a x e s m u n d i

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Vernissages | Richard Serra "Junction / Cycle"

"Junction / Cycle" , Richard Serra's latest installation at Gagosian West is another walking meditation on space and geometry. To understand the scale see the dimension of the walkthrough sculptures:
Junction (2011): 13’ 11/2”x 75’ 1/2" x 49’ 15/16” (4 x 22.9 x 15.2 m)
Cycle (2010): 14’ 1” x 57’ 6 1/2” x 55’ 8” (4.3 x 17.5 x 17 m)
Although the heavy, not sustainable, steel seems to defy our design efforts in the search of light and flexible materials, the exhibition is truly powerful and enjoyable. Not to be missed.

Events | "Spiral Music" and Film on Buddhism at the Rubin

The Rubin Museum’s series Spiral Music once again presented transcendent sounds in the playing of Max ZT on the dulcimer and Sam Sadigursky on the flute last evening (9/14/11).

Max ZT may indeed be lauded as the “Jim Hendrix of Hammered Dulcimer,” but in the playing we heard, the transcendent overshown the fiery and the improvisatory sounds led, but didn’t hammer on our psyches. This was the duo’s first collaboration, and we hope that we will more.

Following the music, the Rubin’s film series presented To Be A Buddhist Nun, the New York Premiere of "In the Shadow of Buddha". Shot by Heather Kessinger, the film took us to the seldom-seen world of Buddhist nuns in Tibet and refugees in Ladakh, a region in northernmost India.

Most of the nuns were old, wrinkled and with missing or deformed teeth, visual images seldom seen on movie screens. Although shown with prayer wheels or in services, or with prayer wheels, in their words the nuns lamented their lack of education and their second-class status in this Buddhist tradition. “A woman who has been a nun for 100 years must bow to a man who has been a monk for only one day”.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Exhibitions NYC | Manfred Mohr "Réflexions sur une esthétique programmée"

"Réflexions sur une esthétique programmée" opened on Friday at bitforms. The exhibition is a retrospective of Manfred Mohr's work, on the pioneer of digital art, and borrow the title from the 1971 solo exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris “Computer Graphics - Une Esthétique Programmée”, where the artist presented works entirely calculated and drawn by a digital (rather than analog) computer. Mohr (also a jazz musician) was highly influenced by the early 1960’s theoretical writings of the German philosopher Max Bense in the notion of defining of a programmed aesthetic, parallel to the the artist's design of electronic sound. Mohr's work was generated by FORTRAN programs (written by the artist himself) and printed in ink on paper by a plotter.

The exhibition well presents Mohr's transition in media throughout the past four decades: from sketches and black and white prints to video. Mohr's rigorous approach and philosophical reasoning are remarkable, especially in the context of contemporary digital art where the ease of the medium often leads to simplistic and superficial artwork.

Manfred Mohr and his wife, the mathematician Estarose Wolfson

Event MIAMI | Miami Book Fair International

Hongxing Ye, artist with her 2011 Book Fair poster

The largest consumer book fair in the U.S. will be rolling into downtown Miami in November for a stimulating eight days of lectures, talks, workshops and readings along with a street fair piled high with book vendors. The 2011 28^th annual fair is themed with the traditions and literature of China. Over 400 writers will grace the Miami Dade College area, reflecting Miami’s varied population with the IberoAmerican Authors Program, the Caribbean and Haitian community will be highlighting featured writers; children’s authors are represented at the fair; kids of all ages will benefit from the Comix Galaxy. There is nothing more exciting than to meander through days of thoughtful minds, careening from Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Laureates and a generous sprinkling of up and coming local and International authors.

Consider membership in Friends of the Book Fair to take full advantage of every morsel of literary activity. (see website below)

November 13-20, 2011

Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Wolfson Campus,

Miami Book Fair info and membership details:

http://www.miamibookfair.com/membership/friends/

Florida Center for the Literary Arts:

http://www.flcenterlitarts.com/

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Vernissages NYC | Chelsea September 9: Re-Forming Space

Space was the theme du jour at Friday night art openings in Chelsea. Revisited and re-presented in different media, scales, materials and messages.

Space intersected with time, as in the Leandro Erlich’s "Two Different Tomorrows" at Sean Kelly Gallery. The exhibition features four sculptural/architectural installations, based on elevators. This functional object/space is de-constructed, de-contextualized and re-presented in many different meaning of the most basic spatial and temporal perceptions, which reminded me of Jean Piaget’s genetic epistemology studies: inside-out, up and down, past and present. Mirrors and video illusionary effects add to the depth of this exhibition which engage and amuses the cognitive state of the viewer. Not to be missed!

Less rigorous approach and more traditional presentation of "de-construction" at Derek Eller Gallery presenting Adam Marnie "Locus Rubric":

More space with the iconic Lucio Fontana's seminal "cut" on space and matter, presented at Andrea Rosen Gallery —excusez moi, but I could not understand the association with Ruby Sterling, and did not get any help as a press release...

Lucio Fontana "cuts"

Not so much on space, —and yet, another psychological citation— but nicely presented at the Winkleman Curatorial Research Lab was DOTTO LOTTO "an installation of almost 3,000 connect-the-dot puzzles on business reply mail postcards completed and returned by people in New York City and across the globe, along with an animation video that "connects" the postcards":