Art News Blog

Spencer Tunick in Vienna, Austria

2008-05-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

New York photographer and flesh architect Spencer Tunick is rallying the troops again. Tunick is planning a shoot in Vienna, Austria, at the Ernst-Happel-Stadium. He is hoping to get more than 3000 participants to the Vienna football stadium on Sunday, May 11.

Here's some more details from the Spencer Tunick website here..

The first 2,008 registered participants will receive a free return train ticket (coach) within Austria from the ÖBB. Arrival is possible as of May 10, 2008, departure until Sunday, May 11, 11.59 pm. The affirmation for your return journey will be certified at the Ernst-Happel-Stadium in the scope of the installation.

In return for your voluntary participation all participants will receive a limited edition photograph of the installation in the Ernst-Happel-Stadium.

Only participants will have access to the stadium. You will only be nude for a short period of time. The installation will happen Rain or Shine (the stadium's seats are covered). Participants under 18 years of age may only take part in the installation with written consent of a parent or guardian.
>> Spencer Tunick News

Jeff Koons Interview

2008-05-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

ArtInfo has interviewed the king of kitsch and holder of the "Most expensive artist at auction" title, Jeff Koons.

Here's a couple Jeff Koons quotes taken from the interview over at the ArtInfo website here.

* "When you view work, it’s not just an intellectual experience. It’s also a physical, biological experience. People like work that makes them feel a certain way. I want my work to have a certain charge, and I think that people who view the work like it, that intensity." Jeff Koons

* "For me, art has been about living to my full potential and about having viewers increase theirs. My work has always tried to communicate acceptance. It’s not about a rarefied object, because art is about people, life, experience. It’s about giving attention to the viewer so that hopefully they maintain enough confidence to experience communication." Jeff Koons

The artist also has a decent website online, which is surprisingly unusual for a famous artist. I haven't been able to figure out why so many well known artists don't have their own website. Most of them don't even own their own dot com name. I thought the internet was important, but I guess they don't see it that way.
>> Jeff Koons News

Bank of America - Museums on Us

2008-05-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

Bank of America has changed how its "Museums on Us" program operates this year. Last year the bank paid for museum entries around America for the whole month of May. This year they have added more museums to the list, but it is now year round, with the first weekend of every month being free to holders of a Bank of America check, ATM or credit card.

Here's a list of the participating museums around the United States..

ARIZONA MUSEUM
Arizona Science Center

CALIFORNIA MUSEUMS
California Center for the Arts Escondido
The California Museum
Crocker Art Museum
de Young Museum
Discovery Science Center
Explorit Science Center
Laguna Beach Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Mingei International Museum
Museum of African Diaspora
Museum of Latin American Art
Palm Springs Art Museum
Riverside Art Museum
San Jose Museum of Art
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Tech Museum of Innovation
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

CONNECTICUT MUSEUMS
Mashantucket Pequot Museum
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

DELAWARE MUSEUMS
Delaware Art Museum
Delaware Museum of Natural History
Winterthur Museum & Country Estate

FLORIDA
Miami Art Museum
Miami Children's Museum
Miami Science Museum
The Morikami Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami
Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale
Museum of Discovery & Science
South Florida Science Museum

GEORGIA
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Atlanta History Center
Fernbank Museum of Natural History

ILLINOIS
The Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago History Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

MAINE
The Farnsworth Art Museum

MASSACHUSETTS
Danforth Museum of Art
DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

MARYLAND
The American Visionary Art Museum
The Flag House and Star Spangled Banner Museum
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

MICHIGAN
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
The Detroit Zoo
Henry Ford Museum

NEW JERSEY
Liberty Science Center
Montclair Art Museum
The Newark Museum

NEW YORK
Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium
International Center of Photography
The Jewish Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York Hall of Science

NORTH CAROLINA
Levine Museum of the New South
Mint Museum of Art
Mint Museum of Craft and Design

PENNSYLVANIA
National Constitution Center
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)
Philadelphia Museum of Art

RHODE ISLAND
Museum of Work and Culture
Providence Children's Museum
The RISD Museum

TEXAS
Dallas Museum of Art
Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Museum of Nature & Science, Dallas
San Jacinto Museum of History

WASHINGTON
Museum of History & Industry
Tacoma Art Museum
The Wing Luke Museum

There's more information on Bank of America's Museums on Us program at their website here.
>> Art Museums

Most Expensive Living Artists at Auction

2008-05-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

Over at the Art Newspaper there's an interesting story about the most expensive living artists at auction, with the baton being passed from Jasper Johns, to Damien Hirst, and now Jeff Koons.

"When the art market of the late eighties transmogrified into a deeply depressed bear, the living artist accolade went into hibernation, sleeping soundly until February 2007, when Peter Doig’s 1991 painting, White Canoe, sold for £5.7m ($11.3m) at Sotheby’s in London." Art Newspaper

Jasper Johns - False Start
Jasper Johns was the most expensive living artist at auction in 1988, when his White Flag painting sold for $7 million at Christies, then his False Start painting (above) sold at Sotheby's the next night for $17 million. He held the title for quite some time..

Damien Hirst - Lullaby Spring
Damien Hirst took the title in 2007 when his Lullaby Spring sold for about $19.2 million. The Hirst pill cabinet was bought by the royal family of Qatar, the Al-Thani family.

Jeff Koons - Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold)
Jeff Koons is currently the most expensive living artist at auction, with his Hanging Heart work selling for $23.6 million in Novemebr 2007.

And, here's some great quotes about the price of art by the art critic Robert Hughes..

"The auction room, as anyone knows, is an excellent medium for sustaining fictional price levels, because the public imagines that auction prices are necessarily real prices." Robert Hughes

"Art prices are determined by the meeting of real or induced scarcity with pure, irrational desire, and nothing is more manipulable than desire." Robert Hughes

"Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers. If one wants Schnabel, they all want Schnabel, if one buys a Keith Haring, two hundred Keith Harings will be sold." Robert Hughes

"A fair price is the highest one a collector can be induced to pay." Robert Hughes

>> Art Auctions, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Famous Artists

What to do about Art Scams

2008-04-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

Recently an artist (Sarah) posted the comment below on this scam artists post from last year.

I am in the midst of the exact negotiations - I have actually received the certified check in the mail, from a person calling herself Nicole Roane. All the other details are the same, except that she says she is relocating to Johannesburg from the Georgia address. I also have a cell phone number for her.

I want to un-earth something beneficial from this otherwise shitty experience.

It would be interesting to create an exhibit of "stolen" works - posting calls online through craigslist and other free ad spaces to see if we could get a solid group of us who have interacted with this same scam. I wonder if there is any thread between the artists' whose work has been chosen within the scam. She chose "Think about that while I am gone", from my "collage" section, and "Untitled 7" from the color paintings section. I'd love links to people whose work has been scammed - to the specific pieces, when possible - just out of artistic curiosity.

My local law enforcement will do nothing - they say it happens too often for them to care.

In Reply to the Comment..
I don't know how the art scammers operate (or why they have to exist on the same earth as us!), but they are generally easy to notice, so I wouldn't bother wasting time or energy on them. The important thing is that artists are aware of these cockroaches and the tactics that they use.

Their main objective seems to be the money from the artist (don't cash their check/cheque), rather than amassing a booty of hot art. Listing the titles of your artwork is just a way of making them look genuine. Their most common tactic is to send their scams to a list of artist emails, asking them for their website address and the price of their works. Here's a really crude art scam that I received recently from Maxwells Brown.

I have never had a genuine request from a buyer that insists on using their own courier and using a check/cheque or money order (that is always more than the agreed amount).

Just don't send any art until the cash is physically sitting in front of you. Go and buy a coffee with their money before you even think about wrapping a painting to send. The buyer will understand if they are genuinely interested in your art.

I have used Paypal, Escrow.com, and bank to bank transfers with no problems at all. I wouldn't accept a check or money order as it just isn't worth the risk. Genuine buyers are flexible with their payment methods.

Don't go bothering law enforcement either as I have heard from people in the UK, USA and Australia that have tried to do something about these people, and none of them will do anything about it. I would love to hear from people that have had more luck with prosecuting the scammers.
>> Art Scam Emails

Robert Rauschenberg Sues Artist

2008-04-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

I read the title of this story on the Art Newspaper (Rauschenberg sues artist for selling his trash) and didn't think nice things about Rauschenberg. I thought it must be a rich and famous artist releasing his lawyers on a poor struggling artist because the hounds needed to stretch their hairy legs.

But, the article says "According to Rauschenberg, in 2007 the defendant, Robert Francis Montgomery of Florida, who also paints under the name of Robert Fontaine, sold works purportedly by Rauschenberg which Rauschenberg did not create, with certificates of authenticity. Rauschenberg alleges that this violated his rights under VARA to protect the attribution of his work." Art Newspaper

It goes on to explain that the artist found large negatives in the trash of Rauschenberg in 1998, which I think is fine if you sell it as Robert Rauschenberg Rubbish (it is the age of recycling!), but Montgomery has sold it as a finished Rauschenberg work with a certificate of authenticity.

There's a big difference between selling an artist's trash and selling an original work with a certificate of authenticity. So, release the hounds Mr Rauschenberg.
>> Famous Artists, Controversy

Pizza Hut Box Design Competition

2008-04-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Sticking with the multinational company art competition theme, Pizza Hut has a global design competition where you can design your own pizza box. For the next six months there will be a monthly prize of $1,000 and at the end of the competition the overall winner will have their design printed on a Pizza Hut box.

I struggled to find any entrants online at their website here that were worth posting, which has to be a good thing for those that are thinking about submitting an entry.

Update: Corrine of Jafabrit's Art submitted her entry here. It's an open mouth about to chomp on something, which is appropriate for a pizza box.
>> Art Competitions

Nike Art Competition 1/1

2008-04-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Nike has launched a new annual art competition called 1/1. You have to be based in Europe and be over sixteen to enter. The winner will have the chance to exhibit at the Basel Art Fair and will design a limited edition pair of Nike Dunks, which I assume is a pair of shoes made by Nike.

The competition is open to everyone from filmmakers and photographers to graffiti artists and illustrators.

Nike's Nick Knight said "Both football and the arts cut across boundaries. Whether you're from any part of the world, class or part of society, you can appreciate a football match: that's what I like about it. It's the same with the arts: a great painting will cut across boundaries. And that global reach is what's really exciting about the '1/1: Art of Football' project.

We're looking for participants who are completely committed to football but also want to express it in a piece of artwork. It could be a performance, a sculpture, a still - whatever they want. Hopefully that desire to communicate will be the driving force behind the SHOWstudio/NIKE collaboration.”

Find out more at the 1/1 website.

Update: Here's a Pizza Hut competition too.
>> Art Competitions

Earth Day 2008

2008-04-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

Google has celebrated Earth Day 2008 by letting the grass grow around their logo. BrandZ and Millward Brown have found that Google is the number one brand on their annual "Top 100 Most Powerful Brands" list, so the Earth Day website should get a few extra visitors from the search engine giant today.

The Earth Day website is encouraging people around the world to call their leaders today to "ask them to enact tough and fair climate change legislation." My prediction is that politicians worldwide will have their phones off the hook.

Here's some previous Google logos for Miro, Munch, and Van Gogh.
>> Earthday 07, Environment News

The Art of Death

2008-04-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

The German artist Gregor Schneider is looking for people that are about to die and are willing to be a part of his exhibition, which will be you dying.

Schneider told the Art Newspaper that he wants to "display a person dying naturally in the piece or somebody who has just died. My aim is to show the beauty of death." He also told them that his doctor in Düsseldorf is actively looking for possible participants in the exhibition of death.

I don't know much about the artist, and he may just be out to shock and collect his 15 minutes, but I don't have a problem with his plans. If the person dying is aware of what he or she is participating in and it's done in a reasonably tasteful manner, I'm fine with it. I probably wouldn't go to the exhibition, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be exhibited.

It's a thousand times more tasteful than killing an animal for art, as I doubt that any of the animals from the recent Adel Abdessemed exhibition signed a consent form to agree to be filmed while they took a sledge hammer to the head.
>> Art Controversies

Banksy - One Nation Under CCTV

2008-04-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

I found this news on the Coxsoft art blog. The British graffiti artist Banksy has unveiled his latest work of wit, irony, and reality.

"One Nation Under CCTV" is painted on a wall in central London, which seems to be the CCTV camera capital of the world. It shows a young boy up a ladder painting the words, with a security guard and a dog on the ground watching him. To the right of the painting is an actual CCTV camera.

Here's what the Daily Mail is saying about the new Banksy work.. "Banksy pulled off an audacious stunt to produce what is believed to be his biggest work yet in central London. The secretive graffiti artist managed to erect three storeys of scaffolding behind a security fence despite being watched by a CCTV camera." Daily Mail

I just wonder how "audacious" the work is though. Erecting 3 storeys of scaffolding in a secure area with a CCTV camera looking over the painting makes me think Banksy had permission to do the work. Regardless, it is classic Banksy. If I was the owner of the building I would now cover the painting with some protective perspex as Banksy just added at least $100,000 to the value of the property.
>> Who is Banksy?

INTERESTED IN YOUR ARTWORK

2008-04-12T04:37:00.000-07:00

Artists have mostly woken up to scammers trying to steal their money and artwork, but some people must still fall for them as I still get art scam emails. I thought they were getting more sophisticated and believable, but here's one that is a big step back..

HELLO, MY NAME IS MAXWELLS BROWN.MY MAIN REASON FOR CONTACTING YOU IS DAT I SAW ONE OF YOUR ARTWORK AND AM HIGHLY INTERESTED IN BUYING SOME FROM YOU CAUSE I SAW YOUR EMAIL TOO, SO I WILL LIKE YOU TO GET BACK TO ME WITH YOUR WEBSITE AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE SHIPPING IHAVE A QOURIER THAT WILL COME FOR THE PICKUP AND I WILL LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT I WILL BE PAYING BY A CHEQUE OR MONEY ORDER. SO I WILL BE EXPECTING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.REGARDS

The email is from MAXWELLS BROWN <maxwellsranch101@yahoo.com>

Yeah sure Maxwells, I would love to give you my website address so that you can try and rip me off.
>> Art Scams

Women Impressionists in San Francisco

2008-04-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have had complaints that I don't mention female artists enough on Art News Blog, so this exhibition should help with my quota of women artist posts for the month. I usually listen to complaints or constructive criticism, but strange people that think the world revolves around them or extremists that try and push their distorted way of thinking onto others don't get much of my time.

If the person took the time to actually look at the blog for any longer than 2 minutes they would see that the front page at the moment has a female artist working with spam, a female British artist (being sued), an Australian woman artist giving prints away, and some female artists dressing trees. If I do anymore posts on women artists this will turn into a feminist blog, which would be kind of strange as I'm male.

I really don't care if a post is about a male artist or a female artist and I never will care, ever!. All the complaint made me think about was ignoring all news stories that mention female artists, but that would make me just as deluded as the complainer, so I chose to ignore/delete the complaint.

Back to the point of this post (sorry about the rant), an exhibition called "Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond" will open at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Women Impressionists will run from June 21, 2008 to September 21.

Here's more from the press release.. "In a day when a woman leads the House of Representatives and another campaigns for President, it might be hard to imagine a time when the work of four women painters was marginalized because of strict social rules and the artists’ gender. For many decades, the four artists celebrated in Women Impressionists were treated with critical ambivalence and lacked major public exhibitions. It is only now that their innovative styles and contribution to Impressionism are showcased in a groundbreaking exhibition this summer at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, the exclusive U.S. venue. Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond is on view from June 21 to September 21, 2008. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to directly compare the work of these women artists by bringing many pieces together for the first time."
>> Museum Exhibitions

David Hockney's Big Trees Painting

2008-04-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

David Hockney has given the Tate his largest painting (he has painted some big ones) to date. "Bigger Trees near Warter" is about 40 feet by 15 feet or 5 meters by 12 meters and is made up of 50 panels. Also, I'm told that "Warter" is an actual place, so it's not a misspelling of "water" like I thought it was.

Hockney said "I thought if I'm going to give something to the Tate I want to give them something really good. It's going to be here for a while. I don't want to give things I'm not too proud of."

He also said "I feel loyal to the Tate. More artists should donate. They should think about it. You can’t quite trust collectors who say they’ll give to the Tate and often don’t."

According to the TimesOnline, 23 famous British artists agreed to give work to the Tate in 2004, but many big names are yet to come good with their promise. Among those that are yet to give works are Lucian Freud, Richard Hamilton and Gilbert & George. Among the 9 artists that have kept their promise are Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, and now David Hockney (sounds like a subtle hint to the other 14 scrooges to come good with some art).

The Tate's Nicholas Serota said "It is an astonishing gift. Notwithstanding its size, this painting could have been sold to many buyers around the world. Simply to give with no tax benefit to himself is a remarkable gesture."

There's more on the Hockney gift at the Times and the Guardian.
>> Art Museums, David Hockney

What is Art?

2008-04-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

It's a question that has been asked since we first started creating art: What is Art? I think most people agreed that hitting animals in the head with hammers is NOT art. So, what IS art? Lets see what the animals have to say about art..

I found this video on the Colouring Outside the Lines blog.
>> Online Videos, What is art?

Adel Abdessemed's Don’t Trust Me Exhibition Cancelled

2008-04-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Art Institute recently cancelled an exhibition by the Paris based artist Adel Abdessemed called "Don't Trust Me". The controversy surrounding the SFAI exhibition involves 6 looped videos of animals being hit in the head with a sledgehammer. The animals being killed include a sheep, pig, horse, goat, deer, and ox.

Here's part of a notice left on the SFAI website here..
"Soon after it opened, the Abdessemed exhibition became the subject of an orchestrated campaign by a number of animal-rights groups, including Animal Liberation Front (ALF), In Defense of Animals (IDA), and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). One result of this campaign was a parallel onslaught of explicit death threats and threats of sexual violence—as well as racial, religious, and homophobic slurs—against SFAI staff members and their families. The swift escalation from controversy to credible threats has regrettably forced SFAI to make a decision unprecedented in its 137-year history."

I did a quick search for the videos online, but couldn't find them (and am probably glad I didn't find them). I saw some still images and they looked pretty gruesome. Just do a Google search for "Adel Abdessemed +Don't Trust Me" and you should find some stills if you MUST see them.

Is it art? I don't think so. I think they're just animal snuff films created in order to shock. I have seen more shocking videos on PETA though.

And I'm sure that many of those that are so outraged by the killing of these animals happily drive through McDonalds or KFC without giving a second thought to the way the animals on their burger were killed. We have distanced ourselves so much from the killing of animals for food that we barely even recognize meat as living animals that were killed for our consumption.

So maybe Adel Abdessemed does have an important message to give with his Don't Trust Me exhibition at the San Francisco Art Institute. Maybe the people that are so angry at the films don't want to be reminded that their beef came from a healthy, living cow that had to be killed. I just think that so many "animal lovers" are really big hypocrits, and I include myself in this category as I like to think of myself as an "animal lover" yet I continue to eat meat. So we love the animals that are cute and cuddley and relate to people in some way, but we eat the ones that are on our burgers.

I think I'm talking myself into being a vegetarian, which is probably not a good idea right now as I'm invited to a BBQ tomorrow. I'm a walking contradiction.
>> Art Controversies

Art News, Reviews and Links

2008-04-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here's some art news that I have missed lately.

Salathé and White auctioned another art bonds painting recently; it sold for $960 USD and can be returned to the artists for 1,369 Euro in March 2009. I mentioned their first art bonds painting here.
The Guardian's Adrian Searle asks "Has big money replaced the pundit as the true authority in the art world?." I guess art critics must be feeling a little unloved and/or obsolete.
Italian born painter Marco Sassone is showing is showing his expressive urban/cityscape works at the Odon Wagner gallery in Toronto, Canada.
ArtInfo has done a review of the Armory Show in New York over the past week.
ArtInfo also interview Paul Schimmel on selling the art of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
The Geostationary Banana Over Texas project's "technical feasibility" has been confirmed. They're now looking to raise $1.5 million to get the project off the ground (pun intended). I mentioned Texas banana project earlier.
Speaking of bananas, here's 7200 of them stuck to a wall. Doug Fishburne also created an 8 foot high pile of bananas in England a few years ago. I think these artists working with bananas are trying to tell the art viewing public something; we're all monkeys.
NY Times real estate talks about an old Andy Warhol apartment for sale. If you want to live where the famous pop artist once lived (from 1959 to 1974) you'll need about $6 million.

>> General Art News

Aboriginal Bark Paintings

2008-03-29T04:59:00.000-07:00

Of all the exhibitions I went to in Sydney over the past week, it was "They are Meditating" that inspired me the most. It's an exhibition of Aboriginal bark paintings that were given to the Museum of Contemporary Art by the Arnott's Biscuit company.

They're more contemporary than any non-Aboriginal Australian art, but they also have thousands of years of tradition in them. You don't walk away from them feeling hollow or cheated or confused as they're real, they have meaning.

I wasn't allowed to take photos of the paintings, but I bought the "They are Meditating" catalogue and scanned a few of my favorites.

This first Aboriginal bark painting is by an artist called Yirawala, painted in 1970. It's a smallish painting that almost had me mesmerized. Not many paintings have affected me like this little beauty..

Artist: Yirawala
Title: Yirritja moiety divided into "skins" by Maralatj, 1970
Ochres on bark, 66.5 x 28cm

This next bark painting is by Roy Riwa. The crabs made me think of Picasso.

Artist: Roy Riwa
Title: Crab Totems, 1970s
Ochres on bark, 69.5 x 30.4cm

The last Aboriginal painting that I scanned is by Fred Nganganharrilil. It shows why 'decorative' shouldn't be a bad word in art.

Artist: Fred Nganganharrilil
Title: Flying Fox Dance, 1970s
Ochres and synthetic polymer on bark, 88.8 x 44cm

>> Museum Exhibitions, Australian Art

Sydney Hotel Night Photos

2008-03-26T05:22:00.000-07:00

I was just playing with the night view function on my little digital camera and realized that I shouldn't drink coffee and attempt night pictures. I was leaning up against the window and even tried to stop breathing while I clicked but I was still shaking (click pictures for larger views)..

After about 30 photos I finally got one without the blurring, but I think I liked the blurs more..

Blurred or not, it's a nice view. I could never understand why people were so obsessed with nice views. Hotels charge more for them, real estate agents talk about them like they're gold, and now I know why.

This is the view that I have from my bed, which is probably why I didn't get much sleep last night. During the day I'm not as motivated to rush straight out the door either. If your hotel room has a view of a brick wall or an air conditioner, you're much more inspired to get out of the hotel for the whole day. But now I keep looking for excuses to go back to the hotel during the day!

Omar Faruk Tekbilek at the Sydney Opera House

2008-03-26T02:07:00.000-07:00

Since going to see PJ Harvey at the Sydney Opera House last month I have been looking for any excuse to go back. I have been looking for pop/rock/folk musicians to perform there; musicians that I know. Last night I made it back to the Opera House (almost in the same seat as last time) to see the Turkish Sufi musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek.

It was just as impressive as PJ Harvey but for very different reasons. Omar Faruk Tekbilek's concert was mostly instrumental, played to God (or Allah) as much as it was to the audience. He's an artist that takes you places if you let him.. and I found myself lost in his music a few times.

From his website; he is playing a few concerts in the United States and Spain in the coming few months. Here's some samples of his music on his website too.. I recommend Whirling (great to paint with).

I couldn't find any videos of the concert on You Tube, but this is what he sounds like..

I'll be staying in Sydney until Saturday, so I might also take some holiday snaps and post them.

Ten Famous Jews by Andy Warhol

2008-03-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered is now showing at the Jewish Museum in New York. The series of work by Andy Warhol has been called "Famous Jews," "Ten Most Famous Jews," or "Jewish Geniuses"

The portraits are of Albert Einstein, Sarah Bernhardt, Franz Kafka, Louis Brandeis, Martin Buber, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, and Gertrude Stein.

From ArtDaily, here's some interesting questions about the famous jews series by Andy Warhol..
"While Jewish audiences tended to embrace Warhol’s series, several leading art critics dismissed it as crass and exploitative. In the twenty-eight years since its debut, Ten Portraits has continued to confront viewers with these questions: Why did a Pop artist who otherwise displayed little interest in Jewish culture or causes create a series devoted to eminent jews? How do we reconcile Warhol’s commercial motives with the high-minded portrayal of cultural and historical icons? How has our view of Ten Portraits changed since its first showing?"

I could answer the first question (Why did a Pop artist who otherwise displayed little interest in Jewish culture or causes create a series devoted to eminent jews?) by using an Andy Warhol artwork..

>> Andy Warhol News, Art Exhibitions

Innocent Spam - Funny Cartoons

2008-03-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

I probably get more spam than most people as I have a few different websites, all with their own email addresses. So every time I click Send & Receive I get another 10 spam emails in my junk folder. A full day will see my junk email folder fill with more than 500 spam emails and more than 1000 if the spammers have extra bills to pay. I sometimes get really bothered by them and wish really bad things upon the senders (REALLY bad things), but the only person that my cursing and screaming affects is me. So I just accept spam as being a part of the internet, just like traffic is a part of big cities; you can kick and scream all you want, but it won't get you out of the traffic jam any quicker.

Anyway, for some strange reason I have been collecting titles from the spam emails. I haven't decided what to do with them yet, but some of them are quite funny. I even have them in a few different categories, like penis spam, finance spam, weird spam, etc.

Here's a few from different categories (I didn't include any of the more offensive ones)..

Subject: beckons trots screwman wheft
Subject: Typewriter Diamond Clock Weapon Circus
Subject: Vulture Drink Child Eyes Fire
Subject: To win or not to win? Choose it now!
Subject: Dear Customer Feel Good Now!
Subject: New software issues strongly recommended
Subject: The most defiant fillies will strive for riding your new big Italian stallion
Subject: Beat her womb with your new big rod, so that she knew who wears the pants!
Subject: There are no losers among the possessors of long dic'ks. Now you can be one of them!
Subject: Make your trouser python huge and rock hard!
Subject: have a king-size phallus Billie
Subject: Dave's obvious penis
Subject: All sweet flowers succumb to big rod
Subject: If your girl cannot be satisfied with your weewee, you have to turn it into a schlong!
Subject: If you treat your filly as a goddess, why not become a God in her bedroom?
Subject: The most powerful weapon for your s'e_xual battles

The point of this post was to mention someone that is actually doing something with spam, but I got a little sidetracked. Janet Nelson of the Planet named Janet blog is using spam titles to create funny little drawings. Her ongoing series is called "Innocent Spam"

Funny, huh? I like how artists turn ordinary or repulsive things into something funny or beautiful.. Isn't that called alchemy?

Find more Innocent Spam cartoons on Janet's blog, or there's a few posts to her funny spam cartoons here, here and a funny dragon here.

>> Funny News, Internet News, Cartoons

British Art Gallery Sues Artist

2008-03-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

The Art Newspaper has reported that the British artist Sarah-Jane Szikora is being sued by her former art gallery, Halcyon. The Halcyon gallery was taking up to 75% of the sale price of works sold by the artist, which makes me think that the artist might be able to afford legal fees now that she should be putting 25% more of each sale in her own bank account. I know that art galleries have a lot of operating and marketing costs, but isn't 75% of each sale a bit greedy?

Rather than repeating the story, here's what's happening in summary from the Art Newspaper..

"Ms Szikora was represented by Halcyon Gallery for 11 years until her contract expired on 1 January this year. Ms Szikora then arranged to mount a self-funded, solo exhibition in the Arndean Gallery in Cork Street which was scheduled to open to the public on 29 January.

On 28 January, Halcyon succeeded in securing an injunction from a High Court judge preventing the artist from opening the exhibition to the public or selling works from it, and is now suing Ms Szikora for breach of contract.

Halcyon Gallery says that under the terms of her agreement, she was obliged to offer all works made before 1 January to Halcyon on a first-refusal basis, which she failed to do."

Update: I was just reading the news section on the artist's website and thought I would include this from it..

"I remain the subject of legal action by Washington Green and Halcyon Gallery. Sadly, after years of loyal service to the Halcyon group, there is a claim by them that I have breached my contracts. They successfully brought me to court and prevented me from selling any art work at my recent ‘sugarlumps’ exhibition. It seems to be their intention to aquire this whole collection of very personal paintings via the courts, but they are now also seeking damages. I have no means to take on such a wealthy company and If they are successful in their claim, It is possible I will be bankrupt.
Blimey…I only want to paint and to pay my bills! how did this happen??
Artists out there, please….DO NOT sign contracts without legal advice!!!"

Find out more on the Sarah Jane Szikora website here.

Andy Warhol Fragrance

2008-03-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

The New York perfume maker Bond no. 9 has released another Andy Warhol fragrance in their ongoing series of Warhol smells. "Andy Warhol Union Square" is the name of their newest bottle of pop perfume.

I'm not much of a perfume connoisseur as I really only have the last bottle of Andy Warhol perfume to compare it to, but I have been inspired to smell nice (most days of the week). Both the design of the bottle and the smells have improved from the first release, which was called Silver Factory by Bond No. 9. The new perfume bottle design looks more like it could have came straight out of the Warhol factory.

Bond No. 9 describes the perfume more eloquently than I could ever hope to, so here's their description of the new Warhol fragrance..

"Let’s start with the scent itself. While most floral fragrances just hint at cool, and vice versa, this one is an ambi-sexual, daringly balanced mix of sweet and cool. Sometimes the gentle scent of lily of the valley seems about to prevail, looped together with blue freesia, golden amber, and animal musk to enhance its sensuality. At other times, crunchy green-stem notes and white birch wood are poised to turn this scent into one of pure, clean energy. But then the sweetness and the coolness merge, and stay merged." Bond No 9

>> Andy Warhol News, Warhol Perfume

Sexy Time - Free Art Print

2008-03-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

The Australian artist Hazel Dooney is offering an unlimited print titled "Study for Unsated" to download for free. Which means that you will have to print the work, but if you then send it to her studio she will sign it and send it back to you.

Here's Hazel's blog post with a little more about the work.

And here's a link to the high resolution art print to download.

I wouldn't advise that you print it out at work or school unless you're the boss or the teacher!

Over the past couple years Hazel has released a few prints to download and print at your leisure. "An Outline Of Kelly, Later" is also slightly erotic, but her self portrait called "I Will Not Be Your Give Man Anymore" has no bums, boobs or private bits in it, so it's safe to view and/or print at work.
>> Contemporary Artists, Australia, Art Nudes