~WALL-E/E-V-A-H/meet EVAH !!

. . . say what !! about artworld/real world/mass culture/pop culture SYNERGY !!

The NYC art scene was recently graced by the work and presence of our very own, organically sensitive !! and, also initially – a touch cool/prickly, but ultimately sweet – and, right on !! – E-V-A-H !!!

EVAH FAN, hailing from Berkeley, California – showed her work recently, with pal BRENDAN MONROE – at LITTLE CAKES – in what was to be revealed as – Hanna Fushihara Aron’s last show in her current Lower East Side storefront abode.
Called ‘Bed and Breakfast’ – the show ran JUNE 6 – JUNE 29, 2008

check out: the great pix already posted !!

SOME MORE PIX – FROM OPENING DAY – ‘BED and BREAKFAST’ – JUNE 6, 2008

EVAH !!
EVAH FAN.

EV # 1
detail, ‘The Cook, the Thief and The Pompost Kyle’, collaborative earth/floor work by EVAH FAN & BRENDAN MONROE. Brendan made the plants, and seedlings. Evah made the small sculpey figurines. . . . “E-A-R-T-H ? – define earth please.”

EV # 3
and it’s not just the s-e-e-d-l-i-n-g-s !!
EHAH’S figurines have the same rounded out features – just not quite that rounded out !! as the WALL-E ‘B&L’ space tourists – with their atrophied limbs !!
(p.s. . . . if you’ve ever received one of those telephone book sized, whole forest decimating – camera product ‘catalogs’ – in the mail – unsolicted – from NYC’S B&H – you might think .. well, that’s where they got B&L from… how far off a bet – is that, I wonder ?)

EV # 1
s-e-e-d-l-i-n-g-s !! oh oh – EVAH’S figurine has detected ‘DIRECTIVE – TOP SECRET’ !! – newly resurgent plant life beginnings.

EV # 4
installation shot – EVAH FAN & BRENDAN MONROE – ‘The Cook, the Thief and the Pompost Kyle’.

EV # 5
one of EVAH FAN’s small gouache drawings on paper, ‘Field Study 2’, 4 x 4 ins.

EV # 6
despite their austere and educated, not to mention sleek & distant packaging – EVAH FAN & E-V-A-H/WALL-E – both get – !! – what makes the human & it seems robot !! world – go round !!

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~YO YO YO !!/BOBO !!

YO YO YO !! talk about a live wire !!

. . . we thought the BOBO show would be good – but we hadn’t a clue – it was well, well, beyond the pale. and well well beyond the uptight conceptualist shows – the New York Times has been crowing about for summer offerings. It reminded us of that super great BLACK & WHITE show, ‘INFINITE FILL’, that CORY ARCHANGEL curated for FOXY PRODUCTION – a couple of summers back. just beats all the competition hands down. period.

This is a conceptual show that EXPLODES !! LIFTS OFF !! & FIGHTS BACK !!
BRAINS, BRAWN and VISUAL BEAUTY. what can I say – this is the one to see. it’s a DYNAMO !!

The opening was great. electric. crowded. fresh smart kids. a lot of friends from Philly came in. the artists in the show – it was like walking on a mountain range – just turning from one super dynamo to the next. non-stop. what do they put in that Philly water ? or, maybe these guys just aren’t drained by trying to stay alive in NYC. put it this way, a room, ok a small one – in a Philly ‘art’ house costs $175/month – the same comparable (small) room in a Brooklyn artist house, even in Bushwick, forget Williamsburg, costs $750+ a month. you live in Philly – it seems you got lots of free time to blow-it up and put it out. ..and it looks like, maybe even – take-over.

‘BOBO on 27TH ST’ – is also a show on wheels – that is, a show with great timing. It is actually the artworld equivalent of ‘Wall-E’ !! if you can think and dream – beyond WALK & TALK !!
except BOBO is PIXAR !! minus a couple of million zeros – in the budget.
. . . we’ll take the last lines from A.O. SCOTT’S film review of ‘Wall-E’, published in the New York Times WEEKEND ARTS of FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 – to start the dialog:
“The paradox at the heart of ‘Wall-E’ is that the drive to invent new things and improve the old ones – to buy and sell and make and collect – creates the potential for disaster and also the possible path away from it. Or, put another way, some of the same impulses that fill the world of ‘Wall-E’ – our world – with junk can also fill it with art.’ !!

here’s a couple of ‘teasers’ – photos from the opening – a whole !! photo report on the show – goes up next week !!

‘BOBO’S ON 27TH’ – CURATED BY BOBO – PHIL COTE, NICK PAYNE & DREW GILLESPIE
JULY 3 – AUGUST 1, 2008
FOXY PRODUCTION – 617 WEST 27TH ST – CHELSEA – NYC
note: summer hours … MON-FRI 11-6pm !!

B # 1

B # 2

B # 3

B # 4
futuristic ‘jukebox’ by BOBO – meet the artworld’s – ‘Wall-E’ !!

B # 5
say hello – to our EVE !! a changing light form by BEN PHELAN.

B # 6
YO YO YO – you go girl !! – an animated video … by ANNIE PEARLMAN, a local NYC artist, by way of Vermont – why does it take a village, that is, BOBO & PHILLY – to get this NYC talent – on the stage where she belongs ?
BOBO made the great ‘statement’ frame around the screen. including the plastic ‘garbage’ bags which are a bright, albeit subtle translucent – green and yellow, in reality. and put a beautiful plastic 3D case over the screen. Annie hadn’t seen it till the opening night & she loved it. what’s not to love. in a BOBO show.

B# 7
just one aspect of this amazing #D piece by JESSE GREENBERG

B # 8
ouch. BUDDHA DOG by BARKEV GULESSERIAN, not everyone in the show, is on the card.

B # 9
the free form on the wall, near the ceiling. by BEN PHELAN.

B # 10
LINDSAY BEEBE with her great ribald painting on the war, and down dirty anatomy !! of the sexes. hey, dude – what else do you think – bottomline – differentiates us, humans – from the robots ?
at less these guys ain’t sipping nutrients from straws & having test tube babies. this isn’t coarse – its the ultimate primal survival.

B # 11
BRIAN McKELLIGOTT has the same kind of raw sex dialog going on, in his painting too – so you know – BOBO is trying to tell us, something !! beyond WALK & TALK !! art show.

B #12
scattered about, text messages from BRENT COWLEY – just in case, you miss the point that this is not just a show – in a gallery – but – a visual ‘cirque’ with a message . . . message in a bottle.

B 13
. . . a visual ‘clue’ on one of the BOBO constructed frames – that help the individual artworks – explode off the Foxy ‘white box’ walls.

B # 14
. . . . what is it about this show – that makes me think this show is as close to giving birth, defining evolution and foreseeing the future – as 3 young musicians, named BOBO – in a space called FOXY – can get ?

more pix from the opening post EARLY next week.




~PHILLY’S BOBO hits 27TH STREET !!

PHILLY’S … BOBO hits 27TH ST. – OPENING TO-NITE – THURSDAY JULY 3, 2008, 6-8pm
‘BOBO’S ON 27TH’ – CURATED BY BOBO: PHIL COTE, NICK PAYNE & DREW GILLESPIE
running JULY 3 – AUGUST 1, 2008
FOXY PRODUCTION – 617 WEST 27TH ST, CHELSEA – NYC
note: gallery is in summer schedule: open MON-FRI 11-6pm

featuring work by: LINDSAY BEEBE/MATT BERRIAN/BOBO/BRENT COWLEY/LIZZIE FITCH/JESSE GREENBERG/COLT HAUSMAN/MILES HUSTON/BRIAN McKELLIGOT – [would that be RUDY !! no, it’s not !!] -/ANNIE PEARLMAN/BEN PHELAN PIFAS/&/TED SEFCIK

. . . apparently BOBO isn’t just a band, or even an art band – they’re a collective that runs a house gallery, in the house where they live in Philly – where the rents are cheap & the living is easy – just to keep it brief, and cool. looks like they’ve got Philly humming & now they are bringing some of that hum to our city !!! MICHAEL GILLESPIE is letting them take over FOXY PRODUCTION for the summer. we happened to catch them last week – while they were just beginning to face up to the task of getting the BOBO show on the road, unpacked & and up and running. the opening is to-nite – can’t wait !!

Bobo # 1
from left: NICK PAYNE and DREW GILLESPIE of BOBO

BOBO # 2
PHIL COTE of BOBO – whoever, said curating a 10+ artist show was a stroll-in-the-park – was wrong !! NOT !!

BoBo # 3
at left, far out primal painting by LINDSAY BEEBE. the back wall – a collaboration by the 3 live wires that are collectively known as – BOBO – & which will showcase a live feed from BOBO on 9TH St. in PHILLY !!!

BOBO # 4
angular shaped far out primal canvas by BRIAN McKELLIGOT. BOBO created a total environment around their show. which including building up 3D plaster ‘frames’ around paintings, attaching protruding (colored) lights and, scattering a detritus of human existence on the floor.
here – we caught the genesis !!

BOBO # 5
NICK COTE. beside him a selection of small wild paintings by MATTHEW BERRAIN.

BOBO # 6
DREW GILLESPIE of BOBO (left). local JUSTIN SAMSON drops by after the JOHN CONNELLY PRESENTS opening of a smaller group show – ‘A. T. COMPLEX’ – with a much more minimalist thread – in which Justin has several really good pieces. definitely worth. Photos of that opening, last Thursday June 26, 2008 – post next week.
‘A. T. COMPLEX’ runs June 26 – August 2, 2008 at jcp on 27TH ST.

Bobo # 7

BOBO # 8
it’s looking to be really great. really new & fresh.

BOBO # 9
back wall by BOBO.

BOBO # 10
painting by LINDSAY BEEBE.

BOBO # 11
painting by BRIAN McKELLIGOT. BOBO built up the 3D frames, and all the other wild stuff, like the lights, going on around the art works.

BOBO # 12
paintings by MATTHEW BERRAIN.
there were actually just as many, if not more 3D pieces in the show – its just they weren’t unpacked yet !!

BOBO # 13

BOBO # 14
. . . p.s. we’ll fill in the artist’s credits – after we see the show to-nite. it was too chaotic at the time to stop for data !!
. . . . ‘pop-up’ painting by COLT HAUSMAN. it’s a (beautiful) rendering of Philadelphia’s City Hall !!

BOBO # 15
BEST OF PHILLY – believe it !!

Bobo # 16
‘FOXY PRODUCTION / INSTALL KIT’

BOBO # 17
FOXY PRODUCTION’S MICHAEL GILLESPIE knows a good thing when he see it – he has a caught a live wire by the tail !!

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, JUNE 26, 2008

check out: the great pre-show presentation on the FOXY WEBSITE !!

check out: artlovers first happens upon BOBO/New York Underground Film Festival/March 24, 2007
. . . BOBO aspires to be “newspaper boys !! ”

check out: more pix of BOBO/New York Underground Film Festival/w. myspace link !!

check out: BOBO’S POSTER/BUSHWICK ART FESTIVAL 2007 !!

FOXY PRODUCTION




~ROB PRUITT/WATERFALLS

. . . mirror, mirror on the wall – who’s got the best waterfall of all ?

last week !! to catch – ROB PRUITT’S – 1,000 crushed Viagra pills-infused, DIY waterfall – the aptly named – ‘VIAGRA FALLS’ !! in:
‘WHO’S AFRAID OF JASPER JOHNS?’ – A SHOW CONCEIVED BY URS FISCHER & GAVIN BROWN
running MAY 9 – JULY 12, 2008
TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY – 544 WEST 26 STREET – CHELSEA – NYC

W # 2
opening night – water falls – inside and out.

W # 3
water cascades down the 2nd story entry stairway. we always knew that stairway must have had a reason . .

W # 4

W # 7

W # 12

W # 6
. . . say what – about being made from “renewable” resources. wonder what the budget was on this ?

W # 1
ROB PRUITT, on the right, looks down on his manmade waterfall – a first of its kind – don’t think anybody ever thought this up before ? – with him, is SPENCER SWEENEY.

W # 13
at the top.

W # 8
a view of the waterfall, going down towards the entry doorway

W # 10

W # 11

W # 14
the pump. at the bottom.

W # 16
no there were no fish, not even goldfish . . . but, yes there were viagra pills crushed into the water.
handfuls were in little dish containers on the reception desk at the opening. we know someone. well, maybe our music critic, who grabbed a handful and sold them for $100 in Washington Sq. Park the next day !!

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, from the night of the opening, MAY 8, 2008

see: the original post on the opening

TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY




~OLAFUR ELIASSON/WATERFALLS

OLAFUR ELIASSON – ‘THE NEW YORK CITY WATERFALLS’
PRESENTED by the PUBLIC ART FUND
4 locations on the EAST RIVER
running JUNE 26 – OCTOBER 13, 2008

the 90 to 120 ft. tall water flowing (downwards !!) installations will operate from 7am to 10pm – 7 days a week. They will be lit after sunset. They have been designed to protect water quality, and aquatic life (from their pumps.) They also run on”green power” – electricity “generated from renewable sources”.

The local tabloids don’t seem that impressed – and only seem to be able to makes news out of how much the Falls cost to make – !! – and how much they are supposed to generate in extra tourist dollaers, with much text being given over to debating the feasibility of the gov’t provided estimate that . . . “the local economy will get at least a $55 million boost from the massive public artwork”. (NEW YORK POST/Saturday, June 28, 2008).
In fact, the The New York Post subtitled their article – “Tourism stream or $55M pipe dream”/”AWE, WHATEVER”/and concludes that .. “… visitors at the South Street Seaport seem hardly impressed by the waterfall art under the Brooklyn Bridge.”

According to the published reports – the Waterfalls were built on a budget of $15.5 million dollars – try to which truthfully seems like a big joke – even for a small nowhere, more serious minded – art “blog” like this one – and, even though New Yorkers usually like a big joke – esp if the money didn’t come out of their own taxpayer pockets, (though apparently almost 2 million did come from public funds – published reports have it as: $13.5 million in private donations – remainder from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.) – they still didn’t seem in the mood for a big scam at this particular time – when everyone is being hit hard and harder. and city life gets tougher & tougher. unless your parents are movie stars, investment bankers, Euro moguls, or NYU big bucks parents – like the current breed of well funded spawn now happily at play – where (real) artists once used to roam. Supposedly the money went for materials and “salaries” – I’d love to see a break-down of those salaries !! Since this is a “non-profit” Public Art Fund venture – shouldn’t that info – be available for the public record ?

especially since one article (again my favorite source, the NEW YORK POST – just like Agent K – in MEN IN BLACK) – reports that EDC (Economic Development Corp.) President SETH PINSKY states that … much of the money generated (for the city) is directly due to the money spent constructing the $15.5 million waterfalls, in the form of salaries and materials. Pinsky goes on to say that .. since those salaries are then spent in the city on food and entertainment, the economic boom is closer to $23 million. . . . . whoa, wait a minute – if you read the press from the Public Art Fund – it’s pretty clear OLAFUR travels with or at least, starts with his own whole, self-contained in-house technical crew – and tell me – they don’t take their hi-end salleries and split back to Germany or Denmark or wherever they are from – as soon as possible ..

budget considerations & NYC grumpiness, aside – the waterfalls seem pretty enough – from the photos posted on their dedicated website –
check it out: nycwaterfalls !!

the PUBLIC ART FUND has some basic info on their website – though its pretty dull in format & even its site photos – are labelled incorrectly !! see: PUBLIC ART FUND

. . . . where according to their website, you can find out that … “OLAFUR ELIASSON was born in Copenhagen in 1967. He grew up in both Iceland and Denmark and currently divides his time between his family home in Copenhagen and his studio in Berlin – where STUDIO OLAFUR ELIASSON employs a team of 30 architects, engineers, craftsmen and assistants” … “who conceptualize, test, engineer, and construct installations, sculptures, large scale projects and commissions.”

. . . we’ll give the last word – on the city’s summer of 2008 – ‘pissed-off’ economic temperature, to a musician, who else better, to get it right … on the city’s authentic (as opposed to gentrified) soul – ANDY BUTLER of the band – Hercules and Love Affair – who was quoted in the New York Times, in a recent music review by HUA HSU, published in the Arts & Leisure Section, Sunday, June 22, 2008 – “Mr. Butler said, ‘New York isn’t so conducive to a party anymore,’ referring, in part, to the city’s stifling high cost of living.”

. . . don’t feel like seeing the falls myself, neither do most of my friends – day to day struggles – aren’t making us feel like care-free tourists, I guess, just the trampled underground. . . . but they look pretty enough, esp. in their diversity.
all photos below courtesy: PUBLIC ART FUND.

waterfall # 1
GOVERNOR’S ISLAND/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY

waterfall # 2
PIER 35/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY

waterfall # 3
BROOKLYN PIERS 4 & 5/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY

waterfall # 4
BROOKLYN BRIDGE/PHOTO: PUBLIC ART FUND




~OLAFUR ELIASSON/archives

first two photos: OLAFUR ELIASSON is a guest speaker at the ‘Public Art Fund Presents Tuesday Night Talks at the New School’, New School, NYC. MARCH 29, 2005
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

E #1

E # 2

OLAFUR ELIASSON, and TOM ECCLES, who was at that time, the Director of the Public Art Fund.
(Mr. Eccles is now Executive Director of the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies.)

check out: the original posting !!

the following series of photos: OLAFUR ELIASSON opens ‘Your engagement sequence’ at TANYA BONAKDAR, CHELSEA, NYC, APRIL 28, 2006
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

E # 3

E # 4

E # 5

E # 6

E # 7

E # 8

E # 9

E # 10

E # 11

E # 12

E # 13

E # 14

see: the original ‘Your engagement sequence’ post !!




~OLAFUR ELIASSON/P.S.1

OLAFUR ELIASSON – ‘TAKE YOUR TIME’ – this is your last !! chance to check it out !!
APRIL 20 – JUNE 30, 2008
P.S.1 CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER
for times & info: P.S.1

there is also an associate exhibit at MoMA.

. . . to our eye – the 2 most interesting parts of the Danish-Icelandic artist OLAFUR ELIASSON’S installation/exhibit – ‘TAKE YOUR TIME’ – (besides the title!!) at P.S.1 are the 2 water pieces.
and of those – one is definitely better than the other. Although ‘Reversed waterfall’ is pretty good – and looks real good in the site – ‘Beauty’ – on the other hand is spectacular – and rises way beyond the sublime. I would put ‘Beauty’ in a class with the 2 URS FISCHER offerings of this year – the dug-out hole at GBE, titled ‘You’ & the currently running (up til JULY 12th !!) ‘Who’s Afraid of Jasper Johns’ at TONY SHAFRAZI – and, I guess that would put ROB PRUITT’S ‘VIAGRA FALLS’ – into the victory waterworld ring, too !!
Though, while Mr. Eliasson’s waterworks take on a gothic and fairy tale aspect – the comparison only serves to better illustrate the funny, rushing and ‘Woodstock revivial’ DIY nature of Mr. Pruitt’s ‘Viagra Falls’ !!
see: GAVIN & URS .. and ROB PRUITT rock TONY !!

Eli # 1
. . . approaching ‘Reversed waterfall’.

Eli # 2
OLAFUR ELIASSON, ‘reversed waterfall’, 1998.
Scaffolding, steel, water, foil, hose, and pump. Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary.

Eli # 3
the base – interesting for its rawness. and coldness.

Eli # 4
it’s a reverse waterfall, because a pump delivers the water upwards into staged compartments – till the flow hits the top one and then it exits (downwards) thru a pipe . . . so there is no water cascading downwards, at all. only water moving up. somewhat like a common, albeit, giant, kid’s sand toy that can be seen on ocean beaches.

Eli # 5
‘Reverse waterfall’ – one of the most striking features of this fountain ..NOT !! is the huge racket of the water as it hits each succeeding metal unit on the way up. esp. in the open configuration of P.S.1 – its a huge huge clanging sound that echoes throughout the entire building. It sounds like a huge swimming pool full of dedicated strong swimmers – but in the school-like, really school/derived setting – that is P.S.1 – its really strange to note the huge sound of water being churned – but minus the clatter & laughter of children.

Eli # 6
another interesting aspect of the piece – is how you can move around it – and the water dynamics become hidden – even though it is so relatively a narrow and ‘transparent’ structure.

Eli # 7
from head-on – you wouldn’t even know that water was crashing upwards through it.

Eli # 9
on the other side of the hallway – directly opposite to the open room of the ‘Reversed waterfall’ – is a doorway leading to very dark, a very black – elaborately constructed entry. at first you expect another (tedious) video display theater – but NOT !!

Eli # 10
warning !! . . . about to enter . . . ‘Beauty’ !!

Eli # 8
even the security guard, who we remember being there, at P.S.1 – forever. can’t contain her excitement at showing ‘Beauty’ off – and there is it – can you see it ?

Eli # 11
‘Beauty’ – that’s pretty much, exactly !!how it looks, until your eyes adjust somewhat to the blackness. it just stops you cold – completely – it is so unlike anything you
have ever seen before. or coulsd have imagined. and it is silent. and it is magical. it is the lightest thing on earth. it’s hard to comprehend at first. a changing play of almost spectrum pure light reflected onto a wall, actually a spray – of the fine fine water mist.

Eli # 11 A
here’s the previous photo – photo shopped – so you can actually see what it is.
OLAFUR ELIASSON – ‘Beauty’, 1993. Fresnel lamp, water nozzles, hose, wood, and pump. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, purchased with funds provided by Paul Frankel.
“A spotlight shines obliquely through a curtain of fine mist, creating an indoor rainbow. Your experience of the visual effects is generated by the intersection of water and light and varies in relation to your viewing position within the room.” ~ P.S.1 press release

Eli # 12

Eli # 13

Eli # 14

Eli # 15

Eli # 16

Eli # 17

Eli # 18

Eli # 20
once you got over being transfixed – you realized you could get right up, in front of it, you could slice your hand though the mist – and even walk around it. that was a strange, strange, contrary feeling – because its effect, its presence – was so intangible. you could even look up, and see how it worked.

it was so the opposite of ‘Reverse waterfall’ in many ways. it was so hidden and dark. and it was so silent. it was as deathly silent, totally silent, as ‘Reverse waterfall’ was clamorous and clanging. even the nozzles that emitted the mist made not a sound, not even a technical whisper.
. . . but in another way, like ‘Reverse waterfall’ – it benefited, gained in visual dynamic & conceptual subtext – from being placed in the basement of P.S. 1 – a transformed old institutional Victorian school – whose careful restoration had saved, impeccably, the original infrastructure. it was totally eerie to come across this absolutely silent mist of ever changing light – in its austere stage, in the school’s basement. It was as if you were Hermoine, and you had stumbled across the forbidden secret of life – hidden deep in the HOGWARTS dungeon.
It was like a forbidden beauty.
. . . when the overhead nozzles – came into realization – it took on an even scarier aspect. NAZI concentration camp death showers. or a GRIMM Bros. fairy tale. we’re like – whoa we would have wondered right in – we did wonder right in – and – totally transfixed by the fragile shimmer beauty – we would have died – unable to turn away – in time.
. . . is that Danish-Icelandic subtext ?

Eli # 20
the Fresnel lamp overhead.

Eli # 22
looking thru ‘Beauty’ … from behind the mist’s veil.

Eli # 23

Eli # 24

Eli # 25

Eli # 26
the stairs leading back up to the exit. ‘Beauty’ was wonderfully staged.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, JUNE 19, 2008

P.S.1




~RAIN BIRD/P.F.1

Rain bird
RAIN BIRD/’ENTER THE MUSEUM’/IMAGE COURTESY: RAIN BIRD

way yeah !! – enter the RAIN BIRD MUSEUM – this is pretty much – the coolest (virtual) museum trip I’ve ever taken …. enter: the RAIN BIRD MUSEUM !!

. . . is that animated virtual hostess – the best & coolest ever, or what !!!

I think its the combination of graphics that look so 50’s – with content that’s so now !! – i.e. – “the intelligent use of water !!” . . and, all this from a scientific/technical company that goes way back to the 30’s !! . . that has me so flipped out. this site is wild !!!

. . . just take that RAIN BIRD museum tour. & then check out the rest of the site. nuff said. this site – should keep you busy for the weekend !!

. . . and don’t !! miss the link on the website’s lefthand index/under ‘COMMUNITY’ – to the RAIN BIRD 2008 TOURNAMENT Of ROSES FLOAT – titled ‘PRESERVATION CELEBRATION’ – which was honored with the Sweepstakes Trophy for the ‘Most Beautiful Float’ in the 2008 parade !!
here’s the link !! – RAIN BIRD FLOAT !!
. . . no wonder this company is over 7 decades old & still !! going strong !!

Rain bird float
RAIN BIRD 2008 TOURNAMENT OF ROSES – FLOAT/IMAGE COURTESY: RAIN BIRD

rain bird logo
National Geographic logo/COURTESY: RAIN BIRD

RAIN BIRD – “the world’s leader in irrigation” – & their DAVE SHANE – provided the IRRIGATION SYSTEM for PUBLIC FARM ONE.

. . . after all, after lightweight rooftop soil – what could be more important !!

(bye the way – I don’t notice a credit to bug and disease control on the PUBLIC FARM ONE website !! – yo, if you garden in NYC – you get the thought wave !! if they have bees & butterflies – they’re going to get – the pests, too. just ask any New Yorker with a terrace garden – its hard to believe – but they still find their way – right up there – 20TH floor and counting !!)

PUBLIC FARM ONE/P.S.1




~THE GAIA INSITUTE/P.F.1

GAIA
“TWIN LAKES … after”/PHOTO COURTESY: THE GAIA INSTITUTE

. . . what could be more important to a ‘floating-in-the-sky’ terrace/container garden, such as P.F.1 – than a lightweight planting soil ?

AMALE ANDRAOS & DAN WOOD got their “ultra-lightweight growing medium” from THE GAIA INSTITUTE: ‘GAIA SOIL / FOR GREEN ROOFS’ – PAUL S. MANKIEWICZ & JOHN HALENAR.

The GAIA INSTITUTE based in the BRONX, NYC – is a not-for-profit organization that:
” . . couples ecological engineering and restoration with the integration of human communities in natural systems.
“While much environmental engineering has the worthy aim of minimizing harm, The Gaia Institute explores, through research and development, design and construction, how human activities and waste products can be treated to increase ecological productivity, biodiversity, environmental quality, and economic well being.
“The purpose of The Gaia Institute is to test through demonstration the means by which the ecological components of backyards, communities, towns and cities, as wel as watersheds nd estuaries, can be enhanced through integrated wastes-into-resources technologies.”/THE GAIA INSTITUTE

. . . THE GAIA INSTITUTE website – with its briefly stated missions, visions & projects is worth a look.
check it out !!: THE GAIA INSTITUTE

GAIA SOIL

GAIA SOIL – the “revolutionary, ultra-lightweight green roof solution” – “Now, green roofs can grow nearly everywhere – Made from locally recycled materials – Created and patented by THE GAIA INSTITUTE” !!

check it out !!, maybe you can put some on YOUR roof !!: GAIA SOIL FOR GREEN ROOFS

PUBLIC FARM 1/P.S.1




~AMALE ANDRAOS & DAN WOOD/WORKac

Amale & Dan # 1
AMALE ANDRAOS & DAN WOOD of WORK Architecture Company (New York) at the opening reception of P.F.1 /PUBLIC FARM ONE at P.S.1 – the winning design of the 9th Annual YOUNG ARCHITECTS PROGRAM/THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/MoMA & P.S.1.

Amale & Dan - picking skirt
AMALE ANDRAOS & DAN WOOD in the courtyard annex at P.S.1. Dan is wearing a ‘picking’ skirt – with great zeal & style. His socks flashed a wonderful shade of neon green too, just like his wonderfully hued shirt !!

Amale & Dan # 3
. . . not all just fun & games & gardening !! – PUBLIC FARM ONE – had some amazing stats re: its infrastructure & vision … posted on columns around the main structure.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, JUNE 19, 2008

. . . and so, of, course it was no surprise to hit their website/WORK.ac & find some pretty amazing graphics, design elements & projects.

Work ac/website
frame from the opening animation/IMAGE COURTESY/WORKac website

CHECK OUT !! their website !!: WORKac

. . . and don’t skip – hitting those little icons – along the bottom of the website screen – those are their many projects & project proposals – to date !!

you can see P.F.1/PUBLIC FARM ONE – which they really, seriously focused on – though pretty presitigious, being sponsored by MoMA, as well as it’s affliate P.S.1 – is actually a relatively small (budget) project/proposal for them – in the relative scale of all things: architecture !!

. . . our fave of all their proposals & projects – was their master plan 2002 for MAKKAH WESTERN GATEWAY – MAKKAH, Saudi Arabia.

Makkah
MAKKAH WESTERN GATEWAY PROPOSAL/IMAGE COURTESY: WORKac/website

Makkah # 2
MAKKAH WESTERN GATEWAY PROPOSAL/IMAGE COURTESY: WORKac/website

. . . . of course – their attention to detail, vision, lightheartedness/in seriousness, and innovative design – and just – how much work goes into these proposals – is also made abundantly clear in a quick visit to the website devoted to PUBLIC FARM ONE at P.S. 1 – as these few examples of the renderings found on the site – make clear in an instant.

farm the entrance
P.F.1 – THE ENTRANCE/IMAGE COURTESY: P.F.1

Farm - market
P.F.1 – THE MARKET/IMAGE COURTESY: P.F.1

farm-pool
P.F.1- THE POOL/IMAGE COURTESY: P.F.1

check out !!: PUBLIC FARM 1/P.S.1