HAPPY NEW YEAR ALMOST

Francine Spiegel WORD UP

My pal Francine Spiegel's show was just up in Sweden; she's definitely ruling it in the painting department:

www.galleriloyal.com/

And, I discovered an interview we did for North Drive Press awhile back is in PDF form, so I'm going to try attaching the site link here, then you can click her name and download the file:

www.northdrivepress.com/ndp5.html

Upcoming Readings

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I have three upcoming readings to mention and hope to see some friends there:

Februrary 19th, Oakland, CA: Writer's With Drinks series
At the Makeout Room
http://www.writerswithdrinks.com/

April 28th, San Francisco, CA: RADAR Series hosted by Michelle Tea
At Intersection for the Arts
http://www.theintersection.org/

May 7th, San Francisco, CA: 2nd Floor Projects Reading
Celebrating the release of a Writing/Art Multiple in collaboration with gallery artist TBA
At 2nd Floor Projects
http://projects2ndfloor.blogspot.com/

Cristina Toro

I received a letter in my mailbox the other day from a woman named Cristina Toro, and attached to this very kind letter was an intricate painting that looks as if it is embroidered. I wrote back to Cristina and she tells me that this painting (above, the painting that spells MOON) is large, 5x7. She has also made other alluringly stitched-style paintings, and so I thought I'd post a couple here. Exciting to get mail from people out there making work I might have missed otherwise...

George Caitlin, Medecinman, 1848

From the Swedish edition of North American Indians.
Courtesy William R. Talbot Fine Art, Antique Maps & Prints
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Art of McSweeney's

Here is a new book that just arrived on my doorstep, and it's a real honor to be a part of it. McSweeney's has published an ultra-deluxe volume about their book design endeavors, and each book entry is accompanied by design images and anecdotal tales about the making of the book. Interview snippets throughout. Dear New Girl or Whatever Your Name Is occupies a couple spreads, and there are some educational sections about the practicalities of publishing McSweeney's and The Believer. This book makes me excited about printed matter (again).

Ada Books, Providence R.I.

I'll be reading at Ada Books this coming Saturday, October 16th, at 6pm. Sumanth Prubhaker will be reading too...it is a truly special east coast bookstore...Come on down or spread the word! Thanks...

http://ada-books.com/

Bruno Munari

My essay about Bruno Munari is posted on X-Tra's site, and Munari will have the cover image for their upcoming Fall issue. Here is a quote to encourage you to click:

The egg has a perfect form even though it comes out of a butt.

-Bruno Munari¹

http://www.x-traonline.org/past_articles.php?articleID=408

Homunculi in the news...

Three reviews so far...keep 'em coming! Congrats to all the artists in the show.

New York Magazine:
http://nymag.com/listings/art/homunculi/

Village Voice:
http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-15/art/james-hyde-richard-hughes-artists-of-homunculi/

BOMB on-line interview:
http://bombsite.powweb.com/?p=12500

Grey Oceans

I'm loving Cocorosie's new album, Grey Oceans. And I especially love it because Matt shot the covers for the CD and LP. There was a lot of feltcraft and blue-grey paint happening back when those photo shoots took place. Cocorosie will be touring the US soon, and I hope people enjoy how much fire they've got right now cooking their looks and sounds. It's not all grey and watery; as with everything they do, it's an elemental brew. Here's a sweet little movie they made about how art is "polishing god's shoes."

http://subpop-public.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/video/7085.mov

Homunculi vs. Fruiting Bodies

It was a shame that Brian Chippendale's Fruiting Bodies opening collided with our Homunculi opening at CANADA, but it's not a competition. Matt and I stopped by Cinders yesterday before heading back to LA to see Chippendale's wicked and very pinkish new body of collaged silkscreen/paintings:

http://blog.cindersgallery.com/

Best of all, Matt and Brian came face to face to taint each other further with mushroom madness. How many mushrooms can two men paint? I see a fungi collaboration in the future...

If you're in NYC Chinatown, please check out Homunculi, a chunky set of paintings and sculptures by four stellar artists, starring gnomes, a fox, shadow puppets, eye-shaped cloaks, hobo clowns, fuschia trannies, and some witchy, green-handed women. I think CANADA will post more photos as time allows:

http://www.canadanewyork.com/

Here's a video tour someone made that I just found trolling on-line:

http://www.artreview.com/video/homunculi-curated-by-trinie?xg_source=activity

Report from Portland

I *love* Powell's; I wish I could overnight it to rove the shelves for a good twelve hours by candlelight. Last time I was there I dropped major cash after I raided their mushroom field guide section. An artist I admire, Wendy Given, snapped this at Powell's and made my day. I just wrote an essay about her lovely new body of witch-related artwork, for an exhibition of hers that opened at Wieden + Kennedy gallery called How To Explain Magic to A Dead Rabbit:

http://blog.wk.com/

The black cat photograph, titled The Tutelary, is Given's exhibition poster...

Good time for a bear dance...

THEME Magazine & PARIS/LA

THEME is a magazine I've discovered recently after doing a couple articles for them. Each issue is themed and curated by killer people; it's a real pretty print magazine too. Hisham Bharoocha curated this one about "music community" and for it I profiled Lucky Dragons. They posted it on-line too so more people can see the article:

http://www.thememagazine.com/stories/hawks-and-sparrows/

Also did a piece about photographer Mickey Smith for the issue coming after this one...they matched us up for the "collections" issue to talk about the role books play in the art world. Check this mag out if you get a chance because it's one of the more interesting glossies out there at the moment.

PARIS/LA is another magazine I'm jazzed up about. Their bent is on the overlap between Paris and LA, this coming from one of the previous editors at Purple. So you know it's looking good! Each edition comes wrapped in a poster. In this Summer issue I was lucky enough to have interviewed Dorothy Iannone.

Nice Bookstore!

Ow-Wow, publisher of awesome art catalogues such as that from the New York Minute group show that was at MACRO Rome, has a new 150-square foot shop that looks totally awesome! Check it out!! I kinda can't believe how amazing it is. Can't wait to go:

	227 Waverly Place New York, NY 10014 Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 8pm http: //www.oh-wow.com/

The New Everyday Life

I just got back from the desert after a very successful first session of The New Everyday Life. Here is a photo of the compound next to headquarters where some of the action went down. Wells' bus full of leather goods was pretty dang inspiring, as was his two pens full of Nubian and Pygmy goats. I am SO getting a pair of goats someday. Katie's rather strong herbal beers were ultra delicious. We tried bottles of Ginger and Honey Basil. Chantal made us fish tacos to munch while meditating upon our huge bonfire out on BLM land next to her veggie diesel Vanagon, and Andrea gave us a tour of her newest knitted works that will soon ship to Sadie Coles. I taught Japanese stab stitch, pamplet stitch, and long stitch. So it was a weekend full of art and inspiration.

I feel confident we will plan another session. Here is the itinerary Andrea cooked up for this first series, and this will be the site where we hopefully post some of the photos taken of the work sessions. So check back here for updates:

http://www.highdeserttestsites.com/

Significant Objects

There is this website I discovered recently when I was invited by The Believer to make a little story about an object to raise money for a good cause. They attach stories to thrift store objects to auction them off on E-Bay. It's a lot of fun:

http://significantobjects.com/tag/believer/

Totally Rules

Mt. Fuji General Store

If you are ever in Joshua Tree and want to check out a great venture, please visit and support My. Fuji General Store. I think soon enough Mt. Fuji will carry my books; it makes me happy to know there is a great indie book spot out in the Morongo Basin.

http://web.mac.com/chandoyle/Site/Mt.Fuji.html

CLICK ON THIS

http://bjorncopeland.com/

Mi amigo Bjorn tiene un nuevo website. Es muy elegante.

2 Los Angeles Events

Hi friends,

I'll be in LA for these two events, one on January 22nd at Las Cienegas Projects and one on January 28th at Family Books. It would be great to see you at one or both!

Here's the link to the Family listing, flyer to come:

http://www.familylosangeles.com/events/index.html

******

Here's the release with info about the Las Cienegas Projects show.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DANTE BREBNER AND MARCOS ROSALES IN COLLABORATION WITH FRANCIS COY
ISMAEL DE ANDA
TRINIE DALTON
January 23 - February 20, 2010
Opening Reception:
Saturday, January 23, 7-10 pm

Las Cienegas Projects is extremely pleased to announce 3 new exhibitions and a series of events including Dante Brebner and Marcos Rosales in collaboration with Francis Coy: In the Interim Lies the Darkness (Main Gallery), Ismael de Anda: Shag Quixote (Project Space), and Trinie Dalton’s Zine Workshop / Slide Talk / Exhibition (Back Room).

Back Room
TRINIE DALTON
Zine/Bookmaking Workshop, Slide Talk and Exhibition

Las Cienegas Projects is excited to welcome writer, editor and artist Trinie Dalton for a series of events including a slide talk, zine/bookmaking workshop and an exhibition curated by Dalton showcasing its results. The talk will be divided into 3 parts, covering Bruno Munari’s Xerografia project, Copy Art, and the History of Zines. For the workshop, Las Cienegas Projects has invited several Los Angeles-based artists to participate, and has additionally left open several slots to the public.

Dalton is perhaps most recognized for the publication she co-edited, Dear New Girl or Whatever Your Name Is, an assortment of drawing works by 35 visual artists in repsonse to a selection of high school notes passed by students and confiscated by Dalton during her days as a substitute teacher--when she often secretly delighted in reading them or applauded their creativity—and distributed to the artists who then responded in drawing form, incorporating pieces of text and doodles from the original notes. NPR’s Ketzel Levine noted “I am strangely mesmerized by this cross between a high school kid’s notebook and a 21st century pen and ink retrospective”.

Trinie Dalton has authored, curated, and/or co-edited five books: Wide Eyed (Akashic), A Unicorn Is Born (Abrams), Dear New Girl or Whatever Your Name Is (McSweeney's), Mythtym (Picturebox), and Sweet Tomb (Madras Press). Her art books are often accompanied by visual art and exhibitions surrounding issues of art + text. Dalton makes zines and handmade books, curating shows around them. For her Werewolf Express, she curated part of "Zines Unbound: Werewolves, Kults, and Sarcastic Hippies" at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center. For Mythtym, she has been presenting lectures on topics such as mirrors in horror and the history of photocopy art. She recently has done slide talk/workshops at the Observatory in Brooklyn and at Deitch Projects as part of the PIG Sunday School curated by Gelatin. A paper based on her slide talk/workshop for Las Cienegas Projects will publish in French in Les Editions Particules, and in English in X-Tra.

Slide talk: Friday, January 22, 8pm. Open to the public (free, limited seating
available)
Workshop*: Friday, January 22, 5pm-10pm (by reservation only; includes slide talk)
Exhibition: Opening reception: Saturday, January 23, 7-10pm
*For further workshop information or to make a reservation, please contact Amy Thoner at 213.595.8017

Las Cienegas Projects is a new artist-run project space and gallery focusing on large-scale, collaborative and project-based artworks by a broad range of local, national and international emerging and mid-career artists. For further information and press materials, please contact LCP Co-director Amy Thoner at lascienegasprojects@gmail.com or 213.595.8017

http://lascienegasprojects.wordpress.com/

The Tanners by Robert Walser

I was lucky enough to review the newly translated Robert Walser novel recently. It is his first novel, and I'd totally recommend it as a starting point into Walser's oeuvre.

http://bookforum.com/review/4865