Tony Oursler:

(I showed this video to my students the other day. It was made at the Armory Fair last winter.)

Kirk Varnedoe on Picasso and Matisse:

(I'm astonished that I found my all-time favorite TV episode on You-Tube recently.)

Photo credit: New York Times

My local "Oz":

"I have a very simple definition of an artist: The artist is someone who pays attention and reports back. A good artist pays close attention and knows how to report back. I teach a course called "Looking and Listening." The class and I practice paying attention. I take them to many different places, often for a full day, and we look and listen. Sometimes we go to an oil field in the Central Valley, or to a mountaintop to watch the sky brighten as the sun begins to rise, or to a homeless neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, or to the port at Long Beach. We gradually learn that our looking and listening are coded by our own prejudices and learn to see and hear more clearly. And learn more about what we do see."
--James Benning (from an interview in September's Art Forum)

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Of interest to only about 6 people on this planet right now, but its my rather satisfying work of art tonight:

Shannon Sullivan at Piante (Eureka, CA)

"Puff Print", 2007, clay, resin and plexiglass. (My colleague's solo show will run from October 5 to October 30--go if you're in northern California.)