Public Art Tragedy

Early Tuesday painters covered the walls of 5Pointz and, as a result, erased the work of hundreds of graffiti artists. This act could be considered meta-vandalism in some senses, as the graffiti artists were, ostensibly, vandalizing the buildings themselves through their work. 

The owner, Jeffrey Wolkoff, purchased the buildings in 1971 and, after leasing the space to a music industry firm, rented studios to artists for a few hundred dollars a month. He was asked, by a person who removes graffiti from walls in the city, if his painters could use these walls as canvases. Wolkoff agreed and, over time, gave them more and more space. In 2002, a graffiti artist named Meres One took the endeavor over, becoming its curator and christening it 5Pointz.

Click here for the full article.

Art alum, Angie, at 5Pointz, this past summer.
Tourists and art enthusiasts from all over the world come to 5Pointz.

This public art tragedy — which was looming over the past year, really—even caused Banksy to come to action.

Banksy's inflatable installation was a call to save a famous 5Pointz. “This is a sideways take on the ubiquitous spray-painted bubble lettering that actually floats...It’s an homage of sorts to the most prevalent form of graffiti in the city that invented it for a modern era . Or it's another Banksy piece that’s full of hot air.” Within hours, the latest piece was in the back of a police van, as captured on Instagram (above).


What's next? Razing the buildings and putting in condominiums.

live event @ .NO-in-NYC, Feb 17, 8-9pm

Katy Gunn LIVE @ .NO Friday, February 17, 8-9pm

Catch Katy Gunn next week for this intimate gig with new songs and old favorites -- your last chance in NYC before Katy sets off for her next European tour! A resplendent backdrop for the performance, Pia MYrvoLD’s otherworldly digitial imagery (top image) remains on view through March 4. .NO is located at 251 East Houston Street, btw. Norfolk and Suffolk Streets. Subway: F-train, Second Avenue–Lower East Side stop. Gallery hours are Tuesdays to Fridays 12 pm–6pm, and Saturday and Sundays 1 pm–6 pm. Press viewings can be arranged prior to the exhibitions. For more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact the gallery director at (646) 431-2663 or mail@no-in-nyc.org

Join me@.NO Gallery, Sat.10/22, 1-5pm

.NO Gallery is located 251 E. Houston, (btwn. Norfolk and Suffolk) on the Lower East Side in NYC. (take F-train to 2nd Ave, closest stop). See full program HERE.

Noah Becker: "… Authorship of ideas is fluid in the current online environment with ideas and images distributed like a digital wild west. We are still moving forward at a rapid pace with no sign of slowing down. When the paradigm shift in the art world began (from print to digital) things began to change. Whitehot took a drastic step at that juncture bringing in a large number of new critics, artists and curators forward. This involvement will hopefully provide the reader with a disconnect from the massive amount of cyclical commentary and intellectual pollution that is characteristic of our time." (from: The Letter from Editor, Monday Jan. 10, 2011. See: http://whitehotmagazine.com/documents/about)

Franklin Evans: "… Are we the Make It Bigger Generation? I think we are past that (possibly linked to recent economic decline). … Nothing felt like Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses, Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, or even the maquette for Jeff Koons’ LACMA Train. The recent economic past may be a harbinger of what’s to come (slow decline of economic hubris and transition to more moderate lifestyles) and in ways it may be seen in some of the GNY work. Matt Hoyt’s strange work wonderfully relates (and more than just this) to what I suggest as the current social attitude digesting the socioeconomic decline of America." (from: Greater New York Roundtable by Richard J. Goldstein, Sep.7, 2010)

Vanessa Albury: "…The light, the image, once you’ve reached it, it consumes the space and cascades before you. You are surrounded by images on top of themselves. A montage of a white lily, black lace trim, dust & sand in a mirror. I send my images back upon myself in reflections on dusty mirrors & on glossy glass windows. I send these images on to you." (from: http://www.vanessaalbury.com/2statement.html)

Tanja Thorjussen: "… One thing that is specific to the Norwegian art market is its multiple grants for artists, this sets the economy of those Norwegian artists that receive a grant in a different light than the American artists that do not get grants to the same extent. We will not be able to sidestep this comparison. I will therefore briefly explain how the grants are built up and how this influences the way many Norwegian artists work." (from an email correspondence with Boris Zakic, Oct.11, 2011)

Inger‐Reidun Olsen: "… Through the physical body, sound and simple scenographic elements [RE-ACTION] is reflecting how these power structures affect us and the way in which we have power over our own lives, in relation to other people and the world around us." (from: http://irodance.wordpress.com/main-projects/)

NYC cont'd (Boris's 3rd)

Just a quick add-on-to the previous (Earl Grey's) post.
To ART455: I have attended an excellent discussion this morning, entitled "Prophet/Profit: Hirst." I would like to highly recommend thoughts by Thomas Crow, Sarah Thornton (our text), Capri Rosenberg, Debora Silverman and others, for anyone interested in the art market and looking pass "art personalities." Crow, for instance, suggested strong ties to Richter and dot paintings. I am stating this in light of Kelsey's recent works and posts. Kelsey, by the way, very glad you dropped a note about your latest images. See painters Thomas Downing (60s, 70s), John Armleder (60s), along the way, too. But all of you, please take interest in the above mentioned writers and the related scholarship. I will make it a point to pass the abstracts onto you as soon as they become available. Also, I hope you had a good session with photographing and lighting your works (thanks Darrell). We'll discuss them first thing. Best wishes from the CAA's Centennial kickoff.

College Art Association conference

This week I am in New York for the annual conference of College Art Association, a 99-year old organization that puts visual art at the forefront of its mission. Also known as CAA, the organization publishes two journals, Art Journal and The Art Bulletin, online publications, offers professional standards for resumes and cvs for artists and art historians, and offers myriad services to artists and art historians at every stage of their professional career. Of particular interest for students, CAA publishes two guides to art history and art studio programs (seniors, if you are interested in grad school and not borrowed these books from me, please come by and see me. They're great starting points for researching art programs!). Membership includes visual artists and art historians -- academics and independents -- as well as curators and other museum staff.

I attend the conference every year and participate in events of two organizations: Historians of British Art and Public Art Dialogue. Today, I visited the Bard Graduate Center for a discussion with curator and founding director Susan Weber about her research on the English architect and designer William Kent. Earlier, I attended a session on college and university museums and pedagogy. So far, the conference has been superb. I look forward to tomorrow's activities, especially the session on public art and community that I am co-chairing with Greg Mueller from Gustavus Adolphus College.

More to report soon! In case you're interested in reading reports from other conference attendees, read the CAA blogs here.