New Year, New Stuff

In art, there are all kinds of things you should read, like that dusty copy of Baudrillard sitting on your nightstand. Unfortunately there are no French philosophers on Glasstire’s staff, so we’re gonna shoot for stuff you want to read. See what you think of these three new series.

True Confessions!
The Worst Piece of Art I Ever Made
Artists confess to the stuff they made that still gives them that sick feeling in the pit of their stomach. With humor and poignancy, Michael Bise revealed the story behind The Black Box in our first installment. With an innate knack for the absurd, Ludwig Schwarz theorized in Hot Dogs for All that bad art could require shock therapy to be forgotten. Next week, Dolan Smith, artist and director of the Museum of the Weird, confesses that his bad art is what got Dan Rather fired.

Secrets Revealed!
Art Narc
Artists, curators, preparators, art handlers, studio assistants, gallerists, art consultants and collectors reveal the story behind the story. In our first installment, art insider Stuart Rose discloses the glamorous and not-so-glamorous realities of Art Basel Miami. If you have a story to tell, e-mail [email protected]. Names and details can be changed to protect the innocent — and the guilty.

The Ten List
No, it’s not like the Artforum thing – we probably won’t tell you about some must-see installation in a Williamsburg broom closet. It’s just ten statements about a topic by savvy people with something interesting to say. Upcoming contributors include Kim Davenport, director of the all-installation-art, all-the-time Rice Gallery. One of the smartest and most down-to-earth people in the Texas art scene, Davenport has seen it all, and she’s giving us her “Do’s and Don’ts of Installation Art.”

Just in time for FotoFest 2008, we’ll feature the wisdom of Clint Willour, the curator, collector, juror and frequent portfolio reviewer named “Best Art Guru” by the Houston Press. Willour will present ten pieces of advice for those photographers descending upon FotoFest’s International Meeting Place with their portfolios. A preview of one of Clint’s tips — based on numerous past experiences — “Don’t show me pictures of your naked crotch and ask me what I think.”

We’ll also be hearing from Contemporary Art Museum Houston curator Toby Kamps , who came to the CAMH last January from Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center. His show The Old Weird America opens at the CAMH this May. Kamps is giving us his top ten “brilliant but crazy” art ideas of all time. Among the winners is Laurel Nakadate, the gal whose work (which involves picking up strange men) has found-dead-in-a-ditch written all over it.

As always, we want to hear from you. Email your complaints, suggestions or existential crises to [email protected].