Painter Loren Munk Takes the New York Art Scene Global via YouTube

By Rob Scott
December 29, 2011

Painter Loren Munk offers a compelling social media twist to the art world, posting hundreds of videos to YouTube that cover a wide range of New York museum and gallery shows.
Using the alias James Kalm, Munk once had a combative relationship with venues and security forces concerned about copyright infringement.
However, now that his videos have attracted about 2 million views, galleries are turning to him for free publicity.
“His videos — recognizable for their unseen narrator’s labored breathing, jerky camera work and informed but uncritical commentary — run about 10 minutes and are shot with a tiny Canon Elph digital camera,” reports The New York Times.
“Coverage of the art world is fading from the mainstream press, so I’m trying to use alternative media to fill the void,” explains Munk.
While recently recording some charcoal drawings by the painter Bob Thompson (who died in 1966 at age 28), Munk was spotted by artist Katherine Bradford. “He deserves a MacArthur grant for what he’s doing,” she said, adding that Munk had shot one of her shows in 2007. “Look at him,” Bradford said. “Bob Thompson’s been dead over 40 years, and here’s Loren doing him a favor.”

No Comments Yet