implicit art

OK, so it’s about day 6 of no phone or internet (re: telkom sucks… Given my lifestyle, I feel like my legs have been cut off), and the Gods of Good Fortune have decided that to make up for those losses, they should also cut off my electricity.

I sh!t you not.

Sigh.

The life of a mediocre blogger can sometimes be Oh So Difficult. I’m taking an hour (or so) out of my morning now to do a bit of blog n’ surf catch-up from Colleen Alborough’s house (she’s away, but I can steal her wireless bandwidth). Thanks, Coll.

^{Jeff Koons and The New Jeff Koons}

Like most of the Joburg art scene, I hit up the Jeff Koons talk last Thursday (tho I had to leave early to see the OBGYN about the B-A-B-Y – 7 more weeks til my life changes forever!). A very inspired talk, with its high and low points and tidbits that made us all laugh or feel uncomfortable or just want to pick the artist’s brain. I think the most amazing part was just how calculated everything he said and did was. Here’s this super sweet ex-pornstar-art King of Kitsch wavering between being about acceptance and tolerance and asking the world for change, and talking about Golden Showers and Ass Pimples. His presentation was more like subversive performance art on a platter for a jaded art world that thinks it "knows him." Very clever chap, that Jeff.

^{Me and Jill Ross working on a Compressionist engraving and lithograph, respectively, at David Krut}

I spent most of Saturday morning, afternoon and night at David Krut, working with Richard Kilpert and Jill Ross on the next iteration of Compressionism. We’re taking some of the works I had printed as lambdas from the series, and turning them into more traditional prints. We started with a polyester plate to make line drawing versions of one of the works (Wet Calla Leaves, drawing here), and ‘that’s me in the corner’ working on a hand engraving of a detail from Emmarentia Lilies (part of a triptych). I’ll be sure to post some stuff to flickr and Rhizome when I have more than one edition done…

^{Bronwyn Lace in front of about 4000 origami for her Outlet exhibition in Pretoria}

Took a break from Krut in the late afternoon / early evening and head out to Pretoria to see Bronwyn Lace’s work at Outlet. A simple and beautiful exhibition that makes you feel small, I recommend hitting up that link there for some info on her work; we still await a guest blog from Bron on her show at KZNSA last month. Hint, Bron.

^{James Webb, Marcus Neustetter, Mikhael Subotzky}

I took most of Sunday off (worked on a proposal for Rhizome for a bit), but did hang out with Marcus Neustetter for an ice cream at Zoo Lake (plus ran a few art errands with him), so got to see James Webb and meet Mikhael Subotzky briefly, while they’re here. It made me feel like a super cool uber artist for about a minute. Mikhael agreed that his prints need frames.