I wish I were in India for the Holi Festival of colors

This week in India is the Holi Festival of Colors. I WISH I were there!

see more here and here

So good

Tonight is the opening reception for Barbie as art at Ann Street Gallery in NYC; “The Ann Street Gallery is delighted to present its newest exhibition Gendered Object: Barbie as Art, with an Artist Reception on Saturday, May 19 from 6 – 9 pm. This event is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.

It seems the entire world knows who Barbie is, and in Gendered Object: Barbie as Art, a group of contemporary artists embrace this plastic beauty, whose iconic pop culture image exerts a powerful influence on artistic and visual culture alike. Mass-produced objects like dolls can tell us much about the creation and significance of self-image in the context of group identities. Since the 1960′s and the advent of the “consumer society” playing with gender identity through styling and fashion has moved from the margins to occupy a more mainstream position. This has since been expressed in popular culture through an interest in androgyny, breaking conventional gender dress codes, gender bending and body reconstruction. Read more here

I have contributed about eight dolls, this is one of them in the exhibit:

Ann Street Gallery

Ann Street Gallery, 104 Ann Street, Newburgh, NY 12550

I really just want these girls, the english accent, wow, it gets me, so so darn cute

This weekend Scream 4 debuts. My little painting makes a quick guest appearance, hopefully not too quick..

This rare watermelon bird is flying on over to Karen Gilbert’s house. Karen makes beautiful jewelry see her work here.

Speaking of rare birds, have you heard Steve Martin’s Band? Their new album titled “Rare Bird Alert” is getting rave reviews. If you like the banjo and folk music, give a listen!

Rare Bird ALert

I went to La Luz de Jesus To pick up my signed copies of The Snow Yak and Fucigi Circus by Mark Ryden, he was there on Valentines day signing the books.

the books are beautiful, I’m a happy camper.

The current exhibit is awesome. Its paper mache, larger than life figures. the light was streaming in from outside casting an eerie glow.

some of the figures look amphibian like.
the shrouded figures look ghostly of course. and some look angelic.

12 x 40 ”
A bit more glazing and a splash of glitter to glam her up and she will be good to go.

My take on Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton’s wonderful story. For a show in Detroit called Cindy Lou Who’s Holiday show, based on holiday tv shows or movies. Next, grown up Cindy Lou Who.

Normally on Thursdays I would be packing up to go to the gallery. I am pleased that I don’t have to make the hour long trek, although I did enjoy being at the gallery, the long commute was wearisome.

It seems that every year at this time, I’m tortured with thoughts of my Bro, still can not believe his is gone.

Glad to be holed up in our cozy home, so glad to have a home, and glad pugs are healthy albeit stinky. Wish I could get them to smell like flowers, since they live in my studio, but they always smell like dogs.

This week, pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman got right to the heart of the Arcade Fire’s appeal with a Tweet about “The Wilderness Downtown,” the online, interactive short film by Chris Milk that features “We Used to Wait” from the band’s new album, “The Suburbs.” Klosterman wrote that “the Arcade Fire have figured out the one thing everyone is equally interested in: their own memory.”

“The Wilderness Downtown” is a Google Chrome Experiment, and works best in that browser. The website (www.thewildernessdowntown.com) asks you to plug in the address of your childhood home, sit back and watch a combination of choreographed browser windows open, move and close in time with the music. Using Google street view and satellite maps, 3-D canvas rendering and real-time compositing, the movie follows an androgynous child running through a neighborhood that looks just like yours, followed by a flock of birds swooping across the aerial view.

You can even write a postcard to your former self and send it back to the suburb whence you came. If your family moved around a lot, as mine did, try each address you can remember and be transported back to a time when you hoped something pure could last.

— Erin Keane, The Courier-Journal

Know your childhood address? type it in and watch the child run to your neighborhood till he stops in front of your house. http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com really cool!

I was saying two episodes back, that Abdi could win, that it was possible and that his sincerity and, genuine enthusiasm, unfettered by any criticisms could lift him up to a place of possibility and while I thought all three finalists were about equal in their final shows I am glad that it was Abdi who won. His appreciation and love for his mom at the conclusion, really lovely, and so, non manipulative behavior and talent prevailed.

Took girlie pug back to the vet yesterday morn and her eye has healed about 20%, and as I pointed out to the vet at least she is opening it now. I take her back again next Friday and if its not healing fast enough he will do some kind of surgery to stimulate faster healing, something about scratching the cornea ughhhhhhhhhh! anyway we are putting drops in about every couple of hours and watching her closely, a little energy is coming back, and I have high hopes we will save her eye.

Work of Art, The Next Great Artist: It seems like people either embrace it or hate it. If one takes it seriously, as the vehicle for representing art and the artists life, there will be a whole lot of teeth sucking and “WTF” !!. But, if seen for what it is, entertaining comedy, well, then, there are many laugh out loud moments, hilarity even.

If Andy Warhol were alive today I am certain he would think it wonderful and delight in all the inanity, not only that I suspect he would want to be a part of it in some way, ANY way that he could. The show itself is a kind of a Work of Art with its wonderful product placement (AUDI) from which an art challenge is derived wow, brilliant! (eye rolllllllll) I’ll be looking for when the artists while working in the studio will all be seen refreshing themselves with icy cold bottles of pepsi as they smile into the camera and break out into dance or song ala American Idol. haha so preposterous, I love it.

Once again Jaclyn and Miles made the critique. And in fact, boobaliciou Jaclyn managed to get the lions share of attention (on the show and in the forums online) with her (somewhat tiresome) look at me, look at you, looking at me, as she attempts a sophisticated way to turn the table on the male gaze as a way of a feminine empowerment statement which falls short due to her obvious love of the male gaze. The way she uses feminist words shows her lack of sophistication but has not hampered her happenstance good luck on the show. If I thought that she actually, really, conceptually knew what she was doing I might find her success a little more palatable. But, she just has a germ of an idea, how can I use my body, garnering what she can from other contestants. At the rate she is going she could win the show and then we would see Jaclyn and her boobs in as many ways as she can exploit them at the Brookly Museum of art for her solo show!! hahaha what a coup that would be.

My fav pieces, Miles and Nicole’s. I also thought the drawings done by Peregrine were funny and clever (though, not aesthetically meaty), “an inny not an Audi” haha, fun. But she did not even make the crit. oh well.

So, I am looking forward to next weeks installment, while it really dosn’t represent the art world or an artist’s life, its pure entertainment if you like reality challenge shows. I do. I hope someone comes up with another artist reality show, more connected with reality, like, artists of all ages and looks as well as varying points in careers are given a theme or a challenge for which they have a substantial amount of time to complete, culminating in a show that is heartily reviewed by well seasoned artists and critics and we get to hear a lot more of the rationale for eliminations and winners chosen. Oh and, they don’t have to shop at Utrecht or drive an audi and they aren’t limited to 100.00 but are given a stipend at the beginning for which they have to stretch out or use their own moohlah to supplement. Thats more like real life since most artists have little money and beg and borrow as needed from friends or family. Either that or they have to be resourceful and inventive with ideas and materials. Now that is real. Life ain’t always fair. Maybe I’ll come up with a pitch myself.

Jerry and I spent yesterday at Bergamot station, looking at art. Now that is my kind of day. But one gallerist took so much of our time trying to tell me how I should be an artist and the kind of art I should make and how low brow is going down. My gosh, he was intelligent but so arrogant using us as two pair of ears to impress himself with all his knowledge. gotta say, he got under my skin. I really dislike when asked as a test, “Do you know… or are you familiar with this artist… Do you read artforum…how often do you get out…” Really presumptuous to assess my level of knowledge or savvy by one simple fact, my making low brow art. He mentioned one figurative artist whose name I did not recall as proof that I am not familiar with what successful artists are doing, which could not be more wrong since I constantly familiarize myself and look at what is going on in the art world and after I looked up the aforementioned artist online: John Currin.

well, yes, I have seen his work (and love it) and forgot his name. WHATEVER. If I spend much more of my time studying who is successful I sure as hell can not get my own work done and could feel very defeated. I suspect that most of those really successful big name artists don’t spend a lot of time seeing what every one else is doing because they are too busy with their own work, and developing. I’m not suggesting live in a cocoon but there is a certain amount of reclusive and insulated behavior that is necessary for most artists. I could really go on and on about this gallerist’s commentary, but I’ll spare you. I guess that was a bit of a vent, yeah, a little defensive since, I basically live every daY, steeped in all aspects of the artist’s life. Anyway, enough of that.