Monkdogz Artblog

I walked into the gallery and saw drawing after drawing of feet.  Fifty eight of them to be exact!   Somebody obviously has a foot fetish.  It actually looked like a collection of studies that you’d find in an art class in the neighborhood.  Some of them were actually quite good.  Others were a bit “eh” (a technical art term just in case you didn’t know – usually accompanied with a shrug of one shoulder, a raise of the eyebrows and maybe a raise of the upper left lip too – I hope you get the picture.)

This artist obviously knows a lot of people with flat feet and very few with pretty feet – although that probably goes without saying for the general public.  I spend quite a lot on pedicures, but I’m not sure that I would want to subject them to this sort of scrutiny!  Or maybe the artist took some artistic license?

These feet which are drawn with a wide range of plants, objects and patterns provide a “whimsical and intimate glimpse into the artist’s private life, while also testifying to his compositional wit and poetic hand” according to the press release.  These sketches were done by Andy Warhol between 1956 and 1961. 

The sketches have been taken from Warhol’s personal sketchbooks.  I wonder if he knew that these would be publicly shown?  Would he have minded?  Probably not.  This is the man who coined the term everybody gets to be “world famous for 15 minutes”.  

Would these sketches have been in a Chelsea gallery if they were anybody else’s?  Probably not.  They’re there because they’re Andy Warhol’s.  The interest in the minutiae of celebrities probably started around this time.  I suppose that’s why memorabilia of celebrities including dirty laundry, household items and everything else that they ever touched (or didn’t) sell and stories about their personal lives keeps magazines and “news” outlets alive.    

The exhibition which was organized in conjunction with the Andy Warhol Foundation is only open until February 6^th, but a full illustrated catalogue is available at the Paul Kasmin Gallery and their web page has a comprehensive slide show if you missed it.  

N.B. The above image is by Andy Warhol, courtesy of the Paul Kasmin Gallery.

The sun was shining and glinting of the meandering Hudson River.  The green of the mountains and cliff sides were bright with early summer green.  The sky was a beautiful pale blue with puffy white clouds meandering across the expanse.  

The Metro-North, East of Hudson railroad is a spectacularly picturesque ride a mere feet from the edge of the river.  Watching the surrounding countryside slide by, the various boats sailing along and the numerous, towns, villages with their quaint buildings, historic forts and imposing factories and warehouses makes the one hour and 25minute trip to Beacon from Grand Central Station a very quick trip indeed.  The MTA provides a good package that includes a reduced return fare and entry into the Dia Museum. 

Once at Beacon, the Dia Beacon, Riggio Galleries is a scant 10 minutes walk from the station.  We even managed to walk the mile into Beacon’s main street for a spot of lunch at one of the many quaint little eateries that were gearing up for the Memorial Day Week-end.  

The Dia Museum (est 2003) is housed in a magnificent structure which was built by Nabisco in 1929, an excellent example of early 20^th century industrial architecture.  The 34,000 feet of wonderful peaked windows in the ceiling provide excellent natural light and the large spans provide unusually large exhibition halls making Dia the largest contemporary art museum in the world.  The building and gardens were redesigned by Robert Irwin and architects OpenOffice to house the many large works in the permanent collection creating an excellent and rare environment to display them to their best advantage.

The museum houses work from some of the most significant artists from the 1960s onwards.  Richard Serra’s inspiring steel installations, Donald Judds magnificently minimalist and expertly crafted boxes, Louise Bourgeois’ organic and sexual forms, Michael Heizer’s dramatic and potentially dangerous excavations, Sol Lewitt’s precision wall drawings, Gerhard Richter’s monochromed glass panels that a viewer has to participate in, Andy Warhol’s subset of 130 variations of shadows, Fred Sandback’s unbelievably simple “string art” and one of my personal favorites, Richard Chamberlain’s colorful, crushed and ribboned metallic forms are just some of the artists displayed in the Dia’s permanent collection.  The museum also exhibits several new artists to supplement their own collection.

We wandered around the museum for two and a half hours but could have easily spent a lot longer and we didn’t even venture into the artistically sculptured gardens.  I foresee that this will become a frequent destination to take our visiting friends on day trips from NYC.  I eagerly look forward to my next visit.

I had a call from London a couple of days ago, telling me I just to HAD to see an interview on Youtube by Lady Gaga, the electro-pop sensation that is sweeping both sides of the Atlantic with her current single ‘Poker Face’. 

On the interview with Radio 1 Live, she sings and plays her song in an acoustic/jazz style with just a keyboard for accompaniment.  I loved it; this version showcased a depth to her voice and range.  She has been classically trained since she was 4 and later moved to ragtime and jazz as she grew older.  Her career started as a song writer for some well known groups such as Pussy Cat Dolls, Fergie New Kids on the Block and Akon.  She really understands the fundamentals of composition, style, and the fact that it’s the total package that captivates the audience. 

In 2008, Lady Gaga started working with a collective she called “Haus of Gaga” which collaborates to create her clothing, sets and sound.  In an interview with the Sunday Times in London she said “In this industry, you get a lot of stylists and producers thrown at you, but this is my own creative team, modeled on Warhol’s Factory. Everyone is under 26 and we do everything together.”

The point of her pop music, she adds, isn’t merely to entertain, but to provoke response and discussion. “How do I make pop, commercial art be taken as seriously as fine art? That’s what Warhol did.” “How do I make music and performances that are thought-provoking, fresh and future? We decide what’s good and, if the ideas are powerful enough, we can convince the world that it’s great.”  Andy Warhol continues to influence and motivate new generations of artists 20 years after he death. 

After a short bout with drugs she “decided it was more important to become a centered, critical thinker.  That was more powerful than the drug itself.”  Her commitment to her art is total; “some artists are working to buy the mansion or whatever the element of fame must bear, but I spend all my money on my show,” she says of her impressive stage set. “I don’t give a f*** about money. What am I going to do with a condo and a car? I can’t drive.”

Her integrity to her art is absolute, “I eat, sleep, breathe and bleed every inch of my work. I’d absolutely die if I couldn’t be an artist.”

www.ladygaga.com