Zuzu Fridays z07 – Ink in Omaha

I visited Omaha last week — you can see one entry from last Friday…Zuzu Fridays z06 – O! is for Omaha! and I’ll be adding one about THE Bemis next week.

The first day I arrived in Omaha last week, I hung out in my friend James Gilbert‘s studio while he worked.  He had an intern working along side him – her name is Claire.

Once it was time for lunch, we sat down and had pizza together in the studio.  I learned that Claire is from Omaha, is currently in university (interested in Anthropology and Museum Mgmt) and is interning at the Bemis — working with artists and exhibitions, among other things.  I noticed that Claire had a few tattoos so I asked her what the interesting studios were in Omaha.  She named a couple of places.

Then she tells me, oh and by the way, me and my girlfriends are camping out on Friday night so we can get a free tattoo on Saturday.  WHAT??!!  I love it.

Claire with her new ink.

Here’s the skinny…

Liquid Courage (custom tattoo studio) was hosting a customer appreciation day.  If you had been tattooed there in the last 12 months, you were able to show up on this particular day to receive a FREE tattoo.

You did have to bring a donation for the Humane Society which I thought was pretty cool.  So there were bags of kitty litter, dog food and the like.

And this is probably the most interesting part (and the reason that Claire and her girlfriends camped out) — once you arrived, you were given a number.  This was the order you were to be tattooed AND the order in which got to choose the flash that you then got tattooed.

Even though Claire was there at 10:30pm the night before, she was still #9.

So Saturday around noon, James and I made our way over to Liquid Courage.  There was Claire.  She had her flash picked out and was ready to go in.  Once she was in, she and her artist graciously let us hang out for a few minutes while she was getting tattooed.

Thanks for letting me crash, Claire!  xoxoxoxo

Here are some pics…

Liquid Courage

Liquid Courage

her choice…a good choice indeed!

the rules

Claire getting tattooed

Claire getting tattooed

the final product

Zuzu Fridays is a weekly post about all things weird, pervy, vampy, sexy…or just plain effed up.

Zuzu Fridays z04 (Spain edition)

For this Zuzu Friday, I decided to share some images from an exhibition that I saw in Madrid at a contemporary art space called La Casa Encendida.  This was one of the better contemporary art venues I saw while in Spain.  Apparently they do exhibitions but also have a variety of classes that they host.

One of the exhibitions they had up was called Generation 12.  This was an exhibition of young, emerging artists.  One of my favorite projects from the exhibition was a collaboration between Almudena Lobera and Isabel Martínez Abascal.  Delicate line drawings were made, then tattooed on people.  The original drawings then were destroyed and all that is left is the drawing tattooed on the body.

Portadores.  La imagen en el campo ampliado del cuerpo.  (Carriers.  The image on the expanded field of the body.)

This is an excerpt from an essay written by Fernando Castro Flórez

“…Portadores is a playful modulation of that index-conditioned practice that calls into question both the responsibility as well as the conventional notion of the “owner” of a work of art. Destroyed, the original drawing only remains with a skin tattooed and documents of an action that hybridizes, with tremendous clarity, the drawing, the tattoo, the performative dimension, but also the photograph and documentation, proposing a dynamic that has to do with the relational aesthetic.  The drawings-tattoos of Almudena Lobera and Isabel Martínez Abascal do not produce a “perverse space” in some voyeuristic sense, nor a kind of singular extimacy. Rather, they have “certified” the incarnations (never so well described) of the arte hipertélico6: the tatooed bodies outline another idea of architecture in which desire set adrift is crucial, a kind of longing where anything possessed is an illusion.”

Enjoy the photos – even though they are from my iPhone (not the best quality).  More about the rest of my Spanish adventures will come this Sunday.  Te quiero.  xo

Zuzu Fridays z03 – Bone to Marrow

Elm Street Tattoo

As you read in an earlier post, I worked with Shepard Fairey and his crew last week for a city-wide mural project in Dallas.  It was mostly work but we made time for play…

After a fun get-together at one of our Board Members’ homes last Friday night, we took the after-party to the Double Wide.  After a few beers, it was OBVIOUSLY time for a tattoo.

My new buddy, Jon without an H was spearheading the adventure.  I suggested we head to Elm Street Tattoo — a Dallas tattooing institution.

So we did.  And so Jon got not one, but two tattoos.  Check out pics of his tattoos…and also some sexy vintage flash from the shop.

Jon

Before...

After...

Bone to Marrow

And here are some photos of the flash…

And here is the proof that I was there…

Zuzu Fridays z02

I will continue to shamelessly promote the place the place where I work (Dallas Contemporary).

This is one of our newest ads that is currently in the February issue of FD Luxe.

The hot, new look is attributed to the collaboration between our brilliant, creative in-house staff and a few amazing photographers…

For this ad:

Photography by  Mr.Glass with Heels and Candy – check the ladies out on his site…sizzzzzzle.

Design by Alex Curington – if you need design work done, she is a rock star.

And of course….check out the exhibitions that the ad is promoting – up until March 25.

xoxo

Gruene Hall, Goats and Tattoos

Gruene Hall coozie from Stephalou

For one of my first weekends of 2012 I made a short trip to Austin.  I loaded the car with some works to be returned to Austin tattoo artist Jason Brooks.  I worked with Jason this fall on an event/exhibition– which rocked and rolled.  I wish we could do a tattoo catwalk event every weekend.  The drive to Austin was easy and uneventful on Hwy 35 – which as we all know isn’t always the case.  It’s kind of a crapshoot – smooth sailing or a parking lot.  Luckily, the traffic gods were on my side.

Since I was heading down there, I decided to call up some amaaaazing ladies that are friends (and family) of mine – Stephanie Majewski and Chrissy Lawrence.

We met at Gruene Hall – the oldest dance hall in Texas.  It’s always so nice to be down in the hill country.  The pace is different, people are friendly, the air smells fresh and the landscape is pretty…that is, prettier than most places in Texas (not hatin’).  We listened to some music and watched old hippies with really bad dance moves.  Pure entertainment.  And Stephanie bought me this super fab Gruene Hall koozie.

Gruene Hall

We then headed to the grocery store for wine and the essentials for a home-cooked meal prepared at Chrissy’s new little house in Wimberley (super cute cabin with a river in the backyard).  With Jackson Browne playing in the background, Stephanie and I chopped veggies and Chrissy made the magic happen in the pots.  We cracked open the wine and sat down for a great meal together.  I miss those ole goats (as they lovingly call each other).

Stephanie and our dinner

With a nice wine buzz, we fell asleep to the sound of the wind chimes of Wimberley.  We woke up and all headed to our respective jobs of the day.  Mine brought me to Great Wave Tattoo on East 5^th Street in Austin.  I returned the work to Jason safe and sound.  I then sat down with him and fellow tattooer Ben Siebert.  I picked their brain about the project I am working on – a book focusing on tattooing in Texas.  We had a great conversation about the history of Texas tattooing and the artists that are pushing the envelope.  Thanks to Ben and Jason for taking the time to talk with me.  It’s a fascinating topic and I’m obsessed.  Perhaps it’s because I’m practically a tattoo virgin – with only a small tramp stamp that I got when I was 21 and recently broken up with a boyfriend (a common story for many young women, unfortunately.  ha.).

But maybe, just maybe, I’ll change this in 2012 – my virginity status, that is.  Stay tuned.

After more serious talk, I brought it down a few notches and asked Jason some questions.  See below.

Great Wave Tattoo, Austin

Jason in his studio

What words would you use to describe the aesthetic of tattooing in Texas?

Bold.  Straight-forward.  And on the weird side.  The weirder the better.

Have you tattooed anyone of note or celebrity?

Johnny Knoxville

What is your go-to brand for shoes?

Vans (although he had on a pretty hot pair of Nikes)

What magazine do you look at for tattoo culture?

I haven’t looked at a tattoo magazine in a long time.

Ok, other magazines that interest you?

Conde Naste Travel, Caribbean Travel, People

Do you have any travel plans coming up?

Colorado Springs

Favorite Austin restaurants?

Me So Hungry for a  food trailer, Vivo for Mexican food, Café Josie for the best beef tenderloin in Austin and it’s BYOB

Any new year’s resolutions to share?

Play more basketball

What was the first professional tattoo you ever did?

(Jason showed me the tattoos on his own ankles.  It was tribal-esque design.  I asked if I could take a picture and he immediately pulled up his socks.  No, was the answer to that question.)

Great Wave Tattoo, Austin

2011 Recap

I promise that my posts won’t always be this long…….

2011 was a fantastic year for me.

I had fun, interesting travels, made new friends, watched my nieces get cuter by the minute, learned more about Dallas…among other things. I know I have left out a lot in this recap but these are some highlights.

Early in the year, I found myself in a warehouse in northeast Dallas making a rather large purchase of spray paint. I tried my hand at it but proved to be terrible. The paint was used for one of the best (and most popular exhibitions) that came through Dallas Contemporary in 2011 by a collective of graffiti artists called SOURGRAPES from Oak Cliff. These guys were amazing to work with…I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Sour Grapes mural, courtesy Dallas Contemporary

The Grapes - Jose, Arturo, Me and Eddie

In March, my travels took me to New York for the Armory Show. The fair itself wasn’t the best but all that happens during the week of a fair keeps it interesting. Meeting with great people, seeing good and bad art, and learning more about the ways of the art world. AND I was in New York! – a city that I LOVE. During the week I was there I celebrated my birthday. Two of my closest friends, Alexa Brooks and Paul Jeanes took the train up from Baltimore (my old stomping grounds) to celebrate with me. We met up with my friends Jeff Owens, his beautiful lady Jane and a friend that I wish I could see more often, Hidenori Ishii. We ate great food, drank too much and ended up dancing (because Alexa forced me) til 3:30 in the morning. With an 8:00am flight the next morning, it was definitely memorable…and I learned that I’m not supposed to stay out that late anymore.

April was the month I worked with Juergen Teller on his exhibition. Juergen (who you might know from Marc Jacobs print ads) and his studio director Georg were amazing to work with. And the show was fantastic. If you have seen Juergen’s photographs and then meet him – it all makes sense. One of the first days, he rolled in wearing running shorts and running shoes paired with a black blazer….smoking a never-ending cigarette. At times he was smoking inside Dallas Contemporary which I tried to stop from happening but finally gave up…

True or False? This is Juergen telling me I look like a Greek goddess.

In June I made a trip to Venice for the 52^nd Venice Biennale. What a fantastic trip this was. I had been to the Biennale 4 years prior, but going for my job was an entirely different experience. The meetings and art-going were from morning to night.  Art by day, parties by night.  Highlights from Venice: The Pinault Collection at Punta della Dogana (housed in a Tadao Ando building, this was fucking AMAZING – one of the best things I saw all year), I saw Salma Hayak there (not really a highlight but I suppose it’s worth mentioning), the Greek pavilion, cappuccino ever morning, and watching the world’s best looking taxi drivers do their thing….

A highlight from Venice.

In August, my baby brother John Cluley turned 30 – Dirty 30 to be exact. John and my awesome sister-in-law Wendy Wheless live in the amazing city of Chicago. With a weekend of festivities planned, me, Mandy Cluley (sister), Ken (Dad) and Mary Ann Cluley (Mom) all made the trip up to celebrate.  We had seriously great food, met great people, watched a Sox game and had other fun. Read about it here…

Also in August my sweet, darling nieces turned 2 years old. I love them more than I thought I could ever love any person. Buggy and LiLi had a splash party with friends.  It was a hot summer day but with water to splash in and popsicles to enjoy (margaritas for the adults provided by Firefighter Margaritas), everyone had a great time.

Buggy and LiLi

In September, my dearest girlfriend Alexa moved to Madrid.  I miss her being stateside but at the same time, I’m thrilled for her. And thrilled for me because I will be visiting in February! What’s App has been a lifesaver. If you don’t know about it, you should.

My girl Alexa.

The Legendary event at Dallas Contemporary at the end of September with food installation artist Jennifer Rubell was one of the most interesting projects I’ve ever worked on. It was also the hardest I’ve ever worked…I definitely polished the ol’ juggling skills. I also learned a lot about food in Dallas which was great. I met talented people along the way and ate some of Dallas/Fort Worth’s tastiest food.  Click here for a great photo essay.

The same week was a tattoo catwalk event and exhibition with Austin tattoo artist Jason Brooks. I absolutely LOVED working on this. And this is where the obsession began. Spending time with Jason and about 20 of his clients was crazy, fun and beautiful. I’ve since began research for a larger project focused on tattooing in Texas. Stay tuned.

Gabe, one of the guys I met. Photo by Andrew Shepard. Courtesy Dallas Contemporary.

My visit to Marfa, Texas was in October.  I finally made the pilgrimage everyone has been talking about. The one-blinking-light, small, Texas town is an art mecca literally in the middle of nowhere. The presence of Donald Judd and the things that followed him there are truly amazing. I can’t wait to go back. Marfa is magical and I fell in love upon arrival (after the 9 hour drive from Dallas….ugh).

Prada, Marfa.

Every year during the first week of December is the Art Basel Miami Beach fair. People from all over the world come in and take over Miami. Gallerists, artists, celebrities and normal people like me come in to experience the fairs, art installations, parties, dinners, film screenings, parties and more parties.  It seemed like I woke up drinking champagne each day followed by more art-looking than my brain could absorb. A little food, more art, more champagne, bed and then wake up to start the cylce again.  Fun, super productive and exhausting.

As soon as I returned from Miami, I hit the ground running in Dallas to get ready for the installation of 3 artists’ exhibitions at Dallas Contemporary – Rob Pruitt, David Jablonowski and FAILURE. The artists built fountains out of Perrier water boxes, wheat pasted an entire 100+ feet hallway and installed an ambitious new media exhibition. Rob Pruitt was a thrill to work with. I wish I had recorded him the whole time we worked together. The things he would say and stories he would tell, for me, explained why he is such an exciting artist.

"Here Erin. In case you don't have a Christmas tree at home."

The holidays this year with my family (most importantly my nieces) were super fun. With Bugs and Li being 2 years old, gift-opening was enjoyed by all. Their Auntie (moi) got them a giant stuffed animal Tiger. It was a total impulse buy off of GILT and it was a huge hit. Bugs has kind of a love/hate relationship with animals. She loves animals but is deathly afraid of them. We all wondered how it would go over, but after some coaxing, we collectively named her Tata the Tiger and stuck stickers all over her. It was a hit. My Mom and Dad are the ultimate hosts so family get-togethers at their home are cozy. We eat my Mom’s menu of stellar meals, drink wine and beer, tell stories that we’ve all told each other a million times and now, we watch my nieces run around doing crazy things. LOVE.

La Familia.

I rang in the New Year with old friends from college and new friends that I met this year. It was a fun and happy new year.

Ok….let’s see what 2012 holds in store. Bring it.

Here goes…

Well, with much encouragement from a friend over the course of last year, I decided to start a blog.  I plan for this to be a way of documenting my adventures and my obsessions.  Here is a little bit about what that might entail…

My job is in the art world.  I work with an amazing group of people at Dallas Contemporary – a contemporary art museum.  The biggest (and best) part of my job is meeting and working with artists.  I work closely with the artists to make their exhibitions come together.  It can be wonderfully insane at times but incredibly rewarding….and I would say – NEVER dull.  I have also been very fortunate to travel for my job.  My plan is to share about these little jaunts to art fairs, museums, private collections…and one of the things the art world loves – parties.

My newest obsession is tattoo culture – specifically what is going on in Texas.  “Bold, straight-forward and on the weird side.” That is quoted from a tattoo artist in Austin I have worked with over the course of the year, Jason Brooks.  More on that later…

I am often around interesting fashion and design (also because of my job).  I am no expert on either topic but I know what I like (and don’t like) and always wish that I had documented along the way.  This is the perfect place to get started.

Other things that I love and plan on sharing about:  my beautiful (and brilliant) nieces, food (food!), interesting cocktails, and fun things that I find (or my friends find) to do in the fine city of Dallas.  Oh, and things that have a touch of weird, erotic or pervy.

So here we go…cheers to this blog beginning in 2012.  Even if the only one who ends up reading this is my friend who encouraged me to start it.  Thank you to Little V’s mommy….shout out! xx