America, says Charlie Citrine in Saul Bellow’s novel Humboldt’s Gift (1975), is proud of its dead poets. Especially the mad ones: the bridge-leapers, the drink-guzzlers, the pill-snackers. Robert Lowell thought everyone was tired of his turmoil, but he obviously wasn’t thinking ahead to the possibilities he and his fellow scribblers presented to the movie business. You can only imagine the film gurus and movie execs surveying the poetscape of the twentieth century with nods of excited approval, foaming about their mouths. Drink, adultery, jealousy, madness, suicide: who knew poets led such cinematic lives!
Art
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No Names Allowed Beyond Here
At the far end of the main gallery Thomas Scheibitz mounted the painting “Untitled (No. 632)” on a slant within an inset in the wall of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. Its four rectangles, thinly painted in rose and violet washes or a combination of violet, green and brown, with varying densities of white brushed along the edges, were simultaneously divided and framed by a wide band that is partially painted industrial gray with some of it khaki.
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On the Necessity of Thinking Big: A Talk with Jason Andrew
A week ago, on the night of Friday, February 17th, two incongruently mirrored exhibitions opened on either side of the East River: Charles Atlas’ The Illusion of Democracy at Luhring Augustine’s new Bushwick outpost; and What I Know, a large group show of Bushwick artists, curated by Jason Andrew, at the New York Center for Art & Media Studies (NYCAMS) in Chelsea.
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Why Occupy Wall Street Deserved AFCRPAAaA’s Best Jerry Award
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I had a great deal of fun at last night’s Art Fag City Rob Pruitt Art Awards and Auction (AFCRPAAaA) and I was happy to be a part of it and see Occupy Wall Street receive the Best Jerry Award from Jerry Saltz himself.
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Talking Tech: A Report from the College Art Association Conference
LOS ANGELES — It’s just been the first two days at the College Art Association conference, and people are talking tech. Or maybe I’m just attending the tech-oriented panels. The first panel I sat on spoke on internationalizing the practice of art history. Immediately, it felt like the voice of God was speaking, until I realized it was a man on Skype.
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Risky Business
A liver shot in boxing is a short, quick body punch delivered to the liver with a left hook. The effect can be devastating. (Bernard Hopkins knocked out Oscar De La Hoya with such a shot.) Unfortunately, the tool is often overlooked in today’s prizefights, as boxers prefer headhunting with right-hand crosses aimed at the opponent’s chin. What does the liver shot have to do with Nuture Art’s new show, Systemic Risk? Not much. The exhibition, unlike the body punch, exists in the realm of ideas; it’s a cerebral affair.
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A Place for Books in a City Where Little Else is Free
Public libraries are a beautiful idea and they’re rather universally loved but recently some artists have been engaging with the very idea and exploring its potential to be truly accessible at all times.
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Planned Obsolescence or Our Smartphone Leashes
Ben Bunch’s new show, Twenty-First Century Freemasonry, is a riotous amalgamation of computer part entrails, circuit boards and wires in overclocked colors.
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View from the Easel, Part 5
CHICAGO — The fifth installment of a series in which artists send me a photo and a description of their workspace. Today we visit studios in Chicago, New York, Montreal, Arizona and Baltimore.
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Art Rx
This week we’re sending you to a closing party in the Bronx, performance in Bushwick, a panel on Architectural criticism in the Village and the soon-to-be-opened 2012 Whitney Biennial on the Upper East Side. But don’t get stressed, since you can cleanse it all away with a final visit to Doug Wheeler’s art nerd Nirvana installation at David Zwirner. Ohm! Light and Space … Ohm!
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A Handstand in Bushwick
Handstand. That is just another of the items on the long list of the things Paul D’Agostino excels at doing. As a Bushwick resident since 2007, D’Agostino has actively worked to shape the art scene in the neighborhood through his countless activities. Bushwick-based nonprofit Norte Maar is currently presenting a solo show of Paul D’Agostino’s work, titled Appearance Adrift in the Garden.
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Saudi Arabia Needs to Talk
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Contemporary art is not the first thing you might think about whenever Saudi Arabia is mentioned. But if you decide to look beyond the veil of political media and stereotypes you will be quite surprised at what you might discover.
