporary art gallery to see paintings, actual paintings with moments of thick paint, moments of exposed underpainting, brush stroke marks thick and thin. Schutz's color choices are for the most part spot on, very well informed and satisfying, however, moments of muddiness are very distracting. Her, personal, odd spaces delineated by color and light start to become chunky and two thumbed much like the style the figures are handled in.

At this point the actions of these figures becomes clear and little bit of their magic dissapears. I was more interested in the idea of rendering those cannibalistic and macabre images with that luscious color. I then retreat into those smaller areas where her colors do sit next to each other with intese, vibrant energy and I try to forget the poorly drawn figures and muddy color. What I really want to look at are very small pieces of her paintings and I am not sure if this retreat is enough to redeem the paintings and then a little more of the magic dies.

Preachin' to the Choir

2004-12-03T23:37:00.000-08:00

I think I might be old fashioned and this is probably where I will lose many readers but, when I go to an exhibit of visual works in a gallery I expect, well, visuals not text. Even though I enjoy reading quite a bit there is a time and place.
I went to an opening tonight of photos, snapshots taken by Gulf War veterans while they were in active duty during the original Gulf War conflict. The photos read like snapshots not "art photos" and were only about one fourth of the story, the other three fourths of the story was retold via text of transcribed conversations with the veterans. So the text gave a context for the snapshots and it was, over all an interesting project but I kept wondering if the gallery space was the appropriate venue for the project. There we were, educated art consumers being informed about the intracacies of this particular war mostly by the text with a bit of backup from the accompanying snapshots and it was great. I love reading about this because of my politics yet I wonder if that might be this project's downfall as an artistic endeavor or am I just pissed that I had to read too much, in a gallery setting, with very, very little pay off.

Mix Tape as Art

2004-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

It is time for Broken Glass to get interactive. After a long Thanksgiving weekend reconnecting with very close comrades I am posting a call of sorts, for mix cd's. The idea is to trade mixes, and then respond to the traded mix. If you have not been, there is a great website which one can use for inspiration or influence whichever one feels more comfortable with. Please email me and we can get this project going. I have a mix that is ready to go.

I opener

2004-11-22T19:42:00.001-08:00

I am not proud of it but when I travel I buy trashy magazines. This mag to which I am now referring used to be full of great rock journalism or maybe I am just getting older, wiser and what not after all the drinking fountains are getting smaller... In the latest issue of Spin there is an editorial of sorts, about the influence of the iPod on contemporary culture. The basic premise of the article is that this particular piece of technology will revolutionize the way we experience our lives because for each instance we can now have the most appropriate, if not pefect soundtrack.

So obviously I have revealed my hand, yes I have one of those new fangled music machines and yes like every other hipster on the subway my white ear pods are wide open, exposing me. But, there is one difference (at the very least) I have yet to desire the sort of control that drove the author of the afore mentioned article. I like things a little more chaotic, less controlled as some of you who know me might attest to. So there I was on the subway, my iPod on random as it always is and it hit me, we have no control. This is not a new revelation, this is something that I have felt very deeply for some time but it was confirmed tonight as I realized that I have never taken my iPod off of random and so I had to laugh as if drunk on the idea that going from American Nightmare to Miles Davis to Run DMC to Merle Haggard, makes sense. After allI know it does, how about you?

I opener

2004-11-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

I am not proud of it but when I travel I buy trashy magazines. This mag to which I am now referring used to be full of great rock journalism or maybe I am just getting older, wiser and what not after all the drinking fountains are getting smaller... In the latest issue of there is an editorial of sorts, about the influence of the iPod on contemporary culture. The basic premise of the article is that this particular piece of technology will revolutionize the way we experience our lives because for each instance we can now have the most appropriate, if not pefect soundtrack.

So obviously I have revealed my hand, yes I have one of those new fangled music machines and yes like every other hipster on the subway my white ear pods are wide open, exposing me. But, there is one difference (at the very least) I have yet to desire the sort of control that drove the author of the afore mentioned article. I like things a little more chaotic, less controlled as some of you who know me might attest to. So there I was on the subway, my iPod on random as it always is and it hit me, we have no control. This is not a new revelation, this is something that I have felt very deeply for some time but it was confirmed tonight as I realized that I have never taken my iPod off of random and so I had to laugh as if drunk on the idea that going from American Nightmare to Miles Davis to Run DMC to Merle Haggard, makes sense. After allI know it does, how about you?

Straight No Chaser

2004-11-14T09:43:00.000-08:00

Did Thelonious Monk ever use drugs? For some reason I rember reading that he had an addiction to something or am I just confusing his biography with some of his contemporaries? I just finished Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser, a biography produced by Clint Eastwood and released in 1989. The film was created using documentary footage shot in the late 60's and includes contemporary interviews with those closest to him and I could not help wonder if the omission of his use of illegal substances was a decesion Clint Eastwood made as Executive Producer or if Monk did, in fact, not use drugs. I only bring this up because they allude to him being sick, and being hospitalized but they never come right out and tell us what he has, which leads me to believe that the filmakers would hide other aspects of his life as well. It is not important whether he did drugs however if he did and it is not included in the documentary it leaves one suspicious of other material that was possibly left out. Other than that the footage is generally amazing and offers a unique view of such a great man I just wish I had gotten the whole story, I feel cheated.

Shameless Plug

2004-10-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

This site is awesome, you will not be dissapointed with the quality of the artwork this group is making. The site contains painting, printmaking, polaroid pictures and drawings from seven artits rooted in pop culture.

Inaugural Post

2004-10-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

How to begin? I will spell out some of my loose thoughts about what I am trying to accomplish with this little endeavor. As I am interested in writing about art, music and film, this blog is a way to practice my craft so to speak. I also want to use this to communicate with my peeps who are spread out all over this lovely country of ours. Comments will be greatly appreciated.