Call for submissions from artists, designers and architects to put Rockaway back together again. MOMA PS1 started work on the temporary Rockaway dome that will house proposal exhibitions. Dome is set to open to the public in April. Progress, peeps!
Please check out the IndieGogo campaign raising funds for Sandy victims through Children’s Movement for Creative Education. The one year projects helps the youngins of Far Rockaway, Gerritsen Beach, Coney Island and Red Hook heal through artistic expression.
What do to:
1. Watch video.
2. Give money.
What could be better than an emerging photographers’ photo exhibit? An entire photography town! Dumbo’s Brooklyn Bridge Park transforms into Photoville this weekend for all of us lovers of captured moments.
Of course there will be exhibits around “town” but that’s not all, folks! Photoville features workshops, a greenhouse, a beer garden and even a dog run!
Thirty plus shipping containers will act as galleries showing the works of world photographers, with big wigs such as Magnum and Photo District News getting in on the action.
The event runs until July 1st. Check out the weekend schedule here.
Ben Russell has had a camera attached to him since we met some 30 years ago back in high school, but this is his first exhibit. The Brooklyn native has been doing mostly commercial shoots all these years and hasn’t presented his work as art yet.
The images were shot over a period of two weeks. They are little snippets of a bigger picture that the viewer may or may not recognize. Russell lives in Carroll Gardens where quite a few of these shots were taken. Just for fun, try to guess where each of these shots are located. The answers will be in the comments section.
The show is hanging for the month of February at the 505 Gallery Lobby, 505 Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Come see it!
Walking through Soho yesterday (something I haven’t done in years), I was dismayed by all the tourist galleries. Do you know what I mean? Galleries that don’t cater to art collectors but rather they sell commercialized pieces in tourist areas. Happens all around the world, not just Soho.
Most of the street artists are pretty cool, but they are also creating for a tourist audience. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Hey, they have to make money and I’m not saying the work isn’t good. We all sell out at one point or another.
Anyway, I see this truck with a life size sculpture of Construction Workers Lunching on Crossbeam, that famous 1932 photograph by Charles C. Ebbets. How friggin cool? The artist is Sergio Furnari from Sicily. He’s been in NY about 20 years.
Lots of fun stuff on his website. Check out that mosaic bathtub below! Turns out the big sculpture on his truck was down at Ground Zero for a few years. It’s probably pretty famous and everyone knows about it, but I just found out yesterday.
That’s what happens when you don’t take time to play tourist.
Over the weekend we ventured out to Howard Beach, Queens to hang with a buddy who’s a member of the Federation of Black Cowboys. Those are the guys you see riding their horses on South Conduit out near JFK.
Black cowboys have been part of American culture since the 1860′s, but the current incarnation of the Federation was born in 1994. The website is not currently being kept up. They do often welcome visitors, but check first to make sure it’s cool. When we showed up, most of the cowboys and cowgirls were at a Juneteenth rodeo in NJ, so it was a quite day back at the ranch.
This is our buddy Ralph. By day, he’s a heavy construction laborer, but much to his wife’s dismay, he spends evenings and weekends tending to his garden on the Federation’s 25 acre property.
“Mountain Man” was proud to show us the museum he’s been working on. Housed in one of the trailers, it has some very cool old western gear, but I winced at the animal skins, body parts and traps. He uses all parts of the animal, so kudos to him for that.
This “kid” is only 17 years old. He has his own horse and attends an agriculture high school right there in Queens.
The garden, barbeque pit and picnic area are just off the main road. Making the most out of the urban/rural experience!
Black Cowboys Flickr set
Check out these images below. You’re looking at mini sculptures from artist Alan Wolfson. They mostly measure under 2 feet. A native of Bed Stuy and Crown Heights, Wolfson creates these narratives of New York’s past in plastic with wood and cardboard. As if the sculptures aren’t fascinating enough, he then lights them to perfection.
Wolfson’s work is a combination of real locations mixed with details from his memory and other locations thrown in. People never appear in this scenes because he feels they would distract from the narrative.
Do you think new NYC would be as interesting? Bet not.
Via Huffington Post
The Association of International Photography Art Dealers holds their photography exhibit, which is open to the public, in NYC around this time every year. Whether you’re an avid collector or just getting started or just have an interest in looking at pretty pictures, this is the place to be.
All of the galleries are under one roof, so you can shop price, ask questions and find your favorite new photographer (one represented by a participating gallery, of course). No schlepping across town to various galleries and no intimidation factor upon walking in.
The AIPAD show started yesterday and runs until March 20th at the Park Avenue Armory. Admission at the door is $25 and well worth it.
Talented New York photographer and web developer Dan Nguyen has come up with a list of all the museums in the 5 boroughs. “Yeah, so?” You say. Well, it’s not just a list.
I Heart NY Museums is an interactive beta site which allows the visitor to view admission prices as well as addresses and hours. It looks kinda like a spread sheet with a map on top.
The focus is on price. Which museums are merely “suggested” donation and which are the most expensive? Are there free hours such as MOMA’s Friday evenings? It’s all right there in front of you.
Currently, there is no phone app. Nguyen is working on the data so he or someone else can make this awesome app.
via Brokelyn
Huffington Post recently featured images by photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz. I was so impressed that I followed the links back to Facing Change, a not for profit organization. Their aim is to document critical, yet under reported issues facing America. You may license images, donate money or propose a story on facingchange.org.
Below are some images that brought tears to my eyes. And some that just made me roll my eyes.
27 year old Sargent Manny Hornedo was killed near Tikrit when a suicide bomber attacked his humvee. Military funeral services were held in Greenwood Cemetary.
One year old Crystal lies dying of an intestinal disease while her mom Bridgett and housemate Wendy watch the monitors moments before her passing. Insurance would not cover the $500,000 operation that Bridgett couldn’t afford.
Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show, Westpoint, KY. Nearly 16,000 people attended the show. There has been a surge in civilian firearms since Obama’s election. Draw your own conclusions.
Troy, NY. I know what you’re thinking. Well, look, at least she’s turning her face away from the kids.
The vintage clothing king and queen of the Brooklyn Flea are making frames now. Larry and Amy of Jellyroll Vintage are also Framy. Got that?
I do. I ordered five, count ‘em, five custom Framy frames from these guys before Christmas and I finally hung them all today. So exciting!
A little background here. Amy has 15 years of framing experience behind her. She’s pretty meticulous with her work. I found out when I took the back out of one of them to change the photo and saw the crafts(wo)manship behind it. The frames are all made by hand from scratch. They’ve got a distressed look going on with a wax finish. That’s where Larry comes in. He does the mitering, joining and finishing.
Ah, but it’s not just frames. This rad couple does some pretty cool things with mats. Howzabout recycled vintage fabric?
Prices are totally fair. You have artwork sitting in a closet? Just do it already!
BTW, if the above photo looks familiar, it’s this one.
This must be the place. The place that I see across the water when traveling up the FDR. I’ve always wondered what it was. It looks like some kind of abandoned hospital and that’s exactly what North Brother Island is.
Oh, the history is rich, kids. The General Slocum, a steamship that burned on June 15, 1904 killing over 1,000 people, beached at the island. Typhoid Mary died there in 1938 after 20 years in quarantine.
The Kingston Lounge is displaying some friggin awesome photographs from the site. Be sure to check out their blog for other historic structures in decay.
Via Neatorama
“Madam Xene” from Tiger LaRue. Keep this by your bed at night to prevent sweet dreams. 20 bucks makes a nice gag gift for that person you hate.
“Becoming obsessed with numbers and formulaic systems through years of research, Algorithm is constantly searching for numerical systems in nature. His relationship with numbers has become so intense that he has carved them into his skin becoming what he covets most.”
WTF? It’s like that dude from the movie Pi (Yeah, I can’t figure out how to do the symbol on my computer). $100.
Sad Clown=Creepy Clown. Actually, ANY clown is creepy. Am I wrong? Who doesn’t hate clowns? Why do they exist? This guy is sad that his flower died. He’ll probably go all John Wayne Gacy on us now. $76
The company that makes this Day of the Dead Flower Girl is called Creepy Dolls. Now me, I prefer something that is not as obviously creepy, but I’m not hatin’. This doll was my favorite from this shop because she reminds me of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane”. $80.
Yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about! No blood or scars. It’s all in the eyes. $70.
Pinar Yolacan makes clothing out of meat. The former fashion design student turned artist created this body of work about 8 years ago, but I just discovered it via Etsy’s Storque.
As an environmentalist and vegetarian, I’m appalled by the waste and disrespect for these animal carcasses. As an art lover and photographer, I can’t get enough of these images!
Yolacan’s choice of models is brilliant. These every day women are perfect choices for the wrinkled and discarded flesh they are wearing. They can be your school teacher, your grandma or the homeless woman down the street.
Maybe for her next project, Pilar can do a vegetarian version.
What happens when a photographer/design consultant teams up with a furniture designer and reclaimed timber expert? “Made of New York” furniture happens.
John-Michael Ekeblad is the photographer. He builds the frames around the images as well. His work is snippets of NYC life. The cockroach is kind of our mascot, isn’t it?
The reclaimed wood furniture is pretty awesome. Prices aren’t crazy for the quality of work and materials. Just check out some of the stuff for yourself!
Black armchair: $1150.
Dining O-Stool: $290
Dresser: $990.
Via Cool Hunting.
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1.
Coney Island BoardwalkBrooklyn Tile Store, 4th Ave2. Near Court Street
3. Cyclone Ticket Booth
4. Nathan’s
5. Smith Street Restaurant
Comment by RH — February 1, 2012 @ 9:01 am
Thanks PB – you’re the best!
Comment by Ben Russell — February 1, 2012 @ 9:12 am
Actually #1 is the Brooklyn tile store (now closed) on 4th Ave.
Comment by Ben Russell — February 1, 2012 @ 9:13 am
Oops! Corrected. You told me that AND I lived in Coney Island for years. Still got it wrong.
Comment by RH — February 1, 2012 @ 9:19 am