MoMA's "New Photography 2010" Exhibition

It looks like MoMA's latest photography exhibition is right up my alley (in terms of work I like not necessarily work I do).



Elad Lassry, Bunnies, 2009



Elad Lassry, Pink Hat, 2010



Alex Prager, Maggie from Weekend, 2010



Amanda Ross-Ho, Expose for the Shadows, Develop for the Highlights (Perforated Sampler): White Light, Crewel Point, Triangle 208.33%, Glasses (His), Portrait (Hers)

Paul Shore & Nicole Root's Dessert Sculptures

...this time with the work of Paul Shore and Nicole Root. How could a blog expressing love of earthworks not depict these artists' replica of Walter De Maria's NY Earthroom as a brownie?



Another favorite is a pink wax stick a la Dan Flavin in a corner.



via Art 21 Blog. Check out how sugar wafers, gum, and graham crackers take the elevated view of Minimalist sculpture to another realm.

And even better: "And in a gut-busting version of the Robert Smithson documentary Spiral Jetty, Root imitates Smithson’s dreary monologue as the camera follows the path of a Rock Candy, Heath Bar, Jell-o and powdered sugar spiral."

The Cake Plates (some of them)

Top shelf: Angel Food cake plate which was supposed to be a chocolate and tobacco combination but turned out gray.

Middle Shelf: the shattered neutral gray Niagara Falls plate.

Bottom shelf: the Barton Springs plate (oh la la!)



The molten pour tests for the slice. One side is textured from the surface of the table and the top is smooth. They even have ripples like water.

I stole this yesterday...

Cake Plates: First Round in the New Glass Building

I spent the afternoon in the glass shop where it smelled like beeswax and a campfire (nice). Mike Hernandez and Brent Cole made the first few plates for the cakes. We began with a dark green for Barton Springs, we moved on to a chocolate brown for the angel food cake, a neutral gray for Niagara Falls (unfortunately that one shattered), and two clear pours with ripples for Little Great Lakes, and the Slice. The first plates for these cakes:



Adding the color (forgive my lack of terminology):



Oh yes... the glory hole:



I was enamored by the tools namely the stack of sometimes smoldering newspaper used like an oven mitt:



... finally the molten pour for the "slice":

"125 American Swimming Pools"

Chris Toalson sent me this link tonight and it goes along well with artists' new found interests in using google maps as inspiration. Here is Jenny Odell's 125 Swimming Pools from The Satellite Collection.



Also on her website: grain silos, water towers, boats, and 81 Square Miles of the Great Salt Lake.

Mark Dion & Dana Sherwood: The Confectionary Wonders of Buffalo

From the Press Release:

"A metaphorical exploration of the history of Buffalo, The Confectionary Wonders of Buffalo celebrates the city’s diverse architecture and local craftsmanship: an outdoor vitrine fabricated entirely in Western New York encloses a delectable arrangement of magnificent cakes designed and executed by neighborhood pastry shops and loosely inspired by past and present iconic Buffalo buildings. The cakes' ceremonial decadence and vibrant colors resemble the radiant edifices of the "Rainbow City" (as the Pan-American Exposition was affectionately termed), while the vitrine reinforces the idea of Buffalo as a timeless architectural museum. While steel and glass typically call to mind skyscrapers, real estate development, and the consequential demolition of antiquated architecture, in this case they form an elegant protective barrier from wildlife and the elements. Nevertheless, the inevitable rotting and molding of the pastries as they are exposed to Buffalo's famously harsh climate for the length of the exhibition is suggestive of urban decay. The work may therefore be read as a symbol of the city's burgeoning conservation movement, while at the same time affording the opportunity for new ecologies and growth."

Marni sent me this link in conjunction with the exhibition Beyond/In Western New York 2010: Alternating Currents. Incidentally, my new colleague, Victoria Bradbury also has an installation at the Albright-Knox Museum.

As of 25th September, Buffalo has had record warm September weather and the cakes already looked toppled. They will remain in the cases over the course of the next three months, melting into a sugary mess.