So, this month I just started my new gig as curator managing Hurley featured artists and art projects.  I have the honor of putting the word out on this brand new link developed by the powers at Hurley on the new line of Robert Williams tees.  No, I didn’t write the copy, it came out of a Williams book.

Check it out and the video found on the site!

Robert Williams featured artist at Hurley.com

I wish I were braving the snowy weather for this show!  I’ve previewed the impressive paintings before they were packed up and shipped off to New York – you will not be disappointed! On top of it all, Eve is a self-taught painter. Stop by and say hello to her and her husband Ken Pace.

February 18th, 2010 Opening Reception 6-8pm

“Bistro,” Gina Gallery, 454 Columbus Avenue, New York City 212-877-0097   Eve Plumb.tv

Eve will also be performing in the Broadway Backwards 5 event on Monday, February 22nd @ 8 PM at the Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont. The theater is located at 50 Lincoln Center Plaza, NYC. This event raises money in support of Broadway Cares .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Plumb

Robert Williams. Brute Waste (This An Irresistable Impulse To Leave No Sanctum Unspoiled)
2009. Acrylic enamel auto paint on fiber glass with steel armature.
102″ x 42″ x 48″

Robert Williams’s new body of work, “Conceptual Realism in the Service of the Hypothetical” includes paintings, prints and,  for the first time, sculptures. Known as an “artist’s artist,” Mr. Williams’ work travels from the underground comic world of the sixties, through the founding of the popular art magazine, Juxtapoz, to his current body of work exploring the next step into abstract thought. This show travels from Tony Shafrazi Gallery where it originated.

Robert Williams / Conceptual Realism in the Service of the Hypothetical
Opening: Saturday, February 20th (6-9 PM)
CSUN Art Galleries
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA, 91330-8299
Mon – Sat Noon – 4pm, Thurs Noon – 8pm
Closed Sundays and Holidays.
818.677 .2226

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ExlyC2OmC1E/S3TbknfzrEI/AAAAAAAAAtY/_S1GnzyNjhw/s1600-h/Wisdom+of+the+Ancients.jpg

Click on the link to see it big.

I know a good deal when I spot one and when I ran across this piece, “Wisdom of the Ancients” tryptic by Jeff McMillan, I had to pull the trigger. I’ve seen the original and I can’t believe all this talent is crammed so lovingly into a small space.  Yes, so what, I’m on holiday visiting my parents for Chinese New Year and yes, I am stuck here in Katy, TX and no, I’m not shopping my way to happiness…or am I?  True: I was checking in on my Society6 studio to see if my artist peeps had posted art for sale and yes I do love Jeff McMillan’s work cos he’s um, AWESOME.  But the print that is less than $50 + reasonable shipping is 40 inches by 17 inches!  THAT IS A RIDICULOUS DEAL!  The giclee comes unsigned and unnumbered but Jeff is such a great guy, I bet when you art star stalk him, he would oblige you with a signature and maybe treat you to a Mountain Dew.

http://www.society6.com/studio/anniesalist/Wisdom_of_the_Ancients_Tryptic

Click on that link to buy it!

Jeff’s bottle is third from the left.

On Wednesday evening I went to the student preview of this show at Orange Coast College.  If you are a fan of surf culture, I strongly urge you to go to the opening on Saturday, February 13th.  Old school surfers will find this show like a glide down memory lane.  Rich Harbour is quite a videographer; his videos of surfers riding his now vintage boards are quite skillful.  Still being new to Orange County, I saw Harbour’s video footage used by a local news channel of the Seal Beach pier and restaurant become reclaimed by the surf.  See my previous post about the details for this show.  See you there!

More Images + Info »

Hitler Learns MOCA Job Goes To Jeffrey Deitch

Hitler in his bunker hopes that he will get the job as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), but is told by his senior staff that the job has gone instead to the New York art dealer Jeffrey Deitch, known for his business dealings and embrace of spectacle. Upset, Hitler lashes out at MOCA’s board of trustees, Deitch, some of Deitch’s artists (or those he admires) and the man who saved MOCA, L. A. philanthropist Eli Broad.

The Harbour Chronicles: A Life in Surfboard Culture. This exhaustive and immersive installation will be unveiled Saturday, February 13 at the Orange Coast College Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion. Harbour Surfboards were the preferred equipage of innumerable 1960s hot shoes, including Mark Martinson, Dave Reed, Roy Crump, Jackie Eberle, and Greg Tucker. The show will feature the recreation of three shaping rooms, dozens of referenced models, a series of interpretive didactic panels, and a chance to see what most surfboard historians consider to be the finest color laminations of the period.

The show curated by Mitchell De Jarnett and Greg Escalante under the direction of Andrea Harris, runs through April 9, and is made possible thanks by Honolua Surf Co. An accompanying book will be available, featuring written contributions from Steve Pezman, C.R. Stecyk III, Chris Sardelis, and Mike Marshall.

More Images + Info »

Mark your calendar, Joe Sorren’s first museum retrospective is coming up in November 2010 at Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center, in Santa Ana, CA.

http://www.artistaday.com/?p=5565

http://www.joesorren.com/

http://joesorren.com/wordpress/

Mark Ryden will sign copies of his newest release “The Tree Show” (2009), a hardcover collection of recent works.

Art Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair
Pacific Design Center
(taking place on the 2nd floor of the Pacific Design Center, the blue building, at the ARTBOOK booth, H10)

Pacific Design Center
8687 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, California 90069

Saturday, January 30, 2010
from 1 – 3 pm

This is the book I received from my friend art dealer George Hemphill of HEMPHILL, a gallery in Washington, DC.  George is an old friend of mine I called him the other day asking about “Mingering Mike” after I had read the passage below.  He said he’d send me the book and then I’d understand everything.  He’s right, I did.

One cold December morning, Dori Hadar—DJ by night, criminal investigator by day—was digging through crates of records at a flea market in Washington, D.C. There he stumbled into the elaborate world of Mingering Mike—a soul superstar of the 1960s and ’70s who released an astonishing 50 albums and at least as many singles in just 10 years. But Hadar had never heard of him, and he realized why on closer inspection: every album in the crates was made of cardboard. Each package was intricately crafted, complete with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the “vinyl.” Some albums were even covered in shrinkwrap, as if purchased at actual record stores.

The crates contained nearly 200 LPs and 45s by Mingering Mike, as well as other artists like Joseph War, the Big “D,” and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Sex Records, Decision, and Ming/War. There were also soundtracks to imaginary films, a benefit album for sickle cell anemia, and a tribute to Bruce Lee.

Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career of An Imaginary Soul Superstar
By Dori Hadar

THE SOUL SUPERSTAR YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF!

Between 1968 and 1977 Mingering Mike recorded over fifty albums, managed thirty-five of his own record labels, and produced, directed and starred in nine of his own motion pictures. In 1972 alone he released fifteen LPs and over twenty singles, and his traveling revue played for sold out crowds the world over.

How is it that such a prolific musician has gone under the radar for the more than thirty years? The answer is that all took place in Mike’s imagination, and in the vast collection of fake cardboard records and acapella home recordings that he made for himself as a teenager in Washington, D.C. in the late 1960s.

In 2003 two record diggers (Dori Hadar and Frank Beylotte) stumbled into the world of Mingering Mike at a flea market. There they discovered a collection of albums that were made solely of cardboard, each intricately crafted with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the “vinyl.” The crates contained albums not only by Mingering Mike, but also other unheard of artists such as Joseph War, the Big “D,” and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Fake Records, Inc., Decision, Sex, and Mother Goose. There were even soundtracks to imaginary kung fu films and a benefit album for sickle cell anemia.

Hadar posted pictures of the albums on Soulstrut and Mike instantly became a cult hero. He tracked Mike down and eventually Mike revealed his story of how as a lonesome teenager he dreamt of being a soul singer, songwriter and producer. And how he lived out his dream by creating an amazing imaginary career for himself.

Wow, this seems like such a good idea…

Here’s your chance to get a message or photo on a giant digital billboard in the heart of Times Square in New York City.

How do you do it? Create a log-in on this site, type your message, and upload your photo. If it makes the cut they will send you a link to your big moment to share with all those people who said you’d never amount to anything.

No worries if your first message doesn’t get to the Be Here Times Square billboard. You can always try again. All messages with approved content created through your account will appear on the stream at Vans.com/BeHere.

Don’t want to create a log-in? Send them an email: BeHere@Vans.com. The message goes in the subject line and should be no longer than 160 letters and spaces total. If you attach a photo, it should be no bigger than 5mb.

http://beheretimessquare.com/signup

Read other people’s messages while you wait: http://beheretimessquare.com/

Let me know if you have any success with this!

Here is one of my favorite artists, Jeff McMillan doing final touch ups on his piece!  RAD!!!