Monday, February 28, 2011

dark, wet uk winter.

I was just unceremoniously informed my text could not be sent due to the fact it was a “semantically incorrect message”: evidence of the strong, paternalistic arm of Blackberry censors. And my bad grammar. Admittedly, I incessantly anticipate the blinking red light of incoming messages. What is normally a 20-minute school run took 1:34 minutes in traffic today. No wonder I have gained and lost 10 lbs in both January and February, and seen the bottom of a glass with too much frequency of late. Must be the long, dark, wet, cold UK winter again.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

collect

A good collector never let's money or lack thereof, get in way.

brain brawn: vito acconci fan club

I saw Vito Acconci speak at the University College London for The Bartlett School of Planning; after all these years, I can never tire of such an exhilarating experience. The lectures have morphed into what the performances use to be: physical concrete poetry, rhythmic and lyrical, moving and jarring. With repetition and bodily swaying, his spoken words have sculptural presence. And Acconci is hilarious in his deadpan celebration of abject failure. Though I wasn’t name-checked for previous commissions and facilitations, I was grateful to be in the presence of such old school brain brawn.

front stabbers

I know this sounds pretentious (it is) but the art world is an old fashion (mostly) gentleman's market with small talk, billions and daggers. They don't stab you in the back, but rather the front; then you are compelled to have dinner as you can't afford to alienate a source, lawsuits notwithstanding.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Picture That

In two art meetings in 2 countries 2 people asked to see pictures of my wife. Funny, it used to be just pictures. The art world is like the pony express or proto-internet in that packets of info travel (usually) discreetly from lunch, tea through cocktails and dinners. Jasper Johnny Appleseed.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Art and Alcohol from London

I heard on the radio this morning that 200,000 will die in England from cheap alcohol; does that mean freely available or poor quality? Or both. Then I arrived at Heathrow at 7am and they were handing out samples of Baileys and it all became clear.


According to Kelly Crow in today’s Wall Street Journal (the 21st Century art mag), $375m of Richter’s have been sold since 2005 at auction. After recent London results of $11.5m and $5.1m for abstract paintings both small and large that went to China and Russia respectively, at the risk of exposing myself to (further) scrutiny and potential ostracism...I still think they are cheap.

walk like an egyptian

In the wild west of the art world, the last unregulated billion-dollar bastion of business, they do it like Egyptians with hands extended at 90 degree angles in opposite directions. In other words, they get backhanders and fronthanders.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Yo Pablo!

Though there is no mention of it on their website, there’s a show of new paintings by Sylvester Stallone at a gallery in St. Moritz; by the looks of it, I think he’s going through his abortion period. This gives all new meaning to the famed 1901 portrait by the master: Yo, Picasso!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

open admissions

A friend wrote from the Architecture School at Harvard today and mentioned she was studying with the artist Krzysztof Wodiczko about the theory of monuments and on the curriculum was a book I co-wrote with Vito Acconci. Sure I wouldn’t be there were it not for Vito, but, hey, I can finally say I got into the Ivy League.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

fickle pickle

The art world is a fickle place with a constantly shifting target of value. Get on the wrong side and its not pleasant; but, with care and consideration there's not a better space to be.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

a.r.t.

Malevich, Duchamp and Picasso; for me, that’s the origins of contemporary art. Malevich for exploding and reducing the picture plane, Duchamp for sticking two fingers up at the portentous world of art, and Picasso for being such an adept chameleon, changing stripes at will.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

sothebys 2011 feb auctions london

For a change, the biggest prices went for the smallest works; a bacon, dali and freud-14, 13 and 5 inches respectively. Finally, something matters more than size alone.

negative affirmation

I found myself the brunt of someone else's joke for a good portion of lunch today. Rather then take affront I realized there is something positive in such negative affirmations.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Happy Haters

I was in such a state of exuberance at scalini's last night the man at the adjoining table asked me to step out for a fight. Though I have a proclivity to swear and am American, fisticuffs was not quite what i had in mind on the menu. Happy haters. And, no surprise with me, its not the first time.

Friday, February 4, 2011