art shots: have a look

andy warhol. nine jackies, 1964. acrylic and silk screen on canvas.

paul gaugin. la orana maria, 1891. oil on canvas.

marco breuer. spin (C-283), 2008.

chris mccaw. sunburned, gsp #166, mohave/winter solstice, 2007. gelatin silver prints.

tom friedman. untitled, 1998. chromogenic print.

pertti kekarainen. tila (passage 1), 2006. chromogenic print.

all photos © anita aguilar

see a fine picture: simon roberts

camel estuary. padstow, cornwall. 2008.
photo via klompching gallery.

devil's dyke. south downs, east sussex. 2008.
photo via klompching gallery.

salcombe sands.devon. 2008.
photo via klompching gallery.

i will have to head out dumbo way, to see simon roberts' photographs at the klompching gallery. the thumbnails on the site are a pretty introduction, but i want to see the details and feel the effect of these in their proper, large format.

if you're interested in seeing them too, the show will run through october 24.

the klompching gallery
111 front street, suite 206
brooklyn, nyc 11201
gallery hours: wednesday — saturday, 11am—6pm

***

more about simon roberts via his site...
more images from his "we english" portfolio here.

see a fine picture: fritz henle

this one is for my sister:

frida kahlo at xochimilco, mexico, (1937). by fritz henle. via judith puckett-rinella @ the moment blog at nytimes.com

some of fritz henle's work seems familiar--or is it merely an appealing, recognizable style?
in any case, his name is new to me.

the harry ransom center, a humanities research library and museum at the university of texas at austin, is presenting a retrospective exhibition "fritz henle: in search of beauty," which will run through august 2, 2009.

i won't make it down to austin this summer, so i'll have to be satisfied with online gallery-viewing, or the book.

from what i've seen so far, my favorites are photos that he shot over a two week period in paris, in july 1938, for time magazine. the photo essay never ran in time, but several photos were picked up years later by the ny times magazine, and published in book format in 1947.

if you're interested in henle's recollections of the "paris 1938" experience, here's the link.

aiga: everybody dance now...

on the avenue, 164 fifth avenue... nyc. april 2009.

last month while running errands on fifth avenue, i was teased by a huge storefront sign: EVERYBODY DANCE NOW. i stopped outside just long enough to see that it was an AIGA exhibit, which was even more curious: what was the premier design association's interest in dance?

i was in too much of a hurry on that day to stop in--i hit the road again with only the tune stuck in my head...

i returned another day to investigate further: the exhibit is actually called "everybody dance now: 20 years of dancing in print" and is a retrospective of two publications, dance ink (1989-1996) and 2wice (1997-ongoing), published by patsy tarr and designed and art directed by abbott miller, a partner at pentagram.

there is, on pentagram's site, a tidy overview that puts both the exhibit and the publications into context to those of us who are not (yet) familiar with the work, and they have posted some beautiful photos from the magazines.

rob besserer, of the erstwile white oak dance project, photographed by duane michals for a 1996 issue. via pentagram.

flamenco star pilar rioja. via pentagram.

the picnic issue, summer 2002. via pentagram.

the merce cunningham dance company photographed by christian witkin for the summer 2002 issue. via pentagram.

if you are able to get to the AIGA national design center, you will see these and many more: there are 40 issues presented in succession, on accordion-style metal displays.

the 2008 issue, false start, featuring jonah bokaer. installation photo by harry zernike. via pentagram.

opening night party photo by federico rodriguez-caldentey. via pentagram.

i don't know if the displays were created specifically for this installation, but it is a wonderful way to experience and celebrate movement--there's symmetry and energy to the exhibit. there are also intact issues of 2wice for folks to peruse, but the ladies that were there when i was were too engaged with them to let me have a look. ah well, i wanted to go back again anyway.


if you would like to check it out, get there soon! it closes may 22. here are the deets:

164 fifth avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets), nyc
gallery hours: monday through thursday: 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m; friday: 11:00 a.m–5:00 p.m.

***

there is a wonderful quote from merce cunningham that adorns the walls of the gallery, and i've been thinking about it often since my first visit:

"you have to love dancing to stick to it. it gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. it is not for unsteady souls."

of course, one could happily argue that ms. tarr, mr. miller and all the contributors to dance ink and 2wice, have managed to defy this on some level, because they have preserved dance in another form for us to appreciate...

but the essence of his statement is striking...

i recently took a dance/stretch class at my gym with an instructor who encouraged me to take formal lessons. this felt like the scariest, greatest idea in the universe. i'm not sure there is anything that makes me happier or feel most like myself as when i can listen to music and dance around--not in any formal way, at all. i just do it. for hours. and i have taken classes here and there, but never really studied it. i wondered, for me, at this point in my life, what would be the point?

but the cunningham quote reminded me that "dancers" (and maybe this is truer for those who are not now and will never be professionals?) dance precisely for how it makes them feel.

the point need not be grander than that.

saturday: "milk", grits and a fried egg

sunshiney saturday spent in the slope.

my lovely friend zovig and i decided to check out the takashi murakami exhibit at the brooklyn museum. it was "cuteness!" for sure. i'm not at all a fan of the louis vuitton collaboration, but those "superflat eye love" designs were quite appealing on a larger scale...i especially loved the color combinations in the "eye love" and jellyfish eyes series, on silk...it's all so much more striking on that fabric...i also liked milk, 727-727 (i actually loved all the paintings that were "sanded" ), cosmos (1998), and this daruma (i open wide my eyes but see no scenery. i fix my gaze upon my heart, 2007). the exhibition is bright and cheery and ominous and overwhelming...odd and funny and interactive...it is, to a degree, kid-friendly, if you're prepared to deal with questions about anatomical correctness/distortions. we had a little "overheard in ny" moment while standing in front of inochi (boy--maybe 7 years old: "mommy, his penis is on his stomach!" mommy: "why yes, it is..."). ha.

walking into the "vuitton exhibit/store" and taking the kooky wallpapered staircase to the floor below, which is a funhouse all its own--toys and t-shirts and other collectibles, all impeccably sorted and contained-- it struck me what a kick this show must have been to put together--and how sad it would be to have to watch all come down (show ends on july 13, btw)...

if you're as interested in behind the scenes stuff as i am, check out the terrific flickr slideshow that the museum has posted on its site...

and if you'd like a peek into the kaikai kiki studio sanctum, check out this ny sun article and its accompanying slideshow...

after the museum, zovig and i moseyed over to fifth ave...and stopped for brunch at stone park cafe. it took me about 3 seconds to decide that i wanted the hangtown fry: eggs, oysters, bacon and vermont cheddar cheese...how good does that sound?! but then...i took a longer look at the menu... i saw that they had grits, with shrimp and a fried egg. i remembered being deeply envious of the shrimp with grits at bar americain, which my sister ordered the last time we brunched together...so i changed my mind and went for the "anson mills white grits, with shrimp and fried egg."

the fact that the grits' brand name was proclaimed on the menu--as if i should recognize it--aroused my curiosity, so when i got home i did a little research. there's quite an interesting story to tell! turns out that the anson mills white grits come to us thanks to one man, glenn roberts, who was so deeply interested in the history of the south, especially its culinary history (cheers!) that he set out to revive--by organically growing, harvesting, and milling--varieties of corn, rice and wheat that were nearly extinct. he was able to find and harvest a "famous" carolina gourdseed white corn (that was "revered for its high mineral and floral characteristics, and its creamy mouthfeel"), which dated all the way back to the 1600s. this is the white corn that was milled into the grits that became my brunch!

and they really were creamy...i've only had grits a couple of time in my life (LOVE the cheddar grits at freemans...ooohhh. those are very different...toothsome...GRITTY) but this dish was nearly like a pudding. thick and rich and creamy, completely indulgent. i will admit, a little smoky, salty bacon would have livened it up. but it was very, very good.

anson mills white grits...
Originally uploaded by ata08

skyspace

interesting article in the nytimes about the roden crater, a grand work-in-progress by james turrell. work sent me to phoenix/scottsdale last month, and i managed to squeeze in an afternoon at SMOCA. i loved the harold e. edgerton photography exhibit (seeing the unseen) and was, to my surprise, intrigued and amused by hiraki sawa's videos (like going places sitting down). but turrell's skyspace was definitely a highlight...

a cool and warm, dreamy, mod and peaceful space.

if you'll be in scottsdale, it will be a worthwhile stop.

more photos skyspace and smoca here...

framed photo

terence stamp and jean shrimpton

london, 1963

photographed by terry o'neill

on display at the planet hollywood, vegas. june 2007.