Fashion in an Age of Technology at The Met

When you look at the first (3-D-Printed) piece made, you can see the fine lines of the print. You can see how the piece has been built up. In one millimeter, there are up to ten lines. It’s almost like a fingerprint - it’s as detailed as your fingerprint… It was inspired by the way limestone deposits from shells. With 3-D printing, I am very much drawn to the organic.

Iris van Herpen

I call this the the Matrix dress!

NEON DANS LA NUIT SUIT 1990/91 hand embroidered with fluorescent stripes

3-D-printed polymer 2014 Noa Raviv “While working (with) 3-D software i was fascinated by the grid shown on the 2-D screen and by the way black repetitive lines define voluminous objects.”

1968 Egg Carton Dress

Modern Egg Carton Dress 2015

MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO 2010

MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIOS 1990

MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIOS 1990 - same dress flat

My favorite! It is all about the name and it has got spirit.

MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIOS 1994 Flying Saucer Dress

BAHAI 3-D-printed Fractal weave dress - with six degrees of fractal growth.

3-D latticework dress 2015 Iris van Herpen

3-D printed dress using stereolithography. it was built layer by layer in a vessel of liquid polymer. The polymer hardens when struck by a laser beam.

Alexander McQueen 2012

Laser cut white foam 2013

Noir Kei Ninomiya 2015-16

Bye!

Marble

I have had many encounters with marble, most notably.. until the Pergamon show, in Rome, in the vatican Museums and Michelangelo's Moses. Rome is practically riddled with it and I discovered I really very much love stone. Not forgetting the Galleria Borghese where a certain marble rape takes place, it is a beautifully disturbing masterpiece which i spent several hours contemplating. Now, marble, as far as art is concerned, is not at all trivial. And very substantial - it doesn't wobble as paintings do and works quite well even in pieces or fractured.

Marble can certainly be decorative but when it is done by a master's hand it is the ultimate fine art. There's a shift that occurs when the decorative purpose gives way to craftsmanship and it seizes to be just a pretty object but a work of art. I'd imagine you can't fix marble, the bliss of undo totally unavailable in this medium. Oil painting can be fixed, architecture can be fixed, i know of a certain skyscraper in New York that got fixed, but you can't fix marble.

What was special of the Pergamon show at the Met was that, unlike all the other stone at the Louvre, or British Museum, or Rome, the Met was curated and installed by world class talent with desire to not just show but tell a compelling story through visual means. The show was impeccably devised and paced, you wouldn't think your mind is being controlled by beauty.

Don't think i have ever seen a sculpture show this strong.. most I have seen in world class museums were well presented exhibitions.. or in the case of Florence - a strong focus on one sculpture or artist. I remember very little of my long plane ride as I worked on my photographs of the show and my entire head turned, for a few hours, into a marble one.

This show was the art equivalent of Noah's Ark, it had all art of all the world that came after it. Michelangelo was an heir of these sculptures, and Andy Warhol, Dali, Picasso, Van Gogh.. everything we know about art and about how we see the figure, until this very day all academies in the world draw figures and busts in the same exact manner. All we know of beauty, what is pleasing, what is good to the eye, began with the standards these ancient greek sculptors established two millennia and some.  I have been hearing trumpets of bliss in my head ever since i saw the Pergamon show. And i am glad I took my camera to it as it is, sadly now, dissipated  into all corners of the world.

One more thing to add - occasionally I listen to Indian mystics who say they feel one - the inside and outside they feel as one, there is a blurry line as to who they perceive as themselves and where their inner world ends and the outer world begins.  Not there yet myself. But on the particular instance of seeing the Pergamon exhibit - i felt as one with a much much larger world, not just the inside and the outside, but all past and present felt as one. That is how I imagine nirvana if there's one such thing.

The astonishing sculptures of the Pergamon show at the Met

Saw the Pergamon over the weekend and just can't get over the fact it's over. The first photograph is a sculpture of the great orator Demosthenes. The lesson from his story is that words need to be backed with actions. The astonishing beauty of these sculptures - not just in person - even from my computer screen they absolutely dominate my consciousness. The craftsmanship, the lines, the stories, the fact that they have been around for more than 2000 years - more than any other object I know.  It is about beauty and eternity… forever beauty.

Since ancient times artists and philosophers have tried to impose a standard - of beauty, of conduct, but the most important is the standard that endures and resonates deep within the folds of our DNA.

I have long been obsessed with classical mythology, the Gods and Goddesses of times long past. They epitome the longing for eternal beauty deep within ourselves.

Myths guide us into the divine in ourselves. All our aesthetic dreams, all philosophy, our dreams as a civilization. Our myths, the main themes of our folklore, our songs, start here.

Did people notice they are in a divine presence? of beauty. Did people realize that we are looking at the cradle of civilization.

This is not about Gods and Goddesses, it is about the great, and not so great, within ourselves.

The great orator Demosthenes was one of the most vocal intellectuals in Athens to warn, unsuccessfully, against the treat posed by the Macedonians to the freedom of Greece. This portrait conveys the mental resolve, not physical strength. An epigram on the base of the original statue read, “If you had power equal to your resolution, Demosthenes, the Macedonian Ares would never have acquired dominion over the Greeks. (text from the Met) As I mentioned earlier and to add a 21st century perspective - often intellectual acts are not enough, certainly not enough against powerful enemies with armies and horses. In life too, words can do only so much and often times action is required to force change in the world. Action is the blood of life and a powerful thinker here missed an opportunity to become a great man.

Marble portrait of Aristotle. Aristotle was called to Macedonia by King Phillip II to serve as the tutor of the young Alexander. This portrait is striking for its distinct individuality. It is probably the most faithful of some twenty surviving Roman copies which were presumably based on the posthumous statue in Aristotle’s school in Athens. His short, fashionable beard reflects the fact that, unlike most philosophers, he participated in society and, especially, politics. (text from the Met) This bust is in Vienna.

Animated Pen and Ink drawings tonight - as part of Art From the Boros at 529 West 20th, Opening reception tonight 6-9pm

Next week's show will include animations in part inspired by friends and scored by portland artist Marcus Fischer's album For Friends This Winter

http://www.mapmap.ch/index.php/sound/for-friends-this-winter/

Doing commercial work is not .... the same as fine art work. Commercial work is a synthesis.  And a lot of it gets done by talking - I used to get in touch with around 20 people when creating art commercially for a specific project - and at the end the work gets evaluated by another set of at least 20 people. While it is not necessarily a committee work as it is done in ad agencies, the work I used to do at Lucasfilm, you could say, was my best shot synthesis on a visual theme. Being "good" commercially meant you were a good listener and interpreter of a cloud of ideas. Sorry ... a very receptive 3d printer.

Fine art work is, on the other hand, genesis. A brand new world is created where you generate an idea, you are the primary vehicle, the messiah, the creator, the motivator, the heavy lifter, the ceo and the heart of the operation. But art is rarely created in isolation and completely without an agenda. Michelangelo worked for the Pope. Renaissance artists worked for the Medici. I personally like when artwork generates several outcomes. winter diagrams were just simple drawings of hands before they were strung together in an animation, then they became a three-dimensional sculpture in Winter - the dress. They will continue to push their way into various forms I am sure, some of the stills from the animations are to become a painting , or several stills combined and interlocked into one painting - I haven't decided yet.

I grew up as an artist creating work commercially and have a lot of the same habits. I love bouncing ideas and talking about work - others' or mine or old masters or new ones.. love dissecting and putting out feelers for the impressions any work leaves on people.

I remember vividly the winter in Brooklyn when I created the animations - although Hand Painted ocean was originally conceived in Manhattan. I came across Marcus Fischer's album For Friends This Winter and decided to use the music for the animations, also feeling that the animations themselves and how I wanted to do them were in large part a synthesis, inspired by many conversations and then a first(i think) visit to one of my favorite museums in New York.  I remember one particular evening with a lot of New-Agey talk, with a girl that was doing New-Agey type massage and having really strange conversations about how she feels her patients with her hands. True? I don't know but deepened my obsession with hands.

Also my friend Rob List had earlier come to my Harlem room and did an impromptu performance which i for some reason filmed, and almost set me on a course:

https://vimeo.com/12269715

The seed for Hand painted ocean and fruit:

Hand Painted Ocean and Fruit from mirena rhee on Vimeo.

I keep the same shifty perspective for my installations where i do value people's unscripted intrusions and impromptu contributions more than my attempts to control a visual outcome.

ART FROM THE BOROS IV Press Release

By popular demand, Denise Bibro Fine Art announces Art From The Boros IV, on view July 14-August 13, 2016. After a copious amount of submissions and studio visits, forty-one diverse artists were selected to participate in this group show highlighting talent found within New York City’s five boroughs. Art From the Boros IV exemplifies the eclectic artistic community of New York City, showing a varied range of genres of art and mediums. With a nod to the Renaissance and Dutch painting, artists Thurston Belmer and Sally Cochrane create rich, highly representational contemporary paintings referencing the great masters through light and application. Roger Preston’s Heathcliff shares a similar worldly feel in a contemporary fashion as photographer Zeren Badar’s Very first Accident mocks the propriety of the old world. In contrast, paintings by artists Jack Rosenberg and Robert Jessel rely on thick, often staccato brushstrokes to create and highlight their compositions while Courtney Bae’s evenly painted figurative narratives and Petey Brown’s lusciously painted swimmers are quirky and often, whimsical.

The fourth edition of Art From The Boros, also, features three-dimensional works and multi-media videos such as the deftly manipulated wood assemblages by Mikhail Gubin countered by the sleek, polished metal works and bronzes by Daniel Sinclair. Artist Mirena Rhee offers a fresh, personal perspective through animated interpretations of her own hand drawings. In a world that often projects galleries as being jaded and inaccessible, we are demonstrating that we are one that values and shares the desire to keep abreast with the bustling creativity all around us.

Artists: Margery Appelbaum, Zeren Badar, Courtney Bae, Thurston Belmer, Petey Brown, Kenneth Burris, Bob Clyatt, Sally Cochrane, Marilyn Davidson, Andre Eamiello, Laura Fantini, Anne Finkelstein, Mikhail Gubin, Yasmin Gur, Amir Hariri, Robert Jessel, Elizabeth Knowles, Amanda Konishi, Kate Lawless, Amanda Lenox, Park McGinty, Harvey Milman, Maria Morabito, Laura Mosquera, Suyeon Na, AJ Nadel, Douglas Newton, Kathleen Newton, Lisa Petker-Mintz, Ben Ponté, Roger Preston, Chelsea Ramirez, Mirena Rhee, Jack Rosenberg, Zvi Schreiber, Daniel Sinclair, Jeff Sundheim, Paul Antonio Szabo, Scott Walker, Lucy Wilner, and Charles Yoder. Opening Reception: July 14, 6-8pm For more information call (212) 647-7030, email info@denisebibrofineart.com, or visit www.denisebibrofineart.com

Art From the Boros IV - at Denise Bibro Fine Art, opening on July 14th and will run until August 13th. Hope to see you at the opening at 529 West 20th Street, 6-9pm

Heading to start the setup tomorrow - I will be showing animated pen and ink drawings, more soon.

There's trouble with putting stuff in bags.. Either there goes too little or too much, it is comical as it is the simplest thing  - thought, decision, item, bag. sometimes bags need to get emptied to see what went in in the first place., in and out - i have no idea why people need to trouble with clothes. it's the 21st century -  by now we do know what is where.

Eiko, from Eiko&Koma, dancing A Body on Wall Street. It is pure gold and right on the money, so to speak.

A Body on Wall Street: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eikoandkoma/albums/72157669071236502/with/27573558595/

..

Winter Diagrams: January goes on exhibit on 4 Times Square as part of “The Beauty of Color”

 

Show is organized and curated by http://www.see.me/

As part of this show I put together a new squarespace site as a trial.. please, enter code to view:

https://mirena-rhee.squarespace.com/

Prints currently available exclusively on saatchi:

http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Drawing-Winter-Diagrams-January/93024/2260698/view

Unfinished paintings by great artists at the Met Breuer - for an artist it is a revelation.

Unfinished show at the Met - favorite unfinished piece so far is a Van Gogh, painted just before he died, it is the ultimate interruption in an artist's work.

Zoom into a Leonardo.

I thought the show was magnificent and made me weak in the knees, thanks to Ian Mack for letting me know so I hurried to see it.

I'd pick two rooms, one with a Van Gogh, another with Michelangelo, Leonardo and Van Eyck.

Can't imagine anything better than being in a room together with Michelangelo, Leonardo and Durer, with a Van Gogh across the hall.

After several centuries crowds gather enthralled by little pieces of cloth and wood with scribbles on them. The two Leonardos are the size of a letter. Such is the power of art.

There are no chests filled with gold and emeralds, no food, apparently no one is naked, no clowns juggle in the halls, but everyone is quietly in a trance in front of these great albeit unfinished works. Such is the power of art.

There's also Rubens, El Greco, Rembrandt, Titian. The titans of paint in all their unfinished glory. It happily confirms my convictions in the power of art to wiggle out of centuries and entertain fresh crowds.

I went to the source museum for the Van Gogh's piece and turned out it is a museum in Finland which has the painting.  Naturally they had a very high resolution photograph of it online for your viewing pleasure here:

http://kokoelmat.fng.fi/app?si=http%3A%2F%2Fkansallisgalleria.fi%2FE42_Object_Identifier%2FA_I_755

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The Modern Degas You Haven’t Seen

 

Beautiful never before seen Degas - his monotypes look like old photographs.. He created these while photography was a fledgling medium so it all ties together.. but look so modern for a 1870s work. Also a great room with landscapes.

a landscape from Degas:

The Modern Degas You Haven’t Seen article in the NYT goes into depth about the show. Show is until July 24 at the MOMA. Here is the show website.

Thanks to Scotto Mycklebust for the tip, it was worth the trip. If you are an artist and wonder what to take on next, if the old ways are no longer working - experiment, just like Degas.

Martin Kippenberger’s art packed in pink crates at the MOMA in New York city.

Thank you for coming!

It was great to see you at my Bushwick Show - Invented Mythologies !  And Thank you for braving the heat in Bushwick, some of you coming from upstate or Manhattan, which is just as far:) I got a fresh point of view and heard your comments about the work and your honest opinions. I was amazed at the insights some of you had about what you thought was a successful piece and what you thought was the best part of a successful piece. And what you thought didn't work. Artists sometimes like to say they do the work for themselves. The truth is we are part of a soup, physiologically and cognitively, we constantly shed cells and replenish with new ones, we are constantly engaged in the world mentally.. so unless we a are a Robinson Crusoe - we are an amalgamation, and so is our work.. to some degree.

I am pleased to invite you to my Bushwick show

Invented Mythologies

an installation of drawings,

animations

and xquisite corpses,

as part of

Bushwick Open Studios

Fri, Sat and Sun

May 31 -  June 2

12 pm - 7 pm

347 troutman #317

Brooklyn

Join me for my DAF performance next weekend at DUMBO Arts Festival

Join me for the unexpected! – I am doing a DAF Dress piece at The DUMBO Arts Festival! Saturday, Sep 29th, 12pm-9pm. Somewhere near 45 Main Street, Brooklyn, in DUMBO!

as part of http://dumboartsfestival.com. A THREE DAY CELEBRATION OF ART, MUSIC & PERFORMANCE Sep 28, 29,

Join me for the unexpected! – I am doing a DAF Dress piece at The DUMBO Arts Festival! Saturday, Sep 29th, 12pm-9pm. Somewhere near 45 Main Street, Brooklyn, in DUMBO!

as part of http://dumboartsfestival.com. A THREE DAY CELEBRATION OF ART, MUSIC & PERFORMANCE Sep 28, 29,

DAF Dress piece at The DUMBO Arts Festival

Join me for the unexpected - DAF Dress piece at The DUMBO Arts Festival on Saturday, Sep 29th 12pm-9pm.

Somewhere near 45 Main Street, Brooklyn, in DUMBO!

BE CAREFUL, PAINTING WILL BE INVOLVED! NO PETS OR WEAPONS, PLEASE!

DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL is a three day event - it happens September 28-30, 2012. Join me for Brooklyn's biggest arts event of the year. http://www.dumboartsfestival.com/

Join me for the unexpected - I am doing a DAF Dress piece at The DUMBO Arts Festival!

When: Saturday, Sep 29th, 12pm-9pm.

Where: Somewhere near 45 Main Street, Brooklyn, in DUMBO!

BE CAREFUL, PAINTING WILL BE INVOLVED! NO PETS OR WEAPONS, PLEASE!

DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL is a three day event - it happens September 28-30, 2012. Join me for Brooklyn's biggest arts event of the year.

http://www.dumboartsfestival.com/

Figment Dress - the making of

The intent of Figment Dress was to create a visual response to Mark di Suvero sculptures, the wearable aspect of my projects actually stems from my many-years involvement with computer generated artwork. Working commercially for blockbuster franchises like Star Wars made me want to create painting and sculpture experiences where the whole body operates simultaneously as a surface, as a creative vehicle and a final product. Where the body is literally in touch with the process, with the materials and the product creators; where the final piece is spontaneously created on the spot with very low likelihood that the same object (in this case "dress") will ever be produced again. When I first conceived the piece I had no idea how it was going to come out formally. I wanted it to be relevant to the vision of Figment, grounded in "forms follows function" principle and also reflective of the location - Governors Island right across Manhattan in New York. Mark di Suvero sculptures dominated the landscape and provided me with the relevant geometric fulcrum.