Monkdogz Artblog

The name that we pulled out of a hat of all those who responded to the 3rd question “Who is leading the way to the future in the art world” was artist James Armstrong from Illinois. His reply to the question was:

What a great thought provoking question. I’ve been pondering it for days. So much of what is out there is just so total crap. Somewhere along the way the art world was hijacked, probably by frustrated artists who couldn’t draw or who didn’t want to put in the time. I saw a segment on the CBS Sunday Morning Show (I think) about one of the curators at MOMA. His entire apartment is empty and white. He says he can’t compete with the beauty of Manhattan …so he lives in an empty apartment. And this is one of the ‘elites’ responsible for filling one of the most prestigious museums with ‘great art’. I’m sure he thinks his life is a piece of conceptual performance art (and I guess it is) and he thinks he’s great. But maybe if he had to decorate his own apartment likes he does the museum he’d realize that he has no taste. On the one end you have the ‘elites’ making Damien Hirst the richest artist alive for putting dead animals in formaldehyde and on the other end you have the masses triumphing Thomas Kinkade. I have a dream that in a 1000 years people will look back and know what the great art was. …and it won’t be 99% of what I saw at the new Modern wing at the Chicago Art Institute…or 100% of whatever they sell at Wal-Mart. For me, great art is the combination of talent, design, and originality glued together with hard work and dedication. (Even if the work of art was easy to make, it probably wasn’t easy getting there to make it.) I think as a society, as far as art is concerned, we just can’t see the forest through the trees. My hope is eventually we will see the beauty of the forest. So my choice for a work of art that best describes the current and future state of the art world is…
‘Can’t See the Forest Through the Trees’ by Jane Jennings (www.janejenningsart.com)
It was the first art image that showed up when I googled that phrase. I think the piece is a quilt made out of Indonesian batik fabrics. It actually looks pretty nice and I respect her artistic philosophy. (…so I didn’t just pick her work because it was the first thing that showed up on Google.) She also does art beyond fabrics so check her out.

James Armstrong who has exhibited at Monkdogz sculpts using kiln formed glass to create elegant sculptures that appear alive with soft gentle movement. Ed McCormack of Gallery and Studio Magazine says of his work; “their uniqueness lies in his ability to create shapes that appear to unfurl weightlessly in space, yet project a palpable presence that verges on the monumental.”

For more examples of James Armstrong’s work go to www.armstrong-art.com.

Congratulations James the sweatshirt will be on its way!

In his quest to find a new home for Monkdogz Urban Art, Bob is looking over every hill and in every dale.  He is being very diligent in not leaving one stone unturned for a potential new gallery location………What do you think of this place?  Its just a little west of 11th Avenue…….

Today we installed a new exhibition in a building in Midtown, New York. 

It started a month ago.  We spoke to the owners about the new exhibition; setting the date and discussing the art work.  The building has many tenants from many different countries working in many different fields.  It’s important to ensure that we don’t offend the people who work and visit the building, but nor do we want to be boring and mediocre.  We also have to account for the fact that the walls and floors are darkly colored so impact what work will work well in the environment.

Having agreed the selection we drew up a contract to clarify the responsibilities of the landlord and the gallery.  Included in this are items such as security, insurance, liability etc.  This has to be agreed and signed by both parties before the installation can take place.

A week ago, we spent a day preparing by buying additional supplies for hanging the work, preparing the artwork for transportation, creating labels and press releases and packing the equipment to be taken.

Today dawned early.  We loaded the truck with everything we needed, ensuring that nothing was left behind.  Although we would be working in central Manhattan, where most things can be easily purchased, it would take time away from the installation if we had to go and buy additional supplies, so we are careful to make sure we have everything that we will need for the day.

Timing is important when delivering in any city.  Trying to avoid the morning rush hour, but getting in before the lunch rush which can be heavy in Manhattan, can be tricky.  Having pre-arranged the parking spot in front of the building, it still requires some maneuvering to squeeze in between other commercial delivery vehicles.  We then unload everything onto the curb.  We took everything into the lobby of the building, and then drove around a couple of blocks to park the truck. 

We then checked in with the building manager and security team.  One half of the lobby is cordoned off to give us some space to work and ensure the safety of everybody in the building and the art work. We then started dismantling the previous show and packing up all the work. 

The lobby where the art work is hung has high ceilings 13 feet and 25 feet.  It means that everything has to be done on ladders.  Everything takes twice or three times as long as you have to keep going up and down the ladders, moving the ladders and then going up and down the ladders again.   Additionally, the walls are made of stone, so work has to be hung by wire from S-hooks.  It’s so much harder than hanging work on dry walls with screws where you just measure the walls, the paintings and put in the screws at the appropriate heights.  With wired S-hooks it is difficult to make each wire exactly the same length, so minute adjustments have to be made on most lengths.  Doing this on top of a 20 foot ladder can be a tall order!

As this is a building lobby rather than a gallery, several location specific adjustments have to be made.  The work is placed higher than normal to account for the very high ceilings and placed strategically to avoid equipment such as security cameras and potted trees and plants.  We also place work strategically to maximize the impact on entry into the building and for those exiting the elevators and the building. 

Hanging the work and adjusting the positions; leveling and spacing takes us quite a few hours.  Fast forward…..and all the paintings are hung.  Finally the labels and press releases are placed strategically near the work but ensuring that they don’t detract from them.   Photographs are taken of the installations, adjustments made to the contract as necessary, tidy up, retrieve the truck, load up, dispose of garbage, make final contact with the client, thank the building security and facilities team and finally depart.

We review the day, noting improvements and suggestions for the next installation unload the truck, put away the artwork from the previous exhibition as well as the equipment and supplies.  We upload the photos onto the website, contact our artists in both the previous and current shows to update them and start working on the blog post for the day.

Soup to nuts we are looking at a fourteen hour day, with an additional eight hours added in for prep, purchase, communication, equipment and computer time.

Finally we kick back, relax for a few minutes and look back on an installation job well done…..and then we start the process all over again today for the next installation.

In our hunt for a new home for Monkdogz Urban Art, we went looking in New York’s Lower East Side today, now know as LES.  It’s an area roughly bounded by the Bowery to the West, Houston Street to the North, Pitt St to the East and Canal St to the South.  

It is an area rich in its 200 year history.  It was a neighborhood home for many new immigrants and birthed many entrepreneurs and small business owners.  Orchard Street with its street vendors and store fronts was one point one of the busiest commercial districts in the world.

In recent years, an influx of chic and trendy restaurants, clubs, apparel stores and creative businesses and services as well as artists’ studios and contemporary art galleries have started to take the neighborhood up market.  Young professionals have started to move into the area and there are signs of new and refurbished condominiums and apartments on many blocks.

There are currently between 50 and 60 contemporary art galleries in the area, spread throughout the neighborhood.  It makes for an interesting tour, with plenty of places to shop and eat as well.  Although there are many galleries which are smaller satellites of established Chelsea galleries, there are also some very cutting edge individual galleries, including the long established Fusion Arts Museum.  There is also the New Museum of Contemporary Art which opened in 2007 to great fanfare.  

There is no question that Monkdogz Urban Art would fit in very nicely into this environment.  However the question that does remain is whether the neighborhood will continue its revitalization and growth within this current economic climate, whether it will become a significant contemporary art destination and a wise move for Monkdogz..  

Any opinions?

(Images from top right clock-wise, Rivington Street, Delancy Street, Chrystie Street and Freeman Alley)

Welcome to the new Monkdogz blog on the current state of the international contemporary art world.
 

  Over the next few weeks and months, the creative team at Monkdogz Urban Art would like to open up a dialogue on an international basis concerning issues that affect the artworld.  With the current ever changing state of the art world, our feeling is that now more than ever, the importance of sharing information is critically important to the benefit of all of us.  We look forward to your participation.