Monthly Archives: November 2010

Isaac Tin Wei Lin at The Print Center, Philadelphia

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Speaking of successful installations, One of Us by Philadelphia artist Isaac Tin Wei Lin is a site-specific installation up at The Print Center that I had a chance to see over my visit to Philadelphia this weekend. The exhibition fills the upper gallery with 2- and 3- dimensional printed and painted works inspired by Islamic calligraphy, cartoons, and current events.

3-D glasses definitely added to the Magic Eye sense of optical illusion created by the bright, small patterns covering the walls. The artist created over 600 screen prints to cover the walls and floor. Between that and being able to walk through the painted cat cutouts, I really enjoyed the installation as a whole, and how well it was constructed to be appreciated from all angles. I also like the glasses because they make me look cool.


I’m surprised at how well the different elements worked together, as what should have been an epileptic cacophony became a really fun, explorative installation that worked–with or without 3-D glasses.

Up through November 20 if you happen to be in the area. I actually saw lots of great art there this weekend, which I’m going to try to write about including the awesome Michelangelo Pistoletti at the PMA.

Pat Steir’s Nearly Endless Line at Sue Scott Gallery

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Installation Shot–does not do it justice…

As I noted above, these photographs hardly due justice to the experience of walking through Steir’s installation at the Sue Scott Gallery. The Nearly Endless Line manages to create an energy that is hard to capture without being able to sense all the surfaces of the darkened rooms. There are just two rooms of average size but they seem expansive if not endless. It feels like walking through an Abstract Expressionist painting–a neat experience–and a much warmer one than works by some of her contemporaries like Sol LeWitt.

Another almost useless installation shot
Up close: thin red grid

While the dark lighting smacks a bit of stagecraft, this piece raised the bar for how I want installations to affect me. The precise red grid on the dark background shows off the choas and energy of the white line. Up at the Sue Scott Gallery through January 9th if you want a surprisingly trippy, simple yet immersible art experience.

COMVIDEO at apexart

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“Commercials are one of the most interesting love children of capitalism and ego, trying to seduce the viewer with a trite marketing equation, formulated to have money ejaculate from your less than aroused pocket.”

Last night I went to the opening of COMVIDEO at apexart, and took a stance in front on one of the small fuzzy TVs to see what inventive interactions people could come up with when challenged to interact with a commercial. It was a lot of fun, and the results were as varied as you might expect–all challenging, provocative, and sometimes pretty damn funny.

Costume Party’s Over, ID #80

However, it was entirely unnecessary. All 124 60-second video manipulations of broadcast commercials are also available online, and open to a popular vote through January 15. The top video gets $2,000, and the top five videos will be shown on a public screen in Manhattan.

Some of my favorites:

  • ID# 47
    mcfat 
  • ID# 98
    Kitty Litter Revolution 
  • ID# 101
    What Should Tiger Do?  
  • ID# 109
    The Starburst Shuffle

But here is my plan for world domination: what if we could hack the TV networks and play these commericals instead of the real ones? And while we are at put the staff of The Onion in charge of news broadcasting for a day? Now that’s an intervention that would kep me glued to the screen.