Michail Tsakountis

Michail Tsakountis

Phierce Photography

Candy Darling in her Hospital Bed, 1974

Peter Hujar

ANDREW SALGADO

http://www.andrewsalgado.com/

The Streets

 The Streets Number 1 & Number 2

by Thom Pastrano

Pop/Graphic Art Collage

Keith Haring Canvas Print By Shepard Fairey

Marina Abramovic - The Artist is Present

I caught the HBO documentary The Artist is Present the other night, which chronicles the 2010 MOMA retrospective on performance artist Marina Abramovic. Powerful. I didn't think I was familiar with the work of the self-described "grandmother of performance art" before I saw this film. However, I quickly realized that I actually was familiar with her; I just didn't know it. Marina has been exploring the limitations of the body, the relationship between artist and audience and challenging the state of consciousness for over three decades. In her retrospective at MOMA the title says it all; she is literally just present. Seated on a chair within a taped off boxed space she invites her audience to sit across from her in silence, that's it. However, what transpires is surprisingly moving. It's incredible to watch what bubbles to the surface when humans allow themselves to calm down, sit in silence and be present in the moment. The emotions that the strangely inquisitive and penetratingly calm gaze of Marina stir in her audience truly is art. It asks questions, challenges its audience and forces everyone to look within himself. I found the piece and the documentary truly fascinating. I highly recommend it.

Just because...

In the Dollhouse by Dina Goldstein

The perfect life of Barbie & Ken??

Photography by Dina Goldstein

Atelier Van Lieshout

Atelier Van Lieshout

The American Caretakers, 2004

Wherefore ART thou....

John Tierney

Paul Smith, Melrose Ave #5

Painting

Wherefore ART thou...

Christoph Steinmeyer
Boulevard Haussman, 2012
oil on canvas, 55 9/10 x 43 inches

Hide/Seek - Brooklyn Museum

Hide/Seek=Wow! I finally got over to the Brooklyn Museum, a space that I had never been to before and was quite impressed with, to see the new queer exhibition, Hide/Seek—the first ever portraiture show to focus on themes of gender and sexuality. The show, which first debuted at the National Portrait Gallery, charts sexual identity, pride, shame and celebration through over one hundred works from modern queer artists. Paintings, photographs, film and art instillations combine to show how our desires shape us, forcing us to either hide our true selves or seek acceptance. What I personally took away was a shocking reminder that although I am lucky enough to have grown-up in a pseudo-accepting society I will always be a member of the outside. I will never be able to fully express my desires or my sexual identity under the accepted umbrella of modern culture. On one hand I celebrate that fact as I am honored to be in the company of these fellow outcasts, fighting to express the same internal yearnings and struggles they felt, on the other hand it's mind-blowing how little society's view of queer sexual identity has changed over the past 100+ years.

Highlights (there are quite a few):

Walt Whitman

Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins

Platinum print, 1891 (printed 1979)

Salutat

Thomas Eakins

Oil on canvas, 1898

Arrow shirt advertisement

Joseph Christian Leyendecker

Oil on canvas, 1914

Dancing Sailors

Charles Henry Demuth

Water and pencil on paper, 1917

Riverfront No.1

George Wesley Bellow 

Oil on canvas, 1915

Self-Portrait

Romaine Brooks

Oil on canvas, 1923

Portrait of Marcel Duchamp

Florine Stettheimer

Oil on canvas, 1925

What I Believe

Paul Cadmus

Egg tempera on pressed wood panel, 1947-48

Tom Murphy

Minor White

Gelatin silver print, 1948

 

Poets Dressed and Poets Undressed

Wynn Chamberlain

Two separate panels, oil on canvas, 1964

Self-portrait

Robert Mapplethorpe

Polaroid print, 1975

Brian Ridley and Lyle Heeter

Robert Mapplethorpe
1979

Keith Haring

Unfinished painting

Acrylic on canvas, 1989

Felix

AA Bronson

Lacquer on vinyl, 1994 (printed (1999)

I look just like my daddy

Cass Bird

C-Print, 2003

Wherefore ART thou...

Ray Caesar

Guardian (2004)

Natural Curiosities

I recently came across the world of Natural Curiosities. The Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is a thesaurus complied by Dutch pharmacist, zoologist and collector, Albertus Seba. The collection includes illustrated specimens from the natural world with a focus on animal and sea life and is hailed as one of the greatest natural history achievements of the 18th century.  The compilation has been turned into a coffee table book that has become a staple for modern designers as the rare and interesting images offer a unique design inspiration. I also recently came across an LA based company with the namesake Natural Curiosities helmed by artist/collector, Christopher Wilcox, who has compiled some beautiful and modern work inspired by Seba's curiosity with nature. Who's curious??

Natural Curiosities

http://www.naturalcuriosities.com