Hurricane Sandy's effect on galleries in New York

People standing knee deep in the Chelsea Neighborhood

Our staff here at at Larryville Artists went to the blog site Hyperallerigic for news about the art scene in New York City after Hurricane Sandy.  Hyperallergic is slowly gaining information about the damages caused by Sandy to galleries in Manhattan. Some galleries in New York have had extensive flooding including the art loving Chelsea neighborhood.  Some worry that smaller galleries in Chelsea, especially those with basement gallery space, will have trouble surviving this latest set back, further polarizing the art market.

Luckily, there seems to be no huge damage to the major art museums in New York.  MOMA posted today on Twitter that it will be open tomorrow from 10:30-5:30.

Read more about eyewitness reports of flooding from Chelsea residents via Hyperallergic here: http://hyperallergic.com/59495/new-yorks-art-world-assessing-impact-of-hurricane-sandy/

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See flood paintings and vote here for your favorite flood painting in history: http://hyperallergic.com/59416/whats-your-favorite-flood-art-works/

Thomas Hart Benton Flight of the Thieves 1938

Bansky I Don't Believe in Global Warming 2009

New Book: Jenny Saville at the Modern Art Oxford Gallery

Jenny Saville had her first retrospective at The Modern Art Oxford Gallery this summer.  We were not able to go to England to see these works, but a catalogue has been published in conjunction with the show.  The paper back has 25 full page reproductions, with early work as well as recent paintings.  Some of the images in the book are lesser known drawings and paintings, or studies by Saville. 

via:Days Fall Like Leaves (see it here)  http://daysfalllikeleaves.blogspot.com/

Mirror, print by Jenny Saville, in conjunction with her retrospective show 

Detail of Mirror

Why tag a Rothko? The Payoffs to Vandalism

Black on Maroon, Rothko, 1958

The room of Rothko paintings at the Tate in London is a case in which you have to see to believe. Many Tate museum goers tell stories of life changing effects after experiencing this room in person because the work is incredibly moving and powerful.  Many wonder why a vandal chose Rothko's  Black and Maroon to tag with a marker earlier this month.

Vandalism to paintings in museums is not new. Sometimes these acts have payoffs because these vandals receive free publicity. The publicity works.  The media and art world know these vandal artists and sometimes put their artwork in the spotlight. For instance, Tony Shafrazi, the defacer of Picasso's Guernica launched his career from publicity achieved after his vandalism.

Why pick a Rothko to mark on?  The vandal states "I believe that if someone restores the (Rothko) piece and removed my signature the sale of the piece would be lower but after a few years the value will go higher because of what I did."

Image of the vandalized Rothko's Black on Maroon at the Tate

Posted on Twitter by Tim Wright who witnessed the vandalism

This series of paintings at the Tate were a new direction for Rothko, who researched European art for a commission for a posh New York building in 1959. He started insisting that he was not an abstractionist, and that such a description was as inaccurate as labeling him a great colorist. His interest was:

 only in expressing basic human emotions — tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on. And the fact that a lot of people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I can communicate those basic human emotions . . . The people who weep before my pictures are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them. And if you, as you say, are moved only by their color relationship, then you miss the point.

Karen's Guide to Final Friday

Top Gallery Pics and Cocktail Destinations

Happy Hour at 715: 
715 Massachusetts
Our Favorite 715 Drink: Barrel Aged Manhattan
Happy Hour from 4-6 includes drink and menu specials
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Invisible Hand's Poster for The New Bullshit

The New Bullshit: Work by Jeff Immer
The Invisible Hand
5-9 p.m.
846 Pennsylvania


So, the promotion for this show says this;
The Old Bullshit was slow.
The Old Bullshit was simple and made people happy some of the time.
The Old Bullshit was mean. 
The Old Bullshit loved money but could appreciate hard work. The Old Bullshit was comfortable with illusion. 
The Old Bullshit went to bed early and woke up before the sun. 
The New Bullshit is new.

Work by Jeff Immer

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Jason Barr: New Wood
Frank's North Star
508 Locust Street
8-2 p.m.
Have a beer at Frank's and look at Jason's new paintings.

Photo of "Living Legend" Jason Barr

Still Stinkin 2K12 by Barr

See @larryvillelife's interview with Barr about the show here where Barr is quoted as saying:
 I was actually banned from putting dicks in this show. Frank asked me not to fill his bar with "penis rainbows" or "masturbating demons.
"http://larryvillechronicles.blogspot.com/2012/10/barrr-tells-us-about-his-new-wood-youve.html
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Justin Plakas at Wonder Fair

Unsung Heros: Work by Justin Plakas
Wonder Fair
6-10 pm
803 1/2 Massachusetts

We always like to stop by Wonderfair on Final Fridays.  Here is what their Facebook invite says about this event:

It must be really cold for stuff like sports trophies and magazine clippings in the shadow of high art material. But Justin Plakas wants those items to know they are art’s heroes in his new show debuting at The Wonder Fair this Final Friday, aptly titled UNSUNG HEROES. Here is the Facebook Invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/269799216473812/

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The Love Garden: 
822 Massachusetts
Hospital Ships and Drakkar Sauna: Live In Store Performance

We are anxious to hear the new single by Hospital Ships that comes out on Friday.

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Work by Lora Jost

Lora Jost: Better Angels, Deer and a Boat
Do's Deluxe
416 E. 9th Street

Stop by for the Opening reception for Lora Jost.  Here is her description of her show:

 Lora Jost’s magical images pay homage to this beautiful world through dreamlike scenes and personal symbols that include children and deer, a wind chime microburst, tough-looking “better angels,” screaming babies and tranquil paper boats. In this exhibit of mixed-media collage, mosaics, and scratchboard drawings.
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Nite Cap at Bourgeois Pig
6 E. 9th

Sketch Tease and Open Model this Weekend

 Photo for Gil Elvgren's 1950's Pin-up illustration

Two Great drawing opportunities this weekend in Lawrence. 

Sketch Tease is Sunday from 6:00-9:00 with a mere $5.00 entry fee. Multiple models are in costume and perform. 

The scene at Sketch Tease is laid back, and welcoming for those who like to draw or just hang out and have a cocktail. 

Here is the Facebook invite for this event: https://www.facebook.com/events/423452484389128/

Pic from July's Sketch Tease

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Today is also Open Drawing at KU from 11:00-2:00 in room 405.  The session is free, and open to all skill levels.  Bring drawing supplies. 

Josef Albers: Work Process

“Study for Homage to the Square with Color Study” (not dated). Oil on blotting paper, 44.3 x 30.2 cm

The show Josef Albers in America: Painting on Paper, which just closed at The Morgan Library in New York's Manhattan,  gives us insight as to how Albers worked through his ideas. In these chosen works, we see written notes and color studies ( they do not contain dates or titles), often on blotting paper or cardstock.   These studies were never exhibited in the artist's lifetime and have rarely been seen after his death.   Although Albers thinks of himself as a clear thinker over raw emotions, these studies show a more human side.

Albers taught  at some of the most prestigious art schools in history, including the Bauhaus,  Black Mountain College, and Yale (where he was head of design).  Robert Rauschenberg has sited Albers as one of his most influential teachers.  Albers has written many books on color theory.

Josef Albers, “Color Study of Grays” (not dated). Oil on cardstock with varnish, 17.9 x 25.7 cm.

“Study for a Variant / Adobe (I)” (ca. 1947). Oil on blotting paper with pencil, 24.1 x 30.6 cm

I was first turned on to this exhibition and snagged images from an article by Thomas Micchelli.  Read the article here: http://hyperallergic.com/55894/the-square-in-the-raw-josef-albers-unguarded-moments/

He writes: "This show exposes Albers, if not in a state of angst, then at his most unguarded. The smeared paint and penciled notations, the corrections, about-faces and debacles (while the warmer squares — in oranges, reds and yellows — are luminous, the ones in blues and greens are rancid) bring us much closer to Albers as a prickly, flawed personality than as an Apollonian artist and thinker." and  "studies that reveal his workaday, unpolished, even bumbling side."

The Met's books online for free

Vincent Van Gogh, The Drawings, 2005

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has some of the best art books available, especially in the area of art history.  For instance, want a book about Vincent Van Gogh's drawings?  Try the Met.  Vincent Van Gogh The Drawings, published in 2005 from Yale publishing,  is a 375 page book containing a thorough survey of images as well as nice essays from notable scholars.

This week, the Met announced that catalogues and books from the Met are now online for free.  Although some of the books are only previews or parts of books, the site is well designed with easy to use search engines.  Each book has easy access to chapters.   The home page allows searches by individual artist or time periods.

The online site includes 642 books about art and art history, with full contents of 368 out of print titles. Currently in-print titles may be previewed and fully searched online, with links to purchase the books. The full contents of almost all other titles may be read online, searched, or downloaded as a PDF, at no cost.

Some of our favorite titles: 

Abstract Expressionism: Works on Paper :Selections from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/Abstract_Expressionism_Works_on_Paper_Selections_from_The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art

Art and Anatomy of Renaissance Italy: Images from a Scientific Revolution: http://books.google.com/books?id=u_U59cV_UCsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Glitter and Doom: German Portraits of the 1920's: http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/Glitter_and_Doom_German_Portraits_from_the_1920s


Here is the link to the entire site:

http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=metpub

The Poetry Scene at the Tap Room

Brendan Allen and others at the Tap Room Poetry Session on Sunday

We love the poetry scene in Lawrence.  One of our favorite local poetry readings are the monthly sessions hosted by the Tap Room Poetry Series. Held in the basement of the Taproom,  these readings include open mic and special guests.  

Highlights of open mic this month included Sara Leaver's poem Sloppy Seduction  which incerted a phrase we liked "Cheap Cracker Jack prize I never want to keep."

We liked Simone Savannah's delivery in her untitled works, and Amanda Frost's poem which included Old English History's price value of each type of finger on a hand.

This month, the poetry series included readings from fiction writers Daniel Hoyt and Kellie Wells who both read from their new books.  

More on the new books of Hoyt and Wells can be found on the Tap Room Poetry Series website here: http://taproompoetry.blogspot.com/

Poet Amanda Frost

Is graffiti art being pulled into the mainstream?

In the past, individual graffiti artist were unknown except among a few, in part because of the genre's illegal and underground nature. These artists were seen as daring adventurous loners. This is changing. As the art world searches for new and edgy art as an ongoing quest, graffiti artists are selected and pulled into the mainstream.  Street artists such as Shepard Fairey and Steve Powers ( Espo) are becoming prominent and showing work in established ways.  This juxtaposition of thwarting reputation of rogue artist for more lucrative and "credible" sources lead some to believe these artists are losing their edge. The old argument and term "sell out" starts to creep into conversation. 

Currently, Graffiti artist Barry McGee has an exhibition at the Berkley Art Museum.  This show and others like it have some questioning the street artists's role in a museum setting. 

 Ben Valentine writes: 

Although I came to admire graffiti artists partly for their work’s daring nature, a skeptical part of me wonders if McGee’s show was too interested in proving to the viewer that McGee still has ‘it,’ meaning his raw edge that attracted attention for him in the first place. Why else have animatronic versions of McGee scattered throughout the exhibition, tagging the museum walls (above)? Or why have installations proudly displaying bolt cutters and stolen anti-graffiti signs ( below) except to drive home the fact that McGee is in fact a graffiti artist, not just a museum artist, to separate himself from that crowd.

see Valentine's article here: http://hyperallergic.com/58059/barry-mcgee-berkeley-art-museum/

An installation of bolt cutters, stolen signs, and tags; showcasing the graffiti artist as both lifestyle and artwork.

photo by Ben Valentine

Last May, graffiti artist KIDULT made his mark on at Marc Jacobs store in New York's Manhattan, and bragged on twitter "I made some ART?" and included this photo. 

Marc Jacobs quickly turned this around, and put the "art" on their store on a t-shirt, that retailed for $689.00, signed by the artist $680.00. 

Marc Jacobs t-shirt

Looking at Art: Out and About in KC

What's the art scene like in KC? We took a field trip to Downtown Kansas City last week.
We went for a First Friday.  Although there were many people there, few seemed to be looking at the art.  However, we were. Here are a few pics from First Friday in KC.

Dave Finishes a Mural In Arkansas

Dave Loewentstein in his painting clothes

This week, Lawrence artist Dave Loewenstein is adding final touches to a large mural project in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
The mural reflects the community spirit and history of Arkadelphia.  Dave found volunteers from Arkadelphia who helped plan and paint the mural.  Read about the progress of the mural in Dave's blog here:http://midamericamuralproject.blogspot.com/

Here are some photos from his blog:

Detail of the mural in Arkadelphia, Arkansas

One of many sketches for the mural

Nearly completed mural in Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Molly Murphy at Pacha

 Molly's New Work is Whimsical

Last night, we attended the opening for Molly Murphy's new work.  These paintings can be described as whimsical, and painterly.  She has increased her scale, and added more color in her palette.

Here are party pics from last night: 

Molly wore a stunning black dress to her opening

 Detail of work