Steve Aishman Photography: August 2009

A Report from the Phantom Zone

I'm often reminded of artist George Vlosich's work.

You're not familiar with his work?

He's one of the most written about artists of our generation.
The You Tube video of him making his work has been viewed over 1,600,000 times.
His art work has been featured in national press reports on CNN, World News Tonight, BBC, etc.
He even got to meet President Clinton and VP Gore while they were in office.

George was also featured on Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
You see, George Vlosich makes celebrity and sports drawings with an Etch-A-Sketch.
The first time I saw his work I was at a party held at a friend-of-a-friend's house when a report on his work came on. Everyone stopped in amazement to watch him make an Etch-A-Sketch drawing of a basketball player. When it was over, someone said, "Now that's real art. You know, something that takes skill and hours of labor. I know I couldn't do that because I don't have the patience."

I think I evaluate George Vlosich's work as a balanced between the questions of "how hard was it to make" versus "how much of this is just media sensation"?

Here are some other pieces for your judgment:

1. Santiago Sierra's 21 huge blocks of human feces that were shown at Lisson Gallery in 2007.

2. World's largest photo

3. CNN report on a college student who used post-it notes to make a portrait of Ray Charles

4. Micro-sculptor Willard Wigan who made sculpted the Lloyd's Building so it fits on top of a pin.

5. Justin Gignac's New York City Garbage

6. César Saez' Banana Over Texas work.

7. Scott Wade's Dirty Car Art

8.Tim Knowles tree drawings.

9. Steven J. Backman's toothpick art.

10. and finally, George Vlosich's work.

Please feel free to post your opinion on any of these artist's works in the comment section:

Heidi Aishman at PEM

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Heidi Aishman views her work at Peabody Essex Museum for the "Trash Menagerie" exhibtion

Interview with Jane Winchell

A Report from the Phantom Zone

August is the cruellest month.

The doldrums of the art world where half of the galleries are closed or not showing new work. Most of the artists are at the beach. August is an annual promise of new life that is coming with September openings. A false hope to those who believe that the art world is like a battery that needs the sun soaked summer to recharge. I don’t see solar panels on the roofs of any museums, quietly trickle charging for a fall explosion of human creative endeavors that will draw crowds in out of the cold. I look at the MFA Boston’s calendar and see nothing opening in the fall. Damián Ortega opens at the ICA in mid-September, how eagerly should wait to see how he takes apart familiar consumer culture and suspends it? Samson Projects opens Michael Phelanin in September, so I guess I’m excited to see how he re-contextualizes mundane consumer culture. (It seems like September will mostly be going out to see what I already have, but arranged differently.) A few galleries will open shows that sound truly interesting like Howard Yezerski who will open Rona Pondick in September or the Mills Gallery who will open its 21st Drawing Show - always a treat. But for the most part, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be waiting for. August is a pregnant pause with no release. No wonder most wars begin in August. People are hot and edgy, waiting for fall, but with no guarantee that anything will pan out. Empty promises make people irritable.

What are you looking forward to for fall? Maybe a trip to MOMA to see “Monet's Water Lilies” that opens in Sept.? (I doubt anyone’s booking a flight.) But there must be something out there … anyone? A show they are looking forward to seeing? Please leave info in the comment section.