William Powhida

Work of Art Rant

2010-08-17T11:20:00.002-04:00

I’ve had a few meltdowns on Twitter lately over the tweets people have been posting while they watch Bravo’s Work of Art. The snark invades, despite my efforts not to watch the show. The artists, bloggers, and critics all seem to have outsmarted the poor bastards on the game show. Indeed, many of the comments are funny and probably more entertaining than the show itself, which I stopped watching after episode 4. I have to admit I only saw the first episode because @c-monstah invited me to the debut screening at the WNYC studios in Manhattan.

As soon as Simon De Pury croaked his first bon mot out his nose, I knew I wouldn’t be watching the show. It was painful to watch someone like De Pury shamelessly perform for a cable TV audience. I mean he’s used to sucking up to rich people endlessly, I just never thought I’d see him get on his knees for a tv show. I doubt anyone else felt the kind of humiliation I experienced watching Jerry Saltz demean himself by seriously considering the undergrad, all-nighters the kids slapped together. I guess Jerry has a lot of practice as a professor and visiting critic. So, this isn’t a critique of the show’s trajectory or individual episodes. I didn’t see it, and I don’t want to. This is my personal rant, my inner monologue about the show, which has received spectacular interest in the art world.

A few months ago Jerry praised my work, but watching that first episode, I felt like the floor was falling out from underneath me. I wanted to crawl out of the room and hoped Jerry wouldn’t embarrass himself or be embarrassed by the show’s producers searching for the dramatic hook to captivate audiences. My inclusion on his top 10 list started feeling more like an anchor around my ankle than a life raft in the art world. After that, I watched the next three episodes with artist Jennifer Dalton and some friends at her house in Brooklyn. I drank a six-pack trying to sit through them. I mean, I wish we had been drinking whiskey for at some point the laughter died and the formulaic nature of the show, the manufactured drama, and the bad art made the extended viewing seem like a punishment for not keeping up on a weekly basis. When we had finished episode 4, I felt like it was 7 am and the coke had run out at a rather dull party. No one really wanted to talk about it, and I went home feeling disconcerted. Jen merely said something like “Well, I wanted to like it,” and frowned. She had been hopeful that the show would help middle America better understand contemporary art or what we have devoted nearly all of our adult lives to.

Still, I couldn’t really articulate why I hated the show so much when people asked. Individually, each episode wasn’t terrible. The contestants tried to do something within a hilariously limited amount of time in an artificial situation. I’ve spent more time sitting in my studio staring at the wall than they had to do all their projects, combined. When I watched the episodes continuously, I really did not want to watch anymore, and I haven’t. The thing was, I couldn’t just ignore the fucking show. Everyday, someone would mention something about #workofart on twitter and on Wednesday night the fucking twitterverse lit up with inane observations and chatter about who was doing what, who was wearing what, what idiocy had been perpetrated, or if Skelator, er, Jaclyn had popped her fake tits out.

The art world’s guilty obsession bled into every conversation, online and off that I was having. Nobody was riveted by the crap the contestants were producing, but far more interested in their relationships and personalities. Paddy Johnson, @artfagcity, and Carolina Miranda, @cmonstah, morphed from witty, sarcastic art world ass-kickers into something far worse; witty, sarcastic cheerleaders. Their participation in adding to the cacophony around the show disheartened me. It’s not so much about what they said (they are both excellent comedians), but that they were so engaged by something that made everything about art feel cheap and thin like worn polyester. I mean, my first instinct is to say ‘well, most of the art world is cheap and thin like worn polyester,” but it’s not. The stakes in this game have always been high, for some it concerns money that makes Abdi’s 100k look like chump change and for others powerful reputations, careers, and, well, money. For me, it’s just my life. This isn’t a career for me. It really is everything. Beneath the humor, the meta-commentary, and ironic devices there is rage, despair, joy, love, and a working philosophy about engaging the world. My drawings are warped, funhouse mirrors meant to trap all the fucked up shit that pops into my head and distort it into something people can look at without getting upset. Well, most people. Pissing of some people can’t be avoided including Jerry and everyone on Work of Art in this particular case. I’d rather Jerry be angry than sad, which only reinforces my ambivalence about the impact of the show.

In the past, Paddy has given me shit for making art about the art world. Once she described me as producing the closest thing to ‘fan art’ out there. So, imagine my surprise when Paddy in her role as @artfagcity began fawning over this fucking show in full-on “I like reality TV” mode by ingratiating herself with the show’s followers. Not only was Paddy twittering during the show, she wrote weekly recaps. I haven’t read any. It’s pretty much one of the main reasons I don’t read her blog anymore. Sorry, Paddy, it became another reminder that the show was out there. Perhaps now, I can visit AFC again without seeing what happened to Miles.

Cmonstah also tried to make fun of the show, I guess, but this is the part the makes me fucking irate. No matter how snarky you are, how witty you are, how mean-spirited you get, or how much you complain about the show, it doesn’t matter. If I complain about the show to people, “It’s a complete bullshit and a really bad representation of contemporary art,” they look at me like I’m some fucking elitist asshole who can’t relate to normal people and just accept the show. When they look at me their expression says “Look asshole, life is hard and I’m tired. I want to watch something stupid and feel good about myself or just not have to think too hard before I go to bed and get up for work at my boring, soul-sucking job in midtown or at this deadly museum. It’s just TV.” It’s just TV. The sarcastic LIFE Magazine profile about Jackson Pollock was just an article too, and it transformed his career in a way that the paintings alone hadn’t been able to do.

As the summer wore on I wished I could just say, “fuck it. It’s the Jersey Shore of the art world,” and watch the show. The problem is, I can’t. It’s not really the show I’m pissed about. I’m pissed off by it’s very existence and the promise it offers its contestants. I’m sure you all understand the basic fucking premise of the show; respond to an assignment, win, and get a 100k and a museum show. Sweet. All you have to do is crank out some art that is marginally less terrible than what everyone else is making. It’s not that you actually have to make anything good. My friend Letha used to explain that meeting the hottest guy in a bar is always a relative proposition. Sometimes, she would take home the hottest guy in the bar and still be making out with an ugly motherfucker. Despite this, and unlike the broader market where critics can ignore mediocre and bad work and collectors can chose not to buy it, someone had to win the show by default. It would have been way riskier and far more interesting if there was no guarantee anyone could win if the work wasn’t good enough. I think this one of the most obvious flaws in comparing the show to life. In fact, even the losers on the show are still winners if we count recognition as a form of payment.

Anyway, when I started to reflect on why a show I wasn’t watching and why it was making want to get violent and fight strangers, it started to dawn on me how closely the model of the show and everything about it reminded me of the worst aspects of the art world and America. First, the notion that some random fucks, chosen by a highly questionable jury, win the fucking lotto to get on the show with portfolios that wouldn’t have gotten them into Scope is problematic enough. The producers had also reached out to artists with representation, including myself, which undermined the underdog nature of the show. I’m sure some of the contestants were straight off the street hopefuls, but I bristled that Bravo was out there looking for personalities that might be ‘combustible’ or manufacture the appropriate amount of drama. Reality. Right. Does reality need ‘producers’? I hate the word ‘reality’ TV and wished that even one of the participants had found a way to undermine that concept, or at least challenge it.

So, yes, I turned down multiple requests to audition in New York. If there had been a little more time I was working with a Belgian actor to audition in my place, in character, but he was in Europe. The problem was manifold though. Would Bravo own my character at the end of the show? They own all the other art the contestants made. That character, an idea, has been central to my practice. Who owns the ideas?

That Bravo reduced art to series of BFA level challenges was arguably the most artificial and insulting part of the show for me. I mean, beyond the fact they have an absurd shooting schedule and severe time restrictions. On his FB page, @Jerrysaltz asked his thousands what challenges they would issue. OK. So, let’s just get this fucking straight. Would it be cool if I just went on my FB page and asked “Hey kids, what should I do next?” Of course fucking not, it’s the central challenge for an artist. “What the fuck do I do?”

There is an army of talented artists out there, and you can find a platoon of them working for Jeff Koons, who have awesome skills, but the biggest struggle facing an artist is individuating themselves from the masses and finding a reason to employ their abilities. “Hmmm, I can do anything I want, but, uh, shit…” I am fucking insulted that the producers of Work of Art and that witch-hooker Sarah Jessica Parker couldn’t come up with some format for the show where the artists had to do their own fucking thing, and let the judges…wait, who the fuck is Bill Powers? Where is the Half-Gallery? I wouldn’t ask that fucker to interpret the second hand on my watch…actually engage in some critical analysis and consider every aspect of the work, not just if it met some absurd pre-existing conditions. But no, we get the contestants making fucking book covers and interpreting what it feels like to drive a luxury, product placement car? Fuck you Audi you fucking pieces of shit. Fuck all art cars; BMW included. I will never ‘design’ a car or a yacht. I might piss on one, but that’s it.

While the challenges make me irate and are the most unrealistic thing about the show (and don’t compare it to Project Runway, since it’s more likely than not that the designers will end up working for someone else and executing their ideas), artists don’t get fucking challenges. We call that illustration, commercial work, or being an artist’s assistant like Jaclyn. I wonder if she’s back at Koons’ studio working on his ideas? Anyway, the challenges themselves only serve to do the thing that makes me want to jump off a fucking cliff. They are the shitty vehicle that enables one lucky patsy, and in this case Abdi who seems like an affable kid, to experience a simulation of art stardom, to be an instant sensation. If Starbucks can make instant brew, Bravo can make an art star, of course. I can’t help but see the show offering a compressed, flawed version of art stardom; a rapid ascent, a vast payday, instant entrance into museums and institutions, and some amount of broader public awareness (I won’t call it fame. Most of America doesn’t know who the fuck Jeff Koons is. Abdi, Miles, and Peregrine probably have more useful celebrity than Koons for about six months). Success in the shows terms seems flimsy and tawdry in comparison to say the career trajectory of Dana Schutz or Jules DeBalincourt ( I mean they are talented and have good ideas right?). I will never stop being fascinated by them. They both have talent yet I find them to be derivative painters who won the art lotto and filled the darling spots at the beginning of the boom era.

Comparatively, Abdi is something of the butt of a protracted joke, a novelty coughed up by produced television, it’s way too edited and manipulated to suggest it’s anything other than a mocumentary using non-actors to play the pre-assigned clichés. I don’t know how Abdi’s show will look, and I’m not judging his work here. I just know it will be difficult to shake the feeling that everything is covered in a faint layer of perspiration and a greasy residue like the inside of an OTB or a Greyhound bus bathroom (If you’ve never had the pleasure you’re probably not reading this so fuck you). The veneer of dignity has already been stripped away by the profit-whores at Bravo who have reduced the activity everyone involved has dedicated years to into tidy, fifty-minute episodes. What scares me most about this, this blackhole of terror that opens up in my chest, is that there is no dignity to art, to this career, and that the whole thing is a terribly produced ‘show’ that is always already rigged and that no matter how hard I work, I will always be a middle class loser without the right fucking pedigree to suck on Bonami’s cock.

I also quiver in terror when I think about all the artists out there laughing their collective ass off at Miles’ ass or Skelator (see I can’t resist either), because I wonder how many of those same fuckers would shed their dignity like Jerry to get on TV. What bullshit excuse would they use to achieve the sort of cognitive dissonance that would allow them to become the butt of a weekly, nationally televised joke. Or perhaps even worse, all the artists laughing at the contestants believe they can laugh at them on TV because at least they aren’t actually on the show. No, they are just watching TV, risking nothing. I mean, if they could just get their own break, they would be successful too, but of course, they’d never risk their own dignity by actually being on the show. I sense a kind of hypocrisy, even in myself, when I consider how people love to take a piss on the show, when they don’t have a fucking pot themselves. I turned down the opportunity to audition for the show because it seemed like something that would be fun to watch someone else do, but there was no way I was going to destroy what little integrity I had in not taking things seriously. What Ken Johnson said about Jen Dalton is how I think about what I do, “taking not being serious seriously” (paraphrasing), and if I’m going to destroy my career, I want to do it on my own terms, not making money for NBC Universal and Bravo.

We used to talk about the mother of all capitalist art fears, ‘commodification’, where any idea or critique is simply absorbed by the market. In this case, it’s not a particular artist like Murakami who tried to swallow the market and ended up in its belly anyway but the claim to art itself. It’s like watching the ‘art market’ get chewed up by a bigger cultural fish, ‘the entertainment industry’ and turned into a giant advertising product meant to deliver an audience to the real consumer, the advertisers and sponsors. I’m pleased Christopher Knight posted a link to Richard Serra’s video “Television Delivers People”, which reminded me of what I was witnessing. What makes art potentially radical is just neutered for the sake of showing an understandable process to deliver the numbers of viewers.

Apparently it has worked. Season 2 is starting to cast and another batch of artists will compete again for some quick cash and an instant social/professional network earned in a fucked-up, truncated version of reality compressing years of hard work, ass-kissing, struggle, and sacrifice into a month. Again, a totally unrealistic lotto system based on physical appearance, personality, age, gender as much as whatever artistic merit is presented/sold to the public as a viable alternative to the struggle of making it as artist. I mean a viable alternative to having a trust fund. As for @Jen_Dalton’s optimism that the show “would help educate people about contemporary art,” Work of Art also serves to remind me that I, and art, have failed to approach anything remotely radical in decades. Thinking about the 52% of Californians who voted for Proposition 8 or fundamentalist beliefs in ‘intelligent design’ also remind me that there are ideas, beliefs, and perspectives to which I am not tolerant. This intolerance is based on a reaction to traditional thought that eschews science, logic, and reason for faith and pseudo-science. The defense of the tradition becomes paramount to any realistic concerns. I also don’t like the way that Work of Art makes art safe and sanitized for the masses by relying on cliché and tradition. It’s like calling McDonald’s food. Sure, as the lowest common denominator, it qualifies, but it’s not what we aspire to. Work of Art makes art appear safe, professional, and full of fucking morons talking gibberish about nothing. I’d rather sit through an hour long lecture series on Altermodernism subtitled in English every week than watch Work of Art. At least I might learn something or experience an idea that will challenge my ideas about what is possible in art.

Nothing I’ve seen or heard about Work of Art suggests that possibility even exists. No, instead, I am left feeling depressed about art. It looks ugly, cheap, and I feel like we all, not just Abdi or Miles or Skelator, are jumping around like clowns for rich assholes. And it’s not just the contestants that are also experiencing some d-list celebrity status. In their temporary TV fame, I see my own shallow, ugly reflection staring back at me. It reminds me of the ever-increasing up tick of twitter followers and little messages from the tumblr bot, or looking at peaks of Google hits in analytics amid the long, desolate stretches of insignificance. The feeling of being desired or recognized is a powerful thing, and on most days, I can tell myself “It’s because of the work you’ve done,” not the personality projected during a few hours of reality tv. On other days, that nagging sense of desolation brought on by the warm, lazy reception of Work of Art is that I am failure, just another shitty hack producing ‘symbolic representations of radical thought’ or being yet another symbolic pressure-release valve for radical thought, instead of being genuinely radical.

So maybe the joke is on all of us, for accepting art as a closed set of predetermined relationships calculated and influenced to produce a single outcome. Or it’s a joke because it is so much like art itself. As Jerry Saltz pointed out “the work on our show isn’t much better or worse than what I see in Chelsea”. Maybe it’s not the show I am disappointed in, but myself and everyone else in the art world.

"Im With Stupid"

2010-07-29T17:42:00.000-04:00

A close friend of mine, Seth Goodman, is having an opening for a new series of work he completed during a six-week residency tomorrow night, Friday July 29th at 245 Varet St (3rd floor) from 6 - 9 pm in Bushwick off the Morgan L stop. The show will be followed by a rooftop party so bring some beer, brown liquor, or whatever and check out these paintings. If you can't make it the gallery will be open Saturday from noon to six. Maybe don't eat right before you show up though. See below "However repulsing or depressing." While repulsion may threaten to overwhelm the viewer, seriously these are hard to stare into, these are made of the stuff that goes viral on YouTube, you can't avert your eyes. The operative word being viral here.

Artist's Statement:

The paintings shown in the exhibition “I’m With Stupid” examine issues relating to American social class by carving into the lowest socioeconomic rungs to mine for imagery and attitude. Extreme bodily references are meant to elevate the commonplace cultural thirsting for sex and violence to a level that tests the viewer’s tolerance to digest the interests and way of life of America’s underclass.

The general folly and predicaments of the painted characters are often birthed from motifs and sayings printed on novelty or lowbrow tee shirts. The quips then explode to take over the character’s space asking one to more deeply consider the meaning of the text that loudly projects, full-frontal, to all passers-by.

Everything depicted in the work exists in some form in our cultural sphere, however repulsive or depressing it may be. Ultimately, the paintings are asking the viewer how they relate to these truths and what it means if they must turn away.

-Seth Goodman, 2010

Magicality, Irrascible Assholes, and Sorcery

2010-05-28T14:14:00.003-04:00

The world is bleeding and times are strange indeed. While there seems to be some renewed interest in the Occult spreading through the art world, I am a little freaked out by the believers. I prefer the idea of magic as a metaphor for the powerful beliefs surrounding the art world, but I don't think I'm actually channeling Lucifer. I'm trying to channel you.

Actually, I'm bullshitting you according to Emily Falvey in the new issue of Esse magazine. Falvey talks about kitsch, bullshit, and Post-Modernism in her really smart article, which tries to explain why bullshitting is a "mode of creativity" that offers a particular kind of freedom for invention. It's a tricky article. Falvey ultimately suggests that the solution to dealing with the end of post-modernism may not to re-think Modernism again, but that "the only way out may be in." This is the tricky part, because I agree with her that the critical tropes of post-modernism long ago transcended the reaction to Modernism and have become productive ways of working that aren't simply ironic reversals. Post-modernism has gone way past David Salle's juxtapositions of pop imagery and ab-ex paintings, Schnabel's shattered plates, or Koons' floating basketballs. Now they look comically simple compared to the level of engagement artists have taken with ideas of uncertainty and narrative content, I'm thinking of Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle. He's an excellent bullshitter, where being right or wrong is not as important as being inventive. Modernism, in the Greenbergian aesthetic sense, had no room for story, character, or symbolism.

So, I look forward to thinking more about Emily's essay, but I've been too busy bullshitting working on several projects to go any further than my initial reaction here. Hrag Vartanian recently posted some images from my lecture "Surviving the Art World Using the Art of Sorcery" at the Hyperallergic office. It was the inaugural lecture in a new series Hrag and his publisher-partner Veken will be presenting. The lecture was absurd and still-in-development, but that is exactly what Hrag and Veken want to present; works-in-progress, not just finished projects. If it felt experimental, well, it was.

I just shipped three new magic composites to Copenhagen for a group show organized by Ryan Schneider at Gallery Poulsen. The show could have been titled Fucktards, Circle Jerk, or Seven Douchebags, but they settled on Irrascible Assholes. I apologize that we couldn't find a single female asshole for the show, but I wasn't curating this one.

"The Irrascible Assholes: New Paintings From New York"

Ryan schneider (US), Tom Sanford (US), Aaron Johnson (US),

Daniel Heidkamp (US), Van Hanos (US), William Powhida (US)
Jamison Brosseau (US)

Vernissage june 18 from 5 pm - 8 pm
The show runs until july 16, 2010

But I am organizing (I'm not sure what we are doing is curating) a group show at Platform Gallery in Seattle called "Magicality" with Eric Trosko. The show opens July 1st and includes artists Sarada Rauch, Garric SimonsenKristen Jensen, Jade Townsend, Megan Laborious, David Bates, Baptiste Ibar, Letha Wilson, Steve Pauley, and more (we are still looking and thinking) whose work suggests an application of or connection with magic. There are believers and non-believers whose work is deals with questions of how belief and faith create power and value. I'll post our statement soon and more detailed information as we conjure it from that nebulous space that is thought.

Contemporary Composite Art Magic

2010-05-07T14:00:00.001-04:00

Talisman I, graphite and watercolor on paper, 2010

I'm happy to announce that my performance/lecture/experiment "Surviving the Art World Using the Art of Sorcery" at Hyperallergic on May 14th has already filled up. I will be discussing the magical aspects of art including illusionism, conjuration, alchemy and drawing power from malign art world entities. I will also be presenting a new work in progress for the operation of composite art magic. While some of the forms are borrowed from traditional black magic this is a highly personalized, composite magic made with common studio materials. I will also perform certain magical operations that use the ability of the mind to alter the physical world and bridge the gap between what is and what is desired. In the words of A.E. Waite "You have to be good to do evil."

AWOL

2010-04-20T14:32:00.001-04:00

I've been laying low since #class ended, but perhaps too low. I should've mentioned that I have new works in a group show Mirror, Mirror at Postmasters Gallery curated by Magda Sawon. The show is up through May 8th and features a new large-scale mixed media work called Cosmology #1 where I organized my personal art world 'angels and demons' around D&D character alignments; chaotic neutral, lawful good, chaotic evil...I know, it's absurd but it seemed appropriate. If that's not enough to draw you in Yevgeny Fiks and Kate Gilmore have stand out pieces in a great show. Check out the ARTslant review here.

I've also literally been reading up on Black Magic having just finished A.E. Waite's "The Book of Black Magic" detailing many talismans, seals, sigils, and powers of various demons. While it might appear incongruous with my practice there are some interesting parallels about the power of invoking specific names that I feel is worth exploring. Anyway, I'm not practicing Satanic rituals (I'd have to kill one or two of the cats that live in my studio building and I don't like what that suggests, although there are seven of them running amok), but I am working on a composite system of my own. Some of these are for my publishing residency at the Lower East Side Printshop, as well as for a show I am co-curating with Eric Trosko at Platform Gallery in Seattle that will be opening July 1st (tentatively). We may try and summon a demon to revive the ritualistic first Thursdays and compel the Mentats out there to buy art, although not even Lucifuge Rocofale may be able to compel the Microsoft drones to embrace their humanity. If you do happen to make art that aspires to be magic, not so much about magic, but that actually involves making something happen send me an email or leave a comment. I'd love to check it out.

Hooverville Catastrofuck

2010-03-15T22:06:00.003-04:00

Reading Paddy Johnson's post "This Week in Comments Part Two: Powhida!" and the accompanying comments made me realize why Jade Townsend and I made the drawing the first place. The art world is a big 'catastrofuc'k to borrow a term from a Miami NewTimes writer. Apparently, the dude doesn't have a problem with a drawing that depicts the art world's yearly descent on Miami or share the insular criticisms of the insular art world. Most of the criticism of the drawing reflects right back on the authors who are players in this game. Really, that's one of the points of the drawing. If you engage in the commercial market, you are not an outsider. Neither Jade, wait remember there was another dude who contributed to the drawing over six months, nor I are outsiders. We don't claim to be and have never claimed to be, but every time people ignore Jade, you make him feel like one! As far as employing a persona for this drawing, I didn't and I make a couple of different bodies of work. This can be confusing to people, especially Paddy. In some drawings, I employ a satirical voice like in "Why You Should Buy Art." In other paintings like the LA Weekly painting at Pulse I make work about a fictional version of "William Powhida". Why? Because Eli Broad isn't going to buy me and put in BCAM so I can meltdown Jeff Koons' balloon dog. I get to write fictional satire of the art world. Then, sometimes, I make things like "Hooverville" or work with other people on art projects like #class. The outcome of this varied way of working is that you have to pay attention to what kind of art you are looking at. This might be an unreasonable request, but I don't really care about making people feel comfortable. Fuck you!

So, Howard Halle says "The art world is in need of deep reform and has been for a long time. it would be nice of artists really addressed that, mainly I think, by working for themselves first. I don’t see that happening in Powhida’s work." I do work for myself, Howard, and I'm trying to exploit my betters' wealth, power, and fame, and this is the hard part, to call attention to the GIANT, GLARING class disparity in the art world. The Hooverville drawing isn't for Howard Halle who calls for reform, but I bet the dude doesn't have five practical reforms to offer. (Howard you can prove me wrong and leave them as comments here) The drawing isn't just about navel gazing at the art world, but to point out that it's run buy a plutocracy, and there is giant excess supply of labor ie., artists, who are routinely fucked by the system and too terrified to do anything about it because they are made to feel like they are replaceable. The imbalance of power is repulsive. Putting aside that Jade and I went specific to grab people's attention, the drawing is a satirical representation of our shared experiences going down to Miami and seeing the fucked up hierarchy of the art world reflected through all its' participants, Paddy included. Jade and I weren't comprehensive by any stretch. The drawing is a semi-autobiographical portrait based on our experiences and limited knowledge of the art world. We threw in artists we love and want to support and people we can't stand. Paddy's in there because she is a comedian, and resists easy judgments of people like strippers. We love strippers. The Brainstormers, Kevin Regan, Andrew Hurst, David Petersen, Daniel Hesidence, Doug McQueen, Navin Norling, and many others are in the drawing because they represent artists we know in the hierarchy of the art world.

For sure we make fun of the wealthy, the famous, and the powerful. They are part of a star system that is chewing on my fucking leg right now, bleeding out what little integrity I have left, but I'm not rich and celebrity isn't power. If you envy this, I'll trade it right now for some money. You can have it. When I was in Miami in December fretting over the Times article that had just come out, Paddy and Hrag demanded I come out and enjoy it. They, and you, probably think that I am being disingenuous when I say the attention is troubling to me, but I'm not. The best thing about the Times article was that it wasn't some vanity profile in Vanity magazine. It got into the contradictions of 'pissing on my betters' to call attention that we labor in a star system that will not benefit most of us, certainly not the scores of art students spat out of the ponzi scheme of academia. No, you are probably not going to make much money or even land a decent job in a cultural center (aka city) even if you get an MFA. Howard Halle is right on that score and any sense of entitlement young artists have should be wiped out immediately.

As for the drawing being topical or mattering in ten years, I hope that like Ad Reinhardt's (thanks for the spell check asshole) cartoons from the 1950's they will shed light on the conditions of being an artist in the pre and post-boom, late-capitalist, personality driven star system that drives the art world. I've been doing this since 2005. Take a look at my website. Before that I made personal narratives that were only as interesting as my own life. I can't imagine that MOST of the shit produced in the last decade will matter in ten or twenty years. I hope that the deer antlers, disco balls, glitter n' glue, and neo-neo expressionist paintings gets crushed in the trash compactor of history. I know it will, and likely so will much of my art, but I think that any value it has is more about the sociology and culture of the art world than whether than I can draw well enough for you. I'm sorry I don't have another practice where I make big-assed paintings or delve into the spiritual aspects of life, but that's because I'm an atheist and believe in that crap we call science. I'm not here to make paintings that make you feel better about your existence on earth. Go to church.

I'll end with one last Howard Halle quote, "Working through an idea that maybe nobody understands except you, until they do understand it." I'm pretty sure that Howard doesn't understand the work, not just this drawing, that I've been in engaged in. I know Paddy doesn't it. She's always asking questions, not providing any attempts at analysis. That's the problem with being a genius, no one understands me except me, and maybe Jade and Jen sometimes, but they usually just think I'm fucking crazy. Awesome. Howard, by your definition, I'm on the right track working for myself.

Now, here's a big assed version of Hooverville (click on it and prepare to scroll) where you can go look for yourself and friends. Just don't miss the fact that you are pretty much fucked one way or another whether you're in this drawing or not. That's the system you have chosen to be participate in like me and Jade. Remember his name, nobody has a fucking clue what he does! That's a sign of real genius.

Have a pleasant evening.

What does Walter Robinson think about Hooverville?

2010-03-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

This was posted from Walter Robinson's Facebook account on a thread about the Hooverville drawing by Jerry Saltz. Satire? Reality? Who fucking knows, but this is the editor of Artnet.com. If there's a magazine, I've never seen it. And, when I used to write for Artnet.com, I was basically asked to describe what things looked like and how much they cost. It's one of the reasons criticism is so fucking boring these days. At least Ben Davis is writing interesting things at Artnet. Anyway, this hilarious!

Walter Robinson

I can't believe all you people like that fucken Powhida. I hate him and am going to kill him when I see him for that caricature of me, if only I knew what the little dweeb looks like. It's ARTNET MAGAZINE editor, you dweeb, not Artnet.com editor. Stupid twerp. He tried to write for me once or twice but he's so fucken nondescript I wouldn't recognize him in one of his own stupid drawings. And he couldn't write worth shit. Never gave me any of his fucken caricatures, either, the drip.

#class

2010-03-02T01:37:00.003-05:00

I've totally neglected my blog this month, since I started working on #class with Jennifer Dalton at Winkleman Gallery. The experiment has been all-consuming turning my Monday and Tuesday evenings into my 'weekend'. Actually, that's not even true. Until Sunday afternoon, Jade Townsend and I have been spending every free hour finishing our collaboration, ABMB Hooverville, which will be exhibited at Pulse New York with Charlie James Gallery. We started the 44" x 66" drawing back in October (I think) and finally finished our 'proposal' for a public art project in Miami. I'm looking forward to seeing the drawing framed outside of my studio, which has sunk to new lows of disrepair.

I'd be thrilled if things were going to lighten up in the coming month, but I'm still working on my Lower East Side Printshop publishing residency, desperately trying to complete my Brooklyn Rail drawings (not happening this month unfortunately), and have been asked to contribute work to a portrait show, Mirror, Mirror at Postmasters Gallery for April. If it sounds like I'm bitching about having too much to do, it's not because I am ungrateful. I'm just overwhelmed by the amount of work in front of me. Between work and art, I'm finding it exceedingly difficult to fulfill obligations and take on new opportunities. Tough shit, right? Right.

Tomorrow, my drawing "Why You Should Buy Art" is being released by 20x200 and will be part of Jen Bekman's unique approach to art fair week in New York. The amount of social obligations this week is starting to terrify me. As it all piles up around me, @zipthwung recently reminded me to prepare for a mini-tsunami of "Powhida" backlash as the I've probably reached a saturation point that becomes annoying. I hope not, because #class has been a fantastic experience so far, and I've been able to leverage some of the attention I've been getting to facilitate discussion, connections, exposure, and opportunities for artists, collectors, curators, dealers, art enthusiasts, and the public. The project just picked up an Artforum.com critic's pick and has received a great deal of curious and sometimes enthusiastic press coverage. @Zacharycohen recently compiled all the press on his blog.

I'm excited for the events coming up this week including elcelso's art shred Wednesday at 2pm and an impromptu "T-Bill Gaming" event where Tom Sanford and I will take action of the Phillips de Pury auction Saturday at noon. It promises to be a fun afternoon even if my drawing can't (possibly) beat it's ridiculous high estimate.

Hopefully, I can spend some time this week during the #class to reflect on everything that's been going on there.

Institutional Celebration

2010-01-27T15:54:00.002-05:00

Irony?

2010-01-14T15:25:00.001-05:00

I'm participating in Art Table's panel discussion BLOG THIS! at X Initiative tomorrow night, representing artists who blog. I've never been a prolific blogger, and I'm probably averaging about two blog posts per month. Recently, most of my efforts have gone into #class project with with artist Jennifer Dalton and our collaborative blog for the show. As the panel approached this week, I felt compelled to update this thing and I probably should.

So what's been going on?

Jerry Saltz tagged me 2nd in his Best Art of 2009 in New York Magazine coming in behind Velazquez and ahead of late Picasso. Say it. "Picasso, Powhida, Velazquez." It's one thing to write "Picasso, Pollock, Powhida" in one of my drawings and something else entirely to see something similar written by Jerry Saltz. Jerry broke his silence on my NuMu drawing in rather spectacular fashion, and someone pointed out to me that he's willing to broker my participation in the L'Affaire Joannou. I think I will be well represented, read on.

Ben Davis also implicated me in his Best of 2009 list on Artnet by saying that the best thing to come out of the New Museum affair was the profile boost it gave my work.

Stephen Kaplan shocked me senseless with his sharp and insightful take on my work, I mean it's Steve Kaplan. His reputation precedes him.

Edward Winkleman, who now generally holds the opposite opinion from me on just about everything, offered Jen Dalton and I a chance to do something about the art market to possibly answer Damien Cave's questions in the New York Times piece. Amazingly, the Wall Street Journal was interested and interviewed us for an article on our show #class.

I've also started working in earnest on my residency for the Lower East Side Printshop. I am working on a large silkscreen version of "Tips for Artists Who Want to Sell" and am starting a series of etchings. I'm all also finishing up a new drawing for the Brooklyn Rail, which will be the beginning of a monthly series for the Artseen section. While the drawings are my own, they are also coming out of discussions with the Rail art editors, John Yau, Thomas Micchelli, Ben La Rocco, and Claudia La Rocco. Ideally, at the end of the year we will be-releasing a book of all the collected drawings. My co-conspirators also suggested the idea of doing a limited edition of 666 "Howdy Koonsy" t-shirts that we will encourage people to wear to the Joannou/Koons opening. Tom Micchelli said the image called to mind "Rosemary's Baby." I take that as a compliment.

Jade Townsend and I are working on the "ABMB Hooverville" drawing, a small snippet was shown in the NYTimes article, that we hope to exhibit during Armory. The drawing is 60" x 40" and only a detail was presented in the paper. It's far more ridiculous than you're probably thinking.

Finally, Jen Dalton and I are working daily on making #class happen, and we really welcome you're ideas whether you just plan to come in and hang out or do something fucking bizarre. We want both/and. Please email us at hashtagclass@gmail.com or post your thoughts on the blog.

#Class @edwardwinkleman gallery

2010-01-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

Jennifer Dalton and I will be organizing a sort of think-tank at Edward Winkleman gallery in late February to explore the often uncomfortable class differences in the art world as well as the intangibles that keep us making art despite minor commercial success. It's part of broader question about the structural excess of labor in the art market, and why artists still persist to make art despite a star system based on branding and reputation. Why are there so many of us hopelessly competing for a limited number of spots in the market? Do we hope to win the lotto? Do we have to wear blinders and ignore the statistics that coldly tell us to stop and get a job?

This is just one of the questions I have about a market selling luxury items to the wealthy for absurd amounts of money based on minor differences in talent or conception. There are many, many questions and my problem is not the art world's problem, just one of them.

Please help us undermine our own efforts, deny commercial success/self-promotion, and roll the dice with our new project #class. It's not an exhibition, group show, or performance. It's just a think/work/market space that bends rules and breaks others in an effort to say 'this is not that' to borrow Jen's inner thoughts about our collaborative platform.

Submission guidelines (more like suggestions), our project proposal, and comments are being hosted at hashtagclass.blogspot.com and email your thoughts about this project to hashtagclass@gmail.com

New York Times Article

2009-12-07T19:45:00.004-05:00

Damien Cave has written a profile about me in the New York Times today that talks about my position within the art world heirarchy. Personally, I find the article fascinating in that it takes a relatively uncommon perspective by looking at the art world from the lower rungs. This isn't a qualitative judgement about my position or the galleries that represent me. It's just an observation of fact that our positions are all relative to the powerful, blue chip galleries that dominant New York, Los Angeles, and Art Basel Miami Beach. I do want to qualify my characterization of Mr. Deitch by saying take a look at his gallery website ; I'm listening to the music and looking at ice cream cones right now. I was trying to make an analogy about the way he markets his artists with a whimsy that masks an aggressive business practice. The many gallery directors working for Mr. Deitch are responsible for promoting and marketing each of the artists. Mr. Deitch puts up an enticing, cheery front for the sometimes ruthless business of dealing art. Unfortunately, I have no idea if Mr. Deitch was presented with my quote or the context for it, and hats off to Mr. Deitch for taking the high road if he was aware of my sensational and satirical comment about one perception of his identity as a major dealer in the art world. At least Mr. Deitch responded on record for Mr. Cave's article, which apparently many others were unwilling to do. Perhaps Mr. Deitch also recognizes that press is press.

Success, then, is all relative within the art world and I recognize that I am not working outside of the system, but from within the system and with galleries who've taken considerable risks exhibiting my work. What Cave's article does for me is validate their early support and belief in my work. I've been slowly building an exhibition record largely on the support of art dealers beginning with Leah Stuhltrager and Cris Dam at Dam Stuhltrager who gave me my first exhibition opportunities. My affiliation with them led to an opportunity to show with Platform Gallery run by Stephen Lyons in Seattle that lead to two solo exhibitions and group exhibitions including The There currently on view at the gallery. Showing with Dam Stuhltrager and Platform helped me develop a relationship with Schroeder Romero Gallery run by Lisa Schroeder and Sara Jo Romero. The gallery is currently forming a new partnership with Sienese Shredder and will be opening up in a new space this spring with a new model for showing contemporary and historical work. Most recently, I've begun showing with Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles, and my current show No One Here Gets Out Alive has gotten strong reviews in the LA Times (along with comments that strongly disagree), Artforum.com , as well blogs like Artwhirled.

These galleries as well the secondary fairs including Aqua and Pulse have helped bring my work to a broader audience, even though that work may be critical of the commercialization of art, the emphasis on celebrity and stardom, and the stratification of the art world. When I say that there are a lot of contradictions, I mean it. The gallery system and the attendant art fairs remain the primary model for exhibiting and selling work. The thing that should be clear is that there are a lot of artists and galleries out there struggling to survive and even grow during the recession and many have not. It's humbling to be the focus of Mr. Cave's article and it is because of the work I've shown. Mr. Cave saw a print at Aqua Art Miami last year called "Market Crash" (see above) that caught his attention about the potential dangers of an art market bubble. If it seems unusual for the Times to look at Art Basel Miami Beach from the outside looking in, it's because it is. I guess I'm writing this post to explain that it's taken a long time to reach a point of recognition, Times article or no Times article. Contrary to Mr. Deitch's sentiments, there may be a real difference between slowly building a reputation from the ground up than being vaulted into the spotlight. It's the difference between being an art comet, blazing in and out of the art world, versus climbing slowly up the rungs of the system towards broad recognition. My recent interview with David Goodman for BOMB Magazine gets into more of my background and motivation for making art as we discuss the hierarchy of the art world. I can't please everyone, and I've really pissed some people off in the process, but it should be a challenge for every artist to claim a unique space within the art world whatever their genre despite the influence of the market. Michael Kaiser has a great article about how money and market forces can actually slultify the arts by hindering risk-taking and growth. Read it, and then go make some art. I'm going to continue working on the Hooverville drawing with artist Jade Townsend, which we hope to exhibit this spring.

Many thanks to everyone who has reached out in support through the social web and apologies to everyone who thinks it's a bunch of nonsense. I'm sure you'll let me know as much, but we are all in contention in this system. The difference between criticism and sour grapes is a short step. I understand it intimately. As my friend Jeff Parker put it "Congrats, bro. Nice depiction of the artist as an angry middle-aged fuck."

Press for No One Here Gets Out Alive at Charlie James Gallery

2009-11-20T11:35:00.004-05:00

My first solo show with Charlie James Gallery has been getting some amazing press over the last week, starting with Leah Ollman's excellent review in the LA Times. Her analysis of the narrative structure of my work is what really stands out for me as the 'maker' of the show. She draws clear distinctions between the narrator, the character, and my role as an artist with different agendas and different voices.

Also, Catherine Taft just published another sharp and insightful review of the show on Artforum.com. She notes the importance of looking at the site-specific nature of the work. The common thread, though, between both reviews and the current controversy surrounding my New Museum drawing is social satire. Both writers refer to Honore Daumier whose cartoons piqued French society. As the New Museum controversy rages on, Jeffery Deitch recently waded in to defend Dakis, people are responding not only to the ethical issues, but how vast the divide between the wealthy elite of the art world and the rest of it. While the Daumier reference is apt for my work and position, it is also unnerving that the economic and class divisions also parallel pre-revolutionary France. James Wagner half-jokingly said the same thing in a recent blog post.

Class divisions and wealth in the art world became more of a focus in my work as the market ballooned from 2002 until 2007. In 2006, when I took my first trip to Miami for Basel and the satellite fairs, the atmosphere was one of congratulatory celebration; 'witness our collective brilliance and the triumph of Capitalism'. Very few people I interviewed that weekend for a long-neglected performance were critical of the wealth and power associated with contemporary art that transformed Miami. The economy appeared stable and few people had reason to raise any complaints. That was before the Dow nearly halved itself and unemployment rose about 10%.

Now, when Mira Rubell is photographed licking a chocolate Jeff Koons' Rabbit during the 'feast' for Performa 09, the decadence looks ugly and the mega rich completely out of touch. While I have been addressing the discrepancy between the egalitarian promise of the art world and the elite circle of wealth that supports it in my work, I think the division is far more clear now at the end of 2009. That clarity has brought some unwelcome attention for the wealthiest and most powerful figures in the art world, which they have little control over. Unfortunately for the Rubells and the Joannous there are many more people on the outside than the inside of the art world. Fortunately for me and the broader art world is that the establishment may be rigidly ordered, but it is not monolithic. There are people on the inside who have a self-awareness of their positions of power and do not engage in vulgar displays of that privilege. Some of them also recognize my critique and quietly tell me "You just say what we're all thinking." Clearly not all, but hopefully enough who recognize that it's not 2006 and your wealth looks a little obscene.

James Wagner

2009-11-11T20:48:00.002-05:00

The recent New York Times articles about the New Museum have helped
publicize the issues that James Wagner blogged about six weeks ago at
jameswagner.com. A few weeks after his initial
post the editorial staff at the Brooklyn Rail emailed me after
they saw it. Having read it myself earlier and twittering about the
absurdity of it all I was pleased to see the Rail responding to the
post as well. When I got back from LA I met with James and Barry and
we had a great discussion about the ethical issues and the changing
direction of the museum. I interviewed Tyler Green and Paddy Johnson
so I understood their positions and concerns.
With consideration to their critical voices I made my drawing as
sensational and outrageous as I could because that's how it appeared
considering the museum's history and commitment to a non-mainstream
program. What the Times seems to have overlooked amid the reporting is
James' early, provocative, and justified criticism. I feel he really
started this critical inquiry from a passionate concern over the
overtly commercial transformation of yet another alternative
non-profit space. This trend doesn't bode well for unknown and
emerging artists without representation, especially as the gallery
system contracts.
While the interest in my particular take on the imaginary museum
series has been strong I want to make sure that it's known that this
drawing was a collaboration with the support of people who don't just
accept the status quo. Particularly James, Barry, Tyler, Paddy, Phong
Bui, and the Brooklyn Rail. [Note: I will be meeting with the Rail editorial staff next week to discuss an ongoing series of editorial cartoons for the Rail. Maybe I could call them the imaginary drawing series.]

William

________________________________
William Powhida
www.williampowhida.com

Powhida: The Movie Trailer

2009-11-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

Who is 'William Powhida'? Check out the trailer for the Hollywood film. Unfortunately, due to major financing problems the film has been delayed indefinitely. Username and password for access is powhida. The trailer is currently on view at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.

The November Brooklyn Rail Cover [Updated]

2009-11-02T20:12:00.002-05:00

Update: A friend brought it to my attention after some confusion that there are indeed three different covers for the November issue of the Brooklyn Rail. I spoke with Phong Bui, the publisher of the Rail, who told me he wanted to promote other artists featured in the issue and do something different with the publication. The issue was divided into thirds, and I believe my drawing about the New Museum can only be found on the cover of the 7,000 issues printed. They are currently available in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Spoonbill & Sugartown as well as other locations on Bedford Avenue. It is also available elsewhere and I will see if I can get a list from Phong where those are. The fact that there are different covers came as something of surprise to me and with such a politically sensitive issue I think it may appear that the Rail may have hedged in their commitment to the cover. I'd prefer to think after knowing Phong for many years that he felt obligated to run the other potential covers as well, since my drawing was delivered two days before the current issue was finished and ready to be sent to press.
The fact is the drawing was originally slated to be an editorial cartoon in the spirit of Ad Reinhardt. For Phong to make the decision to use the image on the cover at all attests to the Rail's commitment to critical perspectives on art.

High-Resolution

Opening Night @ Charlie James Gallery in LA

2009-10-30T13:27:00.000-04:00

A shot of Submerged Artist and producer Craig Platt talking with friends. Thanks to Jade Townsend for helping make the artist's leg.

Dealer Charlie James and a friend of the gallery.

My wife Kristen and an old friend from her days at Marc Jacobs outside the gallery on Chung King Rd.

Exhibition Catalog

2009-10-18T17:18:00.001-04:00

Charlie James Gallery has published an online catalog for my new show, No One Here Gets Out Alive, available here. If you are in LA, please check out the opening Saturday October 24th from 6 - 9 at Charlie James Gallery, 975 Chung King Rd.

LA Show opening October 24th @ Charlie James Gallery

2009-10-09T14:48:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WILLIAM POWHIDA - No One Here Gets Out Alive
October 24, 2009 THRU December 5, 2009
Reception October 24 6-9p

Charlie James Gallery is well, completely fucked. After a run of solid, well-reviewed shows, we regretfully announce that is over with New York artist William Powhida’s first LA solo show No One Here Gets Out Alive. Admittedly, we agreed to give Powhida a solo show after seeing one drawing at Pulse in New York and thought his sense of humor about art world politics would make a splash in LA. This was a bad idea. Powhida came out here in the spring and presented some ideas about ‘destroying LA’ in his words, which we all laughed off as fodder for the voice of his first person, sycophantic, rage venting rants about perceived injustices in the art world. Or maybe we though Powhida was referencing the fictional perspective of his alter-ego, a coddled, enfant-terrible ‘art star’ also named William Powhida. We don’t know. We got really confused.
             Then, we flew Powhida out to LA again to shoot a video for the show. He showed up looking exhausted and spent several days hanging out with some questionable people. At the end of the week he claimed to have produced some sort of ‘movie’ involving the decadent lifestyle of his petulant, narcissistic, and debauched alter-ego. The thing is, we’ve come to believe that Powhida did nothing but spend our money drinking, hanging out at strip clubs, and possibly doing drugs with the ‘actors’ and his so-called producer. In fact, we never saw him filming at all.
            All summer we’ve nervously waited for anything from the artist, who dodged most of our calls and failed to reply to our emails unless we put ‘money’, ‘check’, or ‘sale’ in the subject line. Powhida sent us one drawing about how screwed the art world is and basically vanished. Since we couldn’t press another artist into filling the slot on short notice, we held out for some images, video, or correspondence from the artist’s Brooklyn studio.
            Finally, we got a fucking leg (sorry) in the mail with vague instructions about installing it in a ‘filthy’ claw foot bathtub. We were frightened. Then a cardboard box showed up filled up with articles, press releases, lists, maps, charts, and letters documenting an insane narrative about ‘William Powhida’ being acquired by the Broad Art Foundation, destroying part of the collection, being impersonated by an actor, and then disappearing. The whole thing suggests something terrible may have happened to the artist, but we don’t really know. We’ve not heard from him since, except for a trailer about a film by Steven Soderbergh that showed up via courier a few days ago. Frankly, we don’t know what to make of any of it, and hope that you won’t take any of it seriously or judge us too harshly for fulfilling our agreement to exhibit the artist. His other galleries arethreatening us to go through with this. We are really sorry, in advance, for any trouble that this show may cause.

Special apologies to Eli Broad, Michael Govan (and everyone at LACMA), Jeff Koons, John Baldessari, Christopher Knight, Javier Peres, Steven Soderbergh, Mickey Rourke, New Line Cinema, The Sunset Marquis, Tony’s Restaurant, TMZ, 944 Magazine, the LA Weekly, and the City of Los Angeles.

Commenting FYI

2009-07-28T13:56:00.000-04:00

If you are not comfortable with your comments being re-posted on Qi Peng's blog please do not post them. I have been asked to remove comments related to my thoughts about Qi's ongoing project which seems to involve appropriating anything that mentions him, which will almost certainly include this post. Qi is adding them to his next book as well.

Qi Peng, Art Assassin @ Envoy Gallery

2009-07-18T18:23:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, a Qi Peng from Salt Lake City approached me about doing an interview via the 'Interweb' and being a democratic sort I consented. It was around this time in late February that my own art dealers actually asked me if I was Buck Naked, the artist behind How's My Dealing and the much loathed/loved Deathwatch. I mention that Buck Naked is artist in so far as s/he has said the blog will be auctioned off at some point. Good luck with that.

When Qi sent along his humorous and engaging interview questions, I ended up putting them off for a few weeks. They were going to be published in The Salt Lake City Examiner, which is actually just the local content for a website called examiner.com. I was concentrating on my solo show and promptly forgot about the questions. When I heard Qi was also interviewing Edward Winkleman, James Kalm, and Buck Naked I remembered the unanswered questions. At that point I became a little suspicious that whole thing might be a ruse to connect people commonly linked in some way by How's My Dealing and the minor controversy it caused last fall. I had a few beers and answered the questions aggressively and without a great deal of care. At the time I felt like I was about to step into a pile of shit.

After Qi published my interview along with the others, he also announced belatedly that they were part of an art project. This prompted even more questions about Qi Peng's motivations, considering that Buck Naked also declared that their blog was also an art project. I'm all for participatory art, but knowing whether you are answering questions for public knowledge or making someone else's art seems to be two very different things. Qi calls his interviews 'portraits', using language to render the subject. Qi also announced that the 'interview portraits' would be included in a self-published book detailing his exploits to become a 'conceptual artist'. Apparently, Qi arrived at this decision sometime in 2007.

The most brilliant thing Qi has done so far in his efforts to become a 'conceptual artist' has been to play on artists, dealers, and critics' desire for press and on some level their own vanity to see their name in print. While not everyone who participates in the interviews shares the latter motivation, it is important that many of the participants were unaware they were involved with anything other than journalism. By appealing to our ego and desire for recognition first as a journalist, Qi has been able to gain a wide audience within the portion of the art world with a significant web presence. It seems as if Qi's entire project grew out of intersections on How's My Dealing and spread viraly out through the blogosphere.

In the spring, I received a Facebook invitation for a show, We are Duchampions, at Envoy Enterprises. The invitation for the show included my photograph; one pulled from a Memorial Day Camping weekend in 2007 that a friend had tagged. I've still got the side burns from my fictional music career. People began to inquire if I was involved, which I wasn't. The image like everything Qi appropriates was pulled from the Internet. Qi, which is a pseudonym (his real name is Albert) has purposefully set about researching and documenting his progress from being an absolutely unknown artist in Salt Lake City to exhibiting in New York's Envoy gallery. This effort has included more than the interview process. He has also submitted his work to many well-known New York galleries and non-profits, as well as regional shows around the country. The resulting documentation is also included in the book and can be found on his flickr photo stream. He also began methodically documenting all of his financial transactions leading up to and during his trip to New York for the show. The constant stream of information prompted many people to 'silence' or defriend Qi on Facebook. They found it annoying without any context for the stream of data.

As the show approached I discovered not only was I on the invitation, Qi has also begun using my image from his series of art world baseball cards as his Twitter icon. Hrag Vartanian sent me a message wondering what exactly was going on. Knowing that Qi would be in the city for the show, I invited him over for a studio visit. I wanted to understand what the work was about and try to understand his intentions. He arrived early on the Saturday before his show, hanging out in the laundromat downstairs. When I showed up I met an eager young man in his early thirties. We talked for a hour or so in my dirty, cluttered studio while we exchanged ideas about participatory and critical art. I tried explaining that my work relied less on exhaustive research than my own subjective perception of the art world and that it's also a fictional narrative. I understand that a lot of people don't get that and (A) think I am the character, (B) think I might be the character, (C) worry for my safety/sanity, or (D) think I will eventually become the character. I'm okay with that kind uncertainty in my own art.

After talking with Qi for over an hour, I didn't feel that Qi had any sense of self-awareness of how he might be perceived by others and I wasn't getting a clear picture of what he was trying to do with the work. Qi seemed to be operating on two things, a passion for the recognition his interviews and art had brought him and a profound desire to meet all the people he had interviewed. He was bright and articulate with an analytical sense of humor, but he wasn't particularly critical of the art world itself. He seemed to be saying the right things, but I sensed he lacked any experience with the things he was talking about; a kind of knowledge without previous application.

I moved the conversation outside and went for a long walk to get my bicycle, which had a flat and needed to be repaired. Qi's intensity in the studio was a little unnerving, but I was also thoroughly hung over and unprepared for his utter sincerity amid the constant references to the ironies of contemporary art. I really don't consider myself a conceptual artist, but I really like ideas however bizarre. Anyway, after nearly 3 hours, Qi headed off to another visit leaving me with his 400+ page book and the vague sense that he was sort of like an alien who had learned everything about the language and culture of the people he was visiting by watching their television signals from space. Again, knowledge doesn't necessarily translate into comprehension without interaction and experience. Clearly, Qi had learned a great deal about his subject, the art world and it's players, but he had no experience of its inner workings or the people themselves. It made the social interaction a little awkward.

What I learned about Qi during the visit is that he moved to Salt Lake City from Queens a decade or so ago, and joined the Mormon Church to get into an art show. Apparently they are the only organized religion with their own juried art exhibit. He also mentioned he has worked as a computer programmer and has a background in chemistry. He indicated that he went to Yale for undergraduate work, though I don't think he studied art, maybe science. Qi also stated that he intended to make art about his conversion to Mormonism if he ever got into that exhibition or was picked up by a New York gallery. Otherwise, he seemed to have a lot of ideas and very little interest in the practice of making art. Qi's story is frankly so bizarre, I'm not sure if the person talking to me was revising his history in light of his decision to become Qi Peng, conceptual artist, or if it's just the kind of shit you can't make up.

The following week on a Tuesday, Qi presented all the documentation including his rejection letters (and his acceptance letter from Envoy) along with a series of prognostications, a fake obituary, and a wall drawing linking together his interview portraits. His book sat in a circle of yellow chairs, which Qi explained was a contemporary take on Stonehendge. As soon as I arrived, Qi began explaining everything in sight. While his enthusiasm was endearing, it quickly began to ruin any possibility of letting the art work have its own voice. It was simply drowned out by Qi's relentless explaining. This is a novice's mistake; the lack of confidence in the art to explain itself or retain its ambiguities for the audience to figure out.

At the show I also met artist Matt Jones, who has a similar, if not stranger account of a studio visit and art trade with Qi. Jones used to show with Jessica Buia Gallery before she fled town and declared bankruptcy. We have since spent some time discussing the oddness of our interactions with Qi and just how crazy his back story is. Critic James Kalm, bloggers Barry Hoggard and James Wagner (another interview subject unaware that it was anything more than journalism!), and artists John Coffelt, Jen Dalton, and Tom Sanford (both recently interviewed by Qi) all dropped to see the curious show.

The exhibition itself was part of Envoy's one day art exhibitions and Qi treated it very much like a temporary installation. He tapped/tacked his photocopied documents to the wall and connected them with sharpie wall drawings and works on paper. The few original works on paper included a flow chart/Monopoly game on how to assassinate Qi Peng and the complete exhibition history of Mixed Greens Gallery. I was surprised by the latter choice since Mixed Greens is a great gallery with little to complain about beyond maybe the J. Crew-like marketing of their editions (sorry Paige!), which they do to market art to younger, aspiring collectors. I love Mixed Greens, but perhaps Qi was focusing in on their marketing tactics, I don't know, but the choice to detail their inoffensive history mystified me. Anyway, the drawings themselves seemed inspired by Qi's stated influences; Mark Lombardi as well as Jen Dalton's flow-charts and graphs. I think my influence on his work included the fictional NY Times Obituary and some of the works anticipating future events. As a certain art writer likes to say "It looked like art."

His large scale installation of interviews, as Qi happily explained to everyone, was modeled on Mark Lombardi's obsessive and exhaustively researched global webs of high finance. Except here, the information that Qi labeled on the wall was obvious and failed to provide insight into the relationships between the subjects. The connections pointed out mundane things like "both make collage" and "both exhibited with so and so gallery." Having just made a large scale painting mapping out the art world myself, I could relate to the idea but not the execution or the content. In my opinion, the interviews are well worth reading if you want to know more about any of the subjects. He asks good questions, but I certainly thought that the connections in his wall drawing would have been more interesting just based on what he learned conducting the interviews. Qi's map could have been fascinating if he had just shown us all the Internet connections he found between the subjects; who is whose Facebook friend or which blogs connect them.

In the end, I felt felt that there seemed to be no real point-of-view behind the whole thing. Just a huge quantity of data about different subjects organized in a few disparate ways. Despite the artist's physical and very vocal presence in the gallery space, Qi Peng seemed absent or removed from the work itself. Even the obituary seemed contrived, outlining the passing of a character, not a person, because that would require some empathy for the character on the viewer's part. Qi Peng as a character is a sort of cipher or void that we aren't given any opportunity to develop a connection with. Without some unifying thesis or inquiry linking all the information, the show suffered from an ambiguity that goes far beyond who Qi Peng is, why I'm present in the work, or any of the artists he references. It doesn't make a case for its own existence or relevance as simply being so much information loosely contained in a montage format. Unlike the similarly disembodied Buck Naked, nothing Qi presented prompted visceral reactions from people like the Deathwatch evoked from Ed Winkleman. Instead Qi's work feels more like that of an obsessed fan, not a passionate critic.

Having been so closely associated with the show and having found so many potentially critical points of entry, I was a little disappointed with the exhibition. After all, I'm on his business cards, promotional materials, and twitter account in ways that ambiguously associate me with Qi Peng. I'm implicated in a project that shares similar themes as my work, but Qi's remains underdeveloped and lacking definiton, even as it continues to grow in quantity. Qi seems to have rules for everything he does, but he doesn't approach the level of commitment all of the artists he admires/competes with in producing the form for the art. There is no shortage of labor or effort, it just seems that it all went into the research and interviews as well as organizing all of it on flickr and in his book.

At this point, the concept is also unclear; which seems to be about representing the totality of the art world and reveal its social structure, but I'm not sure why. As with most conceptual art, this should be the strong point of Qi's work and not the form, but the main concept seems to be 'I want to become in important in the art world by meeting everyone in it.' By all accounts it seems to be going quite well for Qi, having created a growing network of artists, dealers, and critics who don't quite know what to make of the project(s) and are happy to be interviewed or see their face on a baseball card.

Having met Qi, I doubt he will stop and will continue to develop his body of work through the Internet and social networking sites until he has mapped every part of the art world he can gain access to. But by being implicated in the project, and having it suggested that it is my work, precludes me from writing an objective critique or simply saying nothing at all. I feel compelled to respond to work since someone might confuse it with my own. While I'm interested in uncertainty and complexity in work, as well as challenging authorship, this seems more about promoting art than creating it. Maybe it's incredibly selfish, but really, I'd like Qi's work to be about something more than trying to represent the entire 'Internet Artworld' if I'm implicated in its production.

I hope Qi finds the right form for his practice and figures out where he is in the work so that it feels like art (in addition to looking like art) and not be just so much information. I find it pretty comical that Qi sees himself as the 'art assassin', which is almost completely at odds with what he's doing. He's running the risk of becoming the 'art mascot' by lacking a critical edge to cut into the body of the art world he's exposing.

Finally Qi asked me to write a short introduction for his next book. I think he can pull something out of here for that, because I don't think it matters if I say yes or no. He can always attribute one to me as long as it's clear that there is an element of satire or parody in the work. While I encourage Qi's exploration and mapping of the art world visible from cyberspace, I also encourage him to discover his own voice within it and create a character that the audience can identify with. I think this will help Qi, or the artist behind the character, figure out how to filter all that information into something compelling, maybe even a Qi Peng that we really want to know. Then that obituary will resonate, even if it is fictional. We've certainly learned how much art world cares about it's most magnetic characters.

Dash Snow RIP

2009-07-14T13:41:00.001-04:00

In 2007, I exhibited this "Dear Dash Snow" letter in my exhibition that was partially a visceral reaction to the media celebration of his 'bohemian' lifestyle. Apparently, he is dead and this drawing is simply a sad reflection of art imitating life. While I probably longed for his career to die, it was impossibly intertwined with his life, and that was never the point of this work. How the art world and media celebrated both the art and the self-destruction.

Laugh It Off at Walter Maciel Gallery, LA

2009-06-19T16:45:00.001-04:00

For Immediate Release

Contact: Walter Maciel

310 839 1840, walter@waltermacielgallery.com

Laugh It Off

Curated by Jane Scott, Girl Wonder, Inc.

11 July – 22 August 2009

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 11^th, 6:00-8:00pm

The New York Times suggests we are living in the “Age of Nice.” It’s a good thing too, with GM bankrupt, Lehman Brothers dissolved and real estate prices tanking, it’s time for a cocktail and a good laugh. Laugh It Off is well timed comic relief guaranteed to take the stress out of your life. Just when you thought you couldn’t take another high brow, I don’t get it, how did he get that in the gallery kind of exhibit, this show is designed with a big “E” for everyone, like family entertainment for those with a wicked sense of humor and maybe even a bit of a dark side.

Take Kammy Roulner, whose agoraphobia shapes her world. Her response is to draw one of her own imaginings, peopled with artists as well as plain folk. She draws in a voice we can all relate to and her anticipated world seems all too familiar. Her take on life, art, even facial hair is so universal, and sarcastically funny, you’ll find yourself nodding in agreement.

Remember the happy face? Well if you do, you’re dating yourself, since it first appeared in 1971 and has barely been out of fashion since. Fletcher Smith, who has borrowed from pop culture icons since his student days at Pratt, has re-purposed smiley to literally make a point. Is this some punishing beach ware or a proposed symbol for the above referenced age of nice? Does the happy face perhaps have a darker side? In any case, it’s nice to know you can still buy happiness, in this installation anyways, by the row.

Laurie Hogin’s work is beautifully painted and chock-a-block full of allegories. Included in the show is an extraction from the piece What Ails Us: 100 Most Commonly Prescribed Pharmaceuticals, depicting perfectly rendered guinea pigs sporting the brand color of the pill each represents. The undertone here is society’s (meaning you and me, pal) excesses have created the need for many of these drugs. Look, you can even see some of the side effects manifest in the little guinea pig faces. Which is your favorite?

William Powhida is perhaps best known for his self-effacing (or is it self serving) rants about the art world, its people and its power. While we tried to reassure him that Market Crash was only a drawing, he was one step ahead of the game already predicting the future with stunning accuracy. He continues to be engrossed in making work from the future while focusing on other attributes that control the art market. With Bill, you draw your own conclusions, or he does it for you?

Oscar Cueto has established a reputation of creating tongue and cheek humor while also commenting on the powers of the universal contemporary art world. Imagine a scenario where famous artists and curators take to the ring and compete for the “World’s Best” title based on physical endurance. Included in the show is a four panel piece from the Superheroes series which portrays international artists Paul McCarthy and Moriko Mori duking it out with the European curator Vasif Kortun and Cueto himself, all dressed in their unique superhero garb. Can you take on these heroes of the art world?

Using his signature felt medium, James Gobel creates paintings that comment on the “bear” culture in the gay community. The show will include an ornate portrait of a bearded gentlemen adorned in a John Deere t-shirt with suspenders resting atop his bulging belly. The figure is cleverly posed on a Victorian bench leaning on a side table and holding a bundle of lit candles. Perhaps he is propositioning some sort of kinky hot wax play or is he simply resting in a comfy pose waiting to wish you a very happy birthday with candles for your cake.

Archie Scott Gobber challenges the notion of language using a formal presentation of painterly notions. The show will feature two paintings, one entitled Paid My Mortgage and the other Gol Dam America which stylistically display a meaningful phrase so that specific letters overlap to be read in different ways. Using the power of language, Gobber asks you to provide authorship through the filter of life experiences, personal beliefs and unique circumstances. Words should not always be taken at face value…or should they?

Remember when you were a kid and your security blanket was your favorite stuffed animal. Robb Putnam’s sculptures are life size versions of these toys made from blankets, shirts, fake fur, rags, plastic garbage bags and leather scraps. The sculptures may stem from playful, whimsical characters, but they take on a new physicality when enlarged to a human scale thus making them precarious in their statute and psychologically vulnerable. No longer cuddly, the monstrous overgrown toys become misfits whose demeanors both invite and repel us. "Mommy, Mommy, my Teddy Bear wants to eat me."

Lezley Saar’s intricate drawings and photo collages visually interpret her observations of her highly autistic teenage daughter. Referencing a Surrealist format, the large scale drawings of fantastical environments are linked together by various stems and roots of imaginative plant life. The networks lead to bubbles of visual information within obsessively patterned borders. The bubbles often function as faces of animated characters attached to limbs, tentacles and tails. Saar’s drawings take us on a nostalgic ride into the mysterious land the same way the innocuous tunnel lead Alice into Wonderland.

All in all, Laugh It Off is the feel good show of summer and who can’t afford a good laugh!

The gallery is located at 2642 S. La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles and is open from Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm. Please visit the gallery website at www.waltermacielgallery.com for further information.

The Writing is on the Wall Now Available

2009-06-13T13:34:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to announce that the narrative texts from my show, The Writing Is on the Wall, are now available in book format through Blurb.com. The soft cover version is $24.95 and the much nicer hardcover version is $34.95, which I definitely recommend. Some of the original handmade notebook pages are still available and are also available as limited edition prints through Schroeder Romero Gallery.

Now that I have a handle on this self-publishing thing, I will be working on some catalogs of my work that will be available this summer.

Bushwick Don't Worry

2009-06-10T09:18:00.001-04:00

It's been a few days since I spent thirteen hours running around Bushwick and I've been thinking about some of the prevailing notions that I heard repeatedly on ~~my slog~~, my tour through the industrial stretches of the neighborhood. More than one artist sincerely mourned the end of "Bushwick" upon hearing that Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith were spotted touring the BOS and the Bushwick Biennial. At the opening for the Nurture Art leg of the Biennial, another artist I met in Miami bemoaned the end of the non-commercial freedom of Bushwick. Again and again I heard people muttering about "it" being over.

As I rode from studio building to gallery space to studio building, I will only agree that certain things are over in Bushwick. Pocket Utopia is over. Austin Thomas's two-year social art project space presented its Final Utopia and went out with a two-keg bang. Her space, which I only caught the tale end of, was a small, but vital hub in the neighborhood. It will be missed, mainly by the artists who exhibited and mingled there over the last two years and those who came to know it and Austin, who draws people together. She half-jokingly refers to herself as the Mother Theresa of the art world and when we go to openings together, she refers to me as her opposite. So, even as Pocket Utopia closes in Bushwick, I'm certain Austin will emerge elsewhere with new projects and I look forward to more awkward introductions from Austin to dealers like John Connelly.

Overpriced studios should also be over, notably Burr Dodd's criminally overpriced spaces at Brooklyn Fireproof East. Why? I saw a lot of studios for rent/share during my tour (and I see them daily on the Wyckoff Starr community board). The days of the vanity studio or the weekend studio are over. These were the kind of spaces rented by artists a few years out of undergrad or grad school working full-time jobs or raising children who find themselves still putting a check in the mail for a studio they see once a month. Sadly, there's also probably a lot of working artists that simply can't afford the absurd rents that studio landlords were able to charge over the last few years. Renting substandard studios seems to have become a full-time business out there. I can only hope that the practice is over in Bushwick. If you happen to rent at Brooklyn Fireproof; demand lower rent. I'm certain you can find equally comfortable digs anywhere to your liking in the neighborhood.

Apparently, car burning is also over in Bushwick. Artist Eric Trosko lamented the loss of regular explosions on the streets of Bushwick. He explained, as we walked between studios, that when he first moved to the neighborhood, he was treated to nightly explosions of stole cars and a general sense of lawless anarchy. He would smile as he told the stories, I think he genuinely missed the sense of being in a dangerous, marginal place without upscale coffee shops, organic (overpriced) markets, and wine shops. Artist Ken Madore also told Eric and I two amazing stories about being mugged and witnessing a second mugging right in the entryway to his home on Broadway. The muggings involved crackheads, valiant Mexicans, corrupt cops, a pretty white girl from Kansas, dazed witnesses, box cutters, shovels, hammers, bicycles, non-existent watches, and primarily the cultural differences wrought by gentrification. The muggings really weren't about stark class differences, Ken and his roommates are working artists living in a ramshackle building. They are not yuppies in shiny new condos. They were mugged because they were white kids, artists, living in an area that doesn't want them and may resent their presence. While the muggings occured a couple of years ago, Ken's studio/residence is in a densely populated area right near the JMZ stop, which is higher risk than the desolate stretches between Morgan and Jefferson. Ken was inspired to share his mugging stories with us after he heard that Grace Space or Lumenhouse, right down the street, had been visited by five plain clothes cops who inquired about illegal liquor sales. When the galleries indicated that they were not selling liquor the cops said they would be back to check because "they didn't want to see a bunch of drunk white kids get mugged late at night and cause them a headache". While the days of cars burning in the streets are over (for now), there is still plenty of cultural friction in Bushwick between residents and artists.

What really isn't over is Bushwick's freedom from commercialism, commodification, and money. A few short years ago if Jerry and Roberta had toured BOS and written it up in New York Magazine and/or the Times, a small army of town cars would have descended upon the next round of openings for small, yet interesting shows like Fortress To Solitude at 56 Bogart Street curated by Guillermo Creus, ready to assimilate Bushwick right into their collections. Curators and dealers may have also swarmed the open studios looking for artists to keep Chelsea and the art fairs swollen with work. (Un)Fortunately this isn't happening.

Collectors are selling art, not buying it. Galleries are closing and shedding artists, not expanding, and studio buildings are losing artists, not gaining them. Many artists I talked to were clearly worried that their community was under some kind of attack by the commercial art world, and that soon it would be overrun with the kind of hype and expectation that washed out Williamsburg four years ago. I don't think anyone in Bushwick should be worried about "it" being over. You are totally safe to continue working in relatively safety and obscurity.

But behind the desire for an open, experimental, artist-centered community, I also felt really bad for the artists in Bushwick. Despite their protests about the scene being overrun, I thought there was a certain disingenuousness to that sentiment. I've met a lot of artists who dislike and distrust the art market, but they still sell their work. Conversely, I've met very few artists who won't sell their work. I also don't know many artists who don't want to make their work public even if they don't make saleable objects. I can understand artists wanting to keep Bushwick about production, process, performance, and possibilities for exhibition, but it's not a hidden space. I think it's a fallacy to think that it can be an exclusionary community that only includes its own cliques. That's absurd. In the end, I felt sort of terrible for the artists, unknown and emerging, working hard in their Bushwick spaces with the contradictory feelings of resisting the art market that wasn't coming, won't be coming and wanting a break. They seemed to be worried about a fight that has no adversary, or one that no longer exists. So, I'm left with images of artists sitting in their studios pleasantly smiling, talking with people interested in art, and hoping for something that probably won't happen.

It's not hopeless though. There are several gallery spaces and temporary exhibitions are happening with greater frequency. While I am aware that there artists who consciously avoid the market, there are many more artists who are looking for alternatives and better situations. It's the mindset that produced spaces like Pierogi and Parker's Box in Williamsburg (not Roebling Hall or Bellwether). An artist I've met through a show at Momenta, Jason Irwin, has been running Privateer Gallery for a few shows now, and it's spaces like his that will create opportunities for artists.

That said, I got to talk with Benjamin Evans, the director of Nuture Art, who organized the Bushwick Biennial. I was giving him shit about the velvet ropes outside the gallery and its embarrassingly maternal name (like it wants to hug you), when he explained that whole thing was supposed to be a joke on the pervasiveness of Biennials and the importance of scenes in the art world (We were pretty bombed so I'm half-summarizing/half surmising). He assumed that everyone would understand what a joke the concept of Bushwick Biennial was and how it ran counter to its identity as a DIY, independent neighborhood. He was more than a little upset with the superserious way people were taking the BOS and Biennial, and we both agreed that there was an undercurrent of hypocrisy being expressed by artists. It's one that I'm familiar with and accused of all the time; wanting to be critical of the establishment and desiring of acceptance. I've never said that I didn't want to be part of it, I may have said I wanted to destroy it, but I've always been working my in. It's just that I don't stop talking about it, so it's at the art world's risk to allow me further up the ladder. I don't pretend to be better than the art world, I'm part of and product of it, going all the way back to my first classes in undergrad where all the expectations and delusions were born.

I understood Ben's ambivalence about his own curatorial effort and his frustration with the artists, but his is a curatorial perspective. The artists I knew in the various exhibitions were not participating because the notion of the Biennial is a joke, or an anti-Younger Than Jesus. They were showing their work because they believe in it and are seeking recognition, a solo show, a group show, a collector, or any of the reasons artists put themselves on display for the public. I certaintly wouldn't want my work framed broadly as a joke on the rampant commodification of art of the last decade if I wasn't part of it, as many of the artists I met were not. I'm probably not being clear, but I'm trying to point out a friction that exists between how Bushwick is perceived and what people are trying to do there in this post-boom economy. The pressures the artists have been resisting consciously are greatly reduced, just as are the opportunities that existed. The art world is a mess, topsy-turvy and I think people should recognize that fundamental shift. I think Bushwick needs more artist-run exhibitions spaces, not focused on sales (maybe some basic professionalism like set hours) and start showing more art. There isn't much to rail against right now and every reason to work collectively to make vibrant scene that isn't treated like a joke. Why not? You're probably not going to sell anything or make money anyway. We may never see the kind of illusory money that inflated the art world for some time. To make art, people will have to be more creative and probably work a lot harder than we've been used to.

Update: Check out Gina B's comments on the relative "safety" of the Morgan area. It's not immune from crime. Also, thanks to Austin for getting me to revise my terrible spelling. My writing has gotten rusty in the twitter age. And finally, I am working a curatorial project about art and magic, or maybe just our belief in art as magic for a show next summer. I'm open to do studio visits around that project and there are other opportunities on the horizon. I'm also just open to doing studio visits to get out of mine.

The Writing Is On The Wall

2009-06-03T16:14:00.001-04:00

Things have been relatively quiet following the end of the show, but I'm back in studio working on a show for Charles James Gallery in LA this October. In the meantime, I'm also preparing to publish a book version of the texts from my show, which will be available in about two weeks online in soft cover and hard cover.

I'll be out and about in Bushwick this weekend and since I moved there last fall, I'm looking forward to seeing the work going in the neighborhood. Definitely will check out The Bushwick Biennial, Pocket Utopia, and Syracuse alum Ken Madore's studio, which is listed on the open studio map. If you have a bicycle, ride out there because the L train is shut down between Lorimer Street and Myrtle Ave this weekend, and every weekend through the end of June. Track work.

Jen Dalton and I are also starting work on Condolensces: Volume 2, which will be made available through Compound Editions.

Contemporary Art and Portraiture

2009-05-04T18:48:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to announce my participation in a group show organized around contemporary uses of portraiture by Cristin Tierney Fine Art Advisory Services. I helped install seven paintings along with my video, A Study for Sofia Coppola's Film: Powhida this afternoon in Cristin's new exhibition spaces at 547 West 27th St. The work was originally shown as part of a solo exhibition at Haines Gallery in San Francisco. The show has a great line up including Joe Fig, Sebastiaan Bremmer, Jennifer Dalton, and Danica Phelps. The artists address portraiture from a critical distance. My contributions are portraits of the actors and actresses playing fictional versions of real and imaginary characters. The portraits are accompanied by the 13 minute video. Please join us for the opening on Friday. Despite these dark times, there might even be some cocktails.

CRISTIN TIERNEY FINE ART ADVISORY SERVICES

Presents

Themes and Variations:

On the Use of Repetition in 21st Century Art

an exhibition featuring the work of Joe Fig, Robert Lazzarini, Ryan McGinness, David

Opdyke, Catherine Ross, Eve Sussman and the Rufus Corporation and Mark Dean Veca

548 West 28th Street, 2nd floor (Tuesday through Saturday, 12-6 pm)

and

Contemporary Art and Portraiture

featuring the work of Melanie Baker, Sebastiaan Bremer, Jennifer Dalton, Joe Fig,

Markus Hansen, Joan Linder, Danica Phelps, William Powhida and Jean Shin

547 West 27th Street, 6th floor (Tuesday through Saturday, 12-6 pm)

May 8th through June 13th, 2009

opening reception Friday, May 8th, from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm

New Publications

2009-04-30T08:34:00.000-04:00

In addition to my current show my work has been reproduced in two publications. New York Magazine gamely ran Post-Boom Odds drawing produced for Ben Tischer as part of the Artist of the Month Club. The drawing was subjected to the scrutiny of anonymous art world insiders who weighed in on my predictions. It's in this week's issue in the Opportunists Guide section. You can check it out at http://bitly.com/IqYc9 where you can offer your own predicitons, but probably not without identifying yourself in some manner.

Also, Golden Handcuffs Review, a journal of literary satire, published by Lou Rowan will be debuting soon and copies are available now at Schroeder Romero. The project was initially a longer piece of fiction that I whittled down to a six page list with an introduction and epilogue after Lou asked me to contribute following my show in Seattle last fall.

Commenting Machine

2009-04-22T13:29:00.001-04:00

In 1993, Tim Hawkinson created his Signature Chair, a machine that churns out his signature questioning the nature of artistic identity and consciousness. In 2009, I present Commenting Machine, an art work which induces anonymous people to assume the identity of William Powhida and post comments in the artist's voice. I'm not sure it was harder to produce than Hawkinson's peice, at least technically, but it's taken years of annoying and shallow art to create the right conditions for Commenting Machine to come into existence.

William said...: You know Anon, I think you've really made me think. Maybe you helped me verbalize all my doubts. You really helped me move on. I am so glad you gave me all the attention. I just wish it was more positive. But hey, it's better then being ignored. I hope to have a new idea for some Art soon (note the capital A!).
Your Friend,
William.

Commenting Machine Number 1
Anonymous blogger, http://williampowhida.blogspot.com/2009/04/post-opening-malaise.html, previous work, hate
Dimensions unknown
2009
unlimited edition

William said...

Yes!!! I've won (ok, maybe I've just won the battle, not the war, I'm sure you'll defeat me at some point). I knew you'd try and use this all for your own work - it's just the type of Wanna be Sean Landers Cliche you'd pull, but the irony is your just posting my comments over and over for me and it's still not art!!! Yeah!! I love you willy. Thanks for getting me that show at Schroder and Romero. I look forward to seeing some drawings of my comments really soon. The thought of you spending time studying my blabber in order to render a silly drawing is amazing. Don't know if I'm willing to show in Seattle yet. I'm not down with no regional art scene. I had no idea they they are your primary dealers. Are you to good for 27th Street?
xoxo
William.

April 22, 2009 1:32 PM

Commenting Machine Number 2
Anonymous blogger, http://williampowhida.blogspot.com/2009/04/commenting-machine.html, previous work, hate
Dimensions unknown
2009
unlimited edition

William said...: Fine, you got me. I'm William Powhida.; April 23, 2009 7:05 PM

Commenting Machine Number 3 Anonymous blogger, http://williampowhida.blogspot.com/2009/04/commenting-machine.html, previous work, hate Dimensions unknown 2009 unlimited edition

william said...: I am xoxo William and I didn't write all these comments. Someone is ripping me off. WTF. Who is William #3? I'd like to invite you to the Hamptons for the William fan club tonight. All the artfag city peeps are coming. Mark Kostabi and Patrick Mimram are coming to.
xoxo
william; April 24, 2009 7:42 AM

Commenting Machine Number 4
Anonymous blogger, http://williampowhida.blogspot.com/2009/04/commenting-machine.html, previous work, hate
Dimensions unknown
2009
unlimited edition

william said...

I haven't died. I just need more fuel to move forward. Feels too much like masturbation to keep going by myself. Give me something good Willy and I'll give you plenty more to make your art with. Otherwise, you may force me into remission through boredom. I'll come back out when you start repeating yourself with some bad art and childish reads of contemporary theory. Or maybe I won't care enough to keep posting? But then if I don't play, it'd just be you and your crappy dealers sitting in your own feces (plus Eddy and Remsen). So sad.

April 29, 2009 6:48 PM

Commenting Machine Number 5
Anonymous blogger, http://williampowhida.blogspot.com/2009/04/commenting-machine.html, previous work, hate
Dimensions unknown
2009
unlimited edition

This is about the work

2009-04-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

From Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives:

There are books for when you're bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you're calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There are also books for when you're sad. And there are books for when you're happy. There are books for when you're thirsty for knowledge. And there are books for when you're desperate. The latter are the kind of books Ulises Lima and Belano wanted to write. A serious mistake, as we'll soon see. Let's take, for example, an average reader, a cool-headed, mature, educated man leading a more or less healthy life. A man who buys books and literary magazines. So there you have him. This man can read things that are written for when you're calm, but he can also read any other kind of book with a critical eye, dispassionately, without absurd or regrettable complicity. That's how I see it. I hope I'm not offending anyone. Now let's take the desperate reader, who is presumably the audience for the literature of desperation. What do we see? First: the reader is an adolescent or an immature adult, insecure, all nerves. He's the kind of fucking idiot (pardon my language) who committed suicide after reading Werther. Second: he's a limited reader. Why limited? That's easy: because he can only read the literature of desperation, or books for the desperate, which amounts to the same thing, the kind of person or freak who's unable to read all the way through In Search of Lost Time, for example, or The Magic Mountain (a paradigm of calm, serene, complete literature, in my humble opinion), or for that matter, Les Miserables or War and Peace. Am I making myself clear? Good. So I talked to them, warned them, alerted them to the dangers they were facing. It was like talking to a wall. Furthermore: desperate readers are like the California gold mines. Sooner or later they're exhausted! Why? It's obvious! One can't live one's whole life in desperation. In the end the body rebels, the pain becomes unbearable, lucidity gushes out in great cold spurts. The desperate reader (and especially the desperate poetry reader, who is insufferable, believe me) ends up by turning away from books. Inevitably he ends up becoming just plain desperate. Or he's cured! And then, as part of the regenerative process, he returns slowly - as if wrapped in swaddling cloths, as if under a rain of dissolved sedatives - he returns, as I was saying, to a literature written for cool, serene readers, with their heads set firmly on their shoulders. This is what's called (by me, if nobody else) the passage from adolescence to adulthood. And by that I don't mean that once someone has become a cool-headed reader he no longer reads books written for desperate readers. Of course he reads them! Especially if they're good or decent or recommended by a friend. But ultimately, they bore him! Ultimately, the literature of resentment, full of sharp instruments and lynched messiahs, doesn't pierce his heart the way a calm page, a carefully thought-out page, a technically perfect page does. I told them so. I warned them. I showed them the technically perfect page. I alerted them to the dangers. Don't exhaust the vein! Humility! Seek oneself, lose oneself in strange lands! But with a guiding line, with bread crumbs or white pebbles! And yet I was driven mad, driven mad by them, by my daughters, by Laura Damian, and so they didn't listen.

From Michelle Houellebecq's The Possibility of an Island

I don't mean that my sketches were unfunny; they were funny. I was, indeed, a cutting observer of contemporary reality; it was just that everything seemed so elementary to me, it seemed that so few things remained that could be observed in contemporary reality: we had simplified and pruned so much, broken so many barriers, taboos, misplaced hopes, and false aspirations; truly, there was so little left. On the social level, there were the rich and the poor, with a few fragile links between them - the social ladder, a subject on which it was the done thing to joke; and the more serious possibility of being ruined. On the sexual level there were those who aroused desire, and those who did not: a tiny mechanism, with a few complications of modality (homosexuality, etc.) that could nevertheless be easily summarized as vanity and narcissistic competition, which had already been well described by the French moralists three centuries before. There were also, of course, the honest folk, whose who work, who ensure the effective production of wealth, also those who make sacrifices for their children-in a manner that is rather comic or, if you like, pathetic (but I was, above all, a comedian); those who have neither beauty in their youth, nor ambition later, nor riches ever but who hold on wholeheartedly, and more sincerely than anyone, to the values of beauty, youth, wealth, ambition, and sex; those who, in some kind way, make the sauce bind. Those people, I am afraid to say, could not constitute a subject. I did, however, include a few of them in my sketches to give diversity, and the reality effect; but I began all the same to get seriously tired. What's worse is that I was considered to be a humanist; a pretty abrasive humanist, but a humanist all the same.

Post-Opening Malaise

2009-04-11T18:39:00.000-04:00

Wow, thanks to everyone who made it out last night for the opening of my second solo show with Schroeder Romero. The reception was amazing, and watching people pour over my painting, "Relational Wall" was a blast. I'm humbled by the intense reactions people had with the show, and it was wonderful to hear feedback from real people with names and faces. My anonymous hater really doesn't have a clue what it's like to produce this work and the level of identification people have with it. While it's one thing to toss anonymous stones at me, I prefer to heave cinder blocks into the system with my name scrawled across them. Ed Winkleman and Paige West continue to be huge supporters of my work, and in particular their ability to see it in the broader context of the art world. Ed continues to admire Dana Schutz's paintings which have never really been part of the critique. I've just been fascinated with the way painting continues to re-invent itself as the standard bearer of contemporary art despite the continuous critical and theoretical assault on Modernism and traditional aesthetics. With Schutz it's also the way her work skyrocketed in value, even as her most recent show looks markedly like someone trying to develop a new language. I don't envy the pressure to continue to produce half-million dollar paintings and find room to grow. While I continue to deal with similar themes in my new show as the last one two years ago, there are different modes of representation from the "Relational Wall" to my narrative series "Withdrawal" that continue to explore new aspects of narrative in art. Plus, I never expected to have as much success as I've had, so I'm always a little surprised to continue to have opportunities to exhibit and explore the ways in which we construct value in the art world. Last night was something of a balm for the self-doubt I always feel about getting specific with my work. Thanks to Thomas, Tom, Josh, Jen, Max, Lisa, Sara Jo, Jade, and Bill for helping me get the show together at various points along the way.

The Writing is on the Wall

2009-04-08T18:11:00.001-04:00

My second solo show with Schroeder Romero opens this Friday from 6 - 8 pm at the gallery located at 637 W 27th Street. Actually it opens April 10th 2010, but art can time travel. SchroRoWinkleFeuerBooneRosenGosian Gallery will also be opening in their new gallery space in the year 2012 offering unlimited non-archival ink jet prints of several of their prominent (surviving) artists for $500,000 ($20 2009) dollars.

Gallery Press Release

WE ARE GOING GREEN!
To receive future exhibition announcements, please email lisa@schroederromero.com and/or sarajo@schroederromero.com

SCHROEDER ROMERO
637 WEST 27TH STREET GROUND FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10001
(212) 630-0722 www.schroederromero.com
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WILLIAM POWHIDA
The Writing is on the Wall

April 10 - May 16, 2009; Opening Reception: Friday, April 10, 6-8pm

Oh, for fuck’s sake, he’s back and up to his crazy shit again. William Powhida has once again put us in a totally awkward position as his dealers. He is asking us to show a body of work that he claims was produced by William Powhida sometime in late 2009. We realize it is only April. What the fuck? Right? We aren’t even really sure we understand him, but William claims to have William’s reflections from his time locked in Thai jail for solicitation and drug charges while abroad on an NEA funded travel grant. Apparently (this is so weird) William underwent a difficult detoxification and documented it on paper. We are not shitting you. William even produced a NY Post cover and article verifying the events that haven’t even happened yet, which is just plainly ridiculous.

William has really gone bat shit crazy, making some sort of paranoid representation of the art world William produced after being freed from jail, and has expanded it into an installation of over 3,000 art world portraits. We tried to explain to him that it’s just not possible to show art from the future, but our special ‘little art star’ just stared at us. Are we missing something??? No, he’s obviously experiencing some kind of meltdown brought on by the economic collapse. We think he’s certain he might have had something to do with it and we tried to explain it wasn’t all his fault. Market Crash was just a drawing.

Unfortunately, we are, um, committed to the show based on what he told us he was going to do. He said something about a memoir and was vague about the details. UH, NO. We promise this is the LAST time we trust him. We are so embarrassed to have to do this, but we have to announce that we are pleased to present ‘The Writing Is on the Wall’ opening April 10, 2010 from 6–8pm opening this April 10, 2009 from 6–8pm. This is just absurd, but that is when he says the opening takes place and you know how ‘geniuses’ operate, totally weird, probably insane.

To make matters worse, William also collaborated on a project with Jennifer Dalton. They swear they received a fax time-stamped April 2012 from SchroRoWinkleFeuerBooneWildenRosenGosian Gallery regarding the opening of the last gallery in New York featuring unlimited editions of their work (and every artist still in New York). It’s really…we are at a loss for words. We are so mad at ourselves and Ed Winkleman for even suggesting they collaborate. The artists have provided us with the SRWFBWRG press release. It is a mortifying vision of our future. Please don’t be mad at us, we will show really serious art again soon. If only all of our artists were as thoughtful as Michael Waugh and Eric Heist we wouldn’t be in this position. So, for our sake, please come out and support us during this difficult time and just entertain Powhida, he is really fragile right now and we are just trying to be good art dealers.

- Lisa Schroeder and Sara Jo Romero

Psychosis

2009-04-04T21:48:00.000-04:00

Ug. I was just talking with Michael Waugh, who shares a studio here, and he mentioned an article in the Times that talks about the effects of isolation on primates, babies, prisoners, and apparently in my case, artists. One of the effects being psychosis. If I am experiencing psychosis, it should probably manifest itself in my show opening this coming Friday, The Writing is on the Wall, at Schroeder Romero. It's probably also evident in my ~~ranting~~ blogging. Anyway, I'll post more about the show soon and provide some visuals to support my claim that I am indeed having a solo show April 10th. Six days away now? Wow.

Dear Cary, whoever you are

2009-04-02T13:00:00.000-04:00

If you happen to be in San Francisco please stop by the opening of "I Want You To Want Me" at Marx/Zavattero Gallery Saturday April 4th from 6 - 8pm. The show looks pretty awesome and serves as partial response to Cary. I don't know who Cary is, be s/he asked the question...Anyway The San Francisco Weekly says some nice things here.

New York Times Blog Pos t on the Odds drawing. While I appreciate the press and I swore I'd stop whoring that drawing out, someone posted a frequently asked question that I thought I'd take a moment to respond at my leisure on my own blog where I don't have to respect the moderator's feelings. "Cary" asks:

Why is William Powhida such a hater? What has he contributed? 200-1 [this doubles my own estimate of 100-1, touche Cary, you should be my assistant]

Well Cary, I am a total hater. In fact, I think I hate you too for asking such a stupid ~~fucking~~ question. I am a hater because I can't stand most art, it's repellent, redundant, and cliche-ridden (even mine sometimes), and I think most of the privileged assholes who produce said art are self important douchebags (like me, but with a safety net called money). How's that? See this gross article in the New York Times about the Havana Biennial and artists like Delia Brown, although it ends on a more positive note talking about the work of Duke Riley, crazy man, who is not a self-important douchebag and lives his art. For real, unlike me who may or may not believe anything I am saying to you, dear Cary.

I love art history, though. It's a nice story with a limited amount of names to remember, because the rest of the artists, a vast, vast number, have faded into oblivion, lost to us forever. Your 200-1 odds that I will be remembered even in ten years in generous in the face of the real number of artists out there toiling in their studios seeking acknowledgment for their industry and passion.

Also, I have not contributed anything that you would find meaningful and have no plans to do that sort of thing, you know, make art that you will recognize because it is 'good' and 'smart'. Whatever, if you want to know what I've contributed, come to my solo show next Friday April 10th at Schroeder Romero from 6 - 8 pm and you can see for yourself what exactly I have contributed and why I have so much hate in my black, black heart. I don't know if I even have a heart. Something beats inside me...

So, Cary, I hope I have answered your thoughtful question. Now go sit in your corner.

Mixing it Up

2009-03-27T11:16:00.001-04:00

Potentially the title of this show refers to the possibilities my presence in the same show as Jules DeBalincourt presents. There is something disconcerting about being in the same shows/benefits as any of Zack Feuer's artists. I wonder what he must think, but it's probably something along the lines of "oh for fuck's sake!" Well, only Danica Phelps showed up at the Lower East Side Printshop Benefit Auction, but it might have been awkward for him to show up in support of Dana's donation since Danica is, well, on her own these days...

Press Release via Hunter:

Please join us for the opening of Mixing it Up: Recent Hunter MFAs Working in Combined Media

Thursday, April 2nd: from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Bertha & Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery.

Mixing It Up presents recent work by eleven alumni of Hunter College’s Masters in Fine Art program since 2000, including: Ian Burns, Jules de Balincourt, Helen Dennis, Ezra Johnson, Tom Kotik, Jessica Mein, Bjorn Meyer-Ebrecht, William Powhida, Asya Reznikov, Ryan Roa and Rosemary Williams.

For more information please visit: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/art/galleries

What are the Odds?

2009-03-13T16:13:00.000-04:00

I'll pimp out my drawing Post-Boom Odds one last time after some serious ~~whoring~~ exposure during Armory week. The drawing, which outlines my completely subjective odds of any art stars mattering in ten years is in Note To Self at Schroeder Romero. The drawing was made for Ben Tischer's Artist-of-the-Month Club print subscription and the beautiful, digital-ink jet version was displayed at Pulse. It picked up a bit of press, which I suspect is part of the reason Ben selected me for the project. I was happy to oblige him with some provocation and a little self-doubt. The subscription for AMC costs $2,400 and you get a print a month for 2009, including my antagonistic contribution, but you'll have to wait to find out who the rest of the participating artists are. I imagine they will make up for my lack of class. If you just want to get your hands on my print, I donated one of my artist's proofs to an upcoming silent auction.

Here's what people are saying (shameless self-promotion)

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/30700/chins-up-on-day-one-of-pulse/
http://men.style.com/news/blog/2009/03/looking-for-gre.html

Buck Naked unmasked? Nah...

2009-03-06T11:25:00.001-05:00

So, my Seattle dealer Stephen sends me an email saying "I didn't think you were Buck Naked..." with a link to an interview with Buck Naked of How's My Dealing by a writer named Qi Peng published on examiner.com out of Salt Lake City, Utah. The terse interview makes a couple of things clear. I'm not Buck Naked and it is indeed an art project. I feel bad for everyone who became so irate with the site, precisely because asking Buck Naked to alter it or change it is asking he or she to censor the work. Had people known it was initially an art project, it may have changed the nature of the site, although that didn't stop people from saying terrible shit for my parallel enemies/allies project. Still, How's My Dealing may very well be a brilliant relational artwork, creating a very social critique through others of the secretive nature of the art world and it's (awful) reliance on perception to drive business. The commercial system is largely revolting, thus my fucking work. Anyway, if people feel duped or had by How's My Dealing, I find it laughable that no one thought it might be an art project. Of the confusion about my participation, Qi Peng asks Buck Naked about why I might be a suspect? Buck Naked replies "William Powhida has a reputation for institutional critique within the commercial New York art world."

I love it. I didn't even do the fucking project, and yet, it seems so similar to what I've done or would do, that I manage to get something out of it anyway. So, if Buck Naked reveals him or herself, it will be great to share notes on harnessing the power of anonymous comments to paint a portrait of the art world. If not, I think the piece will be a stronger critique, but as a ~~whorish~~BRILLIANT art world figure, I would never be able to keep out of it. Since I've already been dragged into it, I'll stand in for Buck Naked on the institutional critique front until he or she ever steps forward to receive the brunt of ire from litigious dealers who feel defamed. I was actually talking with lawyer-blogger Jonathan Melber at Pulse yesterday who laughed at the threat of lawsuits, which would launch Buck Naked from art world insider to national sensation. The lawsuit, according to Melber, would have no merit, and the dealers would have to try and subpena the IP addresses of the anonymous comments, not Buck Naked, which is highly unlikely unless you are George Bush. It's a no-win situation for annoyed dealers, and will only advance Buck Naked's goal of auctioning off How's My Dealing when he or she is satisfied with work.

Oh, it's a brilliant move, but with the amount of loathing and hatred the site has generated, I am glad I didn't do it. I think I would have used the word art visibly, to ensure that the project had a framing device to call its function or certainty into question. Especially when the artist is relying on the work, the comments, of others to produce the piece. In the Enemies/Allies project, it was evident from inception that the comments would be used for an art project to allow the community to participate in the selection of enemies and allies of New York, but knowing that an artist was involved, suggesting the possibility of intention. With How's My Dealing, people were not privy to its meaning or possible meaning as art, and while Buck Naked's role is limited to some moderation of personal attacks there certainly was an ulterior motive, money. It is going to be auctioned after all. It's not an ideological or transparent move, which sort of negates the critique. Again, I'm not a purist (everything is always for sale), and I constantly undermine my work criticism by being an artist. How's My Dealing suggests is what the art world needs transparency, even if it comes from behind opaque identities, yet it was never transparent, at least to fraying dealers.

Strangely, Qi Peng also sent me a series of engaging questions to answer for his column, as well as Ed Winkleman who passionately defended that gallery system, although, I'm sure now regrets falling into an art trap. Peng must be very savvy, so I am looking back over the questions with a jaundiced eye thinking about motives, because interviews with Buck Naked, William Powhida, and Edward Winkleman are clearly all about exploring the various connections here.

Pulse looked nice yesterday. It always looks nice. Also, Jonathan Melber has a book for artists dealing with the market coming out at the end of the month but you can get it on Amazon.com already. It's called Art Work: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career. It's probably something I should read, or have read a long time ago. I wish it had a chapter called...

Note To Self

2009-02-23T16:14:00.000-05:00

I'm toiling away in the studio working on a solo show for April, but I have three drawings in Note To Self opening Friday from 7 - 9 at Schroeder Romero. The line up is awesome, including some of my favorite drawers, narrators, and ~~self-haters~~ self-reflectors...

Note To Self

Laura Ball, Amelia Biewald, Nancy Chunn, Dawn Clements

Mary Coble, Jennifer Dalton, Eric Heist, Laurie Hogin

Barry Hylton, Deborah Kass, David Kramer

Christina Mazzalupo, Jonathan Newman, William Powhida

Michael Schall, Guy Richards Smit

Jim Torok, Michael Waugh, Julie Weitz

February 27 - April 4, 2009

Opening reception: Friday, February 27, 6-8pm

Schroeder Romero is pleased to announce Note To Self a group exhibition featuring works on paper by artists using text-based and visual depictions of personal and universal reminders. How often has each of us blundered through a situation, only to reach the end, with painful lesson learned, archived for future reference? The artists in this exhibition make note of those lessons whether humiliating or hateful. Like notes for future reference, the works in this show remind each of us of human fallibility and the delicate relationship between past mistakes and our hope for a brighter future.

Some of the artists in this show make note of societal missteps, collective disasters such as wars, environmental degradation, or the herd mentality formed around mass media. Other artists form their work around personal recollections, childhood neuroses, or positive affirmations. Still others find that uncanny middle ground where the headlines meet homelife. Ranging from photographic documentation to allegorical representation to straightforward note-taking, Note to Self narrates the complicated path toward self-knowledge.

How's My Dealing

2009-02-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

Someone contacted me on Facebook the other day and asked if I was Buck Naked from How's My Dealing?. The answer is no. I would like to think that my enemies/allies lists and projects may have served as some sort of inspiration for Buck Naked, but I've learned to make my attacks on the art world part of my art. I applaud Buck Naked for creating an open channel of communication for disgruntled dealers and artists, but if I were doing the project, I'd be sure to get some fucking credit.

So, I am not Buck Naked. It's not my blog. I do think it's an interesting bit of gossip and speculation, but without any verifiable sources, all the information remains just that, gossip and speculation. The fact that it seems to get so much attention is more indicative of how the art world operates than anything else. I would note that having been once again accused of being Buck Naked, (my own art dealer asked a few weeks ago), I stopped by the site today and scanned the death watch. Apparently back in October, someone said Schroeder Romero was closing. It's not, unless they are just shielding me from the awful truth. Also, Zach really did cut his roster of artists. My assistant was just telling me how they were discussing the purge in grad school. Word moves fast, but you can verify it on his website.

Finally, it was more like a wake at Guild and Greyskhul last night than an opening. All the shaggy haired peoples of the world came out to pay their respects to the Deitch farm team. It was sort of pathetic and sad all at once. Sorry kids.

Art Lies

2009-01-28T14:40:00.000-05:00

Publication is an amazing way to get the work out there especially to new audiences who have yet to experience the ~~'mutant toddler'~~ GENIUS, William Powhida. Art Lies, a very smart journal (well most of the time) out of Houston, Texas published several works including two, Whitney Rejection Letter and Conditional Painting, that were only on display to the public during PulseNY 2008. The short public (free) lifespan of art fair art is one of the drawbacks of being an art fair ~~whore~~ participant like myself. I love art fairs, they put very different galleries on equal footing for a few days. They break down the strict perception of power based on geography (like whether your gallery based in Austin or if it isn't ground floor in Chelsea, which may feel like being in Austin...) Hopefully, the fairs will adjust their prices and to remain economically viable in these dark days of economic ruin. If they aren't responsive to the market, they will probably disappear.

That little rant aside, Art Lies extended the life span of my work past the fair expiration date by including it in the issue Death of the Curator. Editor Anjali Gupta, tired of the perpetual, protracted death of _________________ (insert whatever is becoming tired) decided to take a different approach. I'd like to think my work implicates the curator as part of the problem over the last six years of fun in the sun. I'm sure you can think of a few examples. Anyway, Art Lies kicks ass and I hope to work with them again in the near future.

On being the lemon...

2009-01-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

I'd like to make sure that I also take responsibility for the Lemonade Stand getting edited. It's not a stretch to see that the implicit critique of the Lemonade Stand, art as a service economy for the wealthy, was overshadowed by the drunken antics of four artists. It's also possible that our critique was obliterated by being jackasses. My feelings are just that, feelings that stem from the fact that I wasn't really part of any discussion with the fair about the illegal bar aspect. Jade talked with the powers that be, and we acted as discreetly as possible for the following two days of the fair and felt that the booth continued to function as a social hub for gossip, advice, and critique. It wasn't the most pleasant environment, Miami in general, with anxiety running high over the impact of the economic downturn affecting everyone. Previous years in Miami had the atmosphere akin to spring break for the art world, and idea for the stand grew out of response to those conditions, a non-vip hub, a break from the pomp that we debuted at the NADA county affair this past July. We ran an illegal bar there under the guise of a Lemonade Stand, and were far more discreet about the booze than we were at Pulse. At Pulse, we thought everyone understood what we were up to and made little or no attempt at being discreet. I think we mistook participation for sanction. This is squarely our fault, and it's easy to see the flip side to my rant. We ~~looked like~~ were drunken hooligans having a party while the dealers and the fair itself were conducting business, very anxious business that both Jade and I sincerely hoped to bring some levity to as artists. Pulse is a fantastic fair full of great galleries run by some awesome people who were dealing with shit way beyond their control, apparently anyone's control at this point. I'm grateful, if that's even possible to say, to Pulse for letting us fuck up their fair. This is one of those moments where I am the douche bag. So, in an effort to not be a VH1 behind the music asshole, I've made some amendments to my original post, but I think it's worth leaving the whole mess intact...

It's a Lemon After All

2009-01-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've been in hiding after Miami since the lemonade stand at Pulse was partially shut down. Jade Townsend and I went down to Miami to sell Lemonade and brown liquor in our signature art cups while bringing the threat of social anarchy to the well-heeled proceedings. Unfortunately, the threat of social anarchy turned into straight up social anarchy when one of our guest artists drank too much of the special brown lemonade (the n' shit part of the operation) and went down for the count, tattooed and shirtless, for three hours in the sun.
As the first day of the Lemonade stand wore on, the sight of our friend Doug, who I tried to partially obscure with a clear plastic chair and my shirt, did not go over well with the authorities at Pulse. Then, at the end of the evening, I emptied the bucket of the day's lemons on the lawn. It added a bit of color and irreverence to the scene ~~without causing any damage~~ This was stupid. We actually gave the grounds crew some cash and apologized. They cleaned up before we got there at 8am.
The next morning, when Jade and I arrived at Pulse, we were told to stop serving the special brown lemonade. We were informed that there was a misunderstanding about the nature of the project. This was bit of a shock since our project description clearly explained the nature of our Lemonade Stand.

Jade Townsend and William Powhida
Lemonade Stand
Represented by Shroeder Romero

Jade Townsend and William Powhida’s Lemonade Crate will serve as an illegal bar at the art fair, where artists, dealers, and the public will be able to stop and share a drink and perhaps some gossip. The artists will also include an expanded lineup of activities and merchandise such as art cups, original t-shirts, custom art fair guides, art buying advice, and counseling for bitter artists and depressed dealers. - from Pulse-art.com

~~What part of 'illegal bar' did not they not understand?~~ This is pretty clear, they didn't expect to see the cheapest Whiskey we could find in Miami on the stand or a dude passed out in the grass. While I appreciate Pulse's diplomatic efforts to keep us from embarrassing ourselves further, we thought our statement made it clear that we were going to 'share a drink and perhaps some gossip'. Indeed, we heard plenty of gossip and shared several drinks Friday with depressed dealers who hadn't made any sales and were considering their career options. We also provided a great deal of advice and counseling while we tended the stand. ~~It's unfortunate that a little punk spirit elicited a very tight-lipped response from the fair.~~ This is harsh, they were quiet about it and didn't yell at us. Jade and I continued to run the stand ~~like shamed third-graders~~ like two dudes who felt liked shit, explaining that there was no more n'shit, just ice-cold lemonade and ridiculously bad art cups (If anyone has photographs of their art cups, the cheapest original art in Miami, please email them to me.)

In the end, our efforts to subvert the carefully groomed presentation of wealth, power, and taste was relatively minor. As my art dealer Sara Jo Romero put it Saturday afternoon "There are billionaires walking around and there's a shirtless dude with tats passed out in the cafe. Doesn't look good." Despite our initial despondence about being edited, we decided not to pack up the crate and push it down to Scope where our sideshow may have been more appropriate, although I'm not sure we would have been welcomed. We ended up serving a lot of lemonade and having a good time interacting with the humans that approached us in our little patch of grass. ~~I totally understand how a dealer feels, like a goat at petting zoo waiting for some oats.~~ I have no idea what it feels like to invest thousands of dollars and hope for days that it pans out. I only know the stress of the artist praying for a sale. One old dude hung around a bit observing the scene and said "You fellows made my day."
Unfortunatley, my friend Eric Doeringer didn't have much luck in Miami this year after we tried to smuggle him into Pulse as part of our expanded lineup. ~~He was politely asked to relocate~~ he was already told it wasn't cool, but we tried anyway, and was initially let into Scope to sell his bootlegs, but was then quickly asked to leave out of consideration to the dealers. Apparently, Doeringer's reasonable prices were undercutting the $10,000 price point, which should be gone this time next year.

I suppose my ambivalence about the lemonade stand, which Pulse kindly disposed of for us, stems largely from the fact that we were an unpleasant surprise to the fair; that they seemed embarrased. I'm also disappointed in myself and my lack of integrity for caving in without even a fight. I think I muttered something like "fuck that shit, let's bail," before Jade told me to take it easyt. Clearly, I see that we didn't need a dude passed out or have to fling lemons about, but we didn't even try and be an illegal, illegal bar and get shut down or kicked out for real. At least then I wouldn't feel like the yuppie loser that I am, which leads me to Ana Finel Honigman's introduction to our interview with my character, William Powhida.

The Bastard's Studio, 2008

Honigman makes it clear what William Powhida is "a fully formed douche-bag fame-sucking "art star" performance persona straight out of Bret Easton Ellis's oeuvre. His drawings, performances and writings depict Powhida as a mutant toddler who ingests intoxicating substances and spews out emotional crap." ( I can't wait until that description pops up during google searches) Honignman also, and aptly, makes the Ellis connection I have been intentionally mining for the last few years. I included a small portrait of Ellis in my painting, The Bastard's Studio, and have referenced his work in a few other pieces including my Artforum Top Ten drawing. The text from the drawing states:

The different sections of this year's Whitney Biennial; Uncertain Identities and Unfixed Images, Lavish Abandon, Shock and Awe, and Screen Life sound like an introduction to Ellis's last three major novels, American Psycho, Glamorama, and Lunar Park. Whitney curator Chrissie Isles says of the Biennial's themes "in which culture is pre-occupied with the irrational, the religious, the darkm the erotic, and the violent filtered through a flawed sense of beauty." Ironically, it seems Ellis's themes, critically drubbed as brutal mysoginy and shallow beauty, have gained a certain prophetic currency. Shit, it wouldn't be hard to imagine Patrick Bateman resurfacing as an art dealer in Chelsea wearing Becky Smith's head as a hat and no one actually noticing in the sea of young, coked up stock brokers and piles of money.

Top Ten, watercolor and graphite on paper, 2006

Honigman also qoutes Ellis about his last novel, Lunar Park, which is about a Brett Easton Ellis, based on the 'fame sucking douchebag' the author became in the press. "I like the idea of a writer being haunted by his own creation," Bret Easton Ellis explained while promoting his meta-autiobiographical horror story Lunar Park, "especially if the writer resents the way the character defines him." Ellis remains synonymous with the greed and excess of the 80's, but his relevance to the last decade should be immeninetly clear. Having read Lunar Park he clearly resents the way the public and the media confused him with Patrick Bateman creating a third character that is part Ellis and part Batemen. It's obvious that I run that risk as well, if not more so, since there is no Patrick Bateman, only a William Powhida.

flickr photo by Eric Trosko circa 2005 titled "Drunk Bill 2"

It is real risk, considering that my work is often a mirror of the art world and I participate in it and am changed by it. Seriously, I should never hang out with Tom Sanford again, but they say write about what you know. Maybe I'm a method artist. My role in the Lemonade Stand was part of a performance, and the ambiguity between the representation of William Powhida, and the subject, creates an interesting uncertainty about who I am, what I am doing. While I don't particularly want to become the character (I know people who've suffered under Koons, and I watched Schnabel's meltdown on 60 minutes) the uncertainty of identity is what I am interested in beyond the obvious and sometimes funny art world critique. There is also a third voice in my work, the narrator, a tragic (and insane) figure trapped in the studio. The narrator is also unreliable, and can't be trusted, specifically when he is talking about William Powhida or me. Below is the introduction to a piece I recently finished for Golden Handcuffs Review, a literary journal that understands satire, where the narrative voice is full of hyperbole and absurdity.

The rest of the contribution, which you'll have to find Golden Handcuffs to read, elaborates on a very particular formula for literary success. Artistically, developing this narrative voice has been a major aspect of my art, and it is closer to fiction than visual art, if we are making disciplinary distinctions. Writing, fiction and non, has been part of my craft since undergraduateand it became central to my work about five years ago. Developing the narrative voice in my work led to developing a fully-formed douche bag character like William Powhida. I'm not worried about people confusing me with the character, unless I find myself becoming him. I'm still teaching and working in my freezing studio (people are disappointed when there aren't any strippers and coke and I just want heat) and I'm under no illusion that my modest success is permanent. But, I admit, it's the old problem, when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you. I suppose that's why there is so much humor in the work, because there is a lot of ugliness in the work/world. I'm also not a fucking saint; I get way too drunk and do some crazy shit, but I've also realized that no one cares about that narrative. I'm nobody, but it helps me empathize with the character I've created, to make him a believable reflection of various outsized characters in the art world. In the mean time, I get to draw and paint about my frustration, which has to do with life itself, not fame or fortune. Keep it. I'm pissed that I exist, and I'm okay with that.

Now that the art world has entered a more sober period of reflection and President Obama has called on all of us to take responsibility and put awhile childish things, I wonder if there will be room for a mutant toddler like Powhida. That must mean something very different for the real assholes out there like Hirst, Koons, and Murakamim, but perhaps Powhida must die, or travel to the East in search of the inneffable, or quit drinking and go to rehab at Promises. I'm not sure exactly what will happen to Powhida, but he exists somewhere outside of normal time, in a possible future, where the WPA has been restored and artists actually have to work and whose art is judged not by the wealthiest few, but by our new Secretary of the Arts, Anna Wintour (oh shit, something has gone terribly wrong in the new golden age of transparency) I'm pretty certain that I'd be unhappy in my own personal utopia, so there's little doubt that at least my narrator will continue to rant and rave from his windoless cell in Williamsburg; desperate and cold. The project I did for Golden Handcuffs was a warm up and a harbinger of things to come. I've grown to understand that the art world operates on perceptions, and the new image of Chelsea is going to be upright and ethically centered, reducing their economic footprint. I expect there will be a more humble mood, replacing appearances of wealth and taste with that of intelligence and integrity. I say appearances because I don't think we'll see a real shift, just a new attitude to fit in with society and appear relevant. Part of me thinks that if Barack Obama studied the art market, he might vomit on his shoes and call for increased regulation. Remember, it's time for tough choices, and visual art has been the SUV of culture.

Here's some other random thoughts and quick hits about my work and my recent collaboration with Jen Dalton, another self-hating yuppie, Our Condolences: Volume 1 (which is NOT sold out, despite what you may read). We are developing volume 2, and I'm working on one for the small fish in the small pond because I really don't want to just look like an asshole, I must become one.

Aftermath: The Big Sales and Breakout Stars of Art Basel Miami Beach, Culture Vulture, NYmag
Artists William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton Send Their Condolences, Culture Vulture, NYmag
Bryan Hiott connecting my Conditional Painting, 2007 and Robert Morris's Document, 1963.
Modern Art Obsession on Aqua 08. Moa's quick hit on Platform's room at Aqua.
Pulse Quickens on Day Two, Art Info. "Our little artstar" Ack!
Highlighted on Artfoward

Anyway, I'm going to try and finally tackle Deleuze and Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus, after Ed Winkleman reminded me that the future is about the rhizome, the great connecting machine, that it's about experimentation, not progress. So, go read The Rumpus or something, my sometimes volunteer assistant Thomas is making lists there.

Three Shows and an Interview

2009-01-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

I've been a derelict blogger. Last season kicked my ass and then Miami happened. It's been a slow recovery from the Lemonade Stand at PULSE, but while I mend a bit Saatchi online has published an interview I did last fall with Ana Finel Honigman. Meanwhile, three friends are helping kick off the new season with shows that you should check out.

•Bill Abdale at Marvelli Gallery opened last night and gives Minimalism a subversive kick to the head. I'm particularly fond of Bill's death metal philosophy and his artist statement is all you need to know about it.

The rally, the rock concert, the holy book, the secret formula, the slogan, the hit single, the street team, the come-on, the cop, the oratory, the tabloid, the altar, the poster, the free cigarette, the spam email, the encore, the sermon, the security camera.

•Michael Waugh at Schroeder Romero opening tonight. Waugh is an artist I respect and admire who often makes me feel like the terrible artist I am. His show, The More I see of Men consists large and medium scale history drawings are rendered completely in handwritten script from presidential commissions.

"The Social Security Commission (part I)". 2008. Ink on Mylar, 42" x 80 1/2."

• Chris Rubino opening Saturday night at Heist Gallery in the LES. Rubino and I went to Syracuse University together. He's quietly transformed himself from an amazing designer into a serious artist. I missed his last show at Cashama, and am looking forward to seeing his new work.

Our Condolences: Volume 1

2008-11-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

Dear Art World,

These dark economic times can be extremely difficult on everyone involved from artists like myself and Jennifer Dalton (she's defying the market and actually doing amazing) to art dealers to important collectors. To that end our respective galleries decided to create a new collaborative project called Compound Editions to market art in novel and exciting (cheap!) ways. The galleries had the brilliant idea of getting Jen and I, long time, bitter rivals, to sit down and come up with a collaborative print. After a couple hours of increasingly morose talk about the bleak future our deeply cynical sides kicked back in and we came up with the idea of art world condolence cards (thanks to Mike Waugh for so gleefully getting in on the concepts for cards).

Hopefully, these dark little reflections will resonate with and bring comfort to the wounded art world. While Jen continues to enjoy art world success and be taken seriously, I felt like I was making the cards for myself. I really empathized with this project and understand your pain. If my career isn't buried in Miami, I hope Jen and I will be able to continue our collaborative efforts to prop up a mirror to the art world. The edition of 100 includes six evil condolence cards in a little black box for $150. You can order them at compoundeditions@gmail.com or buy them in Miami at Pulse, where I will be serving artist-made lemonade and the special 'brown lemonade' with artist Jade Townsend on Friday and Saturday near the cafe. Jen can't possibly compete with that project... well, except when she keeps selling hilarious, critical propositions to rich people.

Finally, I will be posting a coda to the Market Crash print which debuted a year ago in Miami in the next few days. I'm trying to coax the text back from the abyss into something suitable for mass consumption.

-Sincerely,

William Powhida

Art Market Bailout

2008-11-17T17:44:00.001-05:00

Congrats Barack

2008-11-05T00:27:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to take a second to commemorate this moment and welcome back dignity, intelligence, and diplomacy back to the United States. While I routinely fail to display those qualities myself, It's an awesome feeling to welcome it back into the White House. I hope that we will have patience with our new President as he tries to deal with the horrific decisions of the previous, unnameable administration, which has thoroughly abused the Constitution and brought shame to this country.

Tonight, I also go to bed knowing that the Supreme Court will not be allowed to complete its conservative shift towards Scalia's originalist (reactionary) thought. I hope Barack's victory will speed that fucker's retirement as he restores 'checks and balances' to our government that have been systematically dismantled and tossed aside for the last eight years. When Obama moves into the White House he should bring a young priest and an old priest and exorcise whatever demons linger there.

Cheers,

William

The Ballot Show

2008-10-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

In addition to the book fair, I'll be participating in Front Room Gallery's quadrennial Ballot Show this Friday from 7 - 9 in Williamsburg. The show addresses the notion of equitable choice in the electoral process, which has been greatly undermined since 2000, although electioneering has never been what I'd call fair. When asked to participate, I tried to enlist James Kalm to debate me on the merits of political art in the context of art history, but he declined due to time constraints.
Instead, I've decided to sidestep the whole issue of the ballot and put the emphasis on lobbying and special interests. At the opening, individuals can lobby me to make them a work of art. Lobbyists must submit a written proposal and I will briefly listen to it personally. Based on the proposals, I will decide which one is representative of my artistic platform and the lobbyist's interests.

So, if you are interested in acquiring a Powhida, this is a radically different way to get one than the through the market. Without directly addressing the political ideology of the left and right paradigms of Capitalism, I think there are some parallels to the way art and politics are dependent on big money, often in contradiciton of their principles.

I'm a bastard, so either give me cash or an idea that will catapault us into history! See you Friday.

Book Signing at the NY Art Book Fair

2008-10-21T16:30:00.000-04:00

For any early risers on Sunday, I'll be signing copies of my collaboration with Toronto based writer and freintor Jeff Parker between noon and 1 at the NY Art Book Fair. My only real stabs at writing fiction outside of the confines of my art were under Parker's brief guidance at Syracuse University, where he was a couple of years older and already had a BA. His office hours at the bar gave way to plain old drinking and we kicked around some ideas before I headed down to New York. Several years later, Parker asked me to do some drawings for a short story collection, The Back of the Line. The stories were rife with documents and the characters were all-too familiar, so I made a series of James' Drawings, which are some of my favorite drawings.

The book itself, looks like a ragged little chapbook and was designed by Stephen Lyons and John Jenkins at DECODE INC. They also published The Back of the Line as well as a new series of beautiful, art photography books including one by Jesse Burke who is signing at 4pm on Friday. If you are at the fair between noon and 1 on Sunday though, drop by and I'll put my stamp on yer copy. If not, you can always pick one up at the DECODE booth at the fair and track me down later.

Of the text, I'll say Parker's narrative cracks open the inner lives of the co-dependent protagonists and peers into their ramshackle little world of laundromats, cockateil ghosts, relationship interviews, moped vandalism, and life on the verge of responsibility. If social anarachy were the rule, not the exception, James would be a hero, but it isn't so he's not and that's why I like him so much. I had a great deal of fun authoring small details that extend and perhaps undermine the exploits of the fictional narrator and James, who is the kind of guy who'd date your ex-girlfriend and still come over for a beer. I'm not the most reliable narrator and neither is James.

By the way, Parker is also the author of Ovenman, a novel about a pizza cook who blacks out and sticks cryptic post-it notes on himself, which then, like the rest of his life, he must unravel and figure out each day. It's published by Tin House, and you can find it in book stores.

Artist Lecture

2008-10-03T18:10:00.000-04:00

I'll be giving a brief lecture on my obsession with the art market and perhaps Marina Abramovic this Sunday at the Bidonville Cafe in Fort Greene as myself, Bill Powhida, talking about William Powhida (I'm getting terribly confused).

What I think is that a good work of art must hold prediction, definitely, and that it must have that energy which cannot be rationally understood. - Marina Abramovic

Sunday, Oct. 5 @ 7:00 pm
Bidonville Cafe in Fort Greene
Willoughby Ave. (b/w Clermont & Adelphi)
Bklyn, NY 11205
718.855.4515
G or C train to Clinton/ Washington and march north

For more information, check out High, Low and in Between who has a nice post about the series.

Let the criticism begin

2008-09-28T11:56:00.000-04:00

As the market begins its slow tumble towards oblivion it seems critics will finally speak out about the flimsy premises on which the market operates. I hassled Ed Winkleman last week over his defense of 'squillionares', a term Michael Kimmelman used to describe the kind of rich collectors who buy questionable art. In that case, Kimmelman suggested the collector overpaid for a late Francis Bacon of dubious quality. Now, Charlie Finch, unsurprisingly, has laid out artist Liza Lou's newest offerings with this stinging observation on Artnet;

Well, Liza Lou, I knew you when the work of your hands sparkled at the New Museum and PPOW Gallery. Enjoy the money, because your soul has left the building.

Heaping criticism on artists isn't unsual for Finch, but I suspect that we will see the gloves come off over the next few months as competition heats up in the art world. As lots move to auction, and they will move to auction as crippled investors seek liquidity, we should start to see who's for real. I think critics will be right there with renewed assessments of the brief, shiny careers of boom time artists. While I have enjoyed a certain amount of success in the art world, it's not a far fall back to reality for me compared to artists whose price points climbed over a $100,000 for new work based on crisp, new MFA degrees and gallery pedigrees.

The reality is the art market is a lagging indicator. There won't be a spectacular crash, but how the auctions unfold this fall and sales in Miami should start to give us a picture of what the damage will be. As galleries start to close and artists lose representation, the oversaturated art market, which has produced a stunning amount of art about anything and everything, may start to develop some clarity. I wonder what will be left standing in the wake of the contraction. Whose work will still be deemed important by the critics when there is no money left to prop it up. I expect we will see a lot of discussion, debate, and movement to define what the last decade was really about. What will the story be? The umbrella of post-modernism is wearing thin.

Reinvention at the Drawing Center Benefit

2008-09-20T12:38:00.001-04:00

Reinvention, graphite and gouache on paper, 2008

Required Reading and Connecting the Dots

2008-09-19T18:49:00.001-04:00

Just some light reading for the disenchanted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/washington/19cnd-cong.html?hp

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/09/19/tent.cities.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest

If the first one doesn't wake you up to the ignorance of your elected officials, you better find a good tent.

Is it over?

2008-09-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

Change Arrives, With a Sense That Wall St.’s Boom Times Are Over.

New York Times Headline this morning, and I get the sense that you can insert "Art Market" in there as well. Good luck everyone.

Chelsea's Open for Business

2008-09-13T16:40:00.000-04:00

I took a walk through Chelsea today and feel compelled to report, in no particular order of importance, on what I encountered. There were people out and about, red dots in the right places (for the most part), and nothing too unexpected. All in all, there was a lot of big, pleasing, color photography and some ugly painting, which when spotted early was avoided entirely. Some galleries would be better off not hinting at what is inside. Frosted glass and walls pique my interest. Big, hideous paintings, not so much.

So, I'll keep my remarks mainly to what shows inspired me to snatch a card or press release from the table.

Corin Sworn @ Zeiher Smith
Bizarre little show about a school principally governed by the children. A series of beautifully, slightly distorted graphites accompany a video, collage, and a tinker-toy sculpture. There is something vaguely threatening about the show's subject, when the main concern of the limited rules for children seem to be about keeping them from burning everything to ground.
Creepy.

Yevgeniy Fiks @ Winkleman Gallery
I adopted a small, gold plate relief of Lenin from Fiks' Communist themed show of Lenin kitsch which apparently can be purchased in supermarkets in Russia. I felt a surge of nostalgia in the presence of all the Lenins, not so much for the Cold War, but for visionary leadership. Sadly, I doubt Barak will ever inspire little busts for your mantle. I'm also thrilled to have participated in a little subversive Communist activity helping the artist realize his project. I shall now house the Lenin until I'm dead. I love the fact that I will have to put some sort of note about this show in my will regarding the conceptual nature of the object.

Xu Zhen, Folkert de Jong, Martha Colburn @ James Cohan Gallery
de Jong's large foam and glue sculptures of bug-eyed, insane looking colonials are pretty hilarious. de Jong gets some mileage out of the ol' foam and glue, material and process aesthetic. Colburn's video is bizarre and compulsively watchable as morphing, hand-made collage figures romp in an animated landscape. Zhen presents a Chinese mini-market emptied of content, leaving only the packing behind. The items are for sale at the going Chinese rate. I didn't realize that. I might have bought an empty package, but I didn't read the press release.

Keith Tyson @ PaceWildenstein
There's a note planted on the door of the gallery informing the public that work may not be photographed to protect the artist's copyrights. Maybe he's just doing you a favor by keeping these slickly executed, 3-D Mondrians safely tucked inside the gallery. Ken Johnson must have smoked a lot of crack during opening weekend or got really drunk because he actually reviewed this derivative, boring-assed show and Baker Overstreet. (read on) Come on Ken, are the galleries paying you?

Olivier Blanckart@P.P.O.W
Blanckart's awkward, life size sculptures of famous artists and pop figures, Madonna notably, are chuckle inducing. The critique of artist as commodity is a welcome addition to the landscape. Intelligent 'goofballery' comes to mind.

Aaron Johnson @ Stux
I guess Johnson jumped ship from Priska Juschka to Stux. The artist's singularly unique blend of high camp cartoon imagery and serious abstraction is fully on display. I'm not particularly attracted to the paintings, but these star-spangled canvases contrast seductive surfaces with grotesque imagery. It's an unusual combination of attraction and repulsion, though I tend to be more repulsed by them. The fully abstract canvas falls flat.

Vik Muniz@ Sikkema Jenkins
I never thought the back of famous paintings could be so appealing. Resurrecting the aesthetic of the 'Support/Surface' movement, Muniz updates the Hans Haacke's critique of ownership by showing what I assume to be faithful recreations of the backs of famous Modernist paintings. In the second gallery, there are some sort of letter things, perhaps composites from the shipping of the work between the museums. Don't know, but Muniz is doing something different, though it still seems like a finely executed illusion of 'art'. Whatever it is, it's incredibly attractive.

Corinne Wasmuht @ Friedrich Petzel
This is a show of really big paintings of abstracted spaces. These are inoffensive and completely devoid of character. Text book painting. Good for the country estate. I'll take two.

Jonathan Calm @ Karen Golden Fine Art
Calm fills the front room with old, plastic knobbed, TV sets with an array of videos that explore stereotypical imagery of African-American culture; housing projects, guns, and football to name a few. In the back Calm photographs various housing projects in the reflections of puddles of water, perhaps as a metaphor for the illusion of 'housing'. A politically charged show, if a little academic and not terribly exciting.

Diana Al-Hadid @ Perry Rubenstein Gallery
The big, organic looking sculptures fill both spaces; part honeycomb, part burnt chandelier, Al-Hadid pits nature against geometric forms. The resulting sculptures are rendered in chalky white and ashe hues are grotesque. One wall installation suddenly made me think of the Dharma Initiative from the TV show LOST, which also deals with the intersection between ancient civilizations and modern science. Al-Hadid's sculptures seem like a similar intersection between some ancient forms and Modernism. Still, in the end, I kept thinking LOST.

Neil Campbell @ Marianne Boesky Gallery
As far as big, sweeping gestures, Campbell's room sized black triangle in the back room of Boesky takes the prize. In the front of the gallery are some unimpressive circles on the walls. They are inexplicable and seem to be there as place holders. Whatever, just don't turn around when you see them. Proceed into the curtained room, give your eyes a minute to adjust, and then appreciate the infinite space Campbell as carved out of wall using light and black paint. It was my most memorable experience in Chelsea, other than crossing paths with Zach Feuer. Either he doesn't recognize me, or we simply will never, ever acknowledge one another. I wasn't about to make small talk. "Hey man, I didn't even bother to go in your gallery, there's some sort of shack in there and Gatorade." "Oh really, you fucking asshole. I should punch your teeth out."
Seriously, Campbell's black triangle would make James Turrell smile.

Alex Hank @ Ramses Barquet
Never heard of this gallery before, but Hank puts on quite a show with his purple walls, handsomely framed photographs that speak of massive wealth. The show, with embossed metal narrative captions, seems to tell a bizarre love story of some kind. I didn't spend enough time with the work, I was sort of overcome with class envy and bolted, but I was struck with how handsome the show was. I don't know if allows room for much critique. I don't know, it just felt like an expensive show of expensive things. Perhaps that undermined the likelihood that I'd try and connect the fragments. I'll probably go back, I'm a sucker for passages that include something like "then I saw her emerge from the darkness. I shit my pants and I'm here for the weekend."

Baker Overstreet @ Fredericks @ Freiser
I'm just going to say it. This dude has the worst fucking name I've ever heard. His faux, outsider paintings somehow perfectly capture what you would expect a Yale educated dude named Baker Overstreet to make. If my name was Baker Overstreet...I'd be a rich, yacht sailing, ascot-wearing motherfucker. Of course you go to Yale. Yale really only wants to admit people like Baker Overstreet, but they have to take some women and minorities. Baker Overstreet's show is called Follies. Baker Overstreet, Follies. The paintings are tragic, these are follies. These are probably the worst things I saw today, they caught my attention from across the street, but then I went inside. But, when your name is Baker Overstreet from Yale of course you also get reviewed in the Times. Jesus, Ken Johnson, what the fuck are you doing? Ken, really, Forest Bess and Alfred Jensen?? These are Jules DeBalincourt light, stripped of any narrative interest. The lesson here is that black backgrounds look nice. Fucking Baker Overstreet and Ken Johnson. The art market deserves to implode if this is what gets reviewed in the Times. Please Ken...I know there's not much out there, but your Modernisms showing.

Marsha Pels @ Schroeder Romero
Of course I had to stop by my own gallery. They have some of my work in the back, which looked good. You can check out my video A Study for Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida', but enough about me. Pels has a collection of scary sculptures that seem to be about death, but a punk funeral with neon and skulls. In the project room is weird little installation with a Kathe Kolwitz print Pel's mother left to her along with some scattered papers and a fur coat lined with cast hands. I get the feeling the show is a personal meditation on mortality, memory, and loss, but without sentimentality.

Dan Heidkamp @ Buia Gallery
Dan is a friend of artist Tom Sanford, and I hung out with them this summer after a series of studio visits. I met him in his tiny Williamsburg studio before a debauched evening in the garden outside my studio. Dan freaked out due to some combination of drugs and we nearly had to ask him to leave, but he mellowed out near the end and went for a walk. He was freaking out presumably because of his first Chelsea solo show at Buia Gallery (love the name) which was less than two months away. Well, his loosely painted figurative canvases look much better outside his studio. The highlight of the show is a painting of a wedding party where every single person in the picture looks fucking miserable. It's also the most convincingly painted canvas in the room. The others seem a little thin or hesitant in the brush work, on which his painting style seems to hinge. The show doesn't lack character, these are like absurd updates of Bonnard. Congrats Dan, sorry this isn't exactly the Times, but your name isn't Baker Overstreet and I'm no Ken Johnson.

Anyway, enough pithy reviews for today. There's a lot out there, tons of big, color photographs of landscapes and plenty of big-assed abstract paintings perfect for all those shiny, new condos. Let's just hope rich people keep buying them so the art market doesn't collapse.

Sellout: The Bastard Tour and Other News

2008-09-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

It's been a long summer. I'm pleased to say that my recent solo show opened last Thursday night in Seattle at Platform Gallery to the 1st Thursday masses who seemed to enjoy the absurd travails of the fictional William Powhida searching for rock stardom. One African-American gentleman approached me and said "Man, when I come to an art gallery, this isn't what I expect. It's not what I'd call art. I like it."

Tom Sanford's Poster for Sellout: The Bastard Tour in context

His comments were echoed by another young woman on Saturday who simply said "It's nice to see something completely different." I'm not sure what they said exactly (brown liquor), but in the absence of commerce, I'll take it. If anyone is waiting for a new Powhida, they are all in Seattle.

The First Thursday crowd in Seattle

Well, not all of it, exactly. I've donated a small John McCain Hex drawing to the Dieu Donne
Benefit auction and am finishing a drawing for The Drawing Center Benefit. Please go and support those fine institutions because if John McCain wins, there will be zero federal dollars for the arts. Fuck John McLame and Sarah Fey.

I really hope that whatever your political affiliation maybe that you are considering the long term implications of your vote in November. Whoever takes office will be responsible for two to three Supreme Court appointees. A McCain/Palin administration would inevitably tip the balance towards a deeply conservative bench for decades. An Obama/Biden administration may provide some necessary balance to the court.

While there are huge obstacles facing the country from the wars in the Middle East to the turgid economy, I feel that McCain/Palin won't just be another four years of the disastrous policies of the Cheney/Bush (that's right assholes) misadministration, but extending them for decades through like-minded conservative judges who interpret the Constitution like it's 1787.

If you live outside of New York, where my vote will only win Obama so many delegates, please consider the long term implications of your decision. This is a crucial election year for the long term direction of the nation. Please don't mistake my satire for apathy. I may be a cynical fuck, but I support women's rights, diplomacy, gun control, separation of church and state, and checks and fucking balances. I can't get behind the continuing violation of privacy, torture, war, tax breaks for corporations (ie greed), faith-based reasoning based on literal interpretations of the Bible, and trickle down economics. Shit rolls down hill, not gold.

Anyway, I make art, not policy so here's some installation shots from the show.

Banner and Stage Installation

detail: Banner and Stage Installation

Record Store Installation

detail: Record Store Installation

The Blackout Session Installation

Bad at Sports Interview with Amanda Browder and Tom Sanford

2008-08-17T17:07:00.000-04:00

Well, my interview with artists Amanda Browder and Tom Sanford is online at Bad at Sports, a Chicago-based arts blog. Unfortunately, my interviewers were disappointed that my studio lacked both strippers and coke both of which tend to make work impossible. Hopefully, I made up for the lack of drugs and tits with my art, some beer, and stories about the art world.

My next solo show, The Bastard Tour, opens September 4th at Platform Gallery in Seattle from 5:30 - 8 pm if you happen to be in the northwest. I'm still seeking old vinyl for the show, so please drop it off at the gallery if you live in the greater Seattle Metropolitan area. Otherwise, I'm going to be scouring record stores for the worst of the worst.

Detail: (Cover) Sellout, gouache and graphite on panel, 54 x 44 inches, 2008

Own a little sadness

2008-08-03T21:59:00.000-04:00

If you happen to have fallen out of love with New York or are over it, check out Kristen Jensen's hand embroidered "I Hearted New York" t-shirts at her website, www.iheartednewyork.com
I have one, though I secretly still love New York. Paradoxically, it would probably make her happy if you bought a little piece of her sadness, or just visited her project. You can check out her work if you happen to be at the next Hunter open studio this fall.

If you know you want one, just email her at jensen.kristen@gmail.com

Life gives you lemons...

2008-07-28T12:58:00.000-04:00

image linked from www.jameswagner.com

Just wanted to thank everyone who came out and made Saturday a fun time for all and helped Jade and I earn our money back on the lemonade stand. James Wagner has a nice shot of us in action. Check out his blog to see more images from NADA's County Affair and a nice write up of the day. It was an unusual event, one I haven't seen the likes of since Parker's Box weekend long IAM5 Anti-Art Fair a few years ago. If NADA can put together a few more events like this, I'll have to start writing apology letters. Keep your art cups, cause we'd like to take this down to Miami with an expanded mission.

We'll keep you posted.

Bill n' Jade's Lemonade n' shit

2008-07-25T23:19:00.001-04:00

Stop by tomorrow, Saturday the 26th, at the NADA County Affair on 27th Street between 11th and 12th Avenue to buy some lemonade and shit from Jade Townsend and I between noon and six. We will be offering lemonade in hand drawn art cups, as well as 'my foot up your ass' and 'the secret to art world success' among other things (including free phone calls to independent curator Janet Phelps in Texas. She's waiting for particularly bitter artists to call.)

Please inquire about the lemonade special and just come hang out with two weird, desperate dudes trying to make their money back the old fashioned way.

NADA County Affair

2008-07-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

Jade Townsend and I will be selling lemonade at the NADA County Affair this Saturday from noon till 6pm on 27th Street between 11th and 12th Ave. In order to facilitate the sale of lemonade, Jade and I will be offering hand drawn cups, free art career advice, and whatever else strikes us as necessary to move our product. Please ask us about the lemonade special. Our mobile art crate lemonade stand will be located outside Schroeder Romero Gallery, or the most advantageous place to push lemonade on the public. Please come by and help us earn enough money to recover our investment and perhaps a little extra so we can get drunk Saturday night. It's been a very long, hot summer and everyone could use a little lemonade.

See the Press Release below for more reasons to come out Saturday and make fun of art.

The New Art Dealer's Alliance (NADA) is organizing an event for 27th street that follows the theme of an art oriented county fair, and will be called "NADA's County Affair". It will consist of artist run game booths, swap meet, tag sales, live entertainment, DJs and a benefit raffle! The goal of this event is to create a fun "block party" type event, which both NADA members and their artists will be invited to participate in, as well as engage the general art-going public. We thought that this would be a great first time NADA summer public event. The event will occupy approximately half the block, sidewalk, and one lane of 27th street between 11th and 12th Avenues.

Participants include:

John Connelly Presents - Tag Sale, and Mungo Thomson's Bouncy House
Matt Bua ( Derek Eller Gallery )- The Architectural Cribbage Design Table
Martha Friedman ( Wallspace )
Jeffrey Tranchell - YouTube curated playlists
Kim Holleman - "Trailer Park"
BoBo's on 27th Street ( Foxy Productions )
William Powhida and Jade Townsend ( Schroeder Romero ) - "Lemonade Stand"
Schroeder Romero - Armchair Quarterback
Sweet Tooth of the Tiger - Renegade Bake Sale and Face Painting
Sara VanDerBeek and Anya Kielar ( Guild & Greyshkul Gallery ) - Jewelry, postcards, friendship pins
Justin Tripp, Ryan Foerster and Shawn Kuruneru - Zines
Andrea Smith ( Zieher and Smith ) - Tag sale
Nicelle Beauchene Gallery - Make your own Shrinky Dink crafts
Elizabeth Lovero and Jesse Bransford - Tarot Card Readings
Scott Hug/K48 - Tag sale, K48's and Merch
The Gamble of Life by Jacques Louis Ramon Vidal ( Sunday
Jerry Bibby ( Cleopatra's )
Little Cakes
Zak Kitnick - Oriental Trader
Liz Luisada ( Klaus von Nichssagend )
Ronna Lebo - Tag sale
Color Wheel
Alexia Lewis and Peggy Jo
Pabustan from the performance group "Vos"
Bob Linder - DJ
Ceci Moss - DJ
Joshua Smith and Jennifer Teets - Advice for a Quarter. Like Lucy in the Peanuts.

Bands/Records Wanted

2008-07-10T13:18:00.000-04:00

This is copy from my Craigslist ad. Please forward this to your friends in obscure, unknown, emerging, experimental (crazy) bands or your friends with old vinyl they've been meaning to get rid of.

Bands Wanted

Artist William Powhida is seeking bands to record songs for a meta-tribute album for his upcoming art show at Platform Gallery in Seattle in September. The show concerns the artist's attempts to form a band and become a rock star through a series of fictional album covers, paintings, drawings, and installation in order to escape the art world. While the artist doesn't actually have a 'band' or musical ability, he has written lyrics for two albums "The Bastard" and "Sell Out". Interested bands are encouraged to conspire with the artist to fuck with people's heads and record whatever the song title or lyrics inspire within their own practice. All genres and styles are encouraged to submit a track for the album. All bands will be credited and promoted within the show and the artist will provide participating bands with original artwork for the record.
Please help Powhida create a participatory exhibition about the often difficult nature of creating anything. Songs must be submitted by August 8th for inclusion on the record. A limited edition of the album will be available at the gallery if this works out on any level.
For information about the artist, please visit www.williampowhida.com, www.platformgallery.com, and www.schroederromero.com. You can also Google him and see what type of artist you are dealing with. Please direct all inquires to powhidaprojects@gmail.com.

Records Wanted

Artist William Powhida is looking for individuals to bring their unwanted, beloved, despised, forgotten, and/or trashy vinyl records to Platform Gallery in Seattle to create a record store within the gallery. All records must include a sale price, which will be marked up at the whim of the artist based on his own, bizarre internal criteria and be placed on consignment for the duration of the six-week exhibition. Sellers will receive their asking price at any time following the sale of the record. Effectively, the artist is seeking to turn his art dealers, Stephen and Blake, into record store attendants for six-weeks while drawing on the vast cultural wasteland of album artwork to inform his own show of music world detritus.
Please help the artist accomplish his goal of turning the art gallery into something more like a pawnshop/swap meet and a place where people can browse. Please deliver all records to Platform Gallery in Seattle. Sellers can drop off albums at any point during the show, but display space will be limited. Sellers outside of Seattle are responsible for their own shipping fees, but you are welcome to send them on, especially if you don't care if you ever get them back.
For information about the artist, please visit www.williampowhida.com, www.platformgallery.com, and www.schroederromero.com. You can also Google him and see what type of artist you are dealing with. Please direct all inquires to powhidaprojects@gmail.com.

Reality

2008-06-10T16:49:00.000-04:00

Well now you can see me and Don from Jack the Pelican square off through the power of editing over the future of Williamsburg. I think they came to me looking for a verbal ass-kicking of the 'burg, but there's none really to be had. I made my satirical peace with my changing relationship with the art scene a few years ago with my personal eulogy and monument to the dearly and not-so-dearly departed. I tend to agree with Don that Chelsea has indeed chewed up and spit out some of those that jumped the pond, but many have succeeded. Galleries are definitely closing, but not just the ones from the 'burg. As Becky Bellwether said, Williamsburg is 'just lower-risk'.

There's really not much to argue about, and Williamsburg may look more appealing to the Chelsea crowd when their leases come up for renewal. The Lower East Side offers store fronts, not the large commercial spaces still lingering in Williamsburg. It wouldn't be surprising to see some galleries relocate here out of necessity, not the tsunami of hype that threatened to drown everyone a few years ago. James Kalm has a far more in-depth look at the trajectory of Williamsburg in this month's Brooklyn Rail, and again, I'm never going to live that fucking eulogy down. I hope not, it's actually embedded in people's consciousness, which is sort of awesome.

Anyway, you can check out the edited sparring, Williamsburg is Dead, or maybe not?, moderated by Keith Wagstaff on A Walk Around the Blog. Sadly, despite my chops, I look like a douche bag. What was I thinking? Nice button down loser. Also, I don't stand around my studio moving panels. I sit and stare at the wall until I'm motivated to paint something.

Rehearsal Mayhem

2008-05-31T16:02:00.000-04:00

Things got a little out of control last night in Greenpoint. My assistant Thomas finally got some competent musicians to assist me in my transformation into an international rock genius. The art world is tanking, and I need a way out.

Thankfully, classicfuneralparlorpunkrock is going to shatter the foundations of contemporary music and save me from the art world. I can't take anymore of this shit. We were working on I Met You in Miami, Theory Head, and our power ballad inspired by Elton John and William Shatner, Bitches and Ho's when things got a little crazy. The bassist disagreed with the direction of my piano solo and hit me in the head with a PBR. I've got nothing after that, but apparently I'll hear the results of the recording session when
Thomas is done trying to digitally alter my voice. I think it sounds great, but what the fuck do I know about music.

Momenta Benefit Auction

2008-05-18T17:52:00.000-04:00

The annual Momenta Benefit Auction at White Columns is only three days away. The auction and raffle of works starts at 5 pm, and this year I donated an AP of my mystery print done in conjunction with the LES Print Shop. If you are looking to try and acquire a cheap Powhida, tickets for the event are only $225. It's a relatively inexpensive way to start collecting contemporary art. There are still 45 tickets left for the raffle, which will guarantee you an art work from a list including Joe Amrhein, Sari Carel, Joy Garnett, Kate Gilmore, Larry Krone, Emily Noelle Lambert, Thomas Lendvai, Carl Pope, Ryan Schneider, and Javier Pinon to mention a few artists whose work I admire.

So, if you haven't a bought a ticket yet, please help support one of the most vital n0n-profit spaces in New York. Momenta continues to provide an alternative venue for underrepresented artists and a platform for thought-provoking exhibitions. This is an important opportunity to help keep the art world honest, after all art isn't all about careerism and money. It's a philosophy, and Momenta asks the difficult questions. Call it a conscience.

Summer Tour

2008-05-15T12:16:00.000-04:00

I'll be on tour all summer with my band of assistants playing second rate venues around the country in anticipation of my forthcoming album. If I've been neglectful of the blog it's only because I have been rehearsing all spring. Re-inventing rock music is taking a terrible toll on me, but I'm looking forward to doing something different. The tour will be stopping at Platform Gallery in Seattle this fall on our way to Miami in December for the album release. We're still looking for a venue, but I'm sure something will materialize.

Alone

2008-04-05T16:17:00.000-04:00

I discovered this little gem of acknowledgment on Art Review Magazine's website written by Jonathan T.D. Neil about the lack of satire in the art world.

Which leads me to ask: Why don't we see more of this kind of thing from the art world? Where is our satire? – the one that does not point its finger at the perceived idiocies of the public or the government but at those of artists and artworks themselves? (Bill Powhida, with his faux New York magazine covers and Art Newspaper broadsheets, is bravely alone in this task at the moment; but then so was Ad Reinhardt in his day.) I think we do artists and their art a disservice if we find them too delicate for – or unworthy of – a few barbs. Of course art is a serious business. But it is also quite often absurd. Which is why the parallel to our contemporary political theater is so apt.

Neil isn't alone in this assessment, if fact Richard Klein from the Aldrich Museum discussed the possibility of organizing a show of my work along side Ad Reinhardt's comic paintings from the 50's at Aqua this year in Miami. Klein felt that it would provide some insight into the art world from two different historical perspectives. I'm not claiming that mine is historical only that it reflects my cultural experience. Whether or not it will stand the test of time, which people often question about my work, might best be answered by the relevance of Reinhardt's work fifty years later. Rienhardt seems to be one of the few artist's who tackled the absurdity of the art world then, and it is a bit lonely working this way now. Some of my closest friends don't trust the work, and think I ought to be using my visibility to raise more important issues. I disagree and feel that artists like Jen Dalton and Guy Richards Smit are also dealing with the absurdity of the art world while creating meaningful works of art that address class, gender, and power in often hilarious ways. Smit's new comic book about his character, Jonathan Grossmalerman, is a black comedy and satire about the intersection of wealth and politics. In this case, a wealthy Russian collector dies at the opening after being poised with Polonium. I picked up a copy at Spoonbill in Williamsburg, and have to acknowledge Smit's work as a cornerstone of my own practice. His character based videos and paintings along with David Kramer and Jim Torok's work made the use of text and narrative seem like vital devices for critique.

While I agree with Neil's assessment that this is lonely work, I'm not making a lot of friends here, I don't think I am alone at all. Artists like Eric Heist may not employ overt comedy, but are wickedly satirical. A close reading of Michael Waugh's work reveals a deeply satirical view of artistic and political commissions, and the artists relationship to the collector. Jade Townsend sends up the importance of the object in the contemporary market with unrestrained zeal, materialism, materialism, materialism.

I'm thrilled Neil recognized my work in his call for more satirical work questioning the fucked up relationships in the art world, but I could curate a show tomorrow that would answer it. Any takers?

Pulse New York

2008-03-23T21:29:00.000-04:00

Gearing up for Armory week in New York. I'll have some new work at PULSE with Schroeder Romero in booth D6. PULSE has moved over to Pier 40 this year, near West Houston. Anyway, this is where the magic happens, but I can't show any more of my studio. It needs some serious attention now that the work is done.

Art is a service economy

2008-03-14T09:52:00.000-04:00

Shit...

And what kind of art was favored by Emperors Club Contemporary Art clientele? Several pages dedicated to artworks trumpet works by the likes of Carl Andre, John Chamberlain, Gregory Crewdson, Hilary Harkness, Jeff Koons, Vera Lutter, Richard Prince, David Salle, Andrew Wyeth and Dr. Hugo Heyrman, and William Powhida.

The jig is up, my special private dealer got busted for the prostitution, but I hoped no one would would find out where I sold all my stripper paintings. This is just terrible. I'm going to have to call Jeff and Larry and see what I should do. The market will never be the same.

Fucking Whitney Biennial, Again

2008-03-11T22:39:00.000-04:00

So I'm in the midst of working on a proposal for Art Positions, the shipping container corner of the ABMB, and I can't help but think about how pissed I am about not being in the Biennial, but then again I'm always pissed off so it doesn't really ruin my day most days. Anyway, everyone always hates the Biennial. I didn't find much to like in the last go around, except encountering Dash Snow and thinking, "Hey, look, something vaguely political!" It's a shame he turned out to be such a douchebag. Normally, I'd take people's word that this one also sucks, but I draw the line at listening to anything The New York Post says. (I read the Sports section, it's a quarter, and sometimes I flip through the rest to see what the enemy is thinking so I can mimic empathy with conservative types)

I caught a review of the Biennial and thought 'what the fuck is the Post doing covering the Biennial?' Sarah Schmerler laughs off the entire thing with the exception of Cheyney Thompson, Omer Fast, and one other artist. Great. Now I feel compelled to go see the show. I guess it's just too easy to dismiss the Biennial. If the Post is going to make fun of it, then I'll have to go see it. After all Schmerler says it's the art fairs, auction houses, and collectors that define the art world. What's that Sarah?! Your saying it's all about market? Well, we'd all better hope 400 points and $200 Billion is enough.

Or we could say fuck the market...

Air Kissing Travels to Arcadia University

2008-02-29T10:39:00.000-05:00

Sasha Archibald's show Air Kissing is opening Wednesday March 5th at the Arcadia University Art Gallery in Philadelphia.

OPENING EVENT
March 5 at 6:30 p.m, Arcadia University Theatre, Spruance Fine Arts Center. Panel discussion with exhibition curator Sasha Archibald and participating artists James Mills, William Powhida, Mira Schor, and Momenta Art co-director and artist Laura Parnes. Opening reception to follow immediately afterward in the gallery.

The question seems to be should I try and talk about methods of institutional critique or be a method of institutional critique? I think the latter would be a lot more interesting. If you happen to be in Philly Wednesday night I encourage to come out and participate in the discussion. For further reading see Tyler Green's Q&A with Sasha on Modern Art Notes.

Lose/Lose Situation

2008-02-24T14:38:00.001-05:00

I've set myself up to fail with this blog. Anyone can post whatever they like, and now that I have stopped allowing anonymous posting, I look like an asshole. So, in the spirit of constant criticism and envy, two of my main sources of inspiration, I'm going to create a mini-wall of shame on the blog and start a new drawing today of all the comments. Hopefully, it will yield something I can sell back to the art world. Infinite regress. As one thoughtful commenter noted, it's all fuel for my one trick pony. I'm going to ride this pony into the ground until it's tiny little legs crack and buckle under the weight of my own failure.

Viva la anonymous posting. Let's make this blog crackle with hate. Spew! Spew!

Jade Townsend @ Priska C. Jushka

2008-02-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

A shot of Jade Townsend in his installation at Priska during the opening. Townsend recommended Caucus in a review/interview of his ambitious second solo show, Yard Sale, which you should all check out before it closes Saturday. You have to get outside to get the full impact of his sculpture. Art info says it better here. Anyway, it's the kind of show that makes me want to dust off my career as a critic and write something serious about Townsend's work.

Dear Anonymous

2008-02-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

The following comment was recently posted by an anonymous enemy:

you know your work is at about the same level, right? making a joke about another shitty artist does not make your work less of a joke.
you are mimram without the money for a billboard. -anonymous

Well, There's that and then there's David Joselit's opinion in the current issue of Artforum regarding my painting "Ganek Acquires Powhida" in a show called Air Kissing curated by Sasha Archibald. The show opened last fall at Momenta Art in Brooklyn and is scheduled to open in March at Arcadia University outside of Philadelphia. It's an excellent show that engages the contemporary art world from multiple angles. While I often find myself thinking similar thoughts as anonymous, Joselit's words are a reminder that William Powhida exists largely as a perception.

Caucus @ Schroeder Romero

2008-01-19T19:09:00.000-05:00

I'm a horrible self-promoter. I actually have some work up in New York for all you William Powhida enemies, er, I mean FANS. The New York Enemy/Ally Project is now complete at Schroeder Romero. The SchroRo 'Ho's', as they were nominated by Janet Phelps1 , are the winning allies with a 91% certainty rating. I guess giving people free booze is a good way to make friends. Well, that and showing me.

Rudy Giuliani, presidential hopeful, was the most clear cut enemy, with a near sterling certainty index of 97%. No matter how people felt about the art world nominees, nearly everyone one voted for the Republican ghoul as an enemy. Apparently, the art world hasn't forgotten his attack on the Brooklyn Museum for Sensation, a show he hadn't seen when he got all indignant and morally superior.

While I hope the project resonates on different levels, at the very least it re-affirmed my belief in humanity. While I am thrilled so many people find Patrick Mimran (84.74%) and Dash Snow (84.31%) repugnant they are pretty much harmless products of our hero worshipping, celebrity obsessed society unlike Giuliani who would plunge the world into a new dark age by using fear as an instrument of control and a premise for war. I can't think of anyone who is more ideologically and morally corrupt that Giuliani, so I hope this is the only contest he wins in 2008. Wait, Bush is certainly as evil as Rudy, but I think Giuliani is potentially much worse. Bush has always been spoiled and certain of his power, but Giuliani would morph into something hideous given so much authority.

Anyways, come check out the show, if not for me, then for all the other excellent artists, including Eric Heist (the artist I want to be when I grow up), Michael Waugh (co-curator), Jen Dalton (the artist I should do battle with), David Wojnarowicz (how amazing is it to be in the same fucking gallery?), and Laura Parnes.

(above: Eric Heist's sculpture,
left, Jen Dalton's participatory installation)

Badness

2008-01-17T18:04:00.000-05:00

When I eventually become an aging, has-been artist I am going to start a second career as rock star. I mean, once you're famous it apparently doesn't matter what the fuck you do. See the man who may yet destroy painting once and for all. Thanks to Seth for showing me the press release Paul's agent actually sent out to the world. Remember, $2,000,000 in sales last year alone.

Who needs Chelsea? Not Paul Stanley.

Enemy/Ally Project Updates

2008-01-05T14:43:00.001-05:00

I didn't want to sully my blog, like that's possible, with the enemy/ally project, so I am posting the nominees on enemiesalliesproject.blogspot.com if you want to see whose in.

The New York Enemy/Ally Project

2008-01-02T12:54:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to offer everyone the opportunity to nominate a New York enemy and ally to be voted on January 10th from 6 - 8pm at Caucus, a group show co-curated by Michael Waugh of Momenta Art. I will then render the results of the vote creating a continuum from good to evil. If the process sounds a bit vague, it is intentionally so. The caucus will determine the direction of the list and whether it is about the art world or not. I think it will be an interesting intersection of art and life. I already have my nominations, but click here to add your nominations. Please, be judgmental.

Thomas's Miami Diary

2007-12-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

My assistant Thomas Seely, co-star of A Study For Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida', has been keeping a Miami diary about his first encounter with the art fair mayhem. He has been posting updates for NYarts magazine about the best and the worst. He also has some great quotes overheard from dealers, artists, and collectors. While I came to Miami to not work, at all, Thomas has been hard at work...when he isn't swimming in his underwear after midnight.

I'm simply exhausted from shameless self-promotion and heavy drinking with heavy weight drinkers. I can't call this a vacation, it has been fairly brutal on me, but I managed to stagger through Pulse, Aqua, NADA, Scope, and parts of Basel from the containers to Art Supernova. Thomas managed to capture most of the notable work that we encountered, a sobering number of works actually. What Miami does best is provide a glimpse into the vastness of the art world and its hierarchies.

I'll get back to this, but now I need a beer.

Miami Mayhem

2007-12-07T14:17:00.000-05:00

Last night was a disaster. I probably should not have drank the entire 1/5th of Jack Daniels at the Pulse party at the Essex House. There will some photographs eventually of me being 'The Fuck You Guy" giving the double bird. I reacted somewhat badly to the second (third?) tier collector/artist/dealer crowd, although I simply wound down like a spring-driven toy into mumbling incoherence and was safely led home by my dealer Sara Jo. She is starting to think I don't love her as much as Lisa, because I try and spare her reputation, but she wants to be included in the work, so I will glady start skewering her as well.

So, Miami is warm, I'm heading for the beach in a moment to take a rest from the sheer volume of art. If you happen to be here and are enjoying a quiet moment surfing the Internet, or perhaps looking me up to see if I really am a genius or just a desperate hack, then check out my work at PULSE (Schroeder Romero) and the Aqua Hotel fair (Platform Gallery). Here's a preview.

Competition List, Graphite and gouache on panel, 11 x 14, 2007 (sold)

Art in America Review

2007-12-01T19:10:00.000-05:00

So, I found a link to the Art in America review of my show 'This Is A Work Of Fiction...' although it loses some of it's punch not being right next to a critical ass-kicking of Snow and Colen's teenage suburban basement party room aka The Nest. I'm serous, though, send me your copy of the issue and I'll authenticate it as a genuine Powhida.

Correction: Edward Winkleman is not a thief. He's a BRILLIANT dealer with a keen eye who saw an opportunity and didn't hesitate for a second to the dismay of several collectors. He's also a prolific cultural observer and critic whose blog you should be reading instead of my shameless self-promotion.

Inspiring Friends Everywhere

2007-11-30T19:25:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Kevin Keck
keck2007@gmail.com
http://www.thekeck.com

Author Kevin Keck officially names penis "Allah"

Charlotte, NC, Nov. 30 - Author Kevin Keck has officially named his penis "Allah" as a show of solidarity with Gillian Gibbons, a British School teacher who was jailed on November 25 in Sudan for allowing her class to name a teddy bear "Allah." He is the first author to address the censorship of radical Islam by naming a portion of his body after He who is the One True God.

Regarding his decision, Kevin Keck has stated, "It was very hard. My penis has gone by various names in the past, such as Senor Mandingo, The Pope of Pubic Village, and Bobby. Also, for a few hours while driving through Connecticut, I referred to him as Uncle Wiggly. But I never thought of any of these names as permanent or appropriate. However, when I thought about what I could do as an individual to protest this miscarriage of justice, I realized I could finally stop beating around the bush and give my penis a proper name."

Kevin Keck says he does not fear any reprisal from the Islamic community. "No one from the Islamic world has ever seen my penis. If a Muslim did see it, it would be immediately clear that my penis does nothing but honor the name 'Allah.' Also my penis typically hangs in the direction of Mecca."

Even though Gillian Gibbons is a British citizen, Kevin Keck urges Americans to write their congresspersons and ask that the United States speak out against this form of religiously sanctioned oppression. However, Kevin Keck wishes to stress that he is not anti-Islam. "On the contrary, I personally believe everyone would be a lot happier if they accepted Allah in the end."

-----

Kevin Keck is the author of Oedipus Wrecked, a short memoir of sexual humiliation and failure. His latest book, Are You There God? It's Me. Kevin. will be available from Bloomsbury in February 2008.

__________
I love press releases.

NY Times Ad for 'Powhida'

2007-11-30T12:55:00.000-05:00

Market Crash in Miami

2007-11-30T11:17:00.000-05:00

So, I'm heading down to sunny Miami on Wednesday to support my nascent film career and sell some prints. If you haven't seen it yet, Market Crash is available as a limited-edition print that Doug at the LES Print Shop executed it for me. Signing the fifty prints made me feel a bit nauseous, but that's what happens when you sell out.

No, it's a beautiful print of a work on paper that Ed Winkleman stole out of my studio. Upon seeing the drawing, he announced "This is your first auction piece." Well, if it is Ed is going to have to make his own prediction come true and sell it to Larry Gagosian for $24 million. I hope Ed is right and I am wrong. I'd hate to see the art world come crashing down.

Anyway, I'll be in Miami from Wednesday to Monday getting loaded at various VIP events and parties with a cast of characters. If you are in town, please check out my recent absurdities with Schroeder Romero at PULSE and Platform at the AQUA Hotel fair. My video, A Study For Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida' will be screening at both fairs. At AQUA the film we be showing at set times, 2, 4, and 6 on a 50" LCD monitor with Platform Gallery. Stephen and Blake will have to deal with the fallout as I will be passed out on the beach. I encourage you to drink heavily before, during, and after the study for Sofia's film. So far she has not responded to my entreaties, but I know she will come around.

Still: A Study for Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida', 2007, 13 approximate running time

Jan Leyssens as William Powhida mid-meltdown.

If you can't get to San Francisco

2007-11-13T19:25:00.001-05:00

I'm off to terrorize San Francisco tomorrow for the opening of my show at Haines Gallery, A Study For Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida', which opens from 5:30 - 7:30 their time. The painting below is of the script for the meta-film, 'Powhida', which will be debuting at the gallery.

Script for 'Powhida', Scenes 80 - 84, Gouache and graphite on panel, 34" x 42", 2007

If you can't be bothered to get a plane ticket tonight, then please check out Air Kissing, an amazing group show curated by Sasha Archibald opening Friday the 16th from 7 - 9 pm at Momenta Gallery in Williamsburg. I wish I could be there to see what people think of this

Ganek Aquires Powhida, Gouache and graphite on panel, 34" x 28", 2007

Yes, those are strippers.

Hopefully, I'll see some friends and enemies in San Francisco.

Press Release

2007-10-26T20:58:00.001-04:00

Click the image to read this ridiculous thing.

A Study For Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida'

2007-10-16T19:53:00.000-04:00

Opening November 14th at Cheryl Haines Gallery, San Francisco

A Study For Sofia Coppola's Film 'Powhida'
Video and Paintings by William Powhida

Dash Snow vs Neo-Nazis?

2007-10-09T17:01:00.000-04:00

Dear Dash Snow,

If you happen to be in London again this year for Frieze, please skip the masturbatory celebration of Capitalism and go fight the good fight in Lund, Sweden. Watching some skinheads destroy Serrano's photographs made me ill. Clearly, now, I understand the importance of your art. I've never found anything deviant or socially unacceptable about your work, I just don't understand how you rocketed to success for partying. It's time to rally for art and free expression. Get over there Dash, and bring your A-team. Throw an epic party and invite the neo-nazis. Show them what it's all about. Fashion vs Fascism, I think you guys can take the skinheads. Show some ass, fuck a whore, do some coke, eat some shrooms, bring your wife and daughter and battle the skinheads (Be sure to hire some muscle to fuck them up though, in case they bring axes and crowbars). It's time to stop the symbolic resistance against whatever it is you resist here, and give a live demonstration of free, uninhibited expression, motherfucker. Make up for the ironic swastika graffiti at Deitch and get crazy on their reactionary asses.

I'd do it if I had the cash. Fucking skinheads.

-William

Authenticated Art in America

2007-10-05T17:02:00.000-04:00

My studio mate, Magale, took me up on my claim about making the Art in America Review an original work of art and I signed my first copy on Wednesday. I found it amusing, since I don't think Magale particularly even likes my work, though she she understands it. The appropriation seems like a logical conclusion to the editorial decision to juxtapose my review next to the review of Dash Snow and Dan Colen's Nest at Deitch, as well as the Terence Kho review. The critique posited by the show is simply carried on in the context of the magazine. It's like much of my work, where the magic happens when someone responds.

Broken art

2007-10-02T23:56:00.000-04:00

I'm going to burn this as soon as I get it back in my wretched hands.

Dear Gawker

2007-10-01T16:21:00.000-04:00

The following exchange occurred this morning between my assistant, myself, and Gawker.

Did you see this-? I thought it was pretty funny until i saw this.
I think maybe I should go away for a while...

-t

Dear Gawker,

The apparent douche bag in 'I've Got Three Beers You Have Two I'm Here To Party, I Thought You Knew,' photograph from the Useless magazine party is not actually a hipster douche bag. In fact, he's my volunteer, unpaid assistant who routinely is forced to do things like entertain my friends when I abandon them for more important people and get me beers two at a time (I don't feel bad about that part, because they are free and I got him in). I also had been berating the photographer because he didn't seem to KNOW WHO THE FUCK I WAS!?! I know it's easy to mistake my assistant for a moronic hipster, but he works incredibly hard for nothing and despite the hat, beard, and skinny pants he really is an awesome person.

So, I feel that I have to stand up for my assistant, and say the only reason he was there was to make me feel self-important (I feel powerful introducing my assistant, like I'm Dan Colen or something), fetch me beers, light my cigarettes, and tell me that everything is going to be OK.

Damn you Gawker,

William Powhida

Ok, I didn't use your name or anything, but I tried...we'll see if they post the comment. I'll run it on my blog too. It's too good not to. You're going to be famous. Stick with me kid. We'll start a war if we have to. BTW, I love the hat, beard, and skinny pants.

Will Gawker run my comment? Who knows, but if they sent someone to photograph the Useless Magazine then they are at least complicit in the douche baggery.

Art in America Review

2007-09-27T14:32:00.001-04:00

I don't want to spoil the fun, so please if you know my work go out and buy a copy of the October Issue of Art in America. Just take a look where it falls. I couldn't have done it any better. If you send me a copy I will authenticate it as an original piece of art.

Dear Roberta

2007-09-16T23:12:00.000-04:00

Dear Roberta,

Never underestimate the amount of resentment and hostility I harbor towards artists. It definitely springs largely from envy. They can behave quite badly indeed, but I behave terribly. While they operate with a kind of freedom and courage, I operate not on a kind of desperation and fear, but DESPERATION and FEAR. I'm terrified that I will be failure and die without a New York Times review.

It really doesn't matter how much I toil away in studio or how much money I pour into my art, but it is my freedom to say "I AM the greatest artist in the world," if I may say so, which really doesn't require a court decision.

Sincerely,
William Powhida

Never underestimate the amount of resentment and hostility we harbor toward artists. It springs largely from envy. They can behave quite badly, but mainly they operate with a kind of freedom and courage that other people don’t risk or enjoy. And it can lead to wondrous things.
In the end it doesn’t matter how many people toil on a work of art, or how much money is spent on it. The artist’s freedom includes the right to say, “This is not a work of art unless I say so.”

read the whole article.

Bad Actor

2007-09-15T12:41:00.000-04:00

Regina Hackett is absolutely correct, I am a terrible actor. Basically, my accomplice Jeff Parker and I had an ill-defined plan that might look like this:

Get crazy type to play James Wreck
Buy whiskey (Jack, Makers, Jim...)
Drink said whiskey before reading/performance...
Signal to Rod with cell phone time check to start freaking out
Watch Rod tear up $10,000 drawing
Kick his ass out of gallery

Following the whiskey our plan was basically to react to this guy Rod, who was going to impersonate James, a fictional character in our book, The Back of the Line. When the shit went down, and Rod started to threaten the $10,000 drawing, local Seattle PI critic Regina Hackett flew into action causing all sorts of confusion. Rod fled the scene before Parker and I could salvage any sort of closure to the performance gone awry. Personally, I think Jeff and I needed to have finished a bottle of whiskey and made things really uncomfortable by being hammered.
Maybe shit would've gotten really out of hand.

Teenage Wasteland

2007-09-14T12:51:00.000-04:00

When I was seventeen, my friends and I got tired of trudging out into the woods when we wanted to get drunk. We cleaned up a room in my basement and started getting wasted on the weekends. Eventually, the jocks and cool kids started coming over and getting fucked up. Being artists, me and my boy Seth encouraged everyone to write shit on the walls in charcoal. After a year, it looked an awful lot like this, except nobody drew any swastikas.

What's the point? Deitch is a straight up douche bag if he thinks Dash Snow and Dan Colen's nest is anything more than an adolescent romper room. Fuck it, I'm going to track down my old scumbag friends and re-create my basement. Maybe I can get Kev to hammer out some Metallica on his bass and re-make the dual hosed funnel complete with the shut-off valve. It's just kinda pathetic when it's two Biennial artists pulling the same shit as a bunch of bored high school kids.

I need some whiskey. I'm going to burn some more books now that once again theory has failed me. If you are in school, just document your parties and send the tapes to Kathy at Deitch. You'll get into the Biennial for sure.

Set Photos from The Bastard's Studio

2007-09-07T10:55:00.001-04:00

Production stills from the set of The Bastard's Studio, a study for Sofia Coppola's inevitable film about the turbulent and shallow life of renowned artist, William Powhida.

Jamali

2007-09-05T15:01:00.000-04:00

www.jamali.com/

An evil person sent this to me, but now I understand the power of Jamali.

Here is a preview of my new biography inspired by the mystical being that is Jamali.

Powhida spent his youth with an ignorant trailer park people who still respected the power of karate and the Camaro. But, he also attended a third tier University and studied a hodge podge of social sciences. Powhida is the first to incorporate the paradoxes of heavy drinking into contemporary art.

Thanks to Meredith for her illuminating link to Jamali.

Fear and Loathing in Seattle

2007-09-04T13:21:00.000-04:00

I journeyed to Seattle this past weekend for a reading from The Back of the Line, a collaborative novel I made with Jeff Parker and DECODE Inc., better known as Stephen Lyons and John Jenkins. Steve is also one of the dealers at Platform Gallery where I exhibit. Steve and his boyfriend John put up with me...er, put me up for the holiday weekend. "You are a bad influence," was the extent of Steve's conversation Monday morning after we stayed up past our bedtimes having an iTunes battle. Apparently, we are both fiends for Neutral Milk Hotel and sad shoegazing indie rock. Throw in a few cocktails too many and we edged into some sloppy emotional territory. How can visual art possibly compete with the emotional whallop of a Neutral Milk Hotel song like Naomi or Gardenhead. Maybe it can't. We didn't reach resolution on that discussion before the beer and liqour took hold.

But before we got all drunk and emotional about our musical tastes, Jeff Parker and I had been up to no good at Platform Gallery for our reading. Jeff showed up an hour early and started the brown liqour flowing to get us into character. After we 'finished' the reading, a disturbed fellow started ranting about losing his job and asking for the art work. Before things got ugly, the Seattle P-I critic Regina Hackett stopped the irate audience member in his tracks. So taken back was the man that he fled the gallery before Regina knocked him out. Unfortunately for Parker and I, the guy was actually supposed to destroy a 'prop' drawing and then be revealed to be James J. Wreck, the main character of the book.

So surprised by Regina's amazing intervention Parker and I fumbled the whole James thing and let our friend run off. Next time, Parker suggested we pull a reverse James Frey and say the book actually isn't fiction, but based on the very real exploits of James. I now have to publicly apologize for dragging Regina into our planned interruption. "Sorry, Regina!" We then followed Parker over to a bookstore where he read to us and a few tight-lipped wierdos from his new novel, Ovenman. It's a filthy read about about a guy who blacks out a lot and leaves himself post-it note reminders when he's not slinging pies or singing in a hard core band that actually hates him. It will stain your shirt, maybe your heart. I did an aborted cover for the novel, but one of the drawings survives faded in the bumble-bee layout. That's not my fault.

All in all, it was good trip to Seattle and my ego is only slightly bruised and battered after learning that my new favorite enemy Shamim Momim never requested a follow up package of my work from Platform after her trip to Seattle. She liked Jesse Burke though, who does creepy-excellent photographs exploring masculinity in often sublime surroundings. I'm no Biennial artist...just a sell-out loser. That and Shamim barely acknowledged my pathetic existence at dinner at Amalia a few weeks back. Now that was painful.

Next up, photographs from the set of Powhida, the biographical film directed by Sophia Coppola.