scott b. davis
scott b. davis has earned a national reputation for his night photography. The San Diego Museum of Art is currently exhibiting a survey of his work from the past decade. And a show of recent work opens in March at jdc Fine Art. A recent profile of davis in the Summerset Review offers a wonderfully...
Is Robert Pincus a real person?
On Saturday the U-T San Diego editorialized on the impending removal of a public artwork from the San Diego waterfront. The editorial begins with a full paragraph quoting former U-T art critic Robert Pincus on his response to the artwork in question. It then states the following: “These criticisms discount the undeniable reality that, from...
A Painting by Anita Storck
John Baldessari, Commissioned Painting: A Painting by Anita Storck (1969) If a sign painter could paint my texts, why not ask somebody to paint a picture according to my indications? Every year my father and I used to visit county fairs. Despite the fact that he loved looking at tractors and farm equipment and I...
Épater La Jeunesse
Like other art museums The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles hosts an annual gala event, with the goal of extracting surplus wealth from donors. The time-honored quid pro quo in this transaction is entertainment, and MOCA’s newly-acquired director Jeffrey Deitch has proven himself a master of pushing the notion toward the poles of art...
The Designated Voyeur
The following images are commercial advertisements from mainstream publications (both print and online). The three exceptions — a 16th-century painting, vintage comic strip panel, and contemporary pornograph — are from art/performance web sites and John Berger’s classic Ways of Seeing. The images share a common image schema, and the schema itself begs several questions...
8/6-7/2011 ArtLawn 2011
Experience art in a glorious setting this weekend—with lush green grass beneath your toes, the La Jolla sky overhead, and a stunning view of the ocean as the backdrop. It’s ArtLawn 2011.
Artists’ Drugs
A good hearty meal, all in one pill that can be carried in a vest pocket, is the dream of scientists of today, according to Hugh S. Cummings, surgeon general of the public health service. (Rock Valley Bee, August 17, 1923) Whereas the visual arts of the past were strictly material (stone, canvas, paper, pigment),...
Age Change
Age change is a legal act, recognized in practically all legal systems, which allows a person to adopt an age different from their age at birth. The procedures and ease of an age change depend on the jurisdiction. In general, common law jurisdictions have rather loose limitations on age change, while civil law jurisdictions are...
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Until recently my exposure to anime had consisted primarily of a satisfying addiction to anything Miyazaki. But then I learned of Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime series written and directed by Hideaki Anno which spans 11 hours of television episodes and a concluding movie. If Miyazaki’s work embodies classical art cinema à la Kurosawa, NGE...