Culture 2007 [The ZOO]
Culture :: No Speed Limit, Images from Austin City Limits
It was another hot day in Austin, Texas but that did not stop the herds of people walking toward Zilker Park where the sixth Austin City Limits Festival took place over a three day period gracing us with an eclectic array of music - 130 bands to be exact.
I'm somewhat of a festival junky and for me there is no other festival that comes close to the laid back friendly vibe that ACL emanates. The crowds of people range from young to old; it's a family affair, even a vacation for most. From the moment you enter the gate the atmosphere takes hold, a perfect collaboration of music and music lovers all doing what they do best.more...
Last Looks From Lollapalooza
Although the 'Summer of Love' is long over, and the term 'Generation X-ers' no longer applies to today's twenty-somethings, the moment Perry Farrell reincarnated the hippie outdoor music festival as a grunge alternative culture celebration, giving birth to Lollapalooza in 1991 still lives on. The festival has evolved since then, and so has the reputation of the alienated youth to which it caters. In '91 it was Public Enemy and Steve Jones. In 2007 it's Amy Winehouse and Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah. On August 3-5, in Chicago's Grant Park the presence of Pearl Jam and Iggy Pop and the Stooges provided continuity to the days of Lollapalooza past, but this year's 'Gathering of the Tribes' was far more eclectic, starring indie rock staples like Modest Mouse, and old school crooning like Amy Winehouse. Multiple stages... stage diving (what a throw back!) and Karen O. covered in tinsel. more...
Culture :: Making Sense of History
'In April 1967, Stephen Shames, a college student at the University of California, Berkeley, met the Panthers at a rally to end the war in Vietnam. He was invited to photograph them and continued to do so until 1973. His close friendship with the Panthers, and Seale in particular, gave Shames unusual access to the organization, allowing him to capture not only the public face of the Party - street demonstrations, protests, and militant posturing - but also unscripted behind-the-scenes moments, from private meetings held in the Party headquarters, to Bobby Seale at work on his mayoral campaign in Oakland. The immediacy and intimacy of Shames's photographs offer an uncommonly nuanced portrait of this dynamic social movement, during one of the most tumultuous periods in recent U.S. history.' more...
Culture :: Sacred Ground
The Avenue A Flea Market has been an East Village landmark for nearly a decade. Just as it was closing its doors on May 20th, ZOOZOOM documented the members of this community-oriented, fashion forward thrift gem. Exploring the connection between local culture, immigrant history, and Catholic bureaucracy, ZOOZOOM found that there was a world of significance behind all of the inexpensive vintage that brought us there in the first place. The story is built on interviews with die-hard East Villagers, Catholic Priests who tried to rebel against Cardinal Edward M. Egan, and photographs of the visual feast that was the Avenue A. Flea Market. more...
Culture :: It's just design, whaterver...
'Furnish' highlights the type of dreamy environments and furniture one would expect to see in a museum, art gallery, restaurant, or hotel, but not really expect to own. It’s an open, creative playground whose chapters include: customized, transformation + hybrids, environments, process + prototypes, limited edition, and concept. 'Furnish' features a smattering of creative superstars like Zaha Hadid, Tom Dixon, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Hella Jongerius, plus familiar pieces like Richard Shed’s 'Discovery Cabinet and Studio Bility’s 'Flower Chair.' But also, 'Furnish' presents enough new-to-you shapes and inspiring visual creations, to make for a memorable collection. more...
Culture :: Freddie and the Chocolate Factory
Photographs by Frederic Lebain
'Freddie and the Chocolate Factory' is Frederic Lebain's first solo show in the United States. He has been exhibiting seriously for nearly a decade with shows throughout Europe and Asia. 'Freddie and the Chocolate Factory' is currently on display at ClampArt 521-531 West 25th Street, New York NY 10001. www.clampart.com May 17 - June 23, 2007 more...
Culture :: Black & White in Color
The Photographs of Kevin Westenberg
"I think in black and white," admits Kevin Westenberg. "If I didn't have to do color, I probably wouldn't." Despite this, Kevin creates rich and beautiful color images. Over twenty hard-working years his images have graced the covers of countless A-list artist's albums and the world's best-loved magazines. Artists featured in this story: Avril Lavigne, BB King, Coldplay, Mary J Blige, Morrissey, Paul Weller, Sting, U2. more...
Culture :: Not Afraid of Ghosts
In the later part of 2006 Margaret Bodell of Umbrella Arts invited Greta Waller, a Cooper Union grad, to be an artist in residence at the "Art at the Bridge" mansion in the cloistered vale of West Cornwall, C.T. In the early 1900's, the mansion (aka pink house) was a hotel and a destination for wealthy out-of-towners and philandering couples seeking solitude.
The New England sanctuary allowed the wonderfully backwards artist Greta Waller to act as its painterly historian; a correspondent, if you will, to document the sprawling rooms and dusty salons full of centuries-old furniture, floor to ceiling windows, and endless streaks of melancholy light. more...
Culture :: Clay Patrick McBride, He's Got Reach
Artist Clay Patrick McBride is a prolific photographer with an extensive history of shoots with the biggest names in rock, hip hop and sport; and the biggest brands in advertising work. He looks like a star and you can picture him hanging with Kid Rock, but he shoots Jay Z and 50 Cent, Allen Iverson and Al Green all with the same aplomb. His unique visual style has earned him a lot of fans, and a gig teaching at the Eddie Adams Workshop more...
Culture :: Stephen Wilkes, China
An Exhibition by Stephen Wilkes at ClampArt New York
Traveling throughout old and new China, Stephen Wilkes has expertly portrayed a nation amidst rapid and vast transformation. Focusing on both rural and industrial settings—and the increasing number of areas where the two collide—the artist draws our attention to a changing way of life. The large, spectacular imagery speaks of not only a new era in China, but also a shift in global economies already felt in the United States. more...
Culture :: The Nest Foundation
Charity begins with homes for exploited children.
The purpose of the Nest Foundation is to raise awareness of the commercial exploitation of children around the world, most especially those who are trafficked within the United States. The foundation additionally supports organizations providing assistance and rehabilitation to victimized children and aims to alter mainstream perceptions of so-called "damaged youths". more...
Culture :: Art Basel Miami Beach
ZOOZOOM's own Bede Murphy - artist, photographer, critic and aficionado - visited the world's fastest growing art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach. "In a classic battle of the pretty vs the clever, Miami Basel began another exhibition saturated season. With an impossible list of activities, book signings, movie promotions, star studded collections and yes art viewing. This year's fair was a symbol of the nascent attempt to capitalize on the expanding art bubble."more...
Culture :: Paint It Black
Karen Gundersun :: Black Paintings
Karen Gunderson's work consists of 'all-black paintings that conjure vast, mountainous landscapes and expansive bodies of water through a deft working of surface alone.' more...
Her work is currently on view At ClampArt 521-531 West 25th. St. New York NY 10001 www.clampart.com February 21 - March 31, 2007
Culture :: It's NOT the Superbowl
Six Man Football
Photographer Rob Hann shows us the other side of American football. He traveled to the tiny desert towns of West Texas where six man football is played in communities too small to support an eleven man program and the game is played for fun, honor and pride. more...
Culture :: Cheyney Thompson, Painting an Agreement
Underpinning the work is a system of information and itemization.
Cheyney seems to be opening up his process to include a wider interpellation within his art discourse, allowing economic, social and pedagogical options to lull the viewer in, promising multi views, unique relations and connections to a higher state of awareness. more...
Culture :: Eileen Quinlan, What does Nothing Look Like?
The series started as research into paranormal photography. Eileen Quinlan's photographs are both genre breaking and classic in there absence and pictorial mystery. Her most recent series 'Smoke and Mirrors' recalls a Constructivism influence but turns the medium on its ear with her melding of painterly concerns. more...
Culture :: James Bidgood. Remastered
A stylistic precursor of such artists as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Pierre et Gilles, and David LaChapelle, James Bidgood revolutionized gay erotic imagery. Bidgood was the first to take the pulp and glamour aesthetic of the 1940s and 1950s and apply it to sexual male fantasies. Yet, his photographs, which range from camp to surreal, are still scarcely known to the wider public. more...
Index [The ZOO]