ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL: Historians Insist Gaugin Cut Off Van Gogh’s Ear, Not Van Gogh

THE GUARDIAN: Vincent van Gogh’s fame may owe as much to a legendary act of self-harm, as it does to his self-portraits. But, 119 years after his death, the tortured post-Impressionist’s bloody ear is at the centre of a new controversy, after two historians suggested that the painter did not hack off his own lobe but was attacked by his friend, the French artist Paul Gauguin. According to official versions, the disturbed Dutch painter cut off his ear with a razor after a row with Gauguin in 1888. Bleeding heavily, Van Gogh then walked to a brothel and presented the […]

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LIVE REVIEW: Philadanco’s Movers & Shakers

BY AARON STELLA There are some works of art, so exquisite and unique, that they warrant a review fitted to their specific abstraction. Such was the case April 30th of my viewing of Philadanco’s 39th annual round of spring performances, “Movers and Shakers”, which consisted of three world premieres and one company premiere performance. And so, I give you something a little different: Red Envelope (World Premiere) The faded beige curtains ascended and the house lights dimmed to total blackness. I glanced at my program before all sources of light were extinguished, catching that the first dance was entitled Red […]

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TONY CONRAD Q&A: Minimalism Is Less Than Zero

BY JONATHAN VALANIA In 1965 Tony Conrad moved out of his New York City apartment, and like many people moving out he left behind a few items, one of which was a book. This is notable for three reasons: First, his roommate was John Cale, a classically-trained violist with a taste for the avant garde who, like Conrad, was a member of the Theater Of Eternal Music, a downtown collective of music-makers exploring infinite drone, endless improvisation and multi-media freakouts. Second, when Conrad moved out, Lou Reed moved in. Third, the book he left behind was a smutty S&M novel […]

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ARTSY: Detritus

“Icarus Ascending” by Jose Gamalinda, part of Detritus, now showing at T-bar BY AARON STELLA The long awaited debut of Jose Gamalinda, emergent artist and veteran bartender at Woody’s for over 18 years, has finally arrived. Now his pieces, which have hitherto  remained unexposed to the public, are on display at T-bar (located at 12th and Sansom streets) in a show aptly titled “Detritus.” Gamalinda specializes in collages and reproductions in Bic pen. Most of Gamalinda’s friends, co-workers and fellow art enthusiasts were already familiar with his work. For years, they’ve prodded him to invest the time needed to actualize […]

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