Motherlode: Mind and Matter at MoMA, Part 1

Overview here
Part 2 coming Wednesday, July 21
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Entry to the exhibition, with a grid of drawings by Zarina

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Mind and Matter: Alternative Abstractions, 1940s to Now is at the Museum of Modern Art until August 16.

The wall text, which you can see above, opens with: “This exhibition presents a dozen international artists whose abstract work features idiosyncratic and organic forms, materials that appear to be malleable and pliable, craft-based techniques, and, in many cases, an engagement with gender and sexuality.”

There's no big deal made about the fact that the 12 international artists here happen to be female. And yet, there's a subtext: "alternative abstractions." Alternative to what, exactly? There are grids and constructions, works on paper with a strong sense of the linear, and amassed elements. Perhaps these works are alternatives to painting? Or perhaps they are alternatives to the male "norm," especially because there's a mention of an "engagement with gender and sexuality." I'm going to leave it to another writer to parse the political implications of the title.

Here I want to show you what I saw, and to encourage you to see it for yourself. This is a compelling show, full of art historical material at the same time that it's fresh and engaging.

The view as you enter the gallery: sculptures and work on paper by Alina Szapocznikow; on the back wall, prints and books by Louise Bourgeois

We’re walking counterclockwise around the gallery—the same space in which the Monets were installed until recently—stopping to look more closely at certain works. The rest of my comments will be in the captions as we tour the exhibition.

Alina Azapocznikow (1926-1973), Belly Cushions, 1968, polyurethane

I love these torsos, all fleshy and real-woman. Created in the Sisterhood-is-Powerful era, they are light years away from the hard bodies and tummy tucks that define contemporary ideals of beauty
. Continuing around the gallery, Louise Bourgeois: prints, books and works on paper above; sculpture below .
Louise Bourgeois, Spiral Woman, 1951-52; Figure, 1954; Sleeping Figure, 1950
Below, closer view of Figure.

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The view above orients you toward a wall of work on paper by Yayoi Kusama, which you see below

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Two works from Kusama's installation wall

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Above: Flower, 1953-1963, ink, gouache and pastel on paper

Below: Endless, 1953-84, etching

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Kusama's stuffed sculpture, Violet Obsession, 1994--sewn and stuffed fabric over a rowboat and oars--is placed in the center of the gallery. I'll show it to you from various vantage points, which also helps to orient you as we tour the room

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Above, a look back to the corner we have just viewed

Below, a view toward the corner we are about to view more closely: work by Rosemarie Trockel and Louise Bourgeois

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This is as good a point as any to stop and reflect on the work so far. I am taken with the way elements are amassed--Kusama's protuberances and the ordered installation on her framed prints and drawings; Bourgeois's stacked and spiraled scuptures, and the grid of her cloth book pages, which you'll see in closer view below. (I'll have a separate post about the book next week.) Both Kusama and Bourgeois work with textiles, something Mona Hatoum does as well, in work that you'll see shortly. Indeed, the modernist grid, and the weave of fabric have much in common..Gego, whose work is also coming up, interweaves these elements into three dimensions.

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Rosemarie Trockel, Untitled, 1996, series of three etchings

Trockel, as you know, has created machine-knitted works that blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture, art and craft, handwork and industrial production

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This is from the wall text: "To make this series of prints, Trockel pressed yarn directly onto prepared etchingplatesm creating abstract patterns that resemble things from everyday life: knitting or handwriting, a tiles floor or kitchen towels, and floating balloons or nooses.".

Louise Bourgeois: grid of pages from her cloth book, Ode a l'oublie, 2004, fabric book with lithographs, digital prints, machine- and hand-embroidery, and appliques

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I'll have more info and pics in a special post next week, but in relating this work to what we just read about Trockel, Bourgeois mined a lifetime's worth of family fabrics to create this edition.

Swinging around the gallery, with Kusama's rowboat helping us navigate, we come to two sculptures by Louise Nevelson

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Above: two Hanging Columns from Dawn's Wedding Feast, 1959, painted wood, a room-size work that has been broken up against her wishes

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Below: detail from one of the columns.

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To the left of the sculptures, two prints by Nevelson and an installation of framed work by Mona Hatoum

Mona Hatoum

Right: Untitled (grey hair grid with knots 3), 2002

Left: Untitled (hair grid with knots 3), 2001, human hair with hair spray tied to transparentized paper, with detail below

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Another view of Kusama's Violet Obsession along with Nevelson's prints and Hatoum's hair grids, as we swing around to view work by Atsuko Tanaka

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Atsuko Tanaka
Above: Untitled, 1956, watercolor and felt-tip pen on paper

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I love how this drawing connects visually to the sculpture by Gego that you will see farther along in the post. The curators, Alexandra Schwartz, curatorial assistant, Department of Drawings, and Sarah Suzuki, the assistant curator of Prints and Illustrated Books, have done a brilliant job of connecting the dots--or rather, the lines--between and among the works in this exhibition

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Below: For 1954, 2005, portfolio of five etchings
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Anna Maria Maiolino

Above: Trajectoria II, 1976, illustrated book with thread and torn-paper additions

Closer view of Black Hole, a torn-paper construction that the artists describes as a "drawing object"

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To be honest, I'm not particularly taken with this artist's work, but I do love the curatorial connection made between Black Hole and the Gego sculpture below
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Gego

Above: Installation of, from left: ink on paper, lithograph, metal sculpture, and two ink-and-pencil on paper drawings

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Below: Sphere, 1959, brass and steel, painted

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I first saw the work of Gego at El Museo del Barrio some years ago. Born Gertrude Goldschmidt in Germany in 1912, she shortened her name and became a Venezuan citizen, where she lived and worked until her death in 1994. Gego's work is all about the connection and the spaces in between: the net, links and intersections, the relationship between the material and the ephemeral.

Gego: Corner installation with two etchings from the Reticularea series, and the sculpture, Drawing without Paper, 1988, enamel on wood and stainless steel wire

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Closer view below, and a detail below that

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Above and below: Drawing without Paper

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This is the work that shares a lovely visual affinity with Atsuko Tanaka's Untitled watercolor, as well as with the prints by Rosemarie Trockel and, at bottom, Rachel Whiteread
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Rachel Whitread, prints

I debated including this images because I have no information about them. They were installed outside the gallery proper, and the reflected daylight made them impossible to see let alone photograph. But they are part of the show, and their netlike composition ties them, so to speak, to Gego and Tanaka, as well as to Maiolino and Trockel, so I decided to do so anyway

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Go see the show!

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Marketing Mondays: How Did You Find A Gallery?

Update on When Bad Things Happen to Good Galleries

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Not exactly a plan
Sign shot on Tenth Avenue in Chelsea. Photo: Sid Garrison on Facebook via Mark Pollack on Blackberry.

Recently I recommended an artist to one of the galleries I work with. The dealer liked the work, and the artist is now scheduled for a show. Just like that.

For artists who are sending out package after package, this anecdote is no doubt infuriating. But the fact is that more artists find shows through networking than postage. In How To Start and Run a Commercial Gallery, Edward Winkleman lists the ways he has found artists, in the order of importance to him:

. Recommendations from artists in his gallery, other dealers, curators
. Institutional exhibitions, such as non-profits and contemporary museums
. Studio Visits and Open Studio Tours
. Cold-call submissions

In my own experience, over the years I have come to be represented or to work with galleries in these ways. I’ve listed them in the order of importance:

. Artist referrals
. Dealer referrals
. Networking in general
. Internet search by the dealer
. Cold-call submissions

In one memorable opportunity (which I'd consider in the "networking" category), a juried show at an annual small works show in New York led to a solo show and a warm relationship with a gallery that has spanned more than a decade, including a second solo and a large group show. How did this happen? The dealer made a trip to see what and who was new, a scenario that is repeated many times over by many dealers and curators at many venues, including juried shows and art fairs. Dealers look. Relatedly, dealers and curators are using the internet for initial research. Suggestions here: make sure you have an updated and easily navigable site, research the gallery that contacts you, respond quickly if you like what you see.

I once responded to a "call to artists." Over a decade ago I send my URL to a Southwest gallery that was starting up. I took a chance; hey, what did I have to lose? The dealer came to New York to make studio visits and we hit it off. The relationship continues to this day. Typically, though, most calls to artists—at least the New York galleries that advertise in the classifieds of the national art magazines—are vanity galleries trolling for artists willing to pay to show. Check them out if you wish, but the minute they ask you for money, run.

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As for artist referrals, generosity among our peers is the most important way to make connections. I can tell you that anecdotally; Ed Winkleman tells you that officially in his book. You may have experienced this yourself. If you get into a gallery as the result of an artist singing your praises, return the favor if you think you see a good fit--and then pay it forward. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

What are the ways YOU have found gallery representation? I’m curious to see the common threads. In a few weeks I'll tote up the responses to see what kind of picture has emerged.
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I'm Not in the Hamptons, But My Paintings Are

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If you're in Bridgehampton this weekend, stop in at ArtHamptons, under the big tent in Sayre Park. More specifically, look for the DM Contemporary booth. Say hi to Doris Mukabaa and ask to see my work. The fair is on all day Sunday, 11:00 to 6:00.

.Silk Road 111, encaustic on panel. 12 x 12 inches

Printmaking Camp, Day 6: PULL

Update 9.22.10: A Little Peek at the exhibition, and my full report, More on Pull

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Day 1.

Day 2.

Days 3, 4.

Day 5

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The Participants

Tim McDowell, master printmaker and painter

Marcia Wood, gallerist and all around muse and support

Kim Anno, Kate Javens, Don Pollack, Katherine Taylor and me, the artists making prints

Brown Sanders and Clara Euam, technical assistance

Ellen Barnard and Lucas McDowell, producer and cameraman, respectively

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Marcia holding the colophon.

You can see it better below:

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The headiness of Printmaking Camp has given way to the project now officially known as Pull. This is the last post about the project.

.“Sweet ink on paper” is how Tim describes the process, as only a master printmaker can. Marcia calls the project “a profound experience,” adding, “I had not expected to be so personally moved and inspired by these artists and the palpable creativity and talent flowing through such highly charged days.”.
I would describe the week as a lot of work—I’m not sure why I thought printmaking was easy—but rewarding both esthetically and personally. I came away with a good edition after having stretched my thinking about what it means to make a print. (I think we all did.) I made some new friends and strengthened existing friendships. Plus I had fun. And did I mention that I, along with each member of the team, ended up with a portfolio?.We tossed around a number of titles for the project but settled on Pull, both for that singular moment when the impressed paper is separated from the plate and for the idea that in this collaborative process we were pulling together to create a project larger than our individual efforts.
I would have asked each of the other artists for their comments, but it was hard to immerse myself in a new process while simultaneously reporting objectively on the project. But I can bring you their images. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Pull:

Kim Anno, Heavens

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All prints made from 9 x 12" plates that were custom sized for the individual projects. Prints are two-color or custom-printed single color on 20 x 26" BFK Rives White paper

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Photos of artwork by Kim Anno.

Kate Javens, Father Ram
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Joanne Mattera, Soie
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Timothy McDowell, Arcadian Troubles.

Don Pollack, Mysterious Island
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Katherine Taylor, Parallax

The collated portfolios ready to be crated and shipped to Atlanta

Inquiries about the portfolio, Pull, may be made directly to the publisher, Marcia Wood .

Marketing Mondays: Did You Work This Weekend?

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And how was your Fourth?

It’s the biggest non-denominational holiday of the year. If you’re like most artists, you worked over the weekend—either at your income-earning job, or in the studio because it was the only time off you had from your income-earning job, or because you’re a workaholic and there’s always something that needs to get done. Plus, of course, there’s that other thing: we like what we do, even if we overdo it.

But sometimes we work until we feel like we’ll explode.

So on the heels of a weekend when most of America went to the beach, a barbeque or sat around by the pool, I’m curious:
. Did you work this weekend?
. If so, was it in the studio?
. Do you feel the compulsion to put in that extra hour in the studio?

. Do you still pull all-nighters?
. Do you feel guilty if you take a day off?
. When you take time off, is it still art related (galleries, museums, studio visits) or do actually chill?
. And here’s a biggie: How many hours a week—combination of paying job, if you have one, and studio practice—do you work?

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Gotta run. I'm writing this on the Fourth and I've got work to do.

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Printmaking Camp, Day 5

Day 1.
Day 2.
Days 3, 4
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The Participants
Tim McDowell, master printmaker and painter
Marcia Wood, gallerist and all around muse and support
Kim Anno, Kate Javens, Don Pollack, Katherine Taylor and me, the artists making prints
Brown Sanders and Clara Euam, technical assistance
Ellen Barnard and Lucas McDowell, producer and cameraman, respectively

A couple of Don's proofs. Which will he print?

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By now (Friday, June 25) everyone had printed except Don Pollack, so a lot of things were going on in the print studio. Prime among them: Don and Tim, aided by Don’s son, Anders, were producing Don’s edition. In another part of the vast studio, the artists were signing their prints, as Kim photographed an example of each. (I'll show you Kim's images in the next and final post). At the end of the day Tim printed two more of his--a welcome opportunity to see the master at work on his own edition--and we discussed and prepared the colophon page.

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Above, Tim prepares the ink for Don's first plate

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Below, blue will go at the top and bottom of the image
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Don about to pick up that first plate

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Above, Anders Pollack turns the press wheel on the second plate; from left: Clara, Don and Tim
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Below, Don's print. It's different from both of the proofs in the image that opens this post--so interesting this process .

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Tim spent five days inking plates. Now we get to see him print his own--well, two more to complete his edition
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Above, mixing inks

Below, inking the first plate
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Placing the first plate . . .

. . . and cranking

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I love the moment when the print is pulled from from the plate
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Fast forward to the completed print
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Marcia and Katherine preparing the prints for Kim to photograph . . .
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. . . and guess whose print she's shooting?
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Katherine signing her edition
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Kim . . .

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Tim . . .
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. . . and Kate signing theirs
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Discussing the colophon: Katherine, Don, Tim, Clara and Kate
(The final post will open with the colophon page)
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Outside the Studio

I spent a good part of Friday working on these posts, reflecting on everything we’d done together in and out of the studio during the past few days. I didn’t tell you about any of what we did when we left the studio at the end of the day, because I’ve been focusing on the print project, but I think this is a good time to offer you a peek at what else went on:
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Monday evening: Welcome to Ocean Beach in New London

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On Monday evening after working all day, we drove to Ocean Beach in New London, with its honky tonk of a boardwalk. Who knew that muscle cars would be on parade and that doo-wop would be blasting? (Have you ever seen a 70-year-old greaser? There’s not much hair left to grease. The women still had plenty though, and it was still big.)

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On Tuesday evening we went to Ortega’s in Groton, the town across the bridge, for Mexican food. The pop-mariachi band was great fun. We couldn’t decide what was bling-ier: the gold teeth of one of the musicians, or the silver trim running down the legs of their costumes. In an update on tradition, the group’s leader tuned his guitar with an iPhone app.

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Tuesday evening, above and below, comiendo y disfrutando--eating and having a good time
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On Wednesday evening we went to Tim and Jule’s beautiful New England home for some art and food: a succulent spread of kabobs and salad, and plenty of time to view Jule's spectacular sculpture and Tim’s downstairs studio. Mary Sanders, that would be Jule's mom, pulled out her wild crocheted hats, which we viewed on a table illuminated by a Murano glass chandelier; fabulous excess is the phrase that comes to mind.
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The food . . .
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. . . the partakers (Marcia, Amy Pollack) and preparers (Tim, Jule Sanders McDowell, Mary Sanders)

This photo: Brown Sanders
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Katherine and Marcia in the living room with one of Tim's paintings behind them
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Jule with her bronze and wood sculpture, installed in an L in the dining room. The solid bronze objects, many cast from household objects, are lashed to the armature. The piece was conceived with an Amazonian back story: women's weapons for defense. There's a novella here, just waiting to be written

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Below, detail of the installation

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Tim's studio on the ground floor. I love his paintings, which combine botany and landscape in celebration of earthly delight. You can see more here

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The handiwork of Mary Sanders, above in paisley . . .

. . . and her hand, with the earthy bling of turquoise, wood and bone

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On Thursday evening we went to Abbott’s for seafood and watched the clouds turn pink. Then we went back to the dorm, and because the wifi was available only outside the building--Anders made the discovery when he stuck his iPhone out the window--we had a midnight cyber picnic on the quad. You'd think we were junkies, so itching were we for that internet fix.
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If it's Thursday, it must be New England lobstah . . .

. . . followed by wifi on the lawn

That's me in profile. I commandeered an empty newspaper display rack as my desk and worked on some of what you are reading now

This photo: Kate Javens

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On Friday evening, our work just about finished, we went back to Tim and Jule’s for a final goodbye dinner. You wouldn't know from the names "McDowell" and "Sanders" that each is half Italian. That may explain the great food that seemed effortlessly prepared. And did I mention the fireflies were dancing just off the porch and the moon was almost full? How many ways can you say “bittersweet”?

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Tim and Jule made foccaccia on their grill. I'm impressed
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Since our project commenced on the solstice, we had the longest evenings of the year. This is close to 9:00 pm on Friday

Above, Anders, Don and Amy Pollack talking with Brown Sanders; Lucas McDowell in foreground

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Below, me, Kim Anno, Anders and Don

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In the next and final installment, I'll show you images from the edition and announce the title of the project

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