Dennis Hopper Double Standard Premiere Party at MOCA
Attended the MOCA Party at the Geffen Contemporary branch, celebrating the life and work of Dennis Hopper. The show, curated by Julian Schnabel, was Jeffrey Deitch’s first as MOCA’s director.
Attended the MOCA Party at the Geffen Contemporary branch, celebrating the life and work of Dennis Hopper. The show, curated by Julian Schnabel, was Jeffrey Deitch’s first as MOCA’s director.
Stopped by Lazarides to see works by some of the greatest European artists today – JR, Antony Micallef, Connor Harrington, and Vhils.
Stopped by at the tail end of PYO’s opening reception for Estrada Fine Arts…
Here are some of the pieces that caught my eye:
Philippe Halsman: “When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping, and the mask falls, so that the real person appears.”
Dalí Atomicus, shows the madcap Dalí aloft, brush and palette in hand. He is flanked by a chair and two easels (holding Dalí canvases) — all elevated, and seemingly floating, above the floor, which heightens the sense of suspension. But the main event is the great curve of water arcing across the image, along with three flying (or flung) cats in damp, disconcerted disarray. For once Dalí’s characteristic look of exaggerated surprise makes sense.
Link: Joys of Jumpology by Roberta Smith, New York Times, 5/23/10.
Matt Logue undertook a 4-year project to create a series of a people-less Los Angeles. Here is a photo showing the infamous 405 freeway and part of the 105 freeway. On Thursday afternoons, this route is a nightmare to take.
Masataka Nakano did a similar project featuring Tokyo, another one of my favorite cities.
Link: Empty LA
At the heart of the genre of portrait photography lies the particular challenge of expressing the personality of the portrayed by means of a mechanical medium… Portrait photography of famous people plays constantly with the viewer’s expectations, which are based on the celebrities’ status… [Sheryl] Nields’ portraits of Scarlett Johansson invite the viewer to be an accomplice in a coquettishly seductive moment in which the actress knowingly and ironically flaunts her sex appeal.
Links:
Lumas
Sheryl Nields Phtography
This is my favorite from this year’s National Geographic International Photography Contest.
Photo taken and captioned by Cesare Naldi
Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim in front of Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock, Andaman Islands. Rajan is one of the few elephants in Havelock that can swim, so when he is not dragging timber in the forest he is used as a tourist attraction. The relationship between the mahout and his elephant usually lasts for their entire lives, creating an extremely strong tie between the animal and the human being.
Links:
Cesare Naldi
National Geographic International Photography Contest
Picked up another beautiful picture for my wall.
In August of 2008, as part of his Women project, JR went to Morro da Providêcia, one of the most dangerous favelas (shantytown) in Rio de Janeiro, and posted huge photos of faces and eyes of 20 women all over on the outside of 40 houses.
This series of works pay tribute to “those who play an essential role in society, but who are the primary victims of war, crime, rape or political and religious fanaticism.”
Recently, JR exhibited a selection of his Women Are Heroes work around Île Saint-Louis, in Paris, France. I told EM about it, since she’s there now for school. I’ll have to ask if she got the chance to visit.
Link: Women Are Heroes
i just picked up a print of one of JR’s seminal works to hang on my wall, The Holy Tryptich. It’s smart, it gels with my outlook on life, and it puts a smile on my face – i adore this kind of art.
The message is clear: Regardless of religious and political affiliation, we are all the same.
