Dan Graham & Rock & Roll

All interesting shows at Whitney Museum at this moment; a new animation by Sadie Benning (who was also included in the Animated Painting show I am in at the moment in Tijuana,MX). A big Oldenburg/Van Bruggen drawings show and a retrospective of Dan Graham.
It took me a while to get into D.G. work. 10 years ago I thought it was just sublime-obsessive minimal art. But since I understand now that his work is at his best in a social context, I see it differently; It's very social. Without people using it,in it; it's not working.
It doesn't has much to do with Judd, Serra,LeWit, etc.
Might also help that I use myself spaces and mirrors,recently. And bands. So I have never been inspired by him, but now I see I could.

Graham, not a musician himself but always on top of the scene and very involved,in the NY 80 music scene (Kim Gordon quote; "Without Dan Graham Sonic Youth would not have existed") So this exhibition comes with a music program. Last Friday I saw 2 young guitar band playing; These are powers (great video) and the Vivian Girls. I liked the first one a lot. Very fresh and with a group of boys & girls dancing in silver costumes. Unfortunately the band did not play in any of his pavilion, but downstairs in the cafetaria.

But by sitting outside, backstage I created my own Dan Graham-experience, while looking through the large window.

They often have bands and performances there.(all the museums have so much night activities going on, that's something Amsterdam really misses...)
It's not so much a suitable place but it really gives the building, a great energy. It's strange; I used to dislike going to the Whitney because of the building. It's a bit clumsy and heavy. But now, I like it much better. Maybe I am fed up with the oh,so elegant white musea.

It's a bit a odd combination heavy metal/punkband like Minor Threat on a video in the same room with his glass pavilions. I understand he likes that music, the aggression and energy of it.
But, isn't all that urban aggression also generated by frustration from living in a steel, glass & concrete jungle?
There is a lot of friction in this show, that that is probably why it's a good show.
The exhibition catalogue is also great; With a funny manga-biografy about the live of Dan Graham.

2 mediocer shows at Deitch

I'm back in NY and that feels good.
Have to say; there is so much happening here, even in august.
Lets start with 2 bad shows at Deitch projects in Soho.


Dash Snow died last month at the age of 27. For some reason this junky is a star;
And today an icon. Media loves a dead arty junky. And some of the artworld is not much better.
So there's a quick memorial exhibition at Deitch.
In Amsterdam (drugs capital of the world?) for some funny reason; it is really not done to be a junky artist. I mean; I really have to go back a long time to find real artists junkies in Ams.
But in the US they still love it. In France and Britain as well.
Just look at the French black-ELLE; Purplemagazine or the morbid obsession with junky popstars in the UK. Glamour & drugs.
The exhibition is a bit like a shrine, like the ones you see everywhere after a celebrity has died; people put flowers,foto's, little notes, candles and off course; teddybears!
But now all this on a gallery wall. The visitors are invited to hang their grief on the wall
(Yes;this is your chance to be in a Deitch show!!!).
So, who is this kid anyway?
A pretty blond white boy from a very wealthy and powerful art related family.The De Menil family, (one of the best private museums in the world (Houston,TX).
Ok, but so what? Does he has anything to say? What is his talent?
Off course there are many talented artists who are addicts.
He made a lot of polaroids of himself , his buddies and chicks being stoned, drinking, shouting, having a good & dirty time. And;
showing they're genitals (WOoooooW!)

Purplemagazine lovvvvvessss that stuff!
-
The show in the big space is a total Christoph Büchel rip off by two artists named Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman. Even when you read the pressrelease you think; Christoph Büchel!
··°°°o0O
-Deitch is a weird place.....

fallen fruit in LA

if you ever come to LA , in hip neighborehood Echo Park; This map will come in very handy;

Check out this art groupfrom LA all about fruit fallen from tree.
They're plan is to have fallenfruit maps from all around the world. (Thinking very hard now if I know spots in Amsterdam..)

their manifesto;

A SPECTER is haunting our cities: barren landscapes with foliage and flowers, but nothing to eat. Fruit can grow almost anywhere, and can be harvested by everyone. Our cities are planted with frivolous and ugly landscaping, sad shrubs and neglected trees, whereas they should burst with ripe produce. Great sums of money are spent on young trees, water and maintenance. While these trees are beautiful, they could be healthy, fruitful and beautiful.

WE ASK all of you to petition your cities and towns to support community gardens and only plant fruit-bearing trees in public parks. Let our streets be lined with apples and pears! Demand that all parking lots be landscaped with fruit trees which provide shade, clean the air and feed the people.

FALLEN FRUIT is a mapping and manifesto for all the free fruit we can find. Every day there is food somewhere going to waste. We encourage you to find it, tend and harvest it. If you own property, plant food on your perimeter. Share with the world and the world will share with you. Barter, don't buy! Give things away! You have nothing to lose but your hunger!

Reminds me a lot of the Agnes Varda masterpiece; Les glaneurs et la glaneuse.

Ann Goldstein's choice at MOCA

Stanley Brown


What a great chance to see the last 10 years of acquisition (and many donations) from upcoming Stedelijk Museum director (and her staff) and now still Moca curator here in LA.

First of all;I get a good feeling about it.
The dutch press said her taste is german (?) But I wouldn't say that.
There is a strong US mythological pop thing going on here.
Think Paul Thek, Mike Kelley; it's all quite edgy, dirty.
It doesn't mean it she will bring all that to Holland. This is very LA.
Very different from the more delicate NY art scene.
Only one terrible Albert Oelhen painting and a interesting photo work by Hanne Darboven.
Anyway; check it out;
(sorry for the bad pictures and some misspelled names)

Matthew Monahan

(??forgot the name of the artist-gift of Mike Kelley)

John Bock

Olof Falstrøm (? ) (The other Rio sweed)
(the other one is Jonas Ohlsson)

Jimmy Durham


Rachel Weinstein (...)

Forgot the name; but like it .
(it's not Kenny Sharf, but made me think about it)

Christian Marclay (A very good sound-video installation)
She should do a big show with him in SM. Think that would really go well in Amsterdam.
I think it's still a under estimated artist.


Weird erotic thiftstore-style painting by John Altoon (1925-1969). Gift of Mike Kelley

Robert Smithson (...) strange drawings...

Barbara Kruger + Mike Kelley

Albert Oelhen.


Sergey Jensen

Yurt in LA

After 9 days of traveling; From Tijuana I drove to San Fransico and from there with a camper across Nevada, Utah & Arizona. A distance like from Stockholm to Napoli and back, but with only a few villages in between.
Grumpy europeans like to say americans don't know what happens outside of their country and have no clue about the rest of the world. True or not; traveling across the overwhelming american landscape, it is quite refreshing and revealing for a euromind like mine; how Americans see things. Big off course.
But the bigness of the landscape is not man made. The wide perspective is a optimistic view. It is not romantic at all.
There is a lot of wilderness in this country. This wilderness means real danger.
Cellphones don't work in the dessert, for 4 days my cellphone didn't recieved any signal. This may sound ironic and silly; But when you see a sign ;next gas station 187 miles (250km). You better make a U-turn and fill up your tank. Something we europeans have no clue about. Holland is off course the contra-pole of the US landscape. 100% man made; No accidents, no danger, no problem.
I still need some time to digest all these landscapes.

And that's what I am doing now in a Yurt in LA.
I am staying in a yurt in the very mexican neighborehood Lincoln Heights. My friends have a house with a wonderful garden,yuccas, grapefruittrees, many pepertree's.
(these a californian peper tree's; it's not normal peper, but looks and smells like red peper ).
It's a small paradise, like there are so many in LA but you will only see them if you know people. Amazing view over the downtown area, and a small modern yurt. (If you don't know people here; it's difficult, not to say hostile)

I've stayed in a yurt in Holland before; but now it is strange to stay in one, and looking at the sealing and realize how much it looks like my piece in Tijuana;
Normally the inspiration comes before, not after.
How do you call that? When you (an artist) sees all kind of things that reminds you of something you've made.

Life under a big stone

I came across these strange navajo little houses in the Arizona dessert; By constructing a little wall around a corner of a big rock, the Navajo indians used the shadow being created by these massive stones. A bit like the insect habitats under rocks

Tijuana;kids & danger-paintings

On a previous trip to Mexico, I found in a friendly shop on a beach, postcards of little kids posing with dead bloody sharks.
I was a little shocked....
I thought about those images when I looked at these paintings in my Hotel lobby.
Innocent child posing with dangerous animal.

They're pretty obsessed with danger in this culture.
It's interesting to see how much hotel-lobby art tells you about its culture.

I've been told that all these kids have the same father. He is the owner of this hotel-casino where the museum has me staying. And he has his private zoo with elephants, tigers,etc.
All here in Tijuana!
This man was the previous mayor of Tijuana and has 23 kids (with 5 different wives).His name is

Hank Rhon.
But since he hasn't been re-elected two years ago, things have been getting really nasty in Tijuana; Drugs wars between the cartels.
A murder rate of 1021 last year. (Tijuana has 1.2 million inhabitants.)
Meaning that when he was in power he had control over the cartels. He had the power to keep it 'clean'.
(Amsterdam that is just a little smaller then Tijuana and Holland's murder city nr 1; 32 murders in 2008)