Spiral Out of Time

Looks like Smithson's masterpiece is in the news again and not in a good way. Link and read, email and complain. But do it before 7pm CST. Or else....













Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty, 1970.

On the other hand, Smithson may have intended for the Jetty to disappear over time. Totally your call, though.

2000 and great!

I haven't posted in a while, and it's probably a good thing since I am using -5% of my normal brain capacity due to my current situation with the body snatcher smashed up against my ribs, but nevertheless, I'm getting pissed, and its time to tell you why.

I'm getting pretty disappointed in the art world right now. Like wtf is going on with people just not having common decency?

Like this Maggi bullshit and CSAW? Who does that stuff? You know, like royally screw a bunch of artists, not to mention largely affecting the art community here in Houston. I'm not going to go into details because there's tons of dirt here and here. Shit, just google it, I'm sure she's pissed off enough people where there's loads more material out there. But needless to say, the people she fucked over are starting new and the space looks awesome.

Oh and artists not being able to get their shit together for a show? Ok, so I'm just getting this from a blog entry I saw on Glasstire (scroll down to see the post on Donna Huanca's show at Women an Their Work), but I am not surprised. I am certainly one to procrastinate so I am just as much to blame, but I feel like some artists work really fucking hard to get shows in spaces around Texas, and some get opportunities like Donna did to show at Women and Their Work and they act really irresponsibly, like supposedly Donna did, and not have their shit together. It makes all artists look bad to the general public, but it's also insulting to have a fellow artist slightly shit on an opportunity some other artist would do a considerable job on. I feel like a lot of artists rarely get rewarded for being punctual, responsible and nice to work with, and artists with talent though minimal with horrible professional skills, get their asses wiped by art world professionals. Why are we perpetuating this bullshit artist as tortured genius shit? It's fucking annoying dudes. Grow up.

I don't want this post to turn into Rantfest early 2008, cause I'm gonna be positive about this year. Last year sucked, so I'm going to stop with this and maybe I'll save my other 2 subjects that I'm pissed about for a later post, unless I get so overwhelmingly happy with how awesome 2000great is going.

Okay, We Get It.

Went to the Okay Mountain staff show at the CRL on Saturday night. I don't have any pictures to prove it, but it was very packed with many of the kiddies. Going there makes me feel way old now, especially when school is in session. Maybe the beeramid (pyramid made of flattened beer cans) brought them out. I liked some of the drawings on the wall. For the most part these seemed to be executed anonymously according to various exercises explained by a brief wall text. I was especially drawn to the obvious Ryan Hennessees and Sterling Allens. They were witty and pretty intelligent in context of the beeramid. Hennessee's work has always reminded me of Raymond Pettibon, but with more tragicomic irony. There was also a picnic table on a slightly raised, white dais. I suppose this meant it was an installation in progress, much like the picnic tables in Okay Mountain's backyard that are covered in trash by the end of the night. This was also being gradually covered in trash. Adjacent to the picnic table was a video projection showing the Okay team inserted into a locker room clip from Hoosiers and them in the opening credits of the Brady Bunch. For the most part these elements made the show feel like an exercise in branding. "Look how much beer we drink! Come hang out and be cool with us!" Okay! I get the punkish point of view in what they're doing. I can even appreciate it, but what I'm missing is a sense of self-deprecation that offsets the self-congratulation. Without this there's no feeling of substance, it's just a lifestyle ad and I'm getting a little old to wear it well. Maybe that's my fault.

*UPDATE* More thoughts on this here.

Pragmactastical

I'm sort of obsessed with the practicalities of what it takes to be an artist in the world. Income, dollars, scratch; call it what you will the practical considerations of devoting your life to making crap are difficult to surmount. To say the least. As one who recently fired off the paper airplane applications to grad school I'm thinking about this subject a lot.

It's comforting to know that there are others out there who obsess about this the same way I do. And apparently John Baldessari is a total whore in this respect.

Thanks Master E for the link.

i have the cutest cat ever.

ok, i realize that this blog is ridiculous. but i'm stressed. and have a lot of work that needs to be done. and i just wanted to share how cute my cat is. soon i will be blogging about how i actually liked work that was up at CTRL gallery, about how i love Harrell Fletcher, and about how my friend Tyler Rowland is one of the best artists i know. so look forward to that. happy two thousand and great!