“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
– Aristotle
A remote perspective from a live event painter on THE art show that colors Miami Beach, Basel, and Hong Kong.
People may be looking forward to the winter Olympics to see some of the finest athletes, but there is another showcase just as impressive. For more than 50,000 artists, collectors, museum directors, gallery owners and others this is there chance to shine.
It is (drum roll) Art Basel. The New York Times called it the “Olympics of the art world.” Hey even actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who attended Art Basel in Miami Beach last year, couldn’t resist. He was only one of about 75,000 people over the show’s five days.
The global art affair, which began in 1970 with its first show in Basel, Switzerland, now spans three continents – Europe, North America and Asia. More than 2,000 galleries apply to the three shows each year. In Miami’s 2012 show, more than 250 galleries represented 31 countries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
This year, people can feast their eyes on artwork in:
*Basel, Switzerland – The home base of the Art Basel shows. This European city is in the belly-hug of Switzerland, France and Germany. Making it a great central-euro spot.
Where: Halls 1 and 2 of Messe Basel at Messeplatz.
Next Show: June 19–22, 2014
*Miami Beach – A multi-cultural city that is the beachy gateway of North and Latin America.
Where: Miami Beach Convention Center plus public artworks sited in Collins Park, a short walk from the MBCC.
Next Show: December 4–7, 2014
*Hong Kong – The “Gateway to Asia” – an exciting, modern, international capital city.
Where: the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Next show: May 15–18, 2014
As a live event painter, I typically work with corporate event planners, meeting planners, companies and helping non-profit fundraisers instead of gallery owners and art curators. Being a live event painter makes me an island…but a happy tropical one with a hybridized (insider/outsider) bird’s eye view of the art world.
I believe art is for everyone. Not just for the lucky few, well-to-do or the tortured soul.
The most important part about art is not whether it is bad or good, but about the conversation in between.
It’s the way it makes you think and feel. In my opinion, art is successful if it grabs a hold of you and gets a response – good or bad. If it has made some kind of connection, it has done its job. Even if you think an art piece SUCKS at least you didn’t walk by unaffected, right? That’s saying something!
Artist, critic and curator Mike Kelley, showcased an unusual art piece at the 2013 Miami Art Basel called ‘Double Figure (Hairy).’ The piece was made from two old donated teddy bears. You can see the art at: http://www.artnet.com/artwork/
In an article by Victoria Casal-Data at BeautifulDecay.com, she explains that Kelley, who is now deceased, made the piece to explore the subliminal messages within the unwanted objects he had uncovered. Kelley explains that teddy bears, especially those that are previously owned, carry an undeniable emotional residue, one that might not always be as pleasant as we thought it could be.
“Rather, here’s a structure that’s loaded with pathos, and you still don’t like it, you don’t feel sorry for it, you want to kick it. That’s what I wanted out of the thing—an artwork that you couldn’t raise, there was no way that you could make it better than it was. Its function as art actually makes it more uncomfortable,” said Kelley.
Amen.
XoXo, HiD
For more information about attending this event please go to: https://www.artbasel.com
And for more of Mike Kelley’s work and life go to: http://mikekelley.com/
