In case you didn’t notice, second annual Rob Pruitt’s 2010 Art Awards got downgraded this year. Despite the fact that Guggenheim Museum partnered with the artist on the project, the dinner was relegated to Webster Hall last night – one of least tolerable event spaces in all of Gotham. Calvin Klein dropped their sponsorship, and meal was prepared by Roberta’s pizzeria. Yes, creating a legitimate art ceremony is tough, but despite the obstacles, we have to give it up to Mr. Pruitt. He’s on the roll this year. Aside from this giant headache, his recent joyful collaboration with Marc Jacobs at P.S.1 was a true (albeit brief) highlight of this fall. Pruitt did everything to get people through the door last night…and plenty of amazing art faces showed (hello Marina, Marilyn, and John!). But after three hours of award-giving, Glenn O’Brien’s light jokes, and James Franco’s crooning, everyone was still as confused as ever about the meaning and relevance of the event. Here’s the recap and the full list of winners…

Most unexpected Oscar preview: This year’s Academy Award host James Franco pairing with Kalup Linzy for a little number named “Asshole” (among others). Will Kalup ever make it to the Kodak theatre?

Most expected celebrity guest: James Franco. We love you James, but we think you kind of already earned your art street cred. Does like Justin Bieber want to collaborate with Matthew Barney or something?

Biggest relief: Absence of those awful, champagne light bulb trophies from the inaugural honors.

Biggest upset: Trisha Donnelly’s (Casey Kaplan Gallery) win in the Solo Gallery Show category over power showcases in Gagosian and Gavin Brown, that also works with Pruitt by the way.

Best prop: Few naked bodies on stage, paying tribute to Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present

Biggest category domination: Jerry Saltz, who already has two of these things thanks to his supremacy in the Critic category. Next year, Linda Yablonsky.

Heath Ledger Moment Alert: Wonderful Louise Bourgeois winning the big prize of the night, posthumously despite being the favorite LAST year. Marina Abramovic was thrilled with her deserving Solo Museum Show honor.

Most red carpet ready couple: Rachel Feinstein and John Currin. Beautiful Feinstein is totally channeling Cate Blanchett lately which is a great thing.

Rob Pruitt’s 2010 Art Awards honorees:

• Artist of the Year: Louise Bourgeois
• Solo Show of the Year, Gallery: Trisha Donnelly, Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York
• Solo Show of the Year, Museum: Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Blogger or Critic of the Year: Jerry Saltz
• Curator of the Year: Chrissie Iles
• Alternative Space of the Year: Artists Space, New York
• Alternative Project of the Year: INDEPENDENT, New York
• Exhibition outside the United States: John Baldessari: Pure Beauty, Tate Modern, London (in association with Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
• Group Show of the Year, Gallery: Primary Atmospheres: Works from California 1960-1970, David Zwirner, New York
• Group Show of the Year, Museum: In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960-1976, Museum of Modern Art, New York
• New Artist of the Year: Tauba Auerbach
• The Rob Pruitt Award: Lena Dunham
• Lifetime Achievement Awards: Jonas Mekas and Martha Rosler.
• The Artist-Educator Achievement Award: Marilyn Minter.

Photo – EUGENE MIM/PatrickMcMullan.com

It took a lot of planning and stressing to turn the YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video event into reality last night. Not only was the famed Wright wonder completely transformed from the exterior (projecting top 25 project videos selected out of amazing 23,358 global submissions) but the inside was just as eventful.

More than 1,300 guests were packed in too see the jury’s selections (that group included Takashi Murakami, Darren Aronofsky, Ryan McGinley, and Marilyn Miniter) as well as performances by Ok Go and other acts. Naturally, everything was broadcast live onYouTube and the live audience also got to meet the artists flown in for the live event.

Final airline booking tally? 25 top videos were created by 39 video geniuses from 14 countries: Australia (1), Brazil (1), Canada (2), Chile (1), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (1), England (2), France (1), Japan (1), The Netherlands (1), Northern Ireland (1), South Africa (2), South Korea (1), USA (9).

All the works will be on view to the public at the Guggenheim this weekend at the Tower 2 Gallery, or online right now if you don’t feel like taking the 4 or 5 uptown.

Once upon a time, Rob Pruitt had an unflinching dream. While watching the telecast of the Oscars (or MTV Movie Awards or Latin Grammy honors or very prestigious Daytime Emmys) he thought to himself: Why shouldn’t the art folks have the same democratic opportunities to make self-indulgent acceptance speeches and shamelessly borrow tuxedos and clutches during THAT time of the year? After all, everyone likes to win something or at least be nominated for something whether they work in the Senate or at the suburban Burger King. So, Pruitt’s productive realization of The First Annual Art Awards is certainly admirable. On Thursday, he brought the very first event of its kind to Guggenheim while Calvin Klein Collection sponsored. We could have had an informal ceremony at a local YMCA funded by Nabisco.

Here at Art Box, we encourage some of our favorite people in the art world to contribute with their takes on recent museum and gallery experiences. Hikari Yokoyama, an accomplished art adviser and a curator writes about the recently opened Anish Kapoor exhibition at New York’s Guggenheim. It runs through March 28, 2010.

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This week, I drove uptown with some friends to attend the Anish Kapoor opening at The Guggenheim. Kapoor is well known for his shiny, simple curved sculptures that hold convex or concave reflections of the forms’ surroundings. The last I saw his work, was at his solo effort at the Gladstone Gallery, where I couldn’t resist running my finger over a long pungent crimson wax turd lying across the floor. Kapoor is an artist that I will always make the effort to see when I have the chance; his work is conceptually rigorous, but always pleasing to the senses.

For this exhibition – I came with no expectations or knowledge of what I was going to see. I was disappointed to find out that they weren’t keeping all of the galleries open so I could do my usual circular sliding-in-heels journey down the ramp.

We wandered through the galleries housing the permanent collection, confused about where this Kapoor exhibition actually was. His work is normally large scale and prominent and usually placed in open spaces where the sculpture draws in the vacant margin around it. Instead, this time I was surprised to walk around a corner and up a short set of stairs, I found a crowd of people lining up to peer into what seemed like nothing. And by nothing, I mean a black void perfectly framed by white wall. The line coagulated as people got to the front and peered in, straining to see something, some shielding their eyes as if looking into a glare or making little binoculars with their hands as if imaginary lenses would reveal something unseen to the fingerless eye.

I heard an off-hand comment that this was a joke on or for the art world, come all the way uptown to stand in a line of well dressed people to crane your neck and stare at nothing.

The piece is entitled Memory and commissioned by Deutsche Bank. Upon further exploration, we discovered that you could go around and see the steel encasement that had blocked out all light to make the void. It was heavy, rusty, curvaceous riveted steel – a bulging orb bursting out of the white rectangular back room. Seeing this more literal explanation of the absurd darkness on the other side, was enlightening and surprisingly disappointing. But observing the structure itself granted some gratification as to evidence of the craft and the labor that went into this piece (the black void ended up not being the same as staring into a closet) but at the same time, the mysterious feeling of peering into infinite space was grounded by a quick, concise understanding of the reality behind the trick.

Socially, the event was calm and subdued. I said hello to Hilary, the ever gracious and enthusiastic director of the YCC, we had one more drink and left into the warm night.

Hikari Yokoyama is based in New York City. She pursued her studies in the fine arts and art history at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. She has worked in various capacities, including gallery assistant, non-profit curatorial director, and acquisitions for corporate and private collections, always maintaining art at the center of her professional orbit. She currently works as roving director to Gresham’s Ghost and manages a private collection. Her crayon pusher parents encouraged her to make art instead of bickering with her little sister. Now she is intent on adding fuel to the ever-evolving and dynamic contemporary art world.

In just over a week, Guggenheim Museum will turn 50 and to celebrate they’ve come up with something revolutionary: a free day for visitors on their October 21st birthday! Yes, we know…the bad economy is hitting everyone so the second part of their celebration includes selling products that are actually kind of cool. We’re talking special edition jewelry line made with Gunite remnants from the original Frank Lloyd Wright building. The edition starts at $80 and will encompass everything from earrings to necklaces to bracelets.