marshallastor.com

C-Monster is in town and beat me to the Francis Alÿs: Fabiola show at LACMA. I’m getting a peek at the “saint in multiple” project later today, but C-mon has the review and the pics (like that Fabiola on black velvet, above) already.  I can’t wait to see it.

Technorati Tags: Saint Fabiola, Francis Alÿs, LACMA, C-Monster, black velvet painting, saint, art

That’s the totally 80’s mural below the elevated outdoor stage for aerobics and other physical fitness activities at Samitivej Sriracha Hospital in Sriracha, Thailand. Now that the 80s are back, this is totally contemporary again!  Click here for maximum embiggening.

Technorati Tags: Thailand, Sriracha, aerobics, mural, 80s aesthetics

My quest for severed heads in museums continues. I think my ultimate goal is to find a museum with an almost gratuitous number of severed heads, so I can crown it “Most Metal Museum”. Something along those lines. The two works below are of severed heads from the Getty, and although they’re not amongst my favourites, but they must be cataloged for completeness’ sake.

Above - Jean-Baptiste Chatigny, Head of Saint John the Baptist, 1869 - This piece has the unfortunate fate to be crammed next to the door in the same small room with James Ensor’s massive Christ’s Entry into Brussels in 1889.  I’m not going to say that I like this piece much, although I do like the detail on the gory neck.  It’s just too loosely sculpted for my taste, and Johnny here still looks alive, which I think is a huge error on the part of Chatigny.

Above - Paul Gauguin, Arii Matamoe (The Royal End), 1892.  I wrote about this piece when the acquisition was announced, but I hadn’t seen it in person before today. As I’ve said before, Gauguin’s work is uninteresting to me, but I’m glad that he did visit this subject.  I still can’t believe the Getty went to such lengths and paid millions for this.

Technorati Tags: severed head, Paul Gauguin, Arii Matamoe, Saint John the Baptist, John the Baptist, head, Saint, Jean-Baptiste Catigny, Getty, Getty Center, art

I wandered across what might possibly be the best of the worst of the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton films on cable the other day, Boom!. It features Taylor as Flora “Sissy” Goforth, who has survived six tycoon husbands and now lives like a dictator (complete with machine guns and attack dogs) on an island in the Mediterranean. Noel Coward lingers about as The Witch of Capri, and Burton muddles through the movie as a katana wearing, gold digging poet/bohemian. But the best thing about the whole film is Taylor’s awesomely explosive headgear, seen above, which she wears to dinner and then does a dance routine in, and which you can, or can not, enjoy the fuzzy “screenshot” of, above. Just had to share.

Technorati Tags: Boom!, Elizabeth Taylor, awesome headgear, spectacular hat, fuzzy screenshot.

A little bird sent this my way and it demands sharing. Not only is a solid review of Executive Order Karaoke at MOCA, but it contains this gem:

Finishing School has solved so many problems embedded in contemporary art with one great night out on the town. It was absolutely shocking that MOCA would have such an event, vitality and current-ness being the last thing on the aging pink whale’s mind. ON a night with the political debates and a Dodger playoff game, a huge crowd turned out to enjoy art that involved, critiqued, satirized and hit home. It seemed so simple, but it took 22 years of boring MOCA shows to arrive at the point where the light bulb finally went off over someone’s head that nobody was buying the bullshit printed on the stupid wall labels rationalizing the egomania and insider status of assholes like Kippenberger as worthy of examination by the art audience.

I gotta say, when I heard about the Engagement Party series, I was totally surprised to hear that it was taking place at MOCA. It just seems so outside their bubble.

Those who were not present can now experience secondhand EO Karaoke via YouTube, above

Technorati Tags: MOCA, Finishing School, Coagula, Executive Order Karaoke

And like Tyler says, it’s good. Apparently, they also have a wiki, and are posting tons of YouTubage, including a trailer for LACMA’s beyond excellent exhibition Breaking the Mode and some Fluids footage. Nice showing on the Web 2.0 front, LACMA.

Top post on the site right now is an interview with Shaun El C. Leonardo, who’s  “getting pummeled by a bunch of semi-pro football players” at Wednesday night’s opening for Hard Targets - Masculinity and Sport.  Can’t wait to see that.

Technorati Tags: LACMA, Breaking the Mode, YouTube, artblogging, artblog, Fluids, Hard Targets, Shaun El C. Leonardo

I was wandering the halls of the Getty Center today and came across this, and realised I didn’t have a shot of it. It’s the Portrait of James Christie, founder of Christie’s auction house, by Thomas Gainsborough. According to the label, Christie was a huge fan of Gainsborough, and he’s even leaning on one of Gainsborough’s landscapes in his portrait. So it’s a meta-Gainsborough in a very cool way. Too bad Gainsborough wasn’t a surrealist as there is serious potential for some kind of awesome infinite regression thing going on with that leaned on painting. Although the Getty’s label for this painting doesn’t mention it, the online catalog entry mentions the neat bit of history that this painting “hung in a place of honor at Christie’s auction house in London until it was sold in 1846.”

Technorati Tags: Getty, Getty Center, Thomas Gainsborough, Christie’s, James Christie, art, painting, oil painting

On the radio Wednesday I listened to some poor sap learn that his entire retirement portfolio was worth nothing and, yet, apparently some part of humanity is living like it’s the gilded age.  I think Britain is collectively smoking something.   That’s the only explanation for that black swan that is For The Love of God, and now this, Siren, a 50kg solid gold statue of Kate Moss by artist Marc Quinn. It’s on display at the British Museum, part of their Statuephilia exhibition, opening Saturday. Apparently this exhibition ties in with a “major new television series.” Woo Hoo…

Technorati Tags: Marc Quinn, Siren, Kate Moss, solid gold, gold, sculpture, statue, art, contemporary art, sculpture

Click through for full size action!

Well, we all know that she wanted to keep Wasalia’s library free of pesky ideas, and I think it’s pretty plain that she doesn’t read the newspaper and that she slept through years of American history classes in school. What does she read? Well according to the photo supplied by her family to the AP, above, she reads American Opinion, the official magazine of the John Birch Society. You go girl!  Show those true colours!

Original story from BAGnewsNotes. The Society has it’s own post up on the photo. Apparently it’s also the 50th anniversary of those wacky paranoid folks at the JBS. Congratulations on a half century of ultraconservative activism! Thanks for keeping things interesting.

Technorati Tags: apocalypse, your moment of apocalypse, sign of the end times, Sarah Palin, John Birch Society, American Opinion

Thursday, October 2

Eric Johnson: Maize Artist Talk @ Torrance Art Museum.  Mentioned yesterday, join curator Kristina Newhouse and Eric as they discuss his epic project.  Starts at 3 PM.

Executive Order Karaoke @ MOCA (Sculpture Plaza).  It’s what it sounds like, and presented by the Finishing School.  Hosted by Tammy Tomahawk. Win Prizes!  Part of MOCA’s Engagement Party project.  7-10 PM.

Friday, October 3

Michael Lewis Miller:Psychophysical Prosthetic #1, 1989-Present @ Municipal Art Gallery.  Michael will be playing music while wearing the furniture-like portions of the Psychophysical Prosthetic Wardrobe. Starts at 8 PM.

Ugetsu, Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead @ The Silent Movie Theatre.  The mighty Cinefamily is bombarding October with horror films, and in their usual range of taste, from utterly classic to some of the worst things ever projected on screen.  Friday nights this month are devoted to Japanese ghost stories, and they’re kicking off the series with Kenzi Mizoguchi’s classic, Ugetsu.  If you want to make it a long evening for one ticket, their late Friday series is devoted to George Romero, and this friday they’re doubling up on zombie action with Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead.  Can’t beat that.  Ugetsu starts at 7:30 and the two Deads start at 10.

The Rising Tide @ Pacific Asia Museum.  Documentary that “investigates China’s meteoric march toward the future through the work of some of its most talented emerging artists.”  Bone up on your “Chinese artists are our new Blue Chip masters” material.  Director Robert Adanto will be introducing the film.  Starts at 8 PM.

Saturday, October 4

THE GOOD BAD: One nite of Photography, Paintings, Tacos @ Above an Ace Hardware in Hermosa Beach (743 4th Street).  Feturing works by Sean Cassidy, Joel Ahrens & Robert Abeyta, Jr.  This may be the first time in a long time that anything curious or interesting has occured in Hermosa Beach.  Reception is 7-10.

Tokyo Nonsense @ Scion Space.  Found out about this through the awesome folks at PoNJA-GenKon.  11 YJA’s including Ichiro Endo, Taro Izumi, Ai Kato (aka ai*madonna), Sachiko Kazama, Iichiro Tanaka, and the six-member artist group, Chim↑Pom.  Curated by Gabriel Ritter. Reception is 7-10.

Lindsay Foster: Show #4 @ Open Gallery.  I met Lindsay during Salty Dog Bites the Hand, an exhibition of Cal Arts MFA candidates in Alan Sekula’s program that we hosted at Angels Gate last year.  She made this amazing, beautiful video diary for Sixtus Petraeus a former ship captain, the father of now well known General David Petraeus, about the Port of Los Angeles.  This is an exhibition of her photographs.  Curated by Claudia Bohn-Spector.  Reception is 7-10.

The Intergalactic Discorse @ MOCA.  Presented by the surely awesome and before now, unknown to me Women’s Science Fiction Book Reading Club of Greater Los Angeles.  Benefit program to promote children’s literacy.  7-10 PM.

20 Years Ago Today @ Japanese American National Museum.  It’s the 20th anniversay of the California Community Foundation’s Fellowships for Visual Artists and this show features works created during their grants by a mountain of recipients.  Opening starts at 7:30.

Cat People (trailer at top) @ The Silent Movie Theatre.  More Cinefamily action.  Early Saturdays in October are devoted to the films of Val Lewton, and this is the classic that you can’t miss.  Watch artist Irene (played by Simone Simon) explore the mysteries of her possible Satanic past and literally catlike sexually murderous side.  Film starts at 7:30. 

LA Derby Dolls: Fight Crew vs Varsity Brawlers @ The Dollhouse.  Banked tracked action is on as the Varsity Brawlers, the newest team of bad gals on spinning urethane, make their debut against the Fight Crew.  Buy your tickets before they sell out!  Bout starts at 8 PM.

Sunday, October 5

MOMENTUM @ various locations in the East Village Art District in Long Beach.  Not too sure about the exact location, but Betsy Lohrer-Hall is installing a lemonade shop in the back of a rental van and has asked artists to do work based with and on paper cups for it.  I’m cooking up a “Gluttony Cup” for it.  More details to come. 10 AM - 8 PM.

Mr. Peanut Haim Steinbach on Mike Kelley @ Overduin and Kite.  Works made by Steinbach based on items from Mike Kelley’s home, offices and studio.  Reception is 5-7 PM.

Technorati Tags: art, contemporary art, film, la art, roller derby