INTERVIEW: A.J. Fries, painter

An inaugural member of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center’s “Living Legacy” artists in 2012, A.J. Fries has gone from a young boy roaming the halls of Buffalo’s cultural institutions to a respected member of its world whose work now rests in more than one local museum’s permanent collection. How’s that for a hometown success story? Winner of Artvoice‘s “Best Painter” in 2013, written about in 2008’s Buffalo Spree‘s Best of WNY issue by friend and soon-to-be exhibition partner Bruce Adams for contention in the “Best Artist” conversation, and a resident in…

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Posterized Propaganda August 2014: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Sin City,’ ‘Starred Up,’ and More

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. 2014 soldiers on and the poster selection just gets worse. Luckily the films themselves haven’t been as uninspired. Or maybe they have. After all, this summer is down almost 19%…

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REVIEW: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry [2012]

“They silence him, but his voice grows louder and louder.” Chinese artist/activist/dissident Ai Weiwei—a man deeply entrenched with the social media scene so his voice can be heard around the world—acts by responding to his opponents. A self-proclaimed chess player awaiting the government, police, critics, etc. to spin China’s oppressive nature as ‘being better than it was’, he chases his detractors around the board fully aware checkmate is impossible. But despite knowing full-scale victory is futile, Weiwei refuses to yield or take his freedom for granted. Willing to spend hours…

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REVIEW: Exit Through the Gift Shop [2010]

“Street art was poised to become the biggest countercultural movement since punk” One of the final sentiments in mysterious street artist Banksy’s documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop is the most telling statement spoken in the entire film. Who is the joke on? It’s a question that unfortunately leads to the answer of everyone, but especially those who consider themselves artists. We all know how subjective our craft is; whether the work is accepted or not, though, good or bad, as long as it elicits a reaction, we like to…

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