Art and Crimefighting

crimestory03_450

Above: blurry still from painter David Reed's video piece where he digitally inserted an abstract painting of his into the background of the '80s TV show Crime Story (mentioned in the previous post). Detectives walk around the room and the painting sort of quivers on the office wall behind them. The composite isn't exactly seamless--this was made in 2001 so the technology was still a little shaky. As I recall, the actual, physical painting was hanging nearby on the wall at Max Protetch. The low tech crappiness of the video is part of the charm: this is probably my favorite work of art by Reed.

Painting Impossible

James_Nares

cruisin

These pics probably look better placed side by side but you get the idea: there's something inherently sexy about a suspended guy working. Top: James Nares; bottom: that bad actor.

Someone should do a James Nares/David Reed battle exhibition. Who does the best zen swirly brush stroke of death?

Nares has it goin' on with the backwards baseball cap, gas mask, and No Wave roots. Reed upped his hipness cred a while back, though, by digitally retro-compositing one of his paintings into the background of an episode of the 1986-88 TV series Crime Story.

Cruise mostly just poses, though some consider him a painter of film.

Update: Tom Cruise vs Maude Lebowsky (hat tip shm)