Michael Schmelling

I really like these portraits by Michael Schmelling. They feel fresh and intelligent. The mix of quirky subject matter and a somewhat clinical approach is really interesting.

Bonaroo



Melonie Diaz


Beirut


The Felice Brothers


TV On The Radio

Website here

Conrad Ruiz

Orgiastic watercolors depicting scenes of manly awesomeness. I think these are really funny.

Lemon Lime Victory, 2008

Public Display of Affection, 2008

Overload, 2009

^ This is kind of how I felt about Obama fever. More HERE.

That Boy Needs Therapy

In April I went to the opening of a group show called "Are You Sure You Are You" at the Spencer Brownstone Gallery. The show was about Internet art and the title came from a work by Daniel Everett. The Mac OS X software comes with a virtual therapist application with which the artist discussed his existential issues.

Conversations with a Computer

This therapist application actually exists. Instructions here. I tried it out and I found the idea of"Eliza" surprisingly engaging. Some of her questions and answers really made me think.
Daniel Everett has some other interesting projects on his website. A few things I like:

Omniscience Beta

You are here

Speed Run

Looking at his work makes me think about technology's role in loneliness, anonymity, and surveillance.

From the press release of the aforementioned group show:

The novelty of the personal computer and the Internet has morphed into a mundane reality that is haunted by the specters of anxiety, boredom, Internet addiction and identity theft. Turning this postmodern condition on its head, the works in this exhibition possess what could be described as a strategy of web-based aesthetic transcendence. They are proof that the user can overcome the condition of the quotidian not by shying away from her computer (and thus the Internet) but rather by considering it as a provider of aesthetic (higher) experience. Developed initially as a scientific tool, the computer has been damned to the realm of the practical. Yet when it is interpreted as an aesthetic space, one is presented with an almost infinite number of creative possibilities.

I'm excited.

Let Me See You Move Like You Come from Colombia

So I was poking around Columbia University's 2009 MFA website and I found some cool stuff.

Davida Nemeroff






Balloon Cross, 2008



Gorillas in the Mist, 2008



Glowtograph 1, 2008



Glowtograph 2, 2008




Jaqueline Cedar









^ I love the lighting in these. It reminds me of parking lots at night or a football stadium. High drama.


Erik Wysocan




The Sleep of Reason, The Dream Reason, El Sueño de La Razon

Lightbox, polarizing film, inkjet print (El sueño de la Razon Produce Monstruos - from the series Los Caprichos (1799) by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes)
20" x 26" x 6"

The Dream Reason, The Sleep of Reason, El Sueño de La Razon

Lightbox, polarizing film, inkjet print (El sueño de la Razon Produce Monstruos - from the series Los Caprichos (1799) by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes)
20" x 26" x 6"

By whom will these keepers be kept? (Quis costodiat ipsos costodes?) II
Lightbox, polarizing film, acetate
20" x 26" x 6"

Eta Carinae

Graphite on Acrylic Panels, Wood

2006

"they weren't exactly my friends, but I did like them"

Stained Glass, soil, plants, mirror

2007

^This work just blows my mind.

Collin LaFleche

At School, 2007

Henry Holding Emily, 2007

Will and Alex, 2007




Ray in Prospect Park, 2007


"In December of 2006 I met Will and his group of friends, who grew up in New York and had known each other for most of their lives. At the time they were in their Senior Year of high school. These images were taken throughout the year that followed, and document a time of transition from adolescence into adulthood: the end of high school, the last summer together, and the move on to college."

If I had to pick a photographer to represent my generation I would pick Collin LaFleche. He is close to my age and that inspires me. I think he transcends all the snapshot kids. I am blown away by the romance of these pictures. More greatness on his website here.

Kids

Aw yeeeaaahhh. That emerging shiiitttt. Interview Magazine had an article about the "New New York Art Scene" Aritcle HERE. I was inspired to feature some art babies on this blog.

Jack Siegel


^ This is he

The internet told me that he's from the west coast and now he goes to Pratt. He hangs out with famous (as in people (like me) who don't know them care what they're doing) art babies and takes pictures. He has a website called the skullset here.

I'm fascinated by the bond between documenting and creating/feuling this scene.


Aurel Schmidt

She's not really new and has alot of press coverage, but I'm not over it because I kind of can't look at some of her work. I was looking at a slideshow at tiny vices and i had to stop because I was afraid something awful was going to pop up and I was going to freak out. Yeah I'm a puss. I don't like bugs and I don't like rotting things. Also there are alot of pics of her looking hot and cool and New Yorky and she's from like bumfuck Cananda or something.

















I'm honestly having a hard time posting these. I'm upset and distracted. I'm going to have to remove them.
Ian Aleksander Adams

^ that's him

He just graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design.