"Tidying Up Art"

Swiss comedian and cabaret/ performance artist Ursus Wehrli must have a serious case of OCD. He takes iconic works of art and imposes a strict sense of order to the elements present. Watch his TED Talk... it is pretty amusing.

He also imposes order on the world around himself.

http://www.kunstaufraeumen.ch/en

BEAUTY: Painting--Ruprecht Von Kaufman

Regular readers know that I truly love painters who work with very oblique, enigmatic narratives. And painter Ruprecht Von Kaufman really knows how to present a scene that requires interpretation, showing us frozen scenes of arcane rites, covert actions, or ambiguous situations we are not meant to see. His imagery is clouded in mystery and verge on the surreal... more qualities I love in a piece of art.

http://www.rvonkaufmann.com/

Currently listening to...

... the classic "Love Is A Stranger" from Eurythmics' first domestic release "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" THIRTY YEARS AGO! Amazing song and amazing lyrics... and Annie is so gorgeous in the amazing video.

Love is a stranger in an open car
To tempt you in and drive you far away
Love is a stranger in an open car
To tempt you in and drive you far away

And I want you, and I want you, and I want you so, it's an obsession
And I want you, and I want you, and I want you so, it's an obsession

Love is a danger of a different kind
To take you away and leave you far behind
And love, love, love is a dangerous drug
You have to receive it and you still can't get enough of the stuff

It's savage and it's cruel and it shines like destruction
Comes in like a flood and it seems like religion
It's noble and it's brutal, it distorts and deranges
And it wrenches you up and you're left like a zombie

And I want you, and I want you, and I want you so, it's an obsession

It's gilt-edged, glamorous and sleek by design
You know it's jealous by nature, false and unkind
It's hard and restrained and it's totally cool
It touches and it teases as you stumble in the debris

And I want you, and I want you, and I want you so, it's an obsession

http://www.eurythmics.me.uk/
http://www.annielennox.com/
http://www.davestewart.com/

February To March

By Saul Steinberg

http://www.saulsteinbergfoundation.org/index.html

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Anthony James

Anthony James dissects birch forests and mounts the results in clinical, mirrored boxes lit with white neon...

...and then in the same way, he mounts the car that crashed into the birch forest.

Top to bottom: Birch Cube; Birch Cube detail; Birch Wall Mounted; Birch Quad; three views of KO

http://www.anthonyjamesstudio.com/

BEAUTY: Mixed Media--Hank Huang

From painter and multi media artist Hank Huang's website:
"I enjoy arts_ability to questi0n_ how_ we_ pe3rc3iv3 theworld∆roundus. Mm/yy work mostly engages in this conversation_I maketh1ngs to investigate our (/contemporary) views 00n nature+technology."

I really love the framed "star shirt," and the Ana_Log OS piece is fascinating (second image down...click to see it larger).

Top to bottom: Arrived; Ana_Log OS; The Distant Star; History/ Repeating; The Weather/ Electronic

http://www.hankhuang.com/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Wang Zi Won

What is human? What is machine? Will there be a day when the boundaries between the two are sufficiently blurred to allow the difference to disappear? If we make a machine that completely replicates human thought and consciousness, a machine that replicates what it is to be sentient, how will anyone be able to say that the machine is not feeling or thinking for itself? How can anyone judge if the machine is sentient? How do you prove you are sentient, aside from simply stating that you are?

Wang Zi Won's kinetic sculptures of cyborg bodhisattvas and buddhas blur this line. I am reminded of the profound Spielberg film "A.I." and of course Björk's transcendent video "All Is Full Of Love" (a rather Buddhist statement) featuring smooth white cyborgs in a state of agape.

http://ultraz1.com/

BEAUTY: Painting--Christos Tsimaris

Christos Tsimaris' fascinating, painterly work runs between loose portraiture, abstraction, and studies of everyday mundane objects. I get a little bit of a Francis Bacon vibe...

Top to bottom: Boy With Chair; Call Me; Monument; Sticky Tape; Untitled (keys); Untitled Nude; Untitled; Wild Dog

http://www.christostsimaris.com/index.html

BEAUTY: Interior--Jay Jeffers

Since returning from France, I have been swamped with interior design work, which is great. I am hoping this might mark an upswing in finances for people in general and therefore an interest in the hiring of an interior designer (namely me). I am working on a master bedroom and bathroom extension and renovation, completely furnishing a huge 6,000 sq. ft. home, and a guest bathroom renovation. This leaves little time for posting the marvelous things I come across. But I had some time this evening, and I want to share with you San Francisco interior designer Jay Jeffers' new weekend home in Napa. I am crazy for Jeffers' work to begin with, but this charming house is pitch perfect. He took a non-descript California ranch house and created something elegant yet casual. I love the chevron wood treatment on the living room fireplace wall, and I especially love the fresnel stage lights in the bathroom!

http://jeffersdesigngroup.com/