NEWSgrist - where spin is art
An e-zine covering the arts since 2000
Vol.5, no.15
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Sunday, August 15, 2004
Leon Golub: Outside The Comfort Zone
(Leon Golub with his work Prometheus II, 1998,
Photo Nancy Lee Katz)
Painter Leon Golub died last Sunday. He was
beloved by many, including this writer. Along with
his wife, artist Nancy Spero, they embody for many
of us THE example of independent-mindedness,
activism in the arts, personal kindness,
perseverence, intelligence and sheer spunk in the
face of an often narrow, limiting artworld landscape.
Here is the NYTimes obit by Holland Cotter.
Like Norman Mailer, Leon and Nancy also ran their
"campaign" from this very building (see previous
post)– it must have some sort of karma. Their 2nd
floor studio has served as a hub of industry and
activity for a local community of artists and
students for decades. Leon will be sorely missed.
Anecdote: In the weeks after 9/11 it seemed that
every artist I knew went through some cathartic
clean-out of their studios. A lot of useless
garbage not to mention old work got thrown out in
the process. One day after 9/11 (during the
anthrax scare) I came upon a number of rather
large empty discarded cardboard tubes in front of
our building, apparently placed there by one of
Leons assistants after a more thorough than usual
cleaning out. Each had the heart-stopping word
NAPALM in huge letters.
According to the schedule at Ronald Feldman
Gallery, Leon has work in the following upcoming
shows:
"WAR! Protest in America, 1965, 2004," at The
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, August
26-October 24, 2004. "amBUSH" at Van Brunt
Gallery, New York, August 24-September 18, 2004.
Heres a 2002 tribute (Art in America) from
longtime Golub champion Thomas McEvilley:
Outside the comfort zone: combining images of
global brutality with attacks on the painterly
surface, Leon Golubs work has long been a
disturbing presence. New York recently played host
to a traveling retrospective and two smaller shows
of the artists mordant "late" paintings.
…and an old interview (1992) with Leon in the
Journal of Contemporary Art.
Sunday, August 15, 2004 at 12:21 PM in Current
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////////////////////////// Rage Against The Machines
James Wagner wonders about the efficacy of
traditional mass demonstrations (I snatched this
terrifying image from his blog):
"A year and a half ago, in sub-freezing cold,
close to a million people marched in New York
alone, joined by millions more around the world on
the same day, demanding that the U.S. not engage
in a pre-emptive war. Washington ignored us, the
American media barely covered the phenomenon, and
a few weeks later the Bush cabal invaded Iraq.
"Like many others who watched these events, Im
wondering if traditional mass demonstrations have
become irrelevant in a post-democratic society
composed of a fat citizenry and a diseased media,
and run by a corporate cabal. If so, what can we
come up with instead? […]"
James then refers to the rivetting dialogue on the
subject published recently in New York Magazine
between Norman Mailer and son, which I read while
on vacation. If you can still get your hands on it
theres a great shot of Mailer campaigning for
mayor on the streets of New York with Jimmy
Breslin in 1969. Im told by my landlady that they
ran their campaign (and apparently countless wild
parties) out of the loft where I currently reside
and keep my studio on LaGuardia Place.
Heres some background:
A colorful, beligerent, egotistical and outspoken
figure, Mailer decided to jump into the crowded
Democratic race for New York City Mayor in 1969.
Adding more celebrity power to the ticket, Mailer
selected newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin as his
runningmate for Council President. Liberal John
Lindsay (R) had been elected Mayor in 1965, ending
decades of Democratic control at Gracie Mansion.
By 1969, the Democrats wanted to retake the office
and had a field of several major mayoral
candidates. Quickly labeled a joke by the media,
Mailers campaign responded with a colorful
slogan: "The other guys are the joke!" By primary
election day, Mailer was calling for NYC to become
the 51st state and using buttons emblazoned with
slogans like "Power to the neighborhoods!" It
didnt work, as Mailer finished fourth place with
5% of the vote. In the race for Council President,
Breslin finished a few points better than his
mayoral runningmate. Incumbent John Lindsay – who
lost for renomination to a conservative challenger
in an upset in the GOP primary – went on to win
re-election as the Liberal Party nominee by a
7-point margin over the conservative Democratic
nominee. [source]
Sunday, August 15, 2004 at 11:43 AM in Current
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////////////////////////// Images go online for "Watch What We Say"
[Carrie Moyer: Mural at Triple Candie]
This photo album includes representative images
and urls for the the 20 artists participating in
this 9-day protest show at Schroeder Romero
Gallery in Williamsburg. Watch for updates.
Sunday, August 15, 2004 at 11:19 AM in Art
Exhibitions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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////////////////////////// BYOP: The Media Deconstruction Kit
via NYTimes:
"AS the carefully staged spectacle of the
Republican National Convention rolls into Madison
Square Garden, the U.S. Department of Art &
Technology will present a media-focused, high-tech
spectacle of its own uptown. The multimedia
installation, which opens for three weeks on
Saturday at Luxe Gallery (24 West 57th Street), is
an ambitious undertaking for the department, the
stated goal of which is to promote the
appreciation of the role of the artist in society
and advocates free expression for all Americans.
[…]"
via USDAT press release:
We hope you can join us this Saturday, August 21
from 6 - 8 pm for the opening of the Experimental
Party DisInformation Center at LUXE gallery …
Aptly dubbed "Propaganda Hospitality Suite," the
opening promises to be an evening of
pre-convention revelry, with appearances by Axis
of Eve, Billionaires for Bush, Armed Artists of
America (AAA), MTAA Mobile Bunker, USA Exquisite
Corpse, The Secretary, and the Virtual Voice of
America singing "God Bless America." You are all
encouraged to "bring your own propaganda" (BYOP).
http://www.experimentalparty.org
Also, please read (and respond to!) Jeff Gates
recent piece in WeTheBlog.org, our very own forum
for sidestepping the spin-doctors of the
mainstream political parties.
Yours,
Secretary Randall M. Packer
Sunday, August 15, 2004 at 11:09 AM in Art
Exhibitions | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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////////////////////////// Friday, July 30, 2004
Escape From New York
You get the picture: NEWSgrist needs a break. See
you in a few weeks.
Friday, July 30, 2004 at 09:45 AM in Misc. |
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////////////////////////// Mumford in Baghdad
Image: Soldiers at a memorial service
via Artnet:
"How you doing, Mr. Mumford?" asks 1st Sgt.
Richard. "You look a little tense!"
"I am tense!" I say, but its slowly dawning on me
that were safe for now.
A plan is floated that we might stay here for up
to 72 hours. Suddenly the call to prayer from a
nearby minaret pierces the silence.
"Jesus fucking Christ," somebody groans, but at
that moment the town starts to come back to life.
People begin to emerge and walk around. The
fighters appear to have left. Its decided to
bring everyone back to Scunion, and we convoy up
and rumble back along the main boulevard.
Everywhere theres evidence of the fight: the
buildings are pockmarked with gaping holes, glass
shot out, and several vehicles are smoldering
along the route.
older post: Mumfords Baghdad
Friday, July 30, 2004 at 09:29 AM in Current
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////////////////////////// Thursday, July 29, 2004
This Song Was Made For You + Me
via Lessig Blog:
Reason brings some reason to the JibJab jumble,
through an article by Jesse Walker: Jabbing
JibJab: Copyright law vs. political satire:
[…] Nothing says more about the awful state of
copyright law today than the fact that this threat
actually carries some legal weight. In the 1997
case Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books, the
Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled
that The Cat NOT in the Hat!, a book by "Dr.
Juice" that recounted the O.J. Simpson trial in
the style of The Cat in the Hat, violated the
Seuss estates copyright. Ordinarily the fair use
doctrine permits parody, but in this case the
court was unmoved: This was a satire, it ruled,
not a parody. A parody would be a commentary on
the Seuss book, it explained, whereas this
borrowed Seusss creation to mock something
completely different. The obvious retortthat it
was a parody of bothdidnt carry any water. The
book was banned.
The same reasoning could easily apply to the
JibJab film. As lawblogger Chris Cohen has
commented, the video "would likely be considered
satire," not parody, "because the video does not
directly target the original song. The clear
target here is Bush and Kerry or politics/society
in general."
As with the Dr. Juice book, you can make a case
that the animation parodies the song as well as
the campaign. Another lawblogger, Ernest Miller,
perceptively argues that the film is "a
paradigmatic case of parody," noting that it
undermines virtually every element of the original
meaning of Guthries song. Where Guthries song is
provocative understatement, JibJabs is merely
provocative. Where Guthries song is one of unity,
JibJabs version both mocks and ultimately
supports that ideal. In a year in which the
red/blue divide is frequently debated, Guthries
call for unity would seem to be ripe for this sort
of parody. Guthrie was a supporter of communism,
but his America has become consumerist (which
JibJab notes perfectly). Guthrie sang songs to
raise political consciousness, JibJab mocks
political consciousness. > snip! <
Thursday, July 29, 2004 at 12:10 PM in Current
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////////////////////////// "This Land" Is Made For Litigation
via BoingBoing:
EFF defending creators of This Land is Your Land
parody
Im proud to relate that EFF is representing Jib
Jab, the creators of the wonderful "This Land is
Your Land" Flash parody that aroused the ire of
the holder of Woody Guthries copyrights and
resulted in a threatened lawuit.
more on this story from Public Knowledge:
Public Knowledge Sees Copyright Overkill in
Threats to JibJab Parody
Threats by a music publisher to sue the creators
of a popular online parody are clearly copyright
overkill, according to Gigi B. Sohn, president
and co-founder of Public Knowledge.
The Richmond Organization, which holds the
copyright to the 1940 Woody Guthrie classic, This
Land is Your Land, has threatened a lawsuit
against JibJab, a California-based web site that
has used the tune in producing a political satire
cartoon lampooning both President Bush and Senator
John F. Kerry.
Claims by the publishers that the JibJab cartoon
would hurt the song or do damage to the song are
ludicrous, Sohn said, noting that the song was
originally written as a protest against social
conditions of the time, including references to
people lining up for what were then called
relief payments during the Great Depression.
Woody Guthrie would probably have been delighted
to see his song being used as a part of current
political commentary, Sohn said.
more from Wired:
Sue You: This Song Is Our Song
By Rachel Metz
[…]They felt comfortable they were in fair-use
territory, he said, and thus didnt feel the need
to ask Ludlow Music if they could use the song.
Fair use allows limited unauthorized use of
copyright works to complement or help illuminate
things like commentary, criticism, news reports,
research and education. Fair use also considers
whether the copyright work in question is used to
make a profit, what type of copyright work is
being used, how much of it is being used and if
the works author is losing money from the
unauthorized use.
"For us, this was a clear fair-use parody from day
one," Gregg Spiridellis said. "And even … how we
conceived the idea was to say Woody Guthrie was
this incredible, prolific songwriter and just had
these incredible, insightful things to say in his
political songs, and we thought it would be funny
if Woody Guthrie was alive today and just using
the discourse of American politics in his songs."
more from CNN Money:
A Jibjab showdown
Bush-Kerry parody draws the ire of the music
publisher that owns the Guthrie song.
…and this quote from Guthrie himself:
Pete Seeger, June 1967:
When Woody Guthrie was singing hillbilly songs on
a little Los Angeles radio station in the late
1930s, he used to mail out a small mimeographed
songbook to listeners who wanted the words to his
songs, On the bottom of one page appeared the
following:
"This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of
Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and
anybody caught singin it without our permission,
will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we
dont give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it.
Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, thats all we
wanted to do."
Thursday, July 29, 2004 at 11:06 AM in Current
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////////////////////////// Paul Davis: Reprise
Image: poster by Paul Davis for Caroline Or Change
by Tony Kushner
via WNYC Local:
The Theater Art of Paul Davis, by Judith Kampfner
NEW YORK, NY (2004-07-29)
Mentally conjure up posters for Broadway musicals
and symbolic images come to mind. Little cats
eyes, a half mask, a helicopter. But the theater
posters of Paul Davis begin with realistic
portraits in oils. Judith Kampfner reports on a
legendary artists return.
Kampfner: Paul Davis would like every theater
poster to be a work of art. […]
Kampfner: Davis loves paradoxes and sharp
contrasts. He cites Alfred Hitchcock for his
inspiration, admiring the genius of framing a
crime on a sunny day. For Davis poster for The
Cherry Orchard , Irene Worth is defiant in a tall
Russian hat but veiled by a curtain of falling
snow and fragile blossom. Thats from the Davis
heyday when he illustrated Lincoln Center plays.
Since the mid eighties hes only had a handful of
commissions for Broadway. Live theater hasnt
exactly been chasing Paul Davis . Until now. Above
a marquee for a musical is a sign that looks like
a painting. Signature Davis.
A recognizable portrait of the shows leading actor.
Davis: Shes internalizing some of her problems,
you can see on her face shes had a bad day, shes
having a cigarette and shes in a pensive unhappy
mood.
Kampfner: This is a picture of Tonya Pinkins who
created the title role of the maid Caroline in the
musical Caroline or Change by Tony Kushner.
Kushner: I see people walking past the theater
looking up at the huge painting of a black woman
in a maids dress - its a dangerous image and I
think its a beautiful and powerful image
Kampfner: Kushner says the image is unconventional
for Broadway which is appropriate since this is a
serious musical. The hunched figure of Caroline
slumped on her stoop is in contrast to the shiny
banners across the street where Chicago is
playing. No fishnets for Caroline - only thick
white stockings.
[…]
Davis: I walk around here and I see half a dozen
theaters in the neighborhood. Theres La Mama,
Jean Cocteau, Pearl St and there is no shortage of
graphic designers - it really seems to me that we
should be doing better theater art here.
Thursday, July 29, 2004 at 09:39 AM in
Performances | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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////////////////////////// Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Moblogging the RNC
Artist GH Hovagimyan has put together a moblog for
the Republican Convention that anyone can use. It
automatically uploads your picture & message to
the site.
To get instructions on how to use send an email to
[email protected]
Read more about moblogging (moblie phone blogs).
Wednesday, July 28, 2004 at 01:20 PM in Web/Tech |
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NEWSgrist: Leon Golub: Outside The Comfort Zone (Vol.5, no.15)
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