The Syphilis of Sisyphus

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Fredericks & Freiser gallery in New York presents The Syphilis of Sisyphus,  a new short film by Mary Reid Kelley with artist Patrick Kelley. The exhibition includes a wall-sized projection with costumes and drawings used in the film’s creation. Reid Kelley’s second solo exhibition at Fredericks & Freiser encompasses a heightened level of visual complexity as it continues her exploration of language, history, anomie and sexual politics. On view until January 7.

Comics Stripped

Comics Stripped, an ongoing exhibition at the museum of sex in New York, examines the history and cultural significance of the illustrators, icons and images that have entertained and educated (as well as equally misinformed) the basics of sex. From the coquettish to the most explicit “dirty drawings,” the exhibit presents the ultimate homage to sexual fantasy uninhibited by the constraints of reality. From simple titillation to hardcore representations, comics have a long history of incorporating humor, scandal, fantasy and fun with sex. Originally used as a form of amusement and satire intended for adults, the societal perception of comics as wholesome entertainment geared toward children has made the inclusion of sexual content particularly jarring. Comics Stripped is on view at the Museum Of Sex until January 8, 2012, 233 5th Avenue, New York

In the Picture: Self-Portraits by Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander (b. 1934) has been tackling the challenge of self-portraiture throughout his prolific career. What began as an unorthodox investigation of the genre has become a masterful engagement spanning five decades. A new book of self portraits, entitled In The Picture: Self Portraits, 1958-2011, includes hundreds of previously unpublished pictures.  Produced to the highest production standards and featuring over 400 duotone images—from his first self-portraits, taken with cable release in hand, to recent images of the photographer with his family and extended network of friends—In the Picture explores Friedlander’s various guises throughout a rich and colorful life.

Illustration at the Erotica Auction

An anonymous French illustration from 1900 available for sale at the enormous Erotica auction held by EVE (Estimations & Ventes aux Enchères) today Sunday, December 18 and tomorrow Monday December 19.  A bulk of the collection comes from a Swiss collector who has spent 35 years gathering his holdings. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 11 - 9 rue Drouot, 75009 Paris

Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection

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RODARTE: Fra Angelico Collection, on view starting tomorrow at the LACMA's Italian Renaissance gallery, features a group of extraordinary gowns by Kate and Laura Mulleavy. The collection is inspired by Italian art, specifically the Renaissance frescoes in the monastery of San Marco by Fra Angelico in Florence, Italy, as well as the Baroque sculpture, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) in Rome. Rodarte’s signature dressmaking techniques and sculptural details can be seen in each of the gowns. Silk fabrics (including chiffon, georgette, lamé, organza, satin, taffeta, and tulle) are draped and manipulated to give form, texture, and tonal variety to the color palette inspired by the frescoes. The gowns are customized utilizing a variety of materials such as feathers, swarovski elements, sequins, and custom-made silk flowers. Hand-forged gold metallic accessories such as a headpiece, breastplate, and belts dramatically complete the look of several key gowns. The Fra Angelico collection will enter LACMA’s Costume and Textiles Department, which houses over twenty-five thousand objects, representing more than one hundred cultures and two thousand years of human creativity in the textile arts.

SHERRIE LEVINE: MAYHEM

Sherrie Levine (b. 1947) has transformed and re-contextualized images and objects in her work since the late 1970s, often presenting them as installations that provide a compelling sense of context. An exhibition at the Whitney in New York, entitled Mayhem, developed as a project by the artist, includes works ranging from well-known photographs, such as After Walker Evans: 1-22, 1981, to recent sculptures, such as Crystal Skull: 1-12, 2010. The exhibition, conceived by the artist as offering constellations of older and newer works, will provide juxtapositions that provoke new associations and responses. The installation will also emphasize the powerfully seductive, tactile nature of Levine’s art, and the complex layers of reference and meaning that unfold between the ostensible sources and Levine’s own work. Sherrie Levine: Mayhem is on view at the Whitney until January 22, 2012. 

In Focus: Los Angeles, 1945–1980

Gary Winogrand

The Getty presents 30 photographs from the Museum’s permanent collection made in Los Angeles between 1945 and 1980. Both iconic and relatively unknown works are featured by artists whose careers are defined by their association with the city, who may have lived in Los Angeles for a few brief but influential years, or whose visit inspired them to create memorable images. Works by Robert Cumming, Joe Deal, Judy Fiskin, Anthony Friedkin, Robert Heinecken, Anthony Hernandez, Man Ray, Edmund Teske, William Wegman, Garry Winogrand, Max Yavno and others are loosely grouped around the themes of experimentation, street photography, architectural depictions, and the film and entertainment industries. In Focus: Los Angeles, 1945–1980 will be on view from December 20 to May 6, 2012. 

[FIRST LOOK] POST x BLK DNM Perfume 11

A video by POST, an Ipad only arts and culture publication, for BLK DNM Perfume 11 which premiered at The Webster Miami for Art Basel; with sound design by Twin Shadow. "BLK DNM Perfume 11 molecules mixed with water - and in one scene, paint....The inspiration was a re-imagining of a birth of a nebula in an alternate universe, and then how planets, rocks, land, water and clouds - an atmosphere - may form in an alternative gravitational field.....It was important for us to use the actual perfume within the liquid mix so as to imbue the video with a special energy and integrity as an artwork."