Monday, September 30, 2019

Capitalism: Wolves In The Throne Room

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - It seems that capitalism is approaching a crisis. The crisis does not come from inside, instead there are growing attacks from outside, from politics. Politicians from the left to the right are assaulting the global economy, private enterprises and capitalism. 

The greatest thread comes in  the moment from President Trump and his conservative supporters. Trump`s tariffs on Chinese goods - and some Chinese retaliations - are irritating investors and the stock market which already slowed down investing. Trump`s tariffs hiked prices of imported goods, curbed US exports, reduced company earnings and discouraged investing & hiring. 

Trump and some of his conservative supporters want to force American global companies to shift production to the US and they are coercing American consumers to buy only American products, whatever they may cost and whatever quality they have. Trump`s trade war against China and other nations is throwing sand into the gears of the global economy, sabotaging international supply chains and reducing competition.

But there is more. Trump & other conservatives are also attacking the big tech companies which are keeping the US economy going. President Trump threatens Amazon and other tech companies with extended regulations and declared "The European Union is suing them all of the time. Well, we should be doing this. They're our companies" (reason).

The conservatives get support from the left, especially from Elizabeth Warren, Berni Sanders and others leaders of the Democratic Party. They want to break up technology giants like Google, Facebook, Apple & Amazon (stratechery). Sen. Warren claims: "Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy"  (teamwarren). She declares she wants to “ensure that there are more representatives from labor, environmental, and consumer groups than from corporations and trade groups on every existing advisory committee” (vox).

The political left and right want to gag the big tech companies, to oversee & to constrain their business. Big powerful American bureaucracies join the crusade. The Justice Department wants to investigate Alphabet’s Google and Apple while the FTC plans to probe Amazon & Facebook to determine if they abused their massive market power, setting up what could be unprecedented, wide-ranging probes of some of the world’s largest companies.

Republicans and Democrats started to throw sand in the gears of the economy and they began to make the live of the company CEOs miserable. They all want to give the government more power and curb the power of the companies. But he bi-partisan attacks won`t destroy capitalism.  While politicians left and right seem to hate big corporations, the people - the consumers - love them. They love to get goods delivered cheap and fast  from Amazon, buy gadgets from Apple, search on Google and use the free services from Facebook and their daughter Instagram. But the attacks will slow down economic growth and harm everybody who does not live from the money of the taxpayers









Photography: An Early Fall Day In Manhattan`s Washington Square Park

 (Drivebycuriosity) - It`s fall again. But it is still warm in New York City. Many people are enjoying the pleasant early fall days. Manhattan`s Washington Square Park was crowded as usual. Being an ambitious amateur photographer I couldn`t resist and took some pictures.




Fall or not, people had still a summery look and they were apparently enjoying the late sun rays.



To be continued

Contemporary Art: Secundino Hernández @ Victoria Miro New York


 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Are you interested in abstract paintings? Gallery Victoria Miro in Manhattan`s Chelsea district displays paintings by the Spanish artist Secundino Hernández (victoria-miro).





To be continued

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Contemporary Art: Loie Hollowell`s Amazing Female Geometry @ Pace Gallery New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Loie Hollowell belongs to the shooting stars in the contemporary art market. She started in October 2016 with a solo show at a little gallery @ New York`s Lower East Side and some paintings were sold some for $8,000 to $15,000. Those prices have since increased more than 1,200 percent, and Loie Hollowell has become one of the most fiercely sought-after artists in New York, reports Artnet.com (artnet ). The media describe her work as "abstract body landscapes". The auction house Christie`s  curvaceous motifs to represent the female anatomy (christies) and refers to Georgia O’Keeffe.


Hollowell is now represented by Pace Gallery. The global art dealer displays some of her painting in their new flagship building in Manhattan´s Chelsea district. I am happy &  grateful that i could see this wonderful show, which is open for the public and admission free (through October 19, 2019 pacegallery ).


I really love this colorful and sublime erotic paintings.







To be continued

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Contemporary Art: Kelly Bjork`s Intimate Narrative Paintings @ Nancy Margolis Gallery New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Contemporary artists are not timid. It seems that Kelly Bjork specializes in painting intimate moments. Nancy Margolis Gallery in Mnahattan`s Chelsea district has an exhibition with new works by the artist (through October 26, 2019  nancymargolis). I display my favorites here, a subjective selection as usual. On top of this post you can see "Anima Rising" (2019, gouache, acrylic, wax pastel, & pencil on paper, 22.5 x 30 inches).
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Above follow "You belong to you" & "Death + Birth + Death + Birth  + Death + Birth"


"Lift yourself out" & "The Quiet Principal"






To be continued

Contemporary Art: About Healthcare @ Paul Kolker Collection New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Contemporary art often deals with contemporary topics. Paul Kolker dedicated some of his paintings to healthcare and displays them in his gallery Paul Kolker Collection in Manhattan´s Chelsea district (paulkolker ). I display my favorites here, a very subjective selection as usual.


According to the press release "Kolker adds collage and alters color, translucency and contrast to transform photographs of renowned healthcare paintings by Pablo Picasso, Robert Hinkley, Thomas Eakins, Sir Luke Fildes and John Singer Sargent using a process Kolker calls synthèse; the medley of figural and abstract paintings which are sandwiched together by painting overlays of acrylic glazes or, alternatively as in this exhibition, by printing digital stacks of photographed layers of figural and abstract paintings with archival inks on canvas".





To be continued

Friday, September 27, 2019

Contemporary Art: Screaming Faces @ Paula Cooper Gallery New York

 

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Edvard Munch`s Scream has influenced many artists and is part of today`s pop culture. You can see a new version @ Paula Cooper Gallery in Manhattan´s classy Chelsea district . They display screaming faces by Christian Marclay (through October 19, 2019 paulacooper ).


According to the press release these images are "taken from Japanese Manga and Western style comic books, rendered in colored woodcuts, and printed on a monumental scale".


To be continued

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Movies: Ad Astra


 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Traveling in space is dangerous but also full of wonders. This is the message I got from watching the science fiction action movie "Ad Astra", which is now running in US cinema theaters ( imdb). Major Roy McBride, incarnated by Brad Pitt, travels to planet Neptune to meet his father, who stranded on the planet`s orbit many years ago (this is a spoiler free plot. You can read a synopsis here wikipedia ).

The plot is ridiculous, full of inconsistencies and does not care about logic & the laws of physics. "Ad Astra" is more fantasy than real science fiction but that doesn`t matter. The ludicrous plot gets recouped by the film`s awesome esthetic. Director James Gray, cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and the special effect teams created mesmerizing pictures. The audience gets breath taking views of the earth below a space station, is amazed by the desolate landscapes of Moon & Mars and marvels at  bizarre & claustrophobic space ships (with greetings from "Alien"). And the well choreographed action scenes amplify the optical pleasures. The movie is a piece of visual art - with very strong influences from Kubrick`s "2001: A Space Odyssey" & Cuarón`s "Gravity".- and I wouldn´t be surprised if New York´s Moma or other ambition contemporary art museums will integrate the movie into their programs. 



"Ad Astra"circles around planet Brad Pitt, who also produced the movie. There is almost no shot without him. Rightly so. Mr. Pitt`s stoic performance, which reminded me of Neil Armstrong in "first Man",  made even the most hilarious action spectacle look almost real. I had much fun watching this movie, science fiction or not.

P.S. Just in case if you wonder, there exist indeed some recent real science fiction movies, for instance "The Wandering Earth, based on physics & cosmology,  "Ex Machina" & "Her" about artificial intelligence, "Arrival" founded on linguistic & "Europa Report" based on evolution science.


Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Contemporary Art: Muse @ Chart Gallery New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Contemporary artists ain`t timid. You can see that if you visit Chart Gallery in Manhattan´s Tribeca district. There you can find an exhibition with paintings & sculptures by Shona McAndrew, called "Muse" (through 2 November 2019 chart).


The depicted works are "based on the idea of women as muses and owning their surroundings physically, mentally and emotionally", claims the press release. The artist "investigates art history references rooted in paintings from Neoclassicist, Romanticist and Orientalist French male artists from the mid-1800s". And: "Each painting re-enacts well-known stances or incorporates scenes taken from historical paintings". You can read more explanations here ( exhibitions ).















To be continued