MURKETING

Rolling Stones: The Kubrick

The exhibition Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll since 1967, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, sounds pretty cool. But what about the collateral merch? Well how about a Rolling Stones Kubrick, eh?

The Rolling Stones lips logo is nearly as iconic as the group itself. Inspired by Kali, a Mother figure in Hinduism with large lips and Mick’s own mouth, it took artist John Pasche just one week to create it in 1970. Here, Medicom features the logo on their 100% (3″) and 400% (11″) Kubricks.

I have a secret wish that there are Kubrick fanatics who will respond to this by wondering who the Rolling Stones are. But of course that’s absurd: everybody knows they’re those older guys who do music for lots of TV commercials.

To Do in NYC: Kate Bingaman-Burt at jen bekman

I’m late on this, not having realized until hours beforehand that the opening was last night. But if you’re in NYC, you should stop by the jen bekman gallery and enjoy the work of Kate Bingaman-Burt, through Oct. 27.

To Do: Enjoyable bears

We loved Jill Greenberg’s Monkey Portraits, so we’re excited to hear that she’s back: with bears. October 11 through November 10 at Clamp Art in NY. More here. (Thanks E.)

To Do in Savannah, GA tonight

Reception for Greta Ackerman Advertising Design M.F.A. Exhibition: “The Ironic Brand.” Monday, 6-8 p.m., Alexander Hall Gallery, 668 Indian St., Savannah, Ga.

Savannah College of Art and Design advertising design M.F.A. candidate Greta Ackerman’s thesis exhibition is an experiment in brand communication and advertising design. Ackerman seeks to express how one anti-mainstream brand, Barking Irons, can engage in self-promotion without sacrificing edgy authenticity.

You will of course recall that Barking Irons was one of the subjects of the Brand Underground article from last summer, so I’m quite keen to see this. For those of you who can’t make it to Savannah tonight, I’ll report back here later this week.

Venue: The Bench

You’ve heard of the in-store appearance, the reading, the signing, the party in a bar or nightclub or lounge or retail space or maybe even a park. Here, however, is another venue. A bench — The Bench.

New York streetwear brand Married to the Mob (getting some buzz lately for its latest KAWS collaboration) will be at, or on, The Bench, this weekend. The Bench is on Orchard and Houston. Outside an American Apparel store, although that’s not mentioned and is I assume incidental. It’s not about the store, it’s about The Bench. This is not the first event at The Bench. The Bench, in fact, has a MySpace page, with news about The Bench, and hundreds of MySpace friends.

So, as the invite says: “Come Talk Shit with the Baddest Bitches in Town on the Most Poppin Bench Around!” Saturday night 10 pm. And as the email blast I got clarifies: “PS., it really is a bench!”

To Do in NYC June 27: No Mas Lottery Event

The always-interesting team over at No Mas (see the Murketing Q&A with No Mas mastermind Chris Isenberg here) sends word of an event Wednesday night in New York that I can’t go to, but maybe you can:

The Lottery
Wednesday June 27
31 W. 19th Street / Between Fifth & Sixth
NYC

Happening the night before the NBA draft — where the drawing of random ping pong balls from a hopper determines the order in which general managers get to make their selections — the project/event “examines the role of fate in life and basketball.”

In this Lottery, the ping pall balls will turn seven lucky attendees into ‘general managers’ who will get to draft their pick of artwork from a giant wall of 8X10 portraits — one for each of the original 105 players drafted [under the lottery system]. It’s a process that Isenberg hopes will get attendees to ‘think about how weird it is that the lottery exists and has a huge effects on these players’ lives’ and to reconsider ‘the famous, the fallen, and the forgotten in relation to this ritual.

The project was inspired, he says, by Patrick Ewing (the Knicks’ dream-come-true-via-lottery choice in 1985) and Len Bias (the Celtics’ jackpot-turned-misery choice the following year).

Sounds promising! More here — including RSVP info;I gather that you need to do that if you want to go. So check it out.

To Do in NYC: Shepard Fairey

If I still lived in the bi-state area, I would certainly check this out: Shepard Fairey at Jonathan LeVine Gallery. More here. Bias alerts: I’m generally a fan, and contributed an essay to the book Supply & Demand.

To Do in Los Angeles March 16 (and March 10-31)

This sounds sort of interesting for all you unconsumption fans in L.A.:

The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest along with Machine Project will be present Heather Rogers, author of “Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage”. The talk based on her book will take us through the surprisingly brief history of the trash heap, as before mass production and mass marketing it would have been unthinkable to dispose of so much of what we produce so soon after it is produced.

To Do in NYC (and elsewhere)

My old pal John Sellers has a new book out, Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life. “An accomplished slinger of invective, Sellers provides a rousing evaluation of alternative rock… Spot-on observations and a willingness to name names and ascribe blame as well as credit make this one of the best resources to date on indie rock,” says Booklist. “Brilliant, hilarious,” says John Hodgman. (On the other hand: “Asshole,” says New York Magazine.) Anyway, he’s guest-blogging at powells.com this week, and has a slew of readings and events coming up, including appearances (in NYC) at the Chelsea Barnes & Noble on March 5 and Mo Pitkins March 12 — see his new site for details.

Big ups, John. You asshole.

To Do in Jersey City

WE ARE NATURE / works in black masking tape

Originally uploaded by K8 Balls O’ Fire

If I still lived in JC, I’d go check this out. I remember seeing this person’s work (it’s all done with black masking tape) on view at some local eatery or other. It was cool…

To Do in Milwaukee, February 9

The Paper Boat Boutique, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, presents an impressive twofer: Installations by Kate Bingaman (“Obsessive Consumption: Thanks for Shopping”) and Stephanie Syjuco (“Everything Must Go (Grey Market)”.

Impressively, both artists will be on hand at the gallery for the opening Friday night. I happened to be chatting with Paper Boat owner Faythe Levine yesterday, and she mentioned that the two have never met in person, so this is quite a coup. I gather it’s about two degrees in Milwaukee right now, but, still, if you happen to be there, this is clearly the scene to make.

More on Bingaman in this Consumed column.

More on Syjuco’s “Everything Must Go (Grey Market)” at her site. (And more on her famous Counterfeit Crochet project here at Counterfeit Chic.)

Dress warmly, y’all.

To Do In London, Thursday January 11

Rosemary Williams, a Murketing Q&A victim/subject and creator of the Wall of Mall and the related Rosemary Goes to the Mall podcast (see here for details), is part of a group show called Latitude — “a traveling group show of emerging artists drawn equally from London, Minneapolis, and New York and will evolve as it travels to exhibitions in each city” — and as I understand it will be onhand for the London opening at the Fieldgate Gallery Thursday night.

About Latitude: “With the ubiquity of technology expanding we have instantaneous access to vast quantities of information and viewpoints; geographical distance need no longer separate us and increasingly, local information is becoming a trans-national commodity. Are artists embracing this interconnectedness, or are they reacting to, for, or against it?”

On the chance that anybody in London reads this site, check out the Fieldgate Gallery site for more on the show, the artists, and the opening.

Something to do in NYC

If I lived in New York, I’d probably go take a look at this show of images by Belgian photojournalist Teun Voeten:

In an exhibit titled ” Saddam Mania,” on display at the Think Tank 3 gallery, Mr. Voeten documents a period of 10 days in Iraq’s history — just after the infamous toppling of the Saddam statue in front of the Palestine Hotel. Thousands of likenesses of the deposed despot — which could once be seen “on every other street corner” and at the entrance to every public office, Mr. Voeten said — were vandalized and finally destroyed by Iraqis and, in some instances, by American soldiers.In a room filled with striking images, Mr. Voeten shows the clash of two conflicting realities: In one, Saddam’s face is a constant reminder that his word is law; and in the reality of post-invasion Iraq, a people’s longsuppressed emotions are vented on that same all-pervading face, leaving knife slashes, bullet holes, and puddles of urine in testament to their rancor.

Although the invite image and the New York Sun article quoted above say the show was originally meant to run through late November, I have it on good authority that it’s still up. The gallery is at 447 Hudson, at Morton.

To Do in Miami, Dec. 10

Of the Brand Underground subjects, I don’t think I’ve passed along any updates regarding aNYthing, but here’s one: I’m told that Budweiser Select is hosting the “insider event of the week” in Miami (where the Art Basel thingy is going on) tonight: “New York City’s downtown impresario Aaron Bondaroff’s aNYthing artist showcase featuring artists Chris Johanson and Dash Snow (both Whitney Biennial and Deitch Project veterans), art collective Paper Rad and performance artist Brendan Fowler (BARR). Johanson, Snow, and Paper Rad will deejay the event, while Paper Rad and BARR will also perform live.”

Budweiser Select, I am further informed, “is attempting to challenge traditional beer industry trends by continuing to establish a strong presence where you would least expect it.”

Okay then. Anyway, it probably goes without saying that I’m personally nowhere near Art Basel, but if you are, maybe you should check it out.

To Do In Houston December 1

Poketo, a Consumed subject in August of this year, co-presents a group show in Houston, “You’re a serpent; and there’s no use denying it.” It’s at Domy Books, 1709 Westheimer, opening Friday night December 1. Details here or here.

There’s also a Poketo show in San Francisco, but I’m always a little more excited to hear about things like this happening in the Space City.