Saturday, December 4, 2010

Having a Party, Party at ART BASEL - MIAMI

Inspired by comic books, movie posters,
surfer art, hot rod illustration, etc. the work of  
ROBERT WILLIAMS at Tony Shafrazi Gallery

(FUN WITH artist TONY OURSLER, click on link above, use the back arrow to return to this blog.)

There is a debate in the art world as to which city has the best ART FAIR. Some say Art Basel - Switzerland, some say the Armory Show - NYC and some say it will be Hong Kong but this weekend everyone says it is ART BASEL - MIAMI. The best New York art galleries, European art galleries, Asian art galleries and, most importantly, the Latin American galleries have set up booths and are showing off their inventory. 250 galleries have rented space at "Art Basel - Miami" which opened to the public last Thursday (Dec 2, 2010) and will end this Sunday (Dec. 5, 2010). Wait, that's not all! If you go to this or any of the major art fairs, you will get an additional dozen satellite art fairs orbiting all around the big boys.
(see a list of satellite fairs below)

In Miami today, you CAN buy a Warhol, Picasso or other name brand artist from the past, but that is NOT the draw of contemporary art fairs. They are set up, specifically, to sell work by living artists like Robert Williams, Julian Opie and, at Art Basel - Miami, 648 other warm blooded artists. Most people visiting the fair actually come only to see what they like and to find out where the art world is heading. The mobs of collectors from three years ago, running through the preview show vying to be first and buying up as much art as they can afford are a thing of the past, replaced by a more sedate crowd who collectively will still spend millions during these four days in Miami.

The host city has set up outdoor art exhibits and large corporations, media and galleries are hosting big, BIG invitation only art parties with open bars and all night dancing! One tweet I read said, "Based on how 'costumed' and dressed up the crowd has been at the parties so far, it makes one wonder how much time is being spent at the fairs and how much time is being spent getting ready for each evening of parties!"

This past month the major art collectors of the world started spending obscene amounts of money for art at the NYC auction houses. The high-end galleries are also expecting a very good 2010-11 art season, which ends in May. Nobody has a good explanation for why the high-end art market has come back so strong, but speculation is that "other" investments are performing very modestly. Although there is tremendous risk on the part of collectors who speculate on art as an investment, when they do accidentally own a winner, the payoff can deliver an astronomical return on their investment. The worst case: if they don't strike it rich, art collecting is still fun and you do get to keep the art.

Large contemporary art fairs must be experienced to be appreciated, so I have included some video links to let you get a feeling for the atmosphere. Between Miami-Basel and the many satellite fairs going on all around Miami Beach, there are thousands and thousands of pieces of art being shown and hopefully being sold this weekend. That is if they don't sabotage the whole process by keeping the collectors out all night, every night, partying!

(Use the back arrow to return to this blog.)  
LINK #1 SHOWS JULIAN OPIE's WALKING WOMAN
LINK #3 SHOWS DESIGN MIAMI SATELLITE FAIR, 2010.

Anchored by Art Basel, Miami, here are the satellite Fairs: Design Miami, Photo Miami, Femme Art Miami, SCOPE International Contemporary Art Fair, Art Miami, Red Dot Fair, INK Miami, Art Asia Miami, Graffiti Gone Global, Verge Art Fair, Sculpt Miami, NADA Art Fair Miami, Pulse Miami, Aqua Wynwood, Tribal Miami Art Show, Zones Art Fair Miami, PooL Art Fair.
NEW TIMES MIAMI - CULTURE BLOG gives an overview of each satellite fair, to visit you must cut and paste.
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2010/11/cultist_guide_to_art_basels_sa.php
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2010/11/cultist_guide_to_satellite_art.php
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cultist/2010/11/cultist_guide_to_satellite_art_1.php


FOOD

The world loves fried potatoes! I wonder if the origin of fast food fries and morning hash-browns is Latkas?

Since my Jewish friends are now several days into the eight days of Hanukkah they are scarfing down fried potatoes with no guilt, right and left. Whether you call them latkas, livivot, fasputshes or onion & potato pancakes they are very tasty morsels to people of all faiths. Latkas have become so popular that restaurants are serving them as starters with smoked salmon or as a part of the main course with meat or fish presented on top. For Hanukkah latkas are traditionally accompanied by bowls of sour cream, sugar and applesauce.

I came across a recipe that allows the a latkas to be frozen. So if you ever want to start a catering business that serves latkas by the hundreds or if you just want to actually attend the party you are hosting, instead of frying food all night in the kitchen - keep this recipe handy.

Make-Ahead and Freeze, Latkas
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
INGREDIENTS
  • 2½ pounds potatoes (about 8 large)-or, baking, boiling, or Yukon Gold
  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • About ¾ cup canola oil (for frying)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a tray with paper towels for draining latkas and have a baking sheet ready for keeping latkas warm. 2. Peel and grate potatoes and onions on the large holes of a grater or with a food processor fitted with a coarse grating disk, alternating onion and potato. Transfer grated onion and potato to a colander. Squeeze mixture by handfuls to remove as much liquid as possible. 3. Put potato-onion mixture in a bowl. Add egg, salt, pepper, and flour and mix well. 4. Heat ½ cup oil in a deep, large, heavy skillet before cooking. For each latka, place about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into pan. Flatten with back of a spoon so each pancake is 2½ to 3 inches in diameter. Do not crowd them. Fry over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until crisp and golden brown. Turn carefully with 2 slotted spatulas so oil doesn’t splatter. Transfer to paper towels. Stir batter before frying each new batch. Add more oil to the pan as necessary, and heat it before adding more latkes. After frying about half the batter, put latkas on unlined baking sheet and pat tops of latkas with paper towels to remove any extra oil 5. Serve hot or freeze. 6. To freeze, let cool, paper towels should have all been removed, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Once they are frozen, spatula them into freezer bags . To re-heat, thaw, then return them to a cookie sheet and place into a preheated 450°F oven for about 5 minutes. Test a few latkas to determine the cooking time in your oven. It is surprising, but you may like them better this way, the extra baking makes them even more crispy..


Until later,
Jack

 © ARTS&FOOD,(ARTSnFOOD.blogspot.com) All rights reserved, © Copyright Jack A. Atkinson  2010 Under All International, Digital, Intellectual Property and Copyright Laws. Images © Copyright individual Creators, Lenders or Fabricators.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)