Artist Tom Sachs’ Boombox Retrospective, 1999–2016 at the Brooklyn Museum showcased the artist’s innovative reinterpretations of the Boombox, a cultural icon of 1980s hip-hop and street culture. The exhibition featured eighteen sculptures crafted from everyday materials like plywood, foamcore, duct tape, hot glue, solder and wires, transforming the museum’s glass entryway, the Rubin Pavilion, into an immersive sound environment. Art! Continue reading Tom Sachs’ Clusterfuck Boombox Sculpture→
Throughout a career spanning as much as seven decades, the American actor and director James Hong has appeared in more than 600 films and TV shows. Born in Minnesota in the year 1929, he is one of the most prolific character actors in the history of Hollywood. Hong has performed not only as an on-screen performer but also as a voice artist for several reputed animated movies. Here, we will sketch a summary highlighting his most memorable performances that prove his creative acting caliber throughout his illustrious in-screen journey. Continue reading James Hong: Celebrating Decades of Creativity in Movies and Television→
March 2010 Cover of Time Out London Designed By Banksy (All Photos By Gail)
My first exposure to Banksy — the pseudonymous British street artist (some say consortium) whose irreverent works of socio-political satire have appeared in site-specific locations across the globe — was a visit to his October, 2008 immersive Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill. Located in a Greenwich Village, NYC storefront and filled with surreal creations both familiar and exotic, the installation was designed to look like a typical pet store, but with a twist. While there was no actual Charcoal Grill serving food, rather than selling live animals, the store featured a variety of animatronic pets, including fish sticks swimming in a fish bowl, ‘chicken nugget’ baby chicks and a rabbit applying makeup before a mirrored vanity.
This is purely coincidental, but maybe ten days before I attended the massive new exhibit Jean-Michel Basquiat:King Pleasure, a pair of brazen art thieves attempted to steal one of the late artist’s paintings — valued at $45,000 — from a Chelsea art galleryin broad daylight. The crime was easily foiled as the couple — who, sadly, avoided apprehension — attempted to just walk out of the gallery holding the artwork. Ballsy! I mention this to illustrate the fact that Basquiat’s popularity hasn’t waned in the 34 years since his death from an accidental drug overdose at age 28. Though he did not get to live a long life, Jean-Michel Basquiat lives on through his art, and King Pleasure is here to make sure he is not forgotten.
Writing posts about exhibits in museums that are currently closed: this is now a thing that keeps content fresh when there is nowhere to go, unless a neighborhood around the block counts as a cultural event.
What can I say about Judd; the ambitious MoMA retrospective of a major force in contemporary art that was open for just over two weeks before Covid-19 temporarily shuttered this and other museums? Mostly, I feel fortunate that I took advantage of an opportunity to attend a Member’s Preview on February 28th, the Friday evening before the exhibit officially opened to the public. Continue reading Donald Judd Retrospective at MoMA→
