ArtStar TV

Well, it seems cable TV figures there's a reality show in finding the most promising no-name artists in New York City.

Not sure how it would work. The website is short on details and the media photo makes the kookie artsy kids and token fogie out as the usual eccentric suspects. I mean even the seated guy with suit and tie has a sorta squareness that extends into the 5th dimension.

As I've matured (and graduated from art school), I now realize such gear generally indicates a phony poser. Be all crazy on the outside, screaming to the uncaring world, "I'M AN ARTIST!!!" as a form of cheap self-promotion.

They look like a bunch of clowns. Can this be the true NYC art scene? Why do they have to look so ridiculous? And why can't they all just wear crotchless sheepskin chaps? They're so cozy.

Gallery Crawl 060824

Undead Teddy Bear: "Your parents can't hear you."

Here's a the GC Weekly Update on new art gallery openings in Toronto.

Artbusiness.com

Alan Bamberger considers some San Francisco art.

Artbusiness.com is a priceless reference for artists, art dealers, collectors, and art fans in general. It's a San Francisco-based website which provides free articles on the very practical aspects of an art career and art collecting.

Art appraiser and consultant, Alan Bamberger, also covers San Francisco art openings like my own Gallerycrawl.ca does for Toronto. In 2003, Bamberger established the basic template for how to promote an art community over the net which has been a great example to me.

From what I've seen, the SF market and community is maybe three times larger and more diversified than Toronto's. Strange, for a city with a smaller population (750,000 +/-). A worthwhile study for the Toronto art community if it wants to continue growing. I think San Francisco's art scene offers a fine example of what Toronto could become.


Most of all, I appreciate Bamberger's knowledgeable frankness. Here's an example...

I'm having this chat-up with a confirmed local artster of some repute when I commence to carp on one of my abiding beefs-- the boundless barrage of bombastic blather that pretenders relentlessly drub the public with in order to validate and sustain their art. So the artster looks at me and says something like, "We have to do that in order to maintain credibility and justify value." So I'm thinking, wait-- an established Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf gallery sells more art on a good opening night than many of San Francisco's non-commercial galleries sell in a YEAR. And I can assure you, they don't do it by confounding the client base. The good news is that the unintelligible gibberish approach to "explaining" art appears to be on the decline.

I'll second that, Alan.

Velomobile

I have seen the future of healthy, eco-friendly transportion. It's the Velomobile - an encased human-powered, recumbent trike.

Embraced by degrees in Europe since the end of WWII, the Velomobile is enjoying an encouraging growth in EU sales. Small, smart companies with elegant and efficient designs are beginning to get traction in the marketplace. North Americans (often behind EU and Japanese adoption of consumer product innovation) have little awareness of this solution to many of our New World problems.

Here's what Wiki has to say. Also, check out the a thoughtful paper from Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology, 'The Velomobile as a Vehicle for More Sustainable Transportation'.


'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen [excerpt]

The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
but there's no place left to hide
Together Wendy we'll live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl I don't know when
we're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
and we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
baby we were born to run

World Subways

Ms.X kindly passed along a neat link to line graphics of world subway routes at equal scale.

Test: Try to guess what city each is. [Answers are at the bottom of the post.]

1.

2.

3.


4.


5.

6.


7.


8.



9.


10.

******************************************************************

Answers:

1. New York
2. Barcelona
3. Hong Kong
4. Los Angeles
5. London
6. Moscow
7. Toronto
8. Vancouver
9. Tokyo
10. Paris

All About Geek

Could not resist this one (thinkgeek). Guess I'm 'One with Geek'.

The '10' made me laugh.

Geek Trippin'

Did a recent flashback to the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) past. It was good to remember the prowess (and cowardice?) of old roll-playing games.

Came across a funny bit on the twenty-sided die - arbiter of success or failure.


The text at www.thinkgeek.com...

Let me tell you how we get down.

When my crew hits a subterranean crypt, we don't take twenty, even if we have ample time to complete the task and are not harried by opponents. We roll twenty. And we roll it every time.

I should get some d20 molds made with '20' on every triangle. Think anybody'd notice?

These babies double as flails, kids.

Wayboard Shoot

DJ was in town and wanted to roll with a couple of my Wayboards So, we hit the backalleys of Toronto.

Here's some pics...

DJ Upstage. You've been warned, Coady.

I try to pull a right break.

Flash Bastard.

Hang time.

Ladies Love Wayboards.

Airport 2006

Thanks to Westcoast Buddy, David H. for passing along this choice photo.

That's right, airport check outs just got a whole lot better. The URL branded to the image has been 'suspended' for whatever reasons. Possibly for posting nude photos. Luckily this is a cool art blog, so I can get away with anything short of grannies with donkey boyfriends.

My guess is it's one of those nude photoshoots by that nude photoshoot guy whoever he is. Any excuse to get a mob naked is okay for me.

Rat Pack Santa

I've seen this guy pushing his shopping cart of stuffed toys down the street a couple times now. I think he may sell them - or give them away. A mystery. Such mystery. I see this image and want to make art. An example of my inspiration. Here the muse adopts a clever disquise. I like the shape and associations of the sidewalk shadow. I love this picture.

I think buddy's got a good thing going. Flat hat, Elvis shades, white beard, the white t-shirt gut. Maybe a bit too low-key, though. Where's the salesmanship? How about singin' and dancing Elvis' 'Teddy Bear' like a classic fruit cart guy down the street. Sort of a "I don't care what happens next!" kinda vibe.

I look at the guy and say to myself, "I just hope I don't end up like that". But, maybe he's got it all figured out. Maybe he could sing Lennon's 'Watching the Wheels'.

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing,
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,
When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange,
Surely your not happy now you no longer play the game,

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away,
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me,
When I tell that I'm doing Fine watching shadows on the wall,
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball?

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go,

People asking questions lost in confusion,
Well I tell them there's no problem,
Only solutions,
Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I've lost my mind,
I tell them there's no hurry...
I'm just sitting here doing time,

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go.

GC 060818

Within this week's Gallery Crawl promo is a riddle of sorts....

Q: Which of these two art works is the original image?


A: Neither.


Q: Who painted the original?


A: I don't know.


Q: Does it matter?

The Artist's Philosopher

You guessed it, Friedrich "Baby" Neitzsche gets my vote for being "The Artist's Philosopher". He's quite the cat and I don't believe any of those posthumous fictions of Anti-Semitism. Those were his sister's words.

Here's the real thing...

For what purpose humanity is there should not even concern us: why you are there, that you should ask yourself: and if you have no ready answer, then set for yourself goals, high and noble goals, and perish in pursuit of them! I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible ...

Here's another one...

To recognize untruth as a condition of life—that certainly means resisting accustomed value feelings in a dangerous way; and a philosophy that risks this would by that token alone place itself beyond good and evil.

try another...

The concept of "God" was until now the greatest objection to existence. We deny God, we deny the responsibility in God: only thereby do we redeem the world.

He does write about creativity somewhere. Anyway, here's what Wiki says...

On January 3, 1889, Nietzsche had a mental collapse. That day two Turinese policemen approached him after he caused a public disturbance in the streets of Turin. What actually happened remains unknown. The often-repeated (and possibly apocryphal) tale states that Nietzsche witnessed the whipping of a horse at the other end of the Piazza Carlo Alberto, ran to the horse, threw his arms up around the horse’s neck to protect it, and collapsed to the ground.

Eleven years after this the thinker dies. The cause of why he ceased to appear sane to the world remains unknown...

Early commentators frequently diagnosed a syphilitic infection as the cause of the breakdown; however, some of Nietzsche's symptoms seem inconsistent with typical cases of syphilis. Some have diagnosed a form of brain cancer. Others suggest that Nietzsche experienced a mystical awakening, similar to the mast-state studied by Meher Baba. ^[7] While most commentators regard Nietzsche's breakdown as unrelated to his philosophy, some, including Georges Bataille and René Girard, argue for considering his breakdown as a symptom of a psychological maladjustment brought on by his philosophy.

The content of Nietzsche's work certainly provides enough material to support the last claim. What did the experts have to say?...

The psychologist Carl Jung recognized Nietzsche's importance early on: he held a seminar on Nietzsche's Zarathustra in 1934. ^[15] According to Ernest Jones, biographer and personal acquaintance of Sigmund Freud, Freud frequently referred to Nietzsche as having "more penetrating knowledge of himself than any man who ever lived or was likely to live".

Mystic Dwarves

A lot of people don't know little dwarves exist.

Just ask the Filipino judge (name withheld) who lost his gig because the country's supreme court won't accept dwarves (Armand, Luis, and Angel) as his personal advisors.

BBC on-line reports:

The judge said he had made a covenant with his dwarf friends that he could write while in a trance and that he had been seen by several people in two places at the same time.

Judge Floro reportedly changed from blue court robes to black each Friday "to recharge his psychic powers".

In a letter to the court he said: "From obscurity, my name and the three mystic dwarves became immortal."

There's nothing quite like the unbridled thirst for immortality to help you talk with them mystic dwarves.

Hah! What a chump.... They're actually Work Gnomes in disguise!

GC Interview: Victoria Ward

I've just posted a new art world interview over at Gallery Crawl. This one's got a lot of twists and turns. It features one of my fave Canadian painters, Victoria Ward.

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

GC: Would you give an example of how the punk movement has influenced a specific work of art or series of paintings?

VW: Oh there isn’t any one painting or series in particular…. The influence mostly comes from the attitude. There once was a noble idea in punk. Joe Strummer, Lydon and others wrote about social issues. That whole idea of raising yourself up above what you were born into, fighting for the right stuff and doing-it-yourself. Punk taught me to just go and become an artist, forget that whole suburban idea of having the cars, the family, the house in Brampton and the vacations in resorts in Mexico….

Read the complete interview here.

Quotes I Like

Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them. -Albert Einstein

They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -Andy Warhol

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. - E.B. White

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain

The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional to the embarrassment he can tolerate. -Douglas Engelbart

If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. -Charlie Parker

I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream. -Vincent van Gogh

A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention. -Aldous Huxley

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. -Socrates

He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause. -William Shakespeare

I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great. -Ray Charles

A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm. -Henrik Ibsen

Wanted: for hazardous journey. small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. honour and recognition in case of success. -Sir Ernest Shackelton

The infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague. -Napolean Bonaparte

To discover to the world something which deeply concerns it, and of which it was previously ignorant; to prove to it that it had been mistaken on some vital point of temporal or spiritual interest, is as important a service as a human being can render to his fellow creatures. -John Stuart Mill

[T]he happiest people are those who make a conscious effort to live useful lives. Their happiness, of course, is not a shallow exhilaration where life is one continuous intoxicating party. Rather, their happiness is a deep sense of inner peace that comes when they believe their lives have meaning and that they are making a difference for good in the world -Ernest Fitzgerald

If a guy hasn't got any gamble in him, he isn't worth a crap. -Evel Knievel

Money

'One Dollar Bills' Andy Warhol, 1962

I believe how a person uses his/her savings represents their truest portrait. Show me how someone uses their money and I'll show you the person.

As a subjective art guy I decided several years ago to study business for a better understanding of the world in which I live.

Now I've decided to study the use of money to better understand the world in which I live. In time, I may create a new blog to capture my musings on the subject of money. Until then, I hope dear reader will bare with an occasional posting on the subject which will take up a great deal of my time.

By 'money' I mean Savings, Wealth, Capital.

• It is scarce.
  
• It cannot be increased artificially or by government.
  
• It is in great demand everywhere.
  
• It is mobile and sensitive.
• It is highly selective.
  
• It appears and disappears before change.
• It creates change.
  
• It can decide life or death.

'More Macho'

'More Macho', Bill Pocock, 2006

New Avatar!

Many thanks to Ms. X for sending along a photo she took of me in a JP Sartre getup some years back.

I like it because it's more stereotypical artsy than my pensive, redcoat dandy photo. I hope it connects with the all-important art school kids.

Art Slob: Complaints Dept.

Got a problem?

We fix problems.

Virtue Ethics

Here's a different kind of thought than I'm used to talking about on Art Slob. This is my holiday stuff.

The diagram is to do with moral philosophy and the idea of virtue as the foundation for ethical identity. I think it's okay to include it here as 'truth' is a common ideal of both art and philosophy.

It's just a first pass. Please, offer any input that comes to mind.

GC: Summerwind

'Summerwind' Bill Pocock, 2006

The 'New Openings' are up over at Gallery Crawl (Toronto art gallery receptions). It was a busy Thursday and Friday for summer shows. Above is a moment I like. The scene appears to have an uneasy calm.

Red Centaur painting

Plein d'Air

"He Just Went Berserk"

I read this hilarious article in The Globe & Mail about an on-duty guard dog snapping and tearing a museum of teddie bears apart.

'Guard dog', Barney, is a hero to his kind. I'm just surprised the pooch resisted for so long. What an awesome sight it must have been....

A security guard at the museum, Greg West, said he spent several minutes chasing Barney before wrestling the dog to the ground.

I like the look on the dog's face. Apologetic, yes, but Barney knows they can never take the glory and fame away.

A dog's dog.