Lately I’ve grown depressed watching the fillicidical death throes of Low-Brow Art on a grand scale. There is a growing trend of misused nostalgia and abused artistic ability turing illustrators and designers into visual-masturbators. Spurred by the ‘thousand frames per-second’ pace of shitty tumblr sites and geek-run mock-art blogs stunting art-viewing attention spans, and roided-out love of cult-movies, toys, and cartoons, a fetid tidal wave of brain-less fan-art is washing across the Low-Brow art scene dissolving any substance or merit there once was. It’s all the more depressing because these cheap kinkos prints and poorly silk-screened shirts are spilling out of the blogs, etsy stores, and conventions, and into the galleries we fought so fucking hard to get wall-space in. What happened to being visual and conceptual problem solvers? What happened to being creative? I guess pissing on copyrights and trademarks through rehashed fluff is more profitable. Instead of stumbling along on this tangent I’m gonna pass the torch. The true sign of a bad writer is one who uses another’s words to express something he can’t grasp, but fuck it; designer Tom Poppalardo took the words out of my mouth with two articles he penned, STUNT DESIGN, and POSTER DESIGN: MINIMALIST SHALLOW BULLSHIT. I highly recommend reading both, and maybe, just maybe, think twice about dipping your cock in paint and doing that rendition of (insert obscure 80′s movie character) fighting (insert cult cartoon villain) with (insert 90′s toy).
Let us gather, imbibe and enjoy some art-type things. I will be hanging a collection of my original inks ranging from personal drawings to comic pages. All black and white, all for you.
Featuring the epic graffiti art of SOUTH FELLINI, those comic book guys, doing their Sailor Jerry-inspired geek designs.
This event will also feature MIKE VIVAS spinning the 1′s and 2′s and DRINK SPECIALS!
Enjoy HALF OFF draft beers exclusively from 10-11 PM
Come out for this First Friday event to get your DIY art, dance and drink fix all in one.
This friday swing out to Luckys Last Chance for Kei8htBo presents First Friday February 2012.
Art by Mandy David, Kendra Desimone & Heather Stein
Plus Home Made Sweet Treats from La La’s Land
PLUS Complimentary Patron XO Cafe tasting
COME SUPPORT YOUR AMAZING LOCAL ARTISTS, SEE SOME GREAT WORK, AND DRINK SOME FREE PATRON!
OTHER WAYS IN
Tom Bubul and Michael W. Hall
February 3rd through February 25th
Opening Friday, February 3rd, 2012, 7 – 10 pm
Space 1026 is pleased to announce OTHER WAYS IN the art of Tom Bubul and Michael W. Hall and installation of paintings and photographs. Please join us for an opening reception with the artists on First Friday, Februaruary 3, 2012 at
Space 1026.
OTHER WAYS IN
Tom Bubul and Michael W. Hall
February 3rd through February 25th
Opening Friday, February 3, 2012, 7 – 10 pm
SPACE 1026
1026 Arch St. 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
www.space1026.com
- a two person show featuring the works from the outrageous minds of James Ulmer and Lance Simmons
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 2012, 6 – 10 pm
with live music from Dick Neff and Charles Cohen
“Planar” refers to that which is flat or two dimensional. The works of Simmons and Ulmer are two sides of the same stock. In these works both artists allude to a certain dilated perception through their use of simplistic two-dimensional imagery.
James Ulmer presents new drawings that are at once playful and provocative. Using a format of clusters and compartments James creates an amalgamation of scattered memories both real and imagined.
On his side of Planar Split, Lance Simmons explores anachronistic sci-fi folk art through configurations of marker and silk-screened ink on paper. Aspects of standard third and fourth dimensions are minimized to allow for smoother flux of further adjacent reaches.
Part Time Studios
2031 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19125
Opening this Saturday, February 4th at PHANTOM HAND; Braulio Amado’s “Houdini”.A traveling exhibition, Houdini is inspired by the greatest magician that ever lived, the series alludes to abstract universes and fantasies, exploring mind tricks and the possibilities of the impossible. The pieces invoke the unexpected and draw from raging sounds, like those of the Melvin’s “Houdini” record. Expect weird stuff.
Braulio Amado is a portuguese kid born in ’87 who recently moved to NYC. He works as a graphic designer for Pentagram Design and is the director of “Pedal,” a free monthly newspaper in Portugal. He plays music and tours the world with his band “Adorno.” See more of his work HERE.
Braulio Amado’s ‘Houdini’
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 4th 6:00PM-12:00AM
State of the State is an exhibition that features the work of current Second State Press (SSP) Fob Holders. It represents a snapshot of the Philadelphia printmaking community and the work that it produces. Located in the basement of the Crane Arts Building, Second State Press is a communal printmaking studio that provides artists with an affordable, supportive, and professional workspace. The Fob Holder Program accepts members that are willing to help manage our shop in exchange for unlimited access to the printmaking facilities. Participants in the program, “Fob Holders”, are skilled printmakers from all over the country at various stages in their careers who have decided to make Philadelphia their home. Their creative energy in our shop is palpable and is the lifeblood of Second State Press.
Please join us for the reception on February 9th from 6-9PM. The event is free and all are welcome to attend.
Artists: Lauren Abshire, Daryl Bergman, Josh Carlevato, Josh Dannin, Erina Davidson, Emilia Edwards, Siobhan Koslap, Nina Macintosh, Brian Palmieri, Ryan Parker, Serena Perrone, Hannah Riotto, Krista Shaffer, Crystal Shephard, Christina Taylor, and Jake Yeager
Dates: January 25- February 17, 2012
Hours: 12-6PM, Tuesday through Sunday or by appointment
Reception: February 9, 2012 from 6-9PM
Location:
Gallery 102 in the Crane Arts Building
1400 N American Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
This Wednesday, February 1st, Van Gogh Up Close will be opening at the Philadelphia Art Museum. I’m really excited for it as I love Van Gogh’s work. I just purchased my ticket for the guided tour Friday morning and can’t wait! Below is an overview of the exhibit from visitphilly.com
Philadelphia will be the only place in the United States to see the incredible collection of works by Vincent van Gogh that helped change the course of modern painting. Created between 1886-1890, these paintings captured the final tumultuous years of van Gogh’s life and his feverish artistic experimentation up until his death.
Radically altering and often outright abandoning traditional painting techniques, van Gogh shunned conventional still life and landscape methods and experimented with depth of field and focus. Familiar subjects were brought “up close” into the extreme foreground or were focused on in unprecedented ways.
Van Gogh Up Close highlights his shift in tradition with more than 40 masterpieces borrowed from collections around the world. Pieces of fruit threaten to roll out of the picture, tree trunks dominate the frame and the intricate patterning of an Emperor moth are just a few scenes to explore during the exhibition.
Theo Jansen
Posted by Jessop.K on January 24th, 2012
Theo Jansen has been letting loose lands monsters that devour the window for mainly years now. Constructed out of simple materials mainly plastic tubing, these creatures will creep, crawl, wiggle and walk across the surface of our planet. Check out his work if you know whats good for you, other wise one of these creature maybe coming to devour you!
