Eric Von Robertson | C.A.R.L., ‘Gentle Load’

Oskar Dawicki, ‘I’m sorry’ (2010)

Live in front of the audience Dawicki reads a text explaining he’s sorry for the failed performance he’s giving. Finally, to make up for wasting the audience’s time and the curator’s chance of putting on a good show, he hands out sweets while a taperecorder plays the sound of him crying and once more apologizing.

A performance seen in Rotterdam during Witte de With’s performance cycle ‘Let us compare mythologies’. Pictures by Peter Rakossy.

More fine work by Dawicki downstairs….

‘Vanitas’ (2005)

‘Vanitas’ (detail)

A collection of groceries whose before dates expire during the exhibition. The timers placed by each of the products display the time left to their “death” – each day of the exhibition another product expires, as the exhibition ends all products are inedible.

‘Advertising project’ (2002)

‘Advertising project’ (detail of one of the hidden portraits)

Working for over two years as a graphic artist in one of Cracow’s advertising agencies, Dawicki had placed his microscopic self-portrait on posters, leaflets and folders commissioned by producers of heating equipment, medical and health products or heavy industry raw materials suppliers. All prints have been reproduced in thousands of copies and distributed according to their function, while the hidden miniature artist’s face remained largely unnoticed.

Tue Greenfort, ‘Bio-Wurstwolke – After Dieter Roth 1969′ (2007)

‘Daimlerstraße 38′ (2001)

The animals were allured by a sausage. When the fox bit in the bait, it activated the camera connected by a cord with the sausage. One week later the animals had learned to eat the sausage without being photographed.

More more more

‘Chaudfontaine Condensation Cube – after Hans Haacke’ (2006)

‘Closed Biosphere’ (2003)

While inside a darkened room filled with the sound of waves breaking on climbs, dehumidification equipment imperceptibly extracted moisture from unsuspecting visitors. The condensate body water was refilled on used PET water bottles as the ones sold during the art fair. The refilled bottles were exhibited in a showcase next to the sound chamber entrance.

‘1,5l PET water bottle transformed to a 0,5l bottle and filled with local tap water from Berlin’ (2005)

Shrunken PET bottle.

‘Langsamkeit’ (2006)

Photograph.

Untitled (Bins) (2008)

Modified trash bins for Frieze projects.

‘Water cooler’ (2006)

‘Water cooler’ uses frozen fruit juice to cool water brought up from the point in Witte de With’s cellar where it enters the building.

The other highlight for me was the video ‘Annotated Plans for an Evacuation ‘ (2009) by Alex Hubbard.

In the video, Hubbard continuously alters the look of an old, used Ford Tempo. He does this with styrofoam, plaster and spraypaint in a way that makes it seem like he has a very clear plan for the make-over. However, over the course of the video, the purpose for his alterations becomes increasingly unclear, while their pointlessness becomes ever more clear.

The video, as installed at the Whitney.

‘Wanderers in the expanded field’ by ??? Joe Scanlan.

I saw Sexy Neighbors play live at The Charleston, NY, last Monday.
Below are three songs from their album ‘Dream Out’, which is currently growing on me…

Check them out!

Herman van Ingelgem, ‘The visitor’ (2007)
Fan and aerated cement blocks

‘The visitor 1′ (2006)
Wood and socks

‘The visitor 1′ (detail) (2006)

‘Resort’ (2008)
Handkerchief, wood, nails

‘Pink mobile sculpture’  (2008)
chewing gum on ceiling, 25 cm

‘Resort’ (2007)
Mixed materials – 1200 x 500 x 260 cm
Installation view De Fabriek, Eindhoven

‘Resort’ (detail) (2007)

‘Resort’ (inside view) (2007)

‘Resort’ (detail) (2007)

‘Resort’ (2007)

‘Area’ (2005)
Wood and sausages

Seen last Friday at Gregor Podnar in Berlin; Ariel Schlesinger’s solo show called ‘Reverse engineering’. Although not many works and not all of them as good; a nice show, with quite some energy!

From the gallery’s exhibition text:

“In the sculptures shown here, Ariel Schlesinger applies techniques inspired by the reverse engineering process – by tapping into the process of their creation, he investigates hidden possibilities trapped in devices.”

‘A car full of gas’ (2009)

In the first work, two large gastanks sitting side by side in a brand new Mini Cooper breathe gas into the car. A small flame comes out of a hole drilled in the car’s passenger window.

‘A car full of gas’ (detail) (2009)

I’d never thought burning a flame from its window was one of the Cooper’s hidden possibilities, but I think the work’s best part is that it’s subtle, but also quite dangerous-looking. Ofcourse it’s quite a muscle work, but the humour and the energy that comes from it make up for this fact.

‘The sound two empty spaces make when they meet’ (2009)

‘The sound two empty spaces make when they meet’ (detail) (2009)

Untitled (pair) (2010)

A glass mug filled with water cramped into a paper cup makes for one of the two best works in the show.

Untitled (pair) (2010)

‘Oil lamp’ (2010)

The flame coming from the handmade lighter in ‘Oil lamp’ becomes a bit of a boring example of one of the many ways in which the idea can be given a form. You can see flames coming from a lot of Schlesinger’s works…

Untitled (socks holder) #3, #5, #9 and #10 (2009)

And the socks-turned-neckties are actually a bit too corny to become more than a little joke.

Untitled (socks holder) #5 (2009)

The exit.

Centennial Society (Packard Jennings), ‘Walgreens coupons’

This coupon is made to be inserted in the Walgreens EasySaver Catalog available every month at Walgreens, a chain of superstores comparable to Walmart.

‘W.T.F.?’ (2008)

Sign to be used in combination with existing commercial sign and sandwich-signs.

‘Lottery tickets’

These lottery tickets were given out for free with other Lottery purchases or upon request from few of the culturally engaged stores in Oakland’s Lake Merritt and Temescal districts, and San Francisco’s Mission and Western Addition districts. Each district has its own ticket design and eight unique “prizes.” The intention is to transform an instant of personal focus into a moment of contemplation about the local environment, community, and culture. The tickets come in perforated strips of five tickets. Twelve thousand tickets are being given away through January.

Pauline Bastard, ‘Over the rainbow’ (2009)

A lot of her works are videos that I can’t show you here, because her website’s so Flashy… so go there.

‘Western’ (2009)

A video depicting the Apple beachball rolling across deserted landscapes.
Here’s a video:

‘Movie’ (2008)

‘Flurry’

‘Kiss kiss’

Christopher Chiappa, ‘Hermit crab’, video (2010)

‘Hermit crab’ is a video manipulating common childhood pet hermit crabs in a way that
depicts power and abuse. The artist’s head is cropped out of each frame as he methodically
glues each of the twenty-five hermit crab shells together to form a circle. The crabs’ behavior
during the gluing evokes human struggle and strategies for coping as a group.

Photograph taken at the end of the production of the film.

‘Wiper’, 2005-2008
Automobile back windshield wiper mounted on wall making a drawing from the rubber residue

Video of ‘Wiper’.

‘Cornball‘, 2010
Pigmented resin and spray paint over carved Styrofoam

‘Albino Knife’, 2010
Hand carved pine and spray paint

‘Speed Stick’, 2008
An arch made of cast Speed Stick deodorant

Nedko Solakov, ‘Destroyed public sculpture’ (2001) Video here

Destroyed replica of a part from a public sculpture called Citizens (created by Ubo Scheffer, 1970), situated in front of the Police Headquarters, Arnhem

Via VVORK

Baptiste Debombourg, ‘Codes Article’ (2004)

The furniture has been destroyed with an axe and reconstructed after that. It was brand new, standard, cheap, and impersonal before being destroyed. Afterwards it reflects the frustration, guilt and possible repentance of the individual in relation to serially produced culture.

Detail shots.

‘Chez Marcel’ (2007)

2100 Marcel Duchamp Price

‘Triumphal Arch’ (2001)

‘Turbo’ (2008)

Musical intermezzo by Deerhoof

Robert Gligorov, ‘Art 4 oil’  (2006)

Found on new-art a while ago…

A few more works after the jump.

‘Goldfishes’  (1996)

‘Scultura Digitale’  (2006)

‘Fish eye’  (2006)

Unfortunately, I have no idea where I found this…

Tercerunquinto, ‘Escultura publica en la periferia urbana de Monterrey’ (2006)

Tercerunquinto (meaning in English something like ‘a third of a fifth’) is the collective project of Mexican artists Julio Castro Carreón, Gabriel Cázares Salas and Rolando Flores Tovar. Formed in 1996, the collective is responsible for dozens of actions designed, in their words, ‘to question the boundaries between private and public space, examining the organized frontiers around the constitution of such definitions’.

‘Escultura publica en la periferia urbana de Monterrey’ is a public sculpture on the periphery of the city of Monterrey. It consisted of a concrete foundation that was free to use by the people of Monterrey. Apart from being used as a platform for a political rally, it was transformed among others into a marketplace, a hangout, until eventually becoming claimed by a man who built his house on it. The house remains there to this day.

Seen a while ago in the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, as part of the exhibition ‘Mexico: Expected/Unexpected. Collection Isabel and Agustín Coppel’.

Pierre Ardouvin, ‘Les Quatre Saisons’ (2010)

Pierre Ardouvin is participating in WHAT’S THE POINT OF GIVING YOU ANY MORE ARTWORKS?

‘Soleil d’hiver’

‘La fin du monde’

Katinka Pilscheur, exhibition overview at Dortmunder Kunstverein, 2009

‘5-2006-1′  (2006)

‘4-2008-2′  (2008)

‘Tafelbild’ (2006)

Exhibition overview Galerie Koal

Martin Boyle, Untitled (2008)

Click the picture to see the video.

Martin Boyle produces work that is both playful and performative. He re-presents mass produced quirky objects and packaging in multiple forms to the viewer through video installation and sculptural pieces. His work highlights a preoccupation with ideas of value, or lack off, through his use of packaging and consumer goods…

Untitled (2007)

Again, click picture for video.

‘Auto Cannibal’ (2009)

Videostill from ‘Auto Cannibal’ (2009)

Matt Calderwood, ‘Double ladder (Cross)’, 2009

Untitled, 2008

‘Some things just work’, 2004

‘Span’, 2009

Gelitin, still from ‘Tierfick’  (1998)

Jeppe Hein, ‘360 presence’ (2002)

Interview with Jeppe Hein here.

Ujin Lee, from the ongoing series ‘Dust’ (2009)

Ivan Puig, ‘Mandala’ (2006)

Just one more work after ‘le jump’.

‘Tour de force’ (2001)

Intervention for public sculpture, photograph.

Michael Gumhold, ‘Movement #1913–2007′

via

Ariel Schlesinger, ‘Bubble Machine’, 2006

Untitled (Lighters), 2007

‘Graffiti Printer’, 2006

Untitled (Masking tape), 2003

Johannes Vogl, Ohne Titel (Marmeladenbrotstreichmaschine) / Untitled (Machine to produce jam breads) (2007)

Moskitofänger (Mosquito catcher), 2005

‘Drache’ (2009)

During the galvanisation process, metal atoms from a copper sulphate solution are deposited onto the objects by means of electrolysis. Just like during the etching process, four keys have been subject to the chemical process for an increasing period of time.

Driessens & Verstappen, ‘Morphoteque #13′ (2003)