Pulse of Miami

On our final day experiencing Art Basel in Miami, Terry and I went to Pulse. This contemporary art exhibit was in a huge warehouse which is normally used for photo shoots and large parties. At the entrance I went through the routine of getting my press pass which landed me a VIP card. The previous evening Terry had been handed a ticked by some guy on the street who had already been to the show. The building is surrounded by a stone wall and the gated entrance lead us to a nice grass lawn with some sculptures and hammocks tied between the palm trees. It was a perfect lazy morning so I decided to start off by kicking back and relaxing on the lawn. There is nothing better than sketching to settle into a place. I was fascinated by this small red European car which was perfectly symmetrical, having steering wheels and headlamps in both the front and back of the vehicle. Re-imagining automobiles seemed to be a running theme this year.

Many people entering the PULSE galleries stopped stared and took pictures. Signs on the car's seats however asked that no one sit inside the vehicle. In front of the car was a sculpture by Orly Genger titled "Beefcakes 2010." It was made from miles of white rope woven together like it was crocheted. It's spiraling form looked to me like Hokasai's "The Great Wave at Kanagawa." Similar rope sculptures were scattered around the lawn. Children couldn't resist sitting and playing on them. Soon parents relaxed and sat on the sculptures as well while they discussed their last European vacation.

Two of Terry's friends showed up and we all sat down to have lunch. Over lunch I was told about some Graffiti artists who were working over on 23rd Street. As soon as I finished eating, my mind wandered and I got antsy wanting to get another sketch done. When the conversation turned to fashion, Terry suggested I take off on foot to sketch. I didn't need to be told twice. I hiked past a cement factory and several automotive cut shops. The buildings got dingier until I hit the first patch of bright graffiti color. Suddenly every building was covered with pop images, Henai Anime, and bold tags.

When I came across a group of artists busy tagging a wall, I settled in to sketch. The artist working in the foreground is named "Clever." I could smell the aerosol fumes the whole time I worked. The distant artist used a face mask and Clever wore a purple surgical glove on his spray can hand. People occasionally would stop and take pictures of the artists at work. Paint cans and other supplies were neatly arranged on a large trailer bed. The trailer bed just happened to be parked there offering a nice platform to inspect the work in progress.

When I was done with the sketch, I shared my work with the graffiti artists and then wandered the neighborhood some more. Galleries popped up left and right. The buildings exploded with color and were filled with art. Music blared from boom boxes and then I came across a large store front that was being covered with graffiti. Grazyana Kleinman, an Orlando photographer was there taking photos. I stopped to talk for a while. Grazyana has shot a whole series of photos of graffiti artists at work. She was ecstatic, in her element soaking in the vibrant street scene around her. Terry drove up thanks to several text messages and Art Basel was over. I certainly experienced more this Year than last, but three days just isn't enough time.

CEO Stagecoach

There was so much more going on in Miami besides the art on display in the Convention Center for Art Basel. I spent an entire day trying to track down and sketch the CEO Stagecoach. In the morning Terry and I went to the Rosa Dela Cruz Gallery (23 NE 41 Street ) along with Elayne Pines, Bob Newlen and Derek Hewitt. I quickly ran through the 3 floors of modern art and decided I had to draw this furry Sasquatch with mirrored staircases spiraling in and around it. A female guard stood vigil in her white suite beside the sculpture the whole time. The wall behind was covered floor to ceiling with colored mirrors which appealed to many a vain patron or photographer. Periodically a patron would walk up to the furry monstrosity and snap a photo using their iPhone. To me the sculpted creature looked very annoyed at all the attention he was getting. Black ooze dripped from his fingertips and where the fur was stripped away the flesh was pink and raw. I wondered if his privates were the focus of these photos but I couldn't see from where I was sketching half way up a staircase. Just as I was finishing the sketch, I got a text message from Terry letting me know she was relaxing having a free coffee and cookies out on the back patio. After I tried a few cookies myself, we went to a staff member of the gallery and asked about the Stagecoach. He didn't know where to find it but he did an exhaustive internet search. It turned out that the artist was giving a talk about his creation at the LIONS Gallery at Museovault(346 NW 29th Street) and the coach was slated to be there till 4pm. Terry and I got back in her car and rushed over to that gallery.

As we pulled up to the Museovault, Terry pointed and shouted out "There it is!" The horse drawn art was on the move however. I was despondent. It was leaving. Terry suggested I get out and run after it, but I haven't figured out yet how to sketch while running. We went inside to ask about the piece anyway. The space had a fun quirky collection of art. There was a radio that once belonged to Robert Maplethorpe that Kieth Haring had drawn a few of his white stick figures on. I was informed that the CEO Stagecoach was going to pick up the artists parents and it would be returning. I sent out an excited tweet just in case any other artists had made it their mission to sketch the coach. I paced the gallery nervously waiting for my moment to sketch. Terry had one of the curators looking online for handbags and concertinas. I felt at home in this gallery which was humble compared to the circus of excess at the convention center.

The CEO Stagecoach was created by artist Jeremy Dean. He got the idea of cutting a Hummer in half and rebuilding it as a stagecoach after he read about how people bought cars before the Great Depression of 1929 and then they could not afford to pay for gas. All over the south Americans converted cars into horse drawn carts. These cars were referred to as "Hoover Carts", after President Edgar Hoover. The Hummer has become a symbol of American excess in the 21st century. Jeremy ended up spending his wife's life savings to buy a brand new Hummer to deconstruct. Luckily the piece was immediately purchased by a museum in Kentucky. After all the modifications the vehicle weighed in at 18 hundred pounds which isn't much more than a standard cart. The gorgeous Belgian Draft horses didn't seem to mind. As Jeremy said, "This is an exploration of historical amnesia, the culture of excess, financial collapse, sustainability and the future, through leather, steel and chrome." Jeremy is planning to convert a Cadillac Escalade next. I asked Jeremy to sign my sketch. After his talk a bicycle rolled by on the sidewalk riding on its rims with no rubber tires. There was something surreal about the moment as both vehicles made statements about want and economics.

Stendhal Syndrome

In the nineteenth century a French author named Stendhal was traveling in Florence Italy and he was so overwhelmed by all the art and beauty that he became dizzy, faint and physically sick. After a second solid day of chasing art in Miami I believe I might have suffered from this Stendhal Syndrome.

This sketch was done in the convention center. This installation caught my attention because inside people were sitting and gently playing a drum. The piece was called Circleprototemple by Ernesto Neto. A thin shear red fabric was stretched over wooden forms which created what in my mind resembled a heart or very large strawberry. This wasn't an organized performance, rather curious passers by would enter the oval portal and sit on the wooden benches inside. A single drum mallet was suspended from a bungee chord over the drum. If the mallet was lifted and dropped it would bounce up and down striking the drum. Some people went inside not to play the drum, but to sit and finger their iPhones and PDA's . I was surprised when Orlando photographer Grazyna Kleinman stopped by while I was sketching. She told me about her crazy night of partying till 4am. She was running on pure adrenaline. As we spoke an exhibitor told me to move my chair out into the exhibit floor walkway. He felt I was blocking a painting by Brian Calvin called group smoke.

I got two press passes to see SCOPE, a huge collection of work from contemporary artists in a large outdoor tent. Here I found the work of an artist whose paintings truly caused my heart to race. His name was Karim Hamid and he paints large figurative works with oils on board. His work is expressionistic and resembles the work of Francis Bacon to some extent. This work fired off something inside me, a new flame ignited. This is why I had come to Miami!

Later, Terry and I offered Brian Feldman a ride out to Miami's South Beach. He had a case of Art and culture induced hiccups. He spent the whole ride telling us about the performances he was planning for the 2011 Orlando Fringe Festival. Every sentence was interrupted by a new and peculiar hiccup. Each interrupted thought caused us all to laugh to the point where it became hard to breath. I tried to share with him a time honored family cure but the incantation alone didn't work without a cup of water.

Terry and I met two couples for dinner at a Cuban Thai Restaurant after dropping Brian off at South Beach. He was still hiccuping when he jumped out of the car. I had a spicy and delicious Pad Thai. When we called it a night and started the drive back to our friends home for the night, I suddenly felt ill. My stomach churned and I felt my innards turning to mud. Terry drove around the block and dropped me back at the restaurant. I ran back inside. Too much rich food, art and running around. I wouldn't be documenting any naked bonfire parties this night.

Art Basel Miami

As soon as I entered the Miami Convention center I searched for the media accreditation area. It was up an escalator on the second floor of section D. I had drafted my own press pass request letter with a nice Analog Artist Digital World letterhead. I was shocked when the young girl at the reception desk accepted my credentials and send me back to have my photo taken which was then printed out on a crispy new press pass. Blogs are slowly gaining ground as legitimate news media. Entering the convention floor, I had my bags checked by security. Terry, her friend Elayne and Bob had purchased tickets while I got my press pass so I tapped out a text message to Terry to find out if they were on the Convention floor yet. Actress Susan Serandon walked past me with an entourage. When I spotted Terry I told her about my star sighting and she quickly wandered off to gawk. I texted Brian Feldman to let him know I got my press pass. He had coached me on who to contact about getting the pass.

I wandered off in search of a spot to sketch. The narrow halls didn't offer much room for me to sit myself without getting tripped on. Art covered every wall so it was hard to find a spot to sketch from without sitting in front of a painting. I finally found this grassy knoll of artificial grass. I set up my chair and sketched the people relaxing around me. The painting on the wall opposite wall was the work of Eddie Martinez done in mixed media. Figge von Rosen Gallery had a series of photos on the wall of Mexicans dressed in colorful traditional outfits. A couple next to me were discussing the Picasso's and Magritte's they had just seen. To my right there was some metalic silver looking fabric suspended on a stick. The stick would spin and the fabric would loft up, looking like a spinning pizza and then a UFO. This huge show often left me wondering, just what is art these days. Every woman wandering the halls looked like a fashion model. I have never seen so many beautiful people all gathered in one place in my life. Someone estimated the valve of all the artwork assembled in Art Basel at over three Billion dollars. If you looked at the value of all the women's high heeled shoes walking Art Basel they might rival that value.

Art Basel

Tomorrow I leave for Art Basel in Miami. Art Basel is happening between December 2nd and 5th. Art Basel Miami Beach is the most important art show in the United States. As the sister event of Switzerland's Art Basel, the most prestigious art show worldwide for the past 41 years, Art Basel Miami Beach combines an international selection of top galleries with an exciting program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture and design. Exhibition sites are located in the city's beautiful Art Deco District, within walking distance of the beach and many hotels.

I went to Art Basel last year and felt like I saw and experienced only a fraction of the art available. The world class art on display in the convention center alone is too much to digest in one day. I wandered in circles often finding myself back at the spot where I began. I am convinced a GPS is needed to navigate this endless maze of art. An iPhone Art Basel application is available and I hope it helps. This year I need to pace myself like a marathon runner while keeping my pen and sketchbook always ready. I need to keep my mind open and let the sketches flow. Last year I did this sketch of this huge sculpture by Thomas Housago. It is solidly built with rusting metal. The legs were made from quarter inch thick solid steel plates. The sculpture dominated the space at the base of a stairwell near the bookshop. An Andy Warhol look alike stood waiting for a friend. Two pigeons rested on a pipe high above and as I sketched them I realized they never moved. The pigeons were themselves a sculpture. The Rubell Family Collection was one of the many satellite exhibits that surrounded Art Basel. Let the festivities begin, I am back Miami!

Lotto Pool - Brian Feldman

I traveled to Miami Beach to see Brian Feldman's first performance there. Brian sat in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel in South Beach 1433 Collins Avenue. There he sat at a small table decorated with Lotto playslips. The goal of this performance was to pool $1 from as many people as possible and then purchase the number of tickets corresponding to the number of people who entered the pool. The hotel owner had reservations about allowing Brian to stage his performance here. He was concerned that it might seem like Brian was selling tickets right in the lobby. Brian had to keep a low profile to keep from being booted out.
This same evening, there was a Pool Art Fair being held in the hotel in conjunction with Art Basel Miami Beach. Art Basel Miami Beachis a huge art fair with gallery owners from around the world displaying their wares. Much of the best art work in the world is flown into Miami for this event and it it almost impossible to see it all. Terry and I both gave Brian a dollar and had to sign a "Lotto Pool" agreement. If one of the lotto tickets purchased won then Brian would purchase a piece of art from the Pool Fair or a parallel fair of Art Basel Miami Beach and he would divide the work by cutting (if a canvas or paper) or breaking (if sculpture or mixed media) the purchased art into the number of pieces corresponding to the number of individuals in the lotto pool.
Part of me wanted to win and another part didn't want to win. I didn't want to be a part of destroying a great work of art and yet it might be fun to see some bad art cut up. A friend told me a parable about two women who went before a king both claiming to be a baby's mother. When the king could not get to the bottom of the issue with just questions, he decided to cut the child in half and give each woman half. One woman pleaded and said she would relinquish her claim if he spared the child's life. The king then knew she must be the true mother. With that in mind, I let out a sigh of relief when Brian sent me an e-mail informing me that none of the lotto tickets purchased had won. At least I got a decent sketch.