Dietch moves to LA!

Jeffery Dietch closes up shop in New York in preparation for his new career choice as Director of LA MOCA. Apparently, Dietch must close down his projects and desist his own private funding of artists projects. Such a move from the private to the public art sector has not been made by such a powerhouse mogul. What will happen to the artists he has been faithfully supporting? Will they be collected by the MOCA? Is that a conflict of interest for the institution? – well, only if Dietch would be making money off of the purchase and the MOCA has made it clear that this is unacceptable practice for the Director of a public institution. Time will only tell how this public/private relationship will turn out – this is for sure a fire that needs to be fanned and watched closely.


some opinions on the subject:

Los Angeles TIMES
Lee Rosenbaum’s Culture Grrl Blog
Vandalog – a street art and graff blog with lots of great photos of some of Dietch’s artists projects in motion.

Slivers Shivers and Snake Skin – a happening – Submissions!!!!

Slivers Shivers and Snake Skin – a happening – Submissions!!!!

this is an event that I am putting together that will be taking place in April 2010. Im chillin in Ontario right now but I thought it would be fun to plan a huge event while I am stuck here in the snow.

The theme of the show is suggested in the title which is better explained by ‘getting under your skin’ – something that makes you feel – affects – irks you. The title explains the theme in three different ways…
slivers – something that intrudes upon you physically that is not easy to remove.
shivers – a bodily reaction to your environment.
snake skin – a physical presence, visual, texture, relating to death, slithers, fear

As I have also suggested in the title its going to be a wild happening. These type of events involve the participation of the audience which could be as simple as making them dance or requiring them to move something physical, engaging in verbal confrontation, making them throw up, ears bleed, whatever.

At the moment I am looking at Chapel Arts in Vancouver Canada, as a venue since it has multiple rooms and levels and could easily have many different performances going on at the same time. Sensory overload!
Since this venue is so large I am also looking to fill some of the space with art that is more static – drawing, painting, sculpture – as long as it fits within the theme. There is also a stage and sound system so I want lots of noise!!!

Please email your submissions to:
zarahackerman@gmail.com

collaborations are welcomed and encouraged – suggest this to friends if you think they would fit. Sorry for any out of towners (not in Vancouver) but I cannot provide transportation or shipping costs since I’m working with a very slim budget.

Soooo……email me with a brief idea of what you would like to submit to the show – could be new or old work….and we will start up a conversation. Look fwd to hearing from you.

Deadline: Feb 21st – but sooner is better ;)
zarahackerman@gmail.com

The Art Prize of all Art Prizes – The Future Generation Art Prize

Exposition of the Ukrainian Pavilion at 53rd Venice Biennial
The Ukrainian pavilion was the one I kept talking about this summer when I was in Venice. Anyone who asked me which pavilion they shouldn’t miss Ukraine was my answer. It really was able to pull you into an environment of whimsy and magic – I was describing it as a surrealist house of horrors.
Ukraine is also home to my favorite billionaire! Victor Pinchuk #246 on Forbes list of Billionaires

Victor Pinchuk (left) pictured here with wife Elena and artist Damien Hirst


This is the man behind the biggest and soon to be most important art prize of this century. With a winning purse of $100,000 and secondary prizes of $20,000 shortlisted artists will be asked to participate in an exhibition at the PinchukArtCentre in Kiev. As if that wasn’t good enough the most interesting and possibly most important part of the prize is that the winner will be mentored by some of Pinchuk’s favorite artists Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Andreas Gursky, and Takashi Murakami.
You can watch a short video of the mentoring artists talking about their involvement with the prize on the new website www.futuregenerationartprize.org
You can also check out the other great things he is doing through his foundation pinchukfund.org

Applications will be accepted from artists under 35 starting Jan 18 – April 18 2010 through the art prize website www.futuregenerationartprize.org so get it together and apply!

Tall bikes tour South Beach

I was on tour with some Black Labels in Miami. The Cast: Doyle – artist and builder extraordinaire and the hugest member of Black Label bc. Mike Jirish – the meanest mf piece of trailer trash i ever met and member of Black Label Reno. Ian – an artist and curator who certainly knows how to handle it! We got some good hollas – a few “Brooklyn!”’s and just as many “Zarah!”s


more about "Tall bikes tour South Beach", posted with vodpod

Ellis G – this man is in high demand


Ellis Gallagher is a wicked street artist who likes to play with fire and side walk chalks. I met him in Miami where he was included in SCOPE art fair, the Squishy Universe, and a bunch of others. This man is in high demand and for good reason. Check out his site for more works – ellis gallagher dot com

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis

I just discovered this video and it is pettie coo dare! This large scale stop motion animation is super smooth with a pretty high production value and keeps your attention for almost all of the 8 minutes – well it does loop. Sweet and Huge!
www.blublu.org

Gary Lagosian hits the straw hard on South Beach

Miami is full of New Yorkers in Art Fair season. Yay it’s December and I’m sitting on the beach networking! This is just one of the New York characters that I met while chillin on the beach – Gary Cullen is a painter and performance artist. You can check out his work at www.djmayonnaisehands.com or at www.garycullen.org - I Heart Gary!

Interview with Artist Richard Wislocky

Hey Yall – meet one of my favorite new artists Richie Wislocky from NJ. He likes playing with lazerz, feathers, dreams, music, hot/spicy glue, and meows. Enjoy!


more about “Interview with Artist Richard Wislocky“, posted with vodpod

Doyle’s Regurgitator at Art Basel – December 2 – 6, 2009


This is just one of the thrills I experienced at the Miami art fair this year. It was also filmed for Canadian tv – Discovery channel’s Daily Planet and me being the token Canadian had to be one of the first riders. Im not sure when the air date will be – should be within the next few months. This piece was shot and edited by Fountainhead Films’ Fredrick King – thanks for the great shots FK!

More Video of the Regurgitator in action
Fountainhead Films
The Bike Club Games – New App for I phone available 01/01/10
RIP IONS installment for the Miami art fair – Squishy Universe

Chew – A performance by Zarah Ackerman – 2008 on Vimeo

Finally the epic “Chew” for your viewing pleasure.

“Chew” Materials – Bubble Gum, Plaster, Body/Performance

I created this piece as my final project of my Undergrad at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Influenced by Janine Antoni and her notion that she must have an experience with the sculpture in order for the viewer to have an experience with it. The experience that I had with the materials in “Chew” relate to the theories of Anti-Form, working with the physical properties of the objects/materials and how I can manipulate them with body/intimacy.