Go See: Four Shows To See This Weekend

by Paddy Johnson on July 29, 2011 · 2 comments Events

Michael Manning's Street Show

For all the summer going on around here, you’d think there’d be a little less art. Paintings don’t like the sun, but gallerists do, and the artworld usually evacuates for a few months when New York gets miserable. Not so this year. Here’s a short list of shows I’m going to see this weekend; visit a few of them and we’ll discuss the shows here and on google hangouts (google+’ video conferencing and my new favorite social media tool). Send me a message if you want to join and I’ll add you to my circle (artfagcity@gmail.com).

POWHIDA @Marlborough Gallery: William Powhida is on an artist residency, but his good-looking douchebag double POWHIDA is hanging out at Marlborough. The Daily Beast’s Blake Gopnik likes the performance so far, saying our very participation indicts us all. ArtINFO’s Kyle Chayak isn’t sold. I’m visiting today, but don’t expect a conclusion just yet; as in such projects as #class, #rank, and even many of his drawings, much more than one viewing is necessary. Rumor has it a poker game is in store for next week.

Ramis Barquet: Glutton for Punishment: As part of a group show exploring the body and desire and including artists such as Kate Gilmore, Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, and Marilyn Minter, Myla Dalbesio will be giving lap dances at Ramis Barquett. Naturally POWHIDA already attended. Social media maverick Man Bartlett happened to be there and Tweeted all over everything.

Street Show: The Things Between Us, @Eyebeam: Mark this as the second show a review by Kyle Chayka has encouraged me to go see. Curated by Michael Manning, it can only be seen by trucking one’s laptop over to Eyebeam and affixing it to the USB drive sticking out of the wall. At least, that was the intent: within 24 hours it was up as a torrent, thanks to 0-Day Art’s Jeremiah Johnson and Don Miller. In whatever form, count me in. The show brings together 22 new media artists and focuses on the theme of transfer.

MoMA – Talk To Me: Smart phones ready, set, “unlock”. This design exhibition about “the communication between people and things” asks viewers to tweet, scan, and engage all kinds of objects. The New York Times Karen Rosenberg has reservations. “Call me a reactionary, but I'm convinced that looking, not scanning or tweeting, is still the primary purpose of a museum visit.” Rosenberg goes on to wonder whether it’s necessary to visit a physical gallery to look at a project that has a richer life online. Several years ago, a MoMA employee told me there were union issues keeping the museum from using the Internet in shows. If that’s still the case, they need to fix that.

{ 2 comments }

Jill Polack August 1, 2011 at 10:08 pm

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, is this … cool?   probably not.  either way, great article.

Jill Polack August 1, 2011 at 10:08 pm

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, is this … cool?   probably not.  either way, great article.

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