Shark Week Reflections

Left: Damien Hirst, "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living," 1991. Right: Jill Greenberg, from her series "End Times," 2006.

Shark Week 2014 is nearing to an end (tear, sniffle). I've been watching this program since it premiered in 1988 (you could call me the ultimate fan), and I've often noticed interesting similarities between well-known artworks and famous Shark Week visuals. I'm not surprised that the mind-boggling imagery of a Great White chomping down on a seal has launched artists into a creative frenzy.

I'm super curious, however, about the origination of Shark Week. Discovery channel claims the program to be the "longest running cable television programming event in television history"! And yet, 1988 doesn't seem to date back far enough to account for the number of artists who were CLEARLY influenced by famous episodes of the popular show. A few examples:


John Singleton Copley, "Watson and the Shark," 1778. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Hmm, 1988? Let's try 1778. Because clearly Copley caught an episode of "Ocean of Fear", the story of the men overboard the USS Indianapolis in shark-infested waters.


Attributed to Alexandros of Antioch, Venus de Milo, c. 100 BCE. Courtesy of Musee du Louvre.

It's becoming clearer to me that the Venus de Milo's missing limbs weren't damaged over time, but were likely intentionally severed by the artist himself as an ode to Alexandros of Antioch's favorite episode, "I Survived: Top 10 Shark Attacks".


Left: Scary white shark! Right: Constantin Brancusi, "Bird in Space," 1928. Courtesy of the Guggenheim Museum.

Bird In Space? OR, Air Jaws???


Andres Serrano, Blood Stream, 1987.

Serrano's photograph, "Blood Stream" almost certainly inspired the episode "Blood In The Water".


Leandro Erlich, Swimming Pool, installation 2008, MoMA PS1.

I didn't think too much about the shark week reference here until I entered the bottom portion of Erlich's installation. Suddenly you are under the pool's surface. Is this not entirely about a shark's point of view?!? And extra points to the artist for touching on my most primal fear: a shark in a POOL.


Lygia Clark, "Abyssal mask with eye-patch," 1968. Photo Sergio Gerardo Zalis, 1986. Courtesy of MoMA.

Are the connections looking clearer? Artists, don't be afraid to admit that you're Shark Week fans. We all see what's going on. Shark Week Obsession: it happens to the best of us. Most especially, me.

xoxo,
Courtney
















TAGS: sharkart / sharks / sharkweek

Friday Fun Day (secret guest post!)

Cats. Sharks. This video's got everything. Happy Friday Fun Day, Mixed Greeners!

xoxo,
your secret SF admirer

TAGS: funday / sharks

Shark Week Wrap Up: lessons learned

My delay in blogging about Shark Week is due to the fact that I'm already in mourning....missing my favorite week of the year...overcome by the fact that I have to wait over 350 days until the next shark week. It's too much to handle.

But today is finally the day to wrap it all up. In addition to reconfirming my absolute fear of Great Whites, I learned the following:

1. Shark Week provides excellent marketing opportunities.

2. Really, I should be more scared of the Bull Shark.

3. Shark Week has the most loyal fans.

4. Shark Week exists in the Art World (Ladyshark Week, that is).

5. In fact, here's a roundup of Shark-related Art!

TAGS: sharks

Culture Craver calls Jeila Gueramian's installation a "must see"

Just in time for Shark Week, Culture Craver draws attention to Jeila Gueramian's underwater scene in the Mixed Greens' windows. Check it out now! On view at 531 West 26th Street (viewable from the street) through August 16th!

TAGS: sharks / windows

Reading this Tuesday

Food and art go together naturally. So CSA's and art seem to be a perfect fit.

Excellent interview with Dexter Wimberley, one of the curators of Crossing the Line (which is on view at Mixed Greens through August 16th!).

Of Note: Mary Temple's installation at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in Houston, TX is scheduled to be installed in October!

Ohh jeez. How does this happen accidentally?


And in honor of Shark Week (and how ridiculous it can be....Voodoo Shark, anyone??):



TAGS: sharks

Nearing Shark Week

In anticipation of SHARK WEEK.

TAGS: sharks

Film Fridays

Chuka's been busy working on some video footage of Leah Tinari's current show. This shot was from our interview with Tinari earlier this week. Stay tuned for some interviews with artists from our UPCOMING Crossing the Line exhibition, opening July 11th.

In the meantime, you can check out some of our other videos here.

AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS...it's starting to really feel like summer, which means it's time to COUNT DOWN TO SHARK WEEK.

TAGS: exhibitions / sharks / tinari / video

Shark Love -- It's nearly summer

MUST WATCH. When the Great White showed up I held my breath...

TAGS: sharks

Back in effect

Image courtesy of CNN.com

Guess who's back in town??! You got that right--your very own blogging fiend is back in NYC and ready to keep you up to date on art news, chelsea happenings, shark stuff, and everything Mixed Greens. I'm still a teensy bit upset about missing Shark Week 2012 (they don't have Shark Week in Italy), so this video is currently quenching my thirst for shark news.



TAGS: sharks

Shark Week 2012 Countdown

Just a little reminder for all of you out there that we are rapidly approaching Shark Week 2012. I will unfortunately still be out of the country, so I'm counting on the fans to catch me up on "Air Jaws" and "I Survived" episodes when I return to NYC. You can follow the "Unofficial Official Countdown" here.

xoxo,
CS

TAGS: csinitaly / sharks

In honor of Courtney: Sharks!

TAGS: sharks

someone bought air, and other Tuesday reading

Looks like the Museum of Non-Visible Art (MONA) has found at least one fan (a fan who was willing to buy non-specified air).

Just when you thought art crime couldn't possible get any more interesting, a group of youngsters in Southern California starts calling their graffiti group the Art Sex Crime tagging crew. yikes.

6 yr old girl forgives the shark that bit her.

SHARK WEEK begins July 31st at 9pm.

TAGS: sharks

Sharks & Cabin Fever: It's Friday (Fun Day)

Spotted ads for this "shark beer" all over Thailand. They must celebrate Shark Week too. (Countdown: 2 weeks and 2 days)

In case you missed the opening of Cabin Fever last night, you can get a glimpse of the crowd and the festivities here.

And some reading for your weeekend:

The sommelier stole a LOT of art. Not surprisingly.

Helmut Lang ripped up works from his archive??!?!?!? Art or no art, my heart is aching.

If you're looking to have a glass of wine on the High Line, now you can! Courtesy of The Porch.

TAGS: funday / news / sharks

Friday Fun Day: Sharks!

TAGS: funday / sharks

SHOUT OUT!

SHOUT OUT to Joseph ("Joey"???) Lawrence for emailing The Pit with some improved Shark Facts:

"Not only can sharks not stop suddenly. They can not stop at all. To stay alive, sharks must swim continually to keep a flow of water going through their gills. They don't actually have true "gills" like other fish. By the way sharks are not considered fish either because they lack a true skeleton. Their skeleton is made up of cartilage. How do I know this? Must have studied sharks at some time in grade school."

We love shark snobs around here. Sharks are pretty cool. How do I know this? Must have watched Shark Week for 25 years.

TAGS: sharks