12 Comments

1. 

   dan on March 29, 2009 at 5:31 pm

   Isn’t the heart of criticisms against collage that collage artists use images of snoop dogg because “snoop dogg is cool?” Is the mindless application of images interesting because “size matters”? Isn’t it in poor taste to make jokes about people dying in front of your studio? Am I just being uptight?

2. 

   Amanda B-Rowder on March 30, 2009 at 5:34 pm

   yeah.a bit uptight…..

   1.Yeah, i think that using Snoop as a cool icon can be similar to how people use Hitler as a evil. These are symbols.

   plus who said cool in art, was uncool? for-shizzle…

   2. mindless application….really? if you look at his work they are not mindlessly organized. don’t forget the location of the posters, where they were found and how it effects the image. Nyc vs. rome…very different.

   3. Danger is involved in this work. Stealing posters and ripping off imagery. this is not collage that is made from purchasing a newspaper and cutting and pasting. The process is just as important as the final piece.

   i think that the joke also works well with the irony that a lot of artists have studios in not-so-safe areas as a way to afford the space, where as their work is presented in many locations where the affluent and rich can purchase them. ultimate low to high.

   cheers….a

3. 

   tom sanford on March 30, 2009 at 8:15 pm

   you are being to uptight, uptight dan. no one died in front of michael’s studio and this work is self reflexive, right?

4. 

   uptight dan on March 31, 2009 at 2:23 pm

   I haven’t seen the work in person, so I can only speak about what I heard in the interview. But I think snoop dogg equals cool or hitler equals evil aren’t very considered use of symbols. Without any sort of spin or subversion the use of those images to provoke certain canned responses in the viewer is played out.

   I’m not criticizing the organization, I’m criticizing the application. The rome vs. nyc comment is not worth arguing. We all know those two cities are different.

   All jokes are based on hyperbole, so one can also make this joke: So a white artist goes into a largely black/latino neighborhood and sets up his studio. He’s not a part of the community. He’s the first wave of gentrification, so of course someone getting shot in front of his studio seems funny when he goes back for an interview with his other artist friends who also move into the neighborhood and raise rents so the family of the person who was shot can no longer afford to live there.

   And if the work is self-reflexive, and therefore not open to criticism, doesn’t that make for a boring podcast? Is that the point of bad at sports? Then why don’t you disable comments?

5. 

   Mark Staff Brandl on March 31, 2009 at 4:44 pm

   I haven’t listened to the podcast (I won’t be able to till Friday), so my comment here does not pertain to Michael Anderson or collage (I googled him and liked a few things very much), but I want to point out that purely logically speaking, “Uptight Dan” is right. The unconsidered, standardized use of “symbols” is generally called using claptraps. And a patchwork of claptraps, particularly when using sentimental ones, is the definition of kitsch.

   I hope you talked about Mimmo Rotella too. Who is definitely underrated, the Italian Pop artist who started the shredded billboard guerilla stuff.
   http://www.rogallery.com/rotella_mimmo/rotella-biography.htm

6. 

   Amanda B. on March 31, 2009 at 9:30 pm

   what has collage done to you?

7. 

   Mark Staff Brandl on April 1, 2009 at 1:03 am

   huh? If you mean me, Amanda — my comment had nothing to do with collage — that is the actual broadly accepted definition of kitsch, in whatever medium.

8. 

   Amanda B-Rowder on April 1, 2009 at 9:34 pm

   oh no…the other dude…

9. 

   michael anderson on April 2, 2009 at 12:07 am

   hey i hate that the only thing that you heard was me trying to answer something that has no answer,,,it’s tough to be on the spot, but you really should look at the work before you start just typing away..thanks for the defense amanda and tom stickin up 4 your boy like that…
   rome and nyc are different but when you combine them thats when the magic happens.
   have fun

10. 

    michael anderson on April 2, 2009 at 12:09 am

    yo i dropped joe diebes name too…that’s one you missed
    http://www.joediebes.com

11. 

    Mark Staff Brandl on April 3, 2009 at 6:14 am

    Hey, great interview. Michael does a good job of explaining what is unique about his very painterly approach, which at the same time is penultimately collage — I love the serial stealing approach! I get the impression his objects are really mobjects — something like leathery sheets of pasted together poster and billboard elements. Sounds exciting.

12. 

    michael anderson on April 6, 2009 at 11:08 am

    hi mark
    they actually come out like flexible cardboard sheets…i’ve made pieces as large as 7.5′ x 14′ in one piece, but i now stay to 8’x8′ as an individual piece…the piece black music vs helvetica, although it’s 10′ x 12′ i made using a new technique (to me) of panneling…4 pannels fit together 5′ x6′ each to form the piece…easier to control and no loss of image or composition
    michael
    http://www.marlboroughgallery.com