the card for:
THOMAS DEMAND – ‘Yellowcake’
NOVEMBER 3 – DECEMBER 22, 2007
303 GALLERY – 525 WEST 22 STREET – CHELSEA – NYC
THOMAS DEMAND also presents an exhibit, focused on the reconstruction of an historical American ‘wartime’ nature – though of a more contemporary time. But, unlike Duke Riley’s concurrent exhibit, the DEMAND reconstruction, in paper and cardboard is only the first step to the final output – which are drop dead formalist hyper realist photographs – in large, almost life size scale.
(see: DUKE RILEY – ‘AFTER THE BATTLE Of BROOKLYN’ – below)
In ‘Yellowcake’ – Thomas Demand makes the Embassy of the Republic of Niger in Rome his subject.
” . . . located in an unassuming 10-story apartment building.. Its nondescript appearance belies the monumental consequences of the robbery that took place there in January 2001, when several pieces of Embassy stationery and offcial stamps and seals were stolen from the building. It is widely believed that letters that turned up shortly after the break-in – appearing to document Saddam Hussein’s attempt to purchase ‘yellowcake’ (an enriched form of urnium used in nuclear weapons) from Niger – were printed on these stolen papers. Though numerous intelligence officals and experts dismissed the documents as forgeries, President George W. Bush nevertheless sited them as a cause to go to war with Iraq.” (press release)
Demand, who bases his work on “existent” historical subjects, gained first hand access to the Embassy building .. “conversed with the embassy staff, and through these visits and interactions built his own memory of the place” – on which these photos are based.
THOMAS DEMAND, at the ‘Yellowcake’ opening, at 303 Gallery, on November 3, 2007
& an installation shot of one of the photographs – also from the opening.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
more photos of the exhibition can be found on the gallery website: ‘Yellowcake’ at 303
more photos of the opening to post later today, TUES NOV 6 – in the new Photo Report
(currently in production)
303 GALLERY
~THOMAS DEMAND/YELLOWCAKE/303/thru DEC 22 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 6th, 2007, 9:15am
the story hits the media in the first week of AUGUST, this past summer – the gallery has an album of all the archival media coverage/this is the:
SATURDAY AUG 4, 2007, NEW YORK POST – COVER
at the opening, from left: ALEX PERFIDO (PERFIDO DESIGNS/furniture & set designs/Willliamsburg), his associate CHARLES SMITH, DUKE RILEY, himself, and ALBERTO MAGNAN of MAGNAN PROJECTS – the gallery sponsoring the exhibit.. Alex Perfido and Charles Smith helped build the submarine (titled – ‘The Acorn’).
DUKE RILEY was born in Boston, MASSACHUSETTS, and has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Pratt Institute.
‘The Acorn’ – the actual submersible that went onto the water. approx 8 x 6 ft – they had to take out the storefront window to get it in – the gallery – with only about 1/4 in. of clearance !!
‘After the Battle of Brooklyn’ “revolves around historical obscurities that took place in New York during the American Revolutionary War. In addition to drawings. mosaics, and videos, Riley constructed a replica of the first primitive Revolutionary War submarine (‘The Turtle’) that is propelled by a hand crank and submersible for up to 20 minutes. In 1776 George Washington’s Continental Army used these subs to target the British flagship, ‘The Eagle’. Putting a contemporary spin on this idea, Riley launched his submarine (‘The Acorn’) while The Queen Mary 2 was docked in the Brooklyn Harbor and captured the attention of the Coast Guard, NYPD, and major newspapers.” – press release
an amazing video clip is projected on a gallery wall – it – definite -caught all the action !!!!
from the beginning, . . . Duke Riley gets into the ‘The Acorn’ – it has just been launched into the Brooklyn Harbor.
THE QUEEN MARY 2 – as long – as the CHRYSLER BUILDING – is tall.
(the theme of which – is the subject – of a huge drawing in the show – ‘Curtains for the Free World’, ink on canary paper, 72 x 111 ins.)
B-U-S-T-E-D !!!
and taken out !!!
DUKE RILEY, small ink drawing on canary paper – in the 10TH AVE GALLERY SPACE
DUKE RILEY, small ink drawing on canary paper. as well, as an obviously original thinker, DUKE RILEY is a fine draftsman & craftsman – all the work, the ACORN construction, drawings, scrimshaw replications & mosaics, were done by him directly, hands-on.
DUKE RILEY, small tile mosaic
close-up, DUKE RILEY, small tile mosaic
DUKE RILEY, scrimshaw work – his love of nautical folk art – was reflected in a folk music – fife & whistle soundtrack – that played at the opening – in the MAGNAN NEMRICH SPACE on 28TH STREET -&- which housed – ‘The Acorn’.
DUKE RILEY, huge tile mosaic, ‘Bringing 370 New Jobs to Redhook’, 15 ft. long – with iridescent windows, supposedly: an ironic take on failed economic policy – (I think, in title, only . . ) is also – the image on the show’s 3 part, black,white & gray, folded card.
. . at the opening, TIM DAVIS, who works at CORBIS, helped DUKE RILEY get the huge media blitz – out there – with, a little luck – it was a dead stretch in the middle of the summer.
. . also at the opening, LIAM DAVIS, brother to TIM DAVIS, (above), and longtime Duke Riley friend – took some of the photos that made it into the blanket media coverage – his pix made the NEW YORK POST & NEWSDAY.
BRENDAN CARNEY, DUKE RILEY pal, printed the photos in the show, and was part of the crew that installed the show & that built/launched the sub. He is standing in front of the large ink drawing, ‘Curtains for the Free World’, at the DUKE RILEY, ‘After the Battle of Brooklyn’, opening.
DUKE RILEY setting out on his trip. PHOTO BY CHUCK D – a professional photographer who just happened to be in the ‘hood’ – on a very lucky day – for both of them – !!!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, taken at the opening, NOV 1, 2007
DUKE RILEY, ‘AFTER THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN’, MAGNAN PROJECTS
DUKE RILEY – AFTER THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN – EAST RIVER INCOGNITA II
the show runs: NOVEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 22, 2007
MAGNAN PROJECTS – 317 10TH AVE – CHELSEA, NYC
MAGNAN NEMRICH CONTEMPORARY – 505 WEST 28TH ST – CHELSEA, NYC
www.dukeriley.info
MAGNAN PROJECTS
~DUKE RILEY/AFTER THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN/thru/DEC 22 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 2nd, 2007, 10:54am
DUKE RILEY/image: MAGNAN PROJECTS
DUKE RILEY – AFTER THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN – OPENS TO-NITE – THURS – NOV 1 (6-8PM)
the show runs: November 1 – December 22, 2007
MAGNAN PROJECTS – 317 TENTH AVENUE – CHELSEA, NYC
more about the show: PRESS RELEASE & IMAGES
more about DUKE RILEY on artlovers:
~link to – DUKE RILEY’S WEBSITE on: artlovers AUG 8, 2007
~link to – DUKE RILEY SCORES NY POST FRONT PAGE – SATURDAY, AUG 4, 2007
MAGNAN PROJECTS
~DUKE RILEY/OPENS TO-NITE/THURS/NOV 1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | November 1st, 2007, 4:03pm
