Review alert

Friday's New York Times included a review of Nato Thompson's most recent show at MassMOCA. "Becoming Animal" is the title, and I thought it might interest you to know what he's up to. Hope all are well, gb.

Thank heaven - a place to start...

So, wonder if anyone actually wants art in the first place? An encouraging blip appeared in the New York Times the other day. In a Q&A section on interior decorating, Stephen Treffinger offered some (rather weak) suggestions about what to hang on the walls of one's first home. Personally, I lave articles like this. They remind me that we're not making stuff to fill endless rows of shelves like the authors of novels or essays, but things that compete for space and attention in social settings. Perhaps too often, we in academe value art for its commentary or historical value at the expense of its potential place in the fabric of daily life (a funny sidebar on this can be seen in the British press, where a recent list of "greatest paintings" has columnists all a-twitter about how one can "rank" art). Now, more than ever, art has the chance to assume a valuable place getting around mass communication and into our ordinary lives. Perhaps we should think about whether there is "starter art" and where our own products stand in relation to such a thing.

Drag

Still getting over the summer, we took my son to Hollywood for a movie the other day. It was curiously seedy there; everything seemed bleached by a supernaturally bright sun. But what was most striking was the flagrant open-air theft going on in front of some exceedingly posh mall. We first noticed it while looking for parking when Gabriel began chanting “Spiderman! Spiderman!” from his car seat. And, indeed, across the street was a not especially athletic man in red and blue tights with red Converse sneakers mugging for pictures with tourists. After we found place to leave the car, we ran into a Jedi Mickey Mouse, several characters from Shrek 2, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, and handful of others. Gabriel really wanted to see Batman, but a musketeer cat with a thick Spanish accent told us that it was too hot for him that day (rubber hood and all that, you know).

On the way out of town after the movie, we saw a couple of Johnny Depps (one from Pirates of the Caribbean and another from Willy Wonka). When I remarked on this, my wife casually reminded me that we frequently saw two different Ben Franklins on any given day strolling through Old City. And she’s right. I imagine nearly everyone walking those streets recognized nearly everyone in movie drag that afternoon, but I wonder how many people recognize the guy who thinks he’s Thomas Jefferson in the courtyard of Ben Franklin’s house?

Gee, it’s great to back in L.A.

Berwick, PA – Home, Sweet Home

For those of y'all who don't know where Berwick or Bloomsburg are, they're about 2.5hrs. north of Philly. For those who have never been here and would like to read and outsider's perspective of where I live, here's a link to this blogger's post (Specifically the second and third paragraphs) You can get a better understanding of my work as well.

P.S. Lisa works at Bandit's.

Sonic Outlaws and goodbyes

I'd like to say what a great and productive summer it has been. Now, it's time to shove off and digest all this delicious material we've collected over the last eight weeks. Thanks to everyone for making another summer enjoyable! I also wanted to mention a film by culture jammer Craig Baldwin that might be of interest to you, especially if you were in Gerard's class. The film is called Sonic Outlaws, and it was recently released on DVD. It talks about the group Negativeland and their suit with U2 (the Casey Kasem audio is gut-busting), amongst other topics like parody and copyright. I have yet to get through it all. Baldwin also has a unique directing and editying style. Enjoy!

On a last note, I encourage all students to keep lines of communication open during the independent times. Till next time, rock on and rock hard!

Missing Painting

Okay okay - so somehow someone has gotten access to the MFA Programs inner sactum, ie., the director's ofice, and run off with a painting - a small transportable work (hah hah! couldn't manage the large ones)

the director- ms moore - has begun searching every nook and cranny after receiving clues which have alas have kept her from being totaly clueless in her search for her precious painting, a work of significant value given her by a former MFA Painting student.

ms moore regards this incident as one that is not singular, but infact one existing within an historical context having discovered similar numerous incidents where paintings have gone missing and is now regarded as an international phenomenon -

ms moore suspects that this recent episode has been perpetrated by a member of gerard brown's topics class, a student not ordinarily known for criminla tendencies, but apparently led astray by some heinous assignment.

It is not yet certain whether ms moore will offer a reward for the painting's return or whether she will continue to hope that the painting will be returned through an act of mercy on behalf of the perpetrator.

(For further information, see on-line reports on Missing Paintings ms moore will direct to mr brown for his class' enlightenment on the subject.)

"Money hasn't crushed the humanity out of everything"

...or so says Bansky in a piece from Wired.com that appeared on today's postings at ArtsJournal.com. Is he great or what?