Mesh Magazine

Tartufi is back from its massive US tour and was kind enough to file this, the third, and final installment of the road diary. Visit Tartufi’s Myspace page for more info.
Ahoy Maties!

‘Tis we! The dueling duo of the dry seas! All that we ask is a large van and a star to steer her by. And that we got friends, that we got. Last we checked in, we were headed through Indiana, riding a wicked ground harvest high and grateful to have spent some good, old-fashioned, quality time with The Pope of Yes and Ronald McDonald in the freaky ass flesh. Next we hit Cleveland where we met one of the most kind and loving zombies ever to have lived, died, lived and then died again. [See photos 1 & 2] Brian got pretty cozy with Zombie and luckily a camera was near by….but not too near…..ewwwww. Zombie love. That night we slept in the van and, thanks to The Davenport, their fine staff members and an unlimited supply of PBR, we peed a small lake directly outside the army recruiting station in the parking lot. Tartufi - trying to prevent senseless recruitment for a senseless war one pee lake at a time. Mmmmm. Fresssshhhh.

What happened next may well have been one of the best things to ever have happened to us on this tour. We met up with a band so fierce, so relentlessly rocking, so second a-hole tearing, that we were forever altered - musically and mentally - from the experience. For the better! Yes folks, we joined forces with the one, the only, LOW RED LAND! These fellas not only shred harder than Laird Hamilton on an 87 footer, they also smell freshish and are good lookin’ to boot! [See photo 3 after the jump] Aaaand we had to good fortune to be introduced to and invited to stay with Neil John’s own momma! This woman is one of the kindest, sweetest ladies we have ever had the pleasure to meet. Thanks for the mommmmmwiches Mrs. Thompson! They went down a treat.

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I biked over to GGP this weekend to see a new exhibit at the de Young featuring over 70 sculpture & paper works by American artist Louise Nevelson. She’s best known for filling abstract boxes with discarded pieces that she found on the New York City streets, giving them “a spiritual life that surpasses the life for which they were originally created.” There’s something so romantic about using found objects. The ability and imagination required to take trash and turn it into art is so inspiring.

These pictures simply don’t do her work justice. The size of the artwork is overwhelming and the curators did a phenomenal job arranging, lighting and explaining the works and how they related to one another. I recommend taking the time to watch the short documentary of Nevelson’s work through the eyes of six artist-admirers. Footage of the artist is just phenomenal. Her head wrapped in a colorful scarf, draped in loose flowing clothing, fake eyelashes, extreme makeup, waving her arms around and ordering young men to lift and cut hunks of wood to her specifications, all the while clutching a clove cigarette in her hand. Sensational.

This retrospective @ SFMOMA contains 200 works from the 1930s until the artist’s death in 1972. Cornell was an American artist best known for his box construction and collage work. He had no formal training and referred to himself often as a “maker.” How DIY is that… check out the Peabody Essex Museum’s interactive website for some amazing pictures.