The art-buying hordes have descended on Miami for Art Basel Miami Beach. Artists from Miami and neighboring communities are torn. Is it an opportunity to expose their work to a wider audience, or is it an unwanted intrusion to be scrupulously avoided? Ashlee Harrell of the New-Times Broward Palm Beach presents a roundup of artists who have decided to participate. “Some artists, with no gallery to call home, have rented houses in South Beach, and one insolvent artist even plans to wander the fair in homeless garb as a piece of performance art. The themes of the artists’ works don’t seem to follow any particular pattern, though at least one masterpiece screams, ‘I was created in South Florida.’ That would be the painting with the lifelike vagina, and the dildo set up alongside it, meant for literally fucking the art. Other works explore the macabre, the link between crashed cars and life obstacles, the mentality of an athlete, the historical connection between hallucinogenic plants and religion, and, yes, the horror of ABMB itself.” Read more.
For daily coverage of ABMB, check out these excellent (and often hilarious) art blogs: Art Fag City and C-Monster.
