“Walking, in particular drifting, or strolling, is already – with the speed culture of our time – a kind of resistance…a very immediate method for unfolding stories.” – Francis Alÿs Lots of folks walk all the time and don’t call it art, but some of them do. In many parts of Houston, walking is so bizarre [...]
It’s the All Star break, a time when the very best professional baseball players have to travel for work and the rest get a four-day vacation. It’s also the dead of summer, when the Houston art world generally slows to a trickle and creative group shows compete for the attention of whoever’s not in Aspen. [...]
Not unlike Texas, Los Angeles suffers from some art world stereotypes. In honor of our recently launched Southern California site, Glasstire SoCal, we present Los Angeles writer Carol Cheh’s “Seven Most Annoying Misconceptions About LA.” There are some interesting Texas parallels to be found; see number 2 in particular. Los Angeles is the most [...]
In honor of the FotoFest 2012 Biennial, we’re republishing this 2008 classic from the inimitable Clint Willour… Just in in time for FotoFest‘s Meeting Place, veteran portfolio reviewer, curator and collector Clint Willour has: Some Advice on Portfolio Management Do your homework and know who I am and why I’m doing this. Don’t show me [...]
September 10 will mark the one year anniversary of Douglas Britt’s notorious and fantastic e-mail (which made Gawker!) “Houston Chronicle art coverage in the post-Preview era – Part 2″. (If you’re in Houston you already know this, but the very talented and capable Britt juggles two beats—he’s both arts and “Society” writer for the Houston [...]
In terms of size, concrete and consumer culture, Houston is a hyperbole of a city. Every time I return to it from another place I am shocked at the exorbitant much-ness of Houston. Somehow, though, Houston is also a hub of visionary art made from recycled materials and an especially fascinating place to look for [...]
In a 2006 interview with Nancy Spector, Marina Abramović told the story of a Tibetan devotional tradition in which a worshipper uses a mold to carefully make one hundred thousand and one clay models of the Buddha, counting each and every one. The danger, however, was that the worshippers would tend to fixate on [...]
From January 13 to February 4, 2011, a table of patrons in the second-floor cafeteria of the Museum of Modern Art ate the exact same thing: “a tuna fish sandwich on wheat toast with butter and lettuce, no mayo, and a cup of soup or glass of buttermilk.” These identical lunches were part of Fluxus [...]
Houston has often been fertile ground for some off-the-grid artist projects. This year we’ve seen a slew of artists using Houston as their playground to develop new projects, organizations and infrastructures. Some are short lived. Some have given birth to other projects. Some are private. All are artist-led. 1. Sun Ra, Suzan-Lori Parks, Fred Moten, [...]
Teaching art is a bizarre task. I have been working with students at the College of Visual Arts and Design at the University of North Texas for more than ten years and in my experience, one can certainly lead students to improve their technical skills and to enrich their understanding of contemporary and historical art. [...]
Maybe you watched the reality TV show “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.” Maybe you enjoyed it, or maybe you want Bravo to give you those years of your life back. Maybe you won’t even admit to watching it. I could make a vociferous argument both for and against the show, but ultimately, despite [...]
Since the recent proliferation of the Art Fair (Art Basel Miami Beach opened its doors in 2002, and Frieze set up shop in 2003), we know more and more what to expect at such an event: aisle after aisle of collector-friendly work, entire stands selling out before the fair even opens, international VIPs, champagne. But [...]
On October 19, 2009, performance artists, The Yes Men, held a fake US Chamber of Commerce press conference at The National Press Club. A small assembly of journalists listened attentively as "Hingo Sembra," posing as a Chamber official, announced that the behemoth business federation had revised its stance on Climate Change, and would discontinue lobbying [...]
For those of you who are just starting out as artists, the opening night reception of your exhibition can be a bit daunting. What do you wear? How do you price your work? Who should you invite? These are just some of the questions you might have. To help you succeed, I have consulted with [...]
TEN THINGS ABOUT BEING A FRENCH ARTIST IN HOUSTON Best or worst, it all depends on the observer. And in no particular order: • If you mention Karl Marx during a discussion you are immediately and indelibly tagged a communist. • You can do obscure conceptual work for twenty years and nobody will bother you. [...]
Recently, the critic, theorist and sometime curator David Hickey wrote in his essay Orphans, "…three decades of art theory and art history have destroyed our understanding of art practice." The result in part, as offered by the author, is "an art world (that) has lowered its entrance requirements and raised its cover charge so radically [...]
The Top Ten Ghosts in My Studio This Christmas I’ve been thinking about ghosts and what it means to be haunted. I don’t know much about spirituality but I’d probably say that the only reasonable way I’ve found to look at existence is through its physical manifestations. That belief hasn’t done much lately to prevent [...]
The history of contemporary art is filled with countless outrageous and provocative ideas. Think of Nikki de St. Phalle building walk-in wombs, Chris Burden taking a bullet in Shoot and Keith Boadwee making action paintings using his sphincter. These are only a few examples of “out there” projects that simultaneously propel contemporary art forward and [...]
The contemporary art market is hot right now and filled with speculation. Trends come and go and values rise and fall, but ultimately, you have to live with – and like – the art you buy. Private art advisor Eleanor Williams offers up her tips for putting together a successful and satisfying collection. 1. DON’T [...]
Here’s ten, er, thirteen Tips for Commissioning Site-Specific Installations from Kim Davenport, director of Rice Gallery. In her more than ten years running the all-installation all-the-time gallery, Davenport has commissioned installations from over 50 artists. She has brought in legendary figures like Judy Pfaff and helped launch the careers of young artists like Alyson Shotz [...]
