user art comtemporary New York art scene 2011

Cuban artist/exhibits/news

”Fundación Cuba Avant-Garde is committed to supporting
US-based nonprofits and their international partners, whose
programming and activities raise awareness of Cuban art and
culture,” said Howard Farber. “There is brilliant talent

stats

Close all PieAds | Open all PieAds

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
updated 2011-08-05

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

In today’s Guardian, I read about the unveiling of the
19-year career of Alexander McQueen’s exhibition, entitled
Savage Beauty, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
A preview of the show, which will run 4 May to 31 July 2011,

1
1/1
1

Explaining Experimental Artists
updated 2011-08-02

Explaining Experimental Artists

Explaining Experimental Artists

It is difficult to describe or categorize the art of Andy
Warhol, Jack Smith and Matthew Barney. Three of the more
adventurous artists of the past half-century, they embody
what Stefan Brecht once said about Smith: "He didn't
do art. He was art."

How then, in limited space and time, does a documentarian do
justice to such rich and complex lives, so intertwined with
creation? Three filmmakers--Ric Burns, Mary Jordan and
Alison Chernick--decided to tackle this problem. Burns spent
six years making his four-hour opus Andy Warhol: A
Documentary Film (James Sanders, wtr.; Donald Rosenfeld,
Daniel Wolf, prods.) for PBS' American Masters; Jordan
hunted down rare footage to create her aesthetically rich
collage, Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (Kenneth
Wayne Peralta, prod.); and Chernick, for Matthew Barney: No
Restraint, joined the artist and his partner, the Icelandic
songstress Björk, on a Japanese whaling ship to attempt to
understand his creative process as he made his film Drawing
Restraint 9.

Notes Chernick, "As Barney's work is layered and
complex, the opposing forces in documentary filmmaking and
art exposés came to a head: How do I make a vérité film
but also give a context to his work? Capturing the reality
of Barney's process, which is ingrained in fantasy, then
became the biggest creative challenge." This unique
relationship between the reality-driven documentary form and
the fantasy-based visual art world had to be negotiated and
worked out by each filmmaker.

Burns may seem an unlikely candidate to tackle the life of
Warhol, one of the most iconic, yet paradoxically
misunderstood figures in 20th century art and culture. Long
a PBS fixture, Burns has produced such award-winning history
docs as Coney Island (1991), The Donner Party (1992), The
Way West (1995), New York: A Documentary Film (2000-02)--all
for the American Experience series--and, with his brother
Ken, The Civil War (1990). Burns has also profiled such
legendary American artists as Eugene O'Neill and Ansel
Adams, also for American Experience. But Warhol used the
power of the margins to challenge the status quo and knock
down the notion of the famous artist as a mythical figure.
It seems likely that he might object to being placed on such
a high-culture pedestal.

Burns began work on the film six years ago, when his
partners came to him with the idea. He was determined to
devote himself to the documentary only if he fell for
Warhol--and he did. Burns had heard of Warhol and was
vaguely aware of his importance and influence, yet was
unsure if he liked him. "No artist is more familiar
and more misunderstood," Burns maintains. In his
several years of research, filming and editing, Burns went
on a "profound journey" toward a deep
understanding of a "millennial artist." His goal
in making the film, he says, was no less than to
"change the public perception of Andy Warhol."

As is his style, Burns integrates.....

1
1/1
3

Marius de Zayas / New York Avant Garde
updated 2011-08-02

Marius de Zayas / New York Avant Garde

Marius de Zayas / New York Avant Garde

Marius de Zayas ( artist, art promotor and art critic ) was
a key figure of the New York avant garde movement. Indeed,
Marius de Zayas contributed to the emergence and development
of the avant garde and Dadaism worldwide.

Marius de Zayas
Marius de Zayas was intimately connected to many of the 20th
Century’s most revolutionary artistic talents. His circle
of friends and influence included the likes of Alfred
Stieglitz, Pablo Picasso, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp,
Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Guillaume.
De Zayas’ importance to the history of modern and avant
garde art has inspired Azul to make available in Europe
during 2011, a new exhibition of Marius de Zayas’ artwork
and private art collection.
From Mexico to New York and the New York Art Scene
Marius de Zayas was born into a cultured and artistic family
in Veracruz, Mexico. An autodidact, he quickly developed
unique abilities and skill as a caricaturist and
illustrator. He created works for El Diario Ilustrado, one
of principle newspapers in Mexico City.
Marius de Zayas was raised with the values and spirit of the
French Revolution: the principles of Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity. Consequently, he and his family ran into
troubles with the dictatorship of Porfirio. The de Zayas
family was forced to flee Mexico in 1907 for New York.

Marius de Zayas Illustration
In New York, Marius de Zayas quickly established a
reputation as caricaturist and illustrator, working for the
New York Evening World. He achieved popular recognition for
his humorous and satirical depictions of key personalities
of New York and American political, business and social
life.
During this period, Marius de Zayas’ creative work evolved
from a meticulous academic naturalism into a more stylistic
form. Lines were simplified, grew longer and bolder. His
work began to recall the purity of Chinese and Japanese
drawing. With this maturing work he acquired increasing
acclaim in the artistic community of New York.
Alfred Stieglitz and Marius de Zayas: A Potent Mix for
Twentieth Century Art
Alfred Stieglitz, influential American photographer and art
promoter, greatly admired Marius de Zayas’ work and
invited him to expose at Stieglitz’ renowned Gallery 291.
Marius de Zayas’ first solo show at Gallery 291 in 1909
was a great success. It was followed by two subsequent solo
shows in 1910 and 1913.

Alfred Stieglitz
From the very beginning of their encounter, Marius de Zayas
and Stieglitz shared a complicity with art and the direction
of art in the Americas. Stieglitz was a key figure in the
growth of awareness in New York of modern artistic
tendencies. Stieglitz, like Marius de Zayas, was
particularly interested in what was happening in Europe’s
art world.
Marius de Zayas became Stieglitz’ associate and took
several long tours to Europe where he soaked up and
participated in the thriving modern European art scenes,
specially in Paris. He contributed regularly to Stieglitz’
journal Camera Work and other esteemed art publications of
New York, reporting news, events and developments from
France.
Marius de Zayas, Cubism and Pablo Picasso
Marius de Zayas was fluent in English, French and, of
course, Spanish (his native tongue). He was also at ease
with Italian and German. This linguistic proficiency,
coupled with his own artistic ability and a unique skill to
discern artistic trends, made him an ideal agent for
bringing to America the latest and greatest that Paris’s
effervescent art scene was offering in the 1910s and 1920s.
On his first visit to Paris in 1910, Marius de Zayas was
exposed for the very first time to Cubism and the pioneering
work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Marius de Zayas
befriended Picasso and went on to publish the first article
in which Picasso could express in his native tongue
(Spanish) the originality of his own art. It was Marius de
Zayas who organized Pablo Picasso’s first exhibition in
New York.
Francis Picabia and Dadaism

Francis Picabia by Marius de Zayas
One of Marius de Zayas most crucial relationships was had
with Francis Picabia. It was through that relationship that
Picabia and Marcel Duchamp made contact with Stieglitz and
the main currents of avant garde art in New York. William
Agee, art critic, noted that it was the relationship between
de Zayas and Picabia which was “crucial to the embryonic
stage of New York Dada”.
Artist, Art Dealer, Promoter and Publisher
Marius de Zayas opened his own gallery, the Modern Gallery,
in 1915. It quickly became a key source for the growth of
the New York avant garde. During the Great War (1914-1918)
he exhibited and sold the most revolutionary works of the
time. These included art works by Picasso, Braque, Diego
Rivera, Brancusi, Picabia and many more. He also exhibited
and sold traditional art work from Africa, Oceania, Central
and South America.
Marius de Zayas also published some of the seminal texts for
the New York avant garde scene. He co-authored with Paul
Haviland A Study of the Modern Evolution of Plastic Form
(1913). This was one of the earliest American attempts to
understand modern art. He also wrote African Negro Art, Its
Influence on Modern Art (1916). It was one of the first ever
works to study primitive aesthetics. It was with Picasso,
Braque and Guillaume Apollinaire that Marius de Zayas had
initiated his studies into the secrets of African art which
had such a huge impact on the development of Cubism across
Europe and the Americas.
Marius de Zayas in Europe: A New Exhibition

Gallery 291
As part of Azul’s focus on developing international and
intercultural exchanges between Europe and the Americas, a
new exhibition of Marius de Zayas’ artwork and a selection
of works from his private collection is being made available
for the first time in France in 2011.
This unique exhibition retraces the work of Marius de Zayas
as caricaturist, illustrator, art dealer, art promoter and
art critique. The collection has been brought together with
the support and intervention of Rodrigo de Zayas (Marius de
Zayas’ son) and with the assistance of Philippe
Ollé-Laprune Calendrie.

1
1/1
6

Fountain NY 2011: Avant Garde Art
updated 2011-08-02

Fountain NY 2011: Avant Garde Art

Fountain Art Fair in New York, an exhibition of avant garde
artwork, returns to Pier 66 Maritime during Armory week with
a spacious 10,000 sq ft venue. Galleries exhibiting include
Leo Kesting, founded in 2007 by David Kesting and John Leo,

1
1/1
3

An Artist of Selective Abandon
updated 2011-08-02

An Artist of Selective Abandon

With the death on Tuesday in Rome of Cy Twombly at the age
of 83, postwar American painting has lost a towering and
inspirational talent. Although he tended to be overshadowed
by two of his closest colleagues — Robert Rauschenberg and

1
1/1

CHINA WORLD'S MOST DOMINANT ART MARKET
updated 2011-08-02

CHINA WORLD'S MOST DOMINANT ART MARKET

CHINA DECLARED WORLD'S MOST DOMINANT ART MARKET
MARCH 27, 2011
The Western art world's hegemony is on its last legs, or at
least so it would seem according to a recent report by

1
1/1
3

Graffiti’s Cozy, Feminine Side
updated 2011-08-02

Graffiti’s Cozy, Feminine Side

THE bronze statue of Rocky near the Philadelphia Museum of
Art irked Jessie Hemmons. She found the statue too big, too
macho and too touristy, so last month Ms. Hemmons, a
24-year-old artist, bombed him. With pinkish yarn.

1
1/1
6

Art World Trends for 2010
updated 2011-08-02

Art World Trends for 2010

More of the Same: Confusion Over What Constitutes Art
Only the art world could launch an awards ceremony
recognizing professional excellence that left half the
community wondering whether the gala itself was actually a

1
1/1
3

Ubu Gallery
updated 2011-08-02

Ubu Gallery

Ubu Gallery was founded in 1994, and since 2003 has been
partnered with Galerie Berinson, Berlin (www.berinson.de).
Ubu has presented over 50 exhibitions of 20th Century
avant-garde art, with a focus on 1920s and 1930s Dada,