Results tagged “artist”

Artist Stephen Wiltshire has been hard at work this week drawing the Manhattan skyline from memory over at Pratt. He only took a 20 minute helicopter ride prior to getting started, "during which time he impressed on his mind thousands of landmarks, great and small." He told the Brooklyn Paper: “My arm starts to hurt sometimes, but I push on.”

Amazing. 34-year-old British artist, Stephen Wiltshire, who was diagnosed with autism at an early age, is currently taking residence at Pratt to do what he does best: draw. But not just draw; the artist is creating a detailed panorama of New York's skyline from memory, after only briefly visiting the city and taking it all in from a helicopter. He has done this around the world, 8 times in total, and says this is his finale.

Pro tip for all you artists out there: make your work look exactly like a photograph and you will win cash prizes! The NY Times reports that 50-year-old Brooklyn painter Ran Ortner was awarded the grand prize of $250,000 last night at ArtPrize, a public competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Astonishing. Graffiti artists are still doing the ol' "sneak into a museum and hang unsolicited work" trick. The latest, Mat Benote, fancies himself a "Fine Art Graffiti Artist" and has actually already pulled this stunt at the Guggenheim. His latest conquest was the walls of the Brooklyn Museum, and one of his minions wrote to tell us this is "the Cloak & Dagger style of graffiti art that he has become known for." So controversial! So... 2005!

Earlier this year Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara was busted for doodling on the wall of an East Village subway station. Well, as of yesterday, the charges against the multimillionaire have been dropped. The NY Post explains that he "was given an adjournment in contemplation after being charged with making graffiti and criminal mischief and spending the night in jail. That meant if he kept his nose clean for six months, the charges would be dropped." His lawyer says the case is officially over (and "he can get back to wowing the art world with his great art"), but the paper points out the MTA missed out on some easy money by wiping away the doodle that could have easily been sold for $10,000 (the bar Niagara was smarter). Perhaps Nara should donate a sketch to them for letting him off the hook.

Remember when, in 2005, Banksy snuck in to museums and illegally hung his own work (video!)? Well, another artist has just done the same, catching up four years later—but at least he hit a different museum: the Guggenheim (Banksy got the Met, MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, and American Museum of Natural History).

It's not just the suits looking out for their money in the Financial District these days. The artist behind the Charging Bull sculpture near Wall Street is suing Random House for using an image of his work for the cover art of a book about the fall of Lehman Brothers. 1010Wins reports that Arturo Di Modica was filing the lawsuit in federal court yesterday, and seeking unspecified damages. He is also asking the picture be removed from the book, titled "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense." Indeed, he had the sculpture copyrighted in 1998, 9 years after its creation. Maybe Sad Panda can go on the new cover!

It's been over a week now since Dash Snow was confirmed dead from an overdose, and today the NY Times sheds some light on what exactly happened to the artist, who would have turned 28 on Monday, during his last hours.

       

Not that we needed any convincing about Belgian artist James Ensor (1860-1949), but after New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl declared that the "astonishing" Ensor retrospective at MoMA "will affect many viewers like the detonation of a bomb whose fuse has been fizzing inconspicuously for a century," we quit procrastinating and finally humped it to midtown on Saturday. It was definitely worth the trip, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the exhibit wasn't disastrously mobbed in the way that blockbuster museum retrospectives tend to get.

On June 17th the legendary graffiti artist Iz the Wiz died, but just five days prior to that he was back in the Bronx tagging up a mock subway car. The work is at the Tuff City graffiti and tattoo studio and was meant to be endlessly repainted over by different artists, but it will now remain as Iz, if you will. Back in the day he would tag his name in bubble-letters all down a train, and he said: “You would have these pieces running like this 10 cars straight. When that hit the train station, bam! Impact. No doubt about it.” Tuff City employees aren't sure how they'll preserve Iz's last piece just yet, but they told CityRoom they are considering "donating them to a museum, making them part of a traveling exhibit or disassemble them for galleries." Check out some images from Iz's show, and from his memorial at Tuff City, here.

              

It may be easy to judge someone like Dash Snow. His pedigree, his art, his drug abuse, his lifestyle. But when the artist joined the 27 Club and departed for the big "hamster nest" in the sky, he left behind many Polaroids, many tags, many works of art, and many grieving friends. Gavin McInnes, who you know from Vice, wrote a tribute to his friend and his relation to New York City.

The best part of living in New York is the feeling that you’re in the center of everything. This feeling is like heroin and soon you want more. Eventually, Brooklyn isn’t enough. Then, certain parts of Manhattan aren’t enough. You feel like you’re visiting your parents when you’re in Soho or you’re on a road trip when you’re in Chelsea. St. Marks is a mini mall and even the East Village feels like a pale imitation of the Lower East Side. You never felt like that when you were partying with Dash Snow. You felt like you were in the center of New York. He was the kind of thing people move to New York for.

[UPDATE BELOW] A not totally unsurprising rumor is going around that downtown artist Dash Snow has died of a heroin overdose. Snow is the maternal grandson of Robert Thurman (and nephew of actress Uma Thurman), and his lifestyle was well-documented in a sprawling New York magazine piece two years ago. That lifestyle at one point included making what he called a Hamster’s Nest with friends, where they would "shred up 30 to 50 phone books, yank around all the blankets and drapes, turn on the taps, take off their clothes, and do drugs—mushrooms, coke, ecstasy—until they feel like hamsters."

Well, it lasted longer than it was supposed to: the Keith Haring tribute mural that went up last April on Houston and Bowery is being whitewashed today. The mural went up to celebrate what would have been the artist's 50th birthday, it underwent a modification by his former collaborator in July 2008, and was meant to be down by this past December, according to Animal NY. We contacted Deitch Projects, who along with the Keith Haring Foundation commissioned the recreation of the artist's piece, to find out what might go up on the wall next. We'll update the post when we hear back, but in the meantime, expect it to be tagged by some enterprising young street artists by sun up.

       

New York artist Justin Baldwin does his best work underground in the subway system. Unlike many who use their Metrocard to gain access to a city full of straphanging subjects, however, he merely uses the subway car as his studio, not to find models. He recently told us a little about his process.

This is sort of like a storyline out of House—imagine a cold opening where a young artist falls ill from a headache, and upon being diagnosed her happily-ever-after doodles become dark, borderline-psychotic masterpieces. The NY Post has a story on 33-year-old Alison Silva, a painter from New Jersey, who the paper claims "is a medical marvel whose tumor left her with blinding visions—and breathtaking ability." Silva actually has painted since she was younger, but when she discovered her lifelong battle with headaches was actually being caused by a brain tumor that could kill her—well, her vision changed a bit. Now each of her dark paintings sell for around $7,500 apiece. She told the paper, "I had to do a lot of thinking when I was diagnosed. The tumor is right by my memory, so I was scared with the thought of having to start over." She added, "It took me to a darker place. It changed a lot of my art work. It got darker because I wasn't afraid anymore." Well, art imitates life, right?

The New Museum seems to be a magnet for strange activity. Earlier this year a dead deer was spotted outside of its doors, and now AnimalNY reports that "during the press preview for the New Museum’s triennial exhibition, 'Younger Than Jesus,' someone hung a giant banner stating 'Please, New Museum, Show My Work' on the facade outside." It was promptly removed, but a painting across the street with the same plea was also spotted. Until the artist reveals him/herself however, the stunt has failed since no one knows who the work belongs to. However, someone with video capabilities happened to be nearby when the banner was still up, and they made a video including both that and the painting—ultimately asking the artist to unmask thyself. We've asked the New Museum to comment on the artwork, but have yet to hear back.

       

Recently the Villager announced that East Village graffiti legend Antonio Garcia (better known as Chico) would be retiring to Florida to possibly teach art, custom-paint cars, be with his kids and "start my life. I’m going to miss the community. But it’s time to spend time with my family. I’m already 45.” He has spent 30 years using a spray paint can to generate positive messages and memorial tributes throughout the neighborhood, where he has lived since the age of two (he got his start tagging old redbird subway cars). Think of him as the Keith Haring without the art-world accolades (he calls the artist a "faker").

Following Swoon's fleet of artistic boats sailing down the East River last summer, another troupe of local artists plans to up the ante later this year. The Brooklyn Paper reports that they're currently planning on living aboard an eco-friendly barge for the summer months in a colony they’re calling the Waterpod. On board there will be solar and wind-generated electricity, a "greenhouse made from recycled materials" and not much else. Whatever they can grow in there, or catch off the boat, will be all they're allowed to consume from May through October. During those months there will also be on-board lectures, screenings and art events. The paper reports that "when they aren’t farming, fishing, or tending to their proposed chicken coop, the artists aim to educate New Yorkers about global warming, the risks of rising sea levels, and the concept of self-sufficient, nomadic sea cities." The route hasn't yet been determined, but if you're wondering how much this endeavor is costing, the figure is around $800,000.

Robert Lederman has been very vocal about the rights of art vendors selling goods in SoHo. He founded A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics) in 1993 in order to fight the "legal and political struggle for full First Amendment protection involving the creation, display and sale of art on NYC streets and in Parks." They're currently continuing their battle against the Business Improvement District and council member Alan Gerson, which you can read more about here.

Last year the police were hassling the art vendors in SoHo, something documented by Robert Lederman, president of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists’ Response to Illegal State Tactics). Around the same time, word of an Alan Gerson-proposed bill to "deal with the problem" was getting out, and now the City Council proposal has arrived, leaving the artists on the defense.

As crews begin dismantling Olafur Eliasson's four arboricidal waterfall scaffolds, the mayor's office has released a report asserting that the economic impact of the installation was better than expected. When the waterfalls were turned on back in June, Bloomberg predicted the city would see some $55 million in revenue from the exhibition. A study commissioned by the city’s Economic Development Corporation says that the NYC Waterfalls generated an estimated $69 million for the city. According to City Room, that figure breaks down like so:

The artist behind that animatronic Waterboard Thrill Ride on Coney Island finally fulfilled his dream of making the simulation a reality last Friday night. A professional interrogator, Mike Ritz, wearing a black ski mask, black fatigues and combat boots, waterboarded Steve Powers and three lawyers for a small audience of invited guests (photo after the jump). Art Forum reports: "Ritz then stuffed a large black rag into Powers’s mouth, held the artist’s nose with one hand, and poured a steady flow of water onto the rag like a frat boy pours a pitcher of beer. After about eight seconds, Powers began to twitch and jerk on the table, and Ritz quickly removed the rag. Dazed and flushed, the artist was led out of the room... The woman, an assistant state attorney general, seemed to last the longest."

              

Mayor Bloomberg and other city officials joined artist Olafur Eliasson and Susan K. Freedman of the Public Art Fund at a press conference this morning at the South Street Seaport, where all four of Eliasson's waterfalls can be seen at once. An aide to the mayor noted that there was more press attending this event than when he announced he was switching his party to become independent.

Groundbreaking postwar artist Robert Rauschenberg died last night at the age of 82. The adventurous painter, photographer, printmaker, choreographer, set designer and composer was born Milton Ernest Rauschenberg on Oct. 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, Texas, a small refinery town with little cultural stimuli. (In his adult life he took the name Robert.)

     

Jason Polan has undertaken a project that seems nearly impossible; on his website he states:

I am trying to draw every person in New York. I will be drawing people everyday and posting as frequently as I can. It is possible that I will draw you without you knowing it. I draw in Subway stations and museums and restaurants and on street corners. I try not to be in the way when I am drawing or be too noticeable. Whenever I have a new batch of drawings I will post them on this blog.

Last night as Gossip Girl returned to the airwaves, it brought some real LIC artists with it. In the fictional Bedford Avenue Gallery, as Blair plots to ruin Jenny Humphrey, she pauses in front of some pieces -- one of which belongs to LIC artist Rene Smith, who told us about how her art landed on Rufus Humphrey's walls.

I heard that Gossip Girl rented art work for their "gallery" and I actually just stopped by Silvercup Studios, which is right across the street from my studio. The security guard was nice enough to let me in and I was able to show my portfolio to art department coordinator.

Continue reading "LIC Artist Gets Work on Gossip Girl"

Yesterday, The Daily News printed an article that began, "A cop-bashing art exhibit at a taxpayer-funded museum in Brooklyn portrays the city's Finest as trigger-happy racists who have put bull's-eyes on the backs of black New Yorkers."