A couple of weeks ago, when murals began springing up on the sides of buildings in downtown New York (see here, here, here and here), not only were we seeing rats, we were smelling one too. Banksy was in town. Our interest was further piqued with the opening of The Village Pet Store and Charcoal [...]
Monthly Archives: October 2008
Soft Focus at Cooper Union
October 16, 2008 – 4:22 pm
Last Saturday, the Great Hall at Cooper Union was the site of a live taping of the VBS.TV show Soft Focus, hosted by former Make-Up frontman Ian Sevenonius. His guests were Ted Leo of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys (it was advertised that Kathleen Hanna would be there, [...]
Swoon’s Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea
October 15, 2008 – 4:17 pm
They say that one person’s trash is another’s floating artwork. The latest project by Brooklyn-based artist Swoon, Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea, is one-part portraits made of urban flotsam and jetsam on view at Deitch Studios, one-part fleet of seven boats constructed from reclaimed materials and powered by alternative energy. Now docked on the East [...]
Rebecca Turbow: The Achromatic Way
October 14, 2008 – 2:17 pm
Brooklyn-based fashion designer Rebecca Turbow, of “Safe Clothes,” has been promoting safety-through-consistency for years. The former Turquoise Queen (she infamously wore teal and white for seven years straight) converted her wardrobe and clothing line to gray in September of ‘07, and this winter’s collection is no exception. Swing coats, mini-dresses and pleated skirts — the [...]
Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton at the New Museum
October 14, 2008 – 2:15 pm
Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton is the first-ever survey of the artist’s work, which includes over 100 portraits — paintings, drawings and prints — of icons ranging from modern-day musical legends like Kurt Cobain and Liam Gallagher to historic figures and revered monarchs like Napoleon and Queen Elizabeth. Armed with only a petite canvas and an [...]
Alejandro Cardenas at James Fuentes Gallery
October 13, 2008 – 4:34 pm
Opening tomorrow, Tuesday, from 6-8 p.m. at James Fuentes Gallery is the debut solo show of artist and designer Alejandro Cardenas. The ex-Lansing-Dreiden member is straying from LD’s exclusively black-and-white palette with his small-scale, delicate gouache and watercolors and their hazy world of color. But the presence of black still remains like a daydream: abruptly [...]
Wall Rockets: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha at the FLAG
October 9, 2008 – 2:01 pm
Wall Rockets: Contemporary Artists and Ed Ruscha, currently on view at the FLAG Art Foundation, is an homage to one of America’s most beloved artists. Named after Ruscha’s celebrated canvas, Wall Rockets (2000), which sits front-and-center at the elevator entry, the exhibition includes a multi-media mixture of works by over seventy international artists — including [...]
Feel-Good Hit of the Late 80s: Keating Five to be Remade
October 8, 2008 – 12:19 pm
The remake of Keating Five (aka Questionable Lending Practices and Investments), is still in production, despite recent dips in interest in the project. At least two major players from the previous cast are confirmed: John McCain and Phil Gramm (whose wife you may remember from the 2001 blockbuster, “Enron”). The budget is expected to be [...]
The Magnetic Fields: Live in 3-D
October 8, 2008 – 11:34 am
The Magnetic Fields are hitting the road in a few days — if you’re in Minneapolis, Madison, Dallas, Austin, Boulder, Raleigh, Jersey City, Philly, Columbus or DC, come visit me at the merch booth. Check House of Tomorrow for details. We made a 3-D poster to sell alongside the t-shirts and vinyl and every poster [...]
Oscar Carlson: A Master’s Protégé
October 7, 2008 – 1:51 pm
British conceptual artist Martin Creed has many irons in the fire. Aside from operating a Warholian studio factory responsible for turning poetic concepts into art objects, he performs in a rock band and runs a gallery. As of this past month, he can add promoter of new talent to his résumé. To accompany his Duveen [...]
