via MoMA to Showcase Cindy Sherman’s New and Old Characters – NYTimes.com.

A Personal Remembrance by John Miller On Wednesday, February 1 at about 11:00 am

I received a telephone call with news I never expected to hear: Mike Kelley had committed suicide. The caller was Jim Shaw. His tone was matter-of-fact, grim and mournful, but also frustrated. I knew that Mike had been wrestling with personal problems, but expected that he would take these in stride as he had always done before. Jim, however, knew otherwise. He had been perhaps Mike’s closest confidante. His frustration was that of someone who had done everything in his power to save his friend but failed nonetheless. Shocked as I was, I am glad that I had learned the news from Jim because he was so insightful and utterly unsentimental.

via Mike Kelley 1954–2012 | Art Agenda.

The practically silent dance piece, part of the 7th annual Coil Festival sponsored by P.S.122, includes Becca Blackwell, World Famous *BOB*, Amelia Zirin-Brown (a/k/a Lady Rizo), Hilary Clark, Katy Pyle, and Regina Rocke.

For the continuously fascinating, and hilarious, Blackwell, who’s been seen in the productions of Circus Amok, Room For Cream, and Parlour, a film (directed by Sharon Hayes) at the Whitney Biennial, dealing with gender and identity issues is always a constant battle. And although this isn’t the first time she’s been naked on stage, because of the rawness of this show she says “it’s really the most naked” she’s ever been.

via Becca Blackwell, Performer, On Being Naked in the Untitled Feminist Show – New York News – Runnin’ Scared.

so good!

Into the Heart of Lightness

The artist Doug Wheeler tells two stories, both having to do with light, that go a long way toward explaining why he is so revered by many fellow artists — as a visionary and a relentlessly stubborn perfectionist — and also why his work has been seen by so few American artgoers over the last few decades, particularly those in New York.

via Doug Wheeler Builds ‘Infinity Environment’ at David Zwirner – NYTimes.com.

Can’t wait to see this!!

The concept of Anthology came from a historical oversight I see in performance art, specifically the ways in which black artists aren’t included in the canon. I was trying to think about how I could make a work that would address this interesting legacy that most people are not aware of. Benjamin Patterson, who also contributed a score, was one of the architects of Fluxus in the 50s. He organized the first “Flux Fest” in Europe. He was the starting point of my investigation into this legacy of U.S. black performance artists.

But, I want to distinguish “performance art” from the “performing arts.” Performance art is not necessarily informed by a dance, song, or theater. It’s really informed by the visual arts. Patterson comes up from the music tradition and fluxus was a kind of avant-garde music movement that transformed itself into a more visual art expression. It’s not to discredit dance as a visual art, but just to say that this [performance art] is informed through other channels, modes, and modalities of thinking about performance.

via Clifford Owens in conversation with Lydia Bell « Critical Correspondence.

Am I living in the 21st Century? Perambulating the art world, there are times when my senses tell me I am, but my overall experience feels stuck in the conceptual mire of minimalism, emptied of the latter’s social gravitas, while at the same time standing in the wake of relational dystopia. All this, even before I consider those in this world who have the power to shape my experience of art. If there is one artist who has the ability to shake me out of this Gen X-Y, zombie trance of ironic equanimity and break this century open, it is Clifford Owens.

via Gimme Shelter | Smash Your Idols: Clifford Owens at MoMA PS1 | Art21 Blog.

So excited for Cliff! The Kara Walker score was tough each time I was an audience member.