Riot Material

Art. Word. Thought.

Memory Palaces & The Hidden Art: Works And Studies Within The Collection Of Audrey B. Heckler

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Reviewed by Sanford Schwartz
Memory Palaces: Inside the Collection of Audrey B. Heckler (through January 26)
an exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum, NYC, January 26, 2020
 
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There are two stories, one might say, being told at the American Folk Art Museum’s current show Memory Palaces: Inside the Collection of Audrey B. Heckler. The first and more clear-cut is that the exhibition gives us a chance to see what must be one of the most discerning and wide-ranging collections of self-taught, or outsider, art in this country. There are top-notch works here by artists of varying degrees of recognition, many of whom were active in the middle and later years of the last century. Some, including Carlo Zinelli, William Hawkins, Adolf Wölfli, Thornton Dial, and Madge Gill, are known to people who follow this art but are not quite household names. There are strong works here as well by artists—such as Christine Sefolosha, Malcolm McKesson, and Edmund Monsiel—whose pictures may come as a welcome surprise to nearly everybody. And there are fine pieces by Bill Traylor and James Castle, and extraordinary ones by Martín Ramírez, who are all becoming widely known.

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Lightly Through The Looking Glass With Apple’s [AR]T Walk

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By Mayne

Alert the critics: The cutting edge of New York City’s art avantgarde can now be found at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store. Amid the blistering doldrums of summer, Apple has offered [AR]T Walk a guided tour of their new augmented reality exhibit. Co-curated with the New Museum, the tour is being offered in five other cities around the world: London, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, though the latter has been suspended indefinitely due to the political instability. [Read more…]

Lilly Bright’s American Standard: A Story of Enough

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at Highways Performance Space, Los Angeles (through September 28)
By Steven Mirkin

Although the Los Angeles premiere of her one-woman show, American Standard: A Story of Enough, is just a few weeks away, Lilly Bright sounds relaxed and self-possessed talking on the phone. It’s more impressive when you find out she’s working with a new director, Valerie Hager. This makes a bit more sense if you’ve seen the play. A wrenching story of bulimia, family secrets, addictions and cures, the show ends with Bright finding comfort and understanding in an unexpected manner and place, American Standard is unsparing in its self-examination, but leavened by Bright’s humor, sharp ear for detail, and arresting presence. The story is told through voice (she’s a wicked, precise mimic) and stylized movement (she studied in Tel Aviv with Ohad Naharin and the Batsheva Dance Company, learning his Gaga movement language). [Read more…]

An Interview With Artist and Critic Rose Vickers

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By Sam Trioli

With the recent group exhibition Future Starts Slow at LAUNCH F18, participating artist Rose Vickers and I took the occasion to discuss her artmaking and extensive writing practices. Rose grew up in Australia and has spent time living and traveling throughout many regions of the world. Rose and I both discovered each other’s work through Instagram and followed one another for many years before finally meeting in 2018.

While many know Rose for her writing, which has been published in Mousse Magazine, Oyster, and Artist Profile among others, she in her own right is an incredibly talented visual artist. The way in which she views her subject matter has always stood out to me as an incredibly unique perspective. We began our conversation about her work and duality of her combined artistic practices and where throughout her process they converge. [Read more…]

8.14

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That Evening Sun is a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row
by Suitcase Joe

Suitcase Joe. "That Evening Sun," a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row, is at Riot Material Magazine.

Jonathan Michael Fitzgerald is an ex marine who prefers to sleep out in the open as opposed to a tent. He feels much safer being able to see what’s going on around him. He lost his left eye while being robbed when a man stabbed him with a screwdriver. He said he tried to pick up what was left of it off the ground before heading to the hospital, but no luck. He did open up his eye and let me peer into the empty socket. I tried to get a few photos, but they didn’t do it justice. [Read more…]

6.5

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That Evening Sun is a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row
by Suitcase Joe

Suitcase Joe. "That Evening Sun," a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row, is at Riot Material Magazine.

It’s always good to catch up with Jerry. He heard there’s a picture of him hanging in a museum and he has been recognized on the street because of it. He seemed very excited about that. Despite his physical appearance, Jerry is very approachable and likes to talk. If you ever come across him, don’t be shy to say hello. Like many people living on the street they become easily overlooked and starved for genuine human interaction. A little can go along way. [Read more…]

3.31

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That Evening Sun is a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row
by Suitcase Joe

Suitcase Joe. "That Evening Sun," a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row, is at Riot Material Magazine.

Frankie here has been living in Skid Row for three years. She’s originally from Tennessee and still has a thick Tennessee accent. She wouldn’t shake my hand because she said hers was too dirty. I make a point to shake everyone’s hands I meet, regardless of how dirty they appear. It’s a small gesture that quickly puts you on someone’s level and often their demeanor quickly opens up. Sometimes I see people down in Skid Row, often volunteers doing wonderful things to help people, but they wear gloves when dealing with the street people. I think that puts a certain kind of barrier between you and them. [Read more…]

3.19

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That Evening Sun is a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row
by Suitcase Joe

Suitcase Joe. "That Evening Sun," a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row, is at Riot Material Magazine.

I’ve been seeing Michelle around downtown quite a bit lately. Sometimes she remembers me and other times I have to introduce myself all over again, even after running into her the day before. Regardless if she remembers me or not, she is always soft spoken and sweet. I didn’t ask her how she got the black eye or cut on her face, but she was still kind enough to let me take some photos. [Read more…]

3.18

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That Evening Sun is a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row
by Suitcase Joe

Suitcase Joe. "That Evening Sun," a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row, is at Riot Material Magazine.

Doreen was using the reflection of a van window to brush her hair and ready herself for me to take a couple photos when I took this shot. Turns out it was the best one. I hadn’t seen Doreen in over a year when I came across her on Glady’s street, close to where she used to live and work out of her tent. She tells me she wasn’t getting along with her neighbors so it was time to move away from that street. Now she lives under a bridge beneath the 110 highway where it’s a little more peaceful. There are all kinds of characters and personalities among the street residents I’ve met in Skid Row, but Doreen is one of the more vibrant ones I’ve come across, yet. I’m happy to see she is still around. [Read more…]

3.17

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That Evening Sun is a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row
by Suitcase Joe

Suitcase Joe. "That Evening Sun," a photo-journal of life, love and interminable lasting on LA’s Skid Row, is at Riot Material Magazine.

Alfred, known on the streets as Evil, has been a long time affiliate of the Diamond Street Gang, but is no longer an active member. He once made large amounts of money, running drugs and guns for his gang, but eventually that all caught up to him. Things continued to get worse and he lost his wife in a divorce and the custody of his son. He tells me: “I hit a rough patch and lost my kids. I feel like a burden to everyone. I’m ashamed to be seen by my mother.” The wound on his stomach is from when he shot himself with a .45 last November. That was his first attempt at taking his own life. He tells me he’s made a lot of mistakes and with that has come a heavy price. Alfredo has exhausted the generosity of his friends and family and he has no one left to turn to. For the last two weeks he’s been living out of his car in Skid Row where he prefers to be out of sight from everyone. This past Saturday he tried to take his own life again. He got hold of a new gun, sat in his car, turned up the music and put the gun to his head. Luckily a man nearby happened to see this and quickly pounced upon him, wrestling Alfred’s gun out of his hands. The gun went off in the incident, but fortunately no one was shot. Whoever the man was talked to Alfred and calmed him down. He bought him food and alcohol and gave him a few dollars for his drugs (crack). The man told Alfred, he knows he can’t control him doing any of that, but please don’t do this, (referring to his gun), which he said he was going to give him back, but asked him please not to take his life. Alfred didn’t want the gun back. He told the man to keep it. But he told me this of his attempted suicides: “I lived, but I’m not happy to be alive.” [Read more…]