I Love This Beautiful World

This just out today on Ai Wei-Wei... http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jun/22/ai-weiwei-freed-by-chinese-police?CMP=twt_gu On my last day in New York I tried to get into the Armory only to find it closed. Luckily it was a beautiful day that was better suited for an outdoor stroll than a military bunker so I headed over to the Plaza to check out Ai WeiWei's zodiac heads. He makes some pretty riveting work. This was based on the Chinese zodiac and featured the meticulously rendered bronze heads of each animal displayed on poles. It's beautiful and morbid at the same time. The piece seems apropos since he went missing in April, likely due to his controversial work and now there are heads on display like they've been skewered. Art Institutions and Museums around the world are uniting to free Ai WeiWei.

After a day of false starts I finally was able to get back on the plan and meet up with Jason. It was a beautiful day- perfect for checking out the High Line. The High Line is an old abandoned track that has been repurposed as a beautiful walking trail. It is a gem in the city, suspended a story over building entrances and surrounded by rain gardens and lovely public art, it is a real getaway in the city (on a weekday anyway). I was happy to see an installation by Spencer Finch in the windows of a building. I was able to meet him last summer at SAIC where I was doing a study on Contemporary Art. His intense investigation of color theory makes him a kindred spirit and something of an idol in my world. I could never be as precise or scientific in my process as he is but I admire his work and divulged as much when I compromised his time during a visit to the SAID studio. He uses complex measuring tools to recreate the exact colors found in each pixel of an image of the ar...

As many fashion aficionados know, Alexander McQueen ended an amazing career and creative contribution to the art world last spring when he took his own life. Not much more than a year later he is being honored with a show of his work. To say that McQueen's work is theatrical and romantic is like saying bunnies are fuzzy. Fashion was his medium but the man truly was a genius when it came to thematically infusing literature and social commentary into shockingly beautiful garments. Savage Beauty is a collection of McQueen's work over the last 10 years. Upon entering the dark, gothic, almost tomb-like space the audience was met with ambient and wind noises as their eyes adjusted to the low candle-like lighting. The space was wall to wall distressed mirrors framing displays of the work. Many of his seasons were shown but what specifically stood out to me had to do with his use of materials for expression. For example, since the garments were displayed on man...

After the Guggenheim I was in the mood for a little more "well designed stuff" shopping. Specifically stuff that was local or out of my price range. I got a little of both. Moss is a furniture, lighting and housewares shop in SoHo. I love looking at contemporary furniture and lighting because I'm always secretly designing a room in my head. Moooi's high backed Smoke chair made of "ebonized" read: burnt wood that had been sealed with resin and upholstered with a beautiful matte leather is a contempo-gothic masterpiece. The complete counterpoint to Philippe Stark's lucite Ghost chair. Speaking of Philippe Stark, another piece on display was his gun lamp. Base=gold covered AK with a lamp shade. My favorite lamp was a non-mass produced piece called Fall of the Damned Suspension Light made by Luc Merx and a clock called Real Time: Sweeper's Clock made by Maarten Baas. The clock is accomplished by a 12 hour cyclical film of two street...

I got up in the morning with the idea to conquer MoMA, The Guggenheim, Chelsea, and then meet up for a studio visit. Being a mere mortal I made it to the Gift Shop at MoMA where I fell into a sublime trajectory that is shopping at a store that is full of really interesting, well designed stuff. Didn't get into the museum. Oops. Instead I decided to check out the Guggenheim since I'd never been and it's on the right side of the park for my next en deavor. The Guggenheim is interesting if for nothing other than the building itself. The last construction of Frank Lloy d Wright and the site of one of Matthew Barney's Creamaster films, it is something to be re ckoned with. Unless over half of it is closed for an installation of Lee Ufan's work. Since I'm interested in how things work I spent some time leering dangerously into the closed areas, stepping an extra toe past the rope to peer into the proc ess of hanging a show. There was quite a crew w...

http://www.liseljane.com/ Conversation with an Illustrator: Lisel Ashlock As a teacher in the Midwest I am not terribly familiar with the particulars involved in making a life in a 700 square foot apartment that costs the same as I am paid per month. How do you find work? Get an apartment? Where do you live? I was interested in hearing about the mythical life of how an artist lives in New York and manages to survive. I met up with Lisel at her go-to restaurant in the East Village which featured some seriously tasty Moroccan food. This was her favorite hang out when she first moved to the city from California . Everyone has their own personal Cheers in their neighborhood. I think New York is as townie as anywhere, you just have less travel time to leave "town" and it's on bike or the subway. Lisel said she was working in San Francisco as a junior designer at Sephora after completing her degree at California College of the ...

The Met: Alexander McQueen I'm starting my conversation about New York as I am leaving it. This city is amazing and full of possibility. That said, I've spent every waking moment completely engaged with the art, food and people of this lovely place and not recording or reflecting on the experience. Aside from the third world of LaGuardia, a few unsavory overheated smells in the subway and a renewed commitment to wear closed toed shoes, all things in New York have been pleasantly eye-opening. I arrived Saturday afternoon and went directly to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Normally I view this museum as a nice survey of art. A little something from everywhere and every time. I was surprised to learn that there was an Alexander McQueen retrospective which was aptly named Savage Beauty. Evidently all of New York was looking for a way to enjoy a day out of the rain so 2.5 hours later I found myself at the entrance to the show. Along the way I got rea...