Get Artsy in the Hamptons

Here are two surprising facts about the Hamptons: Some of these quaint Long Island beach towns date back to the 17th century, and art’s abstract impressionist movement was founded there in East Hampton. So not only can you find adorable weathered-shingle homes but also serious art cred. Jackson Pollock, for one, did his drip thing on the floor of one of said cottages. You can visit Pollock’s house (above), and other shrines to the past, but where are the contemporary art and artists in the Hamptons these days? That’s what I wrote about in my recent travel story for New York magazine, along with great places to stay, eat and play. I didn’t include the beach (below) but that goes without saying, right? (This one’s Main Beach in East Hampton.)

Read the whole story here at New York magazine.

Happy weekend, hope you’re heading “out east”…

Portugal Beach Vacation at Home

Portugal is on my vacation list. I’ve got to get there. It a land of beautiful beaches, wineries, historic cities and a laid-back lifestyle. Sounds perfect. But until I visit I’ll have to live vicariously through this photo. In general I can’t get enough of aerial beach photography. I just wrote about one recently of Coney Island by a Brooklyn photographer. But this beach offers a bit more to work with. And I love the colorful umbrellas.

It was taken by Christian Chaize, a French photographer who’s become obsessed with a small stretch of the southern Portugease coast. I can see why. He’s taken a whole series of just this very composition but on different days and times of day. Check it out here.

The print’s available through 20 x 200, a great site for affordable art. A 14 x 11 will run you $50.

See more CultureFix posts about photography.

Thom Filicia’s 10 Favorite Photos

I’m always looking for great prints — whether I have the wall space or not. The archives of Condé Nast and The New York Times always seem like great resources, but daunting! I don’t have the patience to go through all those photos. So I was excited to see The Times has asked five interior designers to pick their favorite 10 photos. Here are two of my favorites from Thom Filicia’s picks. Love him!

The top photo was taken in Central Park and the above photo was taken over Bryant Park.

Want to see the rest of Thom Filicia’s picks?

Weekend Beach Getaway … On Your Wall

This print has been following me around. Good thing I love it. We first spotted the print by Brooklyn artist Mina Georgescu at Brooklyn Collective, a gallery in Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. Then it’s been arriving in my inbox ever since. Most recently from the cool print shop Society 6, where it can be had for just $20. Only thing is, it’s a bit derivative, but, hey, what isn’t?

If you have $20k to spare you can go with an originator in the genre of blurry, aerial beach photography: Massimo Vitali photograph. His work is on my when-I-get-rich list. And they’re huuuuge and dreamy. They’d fill up a wall in the most amazing way.

See more CultureFix posts about photography.

Inspiration From Norman Rockwell at the Brooklyn Museum

This rainy April day would be a great one to check out the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. It’s interesting because it shows the photographs Rockwell so carefully staged in order to paint from them. I loved this peek behind the lens.He was very meticulous about getting the right characters and expressions.

Newsflash: Michael Jackson Had Good Taste

Just when you thought poor Michael had fallen into a downward spiral of gaudy, starting with that silver-glitter glove and continuing right on up to Neverland — may I present remarkable evidence of good taste: Jackson commissioned Kehinde Wiley to paint his portrait.

Yes, Wiley’s work is appropriately over-the-top for Jackson, that’s probably why the King of Pop sought him out. Wiley’s a New York artist whose famous for painting ghetto-fabulous young, African-American men in juxtaposed with an old-master-style regal settings or Baroque backgrounds. They’re a beautiful study in contrasts. The modern figures are elevated while the old settings are infused with humor. His work is imaginative and wonderful.

But not the one of Jackson.

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.