OC Art Blog

"Iron John" transforms Fullerton

Fullerton, CA    Last night, on Saturday evening I found myself walking into some sort of Wonderland that seemed as if it were on the other side of the looking glass...

A living room fit for a wizard... a giant chandelier with flickering candle-light hung in the center of this small alternate universe I had stumbled upon... Plush and ornate couches invited me to sit in front of a large fireplace with fluttering flames, falsely warming the room while I take a gander at beautifully rendered and creatively re-imagined illustrations and read the classic fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm... 

Portraits of creatures covered the walls with decorative ornament enhancing my intrigue... I felt like I was 11 years old again, standing in the fairy tale world that I so desperately wanted to escape to.

...This transformed space was the East Gallery at CalState Fullerton's campus. The imaginative master of this unique experience was Jacob Romeo Lecuyer. With the help of his partner and wife, Renee Rose-Perry, Romeo turned an M.A. exhibition and a book preview into an imaginative realm for people to escape to in an originally white cube gallery space. The contemporary art world rarely allows such classic creativity and artistry to take such power over a space, but the new interpretations of the classic fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm by Romeo lend for nostalgia and passionate thought as the viewer moves through this transformed space. 

Romeo is a witty and fascinating character on his own, so it is no surprise to me that he is able to be so clever and creative with this small space. Examining this artist I noticed a collection of accessories that re-appropriate already existing gadgets into personally helpful devices. His cell phone sits attached to his belt with the help of a crafted velcro device that also houses his blue tooth ear piece. This strange inventiveness and craft completely parallel his art. His art re-appropriates characters and concepts that we can already recognize and turns them into something new, interesting, and provocative.

An M.F.A. student in CalState Fullerton's Illustration program, you can peer into his glass-walled studio space at Grand Central Art Center, and see what other crafty devices and artworks he is dreaming up next.

*Iron John is up til March 25th, 2011. More info at www.jacobromeo.com

Evan A. Senn, contributing writer for OCArtBlog, founder of RARW and www.rarwart.com

Economics of Contemporary Art

Richard Morrison from The Times (London) finds this book gripping. . .
I'm not sure how gripped I was by the marketing strategies and branding, but it is pretty entertaining.  

For those of you out there that cannot come to terms with the astronomical prices that Contemporary Art commands, this is the book for you.

Don Thompson does a good job at giving the reader an overview of how auction houses, art dealers, collectors, and museum curators each play an economic role in the pricing of artworks.

-Joanna

Grand Central Press- NY Times!

Congrats to Grand Central Art Center and their art book publishing effort! The Original Art of Basil Wolverton co-published by Grand Central Press made the NY Times Book Reviews. That book and many other great books can be had at their online store. Thanks C-Monster.

Monocle

I first picked up a copy of Monocle at the newsstand in South Coast Plaza a few months back and was impressed right away. For those interested in art, design, culture, business with an international focus you can't go wrong with this fairly new magazine. And as someone who still prefers a newspaper or magazine to the Internet I'm happy to support the new endeavor. Although the $150 subscription rate was a first. For those that don't want to fork over the steep subscription rate there's always your local newsstand or their informative website.

Gordy Grundy Book Release

  Hey folks, Gordy Grundy has offered all the readers of the OC Art Blog a free e-copy of his new book Artist's Pants. Just head over here to pick up your copy. As a regular reader of his Genuflect column I'm sure you wont be disappointed. Thanks Gordy!

Book Signing This Sunday

Gustavo Arellano gives us a heads-up in the current issue of OC Weekly about an important book signing coming up.

Brian Doan will sign copies of his photo book The Forgotten Ones this Sunday in Westminster.

For those that don't know OC has the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam and The Office is located about two miles from Little Saigon.

Details:

THE FORGOTTEN ONES: A PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE LAST VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN THE PHILIPPINES BY BRIAN DOAN. PAPERBACK, 110 PAGES, $24.95. AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.THEFORGOTTENONES.ORG; DOAN SIGNs COPIES OF HIS BOOK AT THE NGUOI VIET NEWS COMMUNITY ROOM, 14771 MORAN ST., WESTMINSTER, (714) 891-8172. SUN., 3-5:30 P.M. FREE.

Stick Up New York

Courtesy Stick Up New York. Via FF. Take a look, book is due this month.

Buy This Book

Because I'm partial to Mr. Baldessari and his great work. Go buy this book:

YOURS IN FOOD, JOHN BALDESSARI

A BLIND SPOT BOOK

WITH MEDITATIONS ON EATING BY PAUL AUSTER,

DAVID BYRNE, DAVE EGGERS, DAVID GILBERT,

TIM GRIFFIN, ANDY GRUNDBERG, JOHN HASKELL,

MICHAEL MORE, GLENN O'BRIEN, FRANCINE PROSE,

PETER SCHJELDAHL, AND LYNNE TILLMANN