When Art Basel came to Miami Beach in 2002, I couldn’t have been happier. I was about to graduate from the Maryland Institute College of Art and had plans to return to Florida. It seemed this was the place to be – outside of New York, that is. Over the years, Art Basel has grown, with satellite shows and pop-up galleries expanding throughout Miami.
Artist Desi Santiago was the man behind the epic-sized installation that featured a giant black dog wrapped around the Lords Hotel.
Called Gypsy, she breathed smoke and shot lasers from her eyes.
Gypsy also told fortunes. People wrote their questions on cards, dropped them into a box and then learned the answer as Gypsy boomed a “yes,” “no” or “maybe.”
WLRN's Marva Hinton loves cats. I mean, she really, really loves cats.
So, it came as no surprise to me that when planning a visit to Art Basel last week she decided her time would be best spent at Art Meow-sel in O Cinema: a gallery dedicated solely to cat-related art.
It's weird, I know. But it's also kind of brilliant.
As someone who isn't an art aficionado, yet has a lot of opinions about cats, I have to say that this gallery was awesome.
There are two things that drive Art Basel Miami Beach: passion for art and financial wheeling and dealing. The organizers of one of the world's top art fairs cater to VIP's in ways that range from party invitations to private tours. Retired attorney Frank Herzog led a group of potential buyers through the fair, taking them from abstract expressionism to minimalism, pop art, and what he thinks could be the next big thing.
The assorted farewells to Art Basel in the national press this morning leave a variety of impressions, not all of them positive, of Miami's big festival of art, celebrity and wealth.
Let's start with the Wall Street Journal, which left regretting its descent into the classic loop of insanity -- doing the same thing and hoping for different results:
This is for all the times that you wanted to step on a piece of art.
During Art Basel week, Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood becomes a virtual factory of street art. And by street, we mean "on the ground."
This ground work is usually passed by without a second glance in this part of town. Most of the work is done with stencils and the same images and phrases can be found lining the area's streets, even in other parts of the city.
Last week, we gave you Trina Sargalski's tips on the pop-up food venues that will disappear with the end of Art Basel. Today is the last day for those places.
But it's not just the last day of Art Basel. It's Sunday. In December. And if you're trying to figure out how to juggle art, football and a reasonable blood sugar level , here are few places that may satisfy all three, in close proximity to the various fairs.
Some Art Basel-ers have been pretty shutter happy this week.
Looking around the Creative Commons content on Flickr from Art Basel 2012, there are quite a few beautiful photos of the galleries and events, as well as views of the city from this week's goings-on.
Here a slideshow of some of the photos that caught my eye.
