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 !!
from left: NICK PAYNE and DREW GILLESPIE of BOBO
PHIL COTE of BOBO – whoever, said curating a 10+ artist show was a stroll-in-the-park – was wrong !! NOT !!
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 !!!
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 !!
NICK COTE. beside him a selection of small wild paintings by MATTHEW BERRAIN.
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.
it’s looking to be really great. really new & fresh.
back wall by BOBO.
painting by LINDSAY BEEBE.
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.
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 !!
. . . 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 !!
BEST OF PHILLY – believe it !!
‘FOXY PRODUCTION / INSTALL KIT’
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
~PHILLY’S BOBO hits 27TH STREET !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 3rd, 2008, 12:09pm
. . . 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
opening night – water falls – inside and out.
water cascades down the 2nd story entry stairway. we always knew that stairway must have had a reason . .
. . . say what – about being made from “renewable” resources. wonder what the budget was on this ?
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.
at the top.
a view of the waterfall, going down towards the entry doorway
the pump. at the bottom.
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
~ROB PRUITT/WATERFALLS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 3rd, 2008, 11:01am
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.
GOVERNOR’S ISLAND/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
PIER 35/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
BROOKLYN PIERS 4 & 5/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
BROOKLYN BRIDGE/PHOTO: PUBLIC ART FUND
~OLAFUR ELIASSON/WATERFALLS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 3rd, 2008, 10:03am
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
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
see: the original ‘Your engagement sequence’ post !!
~OLAFUR ELIASSON/archives |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 2nd, 2008, 6:43pm
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 !!
. . . approaching ‘Reversed waterfall’.
OLAFUR ELIASSON, ‘reversed waterfall’, 1998.
Scaffolding, steel, water, foil, hose, and pump. Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary.
the base – interesting for its rawness. and coldness.
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.
‘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.
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.
from head-on – you wouldn’t even know that water was crashing upwards through it.
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 !!
warning !! . . . about to enter . . . ‘Beauty’ !!
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 ?
‘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.
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
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 ?
the Fresnel lamp overhead.
looking thru ‘Beauty’ … from behind the mist’s veil.
the stairs leading back up to the exit. ‘Beauty’ was wonderfully staged.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, JUNE 19, 2008
P.S.1
~OLAFUR ELIASSON/P.S.1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 26th, 2008, 10:44am
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 2008 TOURNAMENT OF ROSES – FLOAT/IMAGE COURTESY: RAIN BIRD
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
~RAIN BIRD/P.F.1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 21st, 2008, 2:10pm
“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 – 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
~THE GAIA INSITUTE/P.F.1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 21st, 2008, 12:29pm
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 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 !!
. . . 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.
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 WESTERN GATEWAY PROPOSAL/IMAGE COURTESY: WORKac/website
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.
P.F.1 – THE ENTRANCE/IMAGE COURTESY: P.F.1
P.F.1 – THE MARKET/IMAGE COURTESY: P.F.1
P.F.1- THE POOL/IMAGE COURTESY: P.F.1
check out !!: PUBLIC FARM 1/P.S.1
~AMALE ANDRAOS & DAN WOOD/WORKac |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 21st, 2008, 10:38am
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART & P.S.1 … SELECT . . . WORK ARCHITECTURE COMPANY (New York) – as the winner of their – 9th ANNUAL YOUNG ARCHITECTS PROGRAM.
P.F.1 – PUBLIC FARM ONE – designed & presented by WORK ARCHITECTURE COMPANY – of New York – headed by founding partners AMALE ANDRAOS and DAN WOOD – was first unveiled in the P.S.1 COURTYARD – THURSDAY NIGHT – JUNE 19, 2008.
The winning landscape – which includes a working, albeit ‘floating’ farm – is open to the public starting today, JUNE 20, 2008. Situated in the outdoor courtyard – it will serve as an interactive environment for the 2008 Warm Up summer music series – a popular summertime gathering – at P.S.1, Long Island City, Queens. NYC.
“The purpose of the MoMA/P.S.1 Young Architects program .. is to provide emerging young talent in architecture with the chance to prepare and present architectural solutions for a specific site. This year, five finalists … were asked to present an urban landscape for the large entrance courtyard of P.S.1, with the allotted project budget of $70,000. Essential to the design were elements of shade, water, seating and bar areas. ….
“P.F.1 (Public Farm One) is an urban farm concept that evokes the look of a flying carpet landing in the P.S.1 courtyard. Constructed from large cardboard tubes, its top surface will be a working farm, blooming with a variety of vegetables and plants. ….
“BARRY BERGDOLL (Philip Johnson Chief Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, MoMA) says, “Thirty years after REM KOOLHAAS published Delirious New York, the influential manifesto which celebrated the often unlikely and hybrid mixture of functions in the city’s huge buildings and dense districts, AMALE ANDRAOS and DAN WOOD of WORK Architecture Company bring us the improbable merger of a flying carpet and a farmer’s market, a cultivated and cultivatable piece of infrastructure that is a timely comment on issues from post-industrialization to sustainability. Here, the productive garden meets the art gallery, and the urban schoolyard acquires greenery.” ~ P.S.1 press release
as you approach – you can have no idea – that that tip of ‘industrial’ looking ‘no-color’ containers – supported by tubular columns – peeping out over the truly concrete gate – is actually – not !! another concrete element – in the P.S.1 courtyard – but the underpinning of a very young, green & growing garden.
as you enter the courtyard – you’re still not prepared – for what is to be.
oh oh – the fun begins. a red periscope !! and the industrial containers begin to signal their true mandate – home to potted plants. a multitude of carefully tended, diverse green foliage beginning to spill out above the courtyard. . a green thumb porch floating high overhead.
a view in the opposite direction. that’s what they mean by ..”magic carpet”.
a view of the containers from underneath. the back center one – is an empty “picking” hole – which the ‘hi-rise’ gardener climbs into from a ladder placed underneath – to be able to access and cultivate the ‘potted’ containers within reach.
magic carpet … meets very urban ‘citi’ bank hi-rise.
now there’s a farming sight – you don’t get to see every day – possibly only in New York & at this particular moment – a hi-rise garden – tended to by – a young WORK Architecture Company associate – resplendent in her – little black cocktail dress !!
she’s carrying a really sweet – hand woven – cane basket – to harvest some herbs … sure footed
and, carefree as can be – though she’s way high & the slope is no joke – 17 degrees !!
for sure she has left her party heels at home, and, traded in for some ballerina flats..
also enjoying the triumph & delights of the just finished project – ANDRES LEPIK, Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, MoMA, with his wife, Cristina.
An exhibition of the designs of all 5 finalists, including, in addition to WORK Architecture Company – Matter Architecture Practice (New York), MONAD Architects – Eric Goldemberg + Veronica Zalcberg (Miami), su11 architecture + design (New York), and THEM/Lynch+Crembil (New York) – organized by Mr. Lepik – will be presented in MoMA’s Louise Reinhardt Smith Gallery from July 15 to October 20, 2008.
AMALE ANDRAOS and DAN WOOD – of WORK Architecture Company (New York) – the winning team of the Ninth Annual Young Architects Program/The Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 – with their design, realized: PUBLIC FARM ONE.
BARRY BERGDOLL, Philip Johnson Chief Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, MOMA/The Museum of Modern Art.
MICHAEL GRADY ROBERTSON, Agricultural Supervisor, aka a gardener – of the QUEENS COUNTY FARM MUSEUM – who consulted on the garden, seeding schedule, types of plants, etc.
check out: QUEENS COUNTY FARM MUSEUM
p.s. he told us – he never went up onto the suspended-in-the-air-garden – saying … “he’s a farmer and he likes .. his soil and plants on the ground.” . . . meaning he’s down-to-earth. I guess, as opposed to artists and architects !!
from left: DANIEL A. SESIL, Partner LERA – the consulting structural engineer for the project, with DAN WOOD/WORK Architecture Company.
from left: ANNA KENOFF and HAVILAND ARGO – the project managers/DESIGN TEAM LEADERS of PUBLIC FARM ONE for WORK Architecture Company (New York).
ART DOMANTAY – who was in charge of the actual construction of the project.
“The drip irrigation system is designed to deliver a controlled amount of water to each planter-tube. A series of drip tubes with adjustable emitters branch off of four main irrigation lines which are fed by a rainwater collecting cistern. The rainwater system should collect up to 6,000 gallons of water over the course of the summer. The irrigation system was designed in collaboration with Atlantic Irrigation and was installed by Lenny Librizzi and his team from the Council on the Environment of New York City. A solar-powered pump moves rainwater up through a column and then throughout the farm.”
IRRIGATION CONSULTANT: Atlantic Irrigation Specialties/MATT HART
IRRIGATION SYSTEM: Rain Bird/DAVE SHANE
well, so far – the farm/garden – seems to be doing pretty well..
what’s that ?
we’ve come across the wading pool.
we weren’t the only ones to appreciate its simple but refreshing design.
the periscope in action.
information about the farm & its workings – were presented in really nice graphics & formats
graphic design by PROJECT PROJECTS
. . . a ‘spare’ structural column, “just in case one fails” – in the courtyard annex
a highlite of the opening preview – DAN WOOD puts on a specially designed ‘picking’ skirt – so the ‘hi-rise’ farmers can harvest the crops, while they stand on ….. ladders !!
the PICKING SKIRT: “The P.S.1 farmers will wear picking skirts, designed by ELODIE BLANCHARD of ElasticCo., in order to harvest crops from the tubes. The garment can unfold and attach to the tubes during picking, and fold up again for carrying produce. The skirt has hooks and clips for gardening gloves and shovels.”/P.F.1
ladders – and reach up through empty containers aka ‘picking holes’ – which are scattered about the potted crop containers – for easy pickins’.
AMALE ANDRAOS and DAN WOOD of WORK Architecture Company (New York).
Both Amale Andraos and Dan Wood were at some point – OM (Operating Managers) – for REM KOOLHAAS – which is how they met.
and what’s a farm – without animals ?
at some point, the farm started feeling like Beijing? so strange, to go from nondescript beige industrial containers, to state-of-the-art hi-rise irrigation to chickens to Chinese tourist ambience. and all, so lightheartedly.
ALANNA HEISS, founder and Director, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, a MoMA Affiliate.
P.S.1 was founded in 1971 by ALANNA HEISS as The Institute of Art and Urban Resources Inc., and was originally primarily dedicated to the transformation of abandoned and underutilized buildings in New York City into exhibition, performance, and studio spaces for artists. P.S.1 today is a center for innovative contemporary art with an international range.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. JUNE 19, 2008
check out: WORKac
AMALE ANDRAOS & DAN WOOD/WORK Architecture Company/website !!
check out: publicfarm1.org
a site devoted to Public Farm One – with lots of pix of its evolution !!
& credits for the contributors of all kinds .. specialized tech support, gardening systems & consultation, artistic/design support, etc.
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
~PUBLIC FARM ONE/P.S.1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 20th, 2008, 3:47pm
MOCA FOCUS: ‘STERLING RUBY – SUPERMAX 2008’ – opens today.
the show runs JUNE 19 – AUGUST 19, 2008
MOCA PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER, THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES
“MOCA Focus: Sterling Ruby, SUPERMAX 2008 is the eighth installment of MOCA’S series of one-person exhibitions of work by emerging artists in Southern California. Presented at MOCA Pacific Design Center, the exhibition will feature new works in an installment specifically designed for the space. Sterling Ruby’s works in collage, ceramics, video, and sculpture tackle received notions of aesthetic tropes and social stereotypes that are based on visual signs. Often monumental in scale, Ruby’s works immerse the viewer in sets of formal codes and gestures that refer to transience, transgression, and transference – phenomena that are social and psychological, physical and emotional. Born in Bittburg, Germany, in 1972, Ruby received BFAs from the Pennsylvania School of Art and Design in 1998 and from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2003, Ruby received an MFA from Art Center College of Design in 2005, and his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions internationally. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with an essay by MOCA Curator Philipp Kaiser.” ~MOCA press release
STERLING RUBY, ‘Big Grid/DACSKKKK’, 2008, Formica, 36 x 84 x 84 ins.
collection of Norman and Norah Stone, San Francisco, courtesy Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services. Photo: Robert Wedemeyer/IMAGE COURTESY: MOCA
STERLING RUBY, ‘SP21’, 2008, spray paint on canvas, 100 x 144 ins.
courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, NYC.
Photo: Robert Wedemeyer/IMAGE COURTESY: MOCA
STERLING RUBY, ‘The Bride’, 2008, PVC pipe, formica, urethane, spray paint and wood,
192 x 72 x 48 ins. courtesy of the artist and Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan, Italy.
Photo: Robert Wedemeyer/IMAGE COURTESY: MOCA
. . . buzz on 27th street says . . . STERLING keeps a small army of assistants – working around the clock – to keep all his dealers, something like 5 now, and counting !! – happy. FOXY PRODUCTION was the first gallery to show his work in NYC – first showcasing STERLING RUBY’S work in a one man show, Winter of 2004 (JAN 22-FEB 28, 2004).
Michael Gillespie met Sterling Ruby in Chicago – at one of the art fairs. Chicago was very hot – at that time – for new art, as in brand !! new – right on the cutting edge – art.
FOXY PRODUCTION also gave Sterling a one man show in the Spring of 2005 (APRIL 14-JUNE 4, 2005), and, of course more recently – FOXY PRODUCTION presented STERLING RUBY – ‘SUPEROVERPASS’ – last year – that exhibit running APRIL 27 – MAY 26, 2007. artlovers was at the opening.
STERLING RUBY opens ‘SUPEROVERPASS’ at FOXY PRODUCTION, NYC, APRIL 27, 2007
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
see: more pix from the STERLING RUBY/’SUPEROVERPASS’ opening at FOXY PRODUCTION.
see: more info/STERLING RUBY/’SUPEROVERPASS’
note: the card for the show – it’s a close-up detail – of the kind of cryptic lettering – that is scratched into the formica sculpture pieces. seemingly at random, and just found here and there – that is, sparsely. but all of the formica pieces so far, anyway – are marked in this way.
FOXY PRODUCTION also showed a large STERLING RUBY Formica piece in the recent ARMORY ART FAIR 2008.
STERLING RUBY, ‘Headless Dick’, Formica, screws, wood, glue – at the FOXY PRODUCTION booth, ARMORY ART FAIR/SHOW (..whatever)
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
see: more pix/FOXY PRODUCTION/ARMORY
where – there’s also a couple of pix of the large STERLING RUBY sculpture, ‘Big Grid’ – that the MARC FOXX Gallery out of Los Angeles, presented in their booth. you can make out the incised markings pretty well, on the right hand side of this piece – in the photos.
check out: STERLING RUBY/artist page/on FOXY PRODUCTION
MOCA/The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
~STERLING RUBY/MOCA L.A. |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 19th, 2008, 1:03pm
