Saturday, January 5, 2008

Macabre exhibit pictures kids in violent scenarios


Britt from the Chron tackles AES+F at the Station, and he doesn't pull punches; here he describes the work Suspects

"The installation surrounds you with the photographs of all 14 girls and challenges you to try and figure out which ones are the murderers. Of course, it's impossible to tell, and the artists are withholding the girls' identities.

Seeing a piece like this in Texas, with our brisk pace of executions and overturned death-penalty convictions, is particularly unnerving after you realize you have a 50-50 chance of being wrong about who the killers around you are."

Well, I can't say I miss Patricia Johnson's press release thievin' formalism/pandering- thanks Chronicle!

ps- this sentence is too silly; "Remnants of the cultural residue of all nations and times pervade the new epoch."

Scooby Doo Crew sez:

SDC Productions a/k/a Scooby Doo Crew
Date: Jan 5, 2008 2:08 PM


As most of you know, our warehouse at 1620 Keene St caught fire on New Year's Eve. There were no injuries, for which we are most grateful. The brick walls remain, as well as the floor and porch. The outside storage area was the only room that was not burned. The roof is totally gone. The SDC bus and "Burro" are safe, as well as "kitchen cat". The cat has a home, if she will be willing to move ;) The residents of the warehouse lost everything. Nothing inside the warehouse is salvageable. We lost a ton of sound and lighting equipment. No one had renter's insurance. Luckily our Spiral Tribe cabinets were not at the warehouse at the time of the fire. We are thankful to have cabinets but we have no drivers (speakers) for the cabinets. We are currently without a system for the first time in 10 years.

We moved into the warehouse in October 1998 and have occupied it since. The last few years our immediate family has grew and Kelly and I sublet the warehouse to other artists, continuing to host events all the while. We had events, artists, tenants, and visitors of every flava at the warehouse. It truly was a special place - never a dull moment ;) We developed such an extended family through living at the warehouse - family and friends that we hold deep in our hearts. During the days and most nights, it provided a home and community for many. A couple evenings of the month, the residents of the warehouse would put all the furniture against the wall, all the kid's toys in the closet, and transform the warehouse for an event. When people came to the party, first-comers would always say, "People live here?" ;) These events gave us so many great memories of celebrating life with friends and making new friends. These events are the source for a lot of "firsts" for many. We are grateful to be a part of those memories ;)

The warehouse holds so many special memories for us. The friends and events held there, the constant flow of interesting visitors, helping friends in need with shelter and community. We lost a very special soul in 1999 in the restroom of the warehouse - in that exact spot, our firstborn daughter was born two years later. Our second daughter was born in a portable jacuzzi in the large area of the warehouse. Everyone at the warehouse helped in some way to bring our precious angels into this world. The warehouse is special to our girls, as they remember the fun they had living and visiting there.

The support that everyone has given is greatly appreciated. We know that we are not the only ones who feel a great loss. We are planning a "vigil" of sorts for the near future.

Food, clothes, shoes, household items, or monetary donations can be donated for the residents of the warehouse - DONATIONS ARE BEING TAKEN AT THE CANAL STREET WAREHOUSE, 3012 Canal Street. You can donate to SDC to help rebuild our sound system via PayPal HELP REBUILD THE SDC SOUND SYSTEM(via PayPal, send to "kellyhertz@earthlink.net"). A myspace page has been set up (thank you Bonnie) SDC WAREHOUSE MYSPACE PAGE Anything you can do is truly appreciated. A benefit party will be held in the near future as well. We truly thank everyone for their support!

ABC NEWS REPORT

HOUSTON CHRONICLE ARTICLE

A Few of the Kidz of 1620 Keene











Back To BurningMan 2<div>









LAST EVENTS AT THE 1620 KEENE ST WAREHAUZ :











WAREHAUZ BURN AFTERMATH PIX










Free Art @ CSAW!

Stopped by CSAW last night, where the scene was furious with the loading of moving vans. Drop by tonight- in the back loading dock- for free art! With the quick exodus of about 12 art studios (they have to be out by Monday) there's a lot of stuff that doesn't make the cut. To try and jam a studio of art supplies into your house is tough. Come help them know their art is appreciated by taking some for your home!


I took home part of an installation by Teresa O'Connor


and one of these little guys






I got a Howard Sherman too!


there's still another one there...


Big Jeff took this little one- he said "It screams utility room to me"


he took this iridescent landscape too


Stop by tonight for free art!
2315 Commerce Street, Houston, Texas 77002

Friday, January 4, 2008

I Think I'll Have to Stop


Sean Landers, Fart, detail

Bashing the Chron for not writing about art? So 2007... Douglas Britt weighs in, critically, on the CAMH Superconscious, Automatisms Now exhibit. Britt used to run the neighborhood chron commons blog for the East End, who knew he'd have the gumption to write about art?

Vito In Houston!


Acconci performing Seedbed

Brooklyn br'er rabbit Vito Acconci is coming to Houston as part of the CAMH's Design Life Now.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Brown Auditorium
on March 5 at 7 p.m


Centers, Vito Acconci


London Comes to Town


DEBRIS: How to Paint a Door




What do we have to look forward to in 2008? Well not much in January for sure. As far as I can tell the museums and galleries hit the snooze button until March. In the mean time, why not throw your own show? It seems as good a time as any- Chicago, New York and Los Angeles are buzzing about Houston and the local scene is stagnant. The December lull seems like that anyway, and if flash mobs and collective work keep popping up in unexpected places we may have an exciting year of trying to catch the next big thing.

Setting up a show? First things first. Invite all your friends and give them free beer. This will make it seem like you have a following- and you do! Next; google the press release for a major exhibit and take out all the nouns and names, replacing them with your own. Send this on to all the galleries and museums by following one simple formula: info@ whatever the website name is. Next, get yourself listed by sending multiple emails to spacetaker.org, glasstire.com and artshound.com- these three sites hold all the listings of art events in town and all the writers in town get their info there. Make sure you still have a month before your show. Print quarter-page fliers and leave them at coffee shops on Westheimer.

Finding a space? Easy. Do it at your house! If your mom won’t let you, then throw an outdoor show. If you live outside the loop find someone who lives in Montrose and do it at their place. Make up a gallery name by stealing lyrics from a song from the 80s and putting ‘gallery’ at the end. Hang your paintings everywhere and put big sculptures in the backyard. Type up a list of works; people like to have something in their hand when they walk around a show. Put prices on it even if you think they won’t sell- you never know! About pricing; don’t go too high, try to sell one painting that will cover your beer and fliers cost. You can always go higher later, and it feels good to sell something!

Keeping visible? Start a blog. Go to blogger.com and start a blog with your gallery’s name. Post lots of photos and use the words ‘Houston’, ‘art’ and ‘installation’ a lot. Take photos of other exhibits you go to or at art openings and label them with the artists’ names. People always google themselves and they will read anything with their name in it. Amanda Mills does! Don’t forget that people steal shit online too, so don’t take any really good pictures; just get the artwork in its environment.

Last but not least, don’t worry about things changing. Your gallery can move every month if you want it to. You can change your name, your style and your persona. Not every event is a success, so don’t get bummed out and plastered. Unless you have a bunch of crappy shows no one has ever heard of it is nearly impossible to get into a good one. Have fun- all your friends are there anyway and you don’t need to meet new people unless they come to you. Write down all the shit you do, too. It’ll come in handy going up for one of the Houston Arts Alliance or Artadia grants where rich people want to give you money to throw shows and keep from being productive.



via Free Press Houston January 2008

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Eight Up

Count 'em! Eight reviews of local shows offered up by the Houston Press this week. The last two are best.

4:44pm

4:44pm
December 31st
The Silo

Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas

44 years after Argentine artist Marta Minujín created the first Happening in Paris the American Wandering Club designed their own version.

In the original La Destrucción the artist destroyed all her artwork, inviting others like Christo and Lourdes Castro to burn paintings and mattresses.

Seeking a more collaborative event the American Wandering Club invited artists to bring work from 2007 to The Silo on December 31st in order to usher in the New Year.

At 4:44 pm paintings and sculptures were lit aflame.






Eli Baumgarten


Shane Tolbert


Marcus Cone's symphony compositions


Vanessa Voss, paintings and a thesis


Brian Moss and Gasoline


Brian's drawings, paintings, writing and thesis


















Scott Stapp!!!

















more pics (thanks Eli and Kelli!!!) HERE.

Lawndale Ponies Up

looks like a good round coming up at the Lawndale!

January 18 – February 23, 2008
Opening Reception Friday January 18, 2008
6:30-8:30PM
With an artist talk at 6:00PM



Children in Heat | Jason Villegas, Jessica Rudick and
Timothy Warner



The Best That I Can Give You and
Less Than Half of What You Deserve | Katie Pell



Moving In | Maria Guzman



After 9/11: Pen and Ink Drawings | Lynne Rutzky

An Open Letter To Orgs

With the soul-sucking holidays behind us, blood-sucking nonprofits across Screwston are looking ahead to another year of special events, testing their creativity to come up with the most enticing and enjoyable means of teasing oodles of serious money from their paralyzed constituencies.

As the strategic battle planning begins, we would like to offer a few suggestions while high on huffing freon and shitting our pants to please the audience.

Fat and contented gala goers are apt to return again next year, keeping the ballroom packed and coffers filled with liposuction fat and blood money. Those who have been bored to tears and tortured by endless speeches by oil executives, dreary videos about killing children and interminable auctions of live organs — all in one seating — will kill themselves instead.

We applaud the Museum of Fine Ass, Houston, for its brevity of programming — a welcome by director Peter "The Bull" Marzio and a few words of gratitude from empty chairs. The program never alters, and the 600 or so guests always enjoy the party — good speed, good cocaine, and a good fuck. That's really all anyone wants from a black-tie gala, particularly when spending $1,000 and more per person for an evening out. Throw in a tranny hooker and Mardi Gras beads and even "former city councilman" Michael Berry will be happy.

"AIDS For Everyone!" Houston's annual World AIDS Day luncheon is a good example of a well-worked, packed program for junkies that moves along at a fast clip, allows guests to visit the dirty needle room during the main course and concludes in a timely fashion with HPD beatings for stragglers. Little is worse in the IFC arena than a packed luncheon program that allows no time for socializing at the table and leaves your audience masturbating at the table.

"Remember that the members of your audience are your victims, not your friends," one serious-minded veteran of charitable fundraisers e-mailed in a list of recommendations. "They are giving you the gift of their blood, the most valuable thing they have. Don't be kind to them. They want to have some violent, BDSM fun."

And, as anyone who has attended a charity fundraiser knows, Houston audiences have a limited attention span, particularly when the Jim Beam and Jack Daniels are flowing. A white guy talking invariably leads to annoying chatter in the audience, if they get violent they may drown the speakers.

Here are 10 tips on organizing a fundraiser with this year's audience and next year's turnout in mind.


1.
In planning the program, remember that less is more. Keep the number of people baring their breasts countable on one hand, and carefully limit the oral sex time. Your audience, day or night, has come for a social occasion, not a series of blowjobs.


2.
Beat the audience to death with the nonprofit's message. You already have their money. They've already signed on in your support, which most likely means that they know what the charity is all about.


3.
Honor your sexual partners in the written program. Thanking major undergarments and drug purchasers from the podium unnecessarily slows down the flow. We applaud those who ask the audience to check the program for generous donors.


4.
Keep live-organ auction items to a minimum — three are sufficient, more than five are pushing it. Professional auctioneer Jeff Smith says five "is getting to be too many." A large number of live-organ items "kills the momentum of the party, and it also affects the bidding because people get tired of listening," he says.


5.
Strike up a match as soon as the auction or speakers are finished in order to avoid the lull that some party goers interpret as a signal to exit. Here's a good tip- during the dinner hour, douse the drapes in gasoline. No one likes to wait for the party to be over.


6.
Maintain a sensible schedule when planning weeknight fundraisers. One of the many things we admired about former Mayor Bob Lanier was his preference for being out on the street slingin' rocks in time for the 10 o'clock news. Now, that may be cutting things a little short, but dealing drugs by 10 p.m. on a school night is as late as it should get.


7.
If you have a weeknight event with hookers and blow, save the money, and don't hire entertainment other than a DJ. Few midweek party goers remember the belly dancers and circus freaks after a drug binge.


8.
Berate your honorees and speakers within shouting distance of the stage. If they must be seated elsewhere, have them approach the stage before they are announced. A tight, well-observed insult, the best bitch-slap for any event, can spell this out.


9.
When honoring more than two or three individuals, consider limiting their responses to a simple "thank you" rather than snorting lines off Shelby Hodge that further lengthen your program.


10.
Hire an ample number of valet parkers. No rich person wants the last and most enduring memory of an event being that of waiting in the valet line going through withdrawls for 30 minutes or more. Serve canned corn and skinned cat instead of beef, but don't be chintzy on the number of valets.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Whaaat???

The best shit is on craigslist

Reply to: comm-525431266@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-01-01, 7:59PM CST



All mediums acceptable!
An International Fine art exhibition in Kazakhstan.
Please send samples of artwork, we will provide you details.


scam? maybe, maybe not