Patti Smith: Woolgathering

In this small, luminous memoir, the National Book Award–winner Patti Smith revisits the most sacred experiences of her early years, with truths so vivid they border on the surreal. The author entwines her childhood self—and its "clear, unspeakable joy"—with memories both real and envisioned from her twenties on New York's MacDougal Street, the street of cafés. Woolgathering was completed, in Michigan, on Patti Smith's 45th birthday and originally published in a slim volume from Raymond Foye's Hanuman Books. Twenty years later, New Directions is proud to present it in an augmented edition, featuring writing that was omitted from the book's first printing, along with new photographs and illustrations. [New Directions....]

STEVEN KLEIN: TIME CAPSULE

Garage Center for Contemporary Culture presents Time Capsule, a video installation by influential American fashion photographer Steven Klein, on view until December 4 2011. Time Capsule (2011) celebrates Klein as an artist whose work is equally suited to the pages of international fashion magazines as it is presented on the walls of some of the world’s most respected art galleries and museums. The installation continues Klein’s experimentation with moving image through the depiction of the stages of one woman’s life, played by model / actress Amber Valetta, until she reaches the age of 110.  Garage Center for Contemporary Culture – 19A Ulitsa Obraztsova, Moscow.

Conversations with David Hockney

Sparky, illuminating and entertaining – a decade’s worth of conversations between David Hockney and art critic Martin Gayford that explore via anecdote, reflection, passion and humour the very nature of creativity.David Hockney is possibly the world’s most popular living painter, but he is also something else: an incisive and original thinker on art. Here are the fruits of his lifelong meditations on the problems and paradoxes of representing a three-dimensional world on a flat surface. How does drawing make one ‘see things clearer, and clearer, and clearer still’, as Hockney suggests? What significance do different media – from a Lascaux cave wall to an iPad – have for the way we see? What is the relationship between the images we make and the reality around us? How have changes in technology affected the way artists depict the world? A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney is out now on Thames & Hudson.

Raymond Pettibon: Desire in Pursuyt of the Whole

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Regen Projects in Los Angeles presents an exhibition of new works by Los Angeles artist Raymond Pettibon. Entitled Desire in Pursuyt of the Whole, this is the artist's ninth solo exhibition at the gallery. The show's title refers to Baron Corvo's complex novel of three interlocking plots where the author is thinly disguised as the protagonist. Pettibon's work often combines his own writing with quotes lifted from a myriad of sources ranging from quotidian to classical literature. His upcoming exhibition will feature new works in which the subject matter is a continuation of the artist's oeuvre: the landscape of war, politics, popular culture, art, literature, sports, religion, and sexuality. Pettibon will also exhibit his signature depictions of heroic surfers dropping into epic waves. Working in both large-scale color works and collage, the layering of images and text produces a multiplicity of elements that shift constantly in style, tense, and structure. On view until December 22. 

CAPUT

ART BASEL, MIAMI – Mondrian Sessions and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, organized by creative director Adarsha Benjamin, present a special screening of CAPUT, a film by Harmony Korine starring James Franco. A selection of photography by Adarsha Benjamin and Harmony Korine, that includes film stills and images from behind the scenes of CAPUT, will also be on view. CAPUT will be presented in Rebel, a project by James Franco in collaboration with Douglas Gordon, Harmony Korine, Damon McCarthy, Paul McCarthy, Ed Ruscha and Aaron Young at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Spring 2012. Musical guest include IO Echo and DJ sets by Henry Hopper and IAMSOUND. Thursday, December 1st 9pm-2am Sunset Lounge at Mondrian South Beach 1100 West Avenue Miami Beach.  Photo: Harmony Korine.

[MIAMI BASEL] Fountain Art Fair

Fountain Art Fair will return to Art Basel Miami Beach, taking over the 25th St / North Miami warehouse for its 6th consecutive year. Opening Thursday, December 1st for a VIP & Press Preview, Fountain will set itself apart from other internationally applauded fairs with its vivacious, rogue attitude and selection of the most cutting-edge alternative galleries and independent artists. Fountain is thrilled to announce that the always audacious Grace Exhibition Space will curate an on-site, weekend-long program of evocative contemporary visual performance by artists Gim Gwang Cheol (Korea), Myk Henry (Ireland/NYC), Erik Hokanson (NYC), Quinn Dukes (NYC), Jill McDermid (Outer Space), Paul White (UK), and Hannah Dean (UK). Also joining the roster for Miami is original Fountain exhibitor Front Room, along with Tinca Art, We-are-Familia, and Untitled ArtProjects. This year Fountain Miami’s signature on-site street art installation is curated by Samson Contompasis, director of Albany’s The Marketplace, and will feature over 150 feet of work by fifteen of the most in-demand street artists including Sharktoof, Chris Stain, Olek, Hugh Leeman, Chor Boogie, OverUnder, White Cocoa, Army of One, Clown Soldier, Joe Iurato, CAKE, Tip-Toe, Elle, Ian Ross, and Know Hope.

[BOOKS] Alive Inside the Wreck

From his name to his college transcript to his literary style, Nathanael West was self-invented. Born Nathan Weinstein, the author of the classics Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) and The Day of the Locust (1939) was an uncompromising artist obsessed with writing the perfect novel. He pursued his passion from New York to California, flirting dangerously with the bleak, faux-glamour of Hollywood as the country suffered through the grim realities of the Great Depression. At the center of a circle of vigorous young literary writers that included Malcolm Cowley, William Carlos Williams, F. Scott Fitzgerald, S. J. Perelman, and Dashiell Hammett, West rose to become one of the most original literary talents of the twentieth century—an accomplished yet regrettably underappreciated master of the short lyric novel. West was finally starting to enjoy financial stability as a Hollywood screenwriter when he died in the California desert. A notoriously bad driver, he was racing back from a vacation in Mexico with his young bride of eight months when he crashed at full speed into another car. He was dead at the age of 37. Out now on OR Books by Joe Woodward, a biography of Nathanael West entitled Alive Inside The Wreck. You can also purchase the biography here. 

[AUTRE TV] Beats Take the School

Beatniks take over a school in this collaboration by James Franco & Adarsha Benjamin. Shot in NYC.

Maison Martin Margiela, LOVE, etc.

At Art Basel Miami Beach 2011, Maison Martin Margiela will present Love, etc., an off-site installation in the Miami Design District situated near its Miami retail location. This exhibition will feature the Maison’s Line 13, dedicated to objects & publications. Line 13 also explores the Maison’s relationship with interiors. November 29 through Saturday, December 3, 4141 NE 2nd Avenue Miami, FL 33137.

American Exuberance

Stake: Art is Food for Thought and Food Costs Money, 1985

American Exuberance at the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation will include 64 artists and 190 artworks, 40 of which were made in 2011, many specifically for this exhibition. American Exuberance will occupy all 28 galleries in the 45,000 sq. ft. museum, and all works in the exhibition are drawn from the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation. On view from November 30 to July 27, 2012, 95 NW 29th Street, Miami, FL

The Model Boy

Photograph by David Siqueiros (C) 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Debuting its Arts Program, the InterContinental Miami, hosts photographer David Siqueiros as he presents a never-before-seen collection of black and white photos featuring Andy Warhol titled: Andy Warhol - "The Model Boy." Warhol posed for Siqueiros in October 1985 and is seen cavorting with two top Ford Models of the time, Patricia Van Ryckeghem, the face of Chanel and Clotilde, the face of Ralph Lauren. Photographed by Siqueiros at the Codalight Studio in New York City, this is believed to be one of Andy Warhol's last photo shoots before his passing in February 1987. The InterContinental Miami is transforming its Grand Lobby into a gallery to debut the collection with a VIP reception on the eve of Art Basel Miami Beach on November 30, 2011. The installation will remain on exhibit through January 1, 2012. The InterContinental Miami is located at 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami, FL, 33131.

Lartigue

The Galerie Berinson is showing the oeuvre of the world-famous photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue for the first time in Berlin. Lartigue shaped our image of the Belle Époque more keenly than any other photographer. The world of automobile racing, elegant ladies, and the carefree life of the French bourgeoisie are irrevocably entwined with his photographic oeuvre. On view until December 16 the Galerie Berinson, Lindenstraße 34, 3. Floor, D-10969 Berlin.

Lost But Free. The Art of Daniel Johnston

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Daniel Johnston has spent the last 30 years exposing his heartrending tales of unrequited love, cosmic mishaps, and existential torment to an ever-growing international audience. Initiates, including a healthy number of discerning musicians and critics, have hailed him as an American original in the style of bluesman Robert Johnson and country legend Hank Williams. Daniel has collaborated with the likes of Jad Fair (a founding member of Half Japanese), the Butthole Surfers, and members of Sonic Youth. A prolific songwriter, his lyrics focus on a range of familiar American themes, including the joys and pains of love, the exploits of comic book characters such as Jack Kirby's Captain America, and the allure of rock and roll. Throughout Daniel’s life as a musician, Daniel has been an equally prolific visual artist. In recent years, Daniel has gained acclaim and respect for his art that could possibly surpass his legendary status as a musician and songwriter. While at first glance, Daniel’s art might give the impression that this is the work of an “outsider” artist, Daniel’s visual work communicates the same deep content and startling impact that his songs carry. In 2006 Daniel was featured in The Whitney Museum of American Art’s Biennial. From December 3 to January 3 the Blast Gallery in New Jersey presents Lost But Free. The Art of Daniel Johnston, an exhibition of Daniel Johnston's artwork.