(Long Island, N.Y.) This past weekend art enthusiast enjoyed a Special Lecture, What Is Art? at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York.
A celebrity in the art world, Klaus Ottmann, Robert Lehman Curator for the Parrish Art Museum, explored the definition behind the true meaning of art in a culture that conflates art, entertainment, and global economies. Mr. Ottmann traced the shift in attention from galleries and museums to auctions and private museums constructed by mega-collectors, with artists increasingly becoming international celebrities and their art, trophies for global billionaires.
Before the lecture I had a chance to chat with Klaus about his love for art and philosophy. “Art is a very personal experience. If a work of art speaks to you, it can be a beautiful thing and it can take you out of your everyday life and bring it meaning and happiness,” Klaus expressed. During our TV and Internet interview I asked, “Tell my audience what made the difference for you as a child, when did you decide you wanted to be involved in this.” “Well it didn’t happen quite that early I have to say, you know I studied philosophy, I was always really interested in the bigger questions of the human condition and meaning and so forth, but then I became interested in Art and what I like about art just like music is the immediacy. You can approach art without having to read a book in advance, you don’t need any previous education, with art the immediate of experience can be very beautiful,” reflects Klaus.
Known as an expert in philosophy, Klaus Ottmann received a M.A. in philosophy from the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany in 1980. In 2002 he received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Division of Media and Communications at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.
He now holds the title of the Robert Lehman Curator for The Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York. Ottmann has curated more than forty exhibitions including LIFE, LOVE, AND DEATH: THE WORKS OF JAMES LEE BYARS at the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany and the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Strasbourg, France in 2004 and WOLFGANG LAIB: A RETROSPECTIVE, which began at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. and journeyed to five additional venues including the Dallas Museum of Art and the Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany from 2000 through 2002.
Klaus has written for many years on art for numerous museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museu Serralves, Porto; IVAM, Valencia; and the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Because of his expertise in the art world he has also contributed to leading periodicals, including FLASH ART, ARTS, DOMUS, ART ON PAPER, ART PRESS, SCULPTURE, and ARTNEWS.
Klaus Ottmann has been the publisher and editor of the JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART since 1991. This art publication features conversations with and projects by a diverse international group of emerging and established artists including Marina Abramovic, Arakawa, Judith Barry, Barbara Bloom, Larry Clark, Christo, Dan Graham, Gilbert & George, Leon Golub, Antony Gormley, Imi Knoebel, Jeff Koons, Jonathan Lasker, Wolfgang Laib, Rita McBride, Mariko Mori, Takashi Murakami, Cady Noland, Adrian Piper, Mimmo Rotella, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Bill Viola, and Sue Williams. The JOURNAL no longer exists in paper publication but is now available online.
Mr. Ottmann is also the editor-in-chief of SPRING PUBLICATIONS, INC., a diminutive publishing house established in Putnam, Connecticut that is famously known for its publications on philosophy, psychology, religion, mythology, and art.
For more information please visit parrishart.org or http://klausottmann.net
Later that evening I attended Bay Street Theatre “Legends Of Rock Series” in Sag Harbor, New York. If you adore vintage Rock & Roll and are feeling nostalgic then you must Visit Bay Street Theater for their ongoing series of evenings of incredibly rare footage of icons of Rock & Roll and Soul music from one of the world’s largest archives of music on film! Enjoy rare live footage of the greats, including Janis Joplin, The Beatles, James Brown, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, Jackson Five, and many more. The evening brought back many fond memories that I shared with others in my youth watching the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960’s.
The event kicked off its first night on May 22nd with “Legends of Rock” and was hosted by award-winning documentary film-maker Mr.Joe Lauro. Joe is president of his own company, Historic Films. The company has an extensive archive that owns and/or represents over 45,000 hours of 1895-1990 Vintage Television Programs, Musical Performances, Feature Films, Newsreels, Industrial Films, Silent Films, Educational Films, Sales Films, TV Commercials, Celebrity Interviews, TV News, Home Movies, and Travel Films. Their footage is available to all Film and Television Producers, Ad Agencies, Corporate Producers, Feature Film Producers and Documentary Filmmakers. All of the footage is data-based, copyright cleared and available for immediate licensing.
Included footage in the “legends of Rock Series” is a rare performance by Janis Joplin, a never before seen clip of The Band at Woodstock singing “Tears of Rage,” a Bob Dylan outtake from 1965, and Led Zeppelin’s first television appearance, which was on Danish TV.
Before the show I had a chance to chat with Joe Backstage in his dressing room at the Bay Street Theatre. During our interview I asked, “Is that that really true that you were smitten with Rock and Roll after seeing a concert of The Greatful Dead at the age of fifteen?”
“I tell you, I was always interested in the Beatles from the time I was eight or nine years old but I had a sister, an older sister instead of babysitting she use take me to the Fillmore East and I started going when I was about thirteen and the first show I saw was The Greatful Dead,” Joe admitted.
“Interesting, She smuggled you in, huh,” I giggled. “She smuggled me in because it was better then sitting home in Massapequa,” Joe confessed. “Is that where your from?” I inquired. “Yeah, Massapequa Park. As a kid I was always interested in old music everything from Al Jolsen to the Beatles and I was always a collector. I got out of college and needed to do something so I went to NYU Film School and started the company, in 1991,” he expressed.
Joe Lauro has produced other significant documentaries, including one on Motown in which he received access to original master tapes. His film Louis Prima: The Wildest! won for best documentary. The recently completed “Rejoice and Shout,” a documentary about the history of gospel music in America, has just received raved reviews in Variety and hopefully an award for best documentary. “The film will be seen in theaters in the Fall,” Lauro announced. Currently Lauro and his partner are collaborating on a film concerning Fats Domino. “The Legends of Rock Series will also feature “The Legends of Jazz and Blues” on Monday, June 7, “The Fabulous Divas” on Monday, June 14 and “The Pioneers of Rock” on Monday, June 21.
For more info on Joe Lauro and his company please visit http://www.historicfilms.com and for more on “The Legends of Rock Series” please visit http://www.baystreet.org/
