John Millei – Woman in a Chair
Everyone likes boobs, some more than others.
Sooj and I attended the Opening Reception for Herb Alpert’s Black Totem Series at Ace Gallery Beverly Hills. Lots of people dressed in black (myself included), free booze, news camera, sculptures. It was fun.
Personally paying for the cost of the prints, David Choe has requested that all proceeds go to Yele Haiti, a foundation created by Wyclef Jean. This print measures 18″x24″ inches and is a Giclee print on archival paper. Limited to 50 editions, the print is hand-signed by David Choe.
..to benefit Yéle Haiti. Buy >>HERE<<
Of the piece, Gupta said…
… “Very Hungry God”, was made in 2006 for the Nuit Blanche annual all-night festival in Paris. My work was conceived to be shown in a church in Barbes on the outskirts of Paris which is largely inhabited by an immigrant population.
I made the work in response to the stories I read in the news about how soup kitchens in Paris were serving food with pork so that Muslims would not eat it. It was a strange and twisted form of charity that did not continue for long but raised conflicting ideas of giving and the way we have become now.
Outside the church I served vegetarian daal soup as a form of “prasad” (in India when you go to a temple or a guduwara you are offered food with the blessing). I liked the mix of the Catholic church and my intervention using a symbol that many artists have used before – the skull – and its many connotations.
‘Very Hungry God’ is like a vanity, but also the idea of food and the utensils is very much part of my language dealing with ideas of the everyday and turning them into iconic symbols.
Link: Subodh Gupta
Art History (Part One) is a conceptual, text-based artwork that was first exhibited in 2004 at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris. By designating artists as the rightful owners of mediums, materials or concepts, Vidor refers to the weight of Art history and the power structures underlying the art market.
Last night, stopped by the TAM for the opening reception of The Reflected Gaze – Self-Portraiture Today. It was okay. They didn’t have any alcohol. Oh,well.
Here are some of the highlights:
Damien Hirst
One of the basic primary forms of painting is the self-portrait. With a long and distinguished history the self-portrait has told us about people, their times and their attitudes. They tell us of scrutiny, of desire, of ego and of the passage of time too, but they can also seem like a whispered secret sometimes, that winks knowingly to us of shared knowledge and experiences and has the added frisson for us of knowing that this is the artist ‘talking’ directly to us through time and geography. A great self-portrait tells you something of the artist but of ourselves too.
The practical side of me prevents me from doing wish lists. Besides, the impulsive side of me already memorized my credit card numbers. =)
So, here then, is a list of things I will be picking up after Christmas, when 2 or none of the items pictured here will be on sale.
I absolutely love these posters that the Tokyo Metro put out each month.
This is December 2009, as a humorous reminder to those celebrating year-end company parties.
The other night, while visiting JL in Claremont, JS and I walked around the campus checking out various studios. It was pretty fun peaking inside everyone’s workspace, experiencing the aura, and just seeing creative works in progress. One of the spots that really caught my eye belonged to Justin Bower. His was the epitome of an atelier – fresh canvases waiting to be covered; paint everywhere, even on the furniture; drawings and inspirations on the walls.
