Seein’ Dis: BKLYN DESIGNS 2010
Yesterday we caught the tail end of BKLYN DESIGNS 2010, which marked the beginning of New York design week! Check out our favorites from the show, and stay tuned for some more in-depth posts about some of these pieces.
Archived entries for Shows
Seein’ Dis: Columbia MFA Thesis Exhibition
Yesterday was the opening for the Columbia University MFA Thesis exhibition at the Fisher Landau Center for Art in Long Island City. It was put together by über-curator Anthony Huberman and was totally worth the double subway ride. Check out our favorites above, or see it for yourself (through May 23rd).
Fisher Landau Center for Art
3827 30th Street
Long Island City, NY
Seein’ Dis: The Anxiety of Influence
On the morning of Saturday, March 27 2010, the MoMA opened as usual. Inside, Marina Abramovic sat facing a table and an empty chair. As scheduled, she was ready to receive visitors as part of her marathon performance piece, “The Artist is Present.”
But this Saturday was different: the first visitor in line was a young woman who showed up dressed in a long dark blue dress, a black braid swept over one shoulder. As Abramovic’s doppleganger, she sat across from her and assumed a mirror pose. And there she sat, to the befuddlement of the museum staff and visitors, all day.
Frequently overhead in the crowd was the exclamation of disbelief, “She’s still here?!” There were some grumpy folks who waited for their turn in line before giving up, because no one could beat this marathon sitter. I checked twitter to see someone whine, “Really mad at this Marina Abromavic[sic] imposter whose[sic] taken over the exhibit at the MOMA. A plague upon both your houses!“*
It was mysterious. It was intriguing. It was hilarious. My initial thought was: what a better way to “kill your idol” than to beat her at her own game, but then I also wondered if it was a way to present affection to a long-admired artist and influence?
As it turns out, the doppleganger is Anya Liftig, a Brooklyn-based performance artist. Her intervention on “The Artist is Present” was a performance of her own, which she has titled “The Anxiety of Influence” after the Harold Bloom book of the same title. Bloom’s main concern was how poets, driven to write by their admiration of their idols, could succeed in generating original work in spite of the pressure of influence. See what I’m saying?
I spoke to Anya about her anxieties of influence, her endurance level, and what it was like to come face-to-face with the so-called “grandmother of performance art.” Read the interview after the jump.
Seein’ dis: Banks Violette @Gladstone Gallery, NYC
Readers, if you’re anything like us and are ready to have about 500 of Banks Violette’s babies then now would be a good time to head over to Gladstone Gallery, where he’s got a show up until April 17. It’s your chance! You’ll also be able to see numerous new pieces including that boss (& energy-efficient) chandelier above.
Banks Violette, February 12 – April 17, 2010
Gladstone Gallery
530 West 21st Street
New York, NY
Olivier Zahm @ Half Gallery, NYC
So, Tuesday 12/1 was Olivier Zahm’s opening at Half Gallery @ 208 Forsythe. In attendance: yours truly, and a swarm of European fashion trend-stars. The show features big, small, and naked printouts of the Purple Fashion magazine editor’s Diary. Arriving early (during installation), I missed out on the concept of being fashionably late… but the crowd got considerably more fabulous as the night went on. That, my friends, is what I really came for.
(and of course to knock off the photo stylings of the guest of honor.)
Dieter’s in London
A new show at the design museum in London will reinforce why everyone wants to bang Dieter Rams by showing tons of the stuff he did for Braun and other people. Runs through March 7th.
More info here
Opening tonight! Rectangular stuff!
Tonight from 6-9pm at Sebastian + Barquet (544 w. 24th st., NYC) is the opening for what looks to be a pretty serious show of Donald Judd’s furniture work. Be there or be square (see what I did there?). In case you miss it, the show runs until Christmas. Yeah angles!
