Paying tribute to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, MoMA PS1 presents September 11, a group exhibit that explores the far-reaching consequences of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Inspired by the dearth of representation in the cultural discourse of the attacks, Peter Eleey, who is the head curator at MoMA PS1, has assembled 71 works by artists dead and alive including Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, Christo, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a selection that avoids images of the event itself or art made in direct response it.
Some of the work is more direct, like Ellsworth Kelly’s collage Ground Zero, which shows a mocked up page of The New York Times with a green geometrical shape over a picture of Ground Zero. Other pieces were created before the attacks, like Alex Katz’s 10:00 AM, which shows a serene body water with a reflection that now appears haunting. “I’m interested in how we read things into these images,” Eleey has said about how 9/11 has influenced the way we see our environment. “After the attacks, we continued to see the towers everywhere.” Click through to see some of the works in the show.
Exciting news for New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers who will be riding in an NYC cab anytime soon: For the second year running, John Amato, president of Show Media (a company which sells the ad space on many of the city’s taxis), is donating 500 spots to showcase artwork — specifically pieces by Chuck Close and Kehinde Wiley. As he explains it: “Art is a great passion of mine, and I am very fortunate to be in a place in my life where I can do this as my annual holiday gift not just to myself, but to everyone who enjoys seeing the art as it travels around New York City’s streets.” Last year featured Yoko Ono and Alex Katz. Who would you like to see grace NYC taxis next? [via Gothamist]
In the hierarchy of art, painting has always been at the top of the heap. The medium lends itself to the depiction of life, death, and desires, as well as to the investigation of imaginary, abstract forms. Two new Phaidon Press tomes, Painting Today and Painting Abstraction: New Elements in Abstract Painting, offer an exciting overview of painting in every conceivable genre — from ambiguous abstraction to hybrid pictures.
Painting Today presents an international roundup of the best painters of the past 40 years. Written by Tony Godfrey, a 20-year veteran at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the volume begins with a look at the Global Scene, which includes Australian aboriginal painter Uta Uta Tjangala, Korean abstractionist Lee Ufan, and the Colombian portrayer of fat-figured people Fernando Botero. The next chapter examines Western Traditions in contemporary painting, featuring Richard Prince’s riffs on Willem de Kooning’s abstract women, Bridget Riley’s op-art patterns, and Alex Katz’s formal figurative studies, among others.
The New York Times‘ Holland Cotter gives The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984 show at the Metropolitan Museum an enthusiastic thumb’s up and suggests that it could serve as a blueprint for a new era of contemporary exhibitions at the stuffy old venue. A slideshow of some of the featured work, including the positively lovely Cindy Sherman film still above, here. Read More »
Alex Katz, J. Crew model: Howard Kaplan from the Eye Level blog discovered more than a supersoft crewneck tee when he opened this month’s J. Crew catalogue — like one of his favorite artists donning khakis.
Damien Hirst designing skateboards: Because evidently key rings weren’t cool enough. Click here for the video.
Leonardo da Vinci had a really, really long beard: Or at least he does in a newly discovered portrait. Also: An uncanny fondness for black robes and feathers.
Don’t tell the toy collectors: Malaysian artist Olan Ventura makes conceptual art from over-loved action figures.
Street art meetst the Wii: It’s called Wiispray. And it’s the brainchild of Martin Lih. Video here.
