What is Art? GET INSPIRED.

Often people ask me, WHAT IS ART? How do I explain? Art is art if the artist says so. Art is what you make of it. Art has to be given a chance. Art is a freedom of expression. Art is LIFE. And according to the theorist Hegel, “the fact that this is meaningless DOESN’T mean that it can’t be art.” So peeps – get with the program. Art is everywhere.

Here is an slide show I came across with quotes from famous artists from different periods of art declaring what art is, to them. Art is…

Get inspired. Follow your HeART.

XX, DP

What Philadelphia Has to Offer – AMAZING ART, DUH

A couple weeks ago, upon my return to my native land, AMURICA, I went to Philadelphia to visit my grandmother for her birthday (shout out to PHYLLIS) who too is an art historian. She took me on several art adventures that made me realise the world of art in Philadelphia is rivalling that of which NYC has to offer. For example, the plethora of GREATNESS Philadelphia Museum of Art has to on view is INCREDIBLE. They have an amazing collection of Jasper JOHNS, Cy TWOMBLY, BRANCUSI, PICASSO and more! While some of you are thinking, NYC is just WAY BETTER, I dare you to go to Philly, check out the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and be BLOWN AWAY.

PICASSO:

Absinthe Glass

Self Portrait

JASPER JOHNS:

Flashlight and Lightbulb

Single Flag

CY TWOMBLY:

Fifty Days at Illiam

DUCHAMP:

Bottle Rack

The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even

BRANCUSI:

IS THIS NOT AMAZING?! WHAT A COLLECTION?! And it keeps on going:

MOTHERWELL:

Elegy to the Spanish Republic

NAUMAN:

Ellsworth Kelly:

I think you get it by now… PHILLY’s art is SPECTACULAR… and this was just one museum. They have the Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum, and many more! Check it out peeps! Get Cultured!!!!

XX, DP

P.S. Did I mention the steps leading up to this museum are the steps ROCKY trained on?! Does the view look familiar? The only thing that irritates me about this, even though it is incredibly riveting, is that tourists come just for the steps, and not the art – what a shame!

P. P. S…. Street Art originated between NYC and PHILLY. So keep your eyes open!

Kick Ass 2 – The Hirst Shark Reference

While I must admit I have not seen Kick Ass (the original), the second is HYSTERICAL. And the best part – the DAMIEN HIRST reference – to that, ya know, RIDICULOUS SHARK TANK entitled the even more RIDICULOUS, “The Physical Impossibilities of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.”

Ok so not only does the not so superhero “Mother F*cker,” apparently previously known as “Red Mist” obtain a shark tank (above – image released from the director’s Twitter account), but this tank is not full of formaldehyde, rather it is full of water and a LIVE shark, that doesn’t move… Eventful, eh?

In the movie it makes a statement about money, the shock factor, power, and life – sound familiar? WELL DUH – that just sums up our dearest (NOT) YBA in a nutshell. Hirst specifically commissioned a fisherman to fish for a shark large enough that it looked like it could eat you alive. Does this shark, aka Hirst’s work (below) scream all of the above? Keep in mind it sold for 8 MILLION DOLLARS in 2004. The 8 milli would have ate me alive had I ever bought such a grotesque work… but wait till you see the size of the shark in Kick Ass… It is just too good to be true.

How many better ways can we find to spend our money? How many better ways are there to show off you know what is going on in the Contemporary Art world – MANY, I would say… so why would they pick HIRST? They might as well have covered a superhero in DOTS. But actually…

XX, DP

#RIPREEFA RALLY and HOW TO HELP HONOR HIS LEGACY

A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF WHAT WENT ON AT THE #RIPREEFA RALLY via our friend Jane S. (instagram – spindalis305):

On Saturday afternoon hundreds of friends, family, and community members gathered together on the corner of 71st and Collins in Miami Beach to honor our dear friend Israel Hernandez taken from us way too soon at the age of 17. His crime? Doing what he loved most creating art. Despite the oppressive heat of a typical Miami day in August, legions of people came together to talk about and celebrate Israel and share memories, and tell how important how he was in their lives. It was unbelievable to hear how a 17 year old young man could have touched so many lives in such a short time. He was a very active participant in the Miami skateboard scene, art, and graffiti communities. We gathered peacefully despite our anger and outrage. One by one, friends and family spoke about Israel and his art and what an amazing person he was. At the family’s request there was no chanting—only a bit at the end of” no justice no peace.” Local residents spoke about what a blight the abandoned McDonalds building is and expressed outrage that such a tragedy could occur over a kid putting up a little bit of art. So many of the most well-known graffiti artists were there (although very uncomfortably since they don’t like to be anywhere near a large group of police officers).

Although the rally was thankfully very peaceful you could very much feel the tension in the air and how much everyone was suppressing their anger especially since we were surrounded by barricades and police as far as your eye could see. They were even posted on the rooftops of the buildings across the street which created a very eery and uncomfortable atmosphere.

I have been spearheading an effort to help HONOR Israel aka Reefa (his tag name) by making #RIPREEFA STICKERS. This effort has been supported 100% by DONATIONS and I cannot believe how massive the response has been WORLDWIDE for these stickers. People all over the world are outraged that a kid could be tased and die for graffiti. This should never ever have happened for writing on a wall!

If anyone would like to help honor the legacy of Israel “Reefa” Hernandez, I can be reached via my Instagram: spindalis305 and my email address 17stars@gmail.com which is also the Paypal address for donations. Please help us spread the word that justice needs to be served and tasing unnecessarily HAS to be stopped. Thanks!

– Jane S.

RIP REEFA: Street Art Awareness

Stop the Violence. RIP REEFA aka ISRAEL HERNANDEZ. MIAMI make the streets safer for artists and help STOP the VIOLENCE.

Read the story here.

TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS people will be collecting donations at 004Connec a Graff store in Wynwood and at the Viophilia Show. Please e-mail 17stars@gmail.com to find out how to donate if you can’t make it to these places. EVERY $1 counts.

A PEACEFUL event will be held in his honour this SATURDAY to raise AWARENESS.

Pray for justice. This was unnecessary.

XX, DP

James Turrell @ Guggenheim NYC

What do you think of when you hear the artist’s name James Turrell? Some of you may not have heard of him. Some of you folks may have heard of him in passing… since his newest solo show (since the 1980s) at the Guggenheim in NYC is beyond INCREDIBLE. But actually.

Turrell wants you to take in the environment in which you are positioned, and uses a light source to emulate a state that can eventually turn your experience into one in which you reach a transcendental state of mind. He plays with your sight senses through having colours fade into one another in the infamous Guggenheim spiral entrance… you know, that space where the ODDBALL contemporary artist Matthew Barney once did his Cremaster series.

Here are pictures from my journey. I will never forget and forever cherish this experience, for when is the next time I will be able to witness such an event again? Remember, many of his works are found in outdoor remote locations -so if you’re in NYC vs. the outskirts of Utah you might as well take advantage of the situation.

Lay on your back. Absorb the light. Let it play with your mind. See where it takes you. Don’t be scared, ET will not jump down from the ceiling, but you may think of light like you never have before…

XX, DP

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!

WARHOL. A LEGEND. THE KING OF POP ART. THIS POST IS DEDICATED TO YOUR FABULOUS LEGACY YOU LEFT ON THE ART WORLD. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AND MAY YOU REST IN PEACE.

Here are pictures I’ve taken of Warhol’s work from around the world. Bon Voyage!