off the radar

This past week the New York art fairs took place and normally I'd try to be there. Not because I saw amazing and wonderful art, because that's not what art fairs are about. The amazing and wonderful art, when it's shown in that context, becomes not so amazing and wonderful. Too much stuff, too big, too much visual shouting for attention, in the midst of white cubicle after white cubicle, or in the case of some fairs, all in the same room begging for attention, which doesn't do anything much good. For me, going to New York for the fairs is to reconnect with friends, and sometimes I don't go to the big Armory show at all, preferring the smaller fairs like Volta, which is organized as solo shows in each booth. I did feel a little out of it though, reading about them and hearing people talk about them on Facebook.

Today I read a blog post called "Resisting Pier Pressure,"which is a good read, by one of my favorite artists, Mira Schor. Her blog, A Year of Positive Thinking, is thoughtful and informative, as Mira has a long history of critical writing. I recommend you add her to your list of blogs to follow. I have one of Mira's works on paper that I bought at a benefit for AIR, the feminist women's cooperative gallery, still going strong after 40 years.

Here is one of Mira's works, from her website:

The truth is, as much as people bemoan the demise of galleries, I often find amazing and wonderful work when I'm in Chelsea, or the Lower East Side, or wherever there is a gallery space that has a thoughtful and well-run program. Without the pressure of having to see everything, throwing down an espresso to keep moving up and down the art fair aisles.