Dear Fellow Creative,

I don't think I need to tell you that you and I didn't pick an easy career. Sometimes, in fact, it doesn't quite feel like a career at all. Sometimes, it's easy to feel like a fraud. It's hard to know if you're fooling yourself or others.

It seems every few months I have a minor freak out that has me asking "What the f**k am I doing?" Maybe it's because I am approaching 30. Maybe it's because I see bills piling up. Or perhaps it's because of the fact that I have the flu right now and I am reminded, once again, that I don't health care.

I arrived in New York last week to check out the art fairs going on in the city. Days before I was to return home to California, the flu and a double ear infection hit me like a ton of bricks. Not wanting to risk rupturing an eardrum on the flight (because again, no health care), I've been hiding out at my in-laws apartment in the East Village for the past week. I have severe cabin fever. It has begun to feel like every bare wall in this apartment is a blank screen to project my questions and fears onto. It taunts me day in and day out.

Each morning this week, I've found myself leaning against the window pane while eating breakfast. I look down on New York from the 15th floor and see hundreds of people that look like ants. It's a mad rush to hop into cabs, get on a bus and file into the subway. All are headed to work. All are doing the 9-5.

If you're an artist, the concept of the 9-5 can represent an inner struggle. For a creative whose work has yet to become their full time job, it is a constant struggle to know if you, too, should join the mad dash each morning. Yet, when I find myself looking at job ads, something inside of me says "Don't look just yet..."

I sit here tonight and think of my fellow creatives. I may not know you by name, but I know you're out there. I picture you, also having a sleepless night, combing your mind for answers and chained to the question "What the f**k am I doing?" It's hard to go against the grain. Know that your determination to remain true to your calling, and your courage to do so, helps me, and many others sleep tonight. It's like that Fridaa Kahlo quote:

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do." ~ Frida Kahlo,

Tomorrow I'll finally leave the apartment and break my cabin fever. I will blend in with rush hour foot traffic. I, too, will look like a small ant darting around the city. No doubt I will find myself questioning "What the f*ck am I doing?", but then again, as an artist, maybe that's just part of the job description.

PostedMarch 11, 2017

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

When artist Simon Aldridge walked out of his studio 15 years ago, he could have never guessed he wouldn't be returning. It was September 10, 2001 and Aldridge had spent the night working at his studio on the 91st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) was running an art residency on the 91st and 92nd floors of the tower. The program provided emerging artists with studio space for six months. "The studios were 15,000 square feet. They felt raw", Aldridge recalls. " The beams were exposed and there were no walls. Those floors had never been occupied before. I remember those windows and the view. On a clear day you could see the bay of New York. You could see Manhattan, New Jersey and Long Island."

On that evening Aldridge was working alongside Michael Richards. "There were wall partitions to break up the space and artists were paired up to share the space. I was paired with Michael." Michael Richards, a Jamaican-American sculptor, arrived in the studio after 5pm and was joined by fellow artists Monika Bravo and Jeff Konigsberg.

For Bravo,it was not just the interior of the building that was impressive,but also the elements around it."The most incredible thing was the sound of the wind. The wind became, not a person, it was an entity. It was there all the time. You could feel it. You could hear it. I never liked staying there alone. It was a very spooky place."

Bravo, who is known for her video installations, thought "Wouldn't it be great to have a studio in the World Trade Center where you can be above everything and have all these clouds passing by every moment?" To her disappointment the summer of 2001 was a hot and humid summer of clear blue skies. It wasn't until the night of September 10th that Mother Nature gifted her a thunderstorm. Bravo spent 7 hours filming the storm.

Konigsberg remembers that night vividly. "We were inside of this thunder storm. There was lightning all around us and all these different colors in the clouds while the lightning was aglow." In Konigberg's mind's eye it is not the image of that thunderstorm that he draws upon when he thinks of the night of the 10th. It is the memory of leaving the studio that has remained with him for the past 15 years. "I remember (Michael Richards) took a mattress or a sleeping bag and put it on top of his table because that is where he was going to sleep. He had to work at the Bronx Museum the next morning. I said 'I'll see you later'. He said 'Yup, I'll see you later'".

Bravo was planning on spending the night as well. She wanted to stay the whole night to make a "24-hour video, but my husband Juan called me around 11pm and suggested I go home because...I had no water and sleeping over would be very uncomfortable." And so Bravo took the tape of her thunderstorm coverage out of her camera and returned home to Brooklyn. The tape would later become her film "Uno nunca muere la vispera", roughly translating to "One cannot die on the eve, one never dies before it's time."

Tar Baby vs.St.Sebastian by Michael Richards

A body of Richard's work is currently on display at the Arts Center on Governors Island. Greeting visitors is Richard's best known piece "Tar Baby vs.St. Sebastian" (1999). The sculpture, made to look like a pilot, is a steel cast of Richard's own body with multiple small airplanes crashing into it. The piece evokes goosebumps as visitors walk past it and are then embraced by the Manhattan's skyline upon exiting the gallery. Suddenly other prominent skyscrapers fade into the background and the new World Trade Center stands alone.

"The idea of flight relates to my use of pilots and planes," Richards once shared. "But it also references...the idea of being lifted up, enraptured or taken up to a safe place-to a better world."

PostedSeptember 11, 2016

Authorartcrasher

2 CommentsPost a comment

Hate is an ugly thing. It comes in all shapes and sizes. No matter what disguise it has,no matter what mission or cause it wears on its' sleeve, it's ugly.But let's not allow it to be contagious. Fighting hate with hate is the same as fighting fire with oil.

I won't share my political views. I'm not a politician. I'm not running for office. I don't have solutions to world problems,or for the very issues that seem to ripe this country at the seems. I'm just a citizen who, like many, want a simple, peaceful life.

Hope. It's a word that is becoming redundant.It is so overused that if it could manifest into a substance, it would be like swallowing a spoonful of salt. We see the words hope and peace plastered on banners and hear it echoed in song lyrics, but what is it really? It is a concept? It is a feeling? It is a goal? Over the last 24 hours, hope is seeing thousands of people in Orlando lining up in the rain to donate blood. Hope is seeing people at vigils embracing strangers. Hope is knowing there is still so much love in the world that we can drown out the sounds of hatred. Hope is the person who chooses love despite having seen the cunning glare of hatred.

As I write this, I find myself asking "If we don't have hope, what else do we have ? Do we except things the way there are and feel the dread of the days to come?" Hell no! Instead, I'll do what I know best whenever I feel conflicted, confused about the world or tied up in my emotions; Share art.

PostedJune 13, 2016

Authorartcrasher

Tags#orlando, #artblog, #blog, #hope, #questionandanswer, #art, #artist, #banksy, #mayaangelou

CommentPost a comment

Artwork Cherie A.Bitanga (@thejarofsalt)

If you've been to an art museum or gallery opening, you've probably heard that question. A person may not ask this question aloud. It might only be said in a whisper. It may merely be expressed through body language or could be written all over a person's face. At some point, in some place, you've heard that question: How is that art?

In 2014 I curated my first gallery show in San Francisco. The room was abuzz as people mingled and took in the art. Even above the noise of the packed gallery, my ear could pick up that question. The sting of that question was followed by another blow. It was accompanied by the statement "I could have made that." Not one to bite my tongue, I quickly intercepted with "Yeah, but you didn't"

Rather than try to answer that question, I want to rebuttal it with a different thought; "What is art?" For some, art may purely be the final product. For others it's a feeling that the artistic process evokes. You're free to question "How is that art?", but how can we deem if something qualifies as art if the passions and thoughts around art know no boundaries? So...What is art? To soothe my curiosity, I turned to social media to ask this very question.

*To check out more of Cherie's artwork, you can find her on Instagram.

PostedJune 3, 2016

Authorartcrasher

1 CommentPost a comment

If you're lucky, you'll meet a few people in life who make you stop in your tracks. A person whose energy draws you in. An individual whose sheer happiness, hunger and excitement for life is contagious. For me, Nina Parys is one of these people.

I first met Nina in 2014 in Los Angeles. ArtCrasher was hosting its first LA gallery show and Nina was a participating artist. She walked into the gallery with a huge smile and embraced me when she dropped off her artwork."I'm so happy to be here!",she exclaimed. Nina had traveled from Paris with her husband for the show. It was her first time in California and the excitement was all over her face. Not even a language barrier could hold her back. Nina walked around the gallery and made friends with everyone she met as her proud husband took photos of her in front of her artwork. I remember stepping back and watching Nina and her husband make their way around the gallery. I remember thinking "Here were two people who wear their love for each other on their sleeves. They wholeheartedly support each other."

The power of social media is a funny thing. A simple application and a computer screen enables us to maintain friendships and relationships with a click of a button. Communication traveling to the other side of the world at lightning speed. When I find myself in a slump, I'll check out Nina's Instagram. The same happiness, energy and excitement she greeted me with in Los Angeles nearly 2 years ago still shines through her photos. There are posts of she and her family, ecstatic with laughter as they play in the snow. Other photos show her at gallery openings and workshops. At every gallery opening she is smiling ear to ear as if every opening is her very first gallery showing.

I've met many successful, forgetful, people in the last five years. They forget to slow down and enjoy the 'in between moments'. While ambition is great, sometimes being a deer in headlights with a set goal can turn you blind. Nina is someone who reminds you that the moments along a winding road to your dreams can be just as sweet (if not sweeter!) than the final outcome.

Nina, merci de partager votre passion, votre talent et votre amour pour la vie!

To learn more about Nina and her work, you can check out her Instagram.

PostedMay 23, 2016

Authorartcrasher

1 CommentPost a comment

I was wandering down Melrose two weeks ago when a mural demanded my attention. "From The Dirt A Flower Must Grow" it read. I suddenly forgot where I was headed and just gazed at the mural. Like a moth to a flame, I couldn't look away.

It had been a stressful day. I had finished an AM interview with an artist in Huntington Park and was craving a nap more than a coffee. The interview had gone well, but as I sat in traffic on the 405 trying to get back to West Hollywood, all I could do was stare at the rows of car on the freeway. It was a metaphor for life that was mocked me during every painstaking minute that I felt the car stop and go. Stop and go. Stop, and we-aren't-fucking-going-anywhere-anytime-soon.

Being an entrepreneur is a complete roller coaster ride. You buckle up and just hope you don't lose your lunch. The highs are exhilarating, filled with "pinch me" moments. The lows are filled with self doubt, banging your head against a wall as you see the bills pile up. Everything feels stuck just like the very traffic I was sitting in.

I suddenly remember a book my Grandmother's gave me many moons ago. The author quoted Joan of Arc, "I am not afraid... I was born to do this" in the dedication. What I would do to be plucked from that car and return to being that 10-year-old girl holding that book, as my Grandmother knitted and sipped tea in between stitches.

When that long car ride finally came to an end, I found myself there on Melrose, greeted by this mural. Maybe it's tacky to believe in signs, but if there was a time to believe, this would be it. This mural was as refreshing as a tall glass of water. It was a gift from an optimist. His positivity smacked me upside the head. It was a sign to keep my head up. "From The Dirt A Flower Must Grow." I read the words aloud. "Fuck it!" I thought. "I'm going to hit the ground running!"

Thank you, HiJack! You can check out more of his work on Instragram (@hijackart).

PostedMay 9, 2016

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

On this #MotivationMonday I'm looking back on my weekend at Art Market San Francisco. As someone who lives in SF, I can say that you're more likely to find green grass in drought-ridden California than art freeflowing through SF. Galleries have been pushed out by expensive rent. It's easier to find a hackathon than street art here. I'm often traveling out of town to check out art fairs,so it was a nice change to have an art fair come to my adopted hometown. In its sixth year, Art Market San Francisco brought artwork to the thirsty eyes of art lovers in and around the Bay Area. If you like what you see, you can learn more about the artists featured below on our Instragram.

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 9.28.32 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 9.28.47 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 9.29.06 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 9.28.03 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 9.26.47 PM.png

PostedMay 2, 2016

Authorartcrasher

Tags#motivationmonday, #artlover, #motivate, #art, #publicart, #artfair, #motivation, #inspire, #inspiration, #artlovers, #artist, #wanderlust, #sanfrancisco, #artmarket

CommentPost a comment

#MotivationMonday: No matter how tacky this hashtag may sound, it makes you realize what motivates you.It's easy to fly through each day. You can end up like a speeding car on the freeway. All of the scenery becomes a blur. What sparks you? What reminds you of your passion and why you do it? What makes you want to work even harder to bring dreams to fruition?

I spent this Monday in LA's Art District. Life in San Francisco has left my eyes thirsty for street art (and just art in general to be honest).SF's suffocating rent prices have pushed out artists and galleries. When I find myself in Los Angeles I usually spend my days roaming around Melrose treasure hunting for street art."If you really want to check out street art why aren't you going downtown?" my Uber driver asked as I hopped out of his car at Fairfax and Melrose.

Downtown LA is foreign terriorty to me. Beyond visits to the LA convention center to check out the LA Art Show every January, my number of adventures in downtown LA is next to none. The very industrial Art District is one big outdoor gallery. The streets were empty this afternoon. Tourists that flock to Hollywood Bloulevard and,really,any attraction listed on Lonely Planet,were nowhere to be seen. Me and my camera roamed the neighborhood streets that form an art lover's wonderland. I'll take this motivation back to San Francisco with me and save it for a rainy day.

PostedApril 26, 2016

Authorartcrasher

Tags#motivationmonday, #motivate, #motivation, #LosAngeles, #downtownLA, #artdistrict, #LAArtDistrict, #streetart, #publicart, #streetartists, #streetartist, #wanderlust

CommentPost a comment

Today is Monday; Also known as #MotivationMonday on social media. No matter how tacky this hashtag may sound, it makes you question what are we without motivation? I realize we're often chained to the demands of life. It's easy to fly through each day. You can end up like a speeding car on the freeway. All of the scenery becomes a blur. I see motivation as a love letter that can fall on deaf ears (or sometimes blind eyes) when we don't slow down. I've made a point of unplugging. I leave the house without my phone and skip the need to walk around with headphones firmly in my ears. What I see and hear when I do this is motivation to last me the week. Here is some motivation I captured to carry with you this week:

Reflections and Lighting. Watching someone's focus.

The San Francisco landscape from the De Young Museum's Hamon Tower Observation.

San Francisco's architecture in my neighborhood.

Seeing someone being driven by their passion. Seeing someone sharing their talent.

Shards of broken glass. The many shapes of each piece of glass and the reflection of light beaming it.

The colors and shapes found at the De Young Museum's Hamon Tower Observation

PostedApril 18, 2016

Authorartcrasher

Tags#motivationmonday, #motivation, #beinspired, #inspiration, #inspire, #motivate, #bemotivated, #blog, #artblog, #artlover, #artlife

CommentPost a comment

I often hear artists say "I can't find inspiration". This statement got me thinking about where exactly inspiration can be found and what form it takes. Is it a physical object like a bright hue or pattern found on a vase? It is a feeling evoked by a relationship or interaction? Does inspiration find YOU or do you find IT? It's easy to fly through daily life as we race to meet the demands of everyday life. Everything in the background (including inspiration waiting in the wings) can take a backseat. It's merely a blur.

Today is Monday; Also known as #MotivationMonday on social media. No matter how tacky this hashtag may sound, it makes you question, what are we without motivation? For me, without inspiration there is no motivation. It goes hand-in-hand.

I've begun to slow down. I try to take in everything around me. The sound of traffic. The colors of a neighbor's garden. The excitement that takes over my dog when he is off leash at the park. Suddenly I have found myself floating in an ocean of inspiration. It's practically made me giddy. How did I overlook all of this before? And so, my fellow artists, I'm embracing #MotivationMonday and sharing the inspiration that has popped out at me during the past week. Rather than wait for inspiration, let's meet it head on.

(PS Want to share images of your motivation? Send us an email submissions@artcrasher.com. If your inspiration is featured during a #MotivationMonday, we'll hyperlink your social media.)

A pattern in plain sight at the Academy of Art in San Francisco

The unconditional love of an animal. This guy wakes me up each morning to cuddle and greets a new day with excitement.

Seeing kids create art without hesitation or doubt.

Calm after the rain. Reflections in Golden Gate Park.

The hues of a New York Winter sunset in Chelsea.

One person's junk is another's inspiration. The reflection, cracks, lines and shapes of a broken mirror.

The bright colors of San Francisco architecture in my neighborhood.

The shape and texture of these dancing trees in The Haight.

PostedApril 11, 2016

Authorartcrasher

Tags#motivationmonday, #art, #artist, #artlife, #motivation, #bemotivated, #inspire, #inspiration, #hashtags

CommentPost a comment

The artwork of Bumblebeelovesyou plays on the emotions of nostalgia. In a hyperactive world that constantly demands our attention, his work is a welcomed change that allows you to return to childhood. "You start to grow up and get more and more responsibilities. I had a great childhood. I look back at the past and remember certain feelings you only have as a kid."

Born out of what he refers to as "teenage angst", Bumblebeelovesyou's artwork and murals transformed from political art to the style of work he is now known for. "I was experimenting with my art. I haven't made up my mind. I woke up one day and thought I should make more positive work." Inspired by his high school nickname, Bumblebee, he adopted a new name,name. Bumblebeelovesyou was born.

The style of art that Bumblebeeloves has crafted as his signature is one that intertwines the themes of childhood, innocence and communication. The notion of communication paints a parallel between Bumblebeelovesyou's artwork and business life. "I've spent many years in the art world pre and post social media. Street art was all about avoiding the galleries, doing the murals and getting your work out that way. Now you don't need a middle man. I can directly share my work and directly talk to those following my work. Accessibility is key." The aspects of childhood and innocence creates a one-on-one experience between the viewer and his artwork. It evokes memories of childhood daydreams. "It's something I find so many people can relate to. It has no boundaries."

As he speaks of his own childhood memories, you gain the sense that the kid who grew up in Downey, California paved his own way with a focus harbored by his own intuition. He told his family his dream job was to be an artist. "I always knew I'd get there. I was living in Long Beach, not sure what I was going to do." With time, he developed tunnel vision. "I told friends I couldn't go out, I had to work. When I would go out, I'd go to galleries and art events. I'd keep it work related." His strong work ethic shines through when he shares advice for aspiring artists."Don't do it tomorrow, do it today. You can really do anything. Just be yourself. You can only put on an act for so long before the jig is up. Be your own anchor"

To see out more of Bumblebeelovesyou's artwork, check out his website, Facebook and Instagram.

PostedNovember 3, 2015

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

Art by Cherie A.Bitanga (jarofsalt.com). Photo courtesy of Instagram.

Being an artist isn't easy. You have to be self-motivated. You need to hustle. You need to knock on every door until opportunity presents itself. All of this while getting questioned by your doubters; "What is your back-up plan?" or "What else do you do?" The words "starving" and "artist" usually go hand in hand. Erin Lindstrom reminds us that this doesn't have to be the case.

In her piece " A Letter to Creatives Not Creating", Lindstrom reaches out to artists and creatives doubting their ability to make a living doing what they love. Before you think this may be a wishy-washy love letter, it's not. Lindstrom serves up encouragement to readers, but with a side of tough love. "Maybe you want to go big with your art but the STRUGGLE IS REAL! This shit is hard, and you just can't make a living doing JUST this. Maybe you have a big dream but you're too damn scared to do it (it's ok, you can admit it).Well, darling... you're WRONG."

Lindstrom can talk about the struggle, but she knows the struggle. She has been surrounded by it as others doubt themselves. She, herself, has also been face to face with it. "Honestly, my motivation to write this piece was the fact that I needed to hear it myself. I needed to remind myself to just go for it. I needed to remember and to remind others to say no to those who say no to your art."Lindstrom tells readers what many of us know in the back of our minds, but fail to act upon. You have to do the work. Don't treat it like a hobby. See it as a full time job. "Maybe you need a bridge job. Maybe you need to learn about marketing. Maybe you just need to get in the flow. What you definitely need is to figure it out."

"You only get one life.ONE. And you get to make up how it goes. You are not a victim of your circumstance.You are not your student loans. You are not another person who put her dream on hold to work in a cubicle." The big question Lindstrom leaves readers with may get you thinking.It may be the very thing that makes you walk to the drawing board to put a plan into action. "You are the writer.You are writing the story of your life right this minute.How do you want your story to end?"

You can check out Lindstrom's piece here and follow her on Twitter here.

PostedOctober 8, 2015

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

The reactions that Melanie Pullen's photography renders are as intriguing as the artwork itself. The combination of beauty and violence makes viewers stop in their tracks."My work has had this strange impact on a certain audience.." Pullen shares."The more disturbed the viewer the longer they stay to look and discuss the work. I’ve had people come back to my shows seven or eight times because they don’t like the pieces and they’re so disturbed, I even had one lady sit in a gallery I was showing with from the time it opened until closing for a week straight."

At Paris Photo Los Angeles, ArtCrasher viewed Pullen's series "High Fashion Crimes". This body of work consists of more than "one hundred photographs that comprise High Fashion Crime Scenes is based on vintage crime-scene images she mined from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Country Coroner's Office, and other primary sources. She began re-enacting the crime scenes, outfitting the "victims" (her selected models) in current haute couture, and photographing them in her staged settings."

For Pullen, her work goes much deeper than that of the average fashion editorial. "The fashion in this series is about giving the “victims” an identity while making fun of commercialism, branding, and toying with concept of feminine exploitation (something the media does endlessly). I was leaving and I passed by this body covered with the blue sheet, her toe was tagged and both feet were visible. It was the only part of her you could see… she had these beautiful toe nails painted manicured perfectly and they were this cherry red color. I happened to be wearing the same color nail polish. It was so weird and gave this woman (that I couldn’t see under the sheet) this entire identity and a weird connection to me. I never did see anything but her manicured toes but that’s always been one of the things that has stuck with me the most."

As a child, Pullen didn't have to look far over her shoulder for artistic inspiration. Surrounded by multidisciplinary artists while growing up in New York City, Pullen "...didn't know people did anything else but art until I was fiften years old because that was that was it and art was all I knew." Her grandmother was part of the beat generation. Her mother was a model and painter. "Emily Glen lived in our building...Robert Dinero lived next to us on Barrow Street and I would get his son in trouble all the time and Warhol would eat at my great grandparents because my great-grandfather gave him some of his first illustrating work."

It was Pullen's childhood that set the foundation for her passion for art. When she was six she was given a powerful tool; Her first camera. As a young child, she soon realized a camera gave her "this power to get adults to stop and totally listen to you - the power you’re longing for as a kid. So I just loved it. I knew I wanted to be a photographer at that point." She developed her own technics by learning "...to shoot by trial and error. I never read a book or anything really… it was just a feeling and scouring photo shows and archives and seeing trends that I wanted to avoid and finding rules to break. For me it’s always been about bending the rules of “traditional photography” figuring out how to alter what’s “right”'.

Pullen's work stands out because it dares to rip the blindfold off of the viewer. It does not sugarcoat reality. Her subject matter and the way it can sink its teeth into even the most ignorant viewer makes it impossible to not look like a deer in lights while looking at her photography.It's attraction is that magnetic. At one point while viewing Pullen's work, a young woman turned to me and said "How is she able to be make such a gory subject look so...elegant? Part of me is saying I should be mortified, but I can't look away."

Speaking of reality, Pullen's upcoming series "Soda Pop! So-Da-Licious!” explores a series of adventures brought on by insominq. "It kind of retelling this time in my life as a child 6-7 years old when I had insomnia (something I’ve had for my whole life).. My bedroom window looked out onto this corner and every night at exactly 12am this seven foot black transvestite with a blond wig would show up to work my corner. We became friends as I had no one else to talk to at midnight...So this series is me going out between 12am-3am (my friend's old hours) and finding these young male street walkers or just young guys wondering the streets and getting them to pose with these kind of funny bizzare old soda bottles… these bottles all have a meaning and the guys need to choose one that really means something to them or that they can relate to so you can kind of know something about them." And so, Pullen and her lens continue to share the beauty and the beast of reality.

To learn more about Pullen and her photography, you can check out her website, Facebook and Instagram.

PostedJuly 24, 2015

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

Months ago I found myself at a restaurant in the Meatpacking District while a waiter made small talk with me. "Waiting for a old friend?" he asked. I paused before answering.Do you describe a person you only know through Instagram as an acquaintance or a good friend? Some would say I met Tracy Memoli and Laurance Rassin merely by chance, but in a small world made even smaller by social media, I don't think there are any coincidences.

My path crossed with Laurance Rassin on a beautiful summer day in Manhattan last August. I spotted an artist busy at work along the High Line and I stopped in my tracks. There is nothing better than seeing an artist standing at his easle, completely absorbed by his craft. I snapped a photo of the artist and posted it to Instagram with the hashtag "#ArtistAtWork".Before I finished my short commute from Chelsea to the East Village,my phone beeped with an Instagram notification."Great shot",the comment read."It's artist Laurance Rassin."Just hours after strolling the High Line,not only could I put a name to the face of the artist,I had a phone number and had an interview scheduled with him.The digital shift in the art world is undeniable and Rassin is riding the wave of social media.

Laurance Rassin is an artist whose talents know no limits. His works create "a sumptuous and color filled world, enveloping his audience in signature large scale impasto oil paintings, bronze sculptures,ceramics,film,tapestries,and textiles..." Beyond the canvas, he is "the first contemporary artist to preside over the closing bell at NASDAQ"and is the artistic director and founding member of The New Blue Riders (along with David Noah Burliuk).

Rassin's lastest venture has him drawing in audiences with his Youtube series "Mr.Background" and "Wine-1-1". It's this very endeavor that proves an artist's education never ends. Rassin and Memoli,an Elite Daily contributor and on-air correspondent for Dessert Professional, stood up to the challenge of mastering social media and how to use it to their advantage. The couple began taking classes at Google in Manhattan to learn the ins and outs of Youtube, how to build a channel and find the right audience.

Rassin's Wine-1-1 is a humorous spin on wine tasting. Rassin's writing and skits make the wine world less intimidating for viewers.What is even more appealing about Wine-1-1 is you don't have to be a wine drinker to enjoy this series. I can't tell a merlot from a zinfandel to save my life, and yet I found myself unable to turn this series off.

Memoli and Rassin are a modern digital couple that seek opportunity rather than waiting for it to knock on the door. They have built their audiences from scratch using social media and stand as proof that if you want it, you can do it. Gone are the days of needing a fancy studio or full (and expensive!) production team. Here is a passionate couple that took their talent and ran with it. The result is enthusiasm, humor, great material and entertainment served directly to viewers' digital fingerstips.

To learn more about Memoli and Rassin, check out their social media channels and subscribe: Instagram and Youtube.

Oh, and a very Happy Father's Day from Wine-1-1.

PostedJune 21, 2015

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

Paris Photo Los Angeles, 2015 official poster; Skyline Vista, 2014 © Matthew Porter, courtesy Matthew Porter and M+B Gallery

Los Angeles.For some,it's a sprawling jungle of broken dreams.It's a city that many venture to,to play Russian roulette with their ambitions.Perhaps this is the allure of the "City of Angeles". If you take in the view of the city from Griffith Observatory at night, you'll see thousands of twinkling lights shinning far into the horizon. It's as if each individual light is a candle; a flickering flame of one's passion that is so carefully protected from the winds of pessimism.

Los Angeles has become an international art hub. Not only are artists fleeing to Los Angeles to escape raising rents and homogeneous societies in New York City and San Francisco,it has also become home to Paris Photo Los Angeles.

Paris Photo Los Angeles has made LA and Paramount Studios its home every Spring for the past three years. The fair is the sister fair of 18-year-old Paris Photo,held in Paris every November. This year,the fair brought 80 galleries from 17 countries to the Paramount lot.

"Everything that glitters is not gold." This piece of Shakespeare text was echoing through my head as I stepped on to Paramount's New York backlot and wandered the sound stages and buildings that housed the galleries. The setting of this art fair is (literally) a movie set. I found myself questioning if the location of this fair would overshadow the artwork. To my relief, the artwork outshone its impressive enviroment.

I stepped away from the fair feeling enthralled by the works of seven particular artists. Their work made my imagination soar and left my thirsty eyes craving more. Over the next month, we will feature spotlights on these very artists who added so much magic to the fair.

PostedMay 17, 2015

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

Credit: http://dreamatico.com/ — Credit: http://dreamatico.com/

Over the past few months,I've been horrible at returning calls,texts and emails.I've been bad at keeping lunch dates and meeting for drinks.I have finally left my cave of woe-is-me and I'm moving forward after what has been a few very challenging months. Where do I begin? Well it all started when our careless neighbor started a fire in our building. Since our landlord is a slumlord, he had no smoke detectors in the building.Thankfully I was late for work and the smell of smoke hit me before grabbing my keys and running out the door. Power and gas were shut off from November to March while renovations were being done in our building. Sure, moving was looking like a great option after this happened,but,really,who can afford the average $3200 a month it costs for a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco? I refused to give up my rent controlled apartment.

In the meantime, we were camping out in my mother-inlaw's livingroom with our two dogs and whatever belongings we could fit into two suitcases (Ha, need I say more?). Two days after the fire, I got myself together and was headed to a local bar to meet a girlfriend for a drink. I never made it to the bar that night. As I was headed to the ATM to get cash for the evening, BAM! A laundry bag full of clothes and, as I would later learn, a brick hit me in the face. I was knocked to my knees. "What the fuck just happened?", I thought. Before I could begin to figure out what was going on, a man stopped his car in the street and helped me up. Once I was on my feet, he ran after the person who had attacked me.

It turns out, I was hit by a crazy homeless woman. She would later tell police she attacked me because I was "trying to be her". It seemed I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sure the police were ready to take me to the mental hospital with my attacker. I had lost my shit and suddenly my attacker was looking much more calm than me. I was sobbing, screaming "Why!? I just had a fire, now this bullshit? Do you know I'm from Canada where we have healthcare? We medicate mentally ill people. I've never been attacked in the street in Canada. No,I will not get into the ambulance! Do you know how much an ambluance ride costs in the United States?".Not my most glamorous moment. A hug from my husband, a hot bath and two glasses of rum numbed my emotions and my neck pain (I would later learn I was left with a sprained neck bone from the attack).

After months of fighting with housing inspectors and housesitting all over San Francisco, we are finally back in our apartment. Life is slowly getting back to normal and I can get back to what I love, Art! I was in New York City March 2-9 for the string of artshows that were going on around Manhattan. I attended preview shows for The Armory Shows, Volta NY and Pulse New York.

There are not enough words in the dictionary to express my love for New York. My in-laws live in the East Village and I feel more at home there than in San Francisco. I grew up outside of Toronto and although Toronto is MUCH smaller than NY, both cities have the same energy,weather and foliage. AND in both cities, people tell you how it is. If they don't like, you'll know within minutes and they will tell you to your face.Californians tend to let "relationships" linger from oh-I-want-to-throw-you-a-surprise-party-you're-my-best-friend to actually-I-didn't-really-like-you-but-we're-in-the-same-circle-and-didn't-want-to-step-on-any-toes. Yeah, save me the nausea and the time, thank you very much.

New York City and the recent adventures I had there deserve much more than a single blog post. I haven't begun to dig into the amazing artwork I saw, how New York showed me that socal media makes the world a smaller place or how a common interest(Art!)can gather people from across the world into a single space,and make that moment in time feel purely electric.

-H

PostedMarch 17, 2015

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

Be Rewarded: Memories and a Thank You Note

As I was running through SFO to catch my flight to Los Angeles, something caught my eye. Always a sucker for quotes, when I saw a few words painted along the ceiling of a terminal store, I had to stop to see what it said.

"Love what you do, put your heart into it and you will be rewarded"

I smiled to myself and sighed after reading this. 30 minutes prior, I was in the back of a cab, cursing myself. I rummaged through my wallet as the cabbie waited to be paid. I looked at my credit cards and wondered which one would self-destruct in protest if I swiped it one more time. I could hear my Mother saying, "Art doesn't pay."

It's funny how the dreams we had as children never die. They may simmer, but the flames of those dreams seem to continue to burn for a lifetime. "I want to be an artist" was my answer to the classic question "What do you want to be when you grow up?". My answer never received much applause. "Don't you want to be a teacher or a doctor?", my Mom would ask in response.

I remember being overcome with jealousy when I would walk by the Ottawa School of Art. I chose to study Politics in university. I didn't hate my major, but what I liked most about it was how "safe" it was. My degree would help me get a cushy office job with great benefits and an early retirement. Yet the thought of being in a cubicle made me feel sick to my stomach. I'd fantasize about dropping out of university and going to art school. That never happened. My bravery was much more inflated in my daydreams than in reality.

In my last year of university, I had a hell of a time finishing my final paper. I sat down one morning before sunrise to write my essay. By the time the sun set that day, I had maybe written 5 paragraphs. Instead of writing about the theories of Aristotle, I researched how to create a website. Coding and linking domains were foreign concepts to me.

I also poured over photos from my travels and recalled all of the artists I had met abroad. There was the stain glass artist who I chatted with at the art school (Academy of San Carlos) in Mexico City, the clay artist I met at a marketplace in Gothenburg, Sweden and the abstract painters in Havana, Cuba who invited us into their homes and studios to share their work. This was the world I wanted to be in.

I walked by an empty gallery that night while doing a coffee run for my inevitable all-nighter. I snapped a photo, posted it online and wrote "May 6, 2011: I saw this space and got excited. One day I'll have a space like this covered in art".

These are the memories that I play on repeat in my mind when I have moments of self-doubt. My self-doubt in the back of that cab was suffocating. I asked the driver to roll down the windows. I have fond memories of my Grandmother rolling down the car windows during long car rides, sticking her hand out and slowly twirling it as the wind gently brushed against her skin. When I need to get out of my head, I roll down the window, twirl my hand in the wind and think of my Grandmother. She is my rock. She always told me I could do anything as long as I was willing to work hard and never look back.

This quote I saw at the airport blew out the flames of my self-doubt that day. Everything I had envisioned years ago while ignoring my term paper, unfolded during ArtCrasher's Los Angeles gallery show. There we were, over 300 artists and art lovers celebrating and supporting each other's work. I met Nina Parys from France, Ank Draijer from Costa Rica, Kaillee Coleman from Seattle, Lyn Pacificar, Nora Novak, Greg Anka and Todd Silver from Los Angeles, Rachel Goldsmith from NYC, and many, many other artists from all corners of the US and the world.

The way I felt that night surpassed any corner office or job title I could have received if I haven't changed my life path. A huge thank you to all of the artists who participated in the Los Angeles show. I am so grateful for your support. That night I was reminded why I love what I do. I am so happy to share and celebrate your work. Continue to work hard and you will be rewarded

ArtCrasher Los Angeles Show. Photo Credit: Nina Parys

PostedJuly 10, 2014

Authorartcrasher

1 CommentPost a comment

From LA With Love: ArtCrasher at Venice Arts

ArtCrasher kicked off its Los Angeles gallery show on June 28th. Over 350 people walked through the gallery doors on opening night. The show and its crowd were electric. The crowd was supportive and loved the show's work.

The featured artists who made it out to the show put a face to the work and reminded me exactly why ArtCrasher was created; To establish connections between artists, expose their work and create a supportive community within the art world. As we unwind from the show and settle back into San Francisco, we will continue to post individual blog posts on each featured artist. A big thank you to artists Ank Draijer, Lyn Pacificar and Nina Partys who took the photos featured below.

*Those photos only show a fraction of the featured artwork. More photos to come!

PostedJuly 4, 2014

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

Screen shot 2014-06-19 at 10.17.25 PM.png

PostedJune 19, 2014

Authorartcrasher

CommentPost a comment

ArtCrasher Kicks Off First Show in San Francisco

Screen shot 2014-02-16 at 8.09.20 PM.png

ArtCrasher's tour kicked off February 7 in San Francisco. Our opening night drew nearly 200 people to SOMArts' Bay Gallery. Viewers got a look at the work of over 80 international artists from 12 different countries. Our show knew no limits. It featured work in four different art; Illustration, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography and Street Art. We also had San Francisco's Pete Doolittle as the show's live painter.

This first show was an experiment for us. It was a learning experience, a series of trials and (some) errors to see what works and what needs a bit of altering. The show did exactly what we had hoped. It created a night of inspiration and celebration for artists and all forms of Art.

While we are still buzzing from the first show, we are getting back to reality to get our Los Angeles show underway. We will be releasing more information about our Los Angeles show tomorrow, February 18. Stayed tuned! In the meantime, let's relive our SF show a bit. Check out photos below.