art

On December 3rd, 2010, IL MACRO (MUSEO D’ ARTE CONTEMPORANEA DI ROMA)…

a view of the new MACRO lipstick red auditorium monolith

…tonight officially opened the stunning new wing designed by the charismatic/punk French architect Odile Decq (who I spent some time with last year while in residence in Oxfordshire for a conference at The Ditchley Foundation), however the inauguration unfortunately coincided with an underattended opening of a couple of new shows at the new MAXXI (Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo) designed by Zaha Hadid on the other side of town – but hey, the lady architects are finally taking their place, and Rome is rousing.

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By Fritz Haeg on December 3, 2010 | architectural, art
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On November 27th, 2010, JOAN JONAS TALKS AT MAXXI…

the forbidding space around MAXXI on a chilly November afternoon

…which is the dramatic new Zaha Hadid designed ‘Museum of 21st Century Art’ (surrounded by an unfortunate expanse of endless shadeless tree-free unwelcoming concrete which seems to function mainly as a place from which to view the building) has done much to catalyze the contemporary art scene in Rome despite it’s hostility to most of the artistic activities it seeks to present.

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By Fritz Haeg on November 27, 2010 | art, Rome
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On November 25th, 2010, FEDERICA SCHIAVO GALLERY SHOW BY BHAKTI BAXTER…

Untitled (Hurricane), 2010 by Bhakti Baxter

…a Miami friend, opened tonight starting with a talk/performance about ‘nothing’ in the apartment above the gallery where Roman flea market vases were casually displayed on the floor and later stumbled upon and broken one by one. (gallery webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on November 25, 2010 | art
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On November 24th, 2010, SCREENING OF VIDEO BY KAREN YASINSKY…

still from 'Marie' by Karen Yasinsky

…a fellow American Academy fellow this year – was a real pleasure, the highlight of the day, a 3.5 minute video she made in 2009 inspired by one of my favorite films, and described by Karen as “…a drawing animation based on a scene from Robert Bresson’s film ‘Au Hasard Balthazar.‘ It is a close-up profile of the character Marie speaking. She looks sad and earnest. Or rather blank. I rotoscoped it which involved saving the scene as a series of jpegs, 30 images per second and then drawing each image using a light box. There are several interruptions to her speaking when the image changes. It moves down and off the page then comes back from the top; it becomes an image made of small squares then changes colors; and finally the squares show the negative images. There are also series when every other image is a different color, moving through the spectrum, with the original black line on white in between. This creates a strobing effect. The sound, by Snacks (Tom Boram and Dan Breen) uses a piece by Brahms, static sounds; tremolo and other sounds to match these interruptions. Brahms plays while she calmly speaks but only partial sounds come out of her mouth. She doesn’t communicate.” (more of the interview)

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By Fritz Haeg on November 24, 2010 | art
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On November 13th, 2010, THE BERLIN TIERGARTEN MEMORIAL TO HOMOSEXUALS PERSECUTED…

close-up view of the video through the portal, and the monument from a distance

…under Nazism by Berlin based artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset (whose place I happen to be staying at this week) provides a poetically uncomfortable public moment as people are drawn to peer into the eye-level portal in the mysterious concrete monolith on the side of the walking path, which turns out to provide a view of a continuously looping video of two men kissing in the park. (more on Wikipedia)

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By Fritz Haeg on November 13, 2010 | art, travel
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On October 25th, 2010, PRIAPUS BY BERNINI…

the copy of Pietro Bernini's Priapus at Villa Borghese, 1616

…presents a lovely bounty in basket and on head as you enter the back gardens as Villa Borghese, though the original now sits back in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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By Fritz Haeg on October 25, 2010 | sculpture
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On October 6th, 2010, NEW LAND FOR THE NETHERLANDS…

safety outfit and bird blind at Port of Rotterdam

…is being created in the North Sea to extend the Port of Rotterdam, and today I had a tour of the mind-blowing vastness of this operation – not to be completed until 2030 – where I was also able to view a blind for bird-watching in this industrial landscape, and dress in an exciting fluorescent safety costume which I really wanted to wear to the airport later this evening. (check out the website, and the view from above before the new construction)

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By Fritz Haeg on October 6, 2010 | landscape
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On October 5th, 2010, LECTURE IN DEN HAAG…

Stroom, Den Haag

…this evening at the wonderful Stroom – described as “an independent foundation established in 1989 as is a centre for art and architecture with a wide range of activities, starting from the visual arts, architecture, urban planning and design the program focuses on the urban environment.” -  features exhibition spaces, public programming, commissioned civic projects, and a fabulous/extensive public library of books, journals, and periodicals related to architecture, design, and art in public space – and right now they are in the middle of a two year series of programs related to food in the city, called Foodprint, for which my esteemed artist friend Nils Norman is constructing an urban permaculture pubic garden. (webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on October 5, 2010 | art
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On August 15th, MEDAL DAY AT MACDOWELL COLONY…

the picnicing masses on the meadow at Medal Day

…and the gentle masses descend on the typically peaceful retreat for an afternoon – plus a three hour open studio with visits from curious locals, tourists, and art enthusiasts eager to engage in conversation that leaves me hoarse – followed by  7pm dance party (just right for my typical 9:30pm bedtime) which involves hours of hula-hooping and bruised hips. (more on Medal Day)

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By Fritz Haeg on August 15, 2010 | art
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On August 7th, 2010, THE STAFF GARDENS AT THE ALDRICH MUSEUM…

Aldrich Museum staff gardens, "Something for Everyone," 2010

…which were planted in the early spring as a part of the “Something for Everyone” show at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut – are now at their end of Summer peak – and I just had the chance to see them this afternoon during a quick day trip…

EDIBLE ESTATE #9: ALDRICH STAFF GARDENS & COMPOST – Watch, smell, feel, and even taste, as the Aldrich Museum staff grows their own food in their new Edible Estate garden, nourished by the compost being made at the museums front door from their very own kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, and yard clippings. Here is a regional planting calendar of edibles, and special thanks to Garden of Ideas for their contributions to the project.

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By Fritz Haeg on August 7, 2010 | art, gardens
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On July 22nd, 2010, SURPLUS SEMINAR…

Anywhere Anyplace Academy

…is something organized by Red76 and Sam Gould, whom I just visited on my last day in Minneapolis, at the Walker Art Center where they are staging the Anywhere Anyplace Academy for a few weeks this summer – call 1-888-339-4496 for their daily updates. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on July 22, 2010 | art
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On July 3rd, 2010, MACHINE PROJECT…

Machine Project

…had a board meeting today, and we discussed an upcoming Fall benefit event on the heals of last year’s fantastic gathering at “Mister Jalopy’s secret lair, accessible only through a hidden entrance behind Coco’s Variety Store“ – get on the Machine mailing list (and become a member while you are at it) to stay informed about all of their activities.

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By Fritz Haeg on July 3, 2010 | art, Los Angeles
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On June 27th, 2010, “SOMETHING FOR EVEYONE” AT THE ALDRICH MUSEUM…

"Dancing Boardwalk" - part of "Something for Everyone" at the Aldrich Museum

…opened this afternoon – highlights included running and dancing a round in a circle on the “Dancing Platform” with a bunch of kids I didn’t know (and the occasional adventurous adult), a sophisticated picnic with tamales, linens and teacups by the Mildred’s Lane folks who came by caravan from rural Pennsylvania to be there, and “Bean Agency” by N Dash in the Sundown Schoolhouse dome headquarters in front of the museum.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 27, 2010 | art
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On June 25th, 2010, THE URBAN WILDLIFE OBSERVATION UNIT…

"Urban Wildlife Observation Unit" by Mark Dion

…by Mark Dion, and originally commissioned by the Public Art Fund for New York City’s Madison Square Park, is now permanently installed at Mildred’s Lane as a guest cabin which is where I slept last night – with occasional thoughts of the local wildlife out my door, especially the bears I had heard stories of the night before – who regularly roam this 93 acre property. (project webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 25, 2010 | art
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On June 20th, 2010, THE NEW AMERICAN DREAM: SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE – THE BEHAVIORAL GUIDE FOR A LUXURIOUS HOME…

the new booklet from Printed Matter

…published by Printed Matter will be available next week at their NYC store, and at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT as a companion to the show “Something for Everyone.” (see the pdf preview)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 20, 2010 | books
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On June 18th, 2010, EI ARAKAWA…

"I am an employee of United," 2010, by Ei Arakawa

…is a New York artist that I have been a fan of for a while, having first become aware of his work through friends that were in grad school with him, and who brought me to a few of his “performances” (more like chaotically staged collective activities that happen to have people around who want to watch – but are always getting in the way of the tasks being carried out by Ei and his friends and collaborators) over the years, including the Japan Society and Reena Spaulings, and now he is in Greater New York at PS1, and featured in this interview with Kevin McGarry in today’s New York Times – check it out here.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 18, 2010 | art, performance
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On June 15th, 2010, THE “SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE” POSTER-BROCHURE…

Something for Everyone poster, 2010

…is off at the printers and will be available at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum for the exhibition opening on June 27th, with a reception from 2:30-5:30, and if you want to visit from New York, check out the shuttle schedule from Metro North. (download pdf for entire poster-brochure)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 15, 2010 | art
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On June 13th, 2010, SHANA LUTKER…

Shana Lutker's "H. Y. S. T. et al."

…has a show titled “H. Y. S. T. et al.” opening at Susanne Vielmetter in Los Angeles this Saturday! (artist website)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 13, 2010 | art
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On June 10th, 2010, THE ANIMAL ESTATES SNAG TOWER IN SAN FRANCISCO’S PRESIDIO…

The Animal Estates Snag Tower installed in one of the more urbanized areas of the Presidio, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

…is up and ready for some animal habitation action as a part of the show Presidio Habitats, and I was finally able to see it for the first time this afternoon on a tour of the park by curator/gallerist Cheryl Haines who organized this first contemporary art exhibition in a National Park – including work by Mark Dion and Ai Weiwei – and I’m particularly excited for my first opportunity to see what happens when the Snag Tower is installed outdoors for some wildlife activity, and not just in a gallery as a prototype for human inspiration.

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By Fritz Haeg on June 10, 2010 | animals, art
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On June 1st, 2010, THE GEODESIC SUNDOWN SCHOOLHOUSE DOME AT THE ALDRICH MUSEUM…

the geodesic Sundown Schoolhouse dome that will be outfitted with a nylon tent enclosure when in use for workshops on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12:30 - 2:00

…went up today in preparation for the opening of my show “Something for Everyone” on June 27th. (webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on June 1, 2010 | art
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On May 25th, 2010, THE WALKER ART CENTER SCULPTURE GARDEN…

Dan Graham sculpture at The Walker Art Center Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, established 1988

…a special place in the middle of the city that I grew up going to regularly, where I fell in love with an amazing garden installation (an inverted cone of flower plantings) by Meg Webster in the early ’90′s – is still my favorite place in Minneapolis – and on this late spring weekday afternoon there are plenty of people enjoying it as if it were their own outdoor living room and it’s making me think that all of our museums should be outdoors? (website)

About 75 years ago, the area the Garden now occupies was called the Armory Gardens, which featured a large brick National Guard building and formal gardens. The building was torn down in 1933, but the elaborate garden remained under the management of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. In the late 1960s, Interstate Highway 94 severed the connection between Loring Park and the garden, and eventually the acreage in front of the Walker Art Center became a playing field. In 1988 the Walker and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board collaborated to turn that playing field into the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. In 1992 it was expanded from 7.5 to 11 acres, making it the largest urban sculpture garden in the country at the time. There are more than 40 works on permanent view. Additional temporary installations keep the Garden experience continually fresh.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 25, 2010 | art
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On May 21st, 2010, THE MIDWAY CONTEMPORARY ART LIBRARY…

Midway Contemporary Art Library in Minneapolis, Minnesota

…is worth a visit if you are in Minneapolis – and where I went today – with an extensive collection non-circulating books, periodicals, and videos open to the public, and just one part of this non-profit art center which also includes exhibitions, publications, events, and education – more information on their website…

About the Library: The Midway Contemporary Art Library serves to document, present, and preserve the recent history of contemporary visual art in a public context. Founded in 2007, its objectives are to research, collate, and catalog published material in an effort to provide the most comprehensive and accessible resource for research into contemporary art in the region. A non-circulating collection, the library contains thousands of titles from a wide range of publishers from around the world. While group exhibition catalogs and monographs form the core of the library’s collection, the library also contains reference material, a selection of artist books, DVD’s, and an extensive selection of periodicals and journals. We are currently subscribed to a number of monthly and quarterly publications.

Using the Collection: The library is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. If you wish to use the library outside of these hours, please contact us to make special arrangements. The library is maintained and run by a dedicated group of volunteers and interns who will be glad to assist you. It is a non-circulating facility; all library materials must stay in the library. The library’s holdings are organized according to two systems: Monographs are arranged by artist’s last name, and all other books are arranged by Library of Congress call numbers. You may come in and browse, or use our online search to find a specific volume.

Donate Books: We are always looking for new and exciting volumes to add to our library’s collection. We welcome book donations, but ask that you please contact us before donating books to see if they are what we currently need. We also encourage you to donate books through our amazon.com wish list.

Book Club: Midway has a book club, which meets every month to discuss fiction, art books, or anything else they choose. More about the book club…

Exchange Program: We welcome the opportunity to establish catalog exchanges with other publishing institutions. If you would like to set up a regular exchange, please contact the library. You can also see a list of institutions currently exchanging titles with Midway.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 21, 2010 | art, books
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On May 19th, 2010, THE ALDRICH MUSEUM STAFF EDIBLE ESTATE GARDENS & COMPOST…

the Aldrich Museum staff Edible Estate garden planting

…were established yesterday with the help of the crew from Garden of Ideas – removing some of the lawn and creating planting beds for the staff to grow their own food and compost in front of the museum for the upcoming “Something for Everyone” show.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 19, 2010 | art, gardens
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On May 18th, 2010, THE DANCING BOARDWALK: FOLLOW THE LEADER…

the Aldrich staff testing out the movement instructions for the Dancing Boardwalk

…is one of the new outdoor projects I am producing at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art just north of New York City in Ridgefield, CT, as part of “Something for Everyone” – and yesterday we tested it out for the first time with some of the museum staff…

Assemble a group of friends or strangers, get up on the Dancing Boardwalk and start to move in the same direction, following the exact pace, movements, gestures, steps, and attitude of the person in front of you as closely as possible, and after a while you might ask, who is leading and who is following?

(see preliminary video)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 18, 2010 | art
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On May 17th, 2010, RIDYKEULOUS…

a RIDYKEULOUS motto

…describe themselves thusly:

Alive since ’05, Ridykeulous is the collaborative effort of Nicole Eisenman & A.L. Steiner to subvert, sabotage and overturn the language commonly used to define feminism and lesbian art. Our efforts usually involve curation, intervention, publication, performance and highly-regarded affects on happenstance.

…and have published explicit sexy ‘zines, staged some brilliant outrageous super engaging lez-trans-queer nights of performance, plus a recent collective exhibition, and tonight they present a film in NYC, here is their open invitation to attend:

Dear friends we’ve accepted and ignored,

Ridykeulous is pleased to present the 80’s classic Times Square, a film Nicky E and UnkAL starred in when they were just tweens. Instead of wasting away those precious years watching Jo swagger around the set of The Facts of Life, Nicky and Pam (Steiner’s name had to be changed due to her involvement in the kidnapping of Patty Hearst) were making inroads into the world of high fashion with their garbage bag mini-dresses and rocking out on top of a marquee in Times Square.

There has never been a better time to be a teenage runaway then right NOW! Pop culture is suddenly awash in all things lesbian and runaways with films like The Runaways*. Ridykeulous misses the old Times Square, but this film is perhaps one of the best documents of the beautiful pre-Applebee’s squalor.

Although the film’s break-out hit single “Your Daughter is One” shocked our parents at the time, our highest high was quickly followed by a crushing low: nothing was more disappointing then the producers cutting out our sex scene, perhaps the hottest sex scene ever recorded on film between two Jews. Allegedly “permanently lost”, the sex scene is believed to have been spotted in the dusty bowels of the Lesbian Herstory Archives. At this VERY MOMENT, a small but not unattractive cadre of private investigators in wifebeaters are working up a sweat and moaning inappropriately as they “comb the stacks” to retrieve it.

As the trailer for our film stated in a gravely patriarchal voice, “Pam and Nicky found themselves on the streets of New York…now the whole city is gonna share their exhilaration.” Need more be said about this film and the trajectory of our lives? We think not.

Love, Ridykeulous

* it should be noted that Ridykeulous finds accepting Dakota Fanning as a “R/runaway” a ginormous stretch, even for those amongst us with the most advanced invaginations

Monday, May 17, 2010
8:00pm – 11:00pm
IFC Center
323 6th Ave. at 3rd St.
New York, NY

ORDER TICKETS

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By Fritz Haeg on May 17, 2010 | art
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On May 14th, 2010, SIMON FUJIWARA…

Simon Fujiwara - photo by Carla Verea

…Berlin-based British friend, super intriguing young artist, in the band Asia Today (with b-friend Ingar Dragset), who recently finished writing a novel while in residence at L.A.’s MAK Center – is just announced as the winner of this years Cartier Award – kudos!

Frieze Art Fair is delighted to announce that the winner of The Cartier Award 2010 is the British/Japanese artist Simon Fujiwara, who is based in Berlin and Mexico City. His previous works have encompassed performance-style lectures, fictional writings and installations. The winning proposal was selected from over 500 applications.

At Frieze Art Fair 2010, sponsored for the seventh year by Deutsche Bank, Fujiwara plans to present a new site-specific work, Frozen; an installation based on the fictive premise that an ancient lost city has been discovered beneath the site of the fair.

The Cartier Award is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading art awards and forms an exciting and visible element of Cartier’s long-standing commitment to the commissioning and display of contemporary art. It allows an emerging artist based outside the UK to realise a major project at Frieze Art Fair as part of the critically acclaimed Frieze Projects programme, this year curated by Sarah McCrory.

The award provides production costs of up to 10,000 GBP, an artist’s fee of 1,000 GBP and a three-month residency at Gasworks, an arts organization in South London which houses 12 artists’ studios. The award is open to non-UK-based artists within five years of graduating from an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or under 30 years of age.

Simon Fujiwara studied Architecture at Cambridge University and Fine Art at Städelschule Hochschule für Bildende Künst in Frankfurt am Main. Selected shows and projects from 2010 include Manifesta 8, Murcia; 29th São Paulo Biennial; Bringing Up Knowledge, MUSAC, Leon; Huckleberry Finn, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco; 100 Years, Julia Stoschek Collection, Dusseldorf. Forthcoming shows include a week-long performance project for Performa 11, New York, curated by Jens Hoffmann, and a solo exhibition at TATE, St.Ives.

Frieze Art Fair takes place from 14-17 October 2010 in Regent’s Park, London.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 14, 2010 | art
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On May 13th, 2010, DO YOU LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR RIDGEFIELD, CT…

the Sundown Schoolhouse at the Aldrich Museum will be housed in this geodesic tent stretched over a wood dome structure on the museum's front lawn (photo from the Sundown Salon book release event at L.A.'s MAK Center)

…or do you plan on visiting this summer, and would you like to lead a Sundown Schoolhouse workshop in the cozy headquarters of a geodesic tent pitched in the museum front lawn during part of the run of my “Something for Everyone” show, Fridays to Sundays, 12 noon to 1:30 pm, from July 2 until early October at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum? (more info on the Aldrich website)

P.S. We’ll be kicking off the series during the exhibition opening (June 27th, 2:30-5:30pm) with Bean Agency – involving really delicious fresh local beans prepared and served along with really engrossing bean stories – by Dash N, first presented at Dome Colony X in the San Gabriels last fall at X Initiative.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 13, 2010 | education
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On May 12th, 2010, MELISSA THORNE…

Melissa Thorne installation featuring silkscreened linen curtains and original songs on vinyl at Optical Project in Houston, Texas

…is a friend from college days – whose studio I visited, to check out the installation she just opened at Optical Project in Houston called Rockslide Rocksolid, featuring abstracted patterns of rough faux-rock – inspired by LA freeway retaining walls – silk screened on fine linen curtains and songs, “Landslide” & “Solid as a Rock,” performed & sung by Melissa played on limited edition vinyl….hoping we get to see this in LA. (gallery webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 12, 2010 | art
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On May 10th, 2010, SILVERSHED…

Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Lee Maida, and Jen Smith at Silvershed in NYC

…the Manhattan roof-top artist-run space opens Parallel Play this Sunday featuring Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Lee Maida, Jen Smith, presented by the previously-mentioned, L.A.-based Artist Curated Projects here are all of the details:

Los Angeles based Artist Curated Projects presents Parallel Play, a three-woman show, featuring the work of Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Lee Maida and Jen Smith. The work in Parallel Play considers the materiality of bodily effort and pleasure as it intervenes with craft, sexuality and politics. Communal strategies of dialogue and intervention inform the exhibition.

May 16 – June 5
Opening Reception May 16th, Noon to 3pm

Ginger Brooks Takahashi lives in Brooklyn, NY, maintaining a social, project-based practice. She is co-founder of LTTR, a queer and feminist art journal, and projet MOBILIVRE BOOKMOBILE project, a traveling exhibit of artist books and zines. She received her BA from Oberlin College, attended the Whitney Independent Study Program, and is a resident artist at Smack Mellon, 2008-9. Her work has shown in the following exhibitions recently: Shared Women at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 2007; Exile of the Imaginary at the Generali Foundation, Vienna, 2007; and Locally Localized Gravity at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, 2007. She has presented public projects at the Serpentine Gallery, London, 2008; documenta 12, Kassel, 2007; Art Metropole, Toronto, 2007; and with Ridykeulous at The Kitchen, NY, 2007. She currently is touring extensively with her music group, MEN.

Jen Smith is a Los Angeles based artist. With her post punk band the Quails, she has played music halls, street protests and squats, made posters, zines and anti-war ephemera and recorded three albums. She received her BA in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park and her MFA from the University of California, Irvine. She is an experienced fermenter and pickler, and won the Arlington County Fair for best baked good by an adult for a peach pie in 1989.

Lee Maida lives and works between Brooklyn, NY and Emeryville, CA. Her work is a sensorial and social experimentation using the materials and methodologies of the textile tradition. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Textiles at California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA.

Artist Curated Projects (ACP) was conceived of by Eve Fowler and Lucas Michael. The goal is to support and nurture a community of artists –their projects and ideas– outside of a conventional art gallery or institutional venue; a space removed from the commercial  pressures often attached to the experience of showing/curating/viewing art. Shows are curated by artists, with the intention of creating a shared space where artists can develop their curatorial ideas, show the work of their peers, while promoting, engaging in dialogue and creating connections among artists from multiple disciplines and at different stages of their practice. ACP WEBSITE

Silvershed is an artist-run, indoor-outdoor contemporary art project-space in New York.
Hours: 12-6pm Friday & Saturday, and by appointment 646-322-3324

Silvershed
119 West 25th, PH
New York, NY 10001

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By Fritz Haeg on May 10, 2010 | art
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On May 4th, 2010, THE WHITNEY MUSEUM 2010 ART PARTY BENEFIT…

Geodesic Outfit for a Radical Faerie, 2010

…is coming up on June 9th, and here is a preview of my contribution to the auction – something new using my recently acquired sewing skills entitled “Geodesic Outfit for a Radical Faerie.” (2010 Whitney Art Party webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on May 4, 2010 | art
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On May 1st, 2010, HUMAN RESOURCES MAY DAY OPENING…

the crowd at Human Resources, Los Angeles, May Day opening festivities

…was tonight with lots of inaugural performances, a cedar smudging ceremony by My Barbarian, and lots of excitement & love for the new L.A. collective performance social space in Chinatown.

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By Fritz Haeg on May 1, 2010 | performance
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On April 30th, 2010, “HERB & DOROTHY” – THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE VOGELS, THE UNLIKELY CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTORS…

Herb & Dorothy Vogel

…is such a great story – just watched it last night – about the librarian and postal worker who gradually and obsessively amassed one of the great collections of late 20th Century New York art, completely filling their Manhattan rent controlled one bedroom apartment, only to donate it to the museum they visited on their honeymoon in 1962, the National Gallery (because, Dorothy explains, it would never be de-accessioned, the museum is free to the public, and having spent their lives working in civic and federal jobs, they liked the idea of giving it back to the USA) in exchange for a modest monthly stipend to cover their living expenses, which they have gone on to spend on yet more art to donate to the museum. (film by Megumi Sasaki – check out the website )

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By Fritz Haeg on April 30, 2010 | film
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On April 22nd, 2010, ART AUCTION BENEFITING CENTER FOR THE ARTS EAGLE ROCK…

the glorious main hall of the Center for the Arts Eagle Rock which was previously a library

…is coming up this Sunday at my favorite L.A. neighborhood arts center, which is just down the hill from me – and where I presented Sundown Schoolhouse: Practicing Moving last Fall – here are all of the details:

8th Annual Art Auction – A Fundraiser Benefiting Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock
Sunday April 25, 2010, 2:00-5:00pm; Preview week April 19-23, 2010

Artwork by: 1 Off, Edith Abeyta, Lisa Adams, Linda Johnstone Allen, Michael Arata, Eva Armisen, Jane Asari, Tyn Atol, Kari Atol, Sherry Rayn Barnett, Jennifer Barnett-Hensel, Holly Boruck, Brian Bosworth, Daniel Brodo, BUGHOUSE, Matty Byloos, Pete Carillo, Jamison Carter, Robbie Conal, Emily Counts, Dorit Cypis, Diana Dawson, David De Boer, Danny De La Matyr, Raoul De La Sota, John Dominque, April Durham, Rick Elden, Spencer Elden, Shari Enge, Paul Evans, Bart Exposito, McLean Fahnestock, Shepard Fairey, Chuck Feesago, Roni Feldman, Jose Fors, Jeff Foye, Jacqueline Freedman, Dwora Fried, Nate Garcia, Vera Garvez-Powel, Libby Gerber, Cole Gerst, Sayre Gomez, Yolanda Gonzalez, Barbara Green, Mark Steven Greenfield, Margaret Griffith, Kio Griffith, Michael Gullberg, Mary Addison Hackett, Fritz Haeg, Cidne Hart, Kevin Hass, Brandy Maya Healy, Louise Henry, Naotaka Hiro, Heather Hoggan, Bettina Hubby, Salomon Huerta, Eva Hyam, Charles Irvin, Joan Kahn, Donna Kolb, Lori Koop, Olga Koumoundouros, Donald Krieger, Cyril Kuhn, Gina Lawson Egan, Johnny Lieberman, Haven Lin Kirk, Ronald Llanos, Karen Lofgren, Marcos Lutyens, Yi Ping Hou Lutyens, Linda Lyke, Meg Madison, Eva Malhotra, Brian + MaryJean Mallman, Audrey Mandelbaum, Wendy Mason, Rose Masterpol, Siobhan McClure, Candace Metzger, Miss Mindy, Alessandra Mctezuma, Nancy Monk, Kate Moriarty, Alan Nakagawa, John O’Brien, Chris Olveria, Angela Maria Ortiz, Claudia Parducci, Cielo Pessione, Shirley Pettibone, Laura Plansker, Max Presneill, Jason Ramos, Mary Rappazzo, Cindy Rehm, Ed Ruscha, Julio Revelas, Elizabeth Saveri, Mick Schelly, Margie Schnibbe, David Serano, Brian Smith, Carl Smith, Judith Layne Szarama, Pete Tovar, Kacy Treadway, Jane Tsong, Dani Tull, Elizabeth Valdez, Louisa Van Leer, Jocelyn Webb Pederson, Terry M. Wong, Penny Young and more

Join us for an afternoon of art and complimentary appetizers and a no host bar in Eagle Rock ‘s historic former Carnegie Library to celebrate and support Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock – one of the last remaining non-profit community cultural centers serving Northeast Los Angeles!
♦  Silent auction of artwork from over 100 established and emerging artists
♦  A sampling of local nibbles from Four Cafe
♦  No-host bar provided by Colombo’s
♦  Also serving Colorado Wine Co’s special Sparkling White Sangria
Admission: $30 per person at the door

If you are unable to attend the auction, but would still like to support the Center, bid by proxy forms will be available.  Artwork will be on view at the Center during the preview week from 11:00a.m.-5:00p.m. or by special arrangement. Select artwork can be viewed online beginning April 12, 2010.

Host Committee Includes: Harreld Adams, Andrew Berardini, Douglas & Joan Cumming, Doug Dawson, Julie Deamer, Damon Dennis, Kristi Engle, Sayre Gomez, Bob Gotham, Fritz Haeg, Yi Ping Hou, Steve Irvin, Donald Krieger, Karen Lofgren, Marcos Lutyens, Linda Lyke, Eva Malhotra, Mike Manuel, Brian McPherson, John O’Brien, Max Presneill, Michael Schlueter, Tony Scudellari, Amy Shomer, Espie Valverde, Tim Yalda, and Tom Yang.

To buy tickets, contact Renee Dominique, Director of Development:
323.226.1617 x 5621 or renee@cfaer.org

Website: http://www.centerartseaglerock.org

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By Fritz Haeg on April 22, 2010 | art
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On April 21st, 2010, “ANIMAL ESTATES HOME BUYERS TOUR,” A MUSICAL FOR CHILDREN BY MATT VAN BRINK…

Matt van Brink in the sculpture court at the Whitney Museum performing Animal Estates Home Buyers Tour with children in the 2008 Biennial Animal Estates installation

…begins its first night of four performances tomorrow at the Players Theater in New York City – which grew out of the performance that Matt did with children at the Whitney Museum during Animal Estates for the 2008 Biennial (I met Matt at MacDowell Colony that summer – check out his webpage on the show)

A 30-minute musical for children featuring irascible singing animals and kazoos.
Book, Music and Lyrics by Matt Van Brink
Additional Dialogue by by Jennifer S. Greene
With Dana Craig, Eric Harper, Justin Link, and Joelle Lurie
Directed by Hilary Leavitt
Based on Fritz Haeg’s “Animal Estates”

Four performances
Thursday, April 22, 8:00 PM
Friday, April 23, 9:00 PM
Saturday, April 24, 9:00 PM
Sunday, April 25, 3:00 PM

The Players Theater
115 MacDougal St, New York
TICKETS

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By Fritz Haeg on April 21, 2010 | music
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On April 14th, 2010, SCULPTURE GARDEN AT ALDRICH MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART…

The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art sculpture garden where orange cones indicate the layout of the future dancing platform

…in Ridgefield Connecticut is where I’m at this morning, staking out the locations for the upcoming show  – called “Something for Everyone” opening June 27th – of new projects throughout the indoor and outdoor public spaces of the museum including a dancing platform in the sculpture court (pictured here), flying squirrel homes, a vegetable garden for the staff, a compost pile at the front door, a local living room in the lobby, and a geodesic headquarters for workshops lead by locals on the front lawn. (Aldrich website – project webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 14, 2010 | art
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On April 13th, 2010, DECORDEVA SCULPTURE PARK AND MUSEUM…

view from the roof terrace of the original building at the DeCordeva Sculpture Park and Museum

…is just Northwest of Boston on the 35 beautiful rolling acres on Flints Pond – which I’m visiting today in preparation for a project in 2012. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 13, 2010 | art
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On April 12th, 2010, MARK DION AND J. MORGAN PUETT’S MILDRED’S LANE…

Mildred's Lane meadow and barn

…a 92 acre site in the upper Delaware River Valley region of Pennsylvania which has been transformed into…”a long-term experiment in large-scale project , research and event based practices featuring a living museum and an educational institution”…was presented this afternoon by it’s co-founders, Mark and J Morgan in an engaging and thoughtful talk at the Graduate Colloquium, Re-imagining Home: a Site for Personal and Social Transformation, (where I was also talking about my own domestically-related activities) organized by the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Mildred’s Lane website)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 12, 2010 | art
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On April 2, 2010, SHANNON EBNER…

Shannon Ebner's Artforum cover

…(whose wife Erika Vogt was recently mentioned here in relation to her current appearance as one of a majority of women represented in the current Whitney Biennial) is on the cover of Artforum – very cool. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 2, 2010 | art
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On April 1st, 2010, KATIE GRINNAN…

Cheerleaders, 2005-06 Friendly plastic, linoleum, gaffers tape, latex paint, enamel paint, ink jet print on aluminum Sculpture: 100 x 102 x 100 inches, Print: 89 x 70 1/2 inches

…amazing artist and old college friend is coming over for lunch – a few years back she installed her vegetable growing sculpture in the garden for “Sundown Salon #13: Radical Gardening” – check out her exploding cheerleaders! (ACME webpage on her work)

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By Fritz Haeg on April 1, 2010 | art
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On March 29th, 2010, ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM…

The front lawn of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT

…will be the site for my upcoming show called “Something for Everyone” (which will include a staff-managed veggie garden and compost pile at the entry, a dancing platform and architecture for flying squirrels out back, a Sundown Schoolhouse dome for workshops on the front lawn, plus the living room of a local residence in the lobby), and after a recent visit, I’m starting to get to work – opening June 27! (Aldrich and project websites)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 29, 2010 | art
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On March 27th, 2010, MOUNTAIN SCHOOL OF ARTS (MSA^)…

The Mountain School of the Arts class of 2010 at the dome for dinner

…(the alternative Los Angeles educational endeavor with visiting faculty from a range of disciplines – from law to science – established by Piero Golia and Eric Wesley in 2005) came over for potluck dinner and conversation this evening – they included Janine Armin, Carl Burmeister, Olivian Cha, Daniel Ingroff, Michael Kontopoulos, Anne Mathern, Lesley Moon, Dana Munro, James Ochmanek, Haley O’Connor, Tristan Rogers, Carson Salter, Snowden Snowden, Alice Tomaselli, and of course Piero.(webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 27, 2010 | education
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On March 21st, 2010, THE EXPOSE’ DOCUMENTARY ON THE BARNES COLLECTION FIASCO, “THE ART OF THE STEAL” …

…which I went to see today in Pasadena, is an amazing, depressing, and outrageous (though one-sided) Philadelphia tale revealing a toxic stew of MONEY! (25 billion dollars worth of paintings), POWER! (‘charitable’ foundations, governors and mayors), TOURISM! (the ultimate Impressionist block-buster show), and ART! (that became too valuable for it’s own good, and well beyond what it’s original owner could have anticipated when he tried to control it after his death with a will that was gradually ignored by the civic powers that be) that makes easy targets of the various shady characters who declined to be interviewed – GUILTY! (movie website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 21, 2010 | art, film
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On March 19th, 2010, RYAN TRECARTIN…

Ryan Trecartin in Butt, March 2010

…the phenomenal peripatetic psychedelic video artist (perhaps you recall his brilliant break-out work A Family Finds Entertainment (2004) from the 2006 Whitney Biennial where it was unfortunately presented on a little monitor perched atop a pedestal adjacent to the bustling bank of elevators?) has an riveting/revealing/funny interview in the new issue of Butt Magazine. (more about Ryan and his work from Elizabeth Dee Gallery)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 19, 2010 | art
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On March 15th, 2010, LOS ANGELES NOMADIC DIVISION (LAND)…

Los Angeles Nomadic Division, etsablished 2009

…has just emerged over the past year – founded by Shamim M. Momin and Christine Y. Kim – with energetic nimble activity most welcome in L.A.: variously squatting in local homes and institutions, taking to the streets and ‘public spaces’ (or whatever passes for that  here in L.A.), and supporting performance and time-based work – but from March 17-21 they will be in Austin at South X Southwest with a big show called “The Secret Knows” featuring Pierre Bismuth, Slater Bradley, Brian Bress, Olaf Breuning, Ian Campbell, Jedediah Caesar, José León Cerrillo, Matt Chambers, Brody Condon, Kate Costello, Alex Da Corte, Meredith Danluck, Sue de Beer, Christoph Draeger, Tyler Drosdeck, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Matias Faldbakken, Rob Fischer, Eve Fowler, Jonah Freeman, Luis Gispert, Piero Golia, Matt Greene, Katie Grinnan, Skylar Haskard, Drew Heitzler, Patrick Hill, Evan Holloway, Anna Sew Hoy, Patrick Jackson, Barry Johnston, Jesper Just, Alice Koenitz, Terence Koh, Jeff Kopp, Hanna Liden, Justin Lowe, Nate Lowman, Robert Melee, Matt Murphy, New Humans, Not Cooperative, Michele O’Marah, Eamon Ore-Giron, Adam Putnam, David Ratcliff, Matthew Ronay, Sterling Ruby, Christopher Russell, Melanie Schiff, Agathe Snow, Mateo Tannatt, Mungo Thomson, Mark Verabioff, Landon Wiggs, and Ezra Woods. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 15, 2010 | art
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On March 12th, 2010, FORYOURART…

ForYourArt map of the cultural landscape of Los Angeles

…is making some sense of this crazy vast nearly incomprehensible cultural landscape we call Los Angeles with a great website, a directory of all of the local venues, online and printed maps, regular announcements, plus it’s own newspaper – and with ten MFA art programs in the area (Art Center College of Art and Design, California Institute for the Arts, Claremont Graduate School, Otis School of Art and Design, University of Southern California, University of California – Irvine, University of California – Los Angeles, University of California – San Diego, and University of California – Santa Barbara) regularly depositing a rich layer of eager young artists who no longer feel compelled to be in New York – this comprehensive L.A. overview is especially welcome. (FYA website)

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By Fritz Haeg on March 12, 2010 | Los Angeles
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On February 26th, 2010, “DAMELO TODO” (GIVE ME EVERYTHING)…

still from the shoot of Wu Tsang's "Damelo Todo" (Give Me Everything)

…is the title of an upcoming documentary directed by friend Wu Tsang, which is described as “…a hybrid documentary/narrative depicting Latina transgender women who build community with queer performance artists at downtown Los Angeles bar the Silver Platter.” We can’t wait to see it! (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 26, 2010 | film
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On February 25th, 2010, CASUAL PROFANITY…

…is something that my brother is up to – check out the fluid garments! (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 25, 2010 | clothing
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On February 24th, 2010, EMILY ROYSDON, KERRY TRIBE, LESLEY VANCE, ERIKA VOGT, PAE WHITE IN THE 2010 WHITNEY BIENNIAL…

2010 Whitney Biennial website

…previews today, and for the first time in it’s history, more than half of the featured artists are women – we can’t wait to see what they do. Here is the complete list of the artists: David Adamo, Richard Aldrich, Michael Asher, Tauba Auerbach, Nina Berman, Huma Bhabha, Josh Brand, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, James Casebere, Edgar Cleijne and Ellen Gallagher, Dawn Clements, George Condo, Sarah Crowner, Verne Dawson, Julia Fish, Roland Flexner, Suzan Frecon, Maureen Gallace, Theaster Gates, Kate Gilmore, Hannah Greely, Jesse Aron Green, Robert Grosvenor, Sharon Hayes, Thomas Houseago, Alex Hubbard, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Jeffrey Inaba, Martin Kersels, Jim Lutes, Babette Mangolte, Curtis Mann, Ari Marcopoulos, Daniel McDonald, Josephine Meckseper, Rashaad Newsome, Kelly Nipper, Lorraine O’Grady, R.H. Quaytman, Charles Ray, Emily Roysdon, Aki Sasamoto, Aurel Schmidt, Scott Short, Stephanie Sinclair, Ania Soliman, Storm Tharp, Tam Tran, Kerry Tribe, Piotr Uklański, Lesley Vance, Marianne Vitale, Erika Vogt, Pae White, Robert Williams. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 24, 2010 | art
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On February 23rd, 2010, DANCE ON CAMERA AT THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN PHILADELPHIA…

"Tarantism" (still) by Joachim Koester, 2007, 16 mm film installation

…curated by Jenelle Porter and featuring work by Eleanor Antin, Charles Atlas, Ann Carlson and Mary Ellen Strom, Bruce Conner, Tacita Dean, Oliver Herring, Luis Jacob, Mike Kelley, Joachim Koester, Elad Lassry, Bruce Nauman, Kelly Nipper, robbinschilds + A.L. Steiner, Uri Tzaig, Flora Wiegmann, and Christopher Williams, is a show I’m really hoping to catch before it closes next month – there is also an excellent catalog. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 23, 2010 | dance
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On February 20th, 2010, A MAP FOR AN OTHER LA…

copies of "A Map for An Other LA" can be ordered by emailing llanodelrio@gmail.com

…presented by The Llano Del Rio Working Group, beautifully illustrated by Katie Bachler (former intern and Sundown Schoolhouse student), and designed by Department of Graphic Sciences (original designers the Edible Estates book), identifies and locates all of the exciting alternative activity in the city which is really what makes this place worth living in – and here is the text from their original solicitation for information:

Do you operate a backyard beehive?  Are you working in public, not getting paid and not considered a social worker or public artist? Are you painting bicycle lanes on Glendale Boulevard?  Are you a guerrilla historian? Participating in an alternative news source? Do you operate a no-profit space? Are you planting gardens in traffic medians? Are you inventing, selling, or operating solar powered gizmos? Stirring shit up? Tilling an urban farm? Planting urban nightmares? Do you participate in schizo-cultural activities furthering esoteric beliefs and practices? Are you encouraging individual and group detours away from economics as we know it? Member of a coop?  Part of a cycling mob? Are you developing stuff that will make sense when the shit hits the fan, the love bomb drops, or somewhere in between? Are you pursuing alternative models of development? Do you chew gum in public with friends and call it something other? Do you run a print kitchen, beer kitchen, bicycle kitchen, bio-fuels kitchen, a stitching kitchen or just heat an oven? Are you a part of a neighborhood vigil against war? Are you aware of a business resistant to time like a typewriter shop or a mythic location where shamans roam the valley? Is there a neighborhood your aware of with so much front yard agriculture that you just got to share it? Are you supporting the pursuit of an esoteric art and craft? Player in a radical cheer group, marching band, or cycling ensemble?  Popularizer of unpopular or unknown wisdoms? Do you have difficulty with the pronoun “I”, but find comfort talking about “we”? Are you aware of another LA beneath the traffic lanes?.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 20, 2010 | Los Angeles
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On February 13th, 2010, MACHINE PROJECT: SUBJECT/OBJECT/PROJECT BY NATE PAGE…

Shrink-wrapped everything in the Machine Project office by Nate Page

…looms large while we are laboring over our sewing machines this afternoon for the first day of sewing workshops with Annie O’Malley, as we sit beneath a giant version of the white folding plastic chairs we are sitting on, and to the back everything in the entire Machine Project office/work area has been shrink wrapped and piled high – all of this resulting from the artist’s process of  “…following Mark and other members of the Machine staff as they went about their day-to-day business…The intervention became an act of sheer awkwardness, with no specified end. No one really knew what Nate was up to, and it was unclear whether he was participating or observing.” (project webpage)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 13, 2010 | art
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On February 10th, 2010, AA BRONSON…

Volumes #1-#7 of Printed Matter's Artists & Activists series

…(queer artist, shaman, healer, media guru, General Idea founder, and Printed Matter director) sent me the complete set of the Printed Matter’s “Artists & Activists” series for me to review as I begin work on #8 in the commissioned series, which we hope to have ready by June – in the mean time I am also excited by his latest endeavor “inspired by faerie circles, tea parties, queer rituals, group therapy, ceremonial magic, quilting bees, circle jerks, and other spiritual, psychological and social forms,” AA Bronson’s School for Young Shamans at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada from May 10th through June 18th – I wish I could be there! (AA’s website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 10, 2010 | activism
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On February 7th, 2010, J’APPROVE BY K8 HARDY…

K8 Hardy launches J'Approve

…is a new fashion collection that I just heard about in an announcement from K8, “an outcome of a project curated by Travis Boyer called MFT, or My Favorite Things, for JF & Son” that will launch with a day long performance on Wednesday, February 17th, from 12-8pm at 19 Kenmare in New York, and being a fan of her Fashionfashion, and loving how she “uses and abuses” fashion, I am looking forward to seeing her latest fashion aggressions, abuses, celebrations, mutations, and offenses. (more at Style.com and JF & Son)

.

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By Fritz Haeg on February 7, 2010 | fashion
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On February 5th, 2010, SOMA – A NEW SCHOOL/COMMUNITY CENTER IN MEXICO CITY…

Mexico City has a new cultural/community center

…has just been opened by artist Yoshua Okon, including a two-year/four-quarter school system, a residency program, and a visiting lecture series – all in Spanish – though a summer quarter in English is in the works. (website)

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By Fritz Haeg on February 5, 2010 | education
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On January 31st, 2010, TERENCE KOH…

Piano of monster hands by Terence Koh for Lady Gaga at the Grammys

…is an old friend who has penetrated the core of mainstream pop culture tonight with the piano he made for Lady Gaga to play with Elton John at the Grammys.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 31, 2010 | art
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On January 30th, 2010, THE JOURNAL OF AESTHETICS AND PROTEST…

The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest illustration from their website

…has released Issue #7 which includes this from the introduction: “The current system of precarious labor (contract work, creative work, temp jobs) sucks and we partially asked for it. Art is often used as a gentrifier and often generates more social inequality than resistance. And we think that resistance which, as a semiotic, is not transferable between contexts, though resistance as a marketing tool is.  We are suspect in the fact that “art” and “creativity” are now ubiquitous and a part of our daily life, though it doesn’t feel like what the Dadaists and the Situationists were after. It often feels like a wet sock.” (order the new issue on their website)

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By Fritz Haeg on January 30, 2010 | publications
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On January 24th, 2010, ARTIST CURATED PROJECTS (ACP)…

Installation view of videos and t-shirts from the ACP show "This is a Performance."

…had an opening reception this afternoon for it’s latest project/exhibition, “This is a Performance,” installed in it’s cozy home-base – the La Vista Court Hollywood home of artist Eve Fowler – attended by lots of artist friends, and their dogs and babies. (ACP website)

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By Fritz Haeg on January 24, 2010 | art
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On January 12th, 2010, W.A.G.E. (WORKING ARTISTS AND THE GREATER ECONOMY)…

…is a New York City based activist collective (A.L. Steiner, K8 Hardy, and A.K. Burns) that has produced a “WoManifesto” video which I have just watched and will post here for you to consider questions like…have you invited an artist to work or produce something without offering any form of compensation? or as an artist, have you worked  or produced something for free, with the promise of exposure? and here is the W.A.G.E. manifesto:

W.A.G.E. (Working Artists and the Greater Economy) works to draw attention to economic inequalities that exist in the arts, and to resolve them.

W.A.G.E. has been formed because we, as visual + performance artists and independent curators, provide a work force.

W.A.G.E. recognizes the organized irresponsibility of the art market and its supporting institutions, and demands an end of the refusal to pay fees for the work we’re asked to provide:  preparation, installation, presentation, consultation, exhibition and reproduction.

W.A.G.E. refutes the positioning of the artist as a speculator and calls for the remuneration of cultural value in capital value.

W.A.G.E. believes that the promise of exposure is a liability in a system that denies the value of our labor.

As an unpaid labor force within a robust art market from which others profit greatly, W.A.G.E. recognizes an inherent exploitation and demands compensation.

W.A.G.E. calls for an address of the economic inequalities that are prevalent, and proactively preventing the art worker’s ability to survive within the greater economy.

W.A.G.E. advocates for developing an environment of mutual respect between artist and institution.

W.A.G.E. demands payment for making the world more interesting.

(W.A.G.E. website)

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By Fritz Haeg on January 12, 2010 | art
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On January 4th, 2010, POP: THE GENIUS OF ANDY WARHOL….

The cover of the new Andy Warhol biography by Tony Scherman and David Dalton focusing on the years 1961-68.

…is the title of the new biography I just finished which attempts to avoid retreading the familiar paths of so many previous AW books, especially the definitive 1989 Bockris biography, by focusing exclusively on the short revolutionary period from his first silk screen paintings in 1961 to the Valerie Solanas shooting in 1968 with new sources providing intriguing accounts (sex and boyfriend stories!) and some new insights that sated this Andy Warhol fanatic with the opportunity to revisit his story.

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By Fritz Haeg on January 4, 2010 | publications
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