~HESH/HASH . . FRANK

FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS – PART IV

so, seems like while I was enjoying the good life up at the RUSSIAN TEA ROOM, HESH was pickin’ up the slack . . downtown !!

now . . I know how Walter Robinson felt when I arrived on his doorstep.
all I can say is, watch out Hesh, keep it humble man . . or you too, could be fired for . . “being too successful” – famous last words of Walter Robinson, of the now defunct artnet, and many another doomed New Yorker who tried to get in the way of the inevitable.

HESH, now going by his given name, HASH .. which is actually pronounced “Hesh” ..
HASH HALPER, besides running his own HH Productions .. is writing for FRANK151 – a new wave I guess, online cultural journal, which includes sports on the menu, and aspires to global domination.

what I like best . . about Hash’s first serious foray into the media world, is how he introduces himself, and his agenda: “Stay chillin’ and check out the adventures of myself, Hash Halper in the NYC artworld.”

I think that really hits the nail, on the colloquial head – in terms of how the internet has changed art ‘criticism’. the internet has had as profound an influence on art reporting, as the big bang – when photography first emerged, and artwork could be duplicated / rendered visually. yet even when color photography become widely & commercially feasible via mass publications, such magazines and newspapers, art reviewers still stuck to the centuries old format of verbally describing the work, instead of really getting down to .. assessing and interpreting it, in a word, basically . . ‘breaking it down’.

in the age of social media, the emphasis has changed again. I realized early on as I forged through the scene I loved – that even though I might not be able to buy what I was seeing, nor was I ever given a chance by the entrenched powers to be .. to express an opinion about what I was seeing .. I could at least take PHOTOS ..

to prove I had been there, and to build up my own little archive of eye witness accounts following the ‘bread crumbs’ through – as they say: history in the making.

now of course it’s all about everyone posting . . their own trailways. and like Hash says, you can’t be everywhere at once, esp in NYC, and so chill and let his fingers do the walkin. people find their own specialty niche. for Hash it’s the downtown scene, the denizens that come out at night, as much as the artwork.

Hash’s big thing . . is moving through the scene, and working the crowd, so he’s smart enough to make sure he gets a photographer to tag along – photos are key.


so, all that said, figures:
this shot of the crew at the debut opening of downtown’s newest, and apparently savviest pop-up / alternative gallery space, 166 MOTT – was the most recent feature – under Hash’s byline on FRANK151, and the photos are by . . WC BEVAN.
PHOTO via: FRANK151

from the left, back row: artists: BRIAN ERMANSKI, ALFREDO MARTINEZ & EMIL MEMON.
center: independent curator/gallerist AMY LI, artists: LARA CELESTE DIAZ, and PIERRO CAMPIONE.
front: JOSE De OLIO.

the show was tiled. ‘WITHOUT CONSENT’, and took place at independent curator AMY LI’s new space: 166 MOTT – AN ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE. the show opened last Thurs Sept 26, 2013 and runs thru OCT 17, 2013.
Amy says the gallery is open 7 days a week, from 11am – 7pm.
see: 166 MOTT ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE / fb

you can see: more of Hash Halper and WC Bevan’s coverage on FRANK151, here.


though I can add some commentary to this opening night photo, by WC BEAVAN, that Hash includes.

that’s ALFREDO MARTINEZ with “the PLUMBER” !! aka JOHN EBERENZ, on the right.
I believe the dude, on the left is John’s bro – but I forget his name, if I ever knew it.
John Eberenz is a real plumber, based in Brooklyn, Gowanus to be exact – who Alfredo teamed up with in the last decade of the 1990s – to help him build the large, life-size futuristic robo-fighters, he was exhibiting at places like P.S.1. they were very creative and very impressive, assembled mostly from ‘found’ metal and plastic parts.

the most famous stand-alone figure the team put together was probably, ‘Pig Man’ . . which was exhibited at a little summer 2001 show called: ‘QUIET, GUNS & QUILTS’ / JOSH HARRIS, ALFREDO MARTINEZ & JOHN EBERENZ, NANCY SMITH. DANIEL SILVERSTEIN Gallery, now defunct, in Chelsea.


and, no . . it’s NOT A CATTELAN, the girl is for real.
installation shot: ALFREDO MARTINEZ & JOHN EBERENZ, ‘Pig Man’, summer 2001.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH


HASH HALPER at the KARA WALKER, ‘Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale’ opening. Lehmann Maupin, Lower East Side, April 21, 2011.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

actually one of Hesh’s, oops .. Hash’s big claims to fame is a small indie film loosely inspired by his life, esp his earliest survival tactics . . and then takes off, all on its own. it was called ‘HESHER’.

funny thing about that film.
one: it was GREAT !! as wild and real as they come. too bad it didn’t get to circulate as widely, as it should have, hey . . not our fault the world is mostly: dumbed-down.
two: the mostly unknown actor who played Hesh/Hash, to perfection !! was JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, who shot to fame as ROBIN in the last ‘BATMAN’ and, who is now photographed regularly on the red carpet – with A-LIST stars, such as the likes of SCARLETT JOHANSSON.


JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT as HESHER, roughly inspired by the true life character . . we know and love: HESH / HASH HALPER.
ps: apparently he’s mellowed out a little bit with age !!
or better put, what the suburbs won’t do – the art world sure will.
pss: yeah, the gorgeous and super talented NATALIE PORTMAN makes an appearance in the film, and was involved in the production.

watch: ‘HESHER’ – the official movie trailer / YouTube


you can follow HASH HALPER on . . HH Productions New York / fb .. “always open” !!