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Who is Vince Staples? Star of West Coast Hip Hop

Vince Staples, the young and talented American rapper and singer, has been making waves in the music industry with his unique style and thought-provoking lyrics. Born Vincent Jamal Staples on July 2, 1993, in Compton, California, he later moved to North Long Beach to escape the high crime rates of his hometown. Growing up in poverty, Staples found solace in music and sports, ultimately paving the way for his successful career in the entertainment industry.

Staples had a challenging upbringing, but he found refuge in academics and extracurricular activities. He attended Optimal Christian Academy during his formative years, where he had a positive and influential experience. However, he moved around frequently, attending several high schools in different cities, such as Jordan High School in Long Beach, Mayfair High School in Lakewood, and Esperanza High School in Anaheim. Staples’ involvement with street gangs during his childhood is well-known, but he has since become an advocate against the dangers of the gang lifestyle, particularly in his community.

Staples’ journey in the music industry began when he caught the attention of Dijon “LaVish” Samo and Chuck Wun. Through LaVish, he was introduced to the members of the California-based alternative hip hop collective Odd Future, including Syd tha Kyd, Mike G, and Earl Sweatshirt. Although he had not initially planned on becoming a rapper, Staples made guest appearances on their tracks, most notably “epaR” from Earl Sweatshirt’s 2010 mixtape, “Earl.” These collaborations led to his decision to pursue a career in rap.

In 2011, Staples released his official debut mixtape, “Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1,” which received positive reviews. He continued to make waves in the industry by collaborating with fellow rapper Mac Miller on the mixtape “Stolen Youth” in 2013. The project showcased Staples’ unique style and solidified his place in the hip hop community. Following the success of “Stolen Youth,” he signed with No I.D.’s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings, to release his debut extended play, “Hell Can Wait,” in 2014.

Staples’ breakthrough came with the release of his debut studio album, “Summertime ’06,” in 2015. The album received critical acclaim and showcased his storytelling abilities and introspective lyrics. It featured the platinum-certified single “Norf Norf,” which propelled him into the mainstream and solidified his position as one of the most promising artists of his generation. The album’s success led to Staples being included in the prestigious XXL Freshman Class of 2015, alongside other up-and-coming rappers.

Throughout his career, Staples has continued to evolve as an artist and experiment with different styles and genres. His second studio album, “Big Fish Theory,” released in 2017, showcased his willingness to push boundaries and incorporate avant-garde, dance, and electronic influences into his music. The album received widespread critical acclaim and further solidified his reputation as an innovative and boundary-pushing artist.

In 2018, Staples released his third studio album, “FM!,” which took the form of a radio station takeover. The album, produced primarily by Kenny Beats, featured recurring skits hosted by renowned Los Angeles radio host Big Boy. Staples’ ability to seamlessly blend storytelling, social commentary, and infectious beats earned him critical acclaim once again.

In 2021, Staples released his self-titled fourth studio album, “Vince Staples.” The album showcased his growth as an artist and further solidified his place in the music industry. Staples’ introspective lyrics and impeccable storytelling abilities were once again on display, earning him widespread praise from both critics and fans alike.

Following the success of his self-titled album, Staples released “Ramona Park Broke My Heart” in 2022. The album, released on Motown Records, further showcased his versatility and artistry, with collaborations with artists like Lil Baby, Ty Dolla Sign, and Mustard. Staples’ ability to continually push boundaries and deliver thought-provoking music has positioned him as one of the most exciting and influential artists in the industry.

In addition to his music career, Staples has ventured into other creative avenues. He has acted in films such as “Dope” and “White Men Can’t Jump,” as well as television shows like “Abbott Elementary” and “American Dad!” Staples has also lent his voice to animated series like “Lazor Wulf” and “Mutafukaz.” His talent extends beyond entertainment, as he has also been a spokesperson and brand ambassador for Sprite since 2015.

Staples has also been involved in philanthropy, supporting programs that benefit young people in his community. He assisted in establishing a YMCA program that teaches graphic design, 3D printing, product design, music production, and filmmaking to young students. Staples’ dedication to giving back to his community and using his platform to inspire and educate others is a testament to his character and values.

Discography and Musical Achievements

Throughout his career, Staples has released several highly acclaimed albums, mixtapes, and extended plays. His discography includes:

“Summertime ’06” (2015)“Big Fish Theory” (2017)“FM!” (2018)“Vince Staples” (2021)“Ramona Park Broke My Heart” (2022)

Staples’ musical achievements include multiple award nominations and wins. Notably, he won the Impact Track award at the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2014 for his collaboration with Common on the track “Kingdom.” His contributions to the soundtrack of the film “Creed” also earned him a nomination for Best Original or Adapted Song at the Black Reel Awards in 2016.

As Vince Staples continues to evolve as an artist and push the boundaries of hip hop, his impact on the music industry is undeniable. With each project, he showcases his unique perspective and ability to captivate listeners with his storytelling prowess. Staples’ commitment to authenticity, artistic growth, and social commentary sets him apart from his peers and solidifies his place as a rising star in West Coast hip hop.

As fans eagerly anticipate future releases and collaborations, one thing is certain – Vince Staples will continue to captivate audiences with his thought-provoking lyrics, innovative soundscapes, and unwavering commitment to his craft.

By Andy Witchger – Vince Staples – First Avenue – Rap – Minnesota – Def Jam – Big Fish Theory, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

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Chuck Close – Red, Yellow and Blue: The Last Paintings – Pace Gallery New York

New York – Pace is pleased to present an exhibition of the last paintings of Chuck Close at its 510 West 25th Street gallery in New York from February 23 to April 13, 2024. The gallery’s first presentation dedicated to the artist’s work since his death in 2021, this show will feature a selection of paintings, photographs, and works on paper—most of which have never been exhibited before—that reflect Close’s significant contributions to the history of art. Since it began representing Close in 1977, Pace has exhibited each new body of his work, and this upcoming presentation will complete that cycle.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring a previously unpublished 2018 interview between Close and the artist Cindy Sherman—originally commissioned by The Brooklyn Rail—as well as a new critical essay by Carter Ratcliff, which considers Close’s final works in depth. These texts will appear alongside an essay by Barbara Knappmeyer that examines the artist’s renderings of the face in the context of facial recognition technology.

Since the 1970s, Close has been known for his innovative approach to conceptual portraiture, systematically transposing his subjects’ likenesses from photographs into gridded paintings. Over the course of five decades, his work challenged conventional modes of representation across a wide range of media, including various forms of painting, printmaking, drawing, collage, daguerreotypes, Polaroid photography, and tapestry. The artist posed a radical proposition with his approach to painting, going against the grain of art world trends during the late 1960s and 1970s, when Minimalism, abstraction, and seriality were dominant, and portraiture and photorealism were largely overlooked.

Pace’s upcoming exhibition will spotlight Close’s final body of paintings, which includes works that have never been publicly exhibited. These full-color portraits and self-portraits employ a palette of only three colors: red, yellow, and blue. Layering transparent glazes of paint, Close created an effect of abstract likeness entirely different from that of his previous work. The complex color relationships that unfold in these paintings are visible at the bleeding edges of each square within the grid, where the ragged ends of each individual color are visible. Meditating on the power of color itself, Close’s final works suggest the constructive aesthetics of Impressionism, where form is built up through a chromatic architecture of brushstrokes. Appearing more abstract than representational to the human eye, the likenesses in these portraits come into greater focus when viewed from a distance or through the lens of a camera, an act of transfiguration that speaks to the artist’s interest in modes of perception and information processing.

Close realized these formal achievements in his last works while grappling with long-term health issues precipitated by a spinal aneurysm that he suffered in 1988 at the age of 48. Having lost the use of his arms and legs as a result of the aneurysm, Close was told by doctors that he would never be able to paint again. Through a grueling process of rehabilitation, he eventually regained his ability to paint by using a brush-holding device strapped to his wrists and forearms. Working through this disability for the rest of his life, he was forced to teach himself how to paint in an entirely new way, reinventing his approach to the medium in the middle of his career. In his final works, Close continued to push against the constraints of his physical disability to reinvent his own painterly language once again.

Even prior to his aneurysm, however, Close struggled with other disabilities. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, he used art as a means of navigating severe dyslexia and prosopagnosia, or face blindness. Having studied at the University of Washington, Yale, and the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, he began teaching at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst—where he would present his first solo exhibition—in the mid-1960s.

Upon relocating to New York, the artist continued to explore new modes of realism, using an airbrush to paint black- and-white, highly detailed photographic portraits of himself, his family, and his friends onto large-scale canvases, a practice he would continue for the rest of his career.

Close began in the late 1970s to make use of a grid system based on a physical relationship to his support. The resulting works read like pixelated mosaics wherein the viewer deciphers a unified image within juxtaposed colors, shapes, lines, and fingerprints. The artist’s first retrospective, titled Close Portraits, was organized by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1980. That show traveled to the St. Louis Art Museum in Missouri and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago before closing at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. In the early 1990s, he began experimenting with portraiture through the production of silk tapestries and, in 2003, he furthered this investigation, creating editions of large-scale Jacquard tapestry portraits. In 1998, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented a full-scale retrospective of Close’s career that included more than 90 paintings, drawings, and photographs, cementing his status as one of the most influential artists of his generation.

Chuck Close’s (b. 1940, Monroe, Washington; d. 2021, New York) commitment to process and media characterized his approach to portraiture. He began creating portraits based on photographs in the late 1960s, using a grid to map each facial detail, which he would then recreate in exacting detail through painting. Beginning in the late 1970s, Close began to diverge from his highly detailed approach, instead constructing images that are still organized by a grid, but with layers of autonomous shapes and colors that cohere into his subject’s face when viewed from a distance. Close constantly revitalized his practice through varied media and modes of representation and his oeuvre encompassed many modes of art-making, including painting, printmaking, drawing, collage, daguerreotype and Polaroid photography, mosaic, and tapestries.

Pace is a leading international art gallery representing some of the most influential contemporary artists and estates from the past century, holding decades-long relationships with Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Barbara Hepworth, Agnes Martin, Louise Nevelson, and Mark Rothko. Pace enjoys a unique U.S. heritage spanning East and West coasts through its early support of artists central to the Abstract Expressionist and Light and Space movements.

Since its founding by Arne Glimcher in 1960, Pace has developed a distinguished legacy as an artist-first gallery that mounts seminal historical and contemporary exhibitions. Under the current leadership of CEO Marc Glimcher, Pace continues to support its artists and share their visionary work with audiences worldwide by remaining at the forefront of innovation. Now in its seventh decade, the gallery advances its mission through a robust global program— comprising exhibitions, artist projects, public installations, institutional collaborations, performances, and interdisciplinary projects. Pace has a legacy in art bookmaking and has published over five hundred titles in close collaboration with artists, with a focus on original scholarship and on introducing new voices to the art historical canon.

Today, Pace has seven locations worldwide, including European footholds in London and Geneva as well as Berlin, where the gallery established an office in 2023. Pace maintains two galleries in New York—its headquarters at 540 West 25th Street, which welcomed almost 120,000 visitors and programmed 20 shows in its first six months, and an adjacent 8,000 sq. ft. exhibition space at 510 West 25th Street. Pace’s long and pioneering history in California includes a gallery in Palo Alto, which was open from 2016 to 2022. Pace’s engagement with Silicon Valley’s technology industry has had a lasting impact on the gallery at a global level, accelerating its initiatives connecting art and technology as well as its work with experiential artists. Pace consolidated its West Coast activity through its

flagship in Los Angeles, which opened in 2022. Pace was one of the first international galleries to establish outposts in Asia, where it operates permanent gallery spaces in Hong Kong and Seoul, along with an office and viewing room in Beijing. In spring 2024, Pace will open its first gallery space in Japan in Tokyo’s new Azabudai Hills development.

Chuck Close – Red, Yellow and Blue: The Last Paintings – Pace Gallery New York

Start Date: February 23
End Date: April 13

Venue: Pace Gallery 510 West 25th Street NY
Address: 540 W 25th St,, New York, NY, 10001, United States

View this event

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Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All – A Comedy Special on Netflix

Taylor Tomlinson is a woman who wants it all and has had, as she confesses, a great year, an impressive year professionally that has now led her to a Netflix special of stand-up.

A complete success, no doubt, but does she really have it all? The lovely Taylor Tomlinson confesses a whole festival of embarrassing blunders starting with an auction for Hugh Jackman’s gloves, which (according to her) she spent the money on for this program.

A woman who knows how to make the most of an anecdote and exude all the charm she has, making the audience in Washington D.C. adore her, because this comedian knows how to give just the right touch of boldness to, without seeming prudish at all, come across as one of those sweet and friendly women who, with a hint of daring, make life more fun for everyone.

A special that includes her thoughts on motherhood, dating apps, her opinions on TikTok, and a few more that she knows how to deliver with naturalness and, of course, hilarity.

Taylor Tomlinson has that virtue that makes a comedian great: she knows how to be liked by all kinds of audiences, because she doesn’t make fun of anyone except herself, putting herself in the center and confessing to being a real person who can’t seem to stop messing up.

The perfect identification with the audience, with a natural and friendly performance that makes this “Taylor Tomlinson” a highly recommended stand-up.

Enjoy it.

Where to Watch “Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All”

Netflix

About Taylor Tomlinson

In the world of stand-up comedy, few rising stars have made as big of an impact as Taylor Tomlinson. With her quick wit, relatable humor, and unique perspective on everyday life, Tomlinson has captured the hearts of audiences around the world. From her early days performing in church basements to her current role as the host of CBS’ late-night show “After Midnight,” Tomlinson’s journey to success has been nothing short of remarkable. Read more

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Kill Me If You Dare (2024) – Netflix Film: A dark comedy lacking (a lot) of darkness

Kill Me If You Dare is a series directed by Filip Zylber and written by Hanna Węsierska. It stars Weronika Książkiewicz, Mateusz Banasiuk, and Agneska Więdłocha. You can watch it on Netflix starting February 13.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, as everyone knows. Netflix is going crazy for this day, and since the day before they have been preparing a special anniversary, with this movie from Poland, “Kill Me If You Dare” that left us with a taste of, let’s be honest, very little.

“Kill Me If You Dare” is a comedy that didn’t make us laugh much, with a rather innocent, superficial and uncreative humor about a not-so-new idea in a rather unoriginal plot.

It’s good in technical and production aspects, with good photography quality, but in terms of creativity, it’s a movie that doesn’t manage to stand out in its originality or performances.

However, it’s in line with Polish productions, which seem to get a lot of views with little risk. So, without a doubt, these productions have their audience.

Plot

A couple plays the lottery and wins a prize, which leads them to consider each other’s death to keep the prize. Meanwhile, their respective “best friends” seem very interested in getting their hands on the prize.

Movie review

Take “Kill Me If You Dare” and try to look on the bright side: it’s a comedy that, without offending anyone, is taken lightly and, without committing or taking risks, doesn’t demand too much from the viewer. One of those movies that can be watched while doing something else, in the afternoon, with a simple plot that turns dark humor into touches of humor for (almost) the whole family.

The plot constantly relies on comedy clichés, even with the “funny” friends of the couple, who are partly the ones who keep the attention and have some dialogue lines with sparks.

A movie that borders on a retro style, a sort of “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944), from which we would have taken away the two charming old ladies and given it a facelift to try to turn it into a family movie with dark humor, a combination that is almost impossible, and even more with this result.

Our Opinion

A movie that lacks the spark and daring of this type of film. Good production in technical aspects, with good photography, but little risk in a script that, without betting on anything, simply meets the objectives of the production company without thinking (barely) about the viewer. A comedy as easy to watch as it is to forget.

Where to Watch “Kill Me If You Dare”

Netflix

The CastWeronika KsiążkiewiczAgnieszka WiędłochaMateusz BanasiukPiotr Rogucki

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“Sunderland ‘Til I Die” Season 3 – Netflix Docuseries: another year following Sunderland A.F.C.

For those of you who, like me, believe that football is more than just a sport, this docuseries titled “Sunderland ‘Til I Die” will be a delight. The idea is similar to other Netflix docuseries: a season following a club and covering all possible perspectives, from the fans, to the managers, to the coach, and of course, the players.

Yes, we’ve seen it before with NASCAR and also in tennis, but with this “Sunderland ‘Til I Die” we enter the world of football, perhaps the sport with the most fans worldwide, and with a special or very special team, one that every fan knows, even more than their own city: Sunderland, a team from the Premier League that, after some highly publicized sporting failures, found themselves relegated to lower English leagues. Do you want to feel the excitement and devotion for football from an entire city again? Don’t miss “Sunderland ‘Til I Die”.

About the docuseries

A docuseries that elevates football to an epic level that, if you’re not a fan, you may not understand. But it’s clearly stated by a fan from the city: in this city, the highest salaries in the UK are not paid and there aren’t many joys, except for the weekly match and watching their team, Sunderland.

And that’s because Sunderland is a special team from a special city. The docuseries has a great advantage: the executives have collaborated and allowed Netflix’s cameras to follow them, providing valuable information about how a club works behind the scenes, beyond the goals and the joys and disappointments on the field. Because, apart from the ball going into the net, there are millions of pounds at play, and a club like Sunderland has to be profitable.

In the first two seasons, it mainly showed how they managed to turn this team into a club without losses, a business with high expenses and salaries, and how to deal with this situation in a competition that was no longer the Premier League.

On the other side, the city and its people, the fans, the true owners of the club, and those who put their hopes into the team’s success every week. We enter their lives and their aspirations, we see them vibrate and suffer as only a football fan can understand, no matter how strange it may seem.

Because this sport, whether we understand it or not, is almost a religion for many, a way of life, and a way to live every week in a 90-minute match under the whims of, at times, a capricious ball that goes in or out. To change lives forever.

A documentary that goes beyond football and with which we can understand why football is much more than just a sport.

Enjoy it.

Where to Watch “Sunderland ‘Til I Die”

Netflix

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Moataz Nasr: Bottle Neck – Galleria Continua, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Dubai

GALLERIA CONTINUA / DUBAI is delighted to present Moataz Nasr’s highly anticipated solo exhibition Bottle Neck, featuring both iconic and new productions by the Egyptian artist. The exhibition will take place from 29 February to 22 April 2024 at the esteemed Burj Al Arab Jumeirah in Dubai.

Moataz Nasr’s works explore the intersection of tradition and globalization, questioning the impact of political and economic development within their context. His art seeks to encourage dialogue and overcome cultural and geographical boundaries by using artistic practice as a tool and language. Nasr’s work brings together different languages to explore the contradictions of globalization, past and present, East and West, and the impact of political and economic choices on people.

The exhibition title Bottle Neck is a metaphorical expression that signifies a restriction that slows things down, whether it’s real or virtual. Nasr uses this title to reflect on the overload of information, news, and events that we experience daily, which creates a significant blockage in our societies and ultimately affects our lives. The works on display aim to highlight this situation and its consequences,  sparking  a  critical  reflection on our current reality.

One of the exhibition’s centerpieces is a structure called Barzakh reminiscent of the first shelters that humans built to protect themselves. The work is made with wooden shovels that resemble those used to put bread in public ovens and the paddles of ancient and contemporary migrant boats. These elements represent the fundamental things we need as human beings poetically and metaphorically : bread, knowledge, and courage to provide ourselves with shelter. The title explores the theme of migration, a topic that has become increasingly relevant worldwide.

In Mac Gate, Nasr explores the Western world’s influence on the Middle East, specifically the impact of consumerism on traditional culture. Contradictions combines an unmistakable sign of the Western consumerist world, Coca-Cola, with the ancient and artisanal technique of carpet weaving. The result is a thought-provoking commentary on the cultural exchange between different societies.

Another work, Shattered Glass, is a bas-relief that unites the Maghreb states to the Middle East, emphasizing the shared history and similar culture based on the same religion. However, the relief is made of shattered glass, showing how everything is cracking and changing, revealing a reality that is not exactly that of a cohesive community with a common religion. The work encourages a reflection on the complexity of cultural and religious identities.

Even in the abstract work Untitled, Nasr reflects on conflicts, geopolitical changes, and borders through signs and colors, inspired by geography and history. The work invites the viewer to explore their own interpretation of the piece and the themes it evokes.

The exhibition’s final work, Scarab II, re-proposes the symbol of the scarab, which was synonymous with resurrection in ancient Egypt, drawn with matches, signifying that the country’s immobile traditionality can ignite at any moment. The work reflects Nasr’s 40 years of experience as an artist in the international art community, starting from his own context to open up to the world and spark a critical conversation.

Bottle Neck is a thought-provoking exhibition that invites the viewer to reflect on crucial issues such as migration, globalization, and cultural exchange. Nasr’s works encourage dialogue and critical reflection on the current state of our society, making it an unmissable event for art enthusiasts and critical thinkers alike.

About the artist :

Moataz Nasr (Alexandria, Egypt, 1961) is today one of the most interesting figures to emerge from the context of contemporary Egyptian art.

Nasr gained local recognition marked by many awards before breaking into the International art scene in 2001, notably winning the Grand Prix at the 8th International Cairo Biennial.

Since then, he has participated in large international exhibitions like the Venice, Seoul, Sao Paulo, and Bogota Biennials. Today he is considered one of the greatest representatives of pan-Arab contemporary art.

In 2017, he was selected to represent Egypt during the 57th Venice Biennale.

Among the most recent solo shows are, in 2019 The Liminal Space, in Castel del Monte, Andria, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, and Paradise Lost in Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, curated by Simon Njami. In 2021 Moataz Nasr won the AVIFF-Art Film Festival Cannes Award with the original film The Mountain.

Preferably using very simple expressive tools Nasr always develops in his works a refined combination of political or social demands, references to traditional materials from the Arab world and sudden poetic openings full of emotion.

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Plateup! Reaches 1.5 Million Steam Copies Sold

Bristol,  United Kingdom — February 8, 2024 | Yogscast Games and It’s happening are delighted to share news of hitting an all-new milestone as co-op cooking roguelike, PlateUp!, reaches an astounding 1.5 million Steam copies sold – a week before it lands on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One and on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Since It’s happening’s debut title launched on PC in 2022, the game has gone on to achieve incredible popularity, boasting overwhelmingly positive feedback on Steam, which it has proudly maintained since launch. These triumphs have since seen It’s happening expand to a team of two, and they are thrilled to celebrate such a lofty milestone. 

PlateUp! began as a Covid-19 passion project inspired by a myriad of co-op titles that the initial solo developer, Alastair Janse van Rensburg, played during lockdown. The commercial success it has since gone on to achieve has far surpassed all expectations, with Alastair completely dumbfounded upon receiving his first 1 million in royalties just one month after the game’s launch. 

“I’m absolutely stunned that what started out as a labour of love project to enjoy with my friends has turned into such a huge global hit,” says Alastair Janse van Rensburg, creator, PlateUp! “It’s been genuinely humbling seeing such a consistent overwhelmingly positive reaction from PC players since launch. I cannot wait to welcome console players into the PlateUp! universe – and promise you there is still a lot more good stuff to come.”

An acclaimed Steam hit, PlateUp! is now a mere week away from launching console-wide, bringing all manner of culinary chaos to PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch on February 15. It will see a new wave of players — spatulas at the ready — managing restaurants of their very own, while also opening up all-new opportunities for couch co-op and online play. 

For more on PlateUp!, you can visit Steam or the official website. PlateUp! is also available to pre-order now and is available from a number of retailers worldwide. Details about pre-orders in Europe can be found on the Numskull Games homepage. In North America the game can be pre-ordered from Amazon US, Best Buy, Gamestop and other popular retailers.

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Tate Modern presents YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND | London

Tate Modern will present the UK’s largest exhibition celebrating the ground-breaking and influential work of artist and activist Yoko Ono (b.1933, Tokyo). Ono is a trailblazer of early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance, a celebrated musician, and a formidable campaigner for world peace. Spanning seven decades of the artist’s powerful, multidisciplinary practice from the mid-1950s to now, YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND will trace the development of her innovative work and its enduring impact on contemporary culture. Conceived in close collaboration with Ono’s studio, the exhibition will bring together over 200 works including instruction pieces and scores, installations, films, music and photography, revealing a radical approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment. 

Yoko Ono, Apple, 1966 from Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960-1971, MoMA, NYC, 2015. Photo © Thomas Griesel

Ideas are central to Ono’s art, often expressed in poetic, humorous and profound ways. The exhibition will start by exploring her pivotal role in experimental avant-garde circles in New York and Tokyo, including the development of her ‘instruction pieces’ – written instructions that ask readers to imagine, experience, make or complete the work. Some exist as a single verb such as FLY or TOUCH. Others range from short phrases like ‘Listen to a heartbeat’ and ‘Step in all the puddles in the city’ to tasks for the imagination like ‘Painting to be Constructed in your Head’. Each word or phrase aims to stimulate and unlock the mind of the reader. Previously unseen photographs will show Ono’s first ‘instruction paintings’ at her loft studio 112 Chambers Street in New York – where she and composer La Monte Young hosted experimental concerts and events – and in her first solo exhibition at AG Gallery in 1961. The typescript draft of Ono’s ground-breaking self-published anthology Grapefruit, compiling her instructions written between 1953 and 1964, will be displayed in the UK for the first time. Visitors will be invited to activate Ono’s instructions, concealing themselves in the interactive work Bag Piece 1964 – first performed by Ono in Kyoto, in the same concert in which she performed her iconic work Cut Piece 1964 – and bringing their shadows together in Shadow Piece 1963.

Yoko Ono, Sky TV 1966/2014. Courtesy the artist. Installation view courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Photo © Cathy Carver.

The heart of the exhibition will chart Ono’s radical works created during her five-year stay in London from 1966. Here she became embedded within a countercultural network of artists, musicians and writers, meeting her future husband and longtime collaborator John Lennon. Key installations from Ono’s influential exhibitions at Indica and Lisson Gallery will feature, including Apple 1966and the poignant installation of halved domestic objects Half-A-Room 1967. Ono’s banned Film No. 4 (Bottoms) 1966-7 which she created as a ‘petition for peace’ will be displayed alongside material from her influential talk at the Destruction In Art Symposium, in which she described the fundamental aspects of her participatory art: event-based; engaged with the everyday; personal; partial or presented as unfinished; a catalyst to creative transformation; and existing within the realm of the imagination. Visitors will be able to participate in White Chess Set – a game featuring only white chess pieces and a board of white squares, with the instruction ‘play as long as you can remember where all your pieces are’ – a work first realised in 1966 that demonstrates Ono’s anti-war stance.

Yoko Ono, PEACE is POWER, 2017, installed at ‘Yoko Ono: The Learning Garden of Freedom’ at Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto, 2020. Photo © Filipe Braga

Key themes that recur throughout Ono’s work will be explored across decades and mediums. This includes the ‘sky’ which appears repeatedly as a metaphor for peace, freedom and limitlessness. As a child fleeing Tokyo during World War II, it was in the constant presence of the sky that Ono found solace and refuge. It appears in the instruction piece Painting to See the Skies 1961, the 1966 installation SKY TV, broadcasting a live video feed of the sky above Tate Modern, and the moving participatory work Helmets (Pieces of Sky), first realised 2001, inviting visitors to take away their own puzzle-piece of the sky. The artist’s commitment to feminism will be illustrated by key films including FLY 1970-1, in which a fly crawls over a naked woman’s body while Ono’s vocals chart its journey, and Freedom 1970, depicting Ono as she attempts and fails to break free from her bra. In a section devoted to Ono’s music, feminist anthems such as Sisters O Sisters 1972, Woman Power 1973 and Rising 1995 embolden women to build a new world, have courage and rage, amplifying Ono’s works that denounce violence against women.  

Yoko Ono with Glass Hammer 1967 from HALF-A-WIND SHOW, Lisson Gallery, London, 1967. Photo © Clay Perry

Ono has increasingly used her art and global media platform to advocate for peace and humanitarian campaigns, initially collaborating with her late husband John Lennon. Acorns for Peace 1969 saw Ono and Lennon send acorns to world leaders, while the billboard campaign ‘WAR IS OVER!’ (if you want it) 1969 used the language of advertising to spread a message of peace. The film BED PEACE 1969 documents the second of the couple’s infamous ‘bed-in’ events staged in Amsterdam and Montreal, during which they spoke with the world’s media to promote world peace amid the Vietnam War. Tate Modern will also stage Ono’s recent project Add Colour (Refugee Boat), first activated in 2016, inviting visitors to add paint to white gallery walls and a white boat while reflecting on urgent issues of crisis and displacement.  

The exhibition will culminate in a new iteration of Ono’s participatory installation My Mommy Is Beautiful, first realised 2004, featuring a 15-metre-long wall of canvases to which visitors can attach photographs of their mother and share personal messages. Moving beyond the exhibition space, Ono’s work will also extend across Tate Modern’s building and landscape. Gallery windows overlooking the River Thames will feature the artist’s powerful intervention, PEACE is POWER, first shown 2017, translated into multiple languages, while the interactive artwork Wish Tree, first realised 1996, will greet visitors at the entrance to Tate Modern, inviting passers-by to contribute individual wishes for peace.

Yoko Ono: Music of The Mind – Tate Modern

Start Date: February 15
End Date: September 1

Venue: Tate Modern
Address: Bankside, London, Greater London, SE1 9TG, United Kingdom

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Stephanie Syjuco: Dodge + Burn, a survey exhibition of work from 2004 – present | Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco

San Francisco: Catharine Clark Gallery announces the opening of Stephanie Syjuco: Dodge + Burn, a survey exhibition of over 20 years of work by the acclaimed cross-disciplinary artist. On view March 9 – May 4, 2024, Syjuco’s exhibition encompasses both the North and South galleries as well as the Media Room. Visitors to this presentation will have the opportunity to engage with several important projects originally commissioned by institutions, such as Dodge and Burn (Visible Storage) (2019) and Double Vision (2021), which are being presented on the West Coast for the first time. The gallery hosts an opening reception on Saturday, March 9, 2024, from 1-3pm (remarks at 2pm).

Syjuco’s exhibition also coincides with release of the artist’s first monograph, Stephanie Syjuco: The Unruly Archive, published by Radius Books in Spring 2024 with artwork and texts by Syjuco, and essays by Astria Suparak, Carmen Winant, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Jason Lazarus, LJ Roberts, Minne Atairu, Pio Abad, Savannah Wood, and Wendy Red Star. Syjuco’s monograph is the second title in a new series of publications focused on work by Asian American artists; the gallery will host a special release celebration in May 2024 (details to be announced; pre-order here).

Stephanie Syjuco, Set-Up (The Broncho Buster 2), 2021.

Stephanie Syjuco (b. 1974, Philippines; lives in Oakland, California) works in photography, sculpture, and installation, moving from handmade and craft-inspired mediums to digital editing and archive excavations. Her projects leverage opensource systems, shareware logic, and flows of capital to investigate issues of economies and empire. Recently, she has focused on how photography and image-based processes are implicated in the construction of racialized, exclusionary narratives of American history and citizenship. Syjuco is frequently invited by museums and special collections to respond to materials held within their archives. Stephanie Syjuco: Dodge + Burn features work conceptualized in response to research conducted at the Smithsonian Institutions, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, and the Missouri Historical Society, among other venues.

Her exhibition reflects the breadth of Syjuco’s investigation into the history of image-making and its relationship to the white gaze.

The focal work in the exhibition is Dodge and Burn  (Visible Storage) (2019), a monumental platform-based sculpture first presented at Syjuco’s solo museum exhibition Rogue States at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (also 2019). Conceptualized in dialogue with Syjuco’s platform work (2016) – which debuted in Syjuco’s 2016 solo exhibition of the same name at

Catharine Clark Gallery – Dodge and Burn (Visible Storage) collapses images and objects referencing American colonialist expansion in the Philippines during the early 1900s, as well as contemporary racial politics and historical amnesia. Archival research of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair collides with contemporary protest imagery, political references, and textiles. Chroma key green, traditionally deployed in digital video post-production, is used in intricate handsewn garments, backdrops, and props, including a 19th Century American dress, MAGA hats, tiki torches, and artificial houseplants. The allusion to postproduction and image manipulation is a direct reference to the creation of an American narrative that is itself a problematic construction. Dodge and Burn (Visible Storage) was previously presented in Syjuco’s solo museum exhibitions at the Blaffer Art Museum (The Visible Invisible, 2020) and the MSU Broad Art Museum (Blind Spot, 2023); the gallery exhibition is the first time the work will be presented on the West Coast.

Stephanie Syjuco, detail view of Shutter/Release, 2021.

Stephanie Syjuco: Dodge + Burn features a reimagined presentation of Syjuco’s Double Vision, originally commissioned by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in 2021 and currently on view in the exhibition Cowboy at the MCA Denver. In this installation, Syjuco reconstituted the Western landscape as seen in canvases by the 19th century painters (particularly Charles Russell and Frederic Remington) largely responsible for crafting a perception of the West as a site of open, lustrous expanse. Reflecting on this project, curator Miranda Lash writes: “Syjuco took that context as her starting point and created a vibrant, immersive environment inspired by paintings from the Amon Carter Museum’s collection along with large- scale photographs of bronze sculptures by Frederic Remington from this same era. The photographs include details of the art preparators’ gloves and tools, and collectively speak to the image-making of the institution. The West, Syjuco seems to argue, was invented not only by the artists but also by the structures and systems of the museums that commission, conserve, and collect their work.”1

The exhibition also includes an excerpt of Syjuco’s 2021 project Shutter/Release, originally realized for the traveling museum exhibition Undoing Time: Art and Histories of Incarceration and currently on view in Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. In this series, Syjuco continued to intervene with the photographic archive generated from late 19th and early 20th-century practices of anthropology in the Philippines that characterized indigenous peoples as racially inferior. Some photographs stem from Bilibid Prison in Manila established by the Spanish colonial government in the late 19th- century, an institution maintained during the Japanese Occupation (1942 – 1945) which still imprisons more than 25,000 people since 2017. Curator Matthew Miranda writes that “Syjuco uses the ‘healing brush’ in Photoshop, a function that duplicates the ambient pixels on a point conventionally used for the purposes of ‘retouching’ blemishes and unsightly obstructions. Instead of erasure, she co-opts the photographic tool to remove or ‘liberate’ the pictured bodies from their carceral and colonial environments. The artist mounts the ‘healed’ image on aluminum metal producing spectral traces of silhouettes and uninhabited landscapes destabilizing the perceived fixity of history.” Syjuco writes that “my own body, sitting in the archives, becomes both a temporary shield and a marker of defiance, while at the same time acknowledging that the images still remain.” Join us for an opening reception on Saturday, March 9, 2024, from 1- 3pm (artist’s remarks at 2pm).

Stephanie Syjuco: Dodge + Burn – Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco

Start Date: March 9
End Date: May 4

Venue: Catharine Clark Gallery
Address: 248 Utah St,, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States

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The post Stephanie Syjuco: Dodge + Burn, a survey exhibition of work from 2004 – present | Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco appeared first on Martin Cid Magazine.

Les Savy Fav are back with the new track “Legendary Tippers” | Check out the video and see their upcoming tour dates!

Les Savy Fav are finally back with their first new music in 14 years, a party bop called “Legendary Tippers,” which arrives alongside a delightfully meta music video.

It’s brimming with Laissez-faire swagger. The lyrics landing between uppercrust and dumb drunk. The music follows suit – singer Tim Harrington says, “The guitars have this offhanded virtuoso thing going. Seth had stacked all of these semi-improvised scratch tracks into a demo. When I got them, I was immediately drawn to the manic pile-up of using them all, all at once, with zero edits. It’s like if the solo from ‘Taxman’ wolfed down a bottle of Adderall.” 

It’s been a long while since LSF has released anything, and this might seem an odd track to come back with, but it does a kind of amazing job capturing the unhinged, delighted energy of their live shows – a fire that’s always been hard to bottle on recordings.

Last year, Les Savy Fav teased their comeback with a series of one-off shows, including a string of European festival appearances and an intimate gig at the newly opened Knitting Factory NYC alongside Marnie Stern, another enigmatic artist who had been away from the live stage for some time.

2024 will sees the band returning to the live stage and spreading their wings further. As well as UK and Irish dates, the band have recently been announced for Primavera in May.

Les Savy Fav Live – See the 2024 Tour Dates

February 23 – Camden, UK – Electric Ballroom
February 24 – Bristol, UK – Simple Things Festival
May 24 – Dublin, IRE – Whelans
May 25 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club

The post Les Savy Fav are back with the new track “Legendary Tippers” | Check out the video and see their upcoming tour dates! appeared first on Martin Cid Magazine.