Art Basel, Thanks, but I’ll Pass

Welp, that’s it, the madness is over and Miami is still standing. Another year of Art Basel : Miami and the Owl is nowhere to be found. (I’m in the mountains if you’re looking for me. That’s about as opposite a location one could find from the Basel shitshow.) Like my friend Chris RWK says, “Look for me in Miami. I won’t be there, but look for me.”

All the big names will be there. So will all the “no-names” looking to be noticed by Rihanna or Pit Bull or some other celebrity of the moment. I don’t know what it is, I've just never been curious about making the trek down to Miami for Art Basel. Over the years I’ve been offered painting spots and walls, exclusive parties and afterparties, spots in group shows and my work has been represented by a few galleries down there, but I've just never committed to go. And after all these years and social media posts, I still don’t feel like I've missed out on anything. All my artist friends seem to be enjoying themselves, but from where I'm sitting, it appears to be a massive shitshow of artists, shitting all over the city. It’s just complete artistic overload. The Basel event has morphed into a Burning Man for Graffiti writers and Street Artists. Case in point, Alec Monopoly is there shaking his ass. You know, “Performance Painters”. I think that sums it all up for me. If Alec Monopoly is at your event, the Owl will take a pass. This is not a Mural Festival, it is a Clown Show. It’s just completely unnecessary and over the top. That incredible piece you rocked is going to be washed away in a sea of competition. The incredible canvases you created for the event, nobody will even remember them. Like I said, it’s just too much in one place. Complete burnout. If you go, I’m not judging. You do You. If I ever did attend, I don’t think I would last 48 hours in that city. Not sure there is enough cocaine in Miami to deal with that circus sideshow of art world freaks. But yeah, look for me next year . . .