1Op Collective Art Zine Volume 1, Issue 1
March 2011
In this Issue A Poem by Jason Greendyk (p age 2 ) An Artist Review by Danny Glix (p ag e 2 ) Gallery Reviews by Nicole Helen Brunner ( pag es 3-7 ) An Interview with Dan Alvarado, by Nicole Helen Brunner
( pa ges 8- 10)
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(Photo, Ben Kelley, still frame from the artist’s video)
Glitch N atur e - Fr ee dom t o th e Galax y By Danny Glix Glitch sound / video artist and cultural hacker Ben Kelley (Mikrosopht) has done it again. You may recall my post earlier this year about his short film glitch endless, where he datamoshed raw video codec to create gushing LCD blood for 10 straight minutes. His newest work Freedom to the Galaxy examines the popular film Star Wars through a glitch lens. FttG is an investigation into the meaning of electronic error as aesthetic ideal My mind was blown by FttG and so I asked Ben if I could chat with him for this article. Ben explains that using XVid and corrupting the encoding algorithm by short circuiting torrent downloads to randomize frame fragments allows him to manipulate the video. By intentionally embracing the glitch to formulate a specific spontaneous datastream, the result is a nonrepresentational fluid state which is actually sophisticated codec architecture containing massive quantities of extreme compression. Ben comments that he doesn't like pre-packaged datamosh software's and prefers to hand corrupt the video. He explains that his motivation doesn't necessarily come from a place of making maximalist texture mash's either. His focus is more of a discovery of the unusual and unrealized. For him the high is searching within unconventional methods of stimulating conceptual artistic experimentation that strike a strong surrealist chord. Ben says he worries about the temporary nature of bytes, and is afraid to zone in too hard and get lost. I must discourage this apprehension, since his video experimentation thusfar results in the most epic data orgy of our time. FttG is pure gaussian lossy fructose, erratic semi-forming juxtaposed waves of distorted multicolored bits. An LSD nightmare / synesthetic ylem you can grasp with your eyes.
Irrev eri e, De ceit By Jason Greendyk Waking to flares of imitation Voices in heads must (hear/be heard) Resounding divine in world A symphony of free depth music Waltzing Escher’s stairs In (maze/maize) of gravitation Time nowhere to be found Must forge out raw alloy The (divine/vine) grows out utterance Those arrogant (scowls/laughs) of poesy A sweet dark remembrance Of other time (Airports/endless lines waiting to fly) Par for the course Head as semblance of heart Heart as semblance of head A science in veil of cowardice For evil to (him/her) whom evil thinks Black ice impeccably unforeseen Murphy’s law incarnate A profound flattery This (tension of assimilation/ World beneath the skin Mixing recklessly into bloodstream And incised gushing in to world) This unbearable entropy (Perfect/imperfect) abysses’ Lashes fluttering What tease
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We st 2 4th Galle ry Wal k R evie ws By Nicole Helen Brunner, Co-director & Artist Route: Began at W 24th & 10th Ave, walked on the left side towards 11th Ave Please note: Not all galleries were visited on W 24th. all reviews are my opinion and may and most likely won’t reflect how other members of 1 Op or you view the exhibitions that I reviewed. That is the beauty of art.
*All Photos are courtesy of Nicole Helen Brunner Gallery #1: Mike Weiss Gallery 520 W 24th St New York, NY 10011 Tel 212 691 6877 http://www.mikeweissgallery.com/html/home.asp Currently on view: Hermann Nitsch Open dates: February 19 - March 19, 2011 My Review: Herman Nitsch had created wildly vibrant and enticing large scale paintings that fill the Mike Weiss Gallery almost from floor to ceiling. Most exciting is the way he created the pieces using his hands and the splatter technique which created a variety of textures - Lucky for you there is a video in the space showing the assemblage. In addition to the large canvas pieces are several white shirts displayed like Kimonos that also contain the same bright colors and textures as the other pieces. My Verdict: With the bright colors this show will make you happy - go see it!
Gallery # 2: Susan Inglett, Director 522 West 24 Street New York NY 10011 http://www.inglettgallery.com/ Currently on view: Hope Gangloff Open dates: Feb 3 – Mar 12 2011 My Review: Hope Gangloff utilizes large canvases to capture a life, which we can only assume is hers. Using the same models several times throughout her works she pays a great deal of attention to details (like writing out every word on a magazine page or placing every pine needle on a branch) Unlike the first gallery we visited Hope pays little attention to texture created by layering of paint but focuses rather by visual texture. Personally this is one of my favorite shows on my gallery walk of w 24th.
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Gallery # 3: Marc Jancou Contemporary 524 WEST 24TH ST NEW YORK, NY 10011 http://www.marcjancou.com/ Currently on View: Jacques Louis Vidal Games People Play February 9 - March 12, 2011 My Review: The real gem of this gallery is in the back so just walk on to the back don’t even bother with the over sized paper cuts with faces of V from V for Vendetta an how bare the gallery looks. You may rush through the back room at first but seriously wait a few seconds and a mysterious voice with a not so cleaver voice machine will begin a conversation with you. If you hang out long enough you will begin to discover new events happening within the space.
Gallery # 4: Galeria Ramis Barquest 532 W 24th St New York, NY 10011 Currently on view: Cabaret Group show curated by Matthew Weinstein Open dates: Feb 17 - Mar 19 My Review: At first this show lacks a very obvious link between the works besides the emphasis on Latin American art, which this gallery is known for. After spending sometime in the space it becomes clear that the curator, Matthew choose the artists because each piece has a slight if not blatant political and entertainment tone. I still however think the works don’t really make sense next each other leaving the flow of the gallery difficult to complete.
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Gallery # 5: Danziger Projects 534 West 24th Street New York, New York 10011 USA Telephone 212.629.6778 Currently on view: Big Shots Andy Warhol Polaroid’s of celebrities Open dates: Jan 8 - Feb 26, 2011 My Review: One of Warhol’s lesser known collections are his Polaroid’s; that I could have lived without seeing. I walked through the area with little to no interest in the celebrities that he had shot. Not sure if I was supposed to think they were important or if they should be meaningless. It was more about nostalgia than anything. Check it out if you like celebrity photos.
Gallery # 6: Andrea Rosen Gallery 525 W 24th st New York, New York 10011 USA Currently on view: Main Gallery: Gillian Carnegie Second Gallery: Peter Buggenhout David Claerbout Berlinde De Bruyckere Thierry De Cordier Wim Delvoye Kris Martin Matthieu Ronsse Jan Van Oost Third Gallery: Michael St. John, Elliott Hundley Dates open: January 29 - March 5, 2011 My Review: Gillian maintains an overall somber palette, which allows the viewer to focus on the imagery of architecture. She however adds few abstract natural pieces. Not sure if the size of the natural paintings make a difference but they are much smaller than the architecture pieces. What’s interesting is that even though the pieces have architecture in them the actual gallery architecture seems to over power the artworks in the first room. Perhaps because this style of painting is too meticulous and the palette is too drab for me I must say the second gallery is the place to be. Loaded with strange and mysterious objects the second gallery is called Flemish Master; That’s Life. Check out the spiral crucifix and the almost grotesque sculptures that are contained in this small room. You can also catch a look at yourself in a large mirror piece that reads ‘The End”.
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Gallery # 7: FREIGHT + VOLUME 530 W. 24th St. New York, NY 10011 Currently on view: Richard Butler hypochondriacatthegramercyparkhotel Open dates: Feb 18 - March 26th, 2011 My Review: Large scale paintings depicting bubble wrapped portraits and people dressed in pleather. Here are two fun facts I found after I began researching this exhibition - Richard Butler was part of “The Psychedelic Furs” and used his daughter predominately as is model for this show. That last fact is a little disturbing considering the images are very sexual.
Gallery # 8: Bruce Silverstein Gallery Currently on view: Shinichi Maruyama Gardens Open dates: February 17, 2011 - April 02, 2011 Thursday, February 17, 6-8 pm My review: This show displays large scale printed images of colored paint suspended in air. Though beautiful, these pieces because of their scale and the way they are printed look like they were created using computer software. It is hard to believe that Shinichi actually painstakingly photographed each splash before it hit the surface. Given the above even though the pieces are exquisite I think if they were painted from those photographs I’d be more impressed by their scale.
Gallery # 9: Metro Pictures 519 West 24th Street New York, NY 10011 Telephone 212 206 7100 Fax 212 337 0070 http://www.metropicturesgallery.com/ Currently on view: Stephen G. Rhodes Open dates: Jan 15 – March 5 2011
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My Review: Two floors with two different shows happening but I only made it to one. Major overload from the first show resulted in missing the second show. The first exhibition showcases Stephen G. Rhodes, who displays a maze that is lined with clocks, plywood, paint and randoms. Move on to the back gallery space to experience the rotating projection system, which is stacked on bed frames and books. It rotates every few minutes skewing the images along the gallery wall and and the viewer in the images way. The projector gets the point across without being too over the top like the rest of the space.
Gallery # 10: Marianne Boesky Gallery 509 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011 Currently on view: Sue De Beer Depiction of a Star Obscured by Another Figure Open dates: February 18 - March 19, 2011 My Review: I would have liked to have seen more here. This space is relatively empty minus three to four wooden sculptures with blue/pink/purple lights that are placed behind wood cut sculptures. The whole space is very zen like and is very relaxing. I however think that the placement of these pieces is a little off and leaves the viewers wanting more.
Gallery # 11: Benrimon Contemporary 514 West 24th Street, 2nd Floor New York, New York 10011 Currently on view: Trey Speegle It’s Not About You Open Dates: February 3 - March 5, 2011 My Review: The gallery is hard to find and the only reason I found this gem was while in another gallery across the street. Inside the artist, Speegle creates nostalgic works that take the viewer back to their paint by numbers days. However nostalgic these bright works are, Speegle adds clever phases that utilize the word ‘you’ to tie the viewer in deeper. Though this show ended it is worth checking out the artist and the gallery in the future.
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Me et th e Arti st : Da n Alvarad o Interview by Nicole Helen Brunner 1. A bit about yourself? “I’m Dan Alvarado. Or you can just call me Dan. Through the days of the week, I kind of go under two aliases from my two environments.” 2. Did you study academic / classical art techniques before you started silk screening? “Yes, I took art courses in high school before I studied art at James Madison University. This was the first time I was drawing still lives, working with watercolors and pastels, and painted. I do recall doing some silk screening there; but it wasn’t nearly as technical as I learned from college. During my early college years, I had lessons in 2D and 3D design, drawing courses (including nude figure drawings), painting and metals and jewelry. I didn’t take a silk screening course until my junior year in college. And after I took it once, I was hooked. And I have to really give it all thanks to my professor and mentor, Jack McCaslin. Without Jack, I’d feel a bit incomplete today.”
Colorado) and Kristen Margiotta (hailing from Delaware). I guess the after college life and seeing what I can find, it’s been going pretty well. I haven’t sold much of my works, yet. But I’ve been in a good handful of group shows, as well as having my first solo installation show in Calgary at this point. So I can’t really complain about that.” 4. When did you start silk screening? “Junior year in college.”
5. What is your main source for the NEWS? “For the news: on a national and global perspective, I refer to many newslinks: BBC (which is the most reliable global source), CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg for US current events, and the NY DailyNews for any local or opnion news (which surprisingly has some good opinionated articles). For the art, I stick to one: Juxtapoz. It’s the best art magazine to cover what’s new and hot in the art world today.”
3. How did you start as an artist? “Well, right before I graduated from college, I was already keeping my eyes open on any art opportunities. That included group juried shows and open signups. I also tried to expose my art through a group called The Big Art Show. That went through the 4 years of my college life. And I met some great people along the way there: Kris Lewis (who is big on having shows in Denver,
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6. What was your work like early on? Were you working with political themes then? “My work early on…from the farthest I can remember was tracing over illustrations and drawing off of baseball cards (yes, I was a jock until the end of high school). When I painted, it was similar to Warhol’s style of vibrant colors and portraits. But I went on a phase painting celebrity mugshots (about 20-25) as a “mixed cocktail” of my taste on celebrity status. It also felt like painting by numbers instead of layering colors on top of one another. I didn’t work on political themes until my freshman year in college. Which from there, it kind of just flowed into my blood system.” 8. How has your work transformed and what was the biggest influence on that since you have started? “My work I feel hasn’t completely transformed yet. I feel that every artist does not need to stick to one style they’re comfortable yet. I feel that you grow with your art throughout your whole life. I am still learning and finding new interests along the way. But if I had to say one thing that’s transformed, it’s the fact my subject matter has matured, and my thought process is more of a design perspective in my head. If I had to name by biggest influence: without a doubt, Banksy. I was introduced to him by my History of Design professor, William Tate. And my jaw literally dropped when I saw his works. He has no limits and he paved the way for making graffiti a more acceptable form of art. Other than that, I have to give much thanks to my professors in college for kicking my ass on making art, Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, and Jasper Johns.”
9. I see you were in a show with Shepard Fairey, how did you feel about that? How do you think it helped you as an artist? “It was an awesome feeling. It was definitely the highlight of my year in 2010 art wise. I have to give thanks to a friend of mine from Newark, Natalie, for introducing me to the gallery director of Sacred Gallery, Kevin Wilson, to have this group show set for me. Once Kevin and I talked about the show, things connected very well, and once the exhibition was displayed, I was like a happy kid in a candy store on how it turned out. You also have to give credit to the other artists involved: Adam Hays, Nick Moore, Aiden Hughes, Max Grundy, and Wendy Cross. It was a great show not to have been missed. How it helped me as an artist, it provided more exposure of my art to people at the greatest city to show art, NYC. Did my pieces sell? No. But at this point, if you can network to new people, have them look at your art online and comment, the sales will come later. That I truly stick by with where I am now as an artist.” 10. How do you normally get your shows? “How I normally get into my shows is by looking online and seeing any art opportunities that are around. As one artist, Kenyob (who’s got some great print works himself), told me awhile ago “show anywhere you can show. It will be recognized in the future.” So I try to apply to all kinds of group shows, juried shows, or solo show opportunities I can get. I also look at shows depending on location. There is a difference between showing somewhere in NYC and California vs. somewhere in Idaho. And with that, it’s never a success
story. I’ve been rejected many times. And that’s all part of life. You just have to keep your shoulders up, head high and see what else you can find for yourself.” 11. What would you consider to be an ideal venue to exhibit your political works? “An ideal venue…well I would say first location: NYC or Washington DC. I think those two locations would be very ideal for my political expressions. The venue space: a good 3,000 sq. ft. with old flags draping down would be great. I had an idea of creating brick walls and wheat pasting some of my political posters on walls. Even sirens and barb wire I think would be funny as hell. I had a great idea that it’s all set series wise. But I feel that not everyone is too comfortable displaying controversial political art these days. “ 12. Any advice for the up and comers? “Keep going at what you do with art. Whether you display your art, get famous or not, art is the best therapy for the mind in any state of condition. Nothing gets better than creating art done by your own two hands. The other advice I can give up and comers is that once you learn art from an educational perspective, learn how to market yourself. If you can’t market yourself and be a bit egotistic (not overbearing, nobody wants to hear an asshole being too cocky) of your art and what you create, you will get lost in a field that there’s million of other artists that are trying to achieve the same thing. I see contemporary artists that have terrible styles. Some of them I never understand. But they succeed because they market themselves to the right people.
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Sometimes you have to look at things from a business perspective and look at yourself selling your art, or “product” to the right folks to gain attention.” 13. When not being artistic you like to? “Well even when you’re on your “off day” with art, you still can be artistic. You just keep things and ideas in your head when you walk around earth everyday. I feel like my brain has a 500 GB memory stick logged into it about future projects I want to pursue. But as far as actual non art activities…well cooking (especially with the girlfriend), listening to music, playing baseball if I still have it in me and watching my comedy shows those are what keeps the fun in me.” 14. If we want some of your art swag where can we get it? “Can check out my website, www.danalvarado.com with all of my prints, paintings and other works to view and can get to me if there’s any interest on purchasing my works.” 15. Would you consider your art to have a consistency or identity that people identify you with “To be honest, I have no idea if my art has consistency. Ask those who like it and they can give you a better answer.” 16. I can easily see your work playing well as poster / sticker graffiti. Do you do any street art of your own? “No, I do not. I keep my works as prints and paintings so I can avoid violating any laws. It’s more accepted in art society today, but it’s still a violation. The one city that has their graffiti policies right to me is London.”
17. Do you feel as though silk screening is the best medium to express what you have to say? “I don’t think it’s more of a question of how to express my ways. It’s more or less the technique and thought process on how to create my works that makes silkscreening the best medium. To me, I can make the same message out of a painting or drawing…even sculpture. But I feel that the way silkscreening works, thinking of how you choose your colors before you apply onto the paper. Thinking of your stencils in advance. Even producing mass additions if you want. That’s what makes screenprinting fun.” 18. is America the greatest country on Earth? “Are you trying to get me in trouble here? I keep my deep political talks personal at the moment. It’s tough to say also when you have visited other countries (i.e. many in Europe for me) and embrace their cultures, when every country has their problems and issues. But I urge you to ask everyone else this question. Send me their answers and get back to me..then I can fill in my opinion on this.”
“Work in a cubicle job that pays for me to survive.” 23. Do contemporary artists have the opportunity to live the American dream? “That I will not comment on. If I did, it would run about 3 pages. I will say that you have to ask first “What is the American dream?” Then ask “Is the American dream the same as it was before?” Then I think you’d find that answer.” 24. What are your plans for the future? Whats on the horizon for you? “Right now, I take things one step at a time. I’ve gone on phases on trying to plan ahead on many things, and the reality is that it never goes that way. Plans are spontaneous. I’m just going to keep doing with what I do, and see where the opportunities lie. And if it ends up on me taking over the world, then I will be happy with that as well.”
19. How many editions do you print of a particular image? “Depends on what I am working on. I haven’t done anything in a size of 30-40 works yet. But it varies.” 20. Are you Religious? “I have faith in God, but not through a religious group.” 21. Where is your studio? “I work at the Lower East Side Printshop, located in NYC, right by Madison Square Garden.” 22. What do you do for money?
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