Classic New York~

over the bridge~


to the city...or the sunset~


ONE of my oldest friends in NY...


She is also a genius, my lawyer and it's her B-DAY today!!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!! I'm hungover from your party last night and I LOVE YOU!!!!)

Phoenix reveals THE TRUE STORY behind 'LOVE LIKE a SUNSET!'

I was really excited to read the story behind Phoenix's 2 part song, "Love Like a Sunset:"


PAPER MAGAZINE: What was the impetus behind breaking "Love Like a Sunset" into two parts and then putting lyrics to the latter?

Christian Mazzalai from Phoenix:
"We wanted to do a song as if you are driving in a tunnel in a car at night. In Paris, there is this one tunnel that is beautiful. We wanted to do a soundtrack to it; when you go through it from Versailles, you see Paris at the end. That is Part II. That is our vision. That was the idea, to do a long tunnel instrumental that would lead to Paris."

I love that he validated a connection between music, architecture and movement. Furthermore, he describes the song as a story in two chapters. It then becomes a narrative expression of the experience of driving or moving (this could substitute for dancing) within the tunnel to the city of lights. In my painting, "Love Like a Sunset: Part 1," I had a similar vision...where a tunnel like structure (inspired by The Casa Milà's atrium) is spinning or twirling forward. It eventually leads up to a beautiful bright light, a sunset or something better...which could very well be Paris!

Although, I've never been to Barcelona...
and with all the the research that I've done on Gaudi lately.. Barcelona is definitely my fantasy destination of the moment!

Anyways, I'm currently working on Love Like a Sunset: Part 1.5 and Love Like a Sunset: Part 2.

Here are the digital drawings for now:






He also mentions in the interview that the band wrote "Love Like a Sunset" at the painter's place, Géricault. I just thought that was cool:)

GREEN* CITY* ART PROJECT BOOK~

My GREEN CITY ART PROJECT BOOK is available for purchase and/ or free download on LuLu~





The catalogue is a presentation of my photographs, illustrations and journal entries that document the evolution and development of my ongoing ‘Green City' ART PROJECT. I'll eventually create a Green City Volume II catalogue when the project is completed on a larger scale. In addition, I'm in the progress of creating another catalouge that documents my oil paintings and relevant writings by series~xx

The Velvet Years & Intersections~

Stephen Shore


303 Gallery is proud to present its fourth exhibition of photographs by Stephen Shore. Renowned for his pioneering use of color photography, Shore will here present pieces from two lesser-known bodies of black and white work. Shore’s photographs are usually known for their quiet contemplation of the beauty of empty or overlooked space and the arbitrary nature of vantage point. The serenity of serial banality is played down in the black and white works, however. Given over to a more interactive viewpoint, the work is not purely observational, but implicates the photographer as a situationist rather than a simple documentarian.

In a series of works from The Velvet Years, Shore spent time at Warhol’s Factory in the mid-1960s, and photographed what he saw. From practice sessions between members of the Velvet Underground, to Edie Sedgwick photo shoots, famous visitors, late-night parties and their aftermaths, Shore captured what was to become art history. The characters in the images are intimate and personable, the artifice of the spotlight shed in service of the utility of the everyday process of creating artwork. The seemingly instant compositions point to Shore’s later work, but aside from their value as archival documents, the images illustrate just how The Factory as a machine went on to inform the comprehensive view Shore would take of life becoming art.

A more recent body of work, Intersections, is comprised of photographs taken in New York in 2000. In each of these scenes, Shore exposes a single 4”x10” inch negative (half a sheet of 8”x10” film) to create a panoramic view of pedestrian and street traffic on local corners. Freezing each chaotic moment in time, the large-scale images serve to peel back the dense layers of interaction in public, transient space. The photographer creates the landscape, with the myriad textures and possibilities that one’s eyes may be trained on at any moment given a mindful place to exist amidst the bombardment of the modern city.

May 28 - July 2009

Love Like A Sunset- PART 1*

*I had a difficult time getting a good photo of this one...



DETAIL VIEWS:









’Love Like A Sunset- PART 1’
oil on panel, 12 x 16"

SONG DEDICATION: Love Like A Sunset- PART 1’
(Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus):

Love Like a Sunset Part I - Ph...

Love Like a Sunset Part II - P...

Musical Architecture series 2009
by Rebecca Sherman

ADDITIONAL INSPIRATIONS:

1.‘Love Like A Sunset- PART 2’ Lyrics:
it comes
a visible horizon
right where it starts and ends
oh, and then we start the end

it comes
a visible illusion
oh, where it starts and ends
love like a sunset

2.The Casa Milà(La Pedrera/ The Quarry) Atrium:


3. My mental archive of 'Dancing in the Sunset' movie scenes...
and7 Ways to Avoid a Cliche Sunset Photo~


4. Modern Stained Glass:

DOGA~

Industrial Stripes~

1.Anselm Reyle:


Ohne Titel
2007


Untitled
2005
mixed media on canvas
227 x 332 cm

2.Jules de Balincourt:


Unknowing Mans Nature, 2007
oil, acrylic and spray paint, 132 x 108 in


I Infect You, You Infect Me
2006
Oil and enamel on panel
121.9 x 213.4 cm

His painting “Blind Faith and Tunnel Vision,” is also the cover art for the Harlem Shakes new album 'Technicolor Health.' (I've been listening to the song Strictly Game a lot this week:)



3.and Just a fun STRIPES game that everyone can play at home!

Maelstrom~

I went Roxy Paine's opening, Dendroid Drawings and Maquettes, at the James Cohan Gallery last week:

James Cohan Gallery is pleased to present ROXY PAINE: Dendroid Drawings and Maquettes, from May 1 through May 30, 2009. The exhibition will include a scale model of Maelstrom as well as drawing studies from the artist's well-known series of stainless steel Dendroid sculptures. The gallery exhibition runs concurrent to Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom, a site-specific installation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden on view from April 28 through October 25, 2009. Maelstrom is a 130-foot long by 45-foot wide monumental stainless steel sculpture and is the largest work to have ever been installed on the Met roof, New York City's premiere site for outdoor sculpture.



I'm going to visit the actual sculpture on the roof tomorrow night and I can't wait!



This installation video is really cool!

WYATT HOUGH~

Wyatt Hough is a really great artist. He made this amazing live drawing of my best friend Ciara last weekend:

Weak for Me: PART III~

"There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them."



DETAIL VIEWS:






'WEAK FOR ME:PART3'
oil on panel, 12 x 12"

Musical Architecture series 2009
by Rebecca Sherman


*Ok, so this is the last version of the 'WEAK FOR ME' paintings in my Musical Architecture series. So how did I get from version 1 to version 3?

Once upon a time (like 3 years ago) I lost my friend at a night club. It was 4am and I randomly ended up sitting at the bar... next to Lily Cole (I had briefly met her before/ but I dont know her or anything/ haven't seen her since). Long story short, we ended up in a heavy discussion (not the kind that usually goes down at night clubs at 4am)and she told me about Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now. I was really inspired by her insight and experiences having read the book. The following day I went out to St. Marks Book store and bought it. However, something about Oprah's quote on the front cover looked really cheesy to me and I put off reading it.

Well... I finally started the book last week. Its very interesting how Tolle analyzes "the creative mind" and explains its functions to the "non-creatives." Personally, I'm someone who thinks A LOT and over analyzes A LOT.... yet I'm very creative. Tolle explains that thoughts are illusions derived from an unconscious state. On the contrary, creativity arises from consciousness (being in the present moment in either a state of acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm). So, he is basically directing the non-creatives to a creative state of mind.

"All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness."

Ironically, most artists (such as myself) are not "conscious" of this transition. I've spoken many times about being IN THE MOMENT.....The rush, the high and the enjoyment that is painting and dancing...however I never classified it (I guess that would just defeat his whole point anyways). He also explains how many people enjoy dangerous activities and sports to achieve that same state of mind. It's those moments when we dont "have time to think" that we are really HERE and feel ALIVE. Basically, Tolle's book is about being "that way" ALL OF THE TIME.... to ultimately access a creativity and intelligence that is far greater than the mind.

So back to the paintings...

1.


2.


3.


I began to remove the forms of the architectural structures in the first version of 'Weak for Me'.... and by the third version, the image just becomes a depiction of 'essence' (the essence of dancing, the song, painting, the city, the original image, the moment etc.)

Consequently, I've been thinking about the The Generational:Younger Than Jesus exhibit at the New Museum. It is supposed to define the art of my generation, yet I personally do not identify with "the generational" in its totality. The show tends to re-enforce the things that I resist when enjoying, making and understanding art. Many critics have said that the exhibition and "art of my generation" reflects the "death of aesthetic."
I create or render my original drawings in Photoshop. Therefore I think that some of my paintings reference a "photoshop style" or filter (such as the one above). However, one of the generational artists, Cory Arcangel, just literally depicts the Gradient Demonstrations or functions of Photoshop. I dont feel that it challenges art the way a readymade once did. It feels mundane and empty. Conceptual art is defined as the art in which the idea(s) involved take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. So, is a 101 Photoshop Demonstration considered to be conceptual art...or just lazy, ugly art? Anyways, I thought that this Tolle quote was interesting.... and relevant to the topic at hand (but I don't necessarily agree with it):

Because we live in such a mind-dominated culture, most modern art, architecture, music, and literature are devoid of beauty, of inner essence, with very few exceptions. The reason is that the people who create those things cannot--even for a moment--free themselves from their mind. So they are never in touch with that place within where true creativity and beauty arises. The mind left to itself creates monstrosities, and not only in art galleries. Look at our urban landscapes and industrial wastelands. No civilization has ever produced so much ugliness. -- p. 98

GREEN EYES, MAGENTA COAT~

This painting ALONE gives enough reason to check out Chantal Joffe's new show at Cheim and Reid:



Chantal Joffe
GREEN EYES MAGENTA COAT 2008
Oil on board
96 x 72 inches

SUBWAY STORIES I~

THE SETTING:

1 train heading downtown from the 66th street stop.

TIME:
@ 2:30 PM

THE STORY:

I'm on my way back to work from "lunch"... blasting my IPOD in my ears and singing along in my head. The beautiful girl sitting directly in front of me is staring at me with a HUGE smile. I make eye contact for a 1/2 second...waiting for her to compliment a clothing article or ask where I bought my jacket...or something like that. She doesn't. I glance away, read a few ads, look ahead and she continues to stare DIRECTLY AT ME with her huge smile. What's wrong with her? Is she kidding? Maybe it's one of those art projects or improvisational acting exercises... where the person is intentionally trying to challenge the communication and/or barriers between strangers in public spaces? This just isn't normal....unless its like a weird guy hitting on you.

She finally says something. I cant hear her. I turn down the volume.

Random Girl: Do you like fairies?


Me: What?

Random Girl: Do you like fairies?

(BTW, let me clarify that she is not 3 years old...she's at least 23)


Me: I don't know...I guess...

She looks disappointed.

Suddenly I have this flashback to when I was 3 or 5 years old and watching the movie Peter Pan. I was genuinely concerned that if not enough people believed in fairies Tinkerbell would die! I had to prevent this tragedy. My empathy for Tinkerbell re-surfaces. I've changed my mind.


Me: I mean... I totally love fairies...Tinkerbell is the coolest.!

She's really enthusiastic now!

Random Girl: You look like a fairy. I imagine and draw fairies and they look exactly like you! Your eyes, your hair, you're petite, and your face is sparkling...like there is something mystical and glowing about you!(it's actually some shimmering eye shadow that must have found it's way down my face by this point in the day)

I don't know what to say....is this a complement? I probably look confused. I guess being compared to a fairy is more flattering than being compared to a munchkin...


Me: Thanks:)

Random Girl: No..really.

She takes a drawing out of her bag. She's right... the drawing totally looks like me. Some girl I've never met has been imagining and creating cartoon fairy versions "of me"... just like I've been imaging and creating impressions of "architecture dancing to Nite Jewel."

Now we are both smiling. I'm actually on the verge of laughing. My train stop arrives, we say good bye and our part our separate ways.

Obviously I dont have any of her drawings to post, but here's a cute Tinkerbell image that I found online:

JUST MAKE IT~

Untitled (We are going to make it through this year if it kills us) by Mike Monteiro

Weak for Me: PART II~

DETAIL VIEWS:








'WEAK FOR ME:PART2'
oil on board, 18 x 24"

Musical Architecture series 2009
by Rebecca Sherman


*In this version of 'Weak 4 Me' I was thinking about the colors as characters in the context of this Color Theory Wheel. The painting moves left to right, warm to cool, tension to release, fire to water, etc... you get the idea. For some reason the song made me think of purple. The purple in the center of the painting combines the stability of the blue on the right and the energy of the red on the left. It becomes a push-pull between the two forces and is toppled with white lights to reflect a positive, bright transition....or something:)

A few good things about Francesco Clemente~

1. He paints the most expressive, EXTRAordinary, huge deep soulful eyes:



2. His painting 'Earth' displays layers of vibrant energy upon liquid tranquility to create a perfect balance:



3. He did all of the artwork in the 1996 film Great Expectations; including portraits of the cast members who each posed privately for him. Gwyneth Paltrow's portrait is featured on the film's teaser poster:





4. His new narrative show at Deitch Projects:



The 3 monumental, 60 ft long paintings wrap around the perimeter of the gallery; illustrating "the history of the heart." They are the largest, most expansive water color paintings that I have ever seen. There were so many people at the opening last night... where it was impossible to step back and view the narrative in its entirety. However, it was easy to fall into the little moments, beautiful details and ethereal gestures within the story's large scale environment.