CURRENT ISSUE
Guest edited by William Corwin
Will Corwin, Sylvia and Marcello in the Fontana di Trevi, 2015, 6 min. 16 sec.
I liken this project to those old experiments (mostly theoretical and rarely put into practice) which postulated what language a child would speak first if kept deprived of language while growing up—the general consensus being reached that it would be either Hebrew, Greek, or Latin. Similarly, if left to their own devices, what would two artists, or a larger group of artists collaborate on if they were given carte blanche: without requirements to produce something archival or of having to organize an exhibition, song, or essay. For La Dolce Vita nine artists and four artist collectives (for a total of twenty artists) were invited to collaborate, conversate, or do whatever they’d like to do together, and I filmed it.
The regulating geometry imposed on these video clips is based on the sequence of events in the movie La Dolce Vita (1961, directed by Federico Fellini). It struck a chord as a good fit for the project that was partly inspired by Joyce Pensato’s obsession with Fellini’s film and the actress Anita Ekberg. It is one of my favorite films as well, and to a certain degree I relate to the main character, Marcello (played by Marcello Mastroianni), the journalist. He meanders through a series of bizarre and momentous events over a couple of days in Rome, and I found this similar to stopping by shows, talking to artists, and seeing what projects they were involved with in the cultural nexus of New York, though the artist’s in this issue of artcore journal are from all over the country. The similarities between the scenes in the movie and the collaboratory videos are tenuous at best, but its nice to have something to relate the project to. Additionally, the range of subtle and coincidental connections between the artists, aside from my direct acquaintance with them, is similar to the stream of loosely connected scenes, symbols, and characters in Fellini’s wonderful film.
Volume 3, Issue 1: La Dolce Vita
IN THIS ISSUE
Editor’s Letter
artcore journal’s editor’s letter
Synopsis of Scenes
In the Helicopter with The Statue of Jesus
Roxy Paine and John Kuhner play an epic basketball game worthy of Virgil’s poetry
Silvia and Marcello in the Fontana di Trevi
Bruce Nauman and Frank Sinatra pay a visit from beyond the grave to Joyce Pensato and Mike Ballou
In the Organ Loft with Steiner
Evonne Davis and Emma Wilcox wax philosophical about the struggle
Xaviera Simmons and Tim Harrington colonize the Long Island suburbs
Intellectual Conversation at Steiner’s Home
On the site of a homegrown terrorist attack in NYC, Maureen Connor, Susan Kirby and Tommy Mintz discuss Failure
The oracle Carin Riley tells Mike Cloud his future
The Party at The Castle, Bassano di Sutri
A sultry baccanale in the humid gardens of Queens with Flux Factory and Silent Barn
A clawed leviathan is pulled from the waters of Dead Horse Bay by Paul Anthony Smith and William Corwin
Special Thanks to:
All the artists involved, Sophie Mintz, Penny and Danny Mintz, Rose-Carol Washton Long, Walter Corwin, Alanna Heiss, David Weinstein, Anna Preston Gelderd, John Hutton, Brenda Hutton, Phong Bui, Gaston Bullrich, Art Omi Residency Program, Charlotta Kotik
William Corwin is a sculptor from New York. His work has been exhibited at the Clocktower Gallery and the LaMama Gallery in NYC, The George and Jørgen Gallery in London, the Frise Kunstlerhaus in Hamburg, and most recently at the Puccs Contemporary Art and Müszi Culture Center in Budapest. artcore jounal: La Dolce Vita is one of a constellation of related projects this fall, including a lengthy interview with Archeologist Colin Renfrew in Art Papers Magazine (November 2015) and two curated exhibitions in New York City: Cyborg at Zürcher Studio and Devotion at Catinca Tabacaru Gallery. Corwin also writes regularly for Frieze Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, and ArtCritical, occasionally for BOMB, and has had a monthly radio program since 2009, “The Interview Show,” on Clocktower Radio.
Directed by:
William Corwin
Produced by:
Tommy Mintz and William Corwin
Selected scenes videoed by:
David Riley
Olivia Gilmore
Cast:
Mike Ballou
Mark Christie
Mike Cloud
Maureen Connor
William Corwin
Evonne Davis
Jackie Du
Tim Harrington
Jung In
Carina Kauffman
Susan Kirby
John Kuhner
Tommy Mintz
Roxy Paine
Joyce Pensato
Will Owen
Carin Riley
Xaviera Simmons
Paul Anthony Smith
Emma Wilcox
artcore journal 
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