pipilotti rist — one of my favorite artists

Willem DeKooning talks about the absurd, Paul McCarthy is...

Tom and James do some hard work!

Tom Sachs new paintings and sculptures at Sperone Westwater remind us of the creativity of artists and the laborious work that goes into the creation of an art object. It also showcases the totally groovy way artists use materials and techniques like resin or  pyrography, where "paint strokes" are burned and etched into wood.

His cultural iconography from McDonalds to James Brown addresses the conception, production, consumption and circulation of modern-day stuff.

My  favorite seen here is "James Brown’s Hair Products" (2009) and relates to color studies by artists such as Albers and Richter.

There's also a nice interview in "Huffpo" with lots if pix. See Keeping Time With Tom Sachs: An Interview With the Artist .

Fusion — Fashion, Art and my Closet

I recently went to a lively panel on collecting art. The panel was created by Annika Connor, an artist entrepreneur.

It made me think about collecting to understand the business from the other side and precipitated some new art purchases for me. It also reinforced my own cheap collecting strategy, that of buying art books that interest me. Having them around and studying them and then selling them is cheap thrills that may pay off big time. One book, I bought for $3 , I later sold for $1200. See my post Art $$$ in a Down Economy if you want the story.

The next panel coming up on Wednesday November 16 (Yes, that's this Wednesday) is on art and fashion —two subjects dear to my heart and my closet. I expect it to be as enjoyable as the last. In addition to lively discussion, they promise (and deliver) complementary cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. It is taking place at General Assembly in the Flatiron District. Featured panelists are: Patrick McMullan, Photographer and founder of Patrick McMullan Company; Austin Scarlett, Fashion Designer & Project Runway Star; and Bill Indursky, co-founder of VandM.com.

The Fusion of Fine Art and Fashion is the third a monthly discussion series on Art as Entrepreneurship which Active Ideas Productions (Annika's entrepreneurial enterprise) produces. Tickets are $30 General Assembly is located at: 902 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, 10010

New Techniques in Video

live datamoshing and facial recognition

a different kind of facial from oneseconds on Vimeo.

oneseconds: having a different kind of facial from oneseconds on Vimeo.

Nom Wah — Patterned for Success

Continuing my partnering with Linda Tharp in the artist as entrepreneur thread, we met over lunch at Nom Wah tea parlor on Doyers Street. It was a homecoming of sorts, my father used to take us here every sunday in the 1950s and 1960s. It has been newly freshened up (and the Dim Sum was good) but I was happy to see it has retained the old along with the new, entwining the only seemlingly random patterns of life.

Churchified

In the last year I have been painting like (and copying) Frederic Church as an exercise to enrich my own painting practice. Now it seems as if anywhere I go the world is "churchified."