This isn't precisely why we're headed to Berlin, but it is indicative of a free-wheeling artistic culture that we find attractive.

While it's not unusual for critics to suggest the imbibing of illicit substances to make atrocious artistic performances and events more bearable, it is less usual for the producers of a theatrical piece to promote drug use in a bid to enhance the audience's enjoyment of their show.

But this is exactly what the artistic director of the Neuköllner Opera House in Berlin is doing. Bernhard Glocksin is encouraging members of the audience to smoke joints while taking in performances of "La Princesse Jaune (The Oriental Princess)", the one-act druggy opera by Camille Saint-Saens.

-- Taking High Culture Literally, Deutsche Welle

Yes, I am aware that the literal title is "The Yellow Princess." The production's subtitle appears to be "Or, in the cat skin of the Manga Queen."

[image from the Neuköllner Oper]

Jason Fox's Jeff by Michael Cambre

Check out mentions of James's "Free the Art" project at Tom Moody's blog and in artnet news.

Remember that this was actually Michael Cambre's idea, which he suggested as a comment to this blog post. Michael contributed five(!) color drawings.

Come on people! We only have two images in the gallery of PS1 Greater New York artist sketches so far, now that I just added Tom Moody's entry.

Let's get some more up there! You can email images or links to James or me.

It's a rather slow art week, but we're going to an opening tonight in the East Village of a 2-person show that includes our friend Derick Melander. He curated an awesome group show in DUMBO last summer, which is how we met him.

Derick Melander, Wedge

His description:

One of my new works is called Wedge. It is made from ordinary folded clothing that cascades from the wall to the floor. The clothing is arranged so that the actual brands embroidered on the clothing tags are displayed one below the next. As you read the tags, they spell out the following "Brand Poem":

No Boundaries | 2 | Ecko | 2 | Discus | s

So... | U | And I | Underscore | A Line | Barely There

U | Breakaway | Access

And I | Report | Zero Exposure

James has invited artists to submit sketches of the works in Greater New York at PS1, since photography is not allowed, and there are few images available on the lousy flash web site.

I set up a gallery for the images, and just put up the first image, by M. River, of Frankie Martin and Cory Arcangel's video in the elevator.

Installation detail

Entrance to larger room of installation

The show is only up for a few more days, so head down to Soho ASAP if you haven't seen it. We weren't able to get into the main room at the opening, as it was too crowded. I'm very glad we went back. The Barry McGee show at the other space is diverting, but pales in comparison to Swoon's installation.

Window on the West Bank ... Some of the work by graffiti artist Banksy, painted during a visit to Ramallah. Photograph: PA [source]

The Guardian has an article and photos related to my earlier mention of Banksy in the West Bank. A choice quote for those unfamiliar with the wall:

Although the paintings themselves are not overtly political, his feelings about the wall are apparent from his statement: "The Israeli government is building a wall surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories. It stands three times the height of the Berlin Wall and will eventually run for over 700km - the distance from London to Zurich. The wall is illegal under international law and essentially turns Palestine into the world's largest open prison."

Two things I enjoyed today:

First, Tom Moody on Paul McCarthy at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. An excerpt:

Unlike US art institutions, which filter art for the delicate sensibilities of small children, Victorian grandmothers, and Newt Gingrich, European museums don't protect viewers from the sight of icky penises and soiled butt cheeks.

...

I watched most of this vid [Sailor's Meat/Sailor's Delight, 1974] at the Haus Der Kunst, sitting on a seat in the main gallery with all this kinky sexual imagery right out there in plain view. There were no furtive darkened rooms for creepy behavior as in the US, but headphones did protect the other museumgoers from McCarthy's disturbing grunts and Deliverance-like squeals. Damn, the early 70s were an interestingly depraved time, partly owing to the end of the sexual revolution that conservatives are always complaining about, partly because the median age of the US population was about 22 and cranky oldsters were not allowed to run the show, as they do now.

Second, Wooster Collective's images of Banksy in the West Bank, including the work he put directly on the West Bank "wall".

from the series Paint Box, 2005
Oil and varnish on canvas

Installation shot

Last Sunday we saw these great paintings by Cristobal Dam (or Cris as he is generally known) at Dam, Sthultrager. Due to the layering of oil and varnish, they are quite shiny, which is hard to convey in photos. That, plus the way they are framed, makes them feel like lovely enameled objects.

Yes, the name of the gallery includes his name. He and Leah Stuhltrager run this exciting and eclectic Williamsburg gallery, but this is no vanity exhibition. Artist and fan-run galleries are getting rarer, even in Williamsburg. Go by and see these wonderful paintings for yourself.

[images provided by the gallery]

Shaun Doyle & Mally Mallinson
Cape Disappointment

Here are two images from the dissolute budgies of a budgie "housing project" gone terribly wrong in this sculpture by Shaun Doyle & Mally Mallinson in the current show at Cynthia Broan, titled This Show is Ribbed For Her Pleasure. Luckily, ours is faring a bit better so far.

The exhibition is curated by Andrew Clarkin and Simon Pittuck, the Directors of Keith Talent Gallery in East London. Bonus points for anyone who gets the reference for the title of the gallery.

I also enjoyed the brightly colored ink jet prints by Oran O'Reilly and the sculptures by Adam Gillam, with the installation instructions written all over the works.

ak burns
fountain of salmacis (a heart for Jack)

Rune Olsen
Hear me Roar

You still have a change to see Homomuseum at Exit Art, as the show has been extended until August 19. Each of the artists in the show chose a hero, and their statements are mounted next to their work. I suspect you won't be surprised to learn that Jack Smith is the hero of ak burns. Rune Olsen chose the Bonobo monkeys, famous for their polysexuality, as a reminder that those who use the word "unnatural" to describe homosexuals are denying the way nature really operates. His sculpture is of two female Bonobos having sex as a younger male looks on.

I didn't put up an image, but I also loved the black and white photos of the piers by Alvin Baltrop. The photographer died in 2004, but there is a foundation web site with images from the series.

If you're into Jack Smith, and who isn't these days, also check out the show Jonathan Berger curated at Grimm Rosenfeld, titled Founders Day.

While the subject of opera is getting some commments, I should mention this good essay in Sunday's Newsday, titled Cutting - edge? Cut it out. The entire thing is worth reading, but I'll quote some favorite parts.

(Naturalism, by the way, is a problematic notion in opera, which traffics in artifice and myth.)

...

For all that New York is a center of cutting-edge art, its opera lovers seem innocent of the fact that the intentional fallacy was debunked long ago. "Give us the opera as the composer intended," they whine. But nobody knows what long-dead creators had in mind. Even with the benefit of documentary evidence (explanatory notes and eyewitness accounts), no one has ever been bound by the chimera of authorial intention.

Times change. Do theatergoers clamor for boys to portray Juliet and Cleopatra, as Shakespeare expected? The original production books for several Verdi operas still exist. Verdi expert Julian Budden offers withering appraisals of their composer-approved stage business: "worthy of the Folies Bergere," or "remarkably crude."

By the way, the Peter Sellars operas mentioned in Newsday are now out on DVD: Marriage of Figaro (set in Trump Tower), Don Giovanni (set in Harlem with the hot Perry brothers playing the Don and Leporello), and Così fan tutte (set in a seaside diner). Supposedly these are available as a complete set, but not anywhere I can locate.

[images from the Decca web site]