Frieze Art Fair photography highlights
Katy Grannan, Salon 94
Ryan McGinley, team gallery inc.
Geert Goiris (A former Cheap & Plastique contributor!)
Richard Wentworth, Lisson Gallery
Thomas Ruff
Alec Soth
James Casabere
Other photography:
art art art art art pt. 1
My favorite exhibitions from my Chelsea wanders on Saturday, Part 1:::
Francis Alÿs at David Zwirner Gallery, from January 10 – February 9, 2013.
More info on the exhibition here.
If you cannot make it to Chelsea to see the film before Saturday, it is available on youtube:::
Francis Alÿs (In collaboration with Julien Devaux and Ajmal Maiwandi)
REEL-UNREEL
A preview of the entire show here:
Dieter Roth. Björn Roth. at Hauser & Wirth, from January 23 – April 13, 2013.
More info on the exhibition here.
NY Times review here.
Doug Aitken, 100 YRS, at 303 Gallery, from February 1 – March 23, 2013.
Charlie Roberts, Girl Power, at Kravets Wehby Gallery, from January 31 – February 23, 2013. More info on the exhibition here.
Detail of above right painting
Marina Abramović
Marina Abramović The Artist is Present has an extended run at Film Forum. More information here.
From the Film Forum website:
Marina Abramović: seductive, controversial, fearless, outré. Her retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (March – May 2010) featured an extraordinary performance, experienced by 750,000 people, many of whom waited hours for the chance to sit silently across from her at a small table, where she remained for 7½ hours daily, without eating, drinking, or moving. The intensity of her gaze, the intimacy of the act (paradoxically in a huge, brightly lit room, filled with onlookers) moved some to tears and other acts of extreme emotion. Matthew Akers’s film records the artist as she prepares herself physically and spiritually for the ordeal — as might be expected — with tremendous discipline, humor and guile. With comments by MoMA curator Klaus Biesenbach, art critic Arthur Danto, gallerist Sean Kelly, and hundreds of members of the public (including James Franco) who were fortunate enough to attend this landmark event.
the schoolhouse art space
Went to check out the Schoolhouse in Bushwick the other weekend. I peeked into a few studios and photographed 3 of the artists working within those spaces, alongside their work. I also photographed some of the common spaces and the interior of the amazing building.
The Schoolhouse was built in 1883 and used as a school until 1945, at which point it was sold to be used as a manufacturing business. It was used as a manufacturing space for many years (more historical information here), then abandoned, and then converted into artist’s live/work spaces in the 1990s. Originally the artists space was called ORT (the German word for site or place and also an acronym for “organizing resources together.”), now the space is just known as the Schoolhouse. Since the 90s there has been a revolving cast of creative individuals taking up residence in the space. The Schoolhouse is not an art collective or commune, however, the members of the house tend to act like a family; sharing art supplies, participating in house events, sometimes collaborating on art projects, and consuming many communal meals together.
The Schoolhouse will be open for Bushwick Open Studios from June 1 – June 3rd, stop by and see the fabulous space (and art inside) for yourself. More information here.
The Schoolhouse hours over BOS weekend:
Friday, the 1st – 5PM — 11PM
Saturday, the 2nd – 12PM — 11PM
Sunday, the 3rd – 12 PM – 8 PM
Augustin Doublet will be screening his new short film Adam all weekend.
Here are some photographs of the Schoolhouse space. And a Q & A about the space with 3 of the resident artists, Justin Orvis Steimer, Augustin Doublet, and Chris Chludenski.
I will also be posting interviews over the next couple of days with these artists that concentrate more on their individual artwork and studio spaces.
________________________________________________________________
QUESTIONS:::
C & P: How many years have you each lived at the Schoolhouse?
Justin: I moved in May of 2008, so 4 years now.
Chris: 3 years.
Augustin: 3 years.
2nd floor
2nd floor
C & P: Have you found that the area of Bushwick where the Schoolhouse is located has changed a lot since you moved into the space?
Justin: Broadway hasn’t changed a whole lot. A bodega or store will go out of business occasionally but it is replaced by something similar to what was already there. A lot of the bodegas are remodeling, putting up new signs, brighter lights, nicer counters but they still sell the same stuff. As you get closer to the Morgan and Jefferson L train stops there are a lot more start up restaurants and stores, places that weren’t there one or two years ago. There are definitely more police around than there used to be, including mounted police surveillance cameras and these star wars looking mobile cop towers that raise up like 20 feet.
Chris: Not really.
Augustin: I was surprised the other day to see a young white couple carrying their babies around on Broadway. 3 years ago I truly think that the Schoolhouse was one of the few places where white people lived in this part of Bushwick.
2nd floor
2nd floor
C & P: Have you ever lived in similar places in other cities?
Justin: No.
Chris: Nope.
Augustin: I spent one summer in Barcelona in a very creative environment but no I truly think that the Schoolhouse is unique. Actually the space and the people of the Schoolhouse played a major part in the choice I made to stay in New York.
2nd floor
2nd floor
2nd floor
C & P: Do you collaborate with past and present residents of the Schoolhouse? Do you consider the residents of the Schoolhouse to be members of a collective ?
Justin: So many people have been in and out of here, it all depends. Sometimes someone moves in that just clicks and in that case collaboration happens naturally. Some people move in and keep more to themselves and don’t really get involved with the rest of the house too much. Right now we have an amazingly talented group that has been living here for a couple years. We have created a family more than a collective. We cook and eat together often, we spend a lot of time talking and bouncing ideas around. When someone moves out they know that they always have a home here.
Chris: Not really a collective, per se. More like collaborating artists. It is good to have other people to run ideas by that aren’t necessarily working in the same medium as you, and also there’s a lot of material sharing going on, which is more convenient than having to go to the art store.
Augustin: We just finished the production of a short movie together. It was a fantastic and intense experience. All who live here are true artists and craftsman. So you can imagine how pleasant it is to work with skilled people that you love and care about.
It’s the second movie that I have produced with the roommates and I truly hope to continue this type of collaboration. One of the former roommates, Derek Deems, even came back from LA just to help with the shoot.
In my view the Schoolhouse is more of a community than a collective, meaning that the bond between people is more based on friendship than on art.
3rd floor
3rd floor
3rd floor
3rd floor
C & P: What is your greatest memory of time spent at the Schoolhouse since you have lived there?
Justin: Honestly what I enjoy the most is laying in the bathtub in my room in the late afternoon light, watching the reflections of the water on the ceiling and being totally at peace with the universe.
Chris: Holidays like Thanksgiving are really fun and unique when everyone’s around. Some of the events we’ve thrown like the “tooth replacement” fundraiser will always stand out in my mind.
Augustin: The Block Party that we throw with our neighbors every summer is certainly one of the best time.
3rd floor
3rd floor
3rd floor
3rd floor
C & P: What sort of events do you have in the space? Art-related? Music-related?
Justin: On my floor (the second floor) we have art shows every couple of months. Usually we show the work of people living in the house and our friends. Recently we hosted an Animamus Art Salon which brought in artists who we had never met. I like for the space to be used like that, bringing people together.
Chris: Both. Plus fundraisers for art, music, or good causes…
Augustin: All types of events. The people of the 3rd floor are for the most part musicians so you can expect to have a concert of indie-rock, electro, noise every month or so… Mark Dwinnel, who kind of manages the space of the 3rd floor, also used to organize lectures and poetry readings. I use the space to produce electro parties with Resolute and burlesque shows with MadSharpe production. Otherwise I would say that every other month the 1st and 2nd floor people exhibit their work or make the space available for performances.
3rd floor
3rd floor
C & P: I read that you throw a block party in the summer. How did that start? Do most of the people in the building participate in some capacity?
Justin: Our neighbors have been throwing the block party for years. Only in the past couple have we begun to get involved. It has grown to become one of the best days of the year. The whole block comes together to celebrate the summer. We grill out front and blast music from the roof. Everyone brings something to eat or drink and the whole block shares everything. Our neighbors set up pools in the street and rent a giant (like 30 feet tall) inflatable water slide. At night we move the party inside and keep going until morning.
Chris: You just gotta get a permit for a date, then get neighborhood signatures. Then the city closes the street down for the day and all have a great time. Everyone is the building either comes out, or cooks, or just joins in the general festivities. Its probably the kids who live on the block that have the most fun, getting to run around like maniacs all day.
3rd floor
3rd floor
C & P: You are also involved in Bushwick Open Studios at the beginning of June. Do you have any special events planned in the space for the occasion?
Justin: Each of us will have our work up all over the space. We are going to build some tents to hang out in and I am going to make pancakes. I will play the organ in the living room a bit as well. Elliot will be screen printing down stairs and Willy will be roller skating around the dance studio while playing the guitar and singing.
Chris: There will be music events for sure. And we’re all putting up some sort of art, so there will be plenty to see.
Augustin: Yes, of course! We will screen the latest movie that I directed and produced. It’s a very dear project to me and I’m very proud of it. It’s a short fiction named ADAM. The story revolves around the day of a street smart kid in Bushwick.
the roof
the roof
Photos © Christine Navin. Do not reproduce without permission.
My Barbarian
Tourists from the Future
An Evening with My Barbarian
Monday, April 16 (that’s tonight!), 7 PM, Theater 2, MoMA
Science-fiction new wave musicals, the selling of souls to witches, the culture of excess, alter-egos, Los Angeles cultural production, the middle class collapse—these all seem like topics worthy of discussion on a Monday night.
From MoMA’s website:
The Los Angeles–based performance collective My Barbarian—Malik Gaines (b. Visalia, California, 1973), Jade Gordon (b. Santa Rosa, California, 1975), and Alexandro Segade (b. San Diego, California, 1973)—combine their eclectic background in theater, theory, and contemporary art to create incisive, campy, site-specific plays, concerts, theatrical situations, and video installations. All three group members will be present to discuss their most recent works.More info here.
Silver Minds
Broke People’s Baroque Peoples’ Theater
Dance Witches Dance
Short interview with My Barbarian below.
Gerhard Richter Painting
I am forcing myself to take a couple weeks off of working outside of my normal 9 – 5 job, after spending the past 2 months staying up super late night after night & neglecting my friends and all of the fun happenings going on in nyc so that I could curate and design issue 10 of the magazine and simultaneously organize the Fountain exhibition, which just finished this past Sunday.
Just saw that this Gerhard Richter Painting film opened today at Film Forum. Looks awesome, I am pretty excited to go and see this during my leisure time!
And from Nowness:
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