I'm from that weird age-group just after Gen X that still remembers getting excited by the "Summertime" video (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince), waiting up to watch Nirvana on Headbangers Ball and seeing the "Paranoid Android" video debut on 120 Minutes in the middle of the night. Alas, those days are gone, in favor of some show shot about 5 minutes from my house that features the lives of a bunch of girls who live on a hill -- a hill that I guess no interesting people live on.

But maybe it's this deep-seated affinity for the blending of music and visuals that makes this Dockers spot so freakin' appealing to me (currently running in heavy rotation on TNT's NBA playoff coverage). San Fran is a town that can turn anyone with a camera into a talented photog...but this Cali-themed song (Marlena Rowe...so great) along with spot-on spectacular photography of the uniquely sophisticated and beautiful city (not coincidentally the home to the HQ of our fair company) has me longing for Ed Lover introducing another LL Cool J debut.

--Mike Hudson

This past weekend several Organics attended the NYC iPhone Dev Camp at Brooklyn Polytechnic University to share their views, questions, and experiences with development on this exciting new platform.

I was able to attend two sessions, one on user experience/interaction design and the other on business models. Most agree that the UI conventions employed on the device are well thought out and user-friendly, but there's a lot to consider when designing an iPhone app and there are still some areas where there is room for improvement. UX designers will want to think carefully about balancing the intuitive standards they need with some unique elements that differentiate and improve on the core app set.

The interface builder emerged as a hot topic for its promise of WYSIWYG development for the non-coder. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near ready.  

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about Apple's app store. There is also a great deal of enthusiasm about its potential to improve the mobile app economy. Most developers seemed to like the idea of iTunes for apps. In particular, developers seem to like the idea of setting their own prices. If the opinions of the Dev Camp discussion's participants prove an accurate gauge, we can expect to see most apps released at somewhere between free and $15 dollars.

Dan Neumann

If you haven't signed up, go to the Wiki and do so to help us estimate the count...(last year we welcomed more than 70 kids!)

Here's the partial agenda:

• 9am

Arrival, Name Tags, Pictures Kids & Parents

Light Breakfast

 

• 9:30 Introduction

Break into 3 age Groups

 

• 9:45 -12:00 Kids visit Departments (age appropriate presentations and activities)

 

Green Committee - The Lorax

HR - Oh, the Places you'll go!!

Engineering - One Fish Two Fish

Creative -

EM - If I Ran the Zoo

 

• 12:00 Lunch

Kids work with Parents for the remainder of the day or return home

Happenings

Last Call

Liu Xiaodong
(Curated by Karen Smith)
Mary Boone
724 Fifth Avenue
Closing April 26th


Ai Wei Wei
541 West 24th Street
Closing April 26th

Mary Boone is an amazing woman with an amazing business, she's also quite stunning.

http://www.maryboonegallery.com/exhibitions/2007-2008/index.html

Current
 
Chelsea
Taxter & Spengemann
504 West 22nd Street
Scott Olsen
Xavier Cha
Both thru May 10th


This is a young gallery owned by Kelly Taxter and Pascal Spengemann, they met in art school. It's a good place to start if you want to begin a collection. They represent emerging artists (affordable). I like them because they really take the time to educate you about the artist, they will never steer you wrong.

Tomory Dodge
CRG Gallery
535 West 22nd Street, 2nd fl.
6:30-8:30


I bought an early painting of Tomory's when he had his first show in New York at Taxter and Spengemann, his success came early.  He moved to CRG after his first show at T&S. I'm glad I bought him early; he's a bit out of my price range at the moment.

http://www.crggallery.com/exhibitions/2008/dodge/
 

Gregory Crewdson
Luhring Augustine
531 West 24th Street
Through May 3rd

http://www.luhringaugustine.com/index.php?mode=current

I saw Crewdson's photography in the Sunday NY Times Magazine several years ago, they were haunting. You got the feeling something really bad was going to happen to the people in the photograph (Gwenyth Paltrow was one of the characters). I saw this show this past Saturday, the photographs are huge. Looking at his work brings to mind an Edward Hopper painting. The setting is small town depressed USA, perhaps one photograph is gray and dreary and then you see light, there's a couple in a car, the lighting inside the car is very much Hopper. A naked pregnant woman is emerging from a shed, you wonder why, what's happened in that shed?  While the houses are shabby, you may want to walk inside, there's something cozy and inviting.

This is a must see.

 In my last blog I mentioned going to the home of a couple who are among the top 200 collectors in the country. The Horts, Susan and Michael have a Foundation called The Rema Hort Mann Foundation in memory of their daughter Rema who died of cancer at the young age of 30. They raise money to aid cancer patients and their families. They also distribute unrestricted grants to promising artists. I've volunteered several times at the Art Walks they've sponsored and at their annual brunch. The next event will be a non-event. Instead of spending money on catering and flowers, you can stay home and enjoy a goody bag for $150.00 or donate a bag to a cancer patient for $100.00.

Please check out the site. The Online auction begins May 1st. 
http://www.remahortmannfoundation.org/

 

 

 

On Saturday, I was with my mom walking around on some land that I bought near my family in Montcalm County, MI when I saw something that looked like a small, very dark deer dart across a two-track in front of me. 

I assumed it was a dog, and thought someone might be out hunting in one of the adjoining fields.  A few minutes later, as I reached a high point on the land, I could see two dogs running towards me from a few thousand yards away.  Figuring I would be attacked (getting chased by semi-wild dogs isn't that uncommon in the area), I started quickly walking towards the car.  As we got close, it became clear that these were very domesticated dogs - with no tags, very wet, and very skinny. 

    



















(Left: "Rad! Go Kansas!" says Sam. Right: "Like myself, Memphis has the look of a champion," says Russ.)


Life has never been sweeter for Sam Cannon and Russ Hopkinson (both of the DET office, BTW).

If Kansas wins the tourney, SC wins the Organic AllHands Bracket Challenge.
If Memphis wins, RH wins the kit and caboodle.

One shining moment will arrive tonight, but there can be only one.

Saturday -- Noon at Pier 94

I saw Chuck Close, Bianca Jagger, Calvin Klein and the most exquisitely dressed 5 year old boy. The fair is huge; I spent 4 hours there and still didn't see everything.

Graphite was big, I saw beautiful drawings, graphite with paint, graphite used as paint, and some drawings looked like black and white photographs from afar. I saw many gorgeous paintings, some by one of my favorite artist, Michael van Ofen. There were lots of collaged works. The artist friend I was with pointed to one painting that was all paint, yet he said it's collaged. My friend Onyedika is an art student at Cooper Union, he's from Nigeria; he's especially drawn to collage. He explained how you just see layers of stuff on the streets of his home town due to the lack of resources; so the layers of refuse become found objects for a work of art.

Sunday

The next day I went to an open house at the home of a couple who own a massive contemporary collection.  The brunch starts at 9:30 and ends at 1:30. It's a lot of fun, you see dealers from all the shows, collectors and artists. The collection is housed in a triplex; they have works from Richard Tuttle to Kehinde Wiley to John Currin and many works of emerging artists. Artists' works are exposed to some very influential people in the arts at the brunch. In fact they have a foundation in memory of their daughter who died from cancer. The foundation awards grants to 3 or 4 graduate students. When they buy they really commit to the artist, so they won't buy one painting, they'll buy 5 or 6, and they have several installations throughout their home (those they obviously don't buy in multiples). When I saw their collection for the first time, I realized there was not right or wrong way to collect art.  They have paintings, drawings, and installations. I was thrilled to see works by an artist I collect. I'm in good company, it seems.