I went to Art Basel Miami! And all YOU get is this lousy post!
That title was supposed to be like those tourist shirts, did it work?! Ha. Oh boy. So this post will be two parts. #1, my first experience in South Beach/Miami. #2, the whole Art Basel experience. Both of which get an “A++++ WOULD BUY AGAIN - FAST SHIPPING, ASSET!” rating. So #1, Dear Miami & South Beach: I think I kind of fell in love with you. I expected you to be a corny club girl with hot-pants, bad shoes, heavy tan, and a fake Chanel bag - but I was all wrong. Please forgive me. Seriously though, I guess I don’t know what I was expecting, and yeah, there is some corny Florida stuff happening down there - but its super cosmopolitan, has like a real thick “feel” to it. Almost like I wasn’t in the states except for the extremely convenient placement of CVS’s and Walgreens all over the place. Maybe it was just because Basel was going on, but the fashion, the people, the scenes, the parties (zomg!), the super relaxed vibe, the amazing weather, and my goodness to you guys love your cars. Sheesh, was like a car show down there. So yeah, I’ll be back for sure this year actually looks like in the next couple weeks. And…I’ve actually looked at condos in downtown, thanks to people buying things they can’t afford there are some amazing deals, bam. #2, Basel itself. Simply overwhelming. Take the Chicago auto show, make it a bit bigger, and then throw some of the worlds most amazing art into a space that size. Just unreal. Then you’ve got all the other related fairs, Scope, Pulse, etc. All of which were amazing. Its certainly got an art-snob feel to it though - good or bad - just does. Lots of wrist-glancing by the snooty gallery owners. Ha, imagine: “Ugh, a Bretling, seriously?...looks like I’ll be selling just signed prints all weekend, omg.” Ha, sorry, but its somewhat true, and you thought walking into a Porsche dealership was rough. Basel, the main affair, is certainly a members-only club where the art shown is tightly controlled and who can buy it is even tighter. Makes you really, really appreciate events like ArtPrize here in Grand Rapids. All that said, hell of a trip to Miami, I got to see some amazing art & partied way too hard (Max Fish!!!). Can’t wait to do it again next year.