El Anatsui: Zebra Crossing

(Above) Oga Cavorting in Lace, 2007
Aluminum and copper wire
111 x 111 inches

El Anatsui: Zebra Crossing
Jack Shainman Gallery
January 4 to February 2, 2008

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El Anatsui

New York Times, "Art in Review"

Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century & Collage: The Unmonumental Picture

Kim Jones, Untitled, 1994-2004
Acrylic and ink on color photograph
28 1/2 x 39 in

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Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century & Collage: The Unmonumental Picture
New Museum
Through March 23, 2008

At the halfway point of the New Museum's accumulating exhibition, many works stand out as some of the more transient examples of current trends in contemporary art. The first installment of this show, "The Object in the 21st Century," displays works in which underinformed notions of the role of artist as cultural commentator are toxically mixed with a low-as-high underpolished execution. As an example, "Split Endz" (1) fails almost entirely to elevate its components beyond the echelon of nostalgic thrift store articles. Not all the works in this exhibition fall into this pitfall of contemporary art. Marc Andre Robinson's "Myth Monolith (Liberation Movement)"(2) metamorphosizes a mass of chairs into a wave of motion. While it is built from refuse of contemporary life, the work propels itself beyond nostalgic reference to its materials and becomes instead reminiscent of Hokusai's most famous print from his series "Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji." Though both of these pieces certainly fit the curators' goal of "zeroing in a way that visual art can help define the moment in which we are living,"(3) I do wonder how many of these pieces will survive this moment and be revisited by future generations of artists.

From the show's second installment, "Collage: The Unmonumental Picture," the noteworthy include:
Mark Bradford, "Helter Skelter I & II"
Christian Holstead
Kim Jones
Wangechi Mutu


(1) Jim Lambie, Split Endz (wig mix), 2005, Wardrobes, mirror, belts, training shoes, and gloss paint, 72 7/16 in x 53 15/16 in x 47 3/16 in / 184 cm x 137 cm x 120 cm
(2) Marc Andre Robinson, Myth Monolith (Liberation Movement), 2002-2003, Dimensions Variable
(3) Pg. 1, Unmonumental: An Exhibition in Four Parts, No Author Given, New Museum of Art, New York, NY: 2007.
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Mark Bradford at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Mark Bradford at Saachi Gallery

KIM JONES, by Peter Clothier
March 24 - May 19, 2007 at Cal State L.A., Luckman Gallery, East Los Angeles

Wangechi Mutu at Saachi Gallery

Decrepit Birth, Hate Eternal, 3 Inches of Blood, The Black Dahlia Murder @ B.B. Kings

Decrepit Birth, Hate Eternal, 3 Inches of Blood, The Black Dahlia Murder @ B.B. Kings
January 16, 2008

10:43pm
A Conversation from Last Night

Me: Hello.
Nick's Mom (Hippy, in her 60s): Hi!
Me: Hey, it's just me. Nick and Lev went to the corner store. They'll be here in a few minutes.
Mom: Oh. Did you go out to dinner?
Me: No, we actually went to a concert.
Mom: Oh! What did you see?!
Me: Well, we went to see Hate Eternal, but we didn't get to see them. They had car trouble this morning on their way from D.C. There was another opening band though that was pretty good.
Nick's Dad (Also Hippy in his 60s): (What did they see?)
Mom: Gate Eternal.
Dad: Oh, Gate Eternal...
Me: No, no, HATE Eternal.
Mom and Dad: HATE ETERNAL?!
Me: Yeah, kind of an unfortunate name, but that's the genre. We didn't get to see them play though.
Dad: What happened?
Me: The sound guy said that their radiator over heated this morning on their way from a show last night in D.C.
Dad: They were consumed by the hate.
Me: It would seem that way.
Mom: So, uh... who were the other bands?
Me: The Headliner was Black Dahlia Murder, but we weren't there to see them. The band we all liked was Decrepit Birth.
Dad: (Decrepit Birth...)
Me: Yeah, they were awesome! Even though they were first and their sound was not very good coming through the P.A.
Dad: So, this sound guy was not the bearer of good things...
Me: (chuckles) No, not really.
Mom: So, the headliner was who?
Me: Black Dahlia Murder. When they went on, we decided to leave.
Mom: That bad?
Me: Well, I guess they are ok, but they are a total rip off of this other band At the Gates, right down to a t-shirt they were selling at the concert. And they aren't even half as good, so, yeah, they suck. We left.



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Decrepit Birth Myspace
Hate Eternal Myspace
3 Inches of Blood Myspace
The Black Dahlia Murder Myspace

blog.mode: addressing fashion

Simon Costin (British, b. 1963). “Incubus” Necklace, 1987. Silver, copper, Baroque pearls, and glass vials filled with samples of human sperm.

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blog.mode: addressing fashion
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Through April 13, 2008

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blog.mode

Tara Donovan at the Met

Untitled (Mylar), 2007
Tara Donovan at the Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Through April 27, 2008

Tucked into the soft light of the northwest cornor of the Met, at the top of the first flight of stairs connecting the Modern Wings, are ten thousand one inch two inch three inch diameter rings reflecting upon thier interiors. Veiwed from a distance, their irregular repetition froths and condenses between the two uncrossable boundries of ceiling and floor. The installation's stark and subtle game unfolds quietly, gently caressing the perception, calling it to come closer and discover the secret of its construction. Rings of mylar disguise themselves at first as a material that calls back to modernism, appearing to be welded pieces of thin metal, polished on one side and shaped into small circular rings. Closer inspection reveals the truth to be must more delicate, and contemporary. Thousands of peices of mylar tape surround the viewer, rolled into this simple shape and stuck together simply, as the material was designed to do. The adhesive underbelly of the tape surrounds its polished face, catching dust and debris from the air and the floor. The shining face of the mylar tape reflects inward, in thousands upon thousands of repititons, scattering glancing particle-waves(1) from the room across their individual interior spaces. Somehow, magically, these pieces of commercial material become organic, combinging and expanding in a pattern built by the selction of chance.

Wholey indicative of Donovan's work, Untitled (Mylar) expands upon the artist's vocabulary of ordinary, commercial materials installed in a singular chosen architectural area: a luminous ceiling of styrophoam cups(2), a pulsing wall of stacked plastic straws (3), fuzzy translucent pods of fishin wire (4), cubes of sewing pins held retaining their shape by the forces of gravity and friction(5). The pieces are singular meditations on the materials that inhabit our contemporary lives, revealing their man-made nature to be surprisingly capable of organic grace.

(1) Light.
(2) Untitled, 2003 Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue6'(H) x 20'(W) x 19' 2"(D)
(3) Haze, 2003 Stacked Clear Plastic Drinking Straws12' 7"(H) x 42' 2"(W) 7 3/4"(D)
(4) Lure, 2004 Fishing Line2 1/2"(H) x 10'6"(W) x 26'(D)
(5) Untitled, 2001 Nickel-Plated Steel Pins Held Together by Friction & Gravity Only35"(H) x 35"(W) x 35"(D)
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Tara Donovan at ACE Gallery

The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece

The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Through January 13, 2008

Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York

Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York
Japan Society
October 5, 2007 - January 13, 2008

Zhang Huan: Altered States

Seen Above: Zhang Huan, Long Ear Ash Head, 2007, Ash and steel, 146” H x 133” W x 158” D

Zhang Huan: Altered States
The Asia Society, New York
Through January 20, 2008

My first introduction to the work of Zhang Huan was in Between Past and Future: New Photography and Video from China, while it was gracing the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.

Beth Campbell: Following Room

Beth Campbell: Following Room (Seen above)
The Whitney Museum of American Art
December 7, 2007 - February 24, 2008


In "Following Room," there are no mirrors. And yet, the tasteful banality of the objects inhabiting the installation propel the viewer into a fun-house of contemporary middle-class decor. A scene that should be all but devoid of artistic splendor is transubstantiated by the simple act of careful arrangement.

Two writings on the installations of Beth Campbell make reference to anterograde amnesia, in which the individual affected cannot form new long term memories and is thus living in a state of disorientation and repetition (1,2). Two movies, Memento and 50 First Dates, consider the pattern a life would fall into when forced to live in the shadow of this condition. The patient would be forced into a cycle of repetition. As the short term memories are continually lost, the patient reverts back to the original day and time of their accident, unable to be aware that anything has changed or that time has passed until they are notified by subtle clues in their environment, such as tattoos, videos, and newspapers.

"Following Room" is a choice example of how Campbell's work creates this disorienting sensation, similar to a hall of mirrors. It is the viewer's ability to see the subtle clues of the environment that allows him or her to detect the masterful illusion. The lack of personal reflection, the finite repetition of the scene, the ability to see other viewers walking around the exhibit, all tune the audience into the illusion. Much like an amnesiac sufferer, the audience of "Following Room" is dependent on the details to discern between illusion and reality.

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1. House of Mine: Beth Campbell's Anxiety of the Antecedent. Kukielski, Tina. Whitney Museum of American Art, 2007.
2. Edward Winkleman: Artist of the Week 7/5/05

Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love

Seen above: Kara Walker, Darkytown Rebellion, 2001. Cut paper and projection on wall, 14 x 37 ft. (4.3 x 11.3 m) overall. Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg.

Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love
The Whitney Museum of American Art
October 11, 2007 - February 3, 2008

New Work from the Year 2007

The end of 2007, the beginning of this blog.

It is December 31, 2007. It seemed fitting that this be the end of ignoring this blog.

Things that happened this year:

Accomplishments:

After five years of college, I graduated from the University of Chicago with a BA in Visual Art and, god only knows how, general honors in the college.

I moved to New York City in October where I am now gainfully employed (again, only god knows how this happened).

I posted my portfolio to the internet: www.picasaweb.google.com/karlhol

I started running again, though now its too cold most days to do it. Still, this is a major victory for yours truly, the belgium beer guzzling couch potato.

My November HBA1C was a 6.5.

Regrets:

I bought a black electric Ibanez seven string guitar, which I have not yet to learned how to play, even a little bit.

I have yet to contact a single gallery, apply for a single grant, or try to show any of my artwork outside of my bedroom or the internet since moving to New York City.

As well as I may have known those paradigms, and as many constructions as I have crammed into my brain, I never finished learning Sanskrit.

Concerts:

It was an EXCELLENT fall for truly brutal shows. By the time Novemember was over, I was exhausted and ready for a quiet weekend (or weekday!) at home, with a cat, a hot coco and a book.

Suffocation/Immolation/Skinless @ B.B. King's
Dysrhythmia @ Europa
Enslaved @ B.B. Kings

Behold...the Arctopus/Witchcraft @ Death by Audio

Wolves in the Throne Room @ Death by Audio

Exhibitions:

Though I missed the fall openings this September, I did still manage to make my way to a few choice art exhibitions and gallery shows before the year was over.

Damien Hirst @ the Lever House "School: The Archaeology of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity, and the Search for Knowledge" : As I said to one of the gallery attendants, anything involving dissected, preserved carcasses that also somehow alludes to Francis Bacon and surrealism is something I can live with...in my living room. THIS is the best picture I could find.

http://moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=3962 : An amazing collection of drawings, etchings and paintings, this exhibition really delivered. The most exciting thing for this artist? The copper etching plates. It is VERY rare that one gets to see the plate next to the print, which is a shame, since the plate is the fingerprint. It is what tells you how the image was made, how many layers were worked in, mistakes that were transformed, or smoothed over. The print is just evidence of the work, but the work itself is in the copper.

http://moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=3961 : The best elements of this exhibition were Puryear's particular blend of surrealism and minimalism. And I have to give it to the man, he molds wood into some shapes it just shouldn't be able to hold.

http://moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=3960: When MoMA does an exhibition whose description includes the phrase "the most beautiful painter's drawings in existence," my inclination is to RUN AWAY. However, I have to give it to the man, these are some of the most beautiful figurative studies I have ever seen. A combination of delicate line quality and a sensitive capture of light, these works transcend their nature as studies. Many of these drawings are even more beautiful than the famous paintings they inspired.

Max Toth @ Friedricks and Fraiser : In a world of white gessoed canvasses, it is really refreshing to see black.

http://www.bitforms.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=91#id=22&num=1 : These kinetic sculptures are one of a kind. Relying on the subtle plays of light and shadow, Rozin takes a deep look into how we create surfaces and reflections.

Books:

No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy: "But look at it my way. I got here the same way the coin did." This is one of the best books I have read, ever. I'm not sure what about its simple linear story telling or postmodern style really took hold of me, but I do know I read it cover to cover in just a few days. It grabbed me by the back of my eye sockets and refused to let go. Most astonishing about the book is the villian, a man who adheres to a strict and uncompromising code. In a novel where many characters define themselves by their inconsistencies and contradictions, it is awesomely chilling to encounter a killer who never falters in his own sense of duty.

Dune, by Frank Herbert: Though most of my friends read this book for the first time in high school, I was very glad to have made time for it in college after reading a few. A breathtaking take on classic epic literature, Herbert breathes new life into the ancient tale of the displaced heir who must reclaim his throne so that virtue may once again rule the universe. Brillant too is this novel for its weaving of religious influence. Where has my copy of the Orange Catholic Bible been all these years?

Windows and Mirrors, by Bolter and Grommala : An interesting piece of scholarship about the PC Windows design and the 'transparency' of technological interfaces.

Code Version 2.0, by Lawrence Lessig : Read it HERE for free. If you care about the freedom of the internet and how using the internet will continue to change as governments mold it with law and practice, then read this, immediately.

Neuormancer, by William Gibson : The book, and the man, that gave us the word cyberspace. And to think, it was only 1984. More notable than Gibson's vision of the internet to today's audience, I believe, is the role Artificial Intelligence plays in this novel. Rather than an entity that strives to become human, these two AIs have an agenda, and personalities if you want to call them that, that are, well, wholey synthetic. No attempt is made to anthropromorphize them past their capability to interact with human beings. THIS is a real achievement, in my mind, since AI, whenever it is realized at a level where one can assign it autonomous conciousness (self), will almost certainly be a life and a form all its own.

Count Zero, by William Gibson : Better than Neuromancer, in some ways, though not as prophetic.

All Tommorrow's Party's, by William Gibson

Virtual Light, by William Gibson

Idoru, by William Gibson : My favorite Gibson novel. Crazy japanese rock stars + artificial construct pop singer = true love. Aww.

1984, by George Orwell : Much better than anyone gives it credit for, really. I think what most people miss about this novel is the truly pervasive nature of Big Brother. Not only are these people slaves to war machine politics, they are also conditioned from birth to accept and fit into the mechanism. The number of generations that have lived under this rule are few, but the system has propagated itself past the crucial number of generations, so that everyone living and working in this dystopia is fully conditioned. Otherwise, the ministry of love would be killing a lot more of its citizens.

Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow, by Zak Smith : I saw this piece installed at the Walker Art Center while visiting some friends there this summer. This DIY, vegan anarchist punk artist gave himself one task: to make one illustration for each page of Pynchon's book. The title of the piece, "Pictures showing what happens..," is misleading. Each drawing is neither a synopsis of the page, nor a straightforward attempt to describe a main event for that page. Instead, each drawing is an association, a small detail, a saying, an impression that came to Smith while reading this notoriously difficult piece of literature. Since Pynchon's work itself is very much full of these kinds of impressions, the drawings do suit the style of the book, making it a wonderful illustration of the novel, even though the drawings taken together don't read like a comic of the book.

The New Glucose Revolution : A great resource for anyone trying to maintain a healthy diet. For this diabetic cyborg, this book has proven to be nothing short of a holy grail.

Movies:

No Country for Old Men, by the Coen Brothers : So good I had to read the book.

Transformers : "...and I am Optimus Prime" (cheers!) The only thing better than this movie was seeing it with a theater full of early to mid twenty somethings, all of whom were definately as plastered as I was. The best cartoon turned live action movie since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Code Unknown, by Michael Haneke

71 Fragments: A Chronology of Chance, by Michael Haneke : Though I am not nearly brave enough to see Haneke's masterpiece films (such as The Piano Teacher), this brutal little story of crossing paths is a brilliant look at the fragmentary and coincidental nature of modern living.

The Decalogue, by Krzysztof Kieslowski : At the chance of using the word perfect too many times in this blog, these ten short films are perfect. A postmodern contemplation of the ten commandments, Kieslowski propells his audience into 1980s Poland, a land still scarred by war and searching for virtue amid its Catholic traditions.

The Simpsons Movie : I saw this at the Mall of America. I think that really sums it up.

Television:

Dethklok Metalocalypse, DVD set season 1: rating- \mm/ (too much metal for one hand) Seriously guys, not dildoes. This flash animated, Adult Swim short is a must have for any metal head, or those who just get a kick out of seeing a lot of anatomically correct, animated gore. Also, the Dethklok album debuted at 21 on the Billboard 100, making it the highest debut for a death metal album, ever. Not to metion the fact that it stands at Number 1 for the college radio metal listening lists. Dethklok is a self fulfilling prophecy it would seem.

• Dethklok on Adult Swim
• Dethklok on Myspace
• Dethklok on Wikipedia
• Dethklok Forum

The Wire, DVD set season 4: Installment four of the single best show on Television. I'd give you all some of the highlights, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone. David Simon, bless you and your brutal Baltimore police dramas. My only regret, season five is the last one! At least the series will be perfect. I mean it, absolutely perfect.

Southpark "Imagination Land: The Trilogy" : So, I hadn't seen a new episode of South Park in, well, years, and this was the one I caught when I randomly turned on the boobtube. Our imaginations are indeed running wild.

Science:

Minimed has developed a continuous glucose monitoring sensor which is now in more or less general distribution. I started using it in early December. How I lived this long without it, I'll never know. It's the best thing to happen to me since I got an insulin pump almost 8 years ago.

MiniMed Paradigm^® REAL-Time Insulin Pump and Continuous Glucose Monitoring System

News and Politics:

Iraq, now a veritable wasteland for cultural production, has a heavy metal band named Acrassicauda. Acrassicauda is Iraqi for Black Scorpion. Though they have been running for their lives for the most of this year (and several previous), Vice Magazine made a movie and raised money, and they are now refugees in Turkey.

• Acrassicauda on Myspace
• Heavy Metal in Baghdad
• Acrassicauda Blog

For the first time in history, the American presidential race is front runned by a woman, and a man who isn't white. I'm not really sure how to otherwise classify Barrack Obama. I mean, part of him is white, and part of him is black, on top of basically a million other things. Can he and Tiger Woods be the namesakes of an Interrace? Just a thought... And what does it matter anyway. We all have genes within 95% similarity to everyone else on this planet, meaning that yes, you are as related to your second cousin as you are to someone who lives on the other side of the planet. Race: this is what happens when we try to broady classify morphological characteristics based on reconstructed patterns of language migration.