Le Rêve Américain
8 years ago
Monday, October 20, 2008
GILBERT & GEORGE IN TIME SQUARE
Thank you again Creative Time for helping us find this unexpected pleasure on a resent visit to Times Square on a Monday Night. A Portrait of the Artists As Young Men, 1970; The Nature of Our Looking, 1972
October 3–November 14, 2008
These videos are running in conjunction with the last stop of their monumental retrospective on view at the Brooklyn Museum. We caught this show last year at the Tate Modern. Massive in its scope, gird your loins and take the plunge. There are some splendid rewards, especially in many of their mid-career stain-glass window homages to street boys.
Monday, September 22, 2008
FAILURE HITS THE UES - William Pope.L @ Mitchell-Innes & Nash
As the financial and house markets seemed to be coming down around our ears, we journeyed up to that bastion of gracious living and expense accounts, Madison Avenue and 79th Street to pop in to the opening of William Pope.L's first show with his new gallery, Mitchell-Innes & Nash. And what a pleasant surprise! What should we find covering four walls of one of the two main gallery areas but hundreds upon hundreds of "Failure" drawings. These small intimate drawings where all done on available paper while traveling, so we get a wide range of sizes; coasters, hotel stationery, notepads, small photos, etc). Beautifully installed!!
In the second gallery, are two larger pieces, plus a small wall sculpture consisting of two drinnking glasses with water. The large wooden coffin for the US flag is raised off the ground and emits the soft sound of a flag flapping in the wind.
Screw the NY Times! A great little debut show! ENCORE!!!
In the second gallery, are two larger pieces, plus a small wall sculpture consisting of two drinnking glasses with water. The large wooden coffin for the US flag is raised off the ground and emits the soft sound of a flag flapping in the wind.
Screw the NY Times! A great little debut show! ENCORE!!!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Lost Serra
Encountered this large Cor-Ten slab at the corner of 12th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan today, Looks like a Richard Serra piece that fell off a truck, eh what?We believe it is a small "prop" piece from early in Mr. Serra's career and was obviously abandoned by its captors once they realized how heavy and cumbersome the damn thing was.
Any leads to it owner and proper return will be appreciated.
The Management of JTLR
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
FILM REPORT FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY or What you see in Vermont should stay in Vermont
Trying to beat the holiday crowds on the road this Labor Day Weekend, we decided to take off this past weekend for an extended one in the mild wilds of Burlington, VT. Summoned by the siren call of the annual Montpelier Used Instrument Sale, one cannot visit Burlington in the summertime and not pay a visit to the Sunset Drive-In, a four screen outdoor film screening extravaganza (now with a rather mediocre mini putt-putt golf course) where you cannot fail to be entertained. Our recent visit allowed us to see two of this summer's male bonding comedies, Pineapple Express and Step Brothers!!Let's start with the latest Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen effort Pineapple Express. Along with their cohort Evan Goldberg, these three have created a new sub-category to Buddy Flicks, The Post-Modern Male Bonding Flick. In this particular instance it is Dale Denton, a pot-head Process Server played by Seth Rogen and his pot dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) who are forced to take it on the lam after Dale witnesses a gangland murder. After a hilariously paranoid evening in the woods of LA, the two run around the city, hither and yon, trying to figure out who knows what, who has killed or will kill, and basically trying to stay alive. There is a hilarious scene with a school guard officer, played by Cleo King, who takes Dale down for dealing drugs to children and lectures him face-to-face while driving him down to the station. Now that one can't have SEX and DRUGS and ROCK N ROLL, Apatow and Rogen seem to be asking us to consider which one IS worse SEX or DRUGS (Dale, who is in his early 30's, has a "relationship" with a 17 year old High School student, and no one, except her Dad (a wonderful cameo role for Ed Begley, Jr.) seems to have problem with this age discrepancy). Rogen has a corner on the market when it comes to hazy heroes; his bearish grin makes me think of Yogi Bear after a weekend in Amsterdam. As in Superbad, the film culminates in the two male protagonists saying "I Love You" to each other and NOT having sex. In fact, the less actual touching during those moments supposedly the better, and a lot is milked out of the emotional and physical effort that NOT touching causes. What made Superbad far more effective as a film was that we knew the two male protagonists, Jonah and Michael, were being torn apart by school, by distance, by social "values", and even by sexuality, whereas Dale and Saul seemed fated to survive together in the cloudy hazy of a cross-joint.
;--{ A few honest laughs and some nice cameo work; worth the $2.50 so far (Did I mention that we snuck someone in without paying?)!!
After some fries, and onion rings, and one of the cheapest burgers in town ($2.50), we settled in for our second feature Step Brothers. Directed by Adam McKay and written by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay from a story by the two along with John C. Reilly, this movie should go over big at the cineplex in Boca Raton. The meeting and mating of Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen) and Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins) comes fast and furious, and both bond over their deep, dark secret; they each have a middle-aged son living with them at home. Nancy's son Brennan (Will Ferrell) is a sensitive, artistic, mamma's boy, while Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) fears the a lose of the all-male dominion he shares with his dad ("We go to the bathroom with the door open!")
The "comedy" comes out of the joining of these two households as one, forcing these two middle-aged adolescents to confront and conform to each others quirks and idiosyncrasies. As opposed to laughs, we are presented a series of peculiar moments of grown men acting out like tired 10-year-olds. When the "boys" are told they can borrow anything out of dad's clothing closet to look their best for a job interview, they opt to deck themselves out in evening clothes, cut-aways, cummerbunds and bow ties. Hilarious perhaps to a 10-year-old, things don't improve for us grown-ups when the two decide to interview for a job as one. And the fight over whether Brennan had touched Dale's drum kit or not is down-right painful. After driving a wedge between mom and dad by wrecking dad's dream boat (and dream of early retirement to sail around the world) while producing their first music video together, the two boy's finally hunker down, get jobs, and ultimately get their parents back together. Fairy tales can come true!!
:-( Amazed I stayed awake for the whole thing! Silly idea, poor presentation and badly written. Skip it if at all possible!!
Finally, we attended a special wine-tasting screening of the small indie film Bottle Shock at the Roxy in downtown Burlington. A poorly planned event sponsored by a new local wine shop, mayhem preceded the screening as people crowded around to sample and vote on their preferences between three pairs of wines, one French, one Californian (we preferred the French two to one). I doubt any amount of alcohol would relieve the pain of this ridiculous dramatization of the "famous" event in 1976 which pitted the best of French wines against those of California's Napa/Sonoma Valleys. Basically an enormous advertisement for the winery Chateau Montelena (an establishment of undeniable quality; will this now allow them to jack their pricey prices up even more?), there is no plot per se, no hero to root for, and no sense to pacing to create any kind of tension. Skilled, talented actors like Dennis Farina, Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman do their best to rise about the mediocre material they have to work with, but struggle is futile and the strong gravitational pull of dullness drags down even these seasoned veterans.
:-( :-( :-( AVOID AT ALL COSTS!! THIS AIN'T NO SIDEWAYS!!!! BOTTLE SCHLOCK!!!!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW - Olafur Eliasson's "The New York City Waterfalls"
If you haven't taken a ride on the Staten Island Ferry recently, take the opportunity to do so now! Not only will it cool you off from the city heat, but it will give you a magnificent opportunity to view all four of Olafur Eliasson's "The New York City Waterfalls" at once. Be sure to be at the back of the boat as it leaves the Manhattan side (or the front as it docks there).
These four waterfalls are actually enormous scaffold-like towers that pump river water up and out their tops. Aesthetically speaking they aren't much to look at, but their is something unmistakably magical about these waterfalls. Depending on their placement, width and height, the falls themselves have varying effects as they cascade down. I particularly like the effect of the tower on the Brooklyn piers; tall and wide, its placement seems to catch the breeze coming up the Narrows (or is it the traffic from the BQE?) and always seems to have the quality of an airy bridal veil. Eliasson is a master of emotional minimalism; vague and seemingly effortless, he is able to conjure a happy vertigo.
Check'em out!!
August 27th: Panned by "L" Magazine as the most disappointing public art work! Everyone keeps comparing it to"The Gates"! Why? You aren't able to interact with these pieces in the same way, but they can be enjoyed as unique, individual experiences. Will "L" query people about their feelings for the Falls at the end of their run in October? Anyone taking any bets?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
THE TOURONDEL OF THE SCREW: BLT Burger
Of all the top chefs of New York City, Laurent Tourondel seems to have the most sordid past. As the chef many years ago at the Upper East Side boite Cello, Tourondel served up immaculate seafood to rival Eric Ripart at Le Bernardin and flavor combinations to give Daniel Boulud a run for his money. Then POOF!! The place closed overnight, deep in debt, one of the partners having embezzled most of the funds. Tourondel also seemed to disappear into the night.
Then in 2004, he reappeared on 57th St with Bistro Laurent Tournodel Steak, a French twist on the American steakhouse, which proudly proclaimed the chef was back and with a vengeance!! As the restaurant garnered praise, the Bistro Laurent Tourondel (BLT) brand spread; BLT Fish and BLT Prime opened in the City; satellites of BLT Steak sprung up around the country. Like a spurned lover, Tourondel reemerged as a restaurateur determined NEVER to have THAT happen to him again!!
Now we have BLT Burger, on 460 Sixth Avenue (twixt 11th and 12th st). Taking on the all-American hamburger, Tourondel has eschewed the high-end Boulud Burger for the basic Burger King take-out variety.
Then in 2004, he reappeared on 57th St with Bistro Laurent Tournodel Steak, a French twist on the American steakhouse, which proudly proclaimed the chef was back and with a vengeance!! As the restaurant garnered praise, the Bistro Laurent Tourondel (BLT) brand spread; BLT Fish and BLT Prime opened in the City; satellites of BLT Steak sprung up around the country. Like a spurned lover, Tourondel reemerged as a restaurateur determined NEVER to have THAT happen to him again!!
Now we have BLT Burger, on 460 Sixth Avenue (twixt 11th and 12th st). Taking on the all-American hamburger, Tourondel has eschewed the high-end Boulud Burger for the basic Burger King take-out variety.
Diagrammatically analyzed and constructed (bun, burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard, ketchup and mayo), they are never cooked beyond medium. You can upgrade your beef to American or Japanese Kobe beef (the Japanese will raise your burger investment closer to Boulud's at $62!), but I'd question whether it's worth it. Using a blend of four different beef cuts for his patties, I found the burger genuinely tasty and moist. Whether striped down to its essential beef-and-bun (you can request items be removed from your burger) or all dolled up (sorry but I just don't do pickles and mustard on ANYTHING), the sandwich is consistently flavorful with a nice grill-charred smokiness to it. Matched with nicely prepped French Fries, a classic platter with a soft drink will set you back $13. Platters can also be ordered with a milkshake (served in a classic fountain milkshake glass) for $16 or a draft beer (brewery choices include Blue Point, Mad Hat and Smutty Nose) for $17. If you are going a la carte, I would suggest replacing your fries with the Vidalia Onion Rings to accompany your burger. Desserts such as pie a la mode and ice cream sundaes are available, if you have room.
Decor seems overlooked in this shotgun bistro-cum-diner, and the frosted lighting give the impression of it being smoke-filled and dank on the nicest day. But I haven't been returning for the "scene". I have finally found where the beef is!!
Decor seems overlooked in this shotgun bistro-cum-diner, and the frosted lighting give the impression of it being smoke-filled and dank on the nicest day. But I haven't been returning for the "scene". I have finally found where the beef is!!
WHO'S LIFE IS IT ANYWAY? - Godard's Vivre Sa Vie @ Film Forum
You still have a few days to catch this wonderful new print of Jean-Luc's Godard early masterpiece at Film Forum (I wouldn't be surprised if it it gets held over).
I am not a big Godard fan. I find him pedantic and petulant most times. But there is something about the lyricism of this black-and-white elegy that raises it to the level of poetry.
We know were in for something different right from the first scene (the film is divided into 12 scenes, each with its dutiful Godard placard). Nana (Anna Karina) is having a conversation with her estranged husband in some nameless Parisian cafe. They talk about their child, his parents, why she has left him (to become a film actress). And the entire conversation is shot from behind; all we are seeing is the back of their heads!
Karina was concerned about her looks during the filming; she felt her deteriorating relationship with Godard and a low budget were making her look "bad". I'd have to disagree. She looks luminous and her dark pageboy haircut accentuates her keen features. She is a doomed beauty. How can you not love her as we watch her watching an interrogation scene from Dreyer's Passion of Saint Joan? Godard certainly lavished the same doting close-up time to his saintly title character as Dreyer did to his.
A masterpiece!! Catch this great new 35mm print while you can!!
I am not a big Godard fan. I find him pedantic and petulant most times. But there is something about the lyricism of this black-and-white elegy that raises it to the level of poetry.
We know were in for something different right from the first scene (the film is divided into 12 scenes, each with its dutiful Godard placard). Nana (Anna Karina) is having a conversation with her estranged husband in some nameless Parisian cafe. They talk about their child, his parents, why she has left him (to become a film actress). And the entire conversation is shot from behind; all we are seeing is the back of their heads!
Karina was concerned about her looks during the filming; she felt her deteriorating relationship with Godard and a low budget were making her look "bad". I'd have to disagree. She looks luminous and her dark pageboy haircut accentuates her keen features. She is a doomed beauty. How can you not love her as we watch her watching an interrogation scene from Dreyer's Passion of Saint Joan? Godard certainly lavished the same doting close-up time to his saintly title character as Dreyer did to his.
A masterpiece!! Catch this great new 35mm print while you can!!
Friday, February 22, 2008
AN AFTERNOON STROLL THROUGH CHELSEA
On a recent wintery afternoon, we took in some sun and some culture. Here's are some exhibitions of note:
CHRIS MARTIN @ MITCHELL-INNES & NASH - A very nice, well-curated show of recent paintings by the last of the great Williamsburg painters. The work is smart and loopy. They contain a joie-de-vivre that you can only experience first-hand (many of the paintings' surfaces are topographical). Several stripe paintings pay homage to Brancusi and Barnett Newman, colorful columns made of stacked semi-circular shapes. Circular forms bump up under the surface and flower into fanciful gardens. "Good Evening, Alfred Jensen, Good Evening" carries the joyous cacophony of that artist's work in a small canvas that surrounds a collage blond bikini model in a rainbow of thick colorful stripes. My favorite work, Afghan Painting, also involves collage, this time the eye of a lizard hidden amidst a day-glo color field painting done on an actual crocheted afghan. Don't forget to pat the lucky gnome by the doorway on your way out.
JUAN USLÉ @ CHEIM & READ - Another painter with a lot of textures and a lot of stripes. The first gallery contains three small horizontal paintings with vertical stripes segmenting them. They are rather charming. The larger the pieces got, the more derivative. All done in some exotic concoction of vinyl dispersion and dry pigment, some made me think of monochromatic Mary Heilmans, others of Agnes Martin on a VERY rainy day. Impressive but rather empty.
RICHARD ARTSCHWAGER @ GAGOSIAN - Artschwager has unpacked those packing crate sculptures and made himself right at home, displaying a painted series of domestic vignettes which echo Impressionist interiors along with two Tables made of Formica, subtitled (Whatever) and (Somewhat). The master is in peak form here. Be sure to check out the small gallery space behind reception; the small homage to Morandi is nice, but the enormous, hairy, turquoise exclamation point suspended from the ceiling steals the show! Bravo!!
NAYLAND BLAKE "WHAT THE WHISKEY SAID, WHAT THE SUN IS SAYING" @ MATTHEW MARKS - I think the title says it all; that is to say, absolutely nothing. Petulant and adolescent, it's a show of a lot of work you've seen done before by much better artists. I have never understood this artist's appeal, and this show hasn't changed my mind. Not worth the trip up the stairs!!
SARAH PICKERING @ DANIEL COONEY GALLERY: I liked these large color photographs by this up-and-coming photographer. Unlike her earlier work of explosions out in natural settings, which have left me cold, these images of "practise fires" bring us indoors into familiar surroundings. These set-up scenarios are extremely thoughtful but tilt towards the Anglophile (one bedside table contained a paperback Patricia Highsmith mystery and a can of Strongbow). Worth a peek.
Also seen:
Robert Gobers @ Matthew Marks - A creepy show taking up two small gallery spaces. Wall sculptures of the seats of wooden chairs sprouting breasts. The two on 21st Street included a flaccid shotgun and a snake-like set of feet connected by a hairy leg. Whatever.
Michal Rovner: Makom II @ Pace Wilderstein - Rovner builds a little bit of the Holy Land for you right here Stateside. A sonic hum brings an added solemnity to this imposing, cryptic structure. Worth a peak.
Shirin Neshat @ Barbara Gladstone - Two overly long, beautifully shot video installations, with some large color photo-documents. Just make a movie already.
Catherince Sullivan: Triangle of Need @ Metro Pictures - More video taking up a lot of space. If you have to go, check out the last gallery with the small pixelated projections of bridal picture shoots.
Luis Gispert @ Mary Boone - Even more video!! Something about kids. The sound track was annoying and the volume level unbearable. C-prints from the video are available in the back gallery, if you dare!!
CHRIS MARTIN @ MITCHELL-INNES & NASH - A very nice, well-curated show of recent paintings by the last of the great Williamsburg painters. The work is smart and loopy. They contain a joie-de-vivre that you can only experience first-hand (many of the paintings' surfaces are topographical). Several stripe paintings pay homage to Brancusi and Barnett Newman, colorful columns made of stacked semi-circular shapes. Circular forms bump up under the surface and flower into fanciful gardens. "Good Evening, Alfred Jensen, Good Evening" carries the joyous cacophony of that artist's work in a small canvas that surrounds a collage blond bikini model in a rainbow of thick colorful stripes. My favorite work, Afghan Painting, also involves collage, this time the eye of a lizard hidden amidst a day-glo color field painting done on an actual crocheted afghan. Don't forget to pat the lucky gnome by the doorway on your way out.
JUAN USLÉ @ CHEIM & READ - Another painter with a lot of textures and a lot of stripes. The first gallery contains three small horizontal paintings with vertical stripes segmenting them. They are rather charming. The larger the pieces got, the more derivative. All done in some exotic concoction of vinyl dispersion and dry pigment, some made me think of monochromatic Mary Heilmans, others of Agnes Martin on a VERY rainy day. Impressive but rather empty.
RICHARD ARTSCHWAGER @ GAGOSIAN - Artschwager has unpacked those packing crate sculptures and made himself right at home, displaying a painted series of domestic vignettes which echo Impressionist interiors along with two Tables made of Formica, subtitled (Whatever) and (Somewhat). The master is in peak form here. Be sure to check out the small gallery space behind reception; the small homage to Morandi is nice, but the enormous, hairy, turquoise exclamation point suspended from the ceiling steals the show! Bravo!!
NAYLAND BLAKE "WHAT THE WHISKEY SAID, WHAT THE SUN IS SAYING" @ MATTHEW MARKS - I think the title says it all; that is to say, absolutely nothing. Petulant and adolescent, it's a show of a lot of work you've seen done before by much better artists. I have never understood this artist's appeal, and this show hasn't changed my mind. Not worth the trip up the stairs!!
SARAH PICKERING @ DANIEL COONEY GALLERY: I liked these large color photographs by this up-and-coming photographer. Unlike her earlier work of explosions out in natural settings, which have left me cold, these images of "practise fires" bring us indoors into familiar surroundings. These set-up scenarios are extremely thoughtful but tilt towards the Anglophile (one bedside table contained a paperback Patricia Highsmith mystery and a can of Strongbow). Worth a peek.
Also seen:
Robert Gobers @ Matthew Marks - A creepy show taking up two small gallery spaces. Wall sculptures of the seats of wooden chairs sprouting breasts. The two on 21st Street included a flaccid shotgun and a snake-like set of feet connected by a hairy leg. Whatever.
Michal Rovner: Makom II @ Pace Wilderstein - Rovner builds a little bit of the Holy Land for you right here Stateside. A sonic hum brings an added solemnity to this imposing, cryptic structure. Worth a peak.
Shirin Neshat @ Barbara Gladstone - Two overly long, beautifully shot video installations, with some large color photo-documents. Just make a movie already.
Catherince Sullivan: Triangle of Need @ Metro Pictures - More video taking up a lot of space. If you have to go, check out the last gallery with the small pixelated projections of bridal picture shoots.
Luis Gispert @ Mary Boone - Even more video!! Something about kids. The sound track was annoying and the volume level unbearable. C-prints from the video are available in the back gallery, if you dare!!
Monday, February 4, 2008
MEN ARE FROM CALIFORNIA, WOMEN ARE FROM CANADA - "There Will Be Blood" & "Juno"
As the OSCARS rapidly approach, we took time to take in a couple of contenders:
A lonely silence pervades the first ten minutes or so of Paul Thomas Anderson's remarkably bleak new film "There Will Be Blood". He paints us a loving portrait of an American landscape now hard to find: dry, cold, and remote. And its these very same attributes that characterize his chief protagonist, Daniel Plainview. Played by Daniel Day-Lewis, he is a fascinatingly repugnant study of American entrepreneurship. Showing all the characteristics of American "Can Do" spirit, we watch Plainview, early in the film, break his leg while mining, then dragging himself through the desert to the assayer's office to register his claim while lying on the floor with the grin of a cat who just ate the canary. Silver becomes oil and soon Plainview and his son, HW, are traveling California, buying up land and lease rights. Visited one night by a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano), Daniel is made aware of a potential vast oil field on Paul's family farm. Using the pretense of being on a quail hunting trip with his son, Daniel scopes out the Sunday farm for the veracity of Paul's claim. Soon he is not only raising up an enormous oil derrick but the ire and wrath of Paul's brother, Eli, a charismatic preacher with hopes of building a church and a god-fearing community. The centerpiece of the film is a beautifully shot scene involving the well exploding then catching fire. The explosion throws HW from the derrick, where he had been watching the pump, and causes the boy to go deaf.
The film moves forward deftly, as Plainview strives forward towards more and more money, doing whatever it takes to "succeed". By the end of the film, he is like Kane in his Xanadu, a lonely alcoholic sitting out the depression in mansion which includes a two-lane bowling alley. By the end of the film, when he sputters out to his butler "I think I'm finished!" we know he most certainly is. Day-Lewis' performance at this point is Shakespearean, an oil-mad Lear who's well has finally tapped out.
We loved this film. Poetically shot, it is a brilliant portrait of American capitalism, biblical in scope, smart but not smug, brutal but never grotesque. It is destined to become an American film classic.
Poor "Juno". That lonely comedy in the Best Picture category; the one that never wins. Like it's title character, the film is cynical but plucky. We didn't hold out much hope of enjoy it during the first two scenes. The opening scene with the convenience clerk is a bit too snarky and Juno's call to her best friend, Leah, just drips with quasi-Valley Girl -speak. But Ellen Page's performance certainly is noteworthy. She allows us to see the vulnerability beneath the sarcasm of this sixteen year old. And as Juno is supported in her decisions by her family, Ms. Page is supported by a great cast that includes J.K. Simmons and Alison Janney as Juno's father and step-mother, and Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker, the father of her child. There are also fine performances by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, as prospective adoptive parents. Ms. Garner in particular gives a finely tuned performance as the want-to-be mother. It is interesting to watch the bond between these two "outsider" women forms. By the end we were totally bowled over by this charming, quirky comedy.
A lonely silence pervades the first ten minutes or so of Paul Thomas Anderson's remarkably bleak new film "There Will Be Blood". He paints us a loving portrait of an American landscape now hard to find: dry, cold, and remote. And its these very same attributes that characterize his chief protagonist, Daniel Plainview. Played by Daniel Day-Lewis, he is a fascinatingly repugnant study of American entrepreneurship. Showing all the characteristics of American "Can Do" spirit, we watch Plainview, early in the film, break his leg while mining, then dragging himself through the desert to the assayer's office to register his claim while lying on the floor with the grin of a cat who just ate the canary. Silver becomes oil and soon Plainview and his son, HW, are traveling California, buying up land and lease rights. Visited one night by a young man named Paul Sunday (Paul Dano), Daniel is made aware of a potential vast oil field on Paul's family farm. Using the pretense of being on a quail hunting trip with his son, Daniel scopes out the Sunday farm for the veracity of Paul's claim. Soon he is not only raising up an enormous oil derrick but the ire and wrath of Paul's brother, Eli, a charismatic preacher with hopes of building a church and a god-fearing community. The centerpiece of the film is a beautifully shot scene involving the well exploding then catching fire. The explosion throws HW from the derrick, where he had been watching the pump, and causes the boy to go deaf.
The film moves forward deftly, as Plainview strives forward towards more and more money, doing whatever it takes to "succeed". By the end of the film, he is like Kane in his Xanadu, a lonely alcoholic sitting out the depression in mansion which includes a two-lane bowling alley. By the end of the film, when he sputters out to his butler "I think I'm finished!" we know he most certainly is. Day-Lewis' performance at this point is Shakespearean, an oil-mad Lear who's well has finally tapped out.
We loved this film. Poetically shot, it is a brilliant portrait of American capitalism, biblical in scope, smart but not smug, brutal but never grotesque. It is destined to become an American film classic.
Poor "Juno". That lonely comedy in the Best Picture category; the one that never wins. Like it's title character, the film is cynical but plucky. We didn't hold out much hope of enjoy it during the first two scenes. The opening scene with the convenience clerk is a bit too snarky and Juno's call to her best friend, Leah, just drips with quasi-Valley Girl -speak. But Ellen Page's performance certainly is noteworthy. She allows us to see the vulnerability beneath the sarcasm of this sixteen year old. And as Juno is supported in her decisions by her family, Ms. Page is supported by a great cast that includes J.K. Simmons and Alison Janney as Juno's father and step-mother, and Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker, the father of her child. There are also fine performances by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, as prospective adoptive parents. Ms. Garner in particular gives a finely tuned performance as the want-to-be mother. It is interesting to watch the bond between these two "outsider" women forms. By the end we were totally bowled over by this charming, quirky comedy.
Friday, January 4, 2008
AN AFTERNOON STROLL THROUGH CHELSEA
On a bitter cold day in early 2008 we found ourselves with a perfect parking spot on W 22 so we took a tour of the Chelsea galleries to see who was open. Here's what we saw:
ALBERTO BURRI @ MITCHELL-INNES & NASH
This retrospective of the late artist's works just knocked me for a loop. Well-rooted in the Arte Povera movement of the 1960's, Burri's work teams with the desire to find beauty in the most unusual places: Mail sacks sewn together and trussed with rope to stretchers creates a perfect combination of Mondrian Modernism with Sixties Minimalism; melted and burnt plastic create "action drawings" of delicate effect and lyricism; and the two large panels at the rear of the gallery appear like enormous sections of deeply parched earth, one pale, one black! Check it out before it closes January 18th!!
YASUMASA MORIMURA @ LUHRING AUGUSTINE
Morimura takes on men and history! In the first gallery are large stills of the artist recreating historic men in historic moments: two Einsteins, one sticking his tongue out, one not; Morimura as Lee Harvey Oswald being shot, as Trotsky & Lenin, as Charlie Chaplin in "The Great Dictator". In the rear gallery are three large video projects. These Requiems present three historic events in current time and space. We see Morimura as Lenin delivering his great address to "the people", here an actual group of street people who just sort of "hang around", dissipating as the artist sprinkles them with artificial snow. We also get Morimura as Charlie Chaplin as Hitler, which starts off brilliantly with an onerous speech in gibberish made of national adjectives (Chinese, British) then turns long-winded, as he spouts on about not wanting to be a dictator, whilst trying to recreate Chaplin's ballet with globe/balloon from "The Great Dictator" in the halls of some officious Japanese hall overlooking a highway. Then finally we get Morimura as Mishima, spurring on his uninterested audience to rise up in revolution and rebel. It's an ambitious project, but it gets bogged down by its own weight. The video lacks the joie-de-vivre we get from a Morimura still, even one of him being shot point blank by a Jack Ruby stand-in.
90° The Margins as Center @ ANDREA ROSEN GALLERY
A rather upscale market show which has allowed the staff to renew their affinity with corners of their gallery. You're heartily greeted by a large globular sculpture from 1969 by Lynda Benglis. Head straight back, going under Robert Morris' "Untitled" (Corner Beam), 1964, to Gallery Two where a heavenly James Turrell corner piece glows blue. And no corner show could be complete with out the maestro himself, Richard Serra, represented here with two large prop pieces with two bored security guards (Mind The Black Tape). Worth a pop in. Very posh!!
Also seen:
Group Show @ Sonnabend Gallery - A lot of the usual suspects. Check out Matthew Weinstein's "Triumph of Painting" series and the Haim Steinbachs in the back.
Joel Shapiro @ Pace Wilderstein - Bigger is not better in this case. Nor is bronze, which makes a number of these works feel bulky. The standouts here are the pieces in wood. Stained on some sides, each block is interesting in its own construction, and they come together with a lightness the other works lack.
The Geometry of Seeing: The Art of Elaine Lustig Cohen 1966 - 2007 @ Julie Saul Gallery - Art by a renown graphic designer. The collages are very well done indeed.
ALBERTO BURRI @ MITCHELL-INNES & NASH
This retrospective of the late artist's works just knocked me for a loop. Well-rooted in the Arte Povera movement of the 1960's, Burri's work teams with the desire to find beauty in the most unusual places: Mail sacks sewn together and trussed with rope to stretchers creates a perfect combination of Mondrian Modernism with Sixties Minimalism; melted and burnt plastic create "action drawings" of delicate effect and lyricism; and the two large panels at the rear of the gallery appear like enormous sections of deeply parched earth, one pale, one black! Check it out before it closes January 18th!!
YASUMASA MORIMURA @ LUHRING AUGUSTINE
Morimura takes on men and history! In the first gallery are large stills of the artist recreating historic men in historic moments: two Einsteins, one sticking his tongue out, one not; Morimura as Lee Harvey Oswald being shot, as Trotsky & Lenin, as Charlie Chaplin in "The Great Dictator". In the rear gallery are three large video projects. These Requiems present three historic events in current time and space. We see Morimura as Lenin delivering his great address to "the people", here an actual group of street people who just sort of "hang around", dissipating as the artist sprinkles them with artificial snow. We also get Morimura as Charlie Chaplin as Hitler, which starts off brilliantly with an onerous speech in gibberish made of national adjectives (Chinese, British) then turns long-winded, as he spouts on about not wanting to be a dictator, whilst trying to recreate Chaplin's ballet with globe/balloon from "The Great Dictator" in the halls of some officious Japanese hall overlooking a highway. Then finally we get Morimura as Mishima, spurring on his uninterested audience to rise up in revolution and rebel. It's an ambitious project, but it gets bogged down by its own weight. The video lacks the joie-de-vivre we get from a Morimura still, even one of him being shot point blank by a Jack Ruby stand-in.
90° The Margins as Center @ ANDREA ROSEN GALLERY
A rather upscale market show which has allowed the staff to renew their affinity with corners of their gallery. You're heartily greeted by a large globular sculpture from 1969 by Lynda Benglis. Head straight back, going under Robert Morris' "Untitled" (Corner Beam), 1964, to Gallery Two where a heavenly James Turrell corner piece glows blue. And no corner show could be complete with out the maestro himself, Richard Serra, represented here with two large prop pieces with two bored security guards (Mind The Black Tape). Worth a pop in. Very posh!!
Also seen:
Group Show @ Sonnabend Gallery - A lot of the usual suspects. Check out Matthew Weinstein's "Triumph of Painting" series and the Haim Steinbachs in the back.
Joel Shapiro @ Pace Wilderstein - Bigger is not better in this case. Nor is bronze, which makes a number of these works feel bulky. The standouts here are the pieces in wood. Stained on some sides, each block is interesting in its own construction, and they come together with a lightness the other works lack.
The Geometry of Seeing: The Art of Elaine Lustig Cohen 1966 - 2007 @ Julie Saul Gallery - Art by a renown graphic designer. The collages are very well done indeed.
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