Ard Bia #2 / Warhol fashions / banana in the sky (Wednesday 30 January 2008)

compiled by Astrid Lucas

Ard Bia pops up in Berlin

Entrance to Ard Bia Berlin; image held here

Ard Bia has earnt itself a considerable reputation in Galway and beyond over the last few years. It has also been unusual for its links to Iceland, so it’s perhaps (perhaps not) something of a surprise to find it popping up in Berlin. Managed by Rosie Lynch, the Ard Bia Gallery is a new space with a “mission to cultivate research, exchange and experimentation in the contemporary visual arts field.” Situated in the heart of Berlin, it offers the opportunity for the artists to exhibit, but as well to take up a temporary residency. The gallery will open to the public at the beginning of March 2008.  Applications for use of the two residential studios are being accepted up to 25 February. More info here.

Sources: http://www.ardbiaberlin.com; http://www.visualartists.ie ; http://www.thepost.ie

Warhol, king of consumption

Andy Warhol by Levi's Butterflies 2K T-shirt; image held here

20 years after his death, one of the pioneers of Pop Art is still making sales campaigns. After Levis, it's the turn of Pepe Jeans to collaborate with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

A new collection, of 250 items, dedicated to Warhol, is scheduled for this coming winter. (Some lucky - and well-off - people will have the opportunity to see it, in 'sneak preview', in London from next May.) The collection will consist of two lines: the first, “Pop,” which is inspired by the greatest works of Warhol, the second, “Factory,” influenced more generally by Pop Art. Don't expect the gear to be cheap.

Why such a partnership between an international brand and the Warhol Foundation? The money, presumably. Created in 1987, this foundation is a non-profit association whose the mission is "to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work." Sounds like a good crowd to tap for dosh, especially after the new line is launched.

Sources: http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=49164&date=&sid= http://www.wearethemarket.com/blog/2007/12/warhol_x_pepe.php
http://www.warholfoundation.org/ ; http://www.tactics.com/burton/warhol-snowboard?src=gglb ; http://www.modelart.ie/warhol_home.html

Banana moon

The banana; image held here

Here is a new artistic project which should at least make people smile.

Cesar Saez, a Montreal artist, is creating a giant banana, in order to send it into the Texan sky. The identifed object of 300 meters length, will be built with bamboo, balsa and yellow nylon, and then be inflated with helium. Propelled at crazed 40 km from the ground, the "geostationary banana" will be visible to inhabitants of the region, day and nigth, during about one month.

The estimated cost of $1m is covered in small part by a grant of 65k Canadian dollars from the Quebec Council for Arts and Letters and the Canada Council for the Arts. The launch date is set for August 2008 in Baja, Northern Mexico.

Sources: http://www.geostationarybananaovertexas.com/ ; http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/09/geostationary-banana-blimp-to-hover-over-texas/; http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070110/giant_banana_070110/20070110/

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