On the Nose
The Hamptons art scene just got a little weirder thanks to the new exhibit, "Nose Job."
By YASHA WALLIN
Photographed by MONICA MULLER
Have you heard about the new nose job in East Hampton that
everyone's talking about? No, not the sculpted schnoz of a Real
Housewife of New York -- we're talking about PAPER senior editor
Carlo McCormick's exhibition at Eric Firestone Gallery in East
Hampton called "Nose Job." The show sprung from McCormick
and Firestone's shared obsession with "nose art," the World War
II-era phenomenon wherein U.S. soldiers would decorate the fronts
of their aircrafts with cartoon characters, pin-up girls, tattoo iconography
and "search and destroy" messages. So a year or so ago,
McCormick and Firestone began visiting aircraft boneyards -- where
America's military fleet go to die -- outside of Tuscon, Arizona,
searching for the right pieces of plane scraps. The hunt yielded noses
in all shapes and sizes, which they shipped back to New York and
distributed to participating artists.
"The show is kind of a tribute to this guy art," says McCormick, who adds, "it's probably not the most PC show I've ever done." Given the art form's masculine roots, it's not surprising that the show's roster is male-dominated. But the unusual medium wouldn't work with everyone, so McCormick approached graffiti artists, including Shepard Fairey, How and Nosm (pictured above), Kenny Scharf and RETNA, who enthusiastically signed on. "The thing that shocked me--since it's such a fucking retarded idea--is that everyone was totally down for it. It's just a really cool canvas."
Ryan McGinness, who makes black light paintings of -- and on -- exotic dancers, was an obvious choice to give his contemporary take on traditional pin-up imagery and Dan Colen and Richard Prince were also up to the challenge. "Nose Job" is certainly not your typical Hamptons exhibition, but it's the kind of show that McCormick -- as well as Firestone (who McCormick says has "a sick habit of gambling the farm on big projects") -- thrives on. All the work will be for sale, making this one nose job you can own up to.
"The show is kind of a tribute to this guy art," says McCormick, who adds, "it's probably not the most PC show I've ever done." Given the art form's masculine roots, it's not surprising that the show's roster is male-dominated. But the unusual medium wouldn't work with everyone, so McCormick approached graffiti artists, including Shepard Fairey, How and Nosm (pictured above), Kenny Scharf and RETNA, who enthusiastically signed on. "The thing that shocked me--since it's such a fucking retarded idea--is that everyone was totally down for it. It's just a really cool canvas."
Ryan McGinness, who makes black light paintings of -- and on -- exotic dancers, was an obvious choice to give his contemporary take on traditional pin-up imagery and Dan Colen and Richard Prince were also up to the challenge. "Nose Job" is certainly not your typical Hamptons exhibition, but it's the kind of show that McCormick -- as well as Firestone (who McCormick says has "a sick habit of gambling the farm on big projects") -- thrives on. All the work will be for sale, making this one nose job you can own up to.
"NOSE JOB" IS UP NOW THROUGH AUGUST 24TH AT ERIC FIRESTONE GALLERY, 4 NEWTOWN LANE, EAST HAMPTON, NY.
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