Back at it

School has started. I forget every year how much I like teaching. Remind me of this in November when I am dog-tired.

I am working on a new painting. I stretched and gessoed on Monday. I put about 5 coats of gesso on the canvas covered panel. I am very ritualistic when it comes to preparing canvases. It is the most optimistic part of the painting process. I truly believe at this stage that the next work is going to be the best.... then I start painting. The painting above is 4'x 4' and it is a baby (6 hours of work). I have a feeling that this is going to take awhile. I am excited to be exploring the wonderful world of frosting. When I was in grad school, I came up with the perfect title, "Icing, you sing." I wish I could reuse it.

Blast from the past- Icing You Sing, acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24", 2002

Here is an artist that I rediscovered through the blogosphere. Payton Turner is a Brooklyn based artist. She creates handmade wallpaper with stickers. I love how simple and complex the patterns are. Check out the NYMag slideshow- really cool. I found it through Apartment Therapy's article.

I had a huge collection of Mrs. Grossman stickers. If I only I would've saved them.

ok...maybe.. i don't know

So this morning, I worked on the background. I thought it needed a little more.

So I did this... I don't know.

I think I might go back to this. I don't know- I think I may sleep on it.

This made me happy. Ginger Williams is an artist in Jackson, MS.

The Citizen Architect documentary was so good. I want to go on a road trip to Hale County (maybe when it isn't 10,000 degrees outside). You can watch it on Monday (8/23) on PBS. Here is a link to the PBS website.

back to the grind (almost)

We have one more week before school starts (aka hurricane hits). I am trying to do a fast painting. I would love to be done soon (sat? sun?) I think I might title it "Happy meal?" Those anthropormorphic sandwiches get me everytime.

On Tuesday, I am going to the screening  of Citizen Architect at the Lyric in Oxford.Needless to say, I can't wait to see the film. Contemporary architecture, ingenious materials, and Hale County, Alabama....

Here is what I wrote about Mockbee in Jan-
5. Rural Studio at the Birmingham Museum of Art in 2004. Organized by David Moos

I saw the Rural Studio show when I moved back to Alabama after grad school. I love the show and especially the concept of the Rural Studio. One of the most important things I got out of the show- you can make interesting, dynamic, and contemporary work and live in the South. I needed that at the time.
Honorable mention- Joan Mitchell in 2002

Here is the press release from the Oxford Film Festival:
Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio
Tues., August 17, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Lyric Theater (1006 Van Buren Ave.)
Filmmaker in attendance
Tickets:
$20 reserved / $10 general /
$5 student

This moving documentary film chronicles the work of late architect and MacArthur foundation "genius grant" recipient Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee and the radical educational design/build program called the Rural Studio that he founded in Hale County, Alabama in 1992.  Mockbee was a fifth-generation Mississippian, winning many national awards for innovation in architecture. 

Oxonian Carol Mockbee, producer of Thacker Mountain Radio (and Sambo's daughter) is also in the film bringing one of her father's last designs to life.  Sam Douglas, the film's director, joining us from Austin, TX, will lead a Q & A session with Carol to follow the film.  Beginning at 7:00 p.m. will be the evening's music by Oxford musician Jake Fussell, who composed the film's soundtrack.
Click here to view the film's trailer.
Presented by the University of Mississippi Museum and sponsored by Hardy Reed Capital Advisors LLC, the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the Lyric Oxford, the Memphis Flyer, WideEye Design and the Oxford Film Festival.

just a couple more...

mosaic from the 77th street station (downtown)

Red Velvet cupcake from the Bakeshop (around the corner from the Pod).

now I am done....

Whitney- Marclay

I ran up the stairs to the Marclay show on the 4th floor. I love this artist (he made it in my top 10 of the last decade). He combines video, music, art, graphic design, and photography in a very compelling way. We were allowed to document parts of the show. No sneaking around for me!

Here are some stills from the video pieces. Marclay is very interested in the onomatopoeia of words and sounds.

He has a whole Youtube channel dedicated to his videos. There is also some of his work (really great giant cyanotypes with cassette tapes) at the Guggenheim.

Whew... I have seen enough work in the last few days to last me at least a couple of months. I hope you have enjoyed the ride!

Whitney- Burchfield

After Neue Gallerie, I sprinted down Madison Avenue to visit the Whitney. I really wanted to the see the Charles Burchfield show and the Christian Marclay.

Burchfield, Dandelions Seed heads and moon, watercolor on paper

No photos of the Burchfield... so the following are some of my favorites that I found on google. I really liked his watercolors from the beginning and end of his career. They are loose, free, and weird. His middle aged oil paintings are almost too tight. They lack the joy of the younger and older Charles.

The Four Seasons, 1961-65, watercolor, approximately 5' x 3'

Burchfield, original painting for wallpaper design

In the 1920s, Burchfield went to work for a wallpaper company. They had room with his wallpaper. I would have loved a picture of it. I love when museums break that white wall. I am not sure how restful Burchfield's wallpaper is (not for a bedroom). Here is an installation shot from the Whitney.

Afterwhile crocodile

I am back in Mississippi. Yesterday, I packed up my stuff early and headed out to 2 last museums. Our flight was until 4:30.

The first museum I visited was the Gallerie Neue. This was my first time. The museum is dedicated to Austrian and German work from the 19th and 20th century. It is a gorgeous townhouse right on 5th avenue and of course no photo. However, no one was patrolling the basement, so I got a few shots of vintage posters.

posters at the Neue

Johann Victor Kramer, lithograph, Vienna, 1901

I came for the Otto Dix show. Everyone at the Studio School was very excited about it back in June. I really like Otto's prints. He did a series of etchings after WW1 that capture the horror of that war. They were really powerful.

Otto Dix, 1924 (from google)

The Neue also has some great furniture and Klimts in the permanent collection.  They have the Adele Bloch Bauer Klimt. It was quite a controversy involving the Nazis and restitution. Here is an article.

Gustav Klimt, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907 (google)

Depending on the show, the Gallerie Neue would be a great place to visit. I have it on good authority that the cafe is fantastic. Marc and Nina love the apple strudel.

LES galleries

I headed down to the Lower East Side today to check out some galleries. There are some cool spaces that have left Chelsea for this funkier neighborhood. Here are some of highlights...

Land Use Survey at Jen Bekman. I really like the Matthew Moore piece about farming, subdivisions, and sprawl.

Brion Nuda Rosch at DCKT. So simple, so funny. I really loved the space (I would love to show here)

Hilary Harnischfeger at Eleven Rivington

I think this Robert Beck's piece at Lehmann Maupin. It is part of the Lush Life show curated by Franklin Evans and Omar Lopez-Chahoud

I finished off my day with some Pinkberry. It was hot. I would love to come back to the LES galleries. Many of them were closed because it is summer. However, they seemed younger than Chelsea.

I am back in Mississippi tomorrow! Au revoir!

Bahn mi likes

Ok, I know I am probably late to this party. On my last trip to NYC, I discovered bahn mi sandwiches. These are vietemese sandwiches that combine good french bread, pulled or chopped pork, and cilantro. Yum! I found this post that declared Baoguette is the best in the city. I went the one at 27th and Lexington Ave.

The line was out the door- always a good sign

The classic bahn mi. Surely, I can reverse engineer this a home..

Self portrait with diagram of the sandwich

I am still full, but it was good! If you are in Oxford, the Snackbar has a very good version (not as good as Baoguette, but airfare is expensive)

More Lonnie Holley

Here is a post about Lonnie Holley (Oxford American blog). I love the photo from his compound.

Chelsea Chelsea

I went to the High Line and Chelsea with my class today. Here are some of my favorite works... I saw a lot of good paintings (not always the case in Chelsea).

Beau Chamberlain at Winston Wachter Fine Art. This work is really great.  I love the organic quality and variety of paint handling.

Scott Patt at Winston Wachter Fine Art

Lonnie Holley at Jeff Bailey. Lonnie is a Birmingham artist. He was a visiting artist when I was in elementary school.

Mel Bochner... I love how "happy" he depicts a sad subject

Carol Bove, "Peacock"- Unfortunately this is somewhat self-portrait, but I really like this large scale piece.

Joseph Raffael at Nancy Hoffman. This watercolor piece was big (10' x 12'). It is amazing how much scale influences my opinion of certain works. I love giant watercolor works!

Nobu Fukui at Stephen Haller Gallery. This work is really flat and with 3D elements- collage, paint, beads.

Wayne Gonzales at Mitchell Innes Nash. This painting seemed to shimmer and when you get up close it is rigid and precise.

It was a short trip to Chelsea. It can be hit or miss. Today was a hit.

Here is a quote from the Mitchell-Innes Nash press release that sums up the themes for the day. "In ITEM there is an atmosphere of sneaky fun, and rigorous practices are inflected by human idiosyncrasies or allowed mistakes."

Lovely list

Check this out! I am blogging over at Draw New York this week.

loose ends...

Tomorrow, I start August Intersession and then off to NYC. Be sure to check out the class blog, Draw New York.

Here are a couple of pictures from my last bits of freedom. Kevin and I headed up to Memphis to the wood store. This truly was Kevin Heaven.

Look at that crazy purpleheart wood. That is a special person that uses purpleheart.

I had to drive down to Monroe to pick up a painting from the National Juried Show. The Massur Museum is a beautiful old house right on the banks of the river.

I think this is really really close to being done. Kevin suggested that I name it, "The King and I". I just might take it.