Artists' Letters of Note

A letter from Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol. For their ninth album “Sticky Fingers” the Rolling Stones had asked Warhol to design the album cover.

A letter to Andy Warhol from the marketing manager for Campbell’s Soup who must have been extremely pleased with Warhol’s 32 silkscreened portraits of Campbell’s Soup Cans.

Below, a letter written by pop-art icon Keith Haring, in reply to a young aspiring artist and fan.  Haring, who is still held in high esteem on an international level, died of AIDS at the age of 31. He left behind numerous artworks, and the so called “Keith Haring Foundation”, established to assist people suffering from AIDS related diseases.

'Improving' Hitler and Goya

Iakovos  “Jake” and “Konstantinos” Dinos Chapman are two English visual artists, that go by the name of  “the Chapman Brothers”.

As a main subject for their work, the brothers mostly use subjects that are thought of as offensive, distasteful or vulgar.  Their art is oftentimes highly controversial and attention-grabbing.

Some examples:  In 2008 the Chapman Brothers held an exhibition entitled “If Hitler had been a hippy, how happy would we be”. For this exhibition the brothers acquired  a group of original watercolours that had been painted by Adolf Hitler himself. They then appropriated these works by painting bright psychedelic skies and smiley faces over them.



Watercolour painting by Adolf Hitler, appropiated by the Chapman Brothers.



But perhaps the most controversial work the brothers have ever made, is a series from 2003, entitled “Insult to Injury”. For this series the brothers purchased a complete set of Goya’s etchings, “The Disasters of War”, and added comical grotesque faces to them.



Goya's "The Disasters of War", appropiated  by the Chapman Brothers: "Insult to Injury", 2003



Although these works are held in high esteem by many, some see them  as pure vandalism. Another point of interest is the actual sale of these works: establishing prices can be quite problematic, since buyers actually buy two works of art at the same time: a Goya and a Chapman. Is it an improved Goya or a nearly vandalized  Goya?

Ghost...

British artist Rachel Whiteread is well known for her original sculptures with which she seeks to express the idea of space, room, void. She does this mainly by making casts of various objects.

In one of her first works, entitled “Shovel”,  she made a cast of her own back and attached a handle on top of it, so that it would resemble a shovel. 

One of her larger scale works, entitled “Ghost” is yet another cast: its mould was an entire living-room in a Victorian house: Whiteread had the walls of the living-room cast in units of plaster that were then mounted together so that the structure and volume of the original Victorian living-room becomes visible. Negative imprints, such as the open fireplace clarifies that we are in fact dealing with the INSIDE of a room.



Rachel Whiteread: Ghost, 1990, plaster, 270x318x365cm



Prince's Nurses

Richard Prince is an American painter and photographer, who began his career in 1977 by appropriating photographs:  meaning the artist pulls from the work of others, in a modified way, in order to create his own work.

The most well-known paintings by Prince, are his works from the so-called “Nurse Series”.  A series that is mainly inspired by the covers  of cheap pulp novels. Prince initially scanned the cover images, after which they were transferred onto a canvas and personalized by acrylic paint. The titles of the series include “Naughty nurse”, “Millionaire Nurse”, “Surfer Nurse”, after the titles of the book covers they were appropriated from.

Although heavily criticized at first, the Nurses are now priced in the millions.



Richard Prince: A nurse on horseback



Richard Prince: Tender Nurse



THINK Exhibit

IBM's THINK exhibit at the Lincoln Center in New York composes of 40 interactive panel showing various indicators of life quality in the Big Apple, which engage visitors into a conversation on this subject.
The exhibition is open from September 23 to October 23.

Reverse glass painting

Gil Heitor Cortesao is a Portugese artist, who uses the almost forgotten technique of ‘reverse glass paining’: his works are painted on plexiglass instead of a regular canvas, and then sealed by a layer of white paint. The painting therefore is enclosed between a glass plate and a layer of paint. Its execution is reversed: that what is done last on a canvas is done first on the glass. This type of execution also means that tiny detail cannot be added later.

Cortesao’s works often have modernist houses as their theme: he shows these in an undone way, covered by stains. For him they represent the downfall of the modernist utopia.

Gil Heitor Cortesao: Remote Viewer #2, 2008

Light Painting

Andy Hemingway is a Huston-based photographer, who in his latest series "Light Painting" applies light graffiti to an abandoned parking garage in his home town. Done with a flashlight and some projection  tools, the result is a spectacular combination of flowing light effects to an lifeless concrete backdrop.

Beijing, of course

In recent years some of the world's most breath-taking architecture has been seen in China. A sign of the country's  rapid growth and explosive urbanization, this new wave of cutting-edge architecture is also a sign of the social and political changes China has gone through. One of the biggest face-lifts a Chinese city has received came in the build-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, when a series of buildings, so spectacular that they have their own nicknames, such as "The Bird's Nest"(Olympic Stadium);"The Water Cube"(National Swimming Center);"The Egg"(National Opera House) and the new CCTV Tower were built. Another addition to this list can be The Phoenix International Media Center, scheduled to be completed in 2012. Phoenix, a satellite TV provider, is picking up where CCTV left off, planning to move their programming operations in such a landmark building. In addition Phoenix, it will be housing other businesses, offices and restaurants. The building shape recalls of the "Bird's Nest", built by Swiss architects Herzog and De Meuron.  Unlike the stadium or the CCTV Tower, the Phoenix building has been designed by Chinese firm BIAD UFo, a sign that Chinese companyes can also handle the design end, not just the manufacturing. The ambitious project is also known by a few nicknames: sea sponge and jellyfish are the most popular. Time will tell which one will prevail.

Disney meets Oral Sex

In a work entitled “And The Beast”, Egyptian artist Ghada Amer shows us a juxtaposition of Disney’s Belle –from “the Beauty and the Beast”-  overlaid with subtly drawn erotic female figures. Amer took these female figures from porn magazines and presents them as another version of female stereotypes – in strong contrast with the virginal Disney princesses.

In combining pornographic images with female fairy-tale creatures, Ghada Amer asks us  how innocent these fairy-tale images are to begin with. The entire  canvas is dominated by  the thick black outline of a woman receiving oral sex.

Ghada Amer: And the Beast

The flow

One of the most talked about exhibitions this summer is Nendo's solo show at the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute. Japanese Designers Nendo present their latest furniture in two collections: Thin Black Lines and Dancing Squares.
Dancing Squares is a collection based on the concept of “Active White” which has been installed onto a room-sized sketch.
The exhibition will accordingly be divided into two rooms: one with black drawings on white and the other with white on black. One striking feature are the curved walls of the second room.
The drawings on the floor were compared by Nendo designers to river water, which flows around the exhibition stands.

 

A new type of sculpture!

Today we’d like to introduce you to a whole new type of sculpture, made by Brooklyn-based artist Nick van Woert.

Van Woert makes weird, awesome and unique sculptures, in which he combines marble busts with polyurethane plastic in adhesive form. The plastic is to be understood as “attacking” the busts. Van Woert himself refers to these sculptures as:  "a hijacking of the art historical past”.

Van Woert is currently partaking in exhibitions worldwide and is represented by the most renowned galleries.



Nick van Woert: Poor me

 




Nick van Woert: Eclipse (yellow)



Nick van Woert: Untitled



Open Space Cafe-Bar

The Open Space Hotel in Murau, Austria, a building dating back to the 13th century, has been expanded with an ultra modern cafe-bar.
But integrating a modern addition within a space characterized by traditional architecture, is never a easy task. Designed by Architektur Steinbacher Thierrichter, the new addition to the hotel towers 12 meters over Muraus medieval town walls, offering great views over the river Mur. However, due to its placement in a historical town, some people are not happy with it.
We feel that it blends in with its surroundings, highlighting even more the old buildings. Therefore the Open Space Cafe-Bar can be seen as a valuable addition to Muraus historical center.

Getting drunk in high heels can be art!

Next time you plan on getting drunk, you better make sure someone’s filming you:

“Walking drunk in high shoes” is a video-installation by Iranian-German artist Anahita Razmi. In her video -which was inspired by a work by Tracey Emin- Razmi films herself while systematically getting drunk on a bottle of vodka.

The video, which last 47 minutes, shows Razmi walking around a room while emptying the bottle of vodka. The rhythm of her steps gets more and more uncontrolled as the bottle becomes emptier. She and the bottle both end on the floor, for obvious reasons.



Anahita Razmi: video Still from "Walking drunk in high shoes"



Anahita Razmi: video still from "Walking drunk in high shoes"

 

Roubaix art pool

Continuing our series of converted spaces, we present you the transformation of the stunning Art Deco public swimming pool from the northern french town of Roubaix into an art museum.
Built between 1927 and 1932 by the architect Albert Baert, the swimming pool had to be closed in 1985 due to safety problems. But instead of demolishing it and building a new one in its place, it was decided to give it a new function.

Architect Jean-Paul Philippon supervised the ten year repair work, adding a modern entrance building and constructing a special exhibition space in the adjoining former textile factory. Known as La Piscine Musee d'Art et d'Industrie, it opened in 2000. All expectations were exceeded by the 200.000 visitors attracted in the first year. These numbers have been growing ever since. In this manner, Roubaix is a fine example of capitalizing on the industrial past.

The new entrance

www.roubaix-lapiscine.com

SARA RAHBAR: violence and healing

Sarah Rahbar is an installation artist, sculptor and photographer, currently represented by renowned galleries worldwide. At a young age, during the Islamic Revolution,  she and her family were forced to leave her homeland of Iran. In her work she explores issues of displacement and belonging which stem  from her own experiences during and after the Revolution.

In her own words:  “I work to work out the turbulence that exist within me, I am healing myself and at the same time communicating an immense pain. It’s about falling, standing and attempting to survive it all. In the end we are all in exile…”



Sarah Rahbar: Love arrived and how red, number 7.

Rahbar is mainly known for her photographic series entitled “Love arrived and how red”. A series that was made as a reaction against the psychiatric impact that the events in the Middle East have had on its inhabitants.

One possible reading of this work,  is the title’s reference to the horrific expectations that traditional societies have of virgin brides.

Sara Rahbar: Flag Series

Initially Rahbar became known for her “Flag Series” (2008-present). Here, she reworked flags  into collages, that express the conflicting roles that flags play as symbols of nationalistic violence.

Post-It Wars

Montreuil, a suburb of Paris, is the scene of an unusual confrontation for the last few months. Ubisoft and BNP Paribas are engaged in a post-it note war between their two company buildings. 
Before this, the two companys had little in common, but what started out as a single figure of video-game character Space Invader on a Ubisoft window grew into a conflict of epic proportions. All of a sudden the employees hidden passion for video game characters had been unveiled.
And when one company presented a giant Mario, the other responded with a character of Zelda.
This battle is not waged solely between the two companys, but different floors and departments are involved in their own confrontations.
 

Last Friday afternoon, while everybody was preparing for the weekend, Ubisoft unleashed a three-story assassin from the game Assasin's Creed. Some call it an attempt to end the game, a "chess-mate" move. We are still waiting for BNP's counterstrike.

More of this amusing conflict on: www.postitwar.com
Here you can see a report made by french television on the post-it wars:                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXqPw86P8_g&feature=related

Walk the line

Freddy Nock, a 46-year old stuntman from Swizerland, climbed to the top of Germany's highest mountain, the  2,962 m Zugspitze, on the cable car ropeway, using neither a balancing pole or a security harness. 

As he walked the 1,000 metre long route from the cablecar station near the Bavarin resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he gained 348 metres in altitude, needing an hour and 20 minutes to complete the climb.

Nock intends to enter his feat the Guinness Book of Records as the "longest and highest wire walk above sea level without a balancing pole".

What makes his feat more special, is that he's doing it for a good cause, raising money for Unicef.

Islamic Last Supper

In “Last Supper – Gaza”, artist Vivek Vilasini concentrates on social structures in the Indian society. His photograph shows women wearing a chador, depicting the last supper. Vilasini has turned apostles into prophets of islam. The bread, used to symbolize the body of Christ, is now accompanied by pomegranates: the fruit that symbolizes fertility, but that is also associated with death because of its intense red color (the grenade-bomb was named after this fruit).



Vivek Vilasini: Last Supper - Gaza, 2008.



Cube on Tour

Brussels has hosted the Electrolux Cube between April and June. A unique temporary dining concept, the Cube has been place atop the thriumphal arch in the Parc du Cinquantenaire.
In this atmosphere of cutting-edge design and never-before seen views of the city, Electrolux presents its kitchens.
Two Electrolux Cubes will travel across Europe offering a memorable dining experience for 18 guests per setting in landmark locations. The semi-transparent structures will be seen atop of monuments, buildings and even water platforms in Belgium, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Sweden but only for three months at each location. Next up are Milan and Stockholm, just in case you missed Brussels.
A different top-chef will be present at each venue, giving the guesets hints and tips on how to get the maximum out of theyr cooking experience.

Chairs. A lot of chairs...

Colombian artist Doris Salcedo is mostly known for making works that function as “political  and mental archaeology”. Her work, which has become increasingly installation based, is often inspired by specific historical events.

 For her installation for the Istanbul Biennale in 2003 she placed 1600 chairs in the empty space between two buildings. She did this to commemorate anonymous victims (in  Colombia and elsewhere) and in order to evoke something like  a mass grave.

With her work “Noviembre 6 y 7” she commemorates the violent seizing of the supreme court in Bogota, by lowering wooden chairs against the façade of the building for 53 hours straight.

Doris Salcedo: installation at Istanbul Biennale 2003.

Doris Salcedo: installation 'Noviembre 6 y 7'

Is this the new leader of the free world?

With the U.S. elections soon aproaching a new candidate has emerged
The sculpture of a cow made from butter, shown at the biggest agricultural exhibition in Iowa proved to be so popular that Jack Mathews has begun a campaign to get the Butter Cow in the presidential running. He started a website, buttercow2012.com, which is currently conducting its own pole. Here Butter Cow received 62% of the votes, almost four times more than President Obama's 16%.
The website describes the candidate as "udderly fantastic" with strong "grass roots values". The candidate hasn't made any comments yet, but one thing that he will be out to prove is that being inhuman isn't all that bad.

Official campaign T-shirt

The Toaster

English photographer Mac Adams is especially known for his "mystery environments": photographs in which he creates imaginary, narrative situations that often seem to point towards a criminal act. Take a look, for example, at his work "The Toaster":  in the first picture you can see a shiny toaster and mixer that mirror a woman. In the second picture you can see the same woman lying dead on the floor. The toast is burned.



Mac Adams, The Toaster



Hyperrealist sculpture



Ron Mueck is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor who started his career as a puppeteer for children’s television programmes and later transitioned to fine art. In his sculptures, Mueck reproduces every little detail of the human body.

The key change, however, is the change of size (most sculptures are oversized while others are on a much smaller scale).  The artist has been hailed by some critics as ‘the greatest thing to happen in sculpture’, while others merely view him as a model maker.

Ron Mueck: Head of a baby (2003)



Ron Mueck: In bed (2005)



Ron Mueck: Boy




 Mueck’s most well-known sculpture is a work titled “Dead Dad”:  a hyperrealist sculpture of the corpse of his father. Mueck works with various materials such as fiberglass resin, latex and silicone. 

Ron Mueck: Dead Dad