Peeing Man

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The first stop at Art Basel in Miami Beach was to see the public art in Collins Park, a few blocks away from the convention center. The Bass Museum of Art is at the western foot of the park. Terry went inside the museum because she had to pee. She had several cups of coffee with breakfast. I found a shady spot and started to sketch. There were 29 sculptures scattered throughout the park. A few guards sat in shady spots. I had a premonition that I might get kicked out of the park for sketching so I didn’t sit too close to a guard.

“The Peeing Man” by Tom Friedman is stainless steel, cast from a maquette made of crushed aluminum.  Tom Friedman, born in 1965, lives and works in Easthampton
Massachusetts. This sculpture is based on a self portrait of the artist. I was impressed with the length and girth of the streaming hose. The stream of pee glistened in the light. The urine stream measured 142 x 25 x 1 centimeters. I noticed a guard approaching me from my left. He slipped in behind me and looked over my shoulder. Terry said that he was there for the longest time. Soon I relaxed and forgot about him. Periodically people would stop next to the figure to have their picture taken with him. I took a photo of Terry kneeling with her head arched back and her mouth open so it looked like he was peeing in her mouth. It was good clean classless fun.

The most fun sculpture in the park was called “Appearing Rooms” by Jeppe Hein. This was a fountain that would shoot up streams of water that created walls. Terry walked inside and a sheet of water rose up enclosing her inside. It is possible to remain perfectly dry if you time your moves just right. Inside the overall square, more walls would rise up creating four rooms.  One dad walked inside with his fire year old son. They didn’t know about the inner wall streams and the young boy was straddling a wall that caught him off guard, soaking him. The dad yanked his son up quickly to his hip. I never went inside since I didn’t want any watercolors getting soaked. Terry however, had a blast.

Miami Beach

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Every year Terry and I go to Art Basel in Miami Beach. We drove south on December 4th and returned on December 8th. Art Basel showcases the world’s top galleries. I read that over a billion dollars worth of art is sold here in one week. We stay with Terry’s friend Elaine Pasekoff and Derek Hewitt. Elaine is the host of a syndicated radio program called “The Book Report.” The couple have several condos in a high rise overlooking Miami Beach. The first thing I did when we arrived was to grab my sketchbook and take in the dusk view from their balcony.

This week was also Elaine’s birthday so plans were in place for a big Disco blow out of a party. Friends and relatives were all driving into town along with the Art Basel throngs. We all decided to go out to diner at a Cuban Restaurant only a few blocks from the condo. Although I have gotten press passes in the past, I didn’t manage to convince Art Basel management that I was a journalist. For that reason, most of my focus would be on the smaller art fairs that were scattered in large tents all around Miami.

Looking through the Art Basel pamphlet, I ran across a page that I had used to clean off my brush because I had forgotten a rag. It was one of the more abstract and expressive pages in the publication. Dinner with friends and watching the moon rise over the ocean made for a nice end cap to the day.

NADA Art Fair

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The condominium we stayed at was in North Miami Beach and on the last day we went to the Deauville Beach Resort which was the home of the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) is a not-for-profit organization devoted to giving support and encouragement to those who work in new contemporary and emerging art; facilitating strong, and meaningful relationships between members; and enhancing the public interaction with contemporary art. NADA Art Fair was founded in 2003. Members include galleries directors, non-profit art spaces, art advisers, curators, writers, museums and other art professionals from around the world.

NADA was only a few blocks from where we were staying. After a quick stop for omelets, we walked along the beach boardwalk till we found the hotel. After three solid days of looking at art, we were all experiencing art burn out. Everything started looking the same. Dealers in one booth explained to us that dealers from Art Basel liked to migrate up north to the NADA Art Fair to see something new and unexpected. He said these dealers might stop back several times that week. As he put it, “We are all learning as we go. There is no rule book.”

After walking through the Napoleon, Richelieu and La Jardin Ballrooms, only one image was engraved into my memory. There was a video playing that showed a giant tortuous grunting as it tried to mount another tortuous. The person in the booth explained that there were only a few of this species left in the Galapagos Islands and they were all males kept together in an enclosure. These males were each over one hundred years old and the last of their species. With all the odds stacked against them these Centenarians were still trying to propagate their species. The shells scraped and clicked as claws lost grip and the dance began again in slow motion. Life finds finds a way.

In the lobby, Grant Peterson lay prostrate in a leather chair, his fedora spooned neatly over his backpack. Like everyone in our party, he was exhausted, having seen enough art to last him another year.

Red Dot

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The Red Dot tent was right next to the Scope tent. By now I was moving quickly focusing only on the work that interested me. There was far more representational art than in the convention center. A second large tent was connected to the first, doubling the exhibit space. Several members of our party were seated at a circular table in this back exhibit space. I was glad to join them. Seated at the table across from us was Russian artist Anna Razumovskaya with flowing blonde hair and dressed in a white business suit.. She paints romantic images of women in warm impressionistic hues. Her work exudes high fashion and excess, executed with bold brush strokes, bravado and flash. A large flower arrangement burst out of a clear vase full of green apples. A dark ballgown was exhibited as well with a giant black crinoline flower. Anna was often approached by women who loved her work. They shyly approached her, delighted to have the chance to meet the artist in person. She would pose for photos with them and was so gracious. It was nice seeing an artist being treated like a rock star.

The booth next to Anna’s contained the photo realistic paintings of Ken Orton. The large paintings explored the way light dances it’s way through mason jars. I’m fascinated that an artist could commit himself patiently to a quiet still life subject like that, over and over. For me, life is always on the move and I just struggle to keep up. There are things to be discovered in the quiet moments as well.

Moving a Tree

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Moving a Tree was a performance art piece staged in a courtyard in front of the SCOPE tent at Art Basel in Miami Beach. There were a few couches set up in the gavel courtyard for an audience. I sat on a comfy cushion to sketch as everyone else explored the art inside.

This is what the artist, Avery Lawrence, had to say about “Moving a Tree.”
“For the last five years, my family and I watched as dementia overcame my grandfather. The act of witnessing and attempting to slow down his decay brought us together. He died in January. In the ‘Moving a Tree’ film, installation and performance, I explore the process of creating an homage that honors his life, his passing, and the relationship he forged with my grandmother over sixty years of marriage.”

“There was a dying walnut tree on my grandparents property in Central Virginia. Through the process of moving it, I created a physical struggle that enabled me to contemplate my grandparents efforts to create a whole loving family and maintain their own compassionate relationship. The characters I portray in ‘Moving a Tree’ represent my grandmother and grandfather, and the installation recreates my idea of their home.”

I assumed the artist would be doing the performance piece non-stop. As soon as I started sketching, he stepped off and disappeared. Where was the struggle, the inner turmoil and endless contemplation? I blocked in the treadmill and all the background elements, then I went inside the tent to see some art. When I returned, he still wasn’t there but I had faith that my struggle to complete the sketch would be fulfilled. As I was applying washes, he did return and I quickly sketched him in, knowing he might disappear at a moments notice.

The SCOPE tent had some of the most inspiring art I saw that weekend. I found the work of Karim Hamid and I took my time exploring his work. Karim is an excellent draftsman whose work is part collage and part expressive oil paintings. He fragments and partly abstracts the human face and form. I saw his work last year at Art Basel and this year the colors were a bit more garish.

Sound Scape Park

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After a solid day of viewing art at Art Basel, our group decided to meet up at Sound Scape Park, just a block from the Convention Center. Mark Baratelli and I arrived first. Videos were going to be projected on the side of the New World Center which is a performance space for the New World Symphony. The palm trees in the park were all fitted with speakers for a surround sound experience. I started sketching near the projection booth at the back of the lawn. Orange and purple been bags were scattered all over the lawn for people to lounge in. Mark and I gathered three been bags for our group. Mark was thirsty so he walked to Washington Avenue in search of sodas. I was left to guard the bean bags as I sketched.

Every few minutes people would interrupt me asking how much it cost to rent the bean bags. I guess, since I was seated next to a group of bean bags they assumed I was in charge. I would explain that seating was free. They would then reach for the bags next to me and I had to explain I was saving them. One guy grabbed one and said, “You aren’t going to miss just one.” It wasn’t worth getting in a fist fight over a damn bag. They would have to make due. I decided it was easier to say “The bean bag chairs are $50 to rent” any time someone approached. Finally Terry and our friends arrived. They all squeezed together on the remaining bean bags, joking and snuggling.

The video I sketched was called, “I’m not much, but I’m all I think about”, by Marilyn Minter. Dimensional sculpted “ME” kept falling into a viscous fluid which splashed and then enveloped the letters in slow motion. I would have to guess that it was a film about narcissism. The next film was called, “God bless America” by Martha Rosier and it featured a woman saluting who struggle to pull the saluting hand away from her face.

After the screening, Derrek Hewitt rushed off to get the car in a parking garage. Terry, Mark and I lost his group on the way. Mark and I quickly walked through an abandoned store front that was full of stitched art. Female nudes were outlined with stitching on large six or seven foot canvas sheets. Two girls sat on the floor stitching. “Great sketch opportunity”, I thought but we had to find the group. After phone calls and texts, Mark and I piled into the car and we were all off to find a restaurant.

Art Basel Video Kiosks

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The sheer volume of artwork to be seen in the convention center is mind boggling. These large video kiosks build out of plywood were constantly occupied not only by people curious to see the videos, but by people just looking for a chance to rest their feet. I sat on my portable artist’s bench and started sketching. The video pods were playing 22 films selected by Artprojx and they played on a continuous loop. I watched one for a short while. It was a black and white film that showed a Marlyn Monroe look alike as she wandered aimlessly in a deserted city lot. I lost interest quickly and moved on.

In the background of the sketch is a black sculpture hanging by a chain from the ceiling joists. It is “Untitled #1176” by Petah Coyne made between 2007 and 2010. The piece consisted of a chandelier which was covered with taxidermy birds, candles silk flowers, hair pins, felt, thread and Velcro. I don’t know where someone would want to hang the thing.

I walked around with Mark Baratelli for a while and we came to the conclusion that this was the year of broken mirrors and hair. Just as we agreed on this, we came across four woman’s wigs framed on the wall. One small piece mounted inside a clear plexiglass box looked like a bar of soap carved out of a piece of wood. Mark read the plaque and discovered that the wood grain was actually a long strand of pubic hair. He enjoyed explaining the piece to two women who wandered by.

One artists work did capture my imagination. There were large plexiglass dioramas mounted on the wall. One diorama depicted a giant swirl in the ocean with two tall ships getting sucked into the “Maelstrom” by Mondongo. The colors were small strips of Plasticine. It reminded me of a 3D version of a Van Gogh. I loved how the work danced a fine line between painting and sculpture.

We went to the Wynwood Arts District in the evening to check out the vibrant galleries and graffiti art. We went to an Absolute Party, sipping Coconut Vodka while listening to musicians performing in front of a shipping storage container. Art covered every imaginable surface. The whole neighborhood was a riot of sound and color. A sketchers dream, but I was being escorted on a lightning tour of the neighborhood. We stopped in an empty lot full of food trucks. I suspect the neighborhood would be partying all night but it was time to crash.

Art Basel Miami

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Terry, Mark Baratelli and I drove down to Miami to see Art Basel. Basel is a city in Switzerland where art galleries from around the world gather to show their art. This was the tenth year that the art exhibition has taken place in Miami as well. Terry’s friend Elaine Pasekoff was gracious enough to let us stay in one of her South Beach Condos. When we arrived in the late afternoon we all relaxed and read the Miami Herald entertainment section to get an idea of what we might like to see. Art Basel is centered in the convention center but also has satellite tents and exhibitions all over town. It is impossible to see everything.

I was intrigued by a performance piece by Glenn Kaino. In a park near the convention center he was asking people to help him levitate a 20 by 20 foot platform with a representation of the 1934 Worlds Fair perched on top. Called “Levitating the Fair“, it was to be held up for the entire four day duration of the Art Basel. Derek Hewitt dropped Mark Baratelli and myself off in the park. As Mark photographed desert food bikes, I searched for a crowd holding up the Worlds Fair. I never found it. I did see the platform but it didn’t appear to be levitating. Perhaps everyone was on a bathroom break.

Star Wars paratroopers were guarding the balconies of an apartment complex across the street from the park. Picasso held a house painting brush loaded up with bright pink paint. “Love is the answer” billowed in the ocean breeze. A huge Mr. Potato Head had a green Swiss alps hat on and for some reason he was pleased to be holding a squeeze bottle of ketchup. “Brainwash” was printed above the doorway. After I finished my sketch, I hiked over to the convention center. The art marathon had begun.

Pulse of Miami

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On our final day experiencing Art Basel in Miami, Terry and I went to Pulse. This contemporary art exhibit was in a huge warehouse which is normally used for photo shoots and large parties. At the entrance I went through the routine of getting my press pass which landed me a VIP card. The previous evening Terry had been handed a ticked by some guy on the street who had already been to the show. The building is surrounded by a stone wall and the gated entrance lead us to a nice grass lawn with some sculptures and hammocks tied between the palm trees. It was a perfect lazy morning so I decided to start off by kicking back and relaxing on the lawn. There is nothing better than sketching to settle into a place. I was fascinated by this small red European car which was perfectly symmetrical, having steering wheels and headlamps in both the front and back of the vehicle. Re-imagining automobiles seemed to be a running theme this year.

Many people entering the PULSE galleries stopped stared and took pictures. Signs on the car’s seats however asked that no one sit inside the vehicle. In front of the car was a sculpture by Orly Genger titled “Beefcakes 2010.” It was made from miles of white rope woven together like it was crocheted. It’s spiraling form looked to me like Hokasai’s “The Great Wave at Kanagawa.” Similar rope sculptures were scattered around the lawn. Children couldn’t resist sitting and playing on them. Soon parents relaxed and sat on the sculptures as well while they discussed their last European vacation.

Two of Terry’s friends showed up and we all sat down to have lunch. Over lunch I was told about some Graffiti artists who were working over on 23rd Street. As soon as I finished eating, my mind wandered and I got antsy wanting to get another sketch done. When the conversation turned to fashion, Terry suggested I take off on foot to sketch. I didn’t need to be told twice. I hiked past a cement factory and several automotive cut shops. The buildings got dingier until I hit the first patch of bright graffiti color. Suddenly every building was covered with pop images, Henai Anime, and bold tags.

When I came across a group of artists busy tagging a wall, I settled in to sketch. The artist working in the foreground is named “Clever.” I could smell the aerosol fumes the whole time I worked. The distant artist used a face mask and Clever wore a purple surgical glove on his spray can hand. People occasionally would stop and take pictures of the artists at work. Paint cans and other supplies were neatly arranged on a large trailer bed. The trailer bed just happened to be parked there offering a nice platform to inspect the work in progress.

When I was done with the sketch, I shared my work with the graffiti artists and then wandered the neighborhood some more. Galleries popped up left and right. The buildings exploded with color and were filled with art. Music blared from boom boxes and then I came across a large store front that was being covered with graffiti. Grazyana Kleinman, an Orlando photographer was there taking photos. I stopped to talk for a while. Grazyana has shot a whole series of photos of graffiti artists at work. She was ecstatic, in her element soaking in the vibrant street scene around her. Terry drove up thanks to several text messages and Art Basel was over. I certainly experienced more this Year than last, but three days just isn’t enough time.

CEO Stagecoach

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There was so much more going on in Miami besides the art on display in the Convention Center for Art Basel. I spent an entire day trying to track down and sketch the CEO Stagecoach. In the morning Terry and I went to the Rosa Dela Cruz Gallery (23 NE 41 Street ) along with Elayne Pines, Bob Newlen and Derek Hewitt. I quickly ran through the 3 floors of modern art and decided I had to draw this furry Sasquatch with mirrored staircases spiraling in and around it. A female guard stood vigil in her white suite beside the sculpture the whole time. The wall behind was covered floor to ceiling with colored mirrors which appealed to many a vain patron or photographer. Periodically a patron would walk up to the furry monstrosity and snap a photo using their iPhone. To me the sculpted creature looked very annoyed at all the attention he was getting. Black ooze dripped from his fingertips and where the fur was stripped away the flesh was pink and raw. I wondered if his privates were the focus of these photos but I couldn’t see from where I was sketching half way up a staircase. Just as I was finishing the sketch, I got a text message from Terry letting me know she was relaxing having a free coffee and cookies out on the back patio. After I tried a few cookies myself, we went to a staff member of the gallery and asked about the Stagecoach. He didn’t know where to find it but he did an exhaustive internet search. It turned out that the artist was giving a talk about his creation at the LIONS Gallery at Museovault(346 NW 29th Street) and the coach was slated to be there till 4pm. Terry and I got back in her car and rushed over to that gallery.

As we pulled up to the Museovault, Terry pointed and shouted out “There it is!” The horse drawn art was on the move however. I was despondent. It was leaving. Terry suggested I get out and run after it, but I haven’t figured out yet how to sketch while running. We went inside to ask about the piece anyway. The space had a fun quirky collection of art. There was a radio that once belonged to Robert Maplethorpe that Kieth Haring had drawn a few of his white stick figures on. I was informed that the CEO Stagecoach was going to pick up the artists parents and it would be returning. I sent out an excited tweet just in case any other artists had made it their mission to sketch the coach. I paced the gallery nervously waiting for my moment to sketch. Terry had one of the curators looking online for handbags and concertinas. I felt at home in this gallery which was humble compared to the circus of excess at the convention center.

The CEO Stagecoach was created by artist Jeremy Dean. He got the idea of cutting a Hummer in half and rebuilding it as a stagecoach after he read about how people bought cars before the Great Depression of 1929 and then they could not afford to pay for gas. All over the south Americans converted cars into horse drawn carts. These cars were referred to as “Hoover Carts“, after President Edgar Hoover. The Hummer has become a symbol of American excess in the 21st century. Jeremy ended up spending his wife’s life savings to buy a brand new Hummer to deconstruct. Luckily the piece was immediately purchased by a museum in Kentucky. After all the modifications the vehicle weighed in at 18 hundred pounds which isn’t much more than a standard cart. The gorgeous Belgian Draft horses didn’t seem to mind. As Jeremy said, “This is an exploration of historical amnesia, the culture of excess, financial collapse, sustainability and the future, through leather, steel and chrome.” Jeremy is planning to convert a Cadillac Escalade next. I asked Jeremy to sign my sketch. After his talk a bicycle rolled by on the sidewalk riding on its rims with no rubber tires. There was something surreal about the moment as both vehicles made statements about want and economics.