the art collectors

Archive for February, 2009

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Rich Jacobs’ Minor Threat Billboard

Rich Jacobs is currently showing at the recently re-launched Paul Bright Gallery in Toronto, Canada. For nearly two decades, Jacobs has been supporting the arts through numerous humble efforts, including zines, a record label, and his curated series of Move group shows (which recently celebrated its 18th installment alongside New Image Art’s 15 year anniversary). The focal point of Jocobs’ new exhibit is Minor Threat Billboard, a large-scale family tree tracing the history of the legendary D.C. band. Here the hardcore punk scene and its DIY community act as Jacobs’ muse. According to Paul Bright, “Rich’s efforts to document and showcase the art and music of a generation of artists who are difficult to categorize, is arguably unrivalled. Now is the time when his own work needs the attention of this generation, because whether we know it or not, they have been influence by Rich’s unique taste and pure unfettered artistic sensibility.”

Rich Jacobs – Minor Threat Billboard and Other Drawings
Jan. 29 – March 7
Paul Bright Gallery
1265 Bloor Street West, 
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6H 1N7

Click through for more images, courtesy of our friends at Paul Bright. Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Artists11 @ Bonhams

D*Face

The Bonhams offering of Urban Art on February 24 will have 78 lots, but 11 of them are set to be auctioned as part of the Artists11 project that supports the Prostrate Cancer Charity. The artists participating are D*Face, Nick Walker, Eine, Blek le Rat, Mr. Jago, Pure Evil, Pete Fowler, Xenz, Andrew McAttee, Dan Baldwin and Gerald Laing.

Photos courtesy of Romanywg, who caught the preview in London.

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Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Fairey Fires Back – Sues AP

Shepard Fairey was arraigned on public vandalism charges in Boston District Court, Monday, Feb. 9th. Image: Associated Press.

The Shepard Fairey media frenzy continues. Last Wednesday, the Associated Press issued a statement accusing Fairey of copyright infringement for appropriating one of their photos to create his famous Obama images. Then, on Friday evening, Fairey was arrested on two outstanding vandalism warrants, as he arrived to the opening night celebration of his museum survey at the Boston ICA.

While the AP has not officially filed suit against the artist, they have threatened legal action if not compensated and properly credited for the photograph in question,  Now, Fairey is fighting back with his own lawsuit, filed in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court on Monday, Feb. 9th.  The artist is aiming to clear his name through legal recognition that he did not violate any copyright laws and operated within the accepted confines of fair use by altering the original photo “for a highly transformative purpose…with new meaning, new expression and new messages.” Full transcript here

In response to Fairey’s filing, the AP issued yet another press release yesterday, stating:

“The Associated Press is disappointed by the surprise filing by Shepard Fairey and his company, and by Mr. Fairey’s failure to recognize the rights of photographers in their works. AP was in the middle of settlement discussions with Mr. Fairey’s attorney last week in order to resolve this amicably…At Mr. Fairey’s attorney’s request, we agreed AP would not pursue legal action while in these discussions. Despite an agreement to continue these discussions on Friday, Mr. Fairey’s attorney avoided contact, nor did he respond to an invitation to make contact over the weekend. Instead, he chose to file on Monday morning, without any notice to AP.

AP believes it is crucial to protect photographers, who are creators and artists.”

Clearly, Fairey’s lawsuit seems to be a preemtive strike against AP. Will the matter be settled amicably, or instigate AP to move forward with legal action of their own? Stay tuned….

More here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090209-717056.html?mod=
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aLD3ob_Bd1Oc&refer=muse
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100265442

Monday, February 9th, 2009

My Mary by Mark Dean Veca

TAC friend Mark Dean Veca is on the verge of releasing a phenomenal new print, based on an original work produced for Phantasmagoria.

Details are as follows:

My Mary, 2009
2-color screen print on 100% cotton rag
Signed & numbered edition of 100

18 x 24 inches / 45.7 x 61 cm

Released exclusively by BLK/MRKT Editions
Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, February 9th, 2009

ARCO Spain

ARCO, Spain’s largest international contemporary art fair, opens in Madrid this Wednesday, Feb. 11 and runs till Feb. 16. The 28th edition of the fair will feature 244 galleries from 31 participating countries. Of particular interest are ARCO 40, a juried selection of galleries exhibiting no more than 3 artists, with work produced in the past three years, and Panorama: India, focusing on 13 of the nation’s contemporary galleries.

Sunday, February 8th, 2009

The Art of Rebellion

The Art of Rebellion, presented by Harley Davidson, opened last night at the Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica to a thriving crowd. Participating artists include Mark Dean Veca, Frank Kozik, Shepard Fairey, Tara McPherson, Bob Dob, Shawn Barber, the Clayton Bros., among others. The show runs until Feb. 21.

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Saturday, February 7th, 2009

KAWS on CBS Sunday Morning

Images: CBS

UPDATE 2.0: Video recap here

UPDATE: For those who missed the broadcast, CBS has posted a transcript of their KAWS feature, which aired on the Feb. 8th edition of Sunday Morning. The segment closed with an XX’d out version of the show’s sun logo. Transcript here.

Images: CBS

Original Post: In an announcement from Gering & Lopez, KAWS will be featured in this Sunday Feb. 8th’s CBS Sunday Morning show. Interviewed by Serena Altschul, this spot should be quite an interesting snapshot of the artist and his work. Check your local listings for specific air times…the attention comes on the eve of KAWS’ solo exhibition at Honor Fraser, opening Feb. 21.

The CBS logline goes as follows:

ART: Graffiti Artist “KAWS”
He’s one of the hottest names in the art world … and he has an unusual name to be sure, KAWS. After making his name in the graffiti world in the 1990s in Jersey City, KAWS left that life behind and started to paint canvases and design products. With his bright colors and clean, crisp lines, his work is perfection to many fans. Many musicians have taken note: Hip-Hip mogul Pharrell Williams has filled his Miami home with KAWS’ work. Kanye West asked KAWS for colorful designs for his latest album cover.

Working from a small Brooklyn studio, the shy 34-year-old has also created products with massive brands, including Nike, Lucasfilm and Marc Jacobs. KAWS’ rising star has now led to high-profile solo shows in art galleries in New York, Miami, and an upcoming show in Los Angeles. KAWS talks to correspondent Serena Altschul and steps out of his studio to meet the fans.

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

AP Claims Copyright Infringement Against Shepard Fairey

Images: AP / Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey can now join the ranks of Richard Prince and Jeff Koons as another artist facing legal action for the appropriation of copyrighted material into his art.  The particular image in question is Fairey’s infamous Obama portrait (recently inducted into the Smithsonian and on view in Fairey’s museum retrospective). In a statement issued Feb. 4, The Associated Press states it “has determined that the photograph used in the poster is an AP photo and that its use required permission.”  While AP is pursuing compensation and credit, Fairey and his attorney have stressed he received no money from the mass production and distribution of the image.

The case brings up the subjective legal arguments surrounding fair use of copyrighted material, which takes into consideration whether or not the secondary work is “transformative” and its impact on the original material. Undoubtedly lawyers on both sides will be looking to prior precedent to support their arguments.

After loosing several separate copyright infringement cases during the 90s, pop-art megastar, Jeff Koons, won a landmark 2006 battle, when the U.S. District Court of Appeals deemed his painting Niagra fell under the protection of “transformative use.” In addition, artist, Richard Prince, is currently in the midsts of his own copyright infringement case. 

More as the story unfolds…

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Tonight :: Jeff Soto Signing @ Riverside Art Museum

In conjunction with his current solo exhibit at the Riverside Art Museum, Jeff Soto will be on hand tonight signing copies of his most recent book, Storm Clouds, and conducting a slideshow presentation. 

Jeff Soto: Turning In Circles Signing and Slideshow
Feb. 5
7:30 – 9pm
Riverside Art Museum
3425 Mission Inn Ave.
Riverside CA 92501 

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

The Influencers Descend on Barcelona

The Influencers opens today at the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona. The three day project and performance based festival brings artists together across multiple disciplines, in the exploration of “unconventional weapons of mass communication.” This years curated contributors include street artists, Blu and Swoon, the robot wars of Survival Research Labs, Julius Von Bismark’s Image Fulgurator, Improv Everywhere, video artist, Wolfgang Staehle, writing collective, Wu Ming and culture-jammers, Ztohoven, who managed to infiltrate a televised Czech weather report in 2007 and broadcast an atomic bomb explosion.

TAC applauds this free and non-commercial event, whose sole purpose is to support “visionary projects aimed at the exploitation and distorsion of mass communication, global pop culture, technological propaganda and ideological fetishism.”

Program Schedule: