Electrolux hosted by chica PlastiKa is a monthly music podcast dedicated to Electro, Electroclash, Europop, indie-pop, punk, and funk. Since February is the month of L. O. V. E., Electrolux is broadcasting a Valentine’s Day edition called “Be My Valentine” and includes music by Yelle, Peaches, Vitalic, among other artists. Eletrolux is being streamed through podOmatic.com. 

The work of Teresa Margolles called “21 – Rendición de Cuentas” or (21- Score-Settling Incidents), was presented by the Madrid based Salvador Diaz Gallery. Her work is dear to me because my research is also on the effects of the illicit drug business. Teresa Margolles is from Sinaloa, Mexico a northwestern state of that country, where currently the murder rate per day sometimes can be as high as about one person per hour. These murders are the product of drug related violence due to quarrels between state officials and drug trafficking organizations or among drug dealers. The confrontations can be triggered by disagreements on territory, drug routes, business disputes, women, and etc. Margolles’s work focuses on the killings done to settle disputes.

Her work was showcased in Basel’s Art Positions section on the beach. Upon entering the container exhibiting her work, you saw several glass jewelry displays. When you took a closer look at the encased jewelry, in the back panel of each glass display, you saw a description not of the piece of jewelry, but of a crime report describing how a violent act was perpetrated to settle a score between drug dealers. The description was un-emotional and detailed as to the number individuals involved, weapons used, and time and date of the event. The gold jewelry was of similar design, it was all done by Teresa Margolles, and was meant to be as ostentatious as the pieces generally worn by drug dealers. The jewelry’s centerpiece appears to be a semi-precious stone, but instead it is broken glass derived from cars at crime scenes investigating a score-settling incident.  The pieces of shattered glass are collected by the artist directly at crime scenes or the pieces are given to her by the police (sometimes the glass was extracted from a corpse).

The art collection is meant to be macabre because violence is macabre, and it shows the ultimate consequences of greed and power. Margolles turns greed and power on their head, by creating jewelry that shows narcos, how their lifestyle kills them. In an interview Margolles explains, “I wanted to take the value away from these jewels and replace it with their score-settling incidents, so that they can see their deaths” (EFE TV). This is a moralistic piece, no question. But the question is: who will buy this art? This is a similar question, which I had with last year’s pieces by Clinton Fein on the Abu Ghraib Prison Tortures. This is art that delves into deep social issues, but which is marketed in galleries and which ultimately becomes a status symbol of wealth and power, the same wealth and power that is being critiqued by the artists. 

An interesting detail about the exhibit was people’s reaction to the jewelry, which admittedly touches an emotional chord for me. At the exhibit, most people did not speak Spanish, and the descriptions of the drug related assassinations behind the jewelry were in Spanish. People just saw the gold pieces. However, if casual observers did make a point of reading the English description of Margolles’s exhibit on the back wall of the container, they would later find out that the pieces were made out of gold and glass by a local jewelry-maker for narcos, and that the glass was collected from crime scenes. In other words, the description was very ambiguous. If you have no idea of where Sinaloa is, what the murder rate is, and that there is a “Drug War” taking place in Sinaloa, then the exhibit has no significance for you.  Many people will have no clue that a drug prohibition on illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin has people in developing states killing each other in their quest to make a living out of an artificially high priced commodity. In fact, when I was at the exhibit a lady asked “Sinaloa, that’s in Mexico, right?” This is sad a state of affairs, but frankly why should she know or care? She has a life of her own to take care of, and she like many others in industrialized states probably think that this is a normal state of affairs in countries south of the border– Sinaloa, Mexico can easily be replaced with Medellin, Colombia, right? Below you will see more of Margolles’ work, but you will also be able to connect the drug violence with her art, because I placed several violent score-settling incidents that took place in Sinaloa at the same time that Art Basel 2008 was taking place.

Video of Teresa Margolles’ interview on “21″

Video of Margolles’ Exhibit at Art Basel 2008

Random Youtube Videos of December 2008 Score Settling Incidents in Sinaloa, Mexico while Art Basel was taking place.

My Barbarian is a theater/performance art troupe form Los Angeles. These performers were located in one of the containers within Basel’s Art Positions on the beach and were brought by Steve Turner Contemporary. For me, their performance was a mix between a rock opera (a la Jesus Christ Superstar) and the chorus from ancient Greek Tragedy (a la Oedipus Rex). The piece was part of My Barbarian’s Hystera-Theater and it is based on a feminist interpretation of Plato’s Allegory of “The Cave” by Luce Igaray, where the cave is perceived as a womb. Having said that, the opening of the container was covered with wine red cloth that you (the observer) had to go through, to enter the container, thus entering the womb. Once inside “the womb” a video was projected at the end of the container. The performers—who wore red-wine robes and masks—sat, reclined, or laid-down on the floor on red pillows, while they chanted “You were born poor and poor you will die” and played instruments that went along with the Hystera-Theater video.

My Barbarian’s L.A. performance of ”You Were Born Poor and Poor You Will Die”

My Barbarians were absolutely refreshing, because they are taking on that ancient Greek Tragedy feel and make it powerful, especially when they add dark rock guitar rifts. The song they chanted was awesome especially, given the current economic climate coupled with the irony that many of the people walking through the art containers were wealthy art collectors. I also thought they were truly dedicated— I saw them on Sunday afternoon, considering they had been performing in a container since Wednesday evening, they were doing great—especially when the temperature in those containers can reach above 80F, and maybe crowds of four or five at a time would walk in to see them perform. The basic gut reaction that I got from their performance was that it was liberating. Their masks, the costumes, the chants, the music, the film, and the real time interaction with the audience, explored all senses and was intense.

Pictures of My Barbarian’s Miami Art Basel Performance by Liz Poin

Shown by the Maurine Littleton Gallery at the Bridge Art Fair, Tim Tate’s timeless glass sculptures are romantic, beautiful, and sometimes controversial. He founded the Washington Glass School in D.C. and his work has evolved from strictly glass sculptures to becoming self-contained video installation pieces– an incorporation of sculpture, glass blowing, and videos shown through mini-video hd-screens.  I loved these pieces because the emotion captured in each of these reliquaries. Tate captures video of ephemeral moments or objects in life and makes them timeless by expressing a feeling about them. My favorites were “Dreams of Flying,” “Washed Out”– a virtual carnival of the Montgomery County Fair, “My love life thus far.”  

All of the videos portray things or events dear to people, but which are temporary– very much like life itself. Although Tate makes these moments timeless by freezing them in his sculptures, he is confronted by the temporary nature of our lives more so than most people, because he was diagnosed HIV positive in the 1980s. Tate is able to turn a terrible diagnosis into beauty by allowing us to enjoy his sculptures.

Here is video on Tim Tate’s work by Todd Wiggins

“Dreams of Flying” a little girl prances around endlessly.

In “Washed Out” Tate shows video of a county fair and people yelling as they enjoy a roller coaster ride. 

“My Love Life Thus Far,” shows a building being imploded and rebuild over and over, which I think is great because it is a hopeful of love even after heart-brake. 

In “Call to Redemption” Tate make us look at ourselves.

… And More Video of Tate’s work

The Red Truck Gallery from New Orleans showcased at the Bridge Art Fair located at the Catalina Hotel on Collins and 16th. As always the Catalina Hotel is a great venue because it is intimate, and as you walk from room to room, you are actually walking from gallery to gallery. The Red Truck Gallery stuck out as one of the best because of its color, music, and of course because of its art. As I walked in and saw the artwork, three people who were chatting casually greeted me, while they shot what sounded like a toy gun, drank beer, and listened to the blues. So right away, you were transported from the hotel/gallery world to “their world.” Most of the pieces had interesting wooden frames and bright warm colors. Although I thought I understood exactly what I was looking at, it wasn’t until one of the gallery guys mentioned that some of the pieces were quilts. This totally took me by surprise, since most of the pieces were encased in glass, and at first glance the artwork was ambiguous—they looked like comical paintings or prints. Once he said, “I just wanted to let you know what you were looking at…” I was hit by the intricacy of the pieces. According to the rep some of the works are a collaborative effort between quilters and painters. My favorite three pieces were: 1. “Awkard Social Encounters” by Chris Roberts-Antieau, which is hilarious (the improper back rubbing make me think of Pres. George W. Bush rubbing German Chancellor’s Angela Merkel’s back), 2. “Luchadores” by Bryan Cunningham, and 3.“Choctau” by Frank Relle.

“Awkard Social Encounters” by Chris Roberts-Antieau

Inappropriate Back-Rubbing a la Bush-Merkel

“Luchadores” by Bryan Cunningham

“Choctau” by Frank Relle - New Orleans Nightscapes this one is taken after Hurricane Katrina

In Fashion Photo was very popular this year as it was the first annual exhibition—the first ever of its kind—and because it opened with a Naomi Campbell Retrospective, it had a fashionable opening with celebs, VIPs and of course wannabes.  It was located under an overpass in a parking lot turned art exhibit so the venue was really cool. The photography was excellent, as it was to be expected since it showcased world-class fashion photographers such as: Michael Dweck and Alix Malka. 

Some of Dweck’s sensual underwater pictures @ In Fashion Photo 2008

Alix Malka’s work at In Fashion Photo 2008

The O.H.W.O.W. art space, directed by Aaron Bondaroff and Al Moran, was an interesting venue. It was a pretty large space with three main exhibition areas and a club. They brought a variety of projects such as the Deitch Projects among many others. This event gathered the work of thirty artists in a gallery/warehouse west of the Wynwood District. In the warehouse part of the space, graffiti decorated the walls were a DJ started the night with Miami style bass.

Two notable pieces in this art space were the pieces by Ara Peterson and Kembra Pfahler. O.H.W.O.W. not only brought art, but music as they started of the week with DJ JD Samson from Le Tigre and A.R.E. Weapons. On Dec. 4th The Gossip’s Beth Ditto and guitarist Mick Jagged hosted a Karaoke event with guests. Outside an ice cream truck handed out ice cream, and free Camparis and Grolsch’s were served to the people that slowly trickled in from other events.

In all reality, The Gossip’s Beth Ditto commanding soulful voice should have kicked off Art Basel on the beach, and Yelle would have been a more suitable performance for this artsy industrial space. But it seems to me that O.H.W.O.W organizers are in tune with the ongoing rise of Miami’s art scene, and they are investing in quality music and art.

Video of Beth Ditto at a UK Awards Ceremony dueting with Jarvis Cocker

Art Basel kicked off the fair on the evening of December 3rd with French group Yelle playing live on the beach. Yelle is a French group, whose front-woman Julie Budet, is flirty yet awkward, which makes her a natural performer. Yelle’s electro is fun to dance to and its electro song “À Cause des Garçons” has supposedly contributed to a teen dance craze in France, because its video showcases a troupe of dancers called the Tecktoniks, which completely cater to the “Nu Rave” scene.

Since Art Basel started its Miami version in 2002, it has brought bands like the New York Dolls, Peaches, and Iggy Pop—an unruly crowd of punks. In fact, this year Art Basel kept its punk rock vibe during its summer event in Switzerland, by having Patti Smith play at its inauguration. So, when the festival announced Yelle as the performers for the Art Loves Music concert it was quite a surprise.  Some people said the event was cutting down its Miami budget, while event organizers said that many artists they booked kept canceling on them. 

Regardless, here is my take on Yelle…

The show started at 10PM and it was free, open to the public, and lasted an hour. The venue as always was great because the stage is set right on the beach, so you have waves crashing and the ocean breeze flowing, while you listen the show. Yelle aimed to please and they played full force. Their set was especially fun right after they played the Tepr remix of “À Cause des Garçons.” They also played “Je te vex voir,” “Ce Jeu” and my favorite “Amour du Sol,” which is totally romantic. My only complaint of the show was the crowd… what a bunch of downers. Although it is difficult to have a LOUD live show on the beach, because the wind carries the sound, the crowd was overall “too cool” to dance.

Video of Yelle’s Performance…

Art Basel 2008 Miami edition ran from the 3rd to the 7th of December, and brought happy surprises like: Yelle, Teresa Margolles, Red Truck Gallery, Tim Tate, My Barbarian, side exhibits like O.H.W.O.W. & Kill Your Idols, and music events such as Panda Bear, MSTRKRFT, and DJ A-Track.

This year a new addition to the art fair scene was Art Asia and the In Fashion Photo exposition. The festivities started as early as Saturday November 29, and the surrounding art fairs included usual suspects such as: Scope, Pulse, The Bridge Art Fair, Miami Art, NADA, Photo Miami, Red Dot, and the Aqua Fair.

For me the most intense pieces of art in this fair were, Tim Tate’s, My Barbarian’s and Teresa Margolles’. I will review their work along with a series of small blogs on Art Basel 2008’s events… 

Video of Art Basel’s Positions (Shipping Containers on the Beach)

The U.S. 2008 Presidential Election has been an unprecedented event affecting political art. It is the first time a Woman and an African-American run for the presidency in the Democratic Party. It is also the first time the Republican Party chooses a Woman for Vice President.

Artists have responded to these events by producing artwork dealing with issues like the environment, the economy, and gender and security issues. The art-world’s political affiliation is skewed to the left, but it shows that Barack Obama, the Presidential Candidate for the Democratic party, has inspired many in the art, street art, graffiti art, and graphic art world to CREATE art on his behalf. The sale of art inspired Obama t-shirts via Internet vendors is incredible. Obama T-shirts of all kinds of sizes and colors display campaign symbols and slogans like: Obama for “Change,” “Hope,” “Progress,” “Barack the Vote,” “Go tell Moma, I’m for Obama,” and “Obama is My Homeboy.”

Some of the best political art sources are http://www.obamaartreport.com and http://jetcomx.com. Both sites show works being displayed on streets and galleries, and introduce artists or say where an anonymous artist’s work was seen. Below is my slide compiling some of the works displayed in these sites. Some of the best pieces are: Zoltron’s rendition of an Andy Warhol’s pop art portrait on Republican VP Candidate Sarah Palin, Zina Saunder’s Playing House , the transformation of AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” and finally the street art, which is the roughest critique of the Bush/Cheney Administration and the McCain-Palin Ticket i.e. Billi Kid’s Palin Portrait. The work on Obama includes the different renditions of the Shepard Fairey Prints.

The following compilation of art work is organized by: the issues, the Bush-Cheney Administration, the Democratic Primary & Convention, the McCain-Palin Ticket, and the variety of works inspired by Barack Obama.

Before watching adjust youtube settings to high quality, to see the prints clearly. 

Works Featured

Tristan Eaton’s design underscores the fact that the economy not the Iraq War is the issue of the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Even though women candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have been major contenders in this race, women voters have been split on whether to support a female or a male. Poll results so far (October 2008), have shown that women voters are choosing candidates they feel will support them on their issues (equal pay, a woman’s right to choose an abortion, affirmative action, among others), rather than voting for a woman simply because she represents their gender, i.e. Women are showing more support for the Barack Obama-Joe Biden Ticket over the John McCain-Sarah Palin Ticket.

Unite America

Jabba the Cheney

Shel Starkman’s Hope

Self Explanatory

A take on Andy Warhol’s print of himself with Jean-Michel Basquiat

Lieberman’s Hearbreak by Zina Saunders 

McCain & Palin Playing House by Zina Saunders

“The Difference between a Pit-Bull and a Hockey-mom is Lipstick,” part of her RNC speech.

Colombian born street-artist Billi Kid doing his rendition of Palin, which does justice to her eagerness to represent “Joe Six-pack.” Palin expressed to a talk-radio interview and at the 2008 Vice Presidential(VP) debate, that her VP aspiration was to represent “Joe Six-pack” and hockey-moms.

Upper Playground by Burlesque Studios