Fresh @ MOCA

On the heels of a night out with Debbie Downer, I shelved my anger and attended an event at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The event was called "Fresh" and was a Summer party and silent auction that featured works by emerging artists. Ingrid and I viewed it as a great way to get in on the ground floor before artists' works got out of our range. And strangely, Debbie Downer was nowhere to be found...



Earlier in the week, Ingrid and I went to a pre-screening of the art that was going up for auction. There were tons of pieces involving several different mediums, ranging from the high-hundreds to thousands of dollars.



This piece was one that caught my eye. At first, I just thought it was a canvas painted red, but after taking a closer look, I saw the very subtle outline of a face. Apparently I wasn't the only one who admired this painting... Someone had already bid $8,000 on it before the auction even began. The name of the piece is "Claritsa, Naphthol Crimson, Tapestry Red" and was painted by Roni Stretch. I can't say much for the title, but I liked the work itself.




Ingrid and I perused the various pieces and walked, at times, at a snails pace, taking it all in. We were both impressed with the eclectic collection of works that were gathered for the auction and, not surprisingly, Ingrid spotted two pieces that she was ready to bid on.



We each dropped $100 and purchased tickets to the auction. I viewed it as payment for an opportunity for us to get our hands on some great works for Ingrid's house. I just crossed my fingers and hoped that the prices wouldn't get out of our range.



Instead, I should have crossed my fingers and hoped we could just get there on time, becuase of course, Ingrid can't get everything together in time to arrive punctually at the function. Her hair isn't ready. She can't decide on what to wear. She can't find her purse. You know... the usual. As a result, after dropping $200 between the two of us on tickets, we arrive over an hour and a half late and he bidding on the pieces Ingrid wanted to purchase is already closed. What's more, all the Corzo tequila is gone. No more art. No more tequila. No more margaritas. Arrrrggghh!!!!



As you can see, the actual event was quite a different scene from the pre-screening event earlier in the week. The place was packed full of people. And not just any people, but people ready to bid on some art.



Here is one of the pieces Ingrid was planning to bid on. I shared her sentiments and agreed to pay half of the final purchase price. It eventually went for a mere $1,600... something Ingrid and I could both have afforded without even blinking. Too bad we were late.



This is the other piece that Ingrid wanted to bid on. I wasn't hot on it, but Ingrid certainly was. The title of it is "Entangled in Passion" by Lilli Muller and it's acrylic and charcoal on archival paper. Although I wasn't big on this work, I think that picture on the wall in the upper left-hand corner is something I should have bid on... In any event, I think I'll take this opportunity to allow you readers to test your art appraisal skills... How much do you think this work sold for?



I like how the bidding history tells a story of the artwork's eventual sale. Here, a man by the name of Bill Damanschke and a woman by the name of Christina Dow went to battle over this piece, with Ms. Dow emerging victorious. The cost of victory: $2,600 - A solid $900 under the actual market price of the piece... good deal, Christina. I tried to give Ingrid comfort by telling her that judging from the bidding history, this Christina person would never have let Ingrid outbid her. But we'll never know for sure, now, will we?...



After learining that both pieces Ingrid planned to bid on were already sold, we headed outside to grab some grub. The air was filled with the smell of barbequed meat and these guys were busy churning out tons of lime chicken and carne asada for the people to enjoy.



Ingrid and I loaded up our plates with all the goodies. My plate was a heaping pile of meat, while Ingrid took the more conservative approach and dined on soft tacos. Despite our difference in selection, I had to agree with Ingrid... two thumbs up! What was even better was that at this point, MOCA brought out more boxes of Corzo and I grabbed a couple of margaritas to wash down my meal.



Double-fisting?!? Things are looking up!



After we ate, we took a break and headed back inside to revisit some of the pieces that were sold.



As it turned out, the initial bid at the pre-screening for Claritsa, Naphthol Crimson, Tapestry Red was never surpassed. It eventually sold for the $8,000 offered by Marla Michaels. Although the retail price was only $6,900, it was still a solid purchase in my opinion.



Time for another test. The title of this piece is "Are You Going" and happens to be the signature artwork for the auction (as you can see by the invitation on the first picture of this post). All five paintings are sold in this configuration as a single piece. I didn't really notice the painting at the pre-screening, but I really liked it once I actually focused on it. Any guess as to its auction price?



$8,000 for this work. Impressive.



We ran into this lady who actually placed the winning bid on the picture she's highlighting. She ran over to Ingrid and me as we were browsing and said, "Did I win this?" After looking at the sheet, I informed her that she had. Delighted, she told us that she loved the guy featured in the photograph.



Speaking of photographs, here is a giant chromogenic print called "#2 from Infested" by Susan Silton. It's over three feet tall and five feet wide. How much do you think this sold for?



The answer: It didn't. Not only did nobody bid on this artwork, but somebody wrote the words "You people are crazy!" at the top. I coudn't help but laugh and nod my head in agreement. I mean seriously, though... it retails for $5,000?!? I think my mother has a picture like this of her house getting tented. Maybe I should blow my mom's photograph up and try to undercut Ms. Silton by selling it for $500.



Here is a pencil on paper piece entitled "Little big engine #1" by Karl Haendel. The frame stood just under four feet high yet the drawing only took up a portion of the paper.



As you can see, it is an extremely detailed drawing of a BMW engine.



The reason I took a picture of this piece is not because I liked it, but because on the upper left part of the paper, the artist wrote something interesting. It's hard to tell in the photograph, but it says, "Note from Artist: This drawing may not be bought/owned by any person driving an SUV or fuel inefficient vehicle. This drawing will be invalidated by the artist if it falls into such hands." How much do you think this went for, if at all?



Harriet bid $3,500 to win this piece. I just hope she doesn't drive an SUV...



Now we get to a piece that Ingrid hated... and one we both predicted would never sell. She repeatedly told me at the pre-screening that the man in the picture was scary-looking. While I didn't agree exactly, I didn't see the artistic merit in the photograph. How much do you think this sold for, if at all?



This is a terrible photograph (mine, not the artist's), but evidences the fact that this photograph was indeed sold. The winning bid: $500. I guess there is art for every taste.



This is an untitled watercolor painting by Martin Eder and serves as proof that sex sells. Let me tell you that the retail price of the painting is $1,500. I initially found the painting interesting, but had no idea people would pay so much. How much, you ask?



$9,100... That's how much. The starting bidding price was $700 and the very first bid was $5,500. Mr. Eder better increase the price of his painings...



I couldn't help but take notice of this work called "Lonnie's Landing" by Ry Rockien. It is described as a finger puppet, foam, plaster and ankle band, but stands almost three feet tall. It must be a finger puppet for a giant... and I don't even want to think about where his finger will go. Any guess as to how much this went for, if at all?



Not sold. I guess there were no giant puppeteers in attendance that night.



Ingrid dubbed this piece "Red Poo." I'm sure the artist would have given it that name had he thought of it, Ingrid.



This drawing by Michael Waugh is called "What the Citizen Should Know About Submarine Warfare" and is a conglomeration of sentences about about, you guessed it, what every citizen should know about submarine warfare.



Mr. Waugh has very poor penmanship, but I definitely liked the idea of arranging the words in such a way as to show two submerged submarines. Any guess as to how much?



No auction is without its problems... Michael Waugh just happened to be in attendance that day and made the following notation on the bidding sheet. "Please advise purchaser that piece was hung incorrectly at the auction -- The submarines should be crashing." Ahhhhh... That makes much more sense. The piece sold for $2,100, but I wonder how much more it would have gone for had the piece been hung correctly.



After the auction closed, Ingrid and I headed back outside for some more food, drink and some live music.



Ingrid was unimpressed by the music, but we feasted for the second time on the delicious food being served. More Corzo margaritas, please...



Even though we missed the opportunity to bid on some great artwork, we still had a great time. And at least I got my money's worth with all the Corzo I drank, which I should mention, runs over $50 a bottle. Good times.