A cry for help

Ok, we did start the animal art thing and, sure, we did stoop to turtles. But readers sending in random pictures of animals they think might be making art, or even worse, animals that are just considering making art, is taking things too far. Take this “painting snail” emailed to us in the weekend. That’s not even a brush in its mouth. It looks more like a twig or maybe a blade of grass. There is nothing about this picture that makes us think that this snail is at all creative beyond the usual snail skill set. It is hard enough as it is promoting animal art, without this kind of reckless contribution by people who should know better.

When good sculpture turns bad 2

Jeff Koons has a lot to answer for. His Puppy, constructed out of a steel frame covered with flowers has mutated to Ella a steel frame covered with peaches. The Koons puppy was exhibited in Sydney, and that’s where Ella is exhibited too. Life follows art, well advertising does anyway. Ella, the peach person, is 5 meters high and 12 meters long. It was inspired by someone called Jolene Anderson who apparently has a commitment to healthy skin. Yes, there is a video.

Inflation

It’s been blown up in Gwangju, Warsaw, Warsaw, Vilnius and Christchurch. Now Auckland has a chance to see Michael Parekowhai’s giant inflatable Jim McMurtry in the Maori Hall, 5 Edinburgh Street, Newton from 19-23 February from 12-6pm daily.

Billyboards

Billy Apple’s billboard roadshow arrived in Wellington with a launch at the City Gallery a couple of days ago. So now the Lush boards are to be on display in the Capital, here’s a question. How do you think Billy would respond to an attack by graffiti artists - Appleplexy? Or maybe like super-cool Japanese artist Murakami. When graffiti was sprawled across one of his giant LA billboards recently, Murakami asked for the billboard be taken down… and sent to his studio in Japan to become part of his art collection! He thought the changes made to the billboard were “So wonderful.”

Confidence test

This was emailed to punters from the Auckland Art Gallery shop yesterday.

“Be in to win a $100 Gallery Shop Gift Voucher for Valentine’s Day!
Just email us at shop@aucklandartgallery.govt.nz (by 5pm on Tuesday 12th February 2008) and tell us if you think our new giftware range is:

A. Excellent
B. Pretty Good
C. So-So
D. Rather Not Say”

Other multi-choice options could be …

A. Beyond all expectations – Brilliant!
B. Gee, I don’t know
C. Not so much
D. This is anonymous, right?

Image: Proposed action figures of Auckland Art Gallery Admin staff (Prototype only). Our response? C

Tick, tick, tick

This from the latest edition of Toi Te Papa Art received today outlining what we can expect..

“A YEAR OF RESEARCH … and a modest upgrade of the McCahon website which has been in the planning stages for the past two years will be undertaken.”

Apart from the mistakes already noted we would think that the database needs a determined overhaul rather than a modest upgrade. The essays promised from the beginning have never surfaced, the information on each work, when it exists, is embarrassing and even the few sample mistakes pointed out on otn remain uncorrected. Keep an eye on our Modestly-Slouching -Towards-Upgrading clock on the top left hand side of the blog. We’ve set it at two years and counting.

Gallery Guide

Guess we all know what we think of the public art galleries, but what do they think of themselves? This from their home pages.


The Braggarts
"Auckland Art Gallery has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand. Exhibiting work from its collection along with a programme of national and international touring exhibitions."

Dunedin Public Art Gallery: "One of New Zealand’s finest art museums, showcasing the best of local, national and international art."


The Zealots

"The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a museum that fosters the development and interpretation of contemporary art."

TheNewDowse: "This is a place that inspires creativity - from multi-media to ceramics, jewellery to sculpture, painting to furniture design and beyond. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, TheNewDowse will stimulate your creativity and make you see the world in a whole new way!"

The Adam Art Gallery: "To lead critical debate in visual art."


The Homebodies

"City Gallery Wellington is a dynamic cultural presence in the capital city of Aotearoa New Zealand."

"Te Manawa is a regional cultural centre where art, heritage and science themes dominate."

Christchurch Art Gallery: "Specializes in New Zealand art with an emphasis on work from the Canterbury region."

You wouldn’t laugh if he was still alive

It’s Waitangi Day, so what better than to settle back and play Donald Judd, or Cheap Furniture? a game by Graydon Parrish and Mikhail Simkin

As you will see from this link some of the photos displayed show furniture, created by sculptor Donald Judd, the others are photos of ordinary cheap furniture. We’re pleased to be able to tell you our regular Judd correspondent scored a perfect 12 out of 12. Thanks, and well done J.

Choc a hoop

So look what we were given for Christmas. It’s chocolate, it’s a Santa and it’s by Paul McCarthy.
Thanks M.

The eye of the beholder

We didn’t get close to finding any non-traditional contemporary art in Bangladesh. Next time maybe. However, what we did see everywhere we went were these primed steel cabinets. And that pretty well made up for it.

Horseshit

This 1916 cowboy scene by WHD Koerner (1878-1938) is apparently George W Bush’s favourite painting. For some reason Bush tells people it is a picture of missionaries and has renamed it A Charge to Keep. In fact it is called The Slippery Tongue, and was originally published as an illustration for a short story about a thief in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916

If you’re up to it, Koerner’s studio can be visited at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's Whitney Museum of Western Art in Cody, Wyoming.

Anyone got thoughts on the fave paintings for Clinton, Obama, McCain, Romney and Huckabee? Glittering prizes.

Sources: Salon and Guardian

Fantasy Island

Weta, Te Papa and the World of Wearable Art Awards are the triumvirate that have made Wellington a centre for the art form Mardi Gras modern. However, once again, the Welly mix of bling, artifice, stretched metaphor and fantasy contrivance have been eclipsed by the vernacular spirit of the Sevens. Guys in gowns, themed teams and “Hey I’ve got an idea. Why don’t the three of us go as a couch?” prove that once and for all, when it comes to imagination and “our story”, authenticity rules.

Report of a Lifetime

By now you will all know that Creative New Zealand has finally come up with a watered-down version of the decision they made after the first time they commissioned a report. So, we will have an official presence at Venice at the next biennale and at future ones so-long-as-some-one-else-pays-for-it. In the meantime we have been plugging away at getting access to the reports of the Tripofalifetime members. The Ombudsman’s Office agreed to follow up our request and asked CNZ to release the documents. CNZ eventually responded, by claiming that their release of the overall report meant there no longer any need (as if they had ever agreed there was a need in the first place!). So we have asked the Ombudsman, and she has agreed, to make the request again. We will keep you posted.

Block Lego

This week was the 50th anniversary of Lego. It was invented in Copenhagen on Jan. 28, 1958. A search for Lego in overthenet’s search box will show our own devotion to the brilliant brick.

Images: Left, Lego Beuys. Right, his work The Pack 1969 as created by the Little Artists.

On the level

Anyone who lives in Wellington knows that since the invention of Rob Cherry no one in the city has retained the ability to hang anything straight on a wall. The knowledge, once fairly common with people who owned art, has been lost. If you need something hung straight it’s Rob or the highway. It’s the same story in Springfield. In the Simpson’s episode illustrated above (The Twisted World of Marge Simpson, written by Jennifer Crittenden, directed by Chuck Sheetz and first screened 19 January 1997) Marge attends a franchising pitch. The business? Picture Perfect - straight-up picture hanging to-go.