GRAFFITI = ART

Graffiti has been a symbol of urban cities across the United States for over three decades now. The work has always been shunned down as vandalism, or just meaningless junk put on walls by gang members; but if you actually take a long hard look at what most of these individuals do, you would appreciate this amazing art form. Ok, yes, there are those bad apples who mark things up just because, or do it for street gang purposes, but there are hosts of individuals who have a passion for the artistic manner of graffiti. The colors, lines and compositions in these works are amazing. These people are using paint, many times out of a spray can, and applying it to large unpredictable canvasses. That is not by any means easy. It takes skill and hardwork to do one of these extrodanary pieces that range from simple dimension letters that have very impressive color schemes, techniques and mixes, to extremely intricate three-dimensional figures that impress and drop the jaws of the most conservative art critics.

Starving Dog Exhibit Causes Public Outcry

I wanted to take a moment to respond to this story that has been circulating since about October of 2007. In many ways it is a non-story, but it continues to grow and spread and now over the last couple of weeks has made it through my campus.
Here is a link to one account.

The reason I say this is a non-story is not because the topic is not important, but because it appears to have not happened. The dog was not actually starved to death.

The artist exhibited a stray dog in an exhibition to bring people's attention to something that outside of a gallery context they would normally ignore. The rumors that the dog was starved (rather than a dog that was starving on the streets was brought into the gallery) spread from an inaccurate (sensationalist) news report and then through the internet. The gallery owner reported that the dog was cared for and fed. There has been no evidence uncovered that the dog was starved.

In some ways this reaction to the exhibit seems to support the artist's intent. The general public is not outraged on a regular basis in this way about the fact that many dogs and cats are abandoned on the streets and may starve to death, but rather the actual exhibit that was designed to bring this situation to the attention of the public is what people have become upset about.

This may ironically turn out to be a powerful example of how art may still be able to raise both public awareness and expose public hypocrisy.

FLW = Permanent Modernism

I hadn't even considered or thought about taking an Art History class here at Chaffey College when I first witnessed a Frank Lloyd Wright home. I was in a department store when I picked up a book with the "coolest" looking modern home I'd ever seen on its cover.

The picture was actually a photo of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Robie House" which was from what I have recently learned was built in 1910?? Yes, to my disbelief and extreme shock, 1910 a year when the Ford's model T along with other ancient steam cars were roaming around undeveloped, skyscraperless cities. The television came over a decade later than the "Robie House" a building which to me resembled a concept car coming out in 2010 not 1910.

Looking through the book I noticed many more of these similar homes and was so intrigued and astonished I purchased it. I even told my girlfriend I wanted to by a house created by this man when I got older. To find out that these aesthetic, innovative and futuristic structures were created before a computer, microwave, and even a television, the very objects that make houses into homes in present day America was just completely astonishing.

Frank Lloyd Wright has impressed me the most out of any artist we have covered in class from Michaelangelo to Picasso. This man was definitely 100 years ahead of his time in the way he structured these homes, incorporated nature, and the use of functionality first was simply amazing. In fact his works might never be of "time" they might always be a step ahead of the rest. Simply some of the best and most amazing architecture I've seen in my life.

New Crayola Crayon "Colors"

The Irascible Professor's commentary on the new names given to the Crayola crayon colors.

Color Me Ishmael.
Guest commentary by Carolyn Foster Segal.

Color me annoyed. Color me exasperated. Or despairing. Or frustrated. Just don't -- even though it would be the most precise description--color me blue.

Crayola, in honor of the 50th anniversary of its 64-box, recently sponsored a contest inviting children to send in their ideas for new names for eight of its crayons.

The company supposedly received over 20,000 entries. So, color me baffled -- I just can't figure out why, out of all those entries, the judges chose the eight new names announced last Wednesday. Color me confused -- because I can't find a single color mentioned. ...

Click here for the rest of the article.

The Old Guitarist

I was looking through my World Book Enciclopedia DVD doing some research for school when i came across this painting. The Old Guitarist by Pablo Piccasso. It made me realize the huge role that color plays on emotions when looking at a painting. Here, the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso uses blues to create contrasting moods. Picasso evokes a sense of sadness and loneliness in the painting. It makes you feel extremely sad for the old and lonely man.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. What do you guys think?

Carolingian miniatures - Medieval art

The left miniature is from the gospel of Ebbo: Saint Mathew(before 823 A.D.) The right miniature is from the Four gospels (845-882 A.D.) I encountered these online at http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/cr-03/index.html

I find it is very interesting to compare how the art has evolved during Medieval period using these two images. The left image is very dramatic, even theatrical I should say. All the lines sketched on the dress and background, his hair... shows as if the wind blows so hard that St. Mathew is just seconds from being blown away from his chair. His face expression shows a bit of fear, and also deep concentration, look how big his eyes are.. His fingers are portrayed in such awkwardness, but keep the same fluent movement of waves, probably from the strong wind. Even from looking at the frame alone, the waves on the frame created a feeling as if the wind blows out of the picture.. On both, there is a small angel flying on the upper right corner. Only on the left, the angel is less detailed, but I assume that here, the religious experience is so powerful and well presented that there is no need in so much detail.

On the right picture, I am not sure about who this figure represent, but the individual is sited at the same position, only he seem to be reading instead of writing. Here, the scene is less dramatic, bit I think it is also powerful because now, instead of using lines or sketches, the artist is using the power of the light, or Ora, that surrounds the figure to show its religious greatness. But itself, I found the background to be more calm, more detailed.

What do you think??

2008, A Message For America...

The 2008 presidential primary elections have been in their own right historic from the start. The idea that a woman, and an African American could legitimately run for the president of the United States of America was far fetched even a year ago especially when you realize they were the last two groups that were offered the right to give their opinion on who should run their nation. With that being said the idea of an African American legitimately running for the supreme American office was even more far fetched for reasons that are obvious. Barack Obama has seemed to wipe those old stereotypes of the past out with a bi-ethnic, bi-economic, bi-partisan, bi-religious and bi-regional attitude that actually resembles our nation as a whole, since its birth. His campaign has ran an incredibly diverse and respected ideal for change. The image is a perfect illustration and visual analogy to the credit of senator Obamas speaking to the masses. The artwork is a simple but extremely effective lifelike silhouette, which encompasses the junior Senator from Illinois' thought... idea...plan... and message that seems to transcend throughout all of America.

Scholars Use Art to Study Climate Change?

I added the question mark to the title of this article because, well, it just seems like a questionable premise to base a scientific study.

LONDON (AP) — The vivid sunsets painted by J.M.W. Turner are revered for their use of color and light and for their influence on the Impressionists. But could they also help global warming experts track climate change?

A group of scientists has studied the colors in more than 500 paintings of sunsets, including many of Turner's 19th-century watercolors and oils, in hopes of gaining insights into the cooling effects caused by major volcanic eruptions.

By better understanding past changes in climate, they hope to improve computer models for future climate change.

Christos Zerefos [pictured below], who led the research at the National Observatory in Athens, said he believed it was the first scientific study of art for clues to climate variations.

The scientists studied works painted around the times of major volcanic eruptions, such as the cataclysmic explosion of Mount Krakatoa in 1883, to measure how much pollution was pumped into the skies. Contemporary accounts describe brilliant sunsets after Krakatoa erupted.

"The initial idea arose from the fact that we saw an increased reddening of colors in sunsets which followed large volcanic eruptions, particularly Krakatoa,'' Zerefos said.

By measuring the amount of red and green in the paintings, the scientists aimed to calculate the amount of dust in the atmosphere. The greater the pollution, the redder the sunset, Zerefos said.

Now, the scientists do try to rationalize the study based on their sampling techniques, but I have to be honest that my first thoughts on this coincide more with James Hamilton.

James Hamilton, the curator at the University of Birmingham, who has written books on Turner, said that while Turner claimed to paint what he saw, it's dangerous to put too much weight on an artist's interpretation.

"They (artists) are not making absolutely clear and accurate records of what they can see,'' he said. "It's very hard to tell when artists are being absolutely accurate and when they're using vivid sky as a platform to more vivid painting.''

I am very pleased that there are people both looking at artwork and concerned with climate change, but I'm just not completely sure of the validity of the methodology in this case. Also, did they take into consideration the type and quality of the medium being used by the artists in order to adjust for possible color change due to age and exposure to the elements?

I had another concern when I looked at this photo from the article. I certainly hope these scientists observed the original paintings and not just images on their computer screens. For those of you taking one of my courses you are quite aware of how different the same painting may look in the textbook as compared to a computer projection, both of which will also often differ greatly from the original.

Da Vinci's musical Talents Uncovered? You be the Judge

It appears that an Italian musician and computer technician named Giovanni Pala has claimed to have uncovered musical notes in Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper. He claims that by drawing the five lines of a musical staff across the painting, the loaves of bread on the table as well as the hands of Jesus and the Apostles could each represent a musical note. If the notes were read backward a 40 second requiem is heard. He calls it a "Hymn to God" that sounds best played on a pipe organ, the instrument of choice for religious music at that time. It seems to me that this is a far fetched idea. People have been analyzing this painting for hundreds of years and just now someone notices musical notes? Sounds like a good promotional tool for his book, but hey, Leonardo Da Vinci was the "Renaissance man," why wouldn't he have hidden musical compositions in his work. Take it how you will, the article in the BBC has the most info on the story. Check it out. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7088600.stm

DAMIEN HIRST: New, Dead and Improved

As if a large mosaic of dead butterflies wasn't enough, Damien Hirst who's claim to fame has become incorporating dead animals into his pieces has done it again. This time unveiling his latest installation at NYC's Lever house. Formaldehyde preserved animals are on display (including a shark, 30 sheep, a split cow, and a pair of doves) in his exhibition titled “School: The Archaeology of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity, and the Search for Knowledge.” Aby Rosen, the real estate developer/owner of Lever House commissioned this piece at a startling $10mil. This exhibition will be illuminated 24 hours a day via fluorescent lighting. Talk about money to burn.

SHEPARD FAIREY: Street Artist or Professional Plageriser

I've actually read this article a few years back, but I've never given any insight on it. It's been brought to public attention that Shepard Fairey - creator of the OBEYgiant has on occasion blatantly ripped off other artist's work and incorporated them into his own w/o any reference or citation.

Pictured is a Shepard Fairey Print titled "Nouveau Black," being compared to a Moser drawing from 1899 titled "Ver Sacrum,"

This certainly draws unwanted attention to Fairey's claim to fame. I used to regard Fairey as one of the street artist's greats, and catagorized him in the hall of fame alongside Banksy, Revok, and Saber. However, after reading more than one article with several pieces of evidence I've come to conclude - once a biter, always a biter. Shepard Fairey knows what he's doing, he knows how to execute, and how to operate his entire campaign. It's just tragic to see his source for his 'street art' exposed. Dirty poser.

Photographic Artist Chris Jordan

I just finished watching Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. The main topic tonight was a look at the life and legacy of Rachel Carson, who is often credited for launcing the modern environmental movement with her book Silent Spring. It was well worth watching the life of this incredibly courageous woman.

But, it is the short segment at the end of the program on photographic artist Chris Jordon that I want to bring attention to at this moment (watch video). In a prior life he was a corporate lawyer with an interest in photographing objects he believed had an aesthetic beauty. He began focusing on photographing color compositions that are unintentionally created by human activity. He noticed that even a large pile of garbage could contain some interesting and he thought "beautiful" attributes. After displaying some of his works friends began commenting on the social critique of American consumerism and waste that was present in them. This had not been his intent, but it soon became the central purpose of his work.

"There's this contrast between the beauty in the images and the underlying grotesqueness of the subjects. And it's something that I put in there intentionally. I know that if I were to take ugly photographs no one would be interested in looking at them," states Jordan about his Intolerable Beauty series.

Cell phone chargers, Atlanta 2004
Jordan's latest project, Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait, seeks to make tangible statistics about our country's consumption that involve such large numbers that they are difficult to fully fathom on the page. "Our minds are just not wired to be ableto really comprehend and make meaning of, and feel, numbers that are that huge," Jordan explains. "I think there's this worldwide cultural craving for a more sensible approach to our consumption."

Follow this link to see additional works and detail enlargements of the following images that are assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

Plastic Bottles, 2007.
Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Plastic Bags, 2007.
Depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds.

Handguns, 2007.
Depicts 29,569 handguns, equal to the number of gun-related deaths in the US in 2004.
This new series is currently exhibited at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles through October 20.

Machu Picchu artifacts to be returned

Los Angeles Times:

LIMA, Peru — Authorities here are hailing a deal reached with Yale University to return some of the thousands of artifacts carted away by Hiram Bingham III, the swashbuckling historian and explorer who stumbled upon the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu almost a century ago.

But doubts have surfaced about the scope of the accord and about Yale's right to retain certain parts of the collection for "ongoing research," as a university statement said.

"It's good that the pieces are to be sent back, but it's absurd that this doesn't cover all of them," said Luis Lumbreras, former director of Peru's National Institute of Culture. "If Yale wants to continue studying the pieces, they can come to Peru."

When the decision became public here, media reports indicated that Peru would get most or all of its artifacts back. But Yale since has reiterated that a substantial part of the collection will remain on the university's New Haven, Conn., campus.

Read complete article.

For my two cents, I think it is good that questionably gotten artworks and pieces of cultural heritage are returned to their country of origin. It is a complicated issue that needs to be dealt with on an individual basis and in good faith from both parties involved. It often results in a sharing of objects, especially in cases of research institutions and museums where it can be shown that further benefit (research, conservation, etc.) can be gained that will benefit our understanding or preservation of an object. Laws were passed in the 1950s in an attempt to stop the illegal removal of artifacts from their country of origin, but the black market is still filled with smuggled objects that will go to the highest (and in my opinion, unethical) bidder.

John

Egyptian Pyramids No Longer A Wonder?

Over the last seven years a private (and for profit) campaign to select "The New 7 Wonders of the World" has been collecting votes from citizens around the world. The campaign, launched by Bernard Weber, aimed to update the list by popular vote. The results have been announced. You might be more surprised by some of the omissions than the inclusions.

The New 7 Wonders of the World

Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Christ Redeemer, Brazil

The Great Wall, China

Machu Picchu, Peru

Petra, Jordan

The Roman Colloseum, Italy

The Taj Mahal, India

When you Look over the original list of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World you might notice that most of them no longer exist. So, maybe some revisions are in order, but I'm not sure a popularity contest through voting online and by text messaging is the best way to make these decisions. Although I was personally pleased to see two selections on the new list are from the ancient Americas (Although, I don't feel these top tourist destinations are actually the top "wonders" of the Americas.), shouldn't those that have survived (ie. The Great Pyramid of Giza) get the benefit of the doubt and stay on any new list?

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Colossus of Rhodes

The Pharos of Alexandria

I also want to point out that this newly announced list of wonders, even with all of its hype and attempts at creating an artificial link with UNESCO, has no official standing. There is no connection between UNESCO’s World Heritage program, which aims to protect world heritage, and “The New 7 Wonders” campaign.

UNESCO’s objective and mandate is to assist countries in identifying, protecting and preserving World Heritage. Acknowledging the sentimental or emblematic value of sites and inscribing them on a new list is not enough. Scientific criteria must be defined, the quality of candidates evaluated, and legislative and management frameworks set up. The relevant authorities must also demonstrate commitment to these frameworks as well as to permanently monitoring the state of conservation of sites. The task is one of technical conservation and political persuasion. There is also a clear educational role with respect to the sites’ inherent value, the threats they face and what must be done to prevent their loss.

There is no comparison between Mr Weber’s mediatised campaign and the scientific and educational work resulting from the inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The list of the “7 New Wonders of the World” will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public.

Art Bubble

Yesterday Richard Feigen published a commentary in The Art Newspaper titled "It’s definitely a bubble, but when it will burst is anybody’s guess." He provides an overview of the past two plus decades of art market speculation that has spawned incredible price increases of artworks with little or no historical or aesthetic significance.

We have seen this again and again in many facets of Western (most spectacularly in American) society where trendiness and business savvy outweigh true cultural value. This false validation of a current trend is eventually corrected or adjusted, often with harsh penalties to those unknowingly involved in the volatile game. As Richard Hamilton commented in regard to Pop art in 1957, art that relies on its young, witty, sexy and gimmicky attributes is also often both transient and expendable.

Here's a snip from Feigen's commentary:

The question is: just because something is called “art”, is it really art? Does hype and brilliant marketing create any genuine art-historical significance, any permanent value? Are these new mega-buyers using their eyes or their ears? Not long ago, one of the major contemporary collectors intimated to me, in all seriousness, that Andy Warhol was a greater artist than Leonardo da Vinci. I knew Andy Warhol, and liked him, but a genius he was not. Notwithstanding that, a private sale of his Turquoise Marilyn at $80m followed the $72m Christie’s sale.

To even postulate that a diamond-encrusted Damien Hirst skull, For the Love of God [here], at £50m ($100m) can be even remotely compared to Lord Halifax’s Titian portrait [here], one of the great pictures remaining in English private hands, still on the market at a comparable price, is patently absurd. To equate flashy materials, a pretentious title, and platoons of security with aesthetic significance is naive.

Controlling the Image of the "Feminine"

Yesterday I had a conversation with Denise Johnson about a possible Chaffey Art Organization sponsored lecture on issues relating to the representation of women in advertising as well as how some ads and films present women as volatile bodies that are in constant need of some kind of product to control them. This lecture would be held in conjunction with an exhibition on the third wave of feminism being curated by Ms. Johnson at the Wignall Museum/Gallery this fall.

Coincidentally, this morning I came across this Brazilian ad campain for itambé fit light yogurt. In the ads, classic movie scenes are redone with more full-figured women replacing Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch, and Mena Suvari in American Beauty. But the tagline beneath the images reads, "Forget about it. Men's preference will never change. Fit light yogurt."

I believe this is a poignant example of how today the idea of the "feminine" and how it is portrayed in visual culture is still greatly influenced and defined by a patriarchal perspective. Rather than me expounding further on this issue, what are your thoughts?

Chocolate Jesus

A Manhattan art gallery cancelled its Easter-week exhibit of a life-size chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ after an outcry by Roman Catholics. The sculpture reflects on several issues of consumerism, religion and art that may be seen as relevant discussions in light of the season. The most overt commentary is likely the parallel between the large numbers of chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs purchased for a day that for Christians marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The fact that the chocolate is a dark brown may also be worthy of some contemplation. Artistically there are at least two long-standing issues here: the debate over nudity in images of a religious topic (Michelangelo even faced fierce resistance to his use of nude figures in his Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.) and the debate of the use of innovative versus traditional mediums (Why should stone or paint be given more respect or priority than the use of plastics or in this case chocolate?).

NEW YORK Mar 31, 2007 (AP)— A planned Holy Week exhibition of a nude, anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ was canceled Friday after Cardinal Edward Egan and other outraged Catholics complained.

The "My Sweet Lord" display was shut down by the hotel that houses the Lab Gallery in midtown Manhattan. Roger Smith Hotel president James Knowles cited the public outcry for his decision.

The reaction "is crystal clear and has brought to our attention the unintended reaction of you and other conscientious friends of ours to the exhibition," Knowles wrote in the two-paragraph cancellation notice.

Matt Semler, the gallery's creative director, resigned in protest.

The six-foot sculpture was the victim of "a strong-arming from people who haven't seen the show, seen what we're doing," Semler said. "They jumped to conclusions completely contrary to our intentions."

But word of the confectionary Christ infuriated Catholics, including Egan, who described it as "a sickening display." Bill Donohue, head of the watchdog Catholic League, said it was "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever."

The hotel and the gallery were overrun Thursday with angry phone calls and e-mails about the exhibit. Semler said the calls included death threats over the work of artist Cosimo Cavallaro, who was described as disappointed by the decision to cancel the display.

"In this situation, the hotel couldn't continue to be supportive because of a fear for their own safety," Semler said.

The sculpture was to debut Monday evening, the day after Palm Sunday and just four days before Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. The final day of the exhibit was planned for Easter Sunday.

The artwork was created from more than 200 pounds of milk chocolate, and features Christ with his arms outstretched as if on an invisible cross. Unlike the typical religious portrayal of Christ, the Cavallaro creation does not include a loincloth.

Cavallaro hoped the sculpture could go on display elsewhere, according to Semler.

As often happens when artworks have attention brought to them for being "controversial", the chocolate Jesus is being raised from its obscurity and will likely become well known and even infamous. The sculpture was to only be displayed for two hours each day this week, but now is being discussed and shown in photos around the world. The similarities to photographer Andres Serrano's Piss Christ or Chris Ofili's The Virgin Mary made up of paper collage, oil paint, glitter, polyester resin and elephant dung on linen are obvious. But unlike the latter when then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani tried to withdraw a grant from the Brooklyn Museum of Art, current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg stated, "If you want to give the guy some publicity, talk more about it, make a big fuss. If you want to really hurt him, don't pay attention."

This is also not a new concept. The casting of an image of Jesus Christ in chocolate has been done many times before for both commercial purposes (the first two images - buy your own) and by artists to very little fanfare.














Two examples from artist George Heslop:












Also in 2005 a Budapest based group did a "public" exhibition titled Corpus Christi Chocolate that was exhibited in the candy isle of supermarkets.

The Corpus Christi Chocolate examines the distant concepts of commodification, the symbolic complexity of the Eucharist, and the complex dynamics of obtaining sensual/spiritual pleasure through symbolic acts of consumerism. The piece twists the everyday practise of purchasing chocolate with the meaning of the Eucharist. Situated as it is in the very heart of consumer society, the supermarket, the Corpus Christi Chocolate comments on these themes by supplying its message in commercial spaces subverted for its own artistic use.

From Controversy to Acceptance

We see it again and again in the art world. A new idea or innovation is introduced that is seen as scandalous and an outrage to the general public. People gather together in protest to howl "that is NOT art!" in the hopes of having the "offending" idea or object rejected by the world.

This is also common in architectural design and maybe no more so than in the design of art museums. I had this subject presented to me twice last night. While driving home and listening to NPR I heard a story in regard to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Centre Pompidou, the Paris museum of modern art, taking place today. When the Pompidou was first designed it was widely criticized for its unconventional "inside-out" construction where all of the brightly colored pipes and ducts were placed on the exterior of the building to allow a wider and cleaner interior space for the exhibition of the art. Now thirty years later the Pompidou is an iconic image and well-loved landmark of Parisian culture.

When I arrived home I found the February issue of Art in America in my mailbox. One of the articles in the magazine is about the unmistakably unique Libeskind-designed Denver Art Museum building that opened in October 2006. The building is referred to as "quirky" and it is noted that it has been "critically panned". I couldn't help but think of the similar start the Centre Pompidou received thirty years ago. I wonder how long it will be before the citizens of Denver couldn't imagine their city without the unconventional design of the Denver Art Museum?

LACMA Ticket Prices

Tyler Green at ArtsJournal: Modern Art Notes is quite disturbed about LACMA's high ticket prices and isn't holding back about letting everyone know. There are several other posts on this issue in addition to the one linked here, so be sure to scroll around. I know the issue of LACMA's pricing is something I also have to take into consideration when organizing museum trips. It's often cost prohibitive when you have to consider an additional $20-something per person to see current special exhibitions.

Anti-American Video?

I was just listening to NPR and heard this story about the censorship of a video created by Boston-based artist Jonathon Hexner. It was feared that the video could be misinterpreted as "anti-American" and therefore unfit for display.

Hexner was commissioned to participate in a show entitled "EAST/WEST" by SLEEK Magazine. He worked around the clock for weeks creating a two-and-a-half minute video that is specifically designed to be displayed on the monitor atop the Axel Springer building [in Berlin, Germany]. Hexner's video was scheduled to be broadcast once an hour, 24 hours a day from October through December.

His video is simple: he documents himself making a drawing of the phrase “I Like America and America Likes Me." This sentence is the title of a very famous art "action" performed by Joseph Beuys in New York in 1974. (Beuys is one of the most important German artist in the last 50 years).

In Hexner's drawing the first "America" is painted in the colors of the American flag and the second "America" is painted in the colors of the German flag (the artist is American and the exhibition is in Germany, the home of Beuys). The letters were outlined with a fuse and lit to create black smoke. Hexner said he has been using the fuse-on-paper technique in his own work for over 10 years.

I know this is a bit overtly ironic, but as an artist it is hard to think of many things more "anti-American" than censorship. It was also noticed that there didn't seem to be any complaints that it might be seen as "anti-German". I'd be interested in reading your comments on this. Click here to watch the video.