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Repository 235: Changing Patterns
On the eve of my daughter’s graduation, big launch, and leaving the family nest, I am in a proud moment of grief and growth. I am feeling the most unusual mix of emotions. As always, art is my salve. Preemptively grieving last winter I was looking at a recent series of work by Colin Kippen. The work centers on disposable banal objects turned into brute, cement, permanent, and un-budging objects attached to the walls of a coffee shop in Portland….
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Repository 226: Mixed Reality | The Debilitating Forces of Moral Outrage & Conspiracy Theories in a Time of Pandemics
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” – A Tale of Two Cities (1859) Charles Dickens As an artist in this pandemic, I feel at a great…
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Repository 198: Art is the Highest Form of Hope
Today and yesterday I’ve received some of the most gracious, inspiring and hopeful notes from fellow artists. We are all inspired to focus on creativity, to focus on flux, to stay open, to keep breathing, to cry if you need to. We’ve reminded each other that it’s not about running away, but to sitting deeply in the situation we are confronted with and to our work on change through and with our art. The root problem in our society is…
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Repository 193: On Truth, Beauty and Listening
I’ve been remiss in posting anything, though not for wanting to. Mostly because I am frozen in a vortex of loud conversations, horrific events and understanding where my responsibilities lie. I visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston the day after the Dallas shootings. I started in the ancient art galleries and moved all the way up to present galleries. It took a while, though I looked hard. I looked hard for other artists or visuals that may have been made…
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Repository 191: Coloring Project | A Playful Exercise in the Serious Business of History and Context
The following essay will appear in the Spring Issue of “Picture Sentence”. It is currently being polished by a thoughtful editor, meanwhile I thought you might enjoy the raw thoughts. Thank you for reading! xo “We need a Ministry of Disturbance, a regulated source of annoyance, a destroyer of routine, an underminer of complacency, or, in other words, a ministry of aesthetic activity.” – Asger Jorns, “The Natural Order” Dear artist: Who are you? What do you do? How do…
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Repository 180: The Whitney’s New Digs | A Jewel Box for American Modern Art
Last week I visited the brand new Whitney’s home in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, a stunning 8-floor building designed by Renzo Piano. While the new museum is much larger, and light filled, the layout of the old museum on Madison felt in tact: elevators centering the design, with galleries flanking either side of the elevator entrances. Standout design additions are the outdoor sculpture areas, large bar and restaurant, and peaceful seating areas on each floor to give your eyes a rest…
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Repository 151: Art as Trojan Horse | König’s Russian Manifesta
The German curator Kasper König was asked last year to curate Manifesta 10, going on now in the venerable, 250-year old Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. He agreed to before Russia’s anti-gay propaganda reared it’s head, and before the aggressive annexation turbulence. While the roving Manifesta has historically been a contemporary art biennial dedicated to exploring intellectual and cultural issues between Eastern and Western Europe, this particular context has proven one of the least safe grounds for exploration and dialog….
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Repository 107: Top 10 Arty Books | Gift Giving
1. In a True Democracy the Many Are Obligated to the Few. My latest publication. On the list because it’s a coloring book and an art project, and everyone should feel like they can have a dialog with, and participate in contemporary art. And if you can’t remember what it feels like to color, let this be a reminder – it’s really meditative and transports you to your most carefree days. Coloring is divine. 2. Art as Art: The Selected…
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Repository 38: Camille Paglia on Whether Visual Art Has a Future
I just read a great excerpt from Camille Paglia’s new book, Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art From Egypt to Star Wars published in the WSJ. I have always loved her cultural commentary, and have followed her essays and publications closely. This particular missive on art is so prescient and obvious, and in her most eloquent way she hits the proverbial nail on the head with respect to the quality deficit in contemporary fine art. She notes that commercial art…
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