Friday, November 6, 2009

*Everyday Chatter

"The New Museum...is just a showcase for art bought during the luxury boom, and serves to connect the luxury shopping mall of Soho, the new luxury condos on the Lower East Side, and the luxury hotels further up Bowery--helping turn yet another swath of NYC into a playground for aristocrats." [Restless]

Also, the New Museum Store sells this item--"as a commentary and memorial to Ramone’s disappearing punk rock counterculture." It sells for $250:


Art D'Lugoff, Village royalty, dead at 85. [VV]

Just finished reading Paul Auster's new novel, Invisible. Highly recommend it. Here's an interview with the author at HuffPo.

Wall Street bankers get the swine flu vaccine before the city's poor schlubs. [Gothamist]

Mars Bar bankers get vandalized. [EVG]

Taking a long walk across the city with a waitress from Greenpoint. [NYT]

How Rev. Billy almost, sort of, became the mayor. [LM]

16 comments:

Bowery Boogie said...

only $250?
gabba gabba hey

EV Grieve said...

$250? Are you fucking kidding me?

Jeremiah Moss said...

Alex got it right over at FP. not so very punk rock. and i wonder, is it supposed to be an apology for what's happened to CBGB and the Bowery? that's an expensive "sorry."

BOWERY REVIEW said...

Just another Lamprey. I think this is another example of what I would call Lampreyism

esquared™ said...

we have to pay for their apology?

Anonymous said...

punk rock died in the late 70s. joey ramone and the ramones always sucked.

Filmatix said...

the invasion of the bland moneyed classes might've killed CB's, but will never kill the memories of everyone who's lived through their own punk, hardcore, and hip hop coming of age in NYC

the Ramones ruled and still do

also, the NY times pictorial essay with the walking waitress was really great. I grew up in NY for about 26 of my years, now living in my native Poland, and it is little things like that that might sway me to come back.

It's like the two are the divergent poles, and the fight for this 3rd (GAH) Bloomberg term is going to be which one people fight for

This blog....Man.... Thanks for doin' what you're doin', JM

Anonymous said...

that auster shit is not rockin dun. book of illusions is toy. dun is too concerned w/ puttin the words on the pages. he doesn't get the 'puters 'putin (literally, he still uses a typewriter). talkin bout turnin a "fresh verso" dun Word has endless page dun. put the pen down pick up a spray can dun.

Anonymous said...

250 dollar sorry we're closed jawns aint punk rock,

but 10000 dollar sorry we're closed jawns are, AKA the vivienne westwood corrollary

Anonymous said...

Oh, please, you guys. There are few things less interesting than pointing to something and saying, "but is it art?" Yes, the Soho shopping mall is disgusting. But bringing art into it -- whether or not you think something is "art" or not -- is just anti-intellectual stupidity. It's the type of attitude that belongs back in Toledo, which is probably where you came from before you got here in 1992. You know, back in the good old days, right? Back in the good, ol' original New York days. Nothing like now. You're New Yorker! You left Toledo more than 10 years ago!

I'm getting sick of this blog. It's starting to be plain old anti-everything. And that gets tiresome. Of course, it's your blog, so do what you like, but if you'd like some unsolicited advice, I'd suggest you lay off the shtick a bit.

Bryan said...

I don't know. The Joey Ramone thing is kind of dada, and even dada artists more often than not ask to get paid for what they do -- sometimes more than many people think the shit is worth. Asking a bold price for it is kind of what makes it art. Then again, they could just be catering to a market for high rollers who want to seem ironically in love with the neighborhood they're destroying. In that case, maybe it's still a good plan to bilk them. What I really want to know is -- did the artist have to pay a licensing fee for using Joey's name?

Now, the punk thing to do would be to take what's basically a good idea and sell it on homemade silkscreened tshirts on the street outside the museum for cost.

Although most of what's at the New Museum has been kind of bland, especially compared to the space it's in, I kind of appreciate the new galleries/museum scene on the LES. Chelsea was kind of starting to feel like, well, like SoHo. Those nasty aluminum condos? The high-end retail? Kind of killed the fun of looking at art there.

And when hasn't NY's art scene priced most stuff out of common people's reach? Doesn't mean you can't enjoy looking at it.

That said, I think the anonymous whiners should go start their own blogs if they're tired of reading this one. I'm with Poland: I look forward to reading what's here every day, twice a day. Thanks for keeping it up, Jeremiah.

wester said...

soho shoppin mall sux, doesnt have a food court. herald sq food courts are tops dun.

wester said...

btw jeremiah i saw u at the project number 9/8b whatever they call it the new men's store it was either u or one of ur agents i shoulda known it was u at the time w/ the vitriol u or ur agent was talkin bout how shops on orchard been changing, skulls and animal heads and shit (was that a shot at The Cast? those guys are aight). proj no 8 ppl are aight too don't knock it cuz it's pricey when duns are alright.

Jeremiah Moss said...

Philip & Bryan, thanks for "having my back," as they say.

i can't comment on the contents of the New Museum, since i've never gotten past the lobby--the first quote is from another blog. and i'm all for making money, especially for artists, who need it.

i think it's the irony of the art piece that gets me, the claim that it's an homage to punk-rock counterculture of the former Bowery, when it very much belongs to the culture that replaced that culture.

it's Varvatos selling $700 used Blondie T's in the former CBGB.

this art piece would have a more visceral impact had it been graffiti on the street. although, really, the responses it's getting are pretty visceral, so...

Anonymous said...

I find is weird that so many people that read this blog are sick of it. When Im sick of something I stop reading it.
Maybe Mayor Buy the Race, Change Term Limits Mike pays people to discredit people that speak against him. Like he paid all the annoying people handing out flyers on Election Day. (I just said "sell-out" as I walked past them).
If not, stop reading-and annoying the people that do like JVNY, like me.

wester said...

man you a crybaby. when u are sick of something you just let it rock? but at the same time it's cool for this blog to complain?