Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age

Clay Shirky's talk about his book: Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age
In this video he mentions crisis mapping which I had only heard of, but sounds really revolutionary, more about that here. I don't know if this process, which started in 2007 in Kenya, has spread to Syria, Egypt, Libya, and all the other countries that could really benefit, but I hope it has. I also was really taken by Shirky's mention of lolcats, by saying that there were pornographic novels printed before scientific journals. We are just scratching the surface of the internet's potential, it makes sense that we see a rise in a lowest common denominator, like porn or lolcats, so it is really exciting to see tools like crisis mapping begin to emerge...

more books you should read if you are interested in the future of technology here

Photography books online

Books online is a new website that showcases photographs by contemporary artists in an online book format that lets you flip through the pages like a real book. The best part? The books are completely free for your viewing pleasure.

Paul Paper, "Blur is Beautiful"

Jennilee Marigomen, "Change of Course"

Ali Bosworth, "Atlantic"

- Jessica

Protest Stencil Toolkit

Book of pre-made protest stencils... super lame. here "funny, it's like they're marketing to the discontented, non-creative, lazy wanna-be rebel. " - my sister.

Urban Interventions

I have owned this book for a while now, and it is always fun to look through. Even though I still haven't really gotten out of bed today, this book managed to make me laugh a couple of times. Urban Interventions presents a huge and wide variety of artists tackling the possibilities of contemporary art in public spaces. Although some of the work is predictable, most of it is extremely exciting and entertaining. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the overlapping area between graffiti and contemporary art.
at amazon here

With that, I conclude my bedroom, sick day, posting about books within arm reach.
hope you enjoyed

Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser

This book, written by Edward Glaeser in 2011, explains why the city is our greatest invention.  As a new resident of New York City, hailing from a mid-western city of 30,000; this book offered great insight into myths I was brought up believing, and re-affirmed all the reasons why I came to NYC. This book is one interesting fact after another, a fast read, and will never let you think about cities in the same way. I recommend it to everyone.



Find it on amazon here

Olafur Eliasson & Hans Ulrich Obrist

Number thirteen of the conversation series by Hans Ulrich Obrist features eight casual interviews between these two highly influential figures in the contemporary art world. book at amazon here


This book would be a good beginning point for someone interested in Olafur Eliasson's work and thinking. Yet for me it was a little too light. They begin to touch on really interesting ideas, yet fall short of truly exploring them.

Glenn Ligon AMERICA

C-monster was kind enough to give me one of her copies of this fantastic book, here. This large book which full of great images of the work and a few essays that I probably should read sometime, came out with Ligon's retrospective at the Whitney.


Hands, 1996. image from Luhring Augustine (accidental relationship to prior post)

Ligon's work impressed me with it's big impact which is carried down to the smallest of details. Thankfully this book includes many close-ups, allowing a better understanding of the works.

Pierre Le Hors, Firework Studies

I want this book, Firework Studies, 2009 by Pierre le Hors. thanks Clem.

Learning to Love
A collaborative book created by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher.

The above picture is from the assignment to photograph your parents kissing.

Feeding ants only McDonalds for a month. Interesting science experiment/art installation. here. more of Elizabeth Demaray's work here



I really need this book: The Map as Art. a little introduction here.

Photo taken from Mars. more at NASA's photo a day, here

Eva and Franco Mattes interview on Art21. here.
They have been doing online performances reenacting works by Marina Abramovic and Chris Burden, chat roulette piece where Franco made it appear that he was hanging dead in front of the screen, or their most recently unveiled work which has gotten lots of buzz, Stolen Pieces, which is bits and pieces of famous works of art that they stole over time.
This work is incorporating new technology, and I am impressed by anyone willing to do that. Yet all their pieces ring hollow to me, they merit one quick reaction and then not much else. The Stolen Pieces piece pissed me off at first, so I suppose it gave me a stronger emotion than most art, yet at what expense? Their work, except for the Nike piece in which they convinced a town through guerrilla advertising that Nike was planning to buy a whole street, besides this hilarious piece their overall body of work reads as childish boredom. Art can be a great critique, or give great insight into the world, this work makes you scoff or chuckle and move on. Proof that doing something new doesn't necessarily bring it merit.

James Acord, the only private individual in the world to hold a license to handle nuclear material, he makes them into sculptures....!!! here

Breaking the Rules, by Susan Goldman Rubin is a new book published by MOCA about contemporary art for children. I wish I had this book, article here, buy it here

Truck Stop

-Keith Edmier is an absolutely fascinating artist. See his work here at Friedrich Petzel Gallery. See a video of Walla Walla Foundry making Cycas Orogeny here. The process basically entails casting basalt which is lava... if Walla Walla Foundry is not kick ass, I do not know what is.
-The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art by Martha Buskirk. If you read this book and find it enthralling, you should be surrounded by art daily. If you read this and find it obsessive over the smallest of peculiarities embedded in contemporary art, you are normal.
-Sculpture Today by Judith Collins. Should be treated like Denzel Washington treats the last bible.
-Art City (2002) offers an interesting look into the art world today. While emphasizing the common complaints of how damn hard it is to be an artist, just like every art documentary does, the 3 disc series has more than just, "I am a starving artist my life is hard" mentality.
-Manufactured Landscapes (2007) A documentary about Edward Burtynsky is worth watching if you love Burtynsky, and only if. Dull lecture footage spliced with some uninteresting travel footage infringing on the incredible segments that lead to accounts of amazing photography.
-12 (2007) see it. just do it. The only 2hr and 40min movie I have seen that I watched again that week. A complete remake of the classic 12 angry men.
-And this Art History poster that all artists should find hilarious here

-Getting to see IMA make it to New York Times was great, too bad we lost the super bowl bet against New Orleans Museum of Art. Read about it at Modern Art Notes here

- Omer Fast

-Watch out curators of NYC New York Times

-Richard McCoy's interview with Jorge Otero-Pailos. Very interesting. Jorge Otero-Pailos

-Most innovative sculptures I have seen in some time Here

-Why I went to the Guggenheim... It wasn't the Kandisky exhbition, although that was good too... Anish Kapoor's Memory The film does Memory no honor, it was built for the Guggy in NYC and Berlin, and must be seen at one of those locations.

-Fecal Face NYC Cai Guo-Qiang. Kieth Edmier + Cai Guo-Qiang=Pompeii like exhibition?

-Heather Rowe's new piece at the IMA, opens Feb 19. See her here.
-What I study at work, Mobius Ship (2006) by Tim Hawkinson, who is represented by Ace Gallery. Mobius Ship is on display at the Indianapolis Art Museum. Check out Hawkinson's fingernail bird here
-Doris Salcedo at White Cube. Proof that more than cocaine comes out of Columbia.
-Tyler Cufley's Dumpster is his best work, but it is really really damn good.
-Kim Foster Gallery. Ant colony casts?! Painting with mushroom spores? Jim Toia and Cai Guo-Qiang need to meet. Leaving art up to chance always intrigues me, but never sustains me...