The Armory and it's Artillery

The Armory Show, in NYC through March 8th.
Written by Joseph DiGiuseppe

I walked around the armory today with a gimp knee, high on painkillers and still the armory was short of exceptional. But the place is set up so everyone will be able to find something they like. And I did find something I liked. Astrid Svangren lives and works in Copenhagen and makes paintings on different materials ranging from rice paper to MDF. Her paintings are very much about her mark making. She has an incredible aptitude for how to make a mark and when; this also goes to say with how she uses materials. Her creations seem fearless. I image her to be the type of artist who will also exhibit her mistakes.

I ask myself a question: am I afraid to exhibit my growths as an artist as a thinker? Please excuse me; this is where I decided the wrong decision.

The Armory is important right? These are the galleries that sell. These are the artists that they choose as their artillery. Nothing I saw today, by any means, was revolutionary, experimental, provocative nor was it the epitome of quality.

If you are unable to dazzle me with the postmodern mystery discovery I'd like to see some truly breathtaking execution. But alas everyone is pushing trademarks, kitsch, and clichés. The market is weak and people like what has already been decided as good.

At this armory show you’ll find at least one thing you like, but you wont be surprised that you like it.

[Joseph DiGiuseppe is a founding member of Art Making Machine Studios and Fluxspace, who recently tore his meniscus in his knee.]

Shaun & Dustin Makes Radio Part Deux

Another RADio show from Shaun & Dustin Makes Radio, as broadcast by NEXUS 1650am. Word on the street is that there might be an analog t.v. station coming up, so if you loved the soulful sounds of the a.m., be on the lookout for the glowing tubes of the ol' antennae.

This was our second show, and the phones actually worked (in comparison to the disaster that was our last radio post). Thanks to Tal for joining us on the third mic, and for not demanding that he have his name in the title, even though he should.

RADio:



Approximate run time: 1hr 6min. I know, right?

Thanks to Nexus Gallery Monitors for putting up with us.

And Baseball: You are rad.

Cheers,
Shaun

From NEXUS 1650am Radio, Dustin & Shaun Makes Raido

Behold the glory of live radio, and the bliss of a small broadcasting range.

From January 2nd, 2009, this is a live taping from Dustin & Shaun Makes Radio {not a real show name, but what I like to call it}. It was broadcast on NEXUS radio 1650am, and if you weren't in the mile radius, well, now you can listen. Features Tal-the thrid leg of the show, and a little bit of Bilwa. More taped liveness to come!



Approximate run time: 58min., with a little bit of silence in the beginning, so be patient.

Mad Props to Baseball for the intro and outro. And no, we do not apologize for sounding amateur.

Cheers,
Shaun M. Baer

ICA Fall Exhibition

by Andrea McGinty

Though the R. Crumb exhibition is the ICA's heavy hitter this fall, I focused on the works of the three other artists featured in the exhibition, all thought provoking and well worth considering. But of course, when you go see the show, check out the comprehensive retrospective of R. Crumb's underground comics.

Stepping into the first gallery we are greeted by a massive open space whose perimeter is lined with photo-collage and framed photographs. The first floor houses the work of artist Douglas Blau. The wall text available before entering threw out phrases to make my art historical mouth water: "narratives unfold across sequences", "mechanical reproduction", and "power of association". Luckily for the viewer, the work delivers with dense collages of prints, photographs, film stills, and postcards, that depend on each other, and the viewer, to create meaning. The images mostly focus on a wealthy, upper-class lifestyle, and their work and leisure activities. Blau utilizes art history, design, architecture, historical and modern culture; combining objects and spaces with human emotions. His titles add a layer of depth to the works, twisting the meaning even further through association. In this installation, the title was posted to the right of the work, so as to continue the thought process after one takes in the images, both separately and as a whole. "Playtime", 2008, features images of children with dolls, women reading and writing, theaters, and men standing in the stairwells of their mansions. Image juxtaposition and meaning through association are far from new concepts, leading Blau's work to feel rather traditional, though his overall composition and the wit exhibited in his work are convincing enough to allow the work to standout.

The Third Space Ramp Project is home to Odili Donald Odita's site specific wall paintings. The murals cover the walls of the ramp space, extending from the ground to the ceiling, forcing the viewer's eyes to move through the entire space. His bold blocks of geometric, solid colors bring to mind "Western modernism and African culture", (as stated in the gallery notes), and are chocked full of color theory, and references to op art and digital culture alike. His influences are at once abundantly obvious and subtly integrated. Both Odita's work, and the work of artist Kate Gilmore, located adjacent to Odita in the Project space, share the theme of well integrated influences. The two exhibitions placed next to each other allow for dynamic conversation. Gilmore's videos and installations do more than hint to the endurance art of the 1970's, and generations of feminist work. In her video "Between a Hard Place", 2008, she is shown breaking through layered drywall, wearing heels and a dress. In Odita's work he fuses his traditional, contemporary, visual, and cultural influences, both glorifying and criticizing them. Gilmore takes her aggressively physical, conceptual influences and uses them to create formally considered videos, employing color, scale, space, and composition.

All of the work featured in the ICA's fall exhibition forces viewers to look, think, and make connections on their own, which should ultimately be the goal of the contemporary artists of our time. All of the works share in common the use of traditional references mixed with modern thoughts and practices, that and a bit of a new twist on old ideas. "Conversation" could almost be coined as the unofficial theme of the exhibit, and a perfect activity to partake in with your lovers and friends while visiting the ICA before December 7th.

[Andrea McGinty is a South Florida expatriate and artist living and working in Philadelphia]