Middle East – Picturing Life

MarcosLopezYellowTruck — Asadores, 2003 by Marcos Lopez

You can attend the VIP Art Fair 2.0 virtually which is pretty awesome. It is the second year for VIP, and I have to say that it feels pretty much like a traditional art fair. There are 135 exhibitors from 35 countries, with good representation of exhibitors from around the world including the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. The site is easy to navigate and filled with a plethora of information showcasing galleries that represent emerging artists alongside dealers like Gagosian Gallery who represent the usual suspects.

You will also find an educational component to the site which is worth your investigation. For example here are segments from Art21, the PBS television show devoted to art; discussions with dealers videotaped inside their galleries; and rotating “insider tours” of the fair.

rocket man — The clouds are more beautiful from above; 2006Video/Film: HD video 8'49 Guido van der Werve

An Art Expo on the Web, Virtual Fairgoer Included (nytimes.com)

The 2011 Ted Prize Winner goes to street artist Jr who, for many years now, has been plastering cities with photographs of faces of people who are in extreme poverty or who live on the edge of society. These images are then scaled to large sizes and pasted on the walls, roof tops, and public structures found in that particular community. His work combines art and action and deals with commitment, freedom, identity and limits. You can read more about Jr at TED PRIZE