Rain Delays

We won't go so far to saw the the tarps on the field during last Saturday's rain-delayed Sox game was art, but it does look pretty cool.

Last week rain cancelled the Tomato Fight planned as art by Jeanne Dunning at UIC's Gallery 400. It was rescheduled for tomorrow (September 30) but a new email (at about 6 o'clock) pushes it back further to October 1st:

**PLEASE NOTE DUE TO RAIN 'TOMATO FIGHT' HAS BEEN POSTPONED FOR THE LAST TIME TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2006 AT 2 PM**

Event, 'Tomato Fight', Oct 1, 2006, 2pm
Exhibition, 'The Field', Oct. 3 - Nov. 4, 2006
Opening reception: Wednesday, Oct. 4, 5-8 pm

Gallery 400
College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago
400 South Peoria Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607-7064

And the very best part: Gallery 400 thanks Hirzel Canning Co. & Farms for a generous in-kind donation of Dei Fratelli Canned Whole Tomatoes.

Soft Torture

Jason Edward Kaufman reports in the Art Newspaper of Fernando Botero’s latest rotund body of work: a series of paintings and drawings on Abu Ghraib. Botero wants a suitable museum to show them, but is having trouble drumming up interest. Marlborough, his gallery, is going to mount an exhibition of the work in mid-October, but no other venues are planned. The works will not be for sale. It is so nice when super rich galleries have shows of art that isn’t even for sale; it’s like a service to the community or something.

TAN quotes Botero, “I felt I had to do it...“After all, I am a figurative artist and I can say it in a very direct way that most artists today cannot.” Indeed, only he has the unique eye for filtering the representational world through chubbiness.



Botero wants the whole series to go to a single museum collection. TAN goes on to say that the Würth Museum in Germany, not only displayed the work last year, but the owner Industrialist Collector Reinhold Würth, has offered to build a whole new wing. So what is the problem? I guess he wants them in an American museum? Building a whole wing at a museum for a series by Botero is depressing enough. But to have it be of Abu Ghraib? Not to minimize the horrors of what over there, but that incident may not have the historical staying power of say Guernica, or "The Executions on the Third of May." And it is the works themselves that have made those things last. Guernica would just be another bombed village without Picasso. Is Botero really that great of an artist? Political art always seems dubious, anyway. Think of all the terrible horrible no good very bad expressions made through art made since 2001. Chubby Botero Twin Towers? Now that is a Botero we would all love to see. Oh, it would be great! With a chubby Lady Liberty, and some plump ferries and squat barges!

I Have a soft spot for Botero, though. Some of his works are really cool. I mean, look at that dog drawing. And his idea of formal concerns (the chubbiness) is actually interesting. The wide areas of flatness punctuated by tight little details are beautiful and move your eyes through the work. They cause you to think simply about aesthetics. But Botero also slips into kitchiness too often. But then again so do a lot of the “in crowd” artists. This is especially in the arena of public art. Botero’s public art is pretty horrid. But so are Oldenburg & van Bruggen and Christo & Jean Claude. At any rate, Botero doesn’t have the street cred or the popularity here in the States to get a serious museum behind this work. That coupled with a certain wariness to entertain such blatant depictions. Han Haacke taking on the war? OK. Botero? Ehhh. That just seems to be the current climate, folks.

You can see several of images here: Tunezine and they ARE worth looking into.

Here’s a little bit of trivia, Botero’s career started when MoMA bought his painting of the little girl from Velazquez’s Las Meninas, many years ago. The painting is a far cry from his work’s look of today, but you can see hints of things to come. And he has come back to that subject since. Botero is closer to the “in” art world than someone like Odd Nerdrum, but still. I wonder how MoMA feels about the painting. Have the deaccessioned it? What other skeletons do they have buried deep in the vaults?

It’s Time For Another Installation of "Art Stuff to do This Weekend"

If you are in Chicago, and want to participate, view, or observe some art in an eventful way, here are some suggestions. FYI, as they say in emails at work.

Start off your weekend in a refreshing outdoorsy way bright and early at Humboldt Park by watching Autumnal Equinox:

“On Saturday, September 23, the Vernal Equinox, Stan Shellabarger will be walking in a pattern, from sunrise to sundown, in Humboldt Park (near North Ave, in-between Humboldt Dr and California Ave).”

Shellabarger doing his thang at IL State Uni, from TimeOut Chicago

Shellabarger is one of the very very few conceptualists doing performance art in a way that isn’t hilariously pretentious, or completely oblivious to 70s and its post minimalist ways. And of those engaging in the performative conceptualist back to naturism of the 70s, Shellabarger is one that comes to mind as successfully adding to the dialogue.

Then get even more organic when you swing by Gallery 400 at its new slash old location of 400 S Peoria.



Saturday at 2, Jeanne Dunning is throwing a tomato fight in preparation or in conjunction with, her show set to open in the new renovated space of Gallery 400 at UIC (the show opens Oct 4). It is a vegetarian equivalent to Carolee Schneemann’s Meat Joy. And the famous one in Spain that seems to thrill newscasters every year as if for the first time. Dunning’s to-do is actually called “Tomato Fight,” (details HERE) The show in the gallery will consist of a “large-scale photograph, Field, 2005 and related video documentation.” That better be one charming motherfucking photo, based on Dunning’s exhibition at the Cultural Center recently, we are not quite interested.

Of course Dunning is relatively famous/successful outside of Chicago, but the work always just smacks of effort. It’s that sort of look were the art belies a self-doubting insignificance that plagues the city. Dunning’s work really wants to be “New York” or “costal” but it can’t quite make it.

Then there is the West Town Gallery Network ART HOP on Saturday too. It produces mixed feelings. It makes sense and all that, let’s coordinate, and get people out together, but it is a little cheesy too. Everyone gets a sticker at each gallery on the itinerary, and if you collect them all, you can enter the raffle to win a work of art (taking place at 6:30P at 40000). It is by the same artist who designed the WTGN’s current pamphlet. This time it is Deb Sokolow.

Going on this treasure hunt is going to be harder than previous ones. There are now two more stops to make. And one involves a treacherous sojourn to 65GRAND, nothing more than a purveyor of over-priced buckets of painty slop. But if you want to win that Deb Sokolow piece, courtesy 40000, you will have to venture on in. That was a joke. It is only one bucket, and it is charming.

In October, they should just do trick or treating. Each gallery would pass out candy. Good candy, not art treats, or homemade candy, but Snickers and Butterfingers. It would end in some big art party at a loft instead of a raffle, with everyone dressed as sexy devils, sexy vampires, sexy Frankensteins, sexy wolfmens/womens, sexy mummies and sexy zombies.

All the info is over there >> Hop on Over to the Sock Hop

Public Art Wasted on Public

Virginia Groark reported in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday of a low level foofaraw of the most banal nature brooding around a piece of public art. Apparently some abstracted forms by artist Josh Garber intended for installation at the renovated Kimball El train station remind neighborhood residents of … wee wees. Oh no! Someone protect the children. Because something that reminds someone of a wiener can only be pornography. Which is exactly how the artwork/s in question are referred to in a flurry of complaining phone calls placed to Alderman Richard (Dick) Mell.

This is why it is stupid to have public art. It invariably will offend someone and in order to make it acceptable to a large number of the people you have to make it about some empty bullshit like, “community and growth, love and togetherness” or “Hope and Renewal” as his piece is called. Garber’s structure is reminiscent of a phallus, a cock, a snake, a one-eyed-monster, a twig-n-berries, a member, a bishop-in-a-turle-neck... a , a dirty, filthy evil penis! In the way any vertical form is. It isn’t even pure abstraction, it is modeled off of flora. But then again, that is all about sex, what with the pistils and stamens and all. This all of course is based on IMAGES of MODELS, not even completed works. The fuss turned into a small-scale uproar when images were emailed around. That is disgusting. Emailing pictures of genitalia, I mean art.

Kimball's original "bungaloid" station

I was familiar with the proposed works before reading this article. They looked to me like the modern-contemporary structures that those hot architect stars are using today. They also looked a lot like dog bones. But I was smart enough to know that they may resemble the dog bone shape, but most likely aren’t based on that form. It doesn’t take a whole lot of art education to make such a conclusion, but apparently Lakeview residents don’t have those sorts of reasoning skills. There is a term for this sort of thing--“fugitive imagery”--it is when people see representational things in abstract forms. Like looking at the clouds. Looking at abstract art is different, because a human did make it. But assuming just because a few lines or shapes make you think of Dick Tracy, doesn’t mean that is what the artist was thinking about. It is like Rorschach gone horribly wrong.

And so what if it is an erection of a penis? You know who has penises? Every male on the planet who has ever lived. Boys have penises, girls have vaginas, they covered that in Kindergarten Cop, people. Jesus had a penis, for christ’s sake. Every human, animal and plant on earth has genitals, some even more than one, some less. That is how everyone got here. Its called fucking, and its how the world works. Everyone is so uptight about this. Our culture is so afraid of sex, yet obsessed with it. Everyone is clueless too. We are freaked out by our bodies and horribly insecure. So much so that one someone sees something that reminds someone of a male organ, they immediately spiral into a whirlpool of reactionary, fearful and aggressive thoughts. The quotes of Garber eluded to this point: That response, seeing it as a wang, and then calling up the Alderman, says a lot more about the viewer than the work. And so maybe public art is good for something. The article left it at Josh Garber has decided to stand his ground, instead of altering his work (thumbs up) and that calls to the Alderman have decreased. So maybe it was just a slow day for the "Metro" section. And even slower for Art or Idiocy.

There were no images of the proposed piece on the internet, but you can vist www.joshgarber.com

-Erik Wenzel, Sr. Exec. in Charge of Telling it Like it is and Blah Blah Blahing

Do We Really Need Another Warhol Documentary?PBS: Yes we do.

Because no one can really understand the true genius of Warhol until it is documentated by Ric Burns.

Part one airs tonight in Chicago on Channel 11 @ 9P part two, Thursday night.

It is part of American Masters, a high quality robust series of documentaries on the well established cannon of important cultural icons (i.e. jazz and folk musicians, playwrights, old filmmakers and a few artists--all presented in crisp B&W on the website)

It is great to have art on TV (is it?), but come on, booooring. How many times can the same gossipy stories about Andy be told? Sure, you could interview hangers-on forever and never new stories. But, man, does that get old. And don’t point out that “you’ll never know the true Andy,” or that, "anyone's idea of Andy is as accurate as anyone," cos you know what? Every documentary on him says that. Usually at the end when they are asking themselves, "what have I learned? What have I added to the Andy discourse?" OH! You are so deep! I’m sure Andy would think it is fabulous they are making a documentary that is 4 hours long on him. But he would think it infinitely more glamorous that they are multiple Andies on Myspace.

your Window To The World That's the Channel 11 listing, by the way.

Oh my god, I can’t fucking wait to see the Sketches of Frank Gehry episode.

See Andy and all his arty friends Arty art art !

The Second Wave

Sorry for the late notice, but here goes:

Is everyone recovered from last weekend? Good. It is time for part two. Feeling ill? That’s OK, hair of the dog which that did bite you. Beer cures hangovers. Now onto WestTown. Start out with 65GRAND (one word, all caps) TONITE, 7-10P 1378 W Grand (entrance on Noble) It’s the opening of Bob Jones it may seem secretive and elusive. It is, lucky we are telling you about it. It is not because gallery director Bill Gross is a self effacing “bad gallerist”. Don’t stay out too late though, because Saturday you have to wake up early and go to all the shows that were too packed to see on Friday the 9th, and slept through on Saturday (because its not the season opener unless you are out till 4am)

more info:65GRAND

Saturday the 16th is WestTown Gallery Network’s slew of openings. 65GRAND is just the taste. You have the new locations of Network cornerstones Lisa Boyle Gallery and Western Exhibitions opening too. The conjoined twins continue the mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship at 1821 W Hubbard, Suite 202

more info:
Lisa Boyle
WX

Shane Campbell Gallery is now in the neighborhood too, at 1431 W Chicago Ave. Although not a member of WTGN (sorry, we can't say WGN) Campbell is in the area and having its first opening 6-8P. Campbell was long situated in Oak Park with compatriots Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam of The Suburban. Campbell’s space will remain up there. But it is good to have an outpost here in the city. The show opening tomorrow is MODERN PRIMITIVISM, and features work by: Katherine Bernhardt, Mark Grotjahn, Guyton/Walker, Jay Heikes, Evan Holloway, Chris Lipomi, William J. O'Brien, Anthony Pearson & Chris Vasell. It runs through September 16 - November 4, 2006

Shane is also, “working on the details for the lecture series but plan on offering a general survey of 19th and 20th century art.” Which sounds interesting.

more Info:Shane Campbell

Also is Huong Ngo at Duchess, 1043 W Grand floor4, another WTGNer. You may recall Ngo was featured in our very first Top Ten by Ms. Audrey Peiper (you can see it by checking out our Top Ten section to your left). Savage Parallelograms opens 7-10P

more info:duchess

Attempting to Cram Another Fair Down Miami’s Already Choked Gullet

FIRST
Art or Idiocy? was on the scene snapping pictures-doing a little street photography-at last week’s opening. We are preparing a nice photo-essay on the whole thing, so bear with us...



In an email yesterday, Bridge Magazine announced the 64 exhibitors for its Miami fair this December. A lot of galleries we have never heard of. But Billy Shire Fine Arts is on there. No surprise, since that is the place that shows Tony Fitzpatrick out in Culver City. The famous Michael Jordan fan is Bridge’s poster boy, quite literally, a large reproduction of a Fitzpatrick collage was emblazoned on Bridge’s Nova Art Fair program/poster this spring.

Another notable gallery on the list is Peter Miller Gallery. It is notable because it is surprising to see Miller at an art fair. The gallery has a reputation for not engaging in art fairs, promoting its artists and a slew of other gossipy things all of which leads to one not expecting Peter Miller Gallery to venture beyond its cloister in Chicago on 118 N Peoria.

The Bridge Art Fair Miami 2006 (a mouthful) website is just a list right now, no links. (HERE) But a “redesigned website [is] coming soon.”

It seems a little contradictory that a nonprofit would be able to have an art fair. And one in the most non nonprofit spot in all the world. An art fair is an entity that is arguably the purest, sexiest, ugliest incarnation of the art world. An art fair is least about art and most about selling it. But then again NADA is a nonprofit alliance too. And that is even more confusing.

Artnet’s helpful breakdown of fairs this fall, including the Maimi hoarde is HERE

It's That Time Again

If you haven't checked it out, get our preview for all tomorrow's art parties and then some. If you are feeling ansty, you can always hit VONZWECK tonite.

GUIDE TO ART IN CHICAGO

And what better way to file away our wondrous list and carry it along to all the galleries than in our spiffy Deep Art Thoughts Journal?

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Relocating a gallery, even just a number of blocks, is quite a task. In time for the season openers Friday? Daunting. Art or Idiocy? magnate Erik Wenzel contacted Aron Packer, who is in the middle of just such an endeavor. Aron graciously took a few moments out of his hectic schedule to fill us all in:

IMAGE: Robert Horvath

Aron Packer : Hi-- thanks fer emailing.

Erik Wenzel : The gallery will be open for this Friday’s big events. Does this mean your space in 118, or the new space on Lake?
The space at 942 W Lake only. The other is closed. 942 is called Packer Schopf gallery.

Is your old space empty then?
Empty.

Are there plans of others moving in?
I don't know.

What brought about the merger?
Antsy-ness in my old space and a great opportunity. [The new] space is like 4 times as big including the lower level.

Are you continuing to maintain your space in Michigan?
Yes... But that is still Aron Packer gallery.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
At the moment, no. Except come visit. I have way too much to do.

So be sure to check out the newest development in Chicago’s West Loop. Ever the conduit of information, Art or Idiocy? is happy to provide these details that might otherwise be difficult to come by:

Packer Schopf Gallery
942 W. Lake St.
Chicago IL 60607
(312)-226-8984
aronpacker@earthlink.net

Open Friday, September 8th from 6 - 9P

Soft Opening II (group show of gallery artists) featuring....
Backstitched: The Embroidered Comics of Dee Clements

Grand Opening will be Friday, October 20th and will feature Robert Horvath.

Gallery Hours for September will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11A to 5:30P. Tuesday and Wednesday by chance.

Starting October we will go to full gallery hours...
Tuesday - Saturday 11A to 5:30P or by appointment.

UPDATED Back in Baby's Arms

LEFT: Image of the Madonna before it was stolen, AP Photo

and RIGHT: image of the Munch Museum's Scream. Now both paintings are in safe hands.


From The Hindu: International:

At a news conference in Oslo the head of the city's organised crime unit, Iver Stensrud, said: "We are 100 per cent certain they are the originals. The damage was much less than feared."

Experts from the Munch museum have authenticated the paintings, and it is believed the damage consists of a small tear in The Scream and two holes in Madonna.

from the September 2nd story by Gladwys Fouche and Mark Brown


UPDATED TOO: From the front page of the New York Times:

Thursday (August 31) saw the recovery of Edvard Munch's missing masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna." They were stolen on August 22 of 2004. Erling Lae, Oslo's city commissioner is quoted as saying, "We know both pictures have been handled roughly and that 'Madonna' has received a scratch or gouge, but I have been informed that the damages are not irreparable."

Earlier this year 3 men were convicted of minor roles in the heist. One for driving the getaway car, another for trying to arrange a sale of artworks.

The article went on to say that, "the police refused to say what led to the paintings' recovery or even where in Norway it took place." This is may be due to an apparent, but unconfirmed connection between the Munch heist and a robbery a few months prior that left a police officer dead.

In celebration, Knut Forsberg invited "anyone who wants to come" for Champagne. 300 + visitors came by Blomqvist Fine Arts, the gallery where Forsberg is chairman and which served as Munch's dealer in his lifetime.

NYT story by: Walter Gibbs