DOE, a Deer . . .
‘BLINN & LAMBERT: NEW GREY PLANET’
opened FRI DEC 15, 2017
the show runs thru JAN 14, 2018
MICROSCOPE GALLERY, 1329 WILLOUGHBY AVE 2B, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN 11237
HRS: THURS-MON / 1-6 PM
def, READ MORE: ‘BLINN & LAMBERT: NEW GREY PLANET’ – MICROSCOPE
YES !! OPTICAL !!!
YES !! EXTREME OPTICAL !!!
YES !! EXTREME RADICAL OPTICAL LIGHT / W. RED & BLUE SEPARATION SENDING THINGS REALLY – DIS-ORIENTING !!!
YES !! SCI FI !!!
YES !! SPACE TRAVEL !!
YES !! 3D SURROUND / COLOR LIGHT SEPARATION !!!
‘NEW GREY PLANET’ . . . left, EARTH FAR BEHIND.
& . . EVEN, SOME EARTHLINGS !!
WHO WERE UNABLE TO COPE, IN THE SPIRALING RED & BLUE LIGHT PULSING DARK, MYSELF INCLUDED.
EVERYONE WAS AFFECTED – TO VARYING DEGREES in the ALTERED SPACE / PRODUCTION.
‘NEW GREY PLANET’ . . is a surreal, primal, technically surround / experience.
Photos, whether still or video – are not going to capture that for you.
you got to go see it.
it’s ‘playing’ up thru . . . SUN JAN 14, 2018.
PHOTOS FROM THE OPENING:
BLINN & LAMBERT . . .
aka NICHOLAS STEINDORF & KYLE WILLIAMS
these 2 artist-scientists . .
“who met in the MFA Painting program at YALE joined as ‘BLINN & LAMBERT’ in 2016 to collaboratively expand their interests in OPTICAL media, special effects, digital projection, and computer animation – the latter of which is reflected in their name, which references two basic material surface options in a 3D animation software: reflective (Blinn) and matte (Lambert).”
~gallery
“In new sculptures, familiar objects of varying transparency and reflective qualities are illuminated by two projected streams of light – one red, one blue – which cast shadows on the gallery walls or ‘screen’ behind them to form a floating 3D imagery viewable with anaglyph cyan/red glasses.
Each work instigates a dialog among the real objects, their shadows, and their virtual translations.”
~gallery
*that is unless you were biologically / hyper-sensitive to radical light / & became radically dis-oriented by extreme cyan-red color separation / & just plain old ‘motion sickness’ prone !! is the only way I can explain it. it was definite a spectrum . . of tolerance.
at the worst end of the spectrum, you just stumbled & tried not to tumble into the pieces or people in the pitch black room . .
this constructed & manipulated environment was not navigational for all.
*I later came to realize, that though I might have . . a super high functioning / hyper-tuned radar . . for art, and art conception per se . .
coping with radically separated light projection – was not my thing.
there’s radar, and then there’s radar, of all kinds of other frequencies, I guess.
*at any rate, I definite fell at the extreme & failing end of the cyna/red coping spectrum.
the cyan-red separation had me color blind. motion sick. imperiled. fragile.
but, maybe that’s also part of the plan / the point being to achieve dis-orientation to varying degrees within the audience.
people were dis-oriented at different levels, but I know I was the worst, what a loser.
‘STRUGGLE’ . . was my mantra / damn you .. Blinn & Lambert !!
*re: dis-orientation / artist-scientists . . jokers !!
BLINN & LAMBERT knew exactly what kind of chaos they were bringing down on their audience, just look at those two, grins from here to there.
not to mention / space travel. and the 2 suns of ‘Solaris’.
*re: floating, lol: STUDIO GHIBLI – was !! part of the dialog !!
as in . . Floating castles, etc etc.
BLINN & LAMBERT, ‘Untitled (Broom, Out)’, 2017.
found glass objects, mylar sculptures, styrofoam sculptures, rubber ball, tennis racquet, drawing on glass, fabric, magnifying glass, glass table, steel legs, two video projectors. 82 x 80 x 84 in.
“The works in ‘New Grey Planet’ are situated within a loose fictional narrative concerning a space station / orbiting a newly discovered planet with two suns – one red, one blue – and the recreation room in which free-floating objects ‘from home’ can be found” . . inspired most overtly by . . . “Stanislaw Lem’s book Solaris.”
*I’m thinking . . they should have had text excerpts, such as these – put up on the walls, before one entered, you know like they do – in museums.
or as hand-outs.
at any rate, moving through the gorgeous / large, pitch black room, one definite had the intuitive sense, that something . . sci fi / was going down.
it was elegant, trippy.
real objects. fictional space.
kind of Jack Goldstein meets Chaim Steinbach and does a double take into . . Futurama.
there were also smaller ‘elements’ placed in front of the larger sculpture / ‘diarama’ units, which contributed to the spatial dis-orientation / peripheral vision / color separation challenge.
while, on one long wall . . a rushing / swirling, nature-referencing ‘video’ – further contributed to the spatial dis-construct !!
BLINN & LAMBERT, ‘Doe, a Deer’, 2017.
HD single-channel stereoscopic 3D video, silent / 4 minutes 4 seconds
edition of 3 + 2 APs
(price upon request / as with all the other sculptures)
this loop – was like: here, space trippers, are your biosphere memories of life on earth, fast forward.
don’t blink.
it was also an interesting dynamic – to see how the audience became active ‘players’ in the artificial light charade. moving . . random bio ‘parts’ / within the hyper-constructed Blinn & Lambert . . . drama of an artificial environment. classic black / cut-out craft-type silhouettes.
super diy / & in real time.
a school of fish ?
a torrent of leaves ?
you begin to pick up . . on the deer head.
a beautiful metaphor, it starts off so enchantingly . . . abstract !!
‘Doe, a Deer’.
I kind of felt like a deer, in that environment of radical optical separated light.
very fragile.
I know other people were stunned . . too.
different degrees of light tolerance / different degrees of . . separation.
THEO, and HELENE !!
a little bit rocky, but not – nowhere as overwhelmed as I was.
I was seriously – impaired.
JOHN SZLASA and EMMY THELANDER . . were laughing !!
I guess they move up to the front of line, for prospective space travelers . .
to interstellar planets . . who can cope. with two suns !!
one red, one blue.
and, yeah that was a ‘cheat’ shot – with the camera flash engaged.
can’t leave . . . ‘NEW GREY PLANET’ in limbo like that !!
it was . . a red and blue / far-out, WORLD !! for sure !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~BLINN & LAMBERT . . ‘NEW GREY PLANET’ / MICROSCOPE / OPENING PIX |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 22nd, 2017, 9:56am
BEING . . .
A BRIEF COMPARISON of TWO VERY DIFFERENT – YET INTER-PLAYING EXHIBITS
THAT CLOSED – WITH GREAT STYLE & DEPTH – THE NYC 2017 ART SEASON.
BLINN & LAMBERT / ‘NEW GREY PLANET’ vs. LUKE TODD & BOOBY VITERI / ‘MEDITATIONS: A STUDY IN INNER PEACE’
RIGHT OFF THE BAT . . both shows, were more what you would call ‘PRODUCTIONS’, as opposed to straight-forward exhibits, such as . . paintings on a wall, drawings in frames, sculptures on the floor, or projections looping on the wall.
BOTH EXHIBITS . . were ‘experiences’. more than say, strictly being about viewing & contemplating.
both involved to differing extents: computers / digital programming. sensory expectation – toppling, is best I can say it.
ordinary objects – made . . new. but not like in surrealism. more like in sci fi. more like in surfaces – seen in a different . . light.
‘The Grey Planet’ being . . about a lot of light.
‘Meditations’ being about the light that’s shone, by a new . . ‘concept’.
‘The Grey Planet’ . . was about being immersed in the non-stop, strobing, room-filling . . colored ‘light’. that said: there is no peace . . but the non-stop & experience that outer state, now. until you exit the gallery.
fiercely projected ‘light’ . . was something you – moved through. and overtook . . your ego (!!).
‘Meditations’ . . was about the ‘light’ that goes on in your head / as you try to get your head around; the newness of expression that lies before you, and beckons: understand me, give me your hand, come trip the inner Peace (!!).
BLINN & LAMBERT / NICHOLAS STEINDORF & KYLE WILLIAMS
‘New Grey Planet’
DEC 15, 2017 – JAN 14, 2018 / the show is still UP !!!!!
catch the REAL ‘REAL’ – while you – can !!!
MICROSCOPE GALLERY, 1329 WILLOUGHBY AVE, 2B, BUSHWICK BROOKLYN
LUKE TODD & BOBBY VITERI
‘Meditations: A Study On Inner Peace’
Nov 17, 18 & 19, 2017
POP-UP / PETER SUTHERLAND’S RAW CHINATOWN STUDIO / Blink & you missed it.
but, don’t worry, these dudes ain’t going nowhere – but up.
they are already popping up in other spaces & places.
P4TG / PRAY FOR THIS GALLERY, 83 Canal St, Buzzer 200, Chinatown, NYC
I HAD THOUGHT . . .
the concurrent ‘STUDIO GHIBLI’ ANIMATION RETROSPECTIVE at the IFC CENTER would be the perfect head-on crash type of launchpad to get right into . . whatever was going to be served up by BLINN & LAMBERT in ‘New Grey Planet’.
the thinking being: well, BLINN & LAMBERT is all about ‘digital’ projection / perhaps some CGI animation / whereas STUDIO GHIBLI is only about hand-drawn / traditional storyboard story-telling . . animation, no digital sequencing / though both are about . . . projections / projected images. a tight corner of ‘conversation’, perhaps.
but that was the point !!
well, that was well-meaning, but in fact . . a no-go.
the more I thought about the raw comparisons, but esp . . after I had actually gone . . to the BLINN & LAMBERT opening & seen the show . . what really started to rub against each other in my mind like 2 quarters, you know, when you get change for everything that costs $1.50 / was ‘New Grey Planet’ vs. ‘Meditations’.
start with . . Color.
‘Studio Ghibli’ . . is not anything, if not color-saturated & color-obsessed / whether futuristic rain forest bold, or retro watercolor wispy. ‘New Grey Planet’ is so color-saturated & color-obsessed / it actually becomes the . . ‘subject’ !! no joke.
when you walk into the gallery venue, which is large and brilliant as a choice for this show, you are just hit head-on by vibrant neon light / as if you had walked into a tiny closet of a room, with a huge monster disco ball twirling in 3/4 of the space. you were blinded – by the color. tghe color stream – was the animation. the room was black as night (in the rural countryside, lol) & streams of color ran through you like a high-end radar / cat scan. it didn’t really matter what was being projected on the walls, and over the real-life quasi-scientific nerdy objects, presented as ‘diaramas’ in front of each loop / what mattered was your total immersion in color, and your struggle to stay . . oriented.
this is what I meant by . . experience. usually we go to shows that are all about the ‘plasticity’ of the art objects before you: their composition, their texture (thin or thick paint ?), their expressive brushstrokes or flat seamless spray paint. their material, paint, chalk, metal, wood. free-form, measured. their weight, their concept, their negative space. the hues, the palette. the romance. the joke. the Harlem dudes. the crazy-as-whack / symbolist cartoons.
Color in Studio Ghibli . . takes you places, and informs your emotions. beckons and teases, like a poem.
Color in ‘New Grey Planet’ . . becomes a means to its own end. it is the story-line. a bombardment of sensory pulses, that defy any story . . telling. ‘you’ . . maneuvering in the color – are the story.
and, whenever I got to that point, in the essay I was going to write, all thoughts of Studio Ghibli evaporated . . like a monster Spirit hovering over your shoulder as you wait for a train, and all I could think of was . . LUKE TODD & BOBBY VITERI /
and how their show . . ‘Meditations: A Study On Inner Peace’, was so much about ‘Color’ as a Subject, too.
except it was the exactly the opposite / of Blinn & Lambert !!
‘Meditation’ was about . . non-color !! though it had plenty of color in it, just not the usual suspects !!
and it was this absence of color that struck me more than anything else . . after the show had settled down in my mind.
it was such a non-palette experience. there’s that word again. everything was about surface / from the rusted patina of Viteri’s copper electroplate on etched steel panel, to the disappearing ‘blooming flower grid’ of Todd’s white plaster ‘Rose Extruder’.
‘Meditations’ felt . . industrial. and so funny re: its title / Inner Peace (!!)
‘New Grey Planet’ felt . . luminous. and so funny re: its title / Grey (!!) Planet
‘Meditations’ felt . . very how to say: meditation manual / scientific . . but brought my imagination alive / it was sparking . . sci fi. science fiction scenarios left & right, what with Luke Todd’s .. matrix / birth . . ‘Rose Extruder’ & the hand of man in creation & computers (it was programmed to some great effect), and could: wipe-out, too.
and, also of course, in his ‘blood bubbling – in a plastic tube’ / ‘Blood Rug’ Celtic knot on the floor.
even Bobby Viteri’s immensely mysterious ‘Cinderblock’ – crystal awakened primal / sci fi screamings.
whereas,
‘New Grey Plant’ – whose title spoke to sci fi … ?!!!!!!
just shocked me, plain and simple. there was no tripping into the future imagination, unless I guess Blinn & Lambert wanted to simulate you entering a . . transporter ???
I didn’t feel ‘lifted off’.
I felt small, and stupid, dumbstruck, and dysfunctional – which is in itself a very profound, and profoundly disturbing ‘situation’, is it .. not ?
it was less about sci fi, then it was about . . the present.
so outta control, so over-whelming, so vulnerable. inner peace, NOT.
KINETIC / MOVING / BOTH INWARD & TECHNICALLY. MOVING PARTS / & MOVING ART THEORY – FORWARD.
‘Meditations’ took me on a ride, not so much as with regards to ‘inner peace’ – but as to . . future thought (?!!)
object contemplation. wonder. attraction. addiction. out of my body. spinning in the universe of art / and new age ‘plasticity’. the ‘umami’ of color/non-color. the kinetic weirdness of the forms before me. and their newness. the awe of being in a room, in which the ‘infinite-ness of art’ is re-affirmed, and even in this, sends the poetic soul flying, esp the poetic souls . . that tetter – on the cutting-edge of the hardcore art scene.
kinetic within the artworks, again even the Bobby Viteri etched copperplate wall pieces were kinetic & . . and of course the Luke Tood kinetic sculptures . . were: kinetic.
within / and without / as in, concept.
is that . . Inner Peace ?
within / and, without.
‘New Grey Planet’ – stopped me in my tracks. and all I could feel was one sensory signal: STRUGGLE.
I didn’t care what those mundane pseudo-ordinary / scientific objects / or images were.
I could see them. I couldn’t break the ‘code’. I was immersed . . in spinning like a top.
I was struggling to breath in the . . the pulsing / hyper – kinetic light.
you swam in the kinetic.
I couldn’t go anywhere in my . . mind / that I could stop, and understand. never mind, un-ravel.
I was already somewhere.
on a . . new grey plant ?
with not enough oxygen, and too much . . colored light ?
color separation – that cut into you, like a knife.
‘Meditations’ was so . . Mind blowing.
‘New Grey Planet’ was so . . drop dead Optical.
BLINN & LAMBERT . . ‘New Grey Planet’
optical – to the max. sensory overload / a kind of radical . . reality.
color separation – to the max. blindingly, so. programmed thus. non-stop.
how to de-code ?
the objects – when you are struggling . . to stand ?
how to move / when the light is the room’s kinetic force-field.
LUKE TODD, ‘Untitled (Rose Extruder)’ – ‘Meditations: A Study On Inner Peace’.
programmed – to rise, again.
kinetic.
Radical. Imaginary.
LUKE TODD, ‘Blood Rug’ / silicone tbing, dye, peristaltic pump.
non-stop. pulsing. off-color. shades of imagination.
BOBBY VITERI, ‘Outter’, copper electroplate on etched steel panel.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~BLINN & LAMBERT vs. LUKE TODD & BOBBY VITERI / in THEORY . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 21st, 2017, 12:54pm
somebody has a new . . nick-name !!
BIRD CAGE .. NICK !!
@kylewyllyams: Come wear 3D glasses with me (KYLE WILLIAMS) and this person (NICHOLAS STEINDORF) at the opening . . for our collaboration, BLINN & LAMBERT, ‘NEW GREY PLANET’ . .
at MICROSCOPE GALLERY TONIGHT FRI DEC 15, 2017 / 6-9 PM
IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM @kylewllyams
WHAT ?!!!!
you mean BLINN & LAMBERT . . aren’t optometrists ?
they are . . color separation specialists ?!!!!!!!
omg watch out . . BEDFORD ST.
~BLINN & LAMBERT . . ‘NEW GREY PLANET’ |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 15th, 2017, 2:09pm
BLINN & LAMBERT / NICHOLAS STEINDORF & KYLE WILLIAMS
‘NEW GREY PLANET’ – OPENS TO-NITE FRI DEC 15, 2017 / 6 – 9 PM
exhibit runs thru JAN 14, 2018
MICROSCOPE GALLERY, 1329 WILLOUGHBY AVE, 2B, BUSHWICK BROOKLYN 11237
HRS: THURS – MON / 1 – 6 PM or by appointment
more info: ‘BLINN & LAMBERT’ – MICROSCOPE
Q: did someone say . . . color separation ?!!!!!!!!
BLINN & LAMBERT / KYLE WILLIAMS
IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM @nchlsstndrf
BLINN & LAMBERT / NICHOLAS STEINDORF
IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM @nchlsstndrf
~BLINN & LAMBERT . . ‘NEW GREY PLANET’, MICROSCOPE, BROOKLYN / OPENING TO-NITE FRI DEC 15 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 15th, 2017, 9:05am
‘THE DEATH OF A TAIL’ – NEW WORK BY HEATHER BENJAMIN
OPENS TO-NITE FRI DEC 15, 2017 / 6 – 10 PM
the show runs thru JAN 12, 2018
DRESS SHOP, 322 Troutman St, Bushwick Brooklyn 11237
~HEATHER BENJAMIN . . DRESS SHOP, BROOKLYN / OPENS TO-NITE FRI DEC 15 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 15th, 2017, 8:50am
‘THE WIND RISES’, JAPAN, 2013
STUDIO GHIBLI – DIRECTED BY HAYAO MIYAZAKI
it’s not far-reaching to expect an imaginary fable to lift off – through the magic of animation.
with ‘The Wind Rises’, a fictionalized biography of JIRO HORIKOSHI (1903-19820) the young man who designed fighter aircraft . .
used by Japan in WWII . . .
it’s absolutely wondrous !! and stirring . . to behold.
it becomes a story about the beauty of design, and the poignancy of life. how we artists, have no control over how our work is used, or sold,
just we humans have no control over our lives and . . destiny.
a most gorgeous production, a big part of the compelling emotional depth of this film, which is in essence a medley . . on an industrial design !!
and a fighter jet one – at that . . by our enemy at the time (!!)
comes from the wistful and haunting music.
the soundtrack, composed and conducted by JOE HISAISHI is performed by YOMIURI NIPPON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
see more facts: ‘THE WIND RISES’ – Wikipedia
JIRO . . and his dream of the famous Italian aircraft designer . . GIOVANNI BATTISTA CAPRONI.
(gorgeous retro styling, bye the way.)
watch: ‘THE WIND RISES’ – trailer on YouTube …. !!!!!
~STUDIO GHIBLI . . ‘THE WIND RISES’ / and the human spirit, soars & twists in the wind |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 15th, 2017, 8:35am
STUDIO GHIBLI . .
was founded in 1985, by some . . very very cool people.
except for a tiny crowd sequence in one film, all the Studio Ghibli films are hand-drawn.
they have made over 20 . . amazing & visionary films.
here’s a great, fact-packed intro . . . by ChannelFrederator !!
incl. where that one & only, super brief CGI sequence . . happened !!
watch: STUDIO GHIBLI – 170 QUESTIONS – BY FREDERATOR
read more about: CHANNEL FREDERATOR – THE ONLINE CHANNEL NETWORK FOR . . INDEPENDENT ANIMATORS & ARTISTS !!
see: CHANNEL FREDERATOR OFFICIAL WEBSITE !!
see: CHANNEL FREDERATOR – WIKIPEDIA
~STUDIO GHIBLI: ABOUT . . ‘170 QUESTIONS’ / CHANNEL FREDERATOR |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 13th, 2017, 6:21pm
‘WHISPER OF THE HEART’, STUDIO GHIBLI, JAPAN 1995.
Directed by: YOSHIFUMI KONDOU
screenshot: WatchMojo/YouTube
here’s a great sampler:
see: ‘TOP TEN BEST – STUDIO GHIBLI MOVIES’ / WatchMojo.com on YouTube
~’TOP 10 STUDIO GHIBLI FILMS’ . . WatchMojo sampler |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 13th, 2017, 6:09pm
THE COMPLETE STUDIO GHIBLI / DEC 1, 2017 – JAN 11, 2018
IFC CENTER, 323 6TH AVE, NYC
see: STUDIO GHIBLI – IFC CENTER
see: SCHEDULE BY DATE
~THE COMPLETE STUDIO GHIBLI . . IFC CENTER, DOWNTOWN NYC |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 12th, 2017, 1:13pm
SUN DEC 10, 2017 / 11 AM – 4 PM
8-BALL ZINE FAIR #12
EL COQUI BILLARDS & LOUNGE – 54-19 MYRTLE AVE, RIDGEWOOD, QUEENS, NEW YORK 11385
SUBWAY: MYRTLE – WYKOFF AVES STATION
BRING YOUR ZINE !!
TO SELL AT THEIR DROP-OFF TABLE.
SUNDAY’S LINE-UP:
3 dot zines, Books For All Press, Emma Kohlman, Endless Editions, Jezenia Romero, Jordan Nassar, Hassla, Maroon World, Nathaniel Matthews, Nick Sethi, Paradise Plus, Pat McCarthy (Born To Kill), Peradam, Printed Matter, Research and Destroy NYC, Ryan Foester, Sweet Pea’s Printhouse, Small Editions, Te Aprecio Foto, Tropical Depression.
POSTER ART BY: CHAR ESME
~8-BALL ZINE FAIR #12 . . incl. PAT McCARTHY, PERADAM, RYAN FOERSTER, SMALL EDITIONS / TO-DAY SUN / RIDGEWOOD, NY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 10th, 2017, 8:32am
