Tobias Keene and the Generations show at The Trout Museum of Art

I just spent the majority of the day on Thursday at The Trout Museum of Art, finishing up the setup of a really wonderful exhibition that opened on a limited basis tonight, and to the public tomorrow.

"You can just be a crazy bugger, it doesn't matter." -- Tobias Keene

We finished setting up this artist's absolutely marvelous show today, and I urge anyone and everyone within getting-here distance to check this show out. It's open to the public April 13-July 21, 2013, $6 admission, and it's actually three generations of Keene painters.

Tobias Keene, whose work is the primary spectacle, lives in LA and is originally from England. His father, Arthur Keene, painted and drew for most of his life, and Tobias's grandfather, English World War II artist Arthur "Van Art" Keene was known for his illustrations, paintings and graphic work. They all have a style that reflects their generation, their subject matter, their aims as artists and painters. It's a really spectacular grouping of work. 

Tobias Keene's architectonic scale paintings, done primarily in oil, are attention-grabbing and edgy. He utilizes thick paint, huge canvases, and bright colors to demonstrate a thoroughly contemporary take on subject matter that often looks back in history, such as Louis XIV or Nike of Samothrace (the Winged Victory). They all contain a certain amount of mystery, with traditional and historical images put into a contemporary context with emphasis on pattern and color, such as The Orange Pope which depicts an image of a seated Pope, certainly an homage to Francis Bacon in a particularly Keene rendering.

My particular favorite is The Girl in the Golden Chair #4, in which Keene has captured the elusive and recognizable expression of a bored/tired/annoyed red-haired, barefoot girl slumped down in a chair, whose direct gaze draws the viewer not only into the composition, but into the imagined psyche of the subject. What is the girl doing there? Is she waiting for someone? Could she be hungry? How long has she been there? Is she waiting to go somewhere, and where might she be headed? Or, conversely, what are you looking at?

It's a must-see show, a first of its kind for Appleton. 

The Creative Youth Network Online Art Auction

Via CYN

The Creative Youth Network, located in Kingswood, England, near Bristol, is a center for inspiring youth through the arts, and is hosting an online auction of a number of contemporary artists. The Youth Network is a pretty amazing program, and I'm always excited to come across educational and proactive programs that really encourage young people to pursue the arts, and to take it seriously. They are hosting an online auction, and some names in the catalogue are familiar, such as Shepard Fairey and HUSH, and I discovered the photography of Barry Cawston on the Art Action @ The Station online catalogue. The auction opens October 18 and stays open for two weeks.

Even though The Creative Youth Network is located in England, I urge anyone and everyone with even a passing interest in the arts, to think of and support local endeavors that promote the arts to students and young people. I can't emphasize enough how important it is for the arts (and I mean music, drama, creative writing, you name it -- the arts, plural) to be a part of young people's lives. These initiatives need all the support they can get, and even if it's a matter of a suggested donation at a local museum, consider dropping in a dollar. You'd probably over-tip the bartender with it anyway, so put it to good use and keep the arts in schools and keep the doors open for institutions and programs that keep kids creating.

Abstraktes Bild = $34.3 million

Abstraktes Bild, Gehrard Richter, 1994

This painting sums up why I am both in love with and entirely mystified by the art world. Or, shall I say, the art market. Art history and the art market are necessarily related, but also completely separate. I appreciate Gehrard Richter, 80, as an artist, for example. I think this painting is an exemplary piece of contemporary art. His name is practically synonymous with contemporary art.

And this painting just sold at Sotheby's for £21,321,250 ($34,297,363). The sale broke the record for largest sale of a piece of work by a living artist. Which at those figures I imagine is pretty easy to believe. Sure, it's a big painting at 102 3/8 x 133 7/8in. The Guardian has a good image for scale. And like I said, it's exemplary. But $34.5 million????

Oh wait, I forgot to mention that it was sold from Eric Clapton's private collection. Right.

So that seems to be where the difference comes in. An extremely large part of why this painting sold for so much is because of that lovely little word that museums love (to hate?): provenance. For collectors and connoisseurs, where the painting has been before is almost as important as the painting itself. 

I love this painting (I'll just throw that out there, it's true), but the value of work is something that kind of boggles the mind. And this isn't the highest auction figure -- not by a long shot. Gustav Klimt is a notoriously high raker-in -- figures have exceeded $40 million. And back in May of this year, Edvard Munch's The Scream set the record at nearly $120 million.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS.

Phew!

It's interesting that my job at the bookstore is largely based on placing values on books and other printed and recorded material so that they can be resold. All day long I compare current prices from in-print as well as out-of-print and occasionally collectible material. It's interesting then, in a way, that I don't see art this way at all. I can't even begin to start placing a monetary value on The Scream, or on a Monet, or a Vermeer or whatever. How can one-of-a-kind artistic and even cultural icons have price tags? It seems so weird. But then again, I'm not a collector or an appraiser. I thought about becoming one -- yes, I started an application to Christie's in London, but alas, I just couldn't wrap my head around it. The cash that people/companies are willing to shell out to purchase -- actually, invest in these works is just amazement itself.

But the numbers keep rising to baffling heights, and I just have to sit back and take it all in. Because I just don't get it at all. I do, but again, I don't. 

books and architecture and books on architecture.

andres serrano, piss christ, 1987

andres serrano is just one of many artists and illustrators discussed in s. brent plate's book entitled blasphemy: art that offends (black dog publishing). it was released in 2006, a decent-size art book with text that is easily readable... it was definitely interesting. every single image in the book has been considered offensive to someone at some time in history. it includes everything from early christian illuminated manuscripts to bansky, andres serrano's piss christ (a photograph which, at the time of its display, created an uproar in the united states government, calling censorship into question) to the demolition by the taliban of ancient bamiyan buddha statues.

this really is an excellent book. it's a pretty fascinating look at the concept of so-called blasphemous and sacreligious art. it discusses what blasphemy means to different cultures, their religions, and in different areas and eras. i was not personally offended by anything in this book. i'm not religious, so the concept of mixing capitalist imagery with religious imagery doesn't faze me as it might someone who was religious. the point is that it fazes a LOT of people, and this book sort of cracks the surface of why, not just how.

via contemporist

it's been a while since i've posted a house. i've looked at quite a few -- i even scored some back issues of residential architect magazine and architecture magazine at work the other day -- but this house just spoke to me. there's something to be said about the old being transformed into the new. i have an undying love for midcentury modern, as i've posted about before, and when houses from that era are remodeled i'm always really excited to see what they did. even more, i like when there is really old existing architecture and something ultra-modern is added on. i've noticed this moreso in u.k. and irish architecture -- their willingness to use the old, existing building and add on something that complements it without overshadowing it or ruining it altogether.

this particular house is in ballymahon, ireland. (see, there's something about those isles.) there's something particularly and wonderfully irish about this. maybe because the cottage-y aspect of it is not lost on the fact that this is brand-spankin'-new contemporary. odos architects designed this addition. they've done many projects -- the link is to their residential portfolio. there's a friary in there that's absolutely stunning... and while some of the houses look particularly irish to me, others are simply modern and stunning without looking like they belong only in the irish countryside. everything on their site is spectacular.

and last, but not least, i'm just about finished with this book, why architecture matters by paul goldberger (yale). it's a very concise, and at times personal, look at architecture and why it is important. plain and simple, and yet no less interesting. it's not a difficult read, not studded with architectural jargon that a person who hasn't studied architecture wouldn't understand -- the point is to give an overview about exactly what the title says, why architecture matters. why we need it, why we want it, why we love it and hate it and sometimes both at the same time. he discusses how it shapes us, how we expect it, how it impacts our daily lives. everything from the bicycle shed to chartres cathedral, it's here. and it's not too dry. very nice.

elephant mag.

via curated

elephant, a new contemporary art and visual culture magazine just launched over the winter, and i managed to snag a copy of the first issue at b&n while i was there earlier today... i was meaning to find a copy of modern painters magazine, and for some reason they don't carry that one anymore. sad, sad day.

but then i found this. the second issue has been released so i wanted to make sure to nab this while i could.

so far i'm really impressed. i'll be the first to admit that i only scrape the surface when it comes to my knowledge of contemporary art. hence the interest in periodicals, because i learn a lot that way about what's going on super-currently. (i had to grab the current issue of artforum, too, because it rules for one, and for two it had a film still of a burning turntable on the front. how perfect.)

anyway, i'm totally in love with it. its layout is interesting, its organized reasonably well, and though it's printed in england and costs me a walloping $20, it's worth it to not have to deal with advertisements. you really do get what you pay for. and i'm totally loving this... especially the article on gianpaolo pagni called "graphic painting." one learns a lot, and learns about more to like.

like like love. :)

andy warhol polaroids.

this is how i feel about andy warhol:

i adore him. and i adore what he's done. but that's covering a very broad, wide, generalized range of things -- from screen prints and lithrographs to paintings, sculptures, photography, film -- you name it. a lot of it i love love love love (love!) -- his rorschach paintings, or his architectonic advertisements, repeating elvises, virgin marys, and so on (see september 26, 2009). but andy warhol produced SO MUCH (this is definitely just part of his ouevre), that there is, within it all -- good andy, and so-so andy. i wouldn't go as far as to say there's bad andy. there's uneventful andy. there's 'well, that's andy, so i guess i like it' andy. and then there's 'this is a really badly-hung show; why is andy here?' andy.

the latter is the problem i had today.

the lawton gallery on the university of green bay campus had a show entitled 'hidden treasures' which is a conglomerate of artwork from collections around the green bay area. these included local and not-so-local artists, contemporary and not-so-contemporary. it ranged from indian art to woodcuts from the osaka school, to gilbert & george (a total let-down because the one gilbert & george piece was one that could have been downloaded for free from the guardian.co.uk website in 2007)...

i can't reasonably complain about this show because it is green bay, and it is uwgb, and what is a person to expect? this isn't new york or chicago, or even milwaukee. i thought the show was laid-out poorly, though, but that's all i'm going to say about it.

the warhol polaroids were the reason i went. and worth looking at for any warhol fanzoid. the ones they had on display were part of a larger gift from the andy warhol foundation to the university of green bay. the basquiat polaroid pictured above is very similar to one they have at the lawton gallery, except without the hand and a little more of a smile. there were also photos of dolly parton, jean-michele basquiat's parents, bruno bischofberger's kids, and others. they weren't the best ones in the bunch, but of thousands of polaroids, seeing a few in a group like that is always a treat and i don't care where they are or who has them or how weird the rest of the show looks.

there are a few other green bay collection pieces at the neville public museum in green bay, although i did not visit there today. the show at the lawton is on display through april 1.

el mac & retna

spectacular street artists coming your way! just discovered this guy, the mac, who has on a collaborative show at the robert berman gallery in los angeles with retna. the show is probably due to close soon -- it's been extended, and i'm super late finding out about it, obviously. i'm super interested in figural art -- it's always what i've been drawn to when i'm creating. there's something about really well-done images of people that can really move other people. there's a connection to be made -- el mac kind of has a combination of magazine glossies and guys like the one above -- some are just pretty faces, but some make you take a second. regardless, any of these i'd be delighted to run across on the street! :)

liu bolin.

liu bolin! my latest find. can check out a bunch more of his work here, and a short profile with exhibition history here. the photograph above is entitled graffiti, 2008. his latest work is in a similar fashion: he paints chinese citizens to blend in with their backgrounds. he's only recently been exhibited outside of china, and i only learned about him yesterday. but i got a big kick out of it! and he's worth keeping an eye on. i think it's a cool take on raw photography in this era of digital photographic manipulation and retouching. additionally, he sculpts. and it doesn't take a genius to detect direct chinese political tones in much of it. one such sculpture i like is his bronze burning man 3, 2007, depicting a burning chairman mao statue. i don't think he could have been more clear. worth a look. :)

milwaukee does warhol. or does warhol do milwaukee?

warhol! went down to MAM today to see the first day of andy warhol: the last decade, which was EXCELLENT. a really well-put-together show of a wide range of his works... eggs, ads, rorschachs, collaborations with basquiat, and more. it really was quite excellent. i plan to go again and spend a long while, with an audio guide. i'm that big of a freak.

no photos were allowed in the exhibition itself, but the chairman maos (always a favorite) are in the permanent collection, and i was just as excited to see them again.

and below, a little MAM calatrava action for you on the east end of the building.



also, if ever in milwaukee, check out beans & barley. perfect, hip little cafe and market on milwaukee's east side. reminded me a lot of a market in arcata, california where i used to shop called wildberries, except smaller, and with a cafe. :) had a really wonderful chicken quesadilla there with friends. yum!

neate stuff.

via uk street art

i should really be getting away from the computer right now, and starting dinner, but i just had to post about adam neate before i do. this guy. yeah. he's got a show coming up at elms lesters painting rooms starting 9 october - 21 november. adam neate: a new understanding. it's in london, of course. my favorite hub for street art of any kind -- this is installation art and multimedia right here. adam neate, i've just discovered. i want to see it in person. the above work, family circle, is one in particular that i would love to study.

the cubist influence is striking, as is the palette. i want to reach in and given them all a hug, and cry with them. neate seems to havean innate ability to emotionally reach out from his surface, grab you by the collar and yank you into the work. on his page at the elms lesters site, check out the concert pianist (2009), or coffee (2008). they're moody and exhilerating. incredible!

the london police.

if you haven't heard of the london police, then i'm going to tell you about them. chaz and bob, two "geezers" from London collaborate on both canvas and street art to make the above -- freaking awesome! -- work. they started back in 1998 in amsterdam trying to spruce up the city streets. opening THIS THURSDAY (september 10, 2009) in los angeles at the carmicheal gallery, their show brothers in arms will be a sure treat. below is a video introduction to these gallant brothers in arms... it's good for a laugh if nothing else. :)

the more i look...

this is a sweet photo postcard that i found tucked inside a stack of vinyl records at work. it was printed in minocqua, wisconsin by herman the printer... back when postcard stamps were three cents. 1940s? i mean, this is a powerful peak-designed steam locomotive! this particular one did the chicago-milwaukee and st.paul-minneapolis routes. i found a couple other photos of this and other trains here. i've always been at least a little fascinated by trains... their design, their history, and the industry they spurred. the train rides i've taken -- the major ones to the west coast and then also to the east coast from milwaukee... they've been real treats.

via dezeen

this table is crazy. at first, i looked at it and wondered, okay... what? but the more i looked at it, the less i thought about it as a table, as a utilitarian object, and started thinking about it more as a piece of art. it is very suggestive of tendons and ligaments in the body, or blooming florals, or falling water, or tiny intertwined bodies... the more i study it, the more i see and feel the energy in those table legs. and it's just a table! granted, i could see this sitting more effectively in the new modern wing at the art institute of chicago, but it would look pretty awesome with one of my lamps on it too.

the table was designed by pascal smelik, and was devised by pouring hot wax into cold water, creating a mold in the shape of the wax, melting it out, and then pouring in aluminum. modern lost wax casting!