I Would Have Gone With Kenny

Last night New York’s Cooper Square Hotel threw a party in honor of its new mural, which is a little unusual, even for the East Village.

Yes, that’s none other than Homer J. Simpson.

The hotel hired four graffitti artists to paint the mural: Nic 1, Bizie, Shinique Smith and Joyce Pensato. Homer was Pensato’s work.

But why Homer, when she paints so many other characters?

Et Tu, Halloween?

While I’m not advocating “matching” your art to the holidays, I couldn’t resist writing about Brian Dettmer’s awesome, recycled-cassette-tape art for Halloween. I spotted Dettmer’s sculls at an art fair years ago and have never been able to track him down. The combination of the sadly dead music format and skull shape just spoke to me. So clever! And what makes them better are his tape choices. Here’s he’s got Mötley Crüe’s “Shout At the Devil” across the jaw. Perfect. Now I wonder what he would do with the saddest cassette-culture loss: the mixed tape.

Thanks to Inhabitot and Design Boom for tracking him down.

Want to see more cool skull art? Check out Noah Scalin’s “Skull-A-Day” project.

Lets Go Native American on This Economy!

German artist Anna Jandt created a horse's head for this room, which makes me think of "The Godfather" but she says serves as "a comment on the anonymity and overpowering nature of posh hotel rooms."

Has the Great-Recession squashed your grand travel plans? Here’s an idea: Barter for your hotel!

That’s right, why exchange Benjamins when you can trade?

Berlin’s Hotel Marienbag is offering artists free accommodations in exchange for a work of art. The catch is that the artist must come from outside of Berlin, and, well, you have to be an artist. But that’s great news for U.S. artists interested in checking out the art mecca that is Berlin. Prost to that!

The program is coordinated by Susanne Pfeffer a curator at Berlin’s Kunst-Werke Institute of Contemporary Art, who says conceptual artists, sculptors and painters are welcome to participate and stay at the hotel.

[via DesignBoom]

A Moment at The Met

At The Metropolitan Museum of Art this Sunday, these two people stood in front of “Mark” by photorealist painter Chuck Close for ages. Close’s work has that “how did he do it?” affect on people. This photograph reminded me of one of my favorite artists, photographer Laurie Victor Kay, and her “Au Musee” series in which she captures kids in museums. There’s something wonderful about the contrast of the innocent kids next to complex and weighty works of art.

I love the idea of watching people look at art. Not because I want to critique how anyone takes it in, just because I like to see the setting a work is placed in. And when you look at art in galleries and museums, you’re not usually alone, so those other people become part of the experience, too.

Above is her “Decapitation” taken at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay in front of Henri Regnault’s 1870 “Summary Execution under the Moorish Kings of Grenada.” I’m captivated by this sweet little girl and her chubby arms being exposed to that gruesome painting before her. I hope she’s not scarred for life.

Whose the Genius Behind the Marilyn Graffiti?

Marilyn Monroe is everywhere. Well, at least her iconic ‘do is. I spotted Spock wearing it — and looking rather debonair — in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. (That’s my husband there in the striped socks; he’s not part of the graffiti.)

The black-and-white, paste-up style is the craftiness of L.A. graffiti artist Mr. Brainwash, a.k.a. MBW. He’s Marilynized others, too. Madonna and Angelina also get graffiti makeovers in New York. Here’s a cool Flickr collection of more pop-culture inspired street art by Mr. Brainwash. And the L.A. gallery that represents him. [Photo below by Timothy Schenck.]

These made me wonder if Michael Jackson’s image will have such staying power 50 years from now …

Millennials Speak at New Museum Triennial

This post is almost cruel to write.

I just barely made it the the New Museum’s amazing “The Generational: Younger than Jesus” show on its very last day, but it was just too good to keep to myself.

The theme was simple: artists from around the world aged 33 and younger. Unlike the Whitney Biennial, which concentrates on America’s new art talent, this inaugural triennial is a worldwide view of the next generation of artists. And in my opinion, every three years will not be enough. 

The exhibit was a fascinating indication of our times. A cacophony of themes: war, violence, government corruption, materialism and social media.  I missed Ryan Gander’s white track suits embroidered with blood stains worn by the attendants, but I definitely didn’t miss the installation of a woman asleep on a bed in the middle of the gallery. She didn’t move an inch. It was fun to stand nearby and see the looks on people’s faces as they circled the bed not noticing the sleeper until … surprise! a person’s in there. I later learned that Chu Yun’s piece is made up of the materials: “female participant, sleeping pill and bed.” No wonder she didn’t move.

Here’s a run-down of my favorite moments in exhibit:

Inspiration Found!

A Does this look familiar? It does if you read my post a few months back about Ed Trask’s show at Farmville’s J. Fergeson Gallery. On Friday I was driving in the East End of Richmond going to Rockett’s Landing, a new waterfront condo development, when I spotted this odd tower and was lucky enough to catch it just as graffiti-strewn cars were rolling by.

I like Ed’s interpretation a lot better. Here he is with “Flowers and Bones” his six-panel painting that goes for $12,000. He told Juxtapose magazine: “The bones are the old buildings and trains, the areas around the city that are forgotten. … The flowers are the graffiti on the train, any light that’s brought to this is through the graffiti. This is an old area and one of the most exciting things to watch here is a train full of graffiti go past.”

This was a cool shot, too, maybe he’ll paint this next. What do you think, Ed? Maybe we should lobby him a la Colbert.

For more on Ed’s work, check out his new site. Or read the Juxtapose piece.

The Most Controversial Man in Art

Oh we love to hate Jeff Koons. The artist’s sculptures have fetched millions, he’s represented by heavyweight Gagosian Gallery, yet he once married a porn star and he’s known for works that look like enormous balloon animals. Something’s not right here.

Or is it.

A new book explores the kitch-loving world of Koons. Koons ($70, Rizzoli) is a reissue of a limited edition book (the first signed copy of that edition went for $450,000 at auction). But don’t buy a book because it will go up in value, buy it because you love it. O.K.?

Or go see his “Puppy” on permanent display outside the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain. I love this 12-foot dog sculpture made of flowering plants. He took the sappy combination of puppies and flowers to create a monumental statement that references 18th-century manicured gardens.

Now I wonder what he could do with those greeting card sepia-toned kids dressed like adults?

April Artist Chris Milk, Day 2

I’ve asked Chris five questions that we’ll release over a series of days with a piece of work each day. See all five paintings in the gallery or read Day 1 here.

What’s the oddest, funniest, nicest thing someone has said to you about your work?

“The only reaction to art, music, that I will stand behind, is that of honest affinity. For someone to say, “I love this painting because I love it.” That’s all I want to hear.
Sometimes folks will say, “Your work is so fun”. I would like never to hear that again.”

“The Hummingbird, I painted on my easel, and it became a friend,
floating next to the panels painted to the left, and right of it, over the course of a year. Again, here comes saw. Freed from the easel, hummingbird gets
his chance to shine, or fly, really, on his own.”

For more on Chris, visit his site or blog. Portrait by Ash Daniel Photography.

Outsider Art with Heart Sewn to Sleeve

Hey everybody, we’re now curating art! Since I’m passionate about art and want to share the inspiring artists I’ve come across, I’ve decided to begin a series of featured artist profiles accompanied by 5-piece art shows. All work will be under $2,000 and available for sale in the Culture Fix Gallery. Think of it as a virtual gallery where you get to meet the artist.

Meet Our April Featured Artist: Chris Milk Hulburt

Chris Milk is a theatrical sort. His writings are poetic. His nails are painted. His art is sweet and tells the story of sunny afternoons riding through historic Richmond, Va. neighborhoods on a bike, or curled with a lover. He even performs in a puppet show.

He lives and paints with three cats in an old home in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood. The sofa was recently cleared out and he’s now trying to unload a coffee table made from bowling-alley floorboards. He’s decluttering to make room for his sewing machine. He makes the puppets he performs with, the clothes they wear and some of his own clothes. Most everything he touches has been created or reshaped by him, including the vest he’s wearing in the above photo.

Hulburt is also one of the first artists whose work I bought, that’s one reason I asked him to be the first featured artist on Culture Fix. Another reason is because, while he’s well known in Richmond, having worked as an artist here for many years, he’s a bit of a hidden secret and I thought we should share.

You say you paint the in-between moments. What’s significant about that time for you?

“I like to think there is some narrative to all my work, but hopefully it is that quiet moment preceding, or following, something sad or wonderful. I think the actual occurrence of action is less interesting than its aftermath. Or the innocent minute before.”

Tell me about this painting:

“‘Kiss, with Gold’ came straight from sketchbook pages, too. A lovely moment, spent by the river’s edge. That girls gone, too. The memory remains. The gold pays homage to little minutes, lost.”

“Kiss, with Gold” $300
House paint with gold leaf on board, 19 1/2 by 22 1/4 inches.
To purchase, email culturefix@ymail.com

For more on Chris, visit his site or blog. Portrait by Ash Daniel Photography.

Know of an artist worthy of being featured? Email culturefix@ymail.com