Fine Art

Lectures & Gallery Talks | Gallery Conversations Jennifer Katanic

Film Screenings & Events Shang fang (Petition (long version))2009. China. Zhao Liang. 310 min. Followed by a discussion with Sukhdev Sandhu, author, film critic, Associate Professor of English, and Social and Cultural Analysis, NYU In the Film exhibition Chinese Realities/Documentary Visions

Lectures & Gallery Talks | Gallery Conversations Jennifer Katanic

Special Exhibition Programs | Gallery Conversations In conjunction with the exhibition MoMA Studio: Exchange Café All programs are free and open to all ages on a first-come, first-served basis during MoMA Studio opening hours, unless otherwise noted. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Film Screenings & Events Liu lang Beijing (Bumming in Beijing: The Last Dreamers)1990. China. Wu Wenguang. 70 min. In the Film exhibition Chinese Realities/Documentary Visions

In which we see a delightful film montage of the great soprano saxophonist and a very quick appearance by Charlie... - Rifftides

Dream, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman No column about comics written by an indie graphic novelist would be complete without some discussion of a series that launched a thousand aspiring writers and artists. You may have seen this coming, and it won’t surprise you that I, like so many, count this work as a major inspiration and a big part of what made me want to work in this medium. I’m talking, of course, about Neil Gaiman’s groundbreaking Sandman. So if you haven’t seen it before, what is Sandman about, exactly? Many words have been written on this subject, most of them in introductions to the collected editions by prominent writers, journalists, and critics (including Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, and Normal Mailer). The consensus, to paraphrase, is that Sandman is a “comic book for intellectuals.” Sandman—and Gaiman—represent a disruption to the comics field that changed it profoundly. Released first as a series of 75 episodic comics between 1989 and 1996, the series is best known now as a collection of ten books. It launched comics giant DC’s Vertigo imprint for more literary, cerebral, non-superhero-y titles with something of a bang. It incorporates elements of mythology, religion, horror and suspense. Though released in episodic comics, it comprises a full and complete story arc over its ten collected volumes, that its creator had always seen as a finite narrative that would end, not continue indefinitely as comics tend to do. Gaiman ended Sandman at the height of its critical and commercial success, simply because he believed that it was in the best service of the story to do so—his contract with Vertigo insisted upon this point. Neil Gaiman Some of Sandman’s success was due to its timing. A number of factors were converging that made 1989 the perfect time for such work to see the light of day, and to push comics out of an increasingly smaller box of genres not into the mainstream, but into the waiting arms of a post-Reagan generation of Goths and young people ready for more challenging material. Gaiman’s connection with the music world (he’d been a music journalist prior to finding work in comics) was also a factor in the series’ emergence into visibility outside of comics. Rock star Tori Amos was an outspoken proponent of Gaiman’s work and Sandman specifically, pointing out how it spoke to her generation and an indie rock sensibility. Sandman became a sort of hallmark of alterna-kids everywhere, a kind of shared brand, presaging our modern times in which nerdy hipsters are the cool kids, and the jocks and cheerleaders of yore are yesterday’s news. Posters of characters from the series appeared in Darlene’s bedroom in the TV show Roseanne (placed there at the suggestion of television writer Joss Whedon, later of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame). But the rest of the series’ impact, on readers and on the medium, is wholly attributable to its visionaries: Gaiman himself; his far-sighted editor at DC/Vertigo, Karen Berger; and the carefully chosen group of artists chosen to interpret the story. So while it’s true that the timing of Sandman’s release was right, Gaiman’s story and artistry would have made a splash in any time. He’s just one of those great writers, and with Sandman, he created something very, very special. The Endless (from left to right): Destruction, Despair, Death, Destiny, Desire, Dream, Delirium The series revolves around Dream (who is also known by many other names, including Morpheus, Lord Shaper, and the Prince of Stories)—a being responsible for the dreams of all conscious creatures in the universe. Dream is the third oldest of seven siblings, the “Endless,” who oversee various functions affecting sentient beings: destiny, death, dreaming, destruction, desire, despair, and delirium. The doings of the Endless could form a whole series in and of themselves. Gaiman gives each of them a richness and depth that creates a wonderful support structure for the story. Death is not the skeletal grim reaper of our ni

The Detroit Free Press reported Thursday: Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr is considering whether the multibillion-dollar collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts should be considered city assets that potentially could be sold to cover about $15 billion in debt. How much is the art at the DIA worth? Nobody knows exactly, but several billion dollars might well be a low estimate. If you’re hearing thunder outside right now, that’s the art community’s growing clamor coming from Motor City. Add to that the New York lawyer’s revving engine heading to the Midwest: DIA Executive Vice President Annmarie Erickson said the museum has hired New York bankruptcy attorney Richard Levin of Cravath, Swaine & Moore to advise ways to protect the collection from possible losses. Levin is one of the nation’s leading bankruptcy attorneys and was active in the General Motors bankruptcy and other high-profile cases. “We are standing by our contention and belief that we hold the collection in trust for the public,” Erickson said this evening. “And although to some it may seem to be an asset, we do not.” Bill Nowling, a spokesman for Orr, said the art collection at the DIA must, however reluctantly, be considered one of the city’s assets in the current financial emergency as the city heads toward a possible bankruptcy filing. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder at the end of February announced plans to send an emergency manager “to repair the deeply troubled finances of Detroit, one of the largest cities ever to reach such a dire point or to face such a level of oversight,” The New York Times reported on March 1. On March 25, Orr, “a Washington bankruptcy lawyer, officially took office…amid a flurry of protests from residents opposed to his appointment,” the Times reported that same day. Orr’s salary: $275,000, paid mostly by the state. The Free Press points out: Liquidating DIA art to pay down debt likely would be a monstrously complicated, controversial and contentious process never before tested on such a large scale and with no certain outcome. The DIA is unusual among major civic museums in that the city retains ownership of the building and collection while daily operations, including fund-raising, are overseen by a nonprofit institution. The storm-cloudy situation seems stage-setting for nasty, and perhaps lengthy, litigation. That could mean court-ordered halts to the emergency manager’s sales efforts, bad blood between City Hall, the state, and the cultural community, and plenty of money for lawyers involved while the city and DIA continue to struggle with debt.

Christen Clifford reports from the New Museum and her close encounter with Karen Finley. Cover Image: Photo of Karen Finley by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders She was in the NEA 4.  She was “the chocolate smeared woman.” She was one of the reasons I wanted to move to New York. Conservatives called her work “filth,” but she was proof to me that there were sexy, uninhibited, wild, angry, beautiful women making performances, dances, plays and videos–and I wanted in.  Fast forward 20 years, and I am a professor of performance art and a curator at Dixon Place and I could not resist the New Museum’s installation/performance Sext Me If You Can, an opportunity to sext with Karen Finley. For $200 (paid online, in advance) I was given an appointment at the New Museum.  I showed up late (Babysitter!) and was given a card with an order number and format, with a phone number written on the back.  I was to text the number and wait for instructions.  There was also a bright yellow handout of “Sexting Tips”, which I personally found hilarious, but also understood. “#5 Ease into it. Manwhore.com reminds men that you must ‘penetrate her mind before you penetrate her body.’” When I first started sexting I read online forums about how to do it, too. But then, just as I was ready to start, I realized my phone battery was about to die, and having a bit experience with sexting, I knew I would need more juice. (Har.) The curator, Travis Chamberlain, (who, full disclosure, I have met before, he’s a friend of a friend, but I don’t know him) kindly offered his phone. “But I want to use my phone!” I whined. He said, “You can delete them!” So I took his as a back-up. I received a coy text, “Meet me at the top of the stairs.” My “Sext Worker” led me downstairs and into a small private room with two guards outside the door.  I later realized why- there were no locks on the door.  I joked with guards that I would be thinking of them when I was inside.  I mean, how uncomfortable for them to be sitting outside that room knowing what was going on in there?  One of them smirked at me, but kindly.  I think he felt sorry for me; that I would buy into this hoopla. It was a small, white walled dressing room, with one chair and a mirror and a small sign with the shows title and another phone number.  I was informed that I would have ten minutes in the room, and that if I went over they would “send someone”. “How many sexts can I send?” “As many as you can in ten minutes, and if you have trouble with reception, you can finish upstairs.” I took my dress off and posed myself on the desk area in front of the mirror in my special underwear (earlier I had felt like I was getting ready for a date). I took some close up vagina and anus selfies, some kissy faces, some breast shots, as well as some artier ones of my strappy bra from behind, and of my arched back on the tabletop.  The chair was in the background so, feeling naughty, I just kicked it over, knowing it would make a loud noise and the guards would wonder what I was doing in there.  (#9 Set the scene for a good photo. Make sure you are the star by removing any distractions.) Christen Clifford Self Shot Sending them was rather antiseptic however. Texting them into the ether as participation in an art project, not to a human that I genuinely knew and wanted to arouse, was, well, a little desolate.  With time it became a sensual experience.  My partner was out of town so I starting imagining forwarding these texts to create a triangle between me and the artist and my love; I was intrigued by the erotic space between Finley and me, she was just across the room, I have admired her for so long, was I trying to seduce her? I started adding text to my photos, “Missing you.”  “Hi Karen, this is for you.  I’m thinking of your mouth on me.” “This is making me hot –you are across the room.” Christen Clifford iPhone Sext Screen Shot I was the unrequited lover, of course, because Finley doesn’t sext back. After I had texted “Done” to

Now in its 20th year, the 2013 edition of Sonar is a global celebration which began in Reykjavik in February and will culminates in Barcelona. The festival is a leading reference for international festivals with carefully balanced cultural programming, combining a playful nature, the avant-garde, and experimentation with electronic dance music’s newest trends. Thursday, June 13, 2013 to Saturday, June 15, 2013Friday, May 24, 2013Featured Image: Friday, May 24, 2013 - 16:30USDRelated Event: SónarEditor's Pick: 0Featured: 0Classification: groupPermanent: nonenoneCredit: Courtesy of Sónar via FacebookTravel: WTGNEvent Curate Page Title: Sónar