Everything is Beautiful

Artist: Liz Miller
Gallery: Project One
Exhibition Dates: December 2, 2009 through January 10 2010



from the press release
By recontextualizing and playfully subverting cliches and archetypes, Liz Miller’s multimedia work explores the means through which to inspire, stimulate and entertain the mainstream. She deals with subject matter which is recognizable and easy to like to create an intense dialogue between content and context. Themes such as commodity, celebrity, food and even pets produce a humorous dialogue about consumption, excess and paradox. Her captivating, thought provoking images and objects are produced with sincerity but not lacking in irony. She will be exhibiting photographic pieces from the series “Clarity” as well as a video and sculptural installation at Project One.

Artforum pics Omer Fast's Recent Berkeley Exhibit

Omer Fast
Nostalgia
2009
four-channel color video
Production still.



from Artforum's Critic's Pics
Omer Fast
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE
2626 Bancroft Way
October 25–December 17



Omer Fast’s Nostalgia, 2009, produced by the South London Gallery, the Berkeley Art Museum, and the Nationalgalerie at the Hamburger Bahnhof, is a video installation in three parts. The first depicts a man building a trap in the woods while in voice-over another man speaks to his life as a former child soldier, segueing into an incidental description of the trap’s construction. In the next video, two actors take up the story in the form of an interview that loops through conversations about the trap, the man’s quest for asylum, and fractured memory of his childhood, as well as the fact that the film itself will be based on the interview. The third video, transferred from 16-mm film, is a series of vignettes, set in a future seemingly projected from the past, in which interconnected characters—a refugee, his caseworker, her lover, his child—alternate between recipient and informant of how to engineer the trap. As the cycle progresses and the story repeats, authorship, and subsequently authority, become more elusive.

Fast not only disconnects the story of the trap––which never quite coheres into a clear image––from its original narrator, he strategically creates a distance between each segment of the installation and fractures the continuity between image and cinematic construction. The trap is both a metaphor and a framework for experiencing the piece. It is almost immediately evident that we will not arrive at conclusive positions around the larger political issues of race, nationality, or asylum unfolding in the work. Instead, the artist lures the viewer further and further into personal narratives, each time creating a more familiar but less certain understanding of the individual authors. Similarly, Nostalgia leads one away from authoritative knowledge toward individual testimony and unloosens these stories from documentary’s voyeuristic demand to locate larger truths in personal reality.

Pakayla Biehn at Gallery 6

Artist: Pakayla Biehn
Curator: Jillian Mackintosh
Gallery: Gallery 6
Opening Reception: Friday, December 18, 2009 7-11pm

Broadcast: Archetype Boutique Preview Event

In 2010 as part of their Phase II Taylor street expansion, GAFFTA will open a new project boutique called Archetype. With an emphasis on wearables, this unique product-focused space will support emerging local and international designers around the principles of technologically-inspired and sustainability-minded fashion. Spearheaded by GAFFTA Fashion Initiatives Lead, Melissa Marie and Creative Director for Archetype Boutique, Jarred Garza, Archetype will extend GAFFTA’s mission of building social consciousness through digital culture onto the runway and into the marketplace.

From December 18th-20th, GAFFTA invites you to a “Broadcast” preview fashion and shopping event featuring a selection of designers, lines and products indicative of Archetype’s aesthetic and personality.


Broadcast Weekend Schedule:
Friday, December 18th Preview Party
6PM – 8PM // $20 // Hor’dourves, open bar, early-bird shopping & private mixer with designers
8PM – 12AM // $5-$15 (sliding scale) // Reception with evening shopping & music by DJ Fluid (Om Records)

Shimomitsu at Museum of Craft and Folk Art

Artist: Shimomitsu
Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009 from 6-8pm
Museum: Museum of Craft and Folk Art

"An event that celebrates the fusion of technology, sound and chocolate. “Open Source Sound”, showcases Bay Area artists that are inspired by the participatory and accessible elements of open source technology, expressing their craft through sound. This one-night event features artists Shimomitsu, Christian McKay and Rosanna Yau, who are part of the emergent experimental sound scene in San Francisco."

Art Inherited

Fluxus..."is a vision perhaps better suited to an era when the affluent society is beginning to lose its interest in individual goods and instant satisfaction in favour of grander concepts.
Macinunas did not have a hegemony of migrant peoples in mind. All the artists who would have stopped over with him at the junctions between Madison Avenue and Siberia were to offer their superfluous artistic talent as though for the Marxist utopia of a classic society. In terms of art history, that is neither avantgarde nor postmodern. It basically says that high art inherited from the realms of our parents can sometimes be a source of suffering."

"Fluxus"
by Thomas Kellein
p.22

Pecha Kucha: Wednesday

Pecha Kucha
SF v36 "SUBSTANCE"
December 16th 7:30pm
Club Verdi


Preliminary Line-up:

Jason Zasa, EDAR Designer
Anne Thull, Anne Thull Fine Art Designs
Brett Levine, President, LiveSpark, Inc.
Harriete Estel Berman, metalsmith
Legend, Lin, Designer

Spaces remain! sign-up now!

Katy Horan

Artist: Katy Horan
Gallery: White Walls
Exhibition Dates: December 12th - January 2, 2010

Fluxus Manifesto

Fluxus Manifesto, 1963, by George Maciunas

Gerhard Mayer

Artist: Gerhard Mayer
Gallery: Hosfelt Gallery (NY)
Blog


Rules for the drawings:
From his artist page on the gallery's website.

1. Each drawing must be made with only one size of ellipse.
2. The ellipses must always be positioned horizontally.
3. The ellipses cannot cross the edge of the paper.
4. Complete ellipses are not permitted.
5. In each position of the ellipse stencil at least three lines must be drawn.
6. None of the lines may touch another.
7. Dots are not permitted, only lines.

Additionally, for the small drawings:

8. Every sheet of paper measures 34.3 x 43.4 cm.

Additionally, for the color drawings:

9. Seven colors or more must be used for each drawing.

Tetris Tournament

Gallery: The Lab
Date: Saturday, December 12th at 8pm



Bryan Von Reuter organizes a Tetris battle with live music for your game geek pleasure. Tetris will be projected gonzo-sized on the wall of the gallery and the games will proceed March Madness style. A winner will emerge victorious to take the title and the prize (stay tuned for prize updates). Sign-up takes place the night of the event.




Microfiche are an instrumental four-piece from San Francisco (a five-piece if you count archaic archiving machines turned light-sensitive instruments). Microfiche draw diagrams for your ears and mind. If you were to use the pinnacle of nineteenth-century signal processing technology to transpose the sounds of hope, despair, patterns, the lack of patterns, fear of mechanical men, and whale calls, you would almost have the sound of Microfiche.
White Cloud count Spaceman 3, SMiLE, Neu!, and Phillip Glass among their influences and consist of Shiv from Kenya, Nick from Argentina, and James from Oakland. The Deli SF notes that their precision lies in their ability to generate aesthetic dissonance


$5 - $15 sliding scale or FREE with membership

Back to Front

Gallery: Queens Nails Projects
Opening and Reception: Saturday December 12th, 2009, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: December 12, 2009 - January 16, 2010



"The artists reference connections to moments of history, shown through personal relationships with cultural pasts or historical developments in their particular mediums.

Luke Butler isolates images of male authority that pervade the American cultural psyche, mixing pop culture iconography with political satire. Stripping bare (both literally and figuratively) individuals from a not so distant past such as former presidents and Star Trek characters, Butler objectifies these figures to represent futility and undone masculinity.

Christina Empedocles' wax pencil drawings make use of obsessive realism as a means to explore the nature of memory, nostalgia and perception. Her work accumulates and assembles found objects and images, and creates a series of representations of representations. The images stand in for the things she has lost touch with over time and reveals the great distance from artist to source. By rendering what is obviously a facsimile, she monumentalize this distance between herself and the original, using the intense act of looking as a futile means of getting closer to the things she represents.

Jason Kalogiros' practice embraces different methods of doubling and repetition so as to confuse past and present, copy and original, highlighting his interest in the subjective nature of representation, memory, and history. His work is rooted in a curiosity about photography, its history, its functionality, and about the physical and visual aspects of the medium itself.

Maggie Preston's work is primarily based in observations and experiments with the basic elements of the photographic process. Manipulating the relationship between light, film, and imaging techniques, the interdependency of materials and the history of technical methods in photography become the subject of her work."

FLUX Screening Series at the Hammer Museum

Thursday, December 17, 2009 8-11pm

"Now in its second year of showcasing innovative films and music from around the globe, Flux Screening Series at the Hammer Museum ends 2009 with an exceptional lineup of films and special guests. Thursday, December 17 marks the World Premiere of Mia Doi Todd’s new video “Open Your Heart”, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michel Gondry. The video debut for “Open Your Heart” will include a live performance by Mia and Michel and friends. The evening will also feature Keith Schofield’s music video for song “Heaven Can Wait” by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck, as well as new works by Allison Schulnik, Stefan Nadelman and Radical Friend. Filmmakers Michel Gondry, Keith Schofield, Allison Schulnik and Kirby McClure and Julia Grigorian of Radical Friend will be in attendance for this special event. "

The evening will include a screening of new short films and music videos. Highlights include:

Mia Doi Todd “Open Your Heart”
Directed by Michel Gondry
The World Premiere of Michel Gondry's video "Open Your Heart" for singer Mia Doi Todd is a dazzling display of 100 people in colorful attire, including the Riverside Community College Marching Band, and it is sure to open your heart. The song is part of Mia's upcoming album to be released in 2010.

Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck "Heaven Can Wait"
Directed by Keith Schofield
Award-winning filmmaker Keith Schofield teamed up with French chanteuse Charlotte Gainsbourg and indie-music pioneer Beck to deliver a stunning visual kaleidoscope of 50 unique micro-vignettes.

Grizzly Bear "Ready, Able"
Directed by Allison Schulnik
For psychedelic/experimental pop band Grizzly Bear, Los Angeles based-filmmaker Allison Schulnik created a magical claymation music video for song “Ready, Able”. Stop-motion characters were meticulously crafted by Schulnik who sculpted 9,000 frames for the short.

Ramona Falls "I Say Fever"
Directed by Stefan Nadelman
Stefan Nadelman is an award-winning director and animator of short films and commercials. For his collaboration with Ramona Falls, he combined brilliantly dark visuals with spooky animation.

Yeasayer “Ambling Alp”
Directed by Radical Friend
Directing duo Radical Friend teamed up with Brooklyn-based band Yeasayer to create what many blogs and online communities are calling “the most surreal music video of the year”.
Shot in the California desert, the video project features an interactive teaser where viewers can use their computer mouse to move from scene to scene with a 360 degree camera.

Thursday, December 17th
8PM: Screening and Filmmaker Presentations.
10PM: After-party with live performance by Mia Doi Todd, Michel Gondry and friends. Hammer Cafe and Bar will be open.

RSVP: flux.net/flux-screening-series-at-the-hammer-los-angeles-6

Hammer Museum
Billy Wilder Theater
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.443.7000

Joshua Pieper at Ping Pong Gallery

Ping Pong Gallery

David Lynch, Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse

This exhibit at Oh Wow, just opened in time to view during the fairs. It's a mash up of creative genius minds.


DANGER MOUSE and SPARKLEHORSE
visuals by DAVID LYNCH
Dark Night Of The Soul Art Basel 2009
3100 NW 7 Avenue / Miami / Florida / 33127

"Musical visionary Danger Mouse and iconoclastic filmmaker David Lynch pool their talents and reveal the stunning and haunting photographs from their groundbreaking project Dark Night of the Soul at Art Basel Miami Beach 2009.

Dark Night of the Soul is a full-length album and illustrated book, combining the talents of Danger Mouse, David Lynch and celebrated rock recluse Sparklehorse. In addition to the hardcover book, the album includes vocals from the Flaming Lips, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega and many others.

The exhibition consists of over 50 original photographs by David Lynch which are displayed alongside the accompanying soundtrack by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse. Seven limited edition prints of each photograph will be available for purchase. The exhibition will open December 2, 2009 as the much anticipated kickoff to Art Basel week 2009."

You're in Miami Trick

The Journal
at NADA








Baer Ridgeway
at NADA





sent via Catherine Clark Gallery
at PULSE

SeaPony Fasion Show

via facebook.com

Posted via web from libbysniche's posterous

kibisi: Expo Pavilion 2010

via kibisi.com

fantastical

Posted via web from libbysniche's posterous

Victoria Wagner

Artist: Victoria Wagner
Recent Exhibition: Four Barrel Coffee
Address: 375 Valencia St




Her artist statement:

"Geology, similar to the human psyche seems to bury things deep within. Both share the ability of never forgetting, just simply fossilizing and cataloguing even the most seemingly inconsequential passing notions or experiences.

In our actions, in our conversations and persuasions, those little bits of buried wisdom and peril rear up, like a latent volcano or fertile geyser….some to great occasion, but usually to typify where we have yet to do our greatest work.

Geology and the climate chaos has something to tell us…as well as our collective human psyche. I would like to hold faith that we will rise to the vastness and heroics of our expectations, that we will show signs of enlightenment, that we will learn to love our neighbor and dissolve any sense of enemy, mostly within ourselves. In the best version of our contemporary story with all of our mistakes visible, we could let all of the collective past roll off of our backs and start anew.

The most recent work recalls cognitive shift and clarity….as when buried emotion comes into focus. At once, awkward and uplifting, these moments of instability are our call to change, to process and to soften our reactions to one another and our environment.

And as I look around and realize that at once we are all experiencing great joy, sorrow, tragedy and chaos, it is the event of circumstance in our shared lives that allow us to really know one another. Our reactions to crisis, our thoughtful interventions, our insightful views…make us heavy, show us the meaning of pain, but force us to be real. And allow us the gift of observing transcendence… in total experience, the weighty can produce the light."