What Crisis?

Hello, Good People. As you can see, blogging hasn't been at the top of my to-do list. At some point, I'll post about why I'm on permanent hiatus. Perhaps, some day the blogging passion will return. Until then.... peace.

Stick with Me

It's been a little crazy this week. Be kind, and give me a little slack for a bit. :) By Monday, Amp Power should be up and running again. Thanks

Best Press Agents

If you're an artist and want to attract people to your next show, try to get Homeland Security involved. I would probably never think of checking out Duke Riley's "After the Battle of Brooklyn" exhibit at Magnan Gallery, if Riley hadn't received so much press and digital ink last August. When this water performance artist attempted to navigate his homemade submarine around the waters of Manhattan, the police and every other anti-terrorist soldier got involved. Riley was trying to recreate some Revolutionary War scene in which a sub overtook a British vessel. Hopefully, Riley captured the ensuing brouhaha on video. Homeland Security officers are definitely the best press agents in the world. Show starts Nov. 1. (Images via Damon Winter/The New York Times)

In the Closet

The label "alt-folk" makes me throw up, but recently that's all I've been listening to. I put the blame squarely on Suzanne Vega's "Beauty & Crime" disc. I had ignored Suzanne Vega after her 1987 "Solitude Standing," but I picked up her new disc because it is a paean to New York City post 9/11. I got hooked big time. I'm the type of person who likes to burn things out fast; that is, I listen to the same album five times a day for two weeks straight. I started to snuff the life out of the poor CD, so I went searching for more. At my library, I found "99.9 F. degrees" and "Songs in Red and Gray." Those CDs are now on continuous rotation. But, soon, I'll need more. It's hard to admit that I'm a Suzanne Vega fan. I guess I'm in denial. Perhaps it's all because of that cringe-worthy "alt-folk" label.

Realistic Allegories

James Valerio's paintings at George Adams gallery make me smile. These hyper-realistic paintings seem to be allegorical. However, the stories on these canvases are not standard symbolic tales but ones for the viewer to make up on his own. "Comic Times" shows a couple in their pattern-busy living room. The wife reads the funnies as intently as someone reads the business page, while the husband stares off in a reverie, his body partially blocked by a statue of three embracing figures. These paintings are intense and huge; some measure eight feet high. Valerio's deadpan humor kept me looking, and I wouldn't mind hanging one of these works in my apartment if it could fit. (Images via George Adams)

Gonzo Art

It may be thought of as a gimmick, but I like it: creating art under extreme situations--and elements. As part of his ongoing "Drawing Restraint" project, Matthew Barney sailed from Gibraltar to New York last December. As the boat rocked to and fro, Barney drew and painted with what he had available. The final art images are now on view at the Serpentine Gallery in London, and some were printed in W magazine. (Unfortunately, they are not available online, but thanks to my scanner, here are a select few.)

When the weather was cooperative, Barney went out of his way to make his circumstances uncooperative, such as strapping himself to the boat's side and using the hull as an easel.

Dracula's version of a Jackson Pollock drip painting. Who knows? Maybe that fish is a pollack.

Fish lips lend a hand.
(Images via W magazine)