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Volume Number 1 Issue Number 8 / November 17 - 23, 2006
Courtesy of Rita Krauss Joe Fig, “April and Eric: August 10, 2004,” 2005-2006, Mixed Media, 29 x 96 x 48 Talking shop with Winkleman / Plus Ultra Gallery By Shane McAdams Years ago, I tried to create an Internet art portal featuring developing artists and message boards, full of online galleries and virtual critiques between exhibiting artists. Long story short, it sank, and I learned a valuable lesson: artists can be skittish when it comes to technology. It occurred to me that, for all its avant garde sympathies, the art world has brought up the derriere garde in the digital crusade. Therein lies Edward Winkleman’s value. He is the proprietor of Winkleman / Plus Ultra, one of W. 27th Street’s hotspots, but he may be just as well known for his art blog, www.edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com. A treasure trove of insider information and a breeding ground for heated discussion, it functions as a much needed tonic to the market-driven, glossy trade publications that have traditionally controlled the information machine in the art world. While his blog has been a positive force, even a gift for the art world at large, it isn’t a completely self-sacrificing endeavor. His high-tech side project keeps the low-tech portion of Winkleman’s personal interests healthy and dynamic. As the moderator of his blog, he stays alert and involved, and his gallery has benefited appreciably. He has cobbled together a program that thrives on disparate parts that complement each other: for every Jackson Pollock studio in miniature by Joe Fig, there is a gigantic shoe by Andy Yoder; for every conceptual pinball drawing by Rosemary Fiore, there’s a neo-Renaissance painting by Nancy Baker. Though little of the actual work at Winkleman/ Plus Ultra is involved directly with technology, the range and sophistication of the art at the gallery suggests that keeping plugged in has its benefits. This week I had the chance to ask Winkleman what was on his mind:
Winkleman/ Plus Ultra Jennifer Dalton, “The Collector-ibles,” 2006, Mixed Media, Pedestal 11 x 11 x 37 Central Asian Artists A good deal of the painting and sculpture coming out of the “Stans” (mostly, the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia) are still grappling with Modernism it seems, and for the most part losing the battle if you ask me. But the contemporary photography and video being made there lately is almost impossibly on the cutting edge of the contemporary dialog. I say “impossibly” because for work originating in a part of the world most Westerners know precious little about, it has been striking a profound cord with US curators since the debut of the Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2005. We’ve recently begun working with two of the most highly acclaimed Central Asian artists who exhibited in Venice, the husband-wife team of Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev, who are exhibiting worldwide now and even organizing very impressive international exhibitions in their nation’s capital, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. They also have a solo exhibition coming up at the museum of the Art Institute of Chicago in February. Art That Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously Whether via the miniaturization of artists in their studio in Joe Fig’s amazing sculptures or the poignantly funny, but hard-hitting, critique of Jennifer Dalton’s installations, I have a strong attraction to art that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Disposable one-liner art bores me, but work with some degree of humor simply seems more honest and relevant. The “truth” always includes some element of humor, and I like art that has a full-rounded ring of “truth” to it. In addition to humor, and very typical of Joe’s and Jen’s work, I like art that gets people talking. Both Joe and Jen recently had exhibitions in the gallery that received rave reviews and stirred up a good bit of dialogue on the blogs, in the gallery, and in the press. Kumiz in Kyrgyzstan Speaking of Central Asia, maybe it’s the US Air force presence there or maybe word has finally gotten out that this is one of the last great unspoiled and most beautiful countries left to explore, but more Americans are traveling to Kyrgyzstan than ever it seems. Having recently returned from a 10-day trip, where I drank fermented mare’s milk (“kumiz,” the national beverage), explored the abandoned underground headquarters of the KGB (where an art exhibition was being held), traveled along the Silk Road to a 15th century caravanseri, and enjoyed (er, sort of) a traditional Kyrgyz ceremonial meal at which I was presented with the head of a sheep on a plate (hmmm, sheep eyes), I can attest that it’s a vacation destination one won’t soon forget. Better Popular Satire On one hand, I think it might signal nothing so much as a slow return to the sort of self-critical sensibility we saw more of before 9/11 (at least in cabaret comedy and select underground publications), but it seems to me more likely it’s a response to being fed far too many questionable “facts” and reaching our collective saturation point for plausible deniability. Still, I’ve really been enjoying what seems a more sophisticated breed of social satire in mainstream entertainment. From “The Daily Show” to the “Colbert Report,” from “Talladega Nights” to “Borat,” popular satire has gotten much sharper and smarter lately. Watching a packed audience at a cinema in Chelsea roll in their seats, winching as their hands reflexively covered their eyes but clearly clamoring for more, it was clear to me that “Borat” is not only pure genius but also serving as a sugar coating for that bitter pill of truth we’ve been dreading having to swallow, but knowing it’s past time we took. Hot Blogs and Portals Given the speed of the medium, what’s hot today is old news next week in the blogosphere, but here are a few of my newest online faves: Expanded Cinema (http://expandedcinema.blogspot.com/): Wunderkind curator/writer Joao Ribas offers selections of “experimental film, early video, and sound-based, durational work.” Chelsea Art Galleries (http://chelseaartgalleries.com/): With more information in ever-more helpful formats than another online source out there, Chelsea Art Galleries is the ultimate portal for what and who are where and when in Chelsea’s art scene. The Guardian’s Arts and Architecture blog (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/): While New York’s newspapers struggle to offer blogs anywhere near as interesting as those the city’s citizens offer (especially when it comes to art), the UK’s premier progressive paper seems to have landed on a format that’s rightly getting rave reviews. Winkleman/Plus Ultra is at 637 W. 27th Street, (212-643-3152; winkleman.com).
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