Art News Blog

Art Calendar Magazine Self-Portrait Contest

2009-11-18T03:50:00.000-08:00

The Art Calendar magazine is accepting entries for their self portrait magazine cover competition. I'm not sure if artists outside of the United States can enter, but I entered it anyway. Entries are submitted online and it's free to enter, so it was pretty easy.

Here's my self portrait entry..

Here's their blurb..
"Entrants will have the chance to win one of three great prizes. Our first place winner will receive a $500 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials and have their artwork featured on the cover of the March issue of the magazine! They will also be interviewed by one of the Art Calendar editors for a one-page profile, where we’ll feature a picture of the winner and their winning work. Our second place winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials and our third place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials. Both our second and third place finalists will have a half-page profile with an image of their work and a short biography about them inside the magazine."

Find out more about the art competition on the Art Calendar website.

Ten Excuses for not Posting Lately

2009-11-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

People are really good at making excuses and I'm no exception. I try not to accept my excuses though as they're usually pathetic, just like all of your excuses for not getting off your butt and doing what you really should be doing now.

Here's my pathetic excuses for not posting lately..

There's not enough hours in the day
I have been overdosing on art
I need a break (those close to me would find this excuse funny)
My head has been in the clouds
The blog doesn't make any money anyway (well duh, put ads on it!)
When I paint everyday I become sensitive to everything and everyone
Sometimes I have nothing to say and all the news bores me
I don't feel like it
Just because
C.

Here's a recent painting of Melbourne (click for larger image)..

Questions and Answers

2009-10-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

I was asked a few questions by a student journalist at City University London recently..

1) First of all can you tell me a little bit about your work? What themes do you explore in your art and why? What do you strive to achieve through it?

I basically just paint what I want, how I want. I have no social or moral message to give. I stopped selling paintings 18 months or more ago, with no intention to start selling again until I can no longer fit in my house, which has brought about a change in how I see painting. I'm now thinking more about conceptual art and looking at ideas more than thinking about who would buy a work.

2) Recently the Tate Modern was forced to remove Richard Prince’s piece 'Spiritual America’ from its Pop Life: Art in a Material World exhibition due to a public protest. What is your opinion on the matter? Do you think the piece was justly removed?

I don't know. We live in a sick world, so we have to draw the line somewhere with images of young people. Having said that, I wish we lived in a world that could see the images as innocent and beautiful. So, as much as I hate censorship, I'm not really sure how I feel about cases like this. The Australian photographer Bill Henson has dealt with similar issues.

3) Do you think art institutions should have the freedom to display boundary-pushing art that may offend certain members of the public? Why?

I think it's their job to push the boundaries. People that are easily offended shouldn't visit galleries. They should stay home in their safe, comfortable home and drink tea quietly. Art is either going to look good hanging on your wall or is trying to tell you something. Both forms are equally valid for me.

4) What do you think pushes an artist to create pieces that can cause possible public backlash? Is this a reaction to modern reality or just a means of getting publicity?

It's both. Most artists by nature are outsiders and like poking sticks at insiders, it amuses them to no end. You could also say it is a sign of the times we live in where you are nothing unless you are the biggest, loudest or most annoying. Many shock artists probably just needed more hugs growing up. Damien Hirst has made a career out of it. His career has been so filled with "shock" that when he paints a relatively normal looking exhibition (like his current one) it is looked at as shocking.

5) What do you think is the social role of art?

I believe there are two kinds of art: an art that should hang well on the wall and an art that has something to say. The latter should use any means possible to speak its message.

6) What do you think are the major changes in the public's attitude towards art? Do you think our modern society is quick at judging and finding offence in everything?

I don't know. I don't think art is really that important to the general public. Nobody really takes much notice of art unless an artist is doing something outrageous. Being an artist or being involved in the art industry tricks you into thinking that art is everything and everyone must appreciate it as it's so important to you, but the average guy on the street couldn't care less about art.

Artists like the fact that society is quick to judge and easily offended. Many rely on these facts and play to them.

7) Do you think that by challenging conventional views art can truly make a change in the public‘s perception?

No, I don't think art has the fire power to affect change in any meaningful way. It will always touch the minority that actually takes notice of art, but art won't change society unless you include movies, the internet, and music. Things like painting, sculpture, installations, prints, and video art will never change much of society.

8) It seems that contemporary art is increasingly aimed to disturb and art which is made purely for aesthetic pleasure seems idealistic and secondary (beauty is often considered kitsch). What do you think caused this? Why qualities like disruptiveness and the shock value became marks of success?

It's the media age. It takes something loud, colourful and shocking to get our attention. A Giorgio Morandi still life would bore most people to death these days. Most people have forgotten how to sit still for any length of time. Silent stillness forces you to look at yourself and that scares most people.

9) In the Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie wrote "What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist". Do you think freedom of expression truly exists in our modern society?

Of course it doesn't exist. We're silly little immature beings that wouldn't know what freedom of expression was if it punched us in the face. It's nothing that a few hundred thousand years of evolution won't fix though. Let's just hope the earth will put up with us long enough to see us grow up..

Artnear iPhone Application

2009-10-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

I can't honestly say how useful this application is as I don't own an iPhone, but it sounds like a good idea. It's a free application (I believe there is also a pro version for a small fee) available from iTunes which guides you to art museums, exhibitions and galleries around the world. If it does what it's supposed to do it would be a must have for art travelers.

"Admittedly, we are still missing lots of info, but already have over 12,000 artists and 2600 galleries in our system - but we can only be as good as the people who provide us the info... Anyway, we developed this tool to make navigating the art world easy and hope that more and more people are going to make use of it." hopnear

Find out more about the artnear iPhone application at the hopnear website here or look for it in the iTunes store.

Basquiat - The Lost Prince

2009-10-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Basquiat is my favorite movie about an artist.

It's hard to make a good artist look interesting as they're usually just working.

Why do we Make Art?

2009-10-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wonder why? What's the point? Why make art at all?

It's usually only after days like today, days that are physically, mentally and emotionally draining.

Everything will be alright tomorrow.

Damien Hirst Shop

2009-10-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm susbcribed to a whole bunch of newsletters and am bombarded with all kinds of promotional emails, most of which I never open. But one that I always open is from Other Criteria. It is a collective of artists, pushing all kinds of limited editions, prints, and publications, but I really only look at what Damien Hirst is selling.

I find the man endlessly fascinating. How can a man that sells deckchairs and clocks still pull off auction sales like he does? I'm sure I'll tire of him someday and hate him for what he's doing to art, but that day hasn't come yet. I still love him, even if I don't care much for his art. I almost bought the Damien Hirst clock below, but I just bought a whole bunch of art supplies (why is cadmium so damn expensive?!), so my art budget has blown out this month.

Innocence Lost
Damien Hirst
2009
200 x 50 mm
Glass bottle with sauasge and alcohol

Innocence Lost, a glass baby’s bottle containing a pork sausage pickled in alcohol, makes foul, connotative paradoxes out of ideas of nourishment and nurture. Visually, the work is a reminder of Hirst’s formaldehyde pieces as well as the surreal performances of pantomime and Punch & Judy shows. It is at once humorous and disturbing.

The glass bottle is engraved with the edition number, Hirst logo and signature.
Price: £5,200.00

Large Spot Clock
Damien Hirst
2009
35 cm diameter
White powdered metal case and metal back
German Quartz movement

The clock uses Hirst's popular spot paintings as its face, the front of which is printed with his signature and the Hirst/Hirst logo. The rear is printed with the Other Critera logo and the clock name.

Price: £475.00

The Other Criteria newsletter is really worth subscribing to, especially if you're an artist that thinks art is precious or that art and commerce shouldn't mix.

Art Daily is Now a Teenager

2009-09-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

This news is a little late as I have been a very absent blog editor lately, but I keep telling myself that it's better late than never.

This month the art news site Art Daily turned 13! In internet years thirteen is almost ancient.. well done Art Daily.

Here's to another 13 years!

Five years no longer sounds old to me.

Luna Roslyn - Queen of Cities EP

2009-09-26T02:28:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share a nice EP called Queen of Cities put out by Luna Roslyn. They're using one of my paintings from Turkey for the cover. Hear the songs on their MySpace page here or support them by buying the album online here. It's good for the ears while holding a brush!

Luna Roslyn is also on Facebook.

"If the Earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital" - Napoleon Bonaparte

Gagosian Store

2009-09-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

ARTINFO has reported on the new retail outlet of gallery mogul Larry Gagosian..
"The sleek, 2,500-square-foot, bi-level space, which opened to the public this past weekend, also inaugurates London import (and Gagosian artist) Damien Hirst’s publishing company and retail shop Other Criteria on the lower level, making for a kind of casual art emporium with a fancy ZIP code." ArtInfo

I'm not against making money from art, but I can't help thinking some of the super-famous art dealers and artists are taking advantage of poor rich folk. At the end of the day though, it's a reflection of society rather than the gallery or artist. People love stuff, especially expensive stuff that can make them feel a part of the cool club. So, I'm sure the Gagosian retail store will be a great success.

See some of the products available to buy on the ArtInfo article.

Australian Art Connoisseur

2009-09-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a distinguished Australian art expert talking about art. Please don't watch this video if the F-word offends.

The actor is Heath Franklin (not Eric Bana) and he's playing the role of career criminal Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read. The Vincent/ear thing is worth noting as Chopper cut off his own ears.. and I believe he was shot several times also. The last artwork is of the Australian artist Ken Done for those that don't know (most people outside of Australia I would imagine).

Meat and Vegetables

2009-09-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have been grocery shopping and brought home some meat and vegetables.

There's the t-bone steak for the carnivores.

They say carrots are good for the eyes.

Chicken is a popular.

Potatoes are boring, I don't care how they're cooked.

Minced meat for spaghetti bolognese.. mmmm.

And some bacon if you don't mind eating pink squealy things.

Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

2009-09-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Home is worth the long wait if you have a slow internet connection. The makers of the film have more videos on their YouTube page.

I stopped reading books and news on the environment a while ago as they're just too depressing, but with this one they at least throw in a little hope towards the end. Even if you're not interested in the environment and think the planet is doing just fine, it's worth watching for the spectacular landscapes. We do live on an amazing piece of rock.

I wish someone would tell environmentalists and green groups that fear doesn't work with everyone. You can hit me with a stick all day and I won't move an inch but if you dangle a carrot in front of me I'll get up and do something about it.

ArT nEwS bLoG iS 5 YeArS oLd!

2009-08-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Art News Blog is FIVE years old. That must make me some kind of blogger or arts writer or something. I'm most comfortable with the "something" label though. Someone called me an art critic recently and I didn't know how to react. He said it in a way that was supposed to be flattering but I was actually very offended.

If I was forced to label myself it would be Wanderer or Watcher of things. If I had to put something serious on my business card (which I don't have.. even though ALL artists should have one) it would be Painter.

I'm really not a fan of labels and boxes though. We get too comfortable wearing them and before long we can't live without them. It doesn't matter if the label is one of power and influence or it's one of lack and degradation, we cling to them like our life depends on them. A lot of opportunities are missed and interesting paths not taken because of labels and our fear of peeling them off.

Ok, I'm starting to rant and getting off topic. Happy Birthday Art News Blog!!

Thanks for reminding me Woo ;-)

And, umm.. Lucian Freud Interview

2009-08-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Easily the best living painter in the world.. in my humble opinion.

Before seeing or hearing Lucian Freud speak I thought he might be a more forceful person. I figured that the man would have been much less delicate than he is in person as his paintings are so strong and self assured.

I almost feel uncomfortable watching him as he seems naked, even if he is fully clothed.

The Lucian Freud interview is in 5 parts, so do go watch them all on YouTube. If you are a painter, you have to watch it all.

I found the video on Leith O'Malley's Facebook page. I also started a Facebook page for Art News Blog. I haven't figured out what I do with it yet though!

Australian Artist Leith O'Malley's Studio

2009-08-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the art studio of the Australian artist Leith O'Malley. Leith's work was recently showing at the The 4th Wall Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

Art in various stages of completion.

Artist, palette and portrait.

This is Leith in front of a Rory Gallagher portrait.. sharing the same shirt.

See more of Leith O'Malley's work on his website here.

Or more artist studios here. Also, if you have sent me photos of your studio I will post them, I just thought I would spread them out rather than posting them all at once.

Jeff Carter at Expressmover and Janet Gillian

2009-08-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to try and rank on Google for two active art scammers at the moment. I have been getting emails and new comments on old art scammer posts about "Janet Gillian" and "Jeff Carter" of Expressmover.

Janet Francis has magically morphed into Janet Gillian and is busy trying to scam artists at the moment.

Jeff Carter of Expressmover or Express Mover has been their imaginary delivery man for a while now. Expressmover is a fictional mover invented by a Janet or a Jeff.. who knows. The names are not so important, it's their method of scamming artists which is most important. Janet Francis turns into Janet Gillian and Expressmover might be Express Packages next week.

This particular little group of cockroaches seem to like the names Janet and Jeff. My apologies to most Jeffs and Janets out there, but if a Janet or Jeff contact you using worse English than mine, make sure you ask them to pay with Escrow.com and they'll scurry away back to their dark and sad little holes where they belong.

Here's a comment by an artist..

I have just been royally scammed by "Janet Gillian". I was about to contact the FBI when I decided to google the address of the mover. Yes, all "her" emails are almost identical to those posted. I believe she got me for $2700. I received a check via UPS overnight in an amount which was $2700 over my asking price. The check was drawn on Lowe's Inc. Same story--the overage was to cover moving costs and should be wired to the moving company before they come to pick up. I asked for a contact name for the movers who would be picking up and ignored the fact that I never got one. I am feeling really foolish even though my instincts told me there were strange inconsistencies. I could rationalize all of them away on the basic notion that this is an honest person. My question now is what to do. Someone mentioned contacting the company the check was drawn on. How does one do that? Who do I contact at Lowe's Inc.? I will go to my bank and the bank the check was drawn on to see if they can do any investigative work. Otherwise, I would appreciate concrete feedback.

By the way, here are the names they used:

Janet Gillian:
(jann.gill00l@gmail.com
Jeff ("her" "husband") he actually
called me! Maybe I spoke to
the real "Janet"
James Carter, the moving agent
who signed "his" name Jeff
Jeff Moll whose name was on the
check from Lowe's

"She" told me they were moving from NJ to "Jo'burg" and actually gave me both addresses so I could put them on my mailing list. I could quite understand why the check came from Lowe's in North Carolina. (Red flag ignored!)

When I got her first email I googled her but couldn't put anything together. I got to this site by googling "expresmover kings cross"

Thank you so much for all your comments. Any advice anyone can give me would help me regain a little confidence.

See more Art Scammers.

Neuroesthetics & Artists as Brain Scientists

2009-08-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

This year I finally relented and bought myself an iPod. It's easily the best gadget I have ever bought and I really don't know how I lived without one for 33 years! I love it because I can take my whole music collection anywhere, it shuts off the outside world while working in the studio, and when I'm at the PC I am always listening to podcasts and lectures.

The best podcasts haven't necessarily been art podcasts either, they have been podcasts on the mind, nature, spirituality, and business. One podcast which I always look forward to listening to is All in the Mind by Natasha Mitchell.

In her latest episode (which can be downloaded Here, even if you hate music and don't own an iPod yet) she talks about neuroesthetics and an exhibition at London's Hayward gallery called Walking in My Mind.

Semir Zeki pioneered the field of neuroesthetics and says that scientists have a lot to learn from art, but artists have a lot less to learn from neuroscientists. And he says that we (artists) are mostly all neurologists in some sense.

It's an interesting listen..

Art and Vaginas

2009-08-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

I always seem to have a giggle when I look through the keywords used to find Art News Blog. I mentioned vaginas on the pussy casting post a while ago and people came up with these creative vagina search terms..

painted vaginas
is vagina art
funny vaginas
how to draw a vagina
interesting looking vaginas
white vaginas
weird vaginas
big fat vaginas
fattest vagina
huge vaginas
small vaginas
5 different looking vaginas
black vaginas
boobs and vaginas
do black women have pink vaginas
are japensee women's vaginas look different?
asian vaginas
fake vaginas
circumsized vaginas
show me sexy vaginas of women
i want vaginas
different colored vaginas
renaissance art why no vagina

and..

art pussy
painted pussies
and
why do pussies look so good?

Looking at the search terms using "nude" to find the blog are much more disturbing to say the least. People were looking for everything from nude 3 year old girls through to senior sex. I seriously do worry about the intentions of some searchers.

Bush Football - Dinni Kunoth Kemarre

2009-08-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Mixing sport and art is a lot like mixing oil and water, jews and muslims, christians and atheists, or any other unlikely combination which doesn't mix well. But like any generalization, it is often proven to be not entirely true. Sometimes a jew will marry a muslim, a christian will convert an atheist, and good art will be inspired by sport.

I think the sculpture of Dinni Kunoth Kemarre at the upcoming "Bush Football" exhibition (nothing to do with George W. or soccer) at the Mossenson Gallery, Melbourne proves me wrong; art and sport can mix.

Dinni Kunoth Kemarre
Footballer (Kangaroo)
acrylic on wood

Dinni Kunoth Kemarre
Footballer (Bomber)
acrylic on wood

Dinni Kunoth Kemarre
Footballer (Bomber)
acrylic on wood

Bush Football will be on display at 41 Derby Street, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia from Tuesday 18 August until Saturday 5 September, 2009. Mossenson Galleries website.

Ps.. this post has nothing to do with religion.

Cy Twombly has Style

2009-08-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

The 81 year old Cy Twombly made the Vanity Fair's 2009 International Best-Dressed List. His personal style is considered to be "rumpled artist" by Vanity Fair. His signature look is Blue-and-white-striped shirts with linen or flannel pants and custom-made jackets, and his signature wardrobe item is Green suspenders.

Just recently, while getting dressed I was thinking that I need a change in clothes. So I went and told a friend that I'm changing my style in clothes and he just laughed at me. His message was that I have NO style, which means I have to get some. I usually only buy clothes and look after my appearance when I have a girlfriend, but now that I'm single I couldn't be bothered.. which may be why I'm single.

I expect artists to look like this..

Ike Ude - By Neil Rasmus/PatrickMcMullan.com

Or maybe photographer Bruce Webster..

Bruce Weber - By Will Ragozzino/Patrick McMullan.com

See more good and bad fashion on Vanity Fair's best dressed list here.

Who Killed Bambi? Patricia Waller Killed Bambi

2009-08-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

Remember the Knitting for Psychos post a little while ago? A couple people even wrote to me and told me that I was disgusting for posting them, but I think they just forgot to take their pills before writing to me. Well, I didn't know who the works belonged to at the time, but now I do (thanks to those who let me know).

The "crocheted" not "knitted" (another thing I learned from a reader) works are by the German artist Patricia Waller. I visited her website to see some of her more recent works and saw Tweety below.

My first thoughts were "oh, she must create cute toys for kids too" but then I realized what is really happening with poor little Tweety! I'm a massive bird lover and the scene shocks me at first, but as a rational thinking (at least I think I am) person I can also see that it's just someone having a bit of fun. It's not a real bird boiling in a pot and the artist Patricia Waller is also probably an animal lover (with a weird sense of humor).

Lesson for today: have a sense of humor! Life isn't THAT serious.

One more thing, the "Who Killed Bambi?" work in her gallery is really wrong. Even I went "awww, poor Bambi" lol

Fake Damien Hirst Blog

2009-08-09T01:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how legal this fake Damien Hirst blog is, but it's funny. Im surprised Mr Hirst hasn't shut them down.

This fake Damien Hirst work of 44 peanut M&Ms is called "The fear of becoming fat expressed in the joy of being colorful"

Other works include Thoughts on eternal life by someone living a mundane life in a tiny flat, The price of being a virgin in the world dominated by people who's virginity could never be proven, and Snow White and the seven dwarfs without the seven dwarfs actually being the seven dwarfs. See more on the Damien Hirst spoof site here.

Found on ArtWorldMag.

Jeff Koons has more than 120 Assistants

2009-08-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

The 20 year old me would have been horrified at hearing that an artist has 120+ assisstants. (Thirteen years ago I also thought money was evil, politicians were looking after us, life was endless, and people were good.) But now I think it's absolutely amazing that one artist could sell enough work to support 120+ workers. The purist in me still wants to rant but I just don't go there anymore.

The Art Newspaper spoke with Jeff Koons in his studio about his current exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London and his studio/factory.

Here's a Q&A from the Art Newspaper interview..

TAN: It must be daunting running an operation of this scale. Are you ever tempted to go back to making work by yourself?

Jeff Koons: I used to make all my own sculpture, my paintings, but if I did that it would severely limit the range of projects that I could be involved with. I follow my interests in some way that feels profound to me, those that seem to have a deeper meaning. I feel completely free to do whatever I want to do. But I have to edit my work a lot, because of the process, the amount of time it takes to actually make things, you really have to make the things you want to make, otherwise you’re wasting a lot of energy.

Read the full interview here.

The Serpentine Gallery exhibition in London is showing until the 13th of September. It's a collection of paintings and sculptures from his Popeye series.

Jeff Koons
Popeye 2003
Oil on canvas 274.3 x 213.4 cm
© 2008 Jeff Koons

I was going to say that Jeff Koons also has one of the best websites of any super-famous artist, but he ruined it by using Flash. Now I can't even get past his splash screen. I click Enter and nothing. Artists have no idea with websites. I don't want moving, flashing, screaming, multi-colored, or cluttered artist websites. I just want to see art.. clever websites are just stupid. Here's a link to an internal page of his website as I just couldn't get past his silly welcome page.

Art News Blog on Twitter

2009-08-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

I usually follow trends when they're about to die or years before they're fashionable, so this means that Twitter is about to die or I have finally become a good sheep and now run when the herd runs. It could be the latter as I have become quite a sell out lately.

I still haven't worked Twitter out yet, but here's Art News Blog on Twitter.