AshAndBurn.com > "Miami Beach, a sunny place for shady people"

as of Monday – 1/23/12 

As seen on DisneyStore.com … and, worthy of mention.

… sold out! (d*mn) 

*this just in – there’s yet another design!

color/foil tee available here.

Jimbo’s Shrimp – Virginia Key, FL 33149

A cleaner and streamlined … Jimbo’s!

… went for a cold beer with Maine Matt to see a tidier and more organized area, we got the latest update from Jamaican Paul. The city stepped in to enforce a few “violations“. Stickers have gone up to $4 (from $2), one of the daughters (in-law) is involved with “operations” and the heaps of trash are for the most part gone. Went for a nice walk around the North side of Virginia Key … nice views of Fisher Island and the Port of Miami. Basically, it got a cleaning that it needed.

I ended up working with Dietl (Art Handlers/Storage/Show Logistics) for the closing of Art Basel/Miami Beach 2011.

I though it would be an interesting turn to see the behind-the-scenes of what and how it comes down. It was a labor intensive 3 days (32 hrs+) of shuttling art work from the storage room > to the gallery/floor space > to the loading zone (North/South) at the MBCC.

I didn’t get to find out too much of the Art Basel “business” side (they did well), but I did learn a great deal about art handling and shipping/logistics. Another Dietl group was in charge of “packaging/crating”, so various 2-4 person teams (out of 20-30 ppl +/-) would handle/prepare all the gallery’s art for shipping (crate/bubble-wrap/cardboard), wether it be ground or air (etc.), then we would get it to the appropriate area – loading zone/trucks (Union Area), then … Warehouse/Gallery, Intl/Dom, etc? Interesting, tiring and kinda … fun.

Friday, December 1, 2011 – (above art is by Sasha Meret – made of utensils – fork/knife/spoon- and mixing bowls!) – Another great night in Wynwood which started at Art Miami (thanks Matt), on the south side of Mid-town, with a grand showing of the well established galleries that sell contemporary pieces to those that “collect”, some real museum quality here. And, no I didn’t have the &%$@ VIP lounge/bar pass … dang.

… then on to Wynwood – just a random walk around the whole (?) area. Food trucks, Live Music, DJ’s, break dancers, stickers, Artists, you-name-it! Fun. *special thanks to GAB for the oasis, beer, tunes and winning ticket! (I won a photograph, signed by Artist.)

Miami Beach Cinematheque – I was entertained to find out how nice Bunny Yeaeger is in person. She put Miami Beach on the map well before Jackie Gleason did. As a matter of fact, she was was probably responsible for many industries, besides Miami Beach/FL tourism, that she is not credited for.

Did I mention she took some photos of … Bettie Page? Ursala Andress in Dr. No?

And for the record – she’s a National Treasure/Talent, up there with Ansel Adams, etc.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 – I started my night at the opening of Pop-Up - a Mr. Brainwash & Co. (Banksy?) art show – (Boulan on Collins Ave./23rd, Miami Beach). Great mix of Norman Rockwell with just a hint of “Banksy”. Here I am enjoying my 15 seconds of fame with ringleader Thierry (not Henry – aka MBW) …

Good fun – I got there at around 8pm-ish and managed to avoid the initial crush of the curious/collectors waiting in line patiently (?) for a wee peak at the latest creative phase of Mr. Brainwash & Co. (For an entertaining angle on “street art” – Art, Collecting, Money, etc. – see the film/documentary Exit Through The Gift Shop).

Then, friend/photographer Matt Argondizza (fellow Maine-iac) and I, went over to Aqua/Art Miami (1530 Collins Ave.) – here, each hotel room was represented with a (US) gallery, so about 30+ galleries (?), 2 floors and a couple of “open” bars and a band – “Gold Dust Lounge” – working a good tiki groove! Some real stunning visual art and fun folk – honorable mention to Mark Khaisman (Pentimenti Gallery – Philadelphia, PA) – froze me in my tracks when I discovered it was just a little packaging tape on a light box … very clever indeed.

… great night that ended with a beer at a very busy (Mac’s Club) Deuce. *Which, for the next week, resembles a very lower-East Side hipster/dive bar.