Los Angeles Art News, Art Blog

ART BLOG

ARTICLES FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2011
Contributing Bloggers: John Harbinger Jr.and David Harbrenig

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25 years since the beginnings of Lowbrow

Lowbrow, which started up as an underground visual art movement in the Los Angeles area, is celebrating its 25^th birthday and is now firmly positioned above ground in the categories of art movement by most people – a few snobbish art curators and museum directors, aside.

So what exactly is Lowbrow? Sometimes called pop surrealism, nowadays, it has its origins in the late 1970’s in the sub-cultures of street cartoon-comix books, punk music and street culture. Lowbrow art often has a sense of zany humor and/or contains sarcastic commentary about what’s happening in the mainstream.

Few galleries were interested to present the work 25 years ago, however early shows were set up in alternative galleries like La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles and 01 gallery in Hollywood. Over the years the movement has grown steadily with hundreds of artists adopting this style and accordingly there are more galleries willing to show the work in L.A. and in New York.

In an article in the Feb 2006 issue of the lowbrow magazine Juxtapoz, (yes there is a Lowbrow magazine apparently that’s been going since 1994), an artist called Robert Williams took credit for originating the term "lowbrow art." He stated that when the publisher ‘Rip-Off Press’ decided to produce a book featuring his paintings in 1979, Williams decided to give the book the self-deprecating title, "The Lowbrow Art of Robt Williams." He did it since as no authorized “highbrow” art institution would recognize his type of art he would call it "Lowbrow" in order to distinguish his style.

As the lowbrow has spread around the world, it has manifested itself slightly differently by location as it has intermingled with the tendencies in the visual arts of those places where it has established itself. (L.A lowbrow differs from N.Y.)

25 years on, many museums, art critics, mainstream galleries, etc., are still uncertain as to the status of lowbrow in relation to the fine art world. The fact that many lowbrow artists are self-taught further alienates them from the highbrow world of museum curators and art schools.

25 Years of waiting to be recognized! It is high time for the lowdown on lowbrow to be highlighted in some great shows in highbrow places.

The Mating Habits of the Successful Artist

Nowadays scientists and computer engineers are using algorithms and logarithms to research all kinds of subjects. A trio of academics in the UK has recently concluded a “scientific” investigation using a sample of 236 visual artists to determine whether there is a relationship between artistic success and success in mating. Using logarithms to help them process their investigation they have recently published their findings as “Status and Mating Success Amongst Visual Artists” in a journal called “Frontiers in Psychology.”

Now, you are probably saying to yourself: “I bet it shows that artists who get more sex are more successful.” Well, to actually understand what the report says, you have to be a bit of a numbers geek yourself since it is basically a whole lot of talk about math and logarithms.

The only bit I get is that the median number of sexual partners for the participants was 10.67 – a number which was then converted to a logarithm scale, on which the analysis was performed.

Now, if you are like me, you have only a distant memory of logarithms from your high school days, so here is a refresher course to help you understand: The logarithm is a concise, rough way to compare things across vast scales of bigness and smallness. In this case it was used to compare the behavioral patterns of an artist who gets it never with one who has a harem of followers (since the number of sexual partners ranged from 0 to 250 according to the answers given by the artists who paricipated.)

The researchers used logarithms to compute what they call the "mating strategy index" of the various artists. "Each one-night stand gained one point, each relationship up to a month two points, and soon up to each relationship 10 years or over, which gained eight points. The total number of points for each person was added up and divided by their total number of relationships." After compiling their data the researchers decided that "more successful male artists had more sexual partners than less successful artists, but this did not hold for female artists."

I could have told them that without logarithms!!!!

L.A. Municipal Gallery looks back over the years in a new exhibition.

Mark your calendars. The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery has done some great things over the years to promote arts in Southern California and especially in Los Angeles. The institution has been going through some difficult budget and organizational problems over the past year or so and in order to better allow residents to appreciate and understand its contribution to the local art scene, the gallery has put together an exhibition called “Civic Virtue: The Impact of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Watts Towers Arts Center.” Some might say it is a show about blowing one’s own trumpet, but I believe LAMAG has earned the right to do so…and loudly!

The exhibition, which begins December 15, showcases the work of the artists, curators, and community activists whose contributions enhanced the culture of our city over the last 100 years and helped to define Los Angeles as an international artistic center. Included are more than 130 works by artists who shaped Southern California’s destiny as an art capital.

Exhibition Dates: December 15, 2011 to February 12, 2012. Opening Reception: Thursday, December 15, 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. / Free

“Civic Virtue” is part of the comprehensive art project —Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980.

See you there!

New techniques for restoring old works.

Doing a restoration or cleaning of an old artwork? Among the cleaning products on the shelves at Blicks or Pearls, I doubt you’ll find any bottles of Pseudomonas Stutzeri. It is the name of bacteria which have been developed to clean artworks in lieu of toxic chemicals. After being grown in a special culture, where they are “trained” to eat salt and glue, the bacteria is being used to clean frescoes. Teams of restorers in Italy and Spain have already used this method successfully. After being brushed onto grimy surfaces and then covered with a gel, the bacteria are heated with lights, which create humid conditions perfect for whipping up their appetites. They begin nibbling away and presto, 90 minutes later, the surface is rinsed with water and dried, killing the bacteria in the process. The Pseudomonas at least die with a full belly. One could say that, for them, every masterpiece cleaned - is the Last Supper.

Change the Guard at the Hammer – again.

In the spring of 2009 Douglas Fogle was appointed Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the Hammer Museum L.A. after working as curator of contemporary art at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. This week (Nov 15) he has announced his resignation effective of February of 2012 saying he intends to pursue independent projects.

During his tenure at the Hammer, Fogle expressed both a keen interest in and affinity for artists living and working in Los Angeles and led the museum into a new and exciting chapter in its already illustrious development. Douglas Fogle has earned respect and affection among many SoCal artists and has made significant additions to the Hammer Contemporary Collection.

Among the works he will be noted for are important videos by Doug Aitken and Barbara Kruger, some exceptional paintings by Ed Ruscha and Lari Pittman, a large cut-paper silhouette installation by Kara Walker, and a new multimedia installation by Charles Gaines. A search for Fogle’s replacement is set to commence at the beginning of 2012.

Throwing out the baby with the bath water.

A cleaning woman at the Ostwall Museum in Dortmund, Germany thought she was doing the right thing when she cleaned one of the art works on display. How was she to know that the dirty puddle of water she so zealously scrubbed away was an integral part of a $1.1 million sculptural piece called “When it Starts Dripping from the Ceiling.” The art work by German-born Martin Kippenberger, who died in 1997, is a composition of pieces of wood standing above a basin, which the artist had painted to look as if it contained – a puddle of dirty water.

The cleanup has turned into a real mess for the museum which had received the work on loan from a private collector. Insurance adjusters are accessing the damage and in the meantime the show continues with the artwork on display in its newly cleaned condition. It has not yet been decided whether to re-dirty the work to its original state. Who knows maybe the public will like it better that way?

Kippenberger isn't the first artist to have his work "cleaned up" by maintenance personnel. In 1986 a work of art by Joseph Beuys was deemed grimy by cleaners at Düsseldorf's Academy of Fine Arts and given a wash. In 2001, in a London gallery, an untitled installation by British artist Damien Hirst which consisted of used coffee cups, old newspapers and beer bottles was cleared way by a cleaning woman.

I guess it says something about Art when ordinary people can’t tell the difference between trash, dirt and art.

Here’s a not-too-difficult quiz to test your art knowledge. It is taken from an English newspaper that published a story about a street survey which basically concludes the British are a nation of art illiterates? Are you more knowledgeable than the average Englishman/woman when it comes to art? Can you tell your Monet from your Manet? The correct answers are below….

Vincent VanGogh

1. This artist was confined to a French asylum by the time he created this self portrait. Who is it?

Claude Monet

Paul Gauguin

Vincent Van Gogh

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Monet

2. That's one stunning garden of sunflowers. But what subject is most closely associated with this famous impressionist?

Cutting off his own ear

Ballet dancers

Venice

Water Lilies

Titian

3. That light, that gorgeous shade of red - which Venetian master painted this?

Raphael

Titian

Tintoretto

Veronese

Mexico

4. Another self-portrait, this time by the ruthlessly self-aware Frida Kahlo. She and her husband, Diego Rivera, were the leading lights of which country's art scene?

Argentina Uruguay

Chile Mexico

BH5

5. Which sculptor created this curvaceous wonder?

Pablo Picasso

Henry Moore

Barbara Hepworth

Alberto Giacometti

Picasso

6. Who distorted this lovely lady?

Max Ernst

Juan Gris

Ferdinand Leger

Pablo Picasso

Rodin

7. Who carved this famous kiss?

Michaelangelo

Auguste Rodin

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Alessandro Algardi

Surrealist

8. Of course you will recognize this work by Salvador Dali. But what type of painter was he?

Surrealist

Impressionist

Cubist

Abstract Expressionist

The Correct Answers: 1) Vincent Van Gogh 2) Water Lilies 3) Titan 4) Mexico

5) Barbara Hepworth 6) Pablo Picasso 7) Auguste Rodin 8) Surrealist

This week’s art results indicate a downtown.

Up and down. Up and down. Despite record highs in previous recent auctions the roller coaster art market took a dramatic down-turn at Christie’s in New York this past week. Many of the top-priced works at Christie’s auction of Impressionist and Modern Art failed to sell Tuesday as collectors failed to raise their hands. At the end of the sale less than two-thirds of 82 works which came under the hammer found buyers. Christie’s, who had forecast a “blockbuster” event, took in $141 million against a pre-sale estimate of $210 million to $300 million. The biggest disappointment was a 40 inch high bronze sculpture of a young ballerina by French Impressionist Edward Degas. "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen" had a pre-sale estimate of $25 million to $35 million - but there were no bids higher than $18.5 million. 28 examples of the statue were cast after the artist’s death in 1937. Most are in museums. Ten are in private hands, including the one that was offered at Christie's.

A few strong prices mitigated the collective results of the sale. A Brancusi sculpture, “The first cry,” fetched $14.87 million, far exceeding the $10 million high estimate. Two works by Magritte did well selling for $10.2 million and $7 million and a print by Picasso set a world record for any print at auction. Max Ernst’s “The Stolen Mirror” soared to three times the estimate achieving $16.3 million including commission.

A spokesman for Christie’s said the market was “more sensitive and selective than we thought” and that despite having recently convinced sellers to accept lower reserves – the secret minimum price at which an owner agrees to sell – apparently the lowering had not been enough to tempt buyers.

Art Funds are coming back to Investment markets

Since the beginning of 2011 art sales in the top auction houses and at international art fairs have been breaking records once again. As prices soar, art investment funds, which more or less faded from the scene during the years of crash and crises, are returning to the financial arena. In September 2010 there were only 12 active art funds across the globe; now there are more than 40 with new ones in development. So, is this the time to jump on the bandwagon and make a buck or two from a share in a Picasso or Van Gogh?

The sector does have appeal if you look at the performance of some of the existing funds. The Fine Art Fund (minimum $250,000 investment) posts that it has produced an annualized return of 25.5% on assets but is very vague in explaining the accounting process to how it arrives at that figure. Castlestone Modern Art Management Fund reports a 7.5% annualized return but has yet to sell any of the works in the collection to justify their accounting results. The increase in annualized return is calculated by comparing real results obtained on the market by similar works from the artists they hold in the portfolio. What they will achieve when they actually liquidate their collections is hard to predict. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush???

Probably the biggest obstacle most people have with investing in art is that it is seen more as speculation rather than investment. An investment pays you an income over time, which is what enables you to resell at the price or better that you are willing to pay for it today. Art doesn’t pay dividend income. The potential profit can only come from capital gains. In other words, when you buy art you’re relying on someone else coming along and paying more for the artwork in future than you originally paid for it. But this seems to be a good argument for a respectable investment strategy only when a market has hit rock bottom and prices are well off their highs.

If you are interested in putting your money into art funds make sure you check out the fees and costs. The most common fee structure known as “2 and 20” i.e. a 2% fee on the assets you put in and a 20% charge on any profits made. In other words “2 and 20” means you have to make big profits before you see any real profits in hand.

Whether you prefer to own a few square inches of a Picasso as an investor in an Art Fund or whether you prefer to have a collection of modest paintings for the same money – I hope you enjoy your purchases!!

Juried Art Competitions & Events: Deadline November 2011

1650 Gallery in Los Angeles announces a call to photographers worldwide for a juried photography exhibition called “Food Porn,” November 19 - December 2, 2011. If sexy food is your thing, this one is for you. Juror: Courtney Gordon. Selected artists may choose to offer their work for sale. There is an entry fee of $25 for up to 5 images. Visit www.1650gallery.com for prospectus. Questions to Tricia Noble at 1650gallery@gmail.com DEADLINE: November 2, 2011

Linus Art Gallery seeks entries for an exhibition in Signal Hill, CA. Opening Reception: December 17, 2011, 5:30-9pm. “Rest in Show” will exhibit photography of rescued and mixed breed dogs. Top award, you guessed it, will be Best in Show at Rest in Show. The exhibition will take place at the same time as the Eukanuba National Championship Dog Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. Submissions must accompany a story (preferably heartbreaking, tear-jerking or heart-warming) about the animal that is photographed as it will be posted next to the photograph. There is a $35 fee for 3 submissions, $5 for each additional. Visit www.linusgallery.com for details. Enquiries to info@linusgallery.com or 310-491-0869. DEADLINE: November 8, 2011.

Yosemite Renaissance XXVII has a call out for entries in all fine art media (including photography) for a juried fine art competition & exhibition on the theme of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. Submissions are limited to work on the environment, landscape, people, and wildlife of Yosemite and its environs. Both representational and non-representational submissions are welcome. Open to all living artists. There is $4,000 in awards. Entry is by digital files only. There is a $15 fee per entry with a maximum of 8 entries per artist. The show will be held at the Yosemite Museum Gallery in Yosemite, California, February 25, 2012. Visit www.yosemiterenaissance.org for prospectus and entry form. If you have questions please contact Robert Woolard at info@yosemiterenaissance.org DEADLINE: November 10, 2011.

The Los Angeles Center for Digital Art in Los Angeles, CA seeks artists for an un-juried international exhibit “Snap to Grid” featuring digital art and photography, December 8-30, 2011. All entries will be printed (8.5"x11" on heavyweight paper) and shown in the gallery arranged in a grid. Entrants submit JPEG files of original work. Multiple entries are permitted. Separate registration required for each image. Exhibit is limited to space available, early entry is advised. Entry fee: $32 per image. Visit www.lacda.com for details. Questions to Contact Rex Bruce at rexbruce@lacda.com or call 323-646-9427 DEADLINE: December 1, 2011.