Thursday, June 25, 2009
Icon, Goddess and Artist Farrah Leni Fawcett has died. Method acting as an angel will now sadly be put to good practice as she ascends having shuffled off her foxy mortal coil. In addition to a major in biology at the University of Texas at Austin (ever the hipster), she also minored in art/sculpture and proved to be a great devotee of Yves Klein, recreating his body to canvas "Anthropométries", dutifully documented in Playboy's Farrah Fawcett: All of Me (1997). No specific reference to Klein is mentioned in the narration but I dare say Farrah knew where the idea came from (even if "Hef" didn't).
Also worth noting was the collaboration with sculptor Keith Edmier titled appropriately Keith Edmier and Farrah Fawcett, which enjoyed a run at the Warhol Museum in the Summer of 2003. In the piece, each artist rendered the other in idealized life size depictions; respectively Ms. Fawcett in white marble and Mr. Edmier in bronze - an amazing exercise in reversal of image control.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and was reportedly flattered by Steve Martin's 1977 comments on Saturday Night Live: "Boy oh boy, I am so mad at Farrah Fawcett-Majors. She is so conceited. She has never called me once. And after the hours I've spent holding up her poster with one hand!". She will be wholeheartedly missed and venerated, right up there with Marilyn and Mae West, whose geniuses are memorialized along with their splendor.
(thanks to Tony Labat and Robin Winters for additional research)
– Dale Hoyt [7:51 PM PST]
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
In a wonderful piece posted to the SFMOMA blog, Julian Myers and Joseph Del Pesco critique the recent initiative by e-flux and Artforum announced to the Art & Education list: the launch of the Art & Education Papers archive, “a free online platform for the publication and exchange of texts on modern and contemporary art.”
– cm [2:21 PM PST]
Monday, May 18, 2009
It was with great sadness that the Stretcher crew learned that the artist David Ireland died early this morning. For us, as for many other people around the world, Ireland was an exemplar of a well-lived life as an artist. He will be greatly missed. There are two articles on Ireland and his work in our archives: D.I./I.D and David Ireland.
– mt San Francisco [3:20 PM PST]
Friday, February 13, 2009
The glitterati and art world powerful were in evidence Wednesday night at the SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art) reception at SFMOMA, celebrating the biennial award for local talent. The museum honored this year's choices with a more high profile exhibition presentation than usual, and the artwork was correspondingly slicker, more framed up, and made a great first impression. The artists chosen are among our best and brightest: Trevor Paglen, Tauba Auerbach, Jordan Kantor, and Desirée Holman. As someone who has been especially interested in Paglen’s work, I was pleased to find that I can delve into more about what interests me most about it, as he has a new book that expands on some of what inspires his visual art: “Blank Spots on the Map, the Dark Geography of the Pentagon’s Secret World”
As one gallerist at the SECA reception said, there was nothing on the floor, no mess, nothing to sweep up, and nothing to make anybody upset. In what is almost an alternative universe, at the same time, over in Oakland at Mills College we were missing a lecture by Keith Bowdwee, who may be an example of an artist not quite “safe” enough for SECA. I like his blog a lot, and you can get a good idea of his interests and find a link to his artwork there. He and he and his practice remind me of this quote attributed to Marcel Duchamp: "I don't believe in art. I believe in artists."
– cm [9:15 AM PST]
Friday, January 02, 2009
Stretcher will be back this spring with a new site design, including RSS feeds. In the meantime, please enjoy articles from our archives. If you would like to receive notice of the new site debut, please use the "Mailing List" link in the list at the upper left.
– mt San Francisco [11:44 AM PST]
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Systems of Exchange, the final pavilion of the Garage Biennale 2008, opens tonight at 7:00 pm. Don't be misled by the "canceled" notice on the image, it refers to the November event which ran afoul of the neighbors in the fine tradition of art outrages. Do check out the opening. The Garage Biennale is a sparkler of art energy in San Francisco's alternative scene.
– mt San Francisco [5:39 PM PST]
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Carla Kihlstedt, Fred Frith, Matthias Bossi, and The Norman Conquest are playing a benefit tonight for The Meridian Gallery, a nonprofit alternative space that has helped out many artists and performers, including Stretcher. Rumor has it Blixa Bargeld will also be making an appearance. The time is 7:00, the place is Meridian Gallery, and tickets range from special student price of $20 to $50.
– mt San Francisco [3:42 PM PST]
It's hard times for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. The museum's financial troubles made the front page of the New York Times this week.
– mt San Francisco [3:00 PM PST]