"I am not afraid of resistance, conflict, contradiction or complexity."
Thomas Hirshhorn
Guaranteed, July in Miami is again punctuated by the Perrenial Philosophy of nationalistic fireworks and the heavy down-pours of rain that extinguish both while nourishing the swamp. With recurring notions of understanding what actually happens on the sweltering ground, art walkers at large appear to be morphing from mere appreciators of fringe activities focused on objects and deeds of creative expression to the actual recipients of the attraction. In other words the crowds are the show.
On the road to the beaches, a greige veil of stormy forecast hangs in the air like an electric blanket dialed to High. Day is the time to find shade, night is the time to get your art on.
The broad strokes the season is upon us, not the tourists but the tumultuous trampling of never ending roadwork that manifests our preoccupation with tomorrow. To survive the onslaught of summer one must learn to wade through its economic molasses and microwave climate. Like the roots of mangrove and the formidable foliage of a mighty banyan, surviving the tropics with grace requires more than A/C. It requires a purpose. Mine is Art.
It's the People, Stupid.
With plenty of exceptions, the art world is in Europe. From Venice to Berlin, those aficionados with the means abandon the swamp for more hospitable pastures, do so. Be it here or at Big Basel, art's contagious effects continue. It is the discipline without borders.
People Walk, becoming the art to attend Grela Orihela's show @ Praxis in Wynwood.
People Talk, fluent conversationalist Peter Menendez sports a scholarly beard apropos to Lobo @ De La Cruz in the Design District
Shadowy World, the artist insinuates upon Arrow's new media @ De La Cruz.
Prime real estate, an exterior wall courtesy of Snitzer's rather swampy courtyard @ ground zero Wynwood.
Your Ad Here, clever bus bench for the latin manhattan @ Praxis.
Mette Tommerup's delightful style only compliments her casual seriousness.
Her mentoring influence can be seen in Desiree Almodovar's SCALE currently in swampspace gallery.
Jim Drain projects like the gentle giant that he is. Late night vintage videos on the ceiling courtesy of Kathryn Marks @ The End in the Design District.
Call to artist: "How can I give a form that resists historical facts? How can I give a form that goes beyond the here and the now? And how can I make a trans-historical work, in my time, in my history, today?" Thomas Hirshhom
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