PAWEL ALTHAMER: The Neighbors

Lured by a tweet from the New Museum, promising me that I could paint on their walls, I donned my work-in-progress doodle dress and descended upon the Fourth Floor gallery for Pawel Althamer's Draftsmen's Congress.  Initially a blank, white space, the room invites museum-goers to make their mark with provided supplies including paint, pastels, paper, and pencils.  It was almost more fun to walk around the room (and explore the teepee!) inspecting others' graffiti, but, of course, we had to make our own masterpiece as well.  I always consider it a good day when a museum guard signs my dress.

With a focus on collaboration and social & political networks, Polish artist Althamer's work allows him to occupy various roles: teacher, organizer, activist.  As a part of the exhibition (which also includes the haunting Venetians), Althamer arranged for a street band to play within the museum, and has also coordinated a coat drive through the Bowery Mission.  I highly recommend bringing everyone you know to this show, which encompasses beauty, interaction, politics, and social commentary in an engaging and edifying experience.

Dress: DIY (signed by some of my favorite graffiti writers and friends)  See the last time I wore it, at 5 Pointz.

Tights: Uniqlo

Blouse & Boots: Joe Fresh

Scarf: Vintage / handmade

Pawel Althamer: The Neighbors is on view at the New Museum on the Bowery in NYC through 4/13.

Photos of me by Maureen Nacy; other photos by me.

CHRISTOPHER WOOL at the GUGGENHEIM

I'm excited to share my newest DIY, inspired by the Christopher Wool retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Wool (b. 1955) is an American artist, known by me for his large text-based canvases, such as the ones shown here.  Using commercial materials, such as black enamel, rollers, and stencils, Wool creates paintings that feature words as their subject, drawing to mind the shapes and contrasts that words create on a white page.

The New York-based artist studied painting at the New York Studio School, and subsequently studied film at NYU, before dedicating his career to painting.  I was surprised to find beautiful suites of black and white photographs as a part of the retrospective, depicting lonely scenes of city life. These works were surprisingly relatable to Wool's large canvases, equally monochrome and devoid of human interaction.

Making this dress was an enlightening experience, providing me a glimpse into the process behind Wool's much more involved canvases.  First, I chose a plain black dress from my closet (worn here), and found some commercial stencils at an art supply store.  Using acrylic paint, I painted the words from Wool's Untitled work, "THE SHOW IS OVER THE AUDIENCE GET UP TO LEAVE THEIR SEATS TIME TO COLLECT THEIR COATS AND GO HOME THEY TURN AROUND NO MORE COATS AND NO MORE HOME." The quote is from Greil Marcus' Lipstick Traces, and is a poignant example of Wool's theme of nihilism.

Seeing Wool's retrospective gave me a much greater appreciation of his work, helping to establish a broader context of themes and mediums, and viewing the full timeline of his practice.  The exhibition closes on January 22nd.

Dress: DIY (originally from H&M)

Tights: Topshop

Boots: Ash

Sweater: Velvet

Photos by Hannah Kauffman.