THE ART NEWSPAPER, No. 205, SEPTEMBER 2009 Features 41

The great outdoors

The art world is never averse to a spot of Festival-going, but this summer saw an especially strongartistic presenceat musicalevents across thecountryside. AtGlastonbury, agreen-paintedGavin Turkmade an anarchic departure from his own family-friendly “House of Fairytales” performanceextravaganza to storm the stage during RichardStrange’s set, where he provided an impromptucabaret element throughout; while the Big Chillsaw the inauguration of Cedric Christie’s “BlankCanvas” project, an installation of speciallycommissioned works of art by the likes of TraceyEmin, Rachel Whiteread (pictured), Jake andDinos Chapman and Sir Peter Blake made from15 army issue “pup” tents to be auctioned forhomeless and human rights charities next year.The artistic adaptation of these unconventionalcanvases ranged from Sarah Lucas writing on andthen burning hers, Christie paintballing one sideand machine-gunning the other, Sir RichardRogers parcelling up a human figure in his andJake and Dinos Chapman substituting theirs for apink girlie version bought at Argos.

Women have the final word

The chips were certainly down at the ICA’srecent one-night performance of artist LilianeLijn’s Power Game, which transformed thecapital’s favourite art house into a pop upcasino, complete with leafy palms, sexy musicand killer cocktails dispensed by cross-dressingwaiting staff. Originally staged in 1974, thisgambling game of words was given a boisterous21st-century revisiting with artists and writers

engaged in vigorousinterpretive debateas they betted andbattled over which ofthe words inscribedon their hand ofcards carried themost “power”. Oneparticularlyanimated skirmish

involved writer Hari Kunzru going head tohead with the female contingent including Lijnherself (pictured, with ICA director EkowEshun) over whether the word “zero” carriedmore power than “woman” (Jetsam is pleasedto report that “woman” carried the day).Significantly at the end of the evening the onlycard missing from the pack was the onebearing the word “sex”.

No smoke without Hockney

No nicotine abstention at the public street paradeorganised by Jeremy Deller for the ManchesterInternational Festivalwhere one of the mostvigorously cheeredparticipants processingdown Manchester’sDeansgate was “In theAir”, a diehard band ofunrepentant smokers allpuffing away andbrandishing an ashtray-emblazoned bannerspecially designed by David Hockney, the artworld’s most committed smoke-o-phile. The 72-year-old artist had planned to take part in theprocession but was unable to attend on the day, alittle too short of breath perhaps?

Simply smashing!

One of the most dramatic pots in GraysonPerry’s forthcoming Victoria Miro show (seep40) is The Westfield Vase, a mighty vesselwhich has been deliberately smashed and thenpainstakingly put back together again, with allthe broken edges highlighted in gold leaf. Butwhile Perry did the smashing, he left thereconstruction to the nimble fingers of maestroconservator Bouke de Vries, who miraculouslyrestored Jetsam’s very own Perry pot a fewyears ago when it fell victim to her teenage sonand a gym ball. But it turns out that Perry’svase is not De Vries’s first foray intoreconstruction for art’s sake, for he is nowgaining an impressive parallel reputation forhis own sculpture which uses his mending skillsto dramatic effect. Earlier this summer KaySaatchi put him inthe launchexhibition of artwebsiteMurmurart atSelfridges whereall five pieces werequickly snappedup, with AnitaZabludowicz keento acquire hissculpture NO NONO, in which abroken 19th-centurySamsonwarestatuette devotedto the muse ofmusic is given anew contemporary incarnation as an utterlyconvincing Amy Winehouse, resplendent inbeehive and full Glastonbury costume with the addition of a syringe protruding from herarm. “It’s a tribute—she’s amazing butbroken—and often these things go together,”the artist declares.

Hydra-therapy for artists

Of all the art world’s invitations, few are moreeagerly anticipated than the opening of the annualexhibition at The Hydra Workshops, collectorPauline Karpidas’s warehouse space situateddirectly on the harbour of this idyllic Greek islandwhere, every summer, a select gang gathers toview the latest show and stay for a sybaritic longweekend of sun, sand and sea, hosted withlegendary generosity by Mrs K. and organised

with quiet efficiencyby Sadie Coles. Thisyear super-trendyNew York artist NateLowman (picturedwith some of theyounger guests)produced a

Warholesque installation of over 70 paintingsderived from photographs of his friends andHydra regulars—including girlfriend Mary-KateOlsen, fellow artists Adam McEwen and DanColen, Tate Modern director Vicente Todoli andphotographer Johnnie Shand Kydd—all of whomwere present in the flesh to view their artisticincarnations, with J.S.K. providing many of theoriginal images. But a certain pall was cast on theproceedings by the untimely death of Lowman’sfriend Dash Snow, with Snow’s partner JadeBerreau and young daughter Secret amongst theNew York contingent. It was therefore up to theBritish posse to inject some levity into theproceedings which they did with a vengeance,most notably in the form of an impromptuwaterborne cabaret courtesy of theatre designerChristopher Woods, who choreographed a flurryof midnight synchronised swimming from a bevyof eminent curators, including Xavier Salomon ofDulwich Picture Gallery and Maria Balshaw ofManchester’s Whitworth Gallery as well asJetsam herself. The display was deemed sosuccessful that considerable pressure was appliedto fellow guest Matthew Slotover to incorporate itinto this year’s Frieze projects programme. ■

Jetsam

Canvas on a landscape?That can’t be right…

It all depends on the in-tent, of course

LONDON DIARY

LOUISABUCK

Flotsam

Missing: Meyer’s mail to Dash’s grandma

What Sotheby’s man had to say about Snow

Who stole Toby’s tribute?

No sooner had Triple Candie announced theirlatest exhibition entitled “Maurizio Cattelan isDead”, than everyone started droppingunexpectedly, from Michael Jackson to DashSnow, the latter unleashing a media frenzyunmatched since Basquiat. Impressive indeedwas the appearance at a “tribute” show to

Snow (pictured),deftly assembledovernight atDeitch Projects,of a longmessage fromSotheby’sTobias Meyer.Sent to Snow’sDe Menilgrandma,Christophe, it

detailed Meyer’s love for his work, includingpieces he owns himself, one of which wasprominently on display, and his last vision ofDash setting off by foot into the dark LosAngeles night. Surrounded by “street” art,wild graffiti and sprayed RIP tags, this epistlestruck an elegant elegiac note and after a fewdays was either removed for being toorevealing or was pinched by some teen outlawfan of Meyer’s impeccably ingratiating prose.

Callow youth revisited

The crushed “Cold Wave” concert hosted by Maccosmetics to launch their collaboration withRichard Phillips at his Chelsea studio at leastboasted the appearance of star-curator FrancescoBonami (pictured) bracing himself for hisforthcoming Whitney Biennial. Waxing nostalgicone recalls when, as a humble Flash Art hack,Bonami himself interviewed the curators of the1997 Biennial, posing such still-pertinentquestions as: “You didn’t release the final list untilvery late. Is that a matter of secretive strategy or,as I thought, more a matter of work in progress?”Or: “Do you feel like you are participating in themaking of a career when you decide to select anartist or not to select another one?” But best of allBonami’s Biennial may be accompanied by aspecial show of his own paintings, for when theyoung Italian first arrived in New York it was verymuch as an artist. Flotsam can reveal that hisbiggest fan, who has longplanned a show of this work, isnone other than Andrea Rosen,who way back then was adesk-girl at Bonami’s EastVillage Sharpe Gallery. AndDeborah Sharpe herself hasgone on to glory with hereponymous line of linens,“coordinating bedding for hundreds of clients’homes, yachts, and even a plane”, with famousfans including Oprah, Dustin Hoffman and suchcollectors as Sylvester Stallone and Vidal Sassoon.So expect a celebrity-packed opening next Marchfor “Bonami: the Early Years” at the AndreaRosen gallery.

McLaren and the “Dear Leader”

Legendary Sex Pistols manager MalcolmMcLaren was in fine form at a recenttownhouse drinks bash, revealing that hisblossoming career as a visual artist is aboutto receive a deliciously improbable boost inunexpected Asian quarters. For that equallynotorious art world entrepreneur JamesBirch, best known for taking Francis Bacon

to Soviet Russia and Gilbert & George toCommunist China, is about to pull off thecoup of his career by staging a full-scaleMcLaren retrospective in… Pyongyang! Thatthe North Koreanstate should happilyhost a majorMcLaren exhibitionboggles belief, butapparently theclincher was vintagefootage of the NewYork Dolls aspresented by theirthen-manager Malcy, live on American TVbeneath a giant hammer and sickle.

Clifton’s designs on Deyn?

Ricky Clifton (pictured) may be Manhattan’smost modish decorator, a man “never seen twicein the same trousers”, as renowned for his socialubiquity as his connections in the contemporaryart world, but Flotsam was still surprised to catchhim in the upstate-town of Hudson with noneother than super-super-model Agyness Deyn.“We’ve just bought an amazing coral table foronly $300,” explained the designer gesturing to

the Stair auction houseacross the road. Clifton wenton to reveal that so famous ishis young friend that he wentto meet her at the bank veryearly one morning only todiscover she was alreadysurrounded by hungrypaparazzi. “Let’s pretend

you’re my new boyfriend!” jested La Deyn, withrumours of their improbable liaison reaching theinternational gossip industry soon after.

Once a punk…

Nicholas Hall (pictured) has transformedChristie’s old masters, not least recentlyfolding it into their 19th-century department,but some of us cannot forget his rather wilderjeunesse as a King’s Road punk rocker, hisappearance on the cover of a Clash recordsleeve now reverently framed in his SoHobathroom. If Hall’s 50thbirthday dinner was cause forcelebration—Le Bilboquetbooked for the occasion—revellers were shocked toreceive an official Christie’semail a week later revealingthey were actually expected topay their way for this festivefeast, Hall himself having generously offeredonly the wine. This nearly led to Hall having a“white riot, a riot of my own”.

Salander: the catalogue clues

Preparing to move to Paris (ciao, Manhattan!),Flotsam has been going through 20 years ofpapers and coming across many an oddity, notleast the Butler Institute catalogue for its 2004exhibition of that renowned part-time painterand full-time gallerist Lawrence Salander(currently facing charges of massive fraud in theUS courts). His chosen painting titles are oddlyrevealing, whether Never Asked Questions or hisself-description as a Nothing Man, and theaccompanying essays are rich indeed. Thus hisold friend Leon Wieseltier admits: “It is not anappetite that can ever be appeased. Give thishunger what it wants and it grows.” A perfectdescription of Larry’s lust for lucre, followed by:“There is no New York swagger here.Grandiosity has been pulled down by privacy. Itis not a void that Salander displays…it is aplenitude.” Even more prophetic is the otheressay which concludes: “He was trying, oftenwith heartbreaking honesty, to imagine how weendure the colossal and often arbitrary forcesarrayed against us.” ■❑ This will be Adrian Dannatt’s last New York diary, as he is relocatingto Paris, though not the end of his association with The Art Newspaper

NEW YORK DIARY

ADRIANDANNATT

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