-
The Nest of All Possible Worlds
Wednesday, 28 November 2007 14:32The appeal of “virtual reality” was supposedly the “virtual” part—after all, the unfathomable obstacles of everyday reality aren’t too hard to come by. But we are born into the idea of an immersive, alternate universe, fecund with bliss-yielding possibilities, free of commonplace consequence. Paradoxically, this border between imaginary and symbolic space, the foundation of childhood […]
-
How the West was Won, Optioned, and Turned into a Huge Summer Blockbuster
Wednesday, 28 November 2007 14:23In the comparatively short history of the United States, within what hasn’t been relativized, swept under the public carpet, or rewritten entirely, there exists a narrative of factual events transmuted into myth. The tales are long and familiar; they manifest outside the oral record in entertainment media and as the schlock available in roadside emporiums, […]
-
TV Honey
Tuesday, 27 November 2007 18:20I haven’t been doing many exhibitions lately. But every now and then I see art that I just have to put in a show. That’s how I felt about Desirée Holman’s Magic Window video installation. It seemed so smart and tight, fresh and fun. It’s an amazing accomplishment for a young artist with no dealer […]
-
Eudaimonia — Baroque Embellishments with Fractal Flesh
Tuesday, 27 November 2007 17:53Christos Kalos is a Greek artist who has worked for a period of 3 years with the subject of digitalized, old school, online, pornography. “I was sick of watching porn frames and I even started hating sex!” he stated at the completion of his project, since he spent most of his time sampling out shots […]
-
What Time is the Weather
Monday, 26 November 2007 12:33I grew up in Southern California, a place where the car canvassed the land, moved through earthquakes, fires, floods, toxins, and anguished Santa Ana Winds. The romance of the automobile was accompanied by countless films like Rebel Without a Cause, an illusion of freedom, youth, long drives out to the desert or across the border […]
-
Growing Wallflowers
Monday, 26 November 2007 12:12The definition of a “wallflower” in the Oxford Dictionary, is “a girl who has no one to dance with at a party.” In her series, “Wallflower,” Amy Elkins examines the sexist limits of this perception. By placing men in front of floral wallpaper, their torsos generally shirtless and cropped near the waist, she has successfully […]
-
Harm van der Dorpel chats with Damon Zucconi
Wednesday, 21 November 2007 17:01(10:58:00 AM) Harm van der Dorpel: yesterday i visited the (galerie west) vvork talk show thing (10:58:03 AM) Damon Zucconi: haha (10:58:07 AM) DZ: talk show. how was it (10:59:08 AM) HD: well, often in discussions like these, i have the feeling it’s more about people wanting to say something, and not so much about […]
-
The Glory of Bad Ideas
Wednesday, 21 November 2007 14:51We named our repertory My Barbarian, founded by Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and me, a film school dropout with dreams of being Fassbinder, or Jack Smith, or Fred Schneider. In my Silver Lake apartment, we’d act out absurd political debates in three-part harmony, enlisting friends to play along. “Be prolific,” was the advice. In seven […]
-
Red Commentary
Tuesday, 20 November 2007 17:32China is experiencing a new revolution as of late. This one however, doesn’t involve guns and tanks. Instead its weapons of attack are everything from bronze to fiberglass to stainless steel. There are many new voices emerging in Chinese contemporary sculpture, with Qu Guangci sitting at the forefront—and he doesn’t seem to care whether the […]
-
All Quiet on the Western Front
Tuesday, 20 November 2007 17:24The American West is a time and place long lost to the depths of the imagination; a history revised so many times that it exists only as a blur of Hollywood icons. Adam Helms strategically marks his territory on this legendary front, waiting for the moment for his fictional militia—the New Frontier Army (NFA)— to […]