Which City Has The Best Street Art - LA, NYC, or London? (PHOTOS)

These are 3 of the lamest graffiti works I've seen. Blogs were the source for the images and there were many better choices to go with when I checked out the blog sites. For those that live in or visited either NYC, LA, or London you know they have way better works than what there 3 pics shown here. Why only 3 to begin with anyway? There are several other countries around the world that have a thriving graffiti scene that would allow this post to at least feature a top 10. This article could have been way better.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Exhibit wanting to turn street lights into stars is up, but did it light up visitors?

Given how I was working on a constellation series about a year ago, I was assuming James Holland's application of constellations in his street photos would evoke some meaning. Shame on me for having expectations!

The photographs of city lights were beautiful and simple on their own. However, the "connect the dots" aspect of the work made it seem immature. The result just looked like an extended glares from street lights. James' created the lines by drawing on a glass clamped to the camera lens. Interesting technique.

Even though the end results weren't moving, as a New Yorker, the purpose of this series of works is not lost on me.

(c) James Holland "Would You Asterism"

"Without the opportunity to see natural constellations, he would link streetlights together in his mind, turning an ordinary view into something fantastical" Press release

In cities like New York, it is difficult to see the stars. The only time the city goes dark is if there's a blackout otherwise, people's windows, cars, billboards, store fronts, etc are always lite up. Street lights and city lights illuminate surroundings instead of the stars or the moon.

If have seen the exhibit as well, feel free to share your thoughts.

Envoy Enterprises is located at 131 Christie Street. Lights will do dark on "Sky Lines" on August 28th.

His work is beyond just painting "stuff"

Ever walk into a room that was no longer lived in, say in an old house, where it still felt like a presence was there?

Can you imagine capturing that feeling in a painting? Matt Klos is capable of doing just that.

"Baltimore based painter Matt Klos paints familiar spaces caught in the act of existing". Press release

When moving his family into a house that had already been part of the family's, the option was presented to toss anything that wasn't needed. Most items that weren't being used were moved to the basement which has enough room to serve as a studio for Matt.

The initial glance at the postcard promoting the exhibit first struck me as stuff that he painted. Stuff put in a basement or garage somewhere. Instead, there was an experience awaiting me once I entered the gallery.

His paintings managed to have soul. 

My brain wasn't trying to figure out context or try to make sense of what it was seeing. Looking at the work was an experience that brought my mind to a place where no thinking was needed.

"Treasure Chest" (c) Matt Klos http://www.mattklos.com

His oil paintings in the gallery ranged from small to large which provided a balance of being up close to a work or being a few steps away. The small paintings were about 4'' x 6'' and larger works of about 19'' x 30''. The surfaces used for his work included panel, linen, museum board, cigar box lids and copper. Each had this air about them that you weren't alone.

The viewer wasn't just looking at a painting of something but rather experiencing it (I know right...how many times am I going to say that). How did he do that? I think it was because he was painting things that had a personal meaning to him.  It wasn't just stuff. If the objects could speak, they would have a story to tell. Each has a past and had a purpose. Matt is skillful enough to capture that essence in his work. Very well done.

Check out the work on Matt's website http://www.mattklos.com  to see more of his intimate work.

Matt Klos' "Keeping Things" exhibit on view until August 21st, is at the Prince Street Gallery located at 520 West 25th street, 4th floor.

Reality bites until you throw some cartoons into the mix

Wouldn't your world be more interesting with a couple of cartoons stirring things up? Well if you don't expect that to happen while sober, check out Josama Madera's work at Collective Consciousness in DUMBO (10 Jay Street, Suite 605, Brooklyn, NY) through August 31st. You can't get any closer than this show to see Gary Coleman dressed in an Alf costume (remember the show "Alf" 80's peoples?). Also where else would you see Speedy Gonzalez jumping a subway turnstile huh?

For this and other pics from the opening reception, visit:

http://ccnyc-events.blogspot.com/2010/08/eyecon-cept-nyc-great-success-amazing.html

Josama's painting technique can be described as 'rough around the edges' where a fair amount of dry brushing creates a cray-pas look and feel. It is quite interesting and shows how versatile oil paints are. With this technique Josama uses, he enhances the feeling of the streets.

It's not pretty, it's rough and tumble and may not always be that pleasing to the eye, but that's the world you are in for it's up to you to survive.

In the world Josama created for the viewers, he makes it more enjoyable place to be...well maybe not so much. In bodegas, subways, on building stoops and street corners, Josama includes the imaginary characters children in these environments escape to via their television.

There is no divide anymore in Josama's work: real and fantasy collide in an amusing and sometimes disturbing way.

In one painting, there are Care Bears passed out in a subway car. In another Mickey Mouse looks to be falling down the stairs after drinking too much. A shoot out in front of a store involves Bugs Bunny in another painting of Josama's. Then Tom from "Tom and Jerry" is wielding a knife above the head of Pink Panther.

Seeing his work was certainly an experience. His work is fun, disturbing, rough, affordable and certainly memoriable. Check it out if you can either by visiting the gallery or visiting his website (http://ripjosama.com).

Peace out.

Do you feel entitled to 'connect' with art?

So just a few days ago I decided to wander around the Lower East Side for a bit and check out what the gallery/art scene is in that area. I'm very much used to galleries in Chelsea so I went to  LES with a map and an open mind.
Overall, I saw work that certainly had me questioning

What can be considered "art"??

Someone recently asked me, "What is art to you?" I've asked myself that for years and it usually comes to mind for me when I experience artwork that I don't connect with. Its creation is still art because what art to me is the creation of something that didn't exist before from sculptures, writing, music, cooking, computer programs even. Each of those, and others, uses different tools of the trade to create something out of nothing.

So with the works I saw that had me shaking my head, yes,  that's art. Whether it's worth the price being asked for it or worthy of valuable gallery wall and floor space is up for discussion. That is what makes the art world interesting.
I feel that as an artist

I 'should' be able to connect with other people's creations.

because I create myself. I'm a painter/drawer so I know the experience of truly creating a piece of work by combining the tools of a blank canvas, brushes, paints and an idea. I honestly felt that some of the work I encountered, left me shaking my head. Seeing two pieces of wood for example, attached to make a right angle and painted turquoise is personally, um, not my cup of tea. I seriously thought it was something left behind after construction of some sort, but in fact, it was on the price list. The creation of it and the agreement of showing it at a gallery space was not up to me. I'm just a bystander and those involved in those decisions saw it as worthy to be shown and to be worth several hundred dollars.
Though there will always be people that don't get it, love it, or don't care for it.  That experience between the outside world and your creation is another aspect of art.

Art can make us feel, be it inspiration or frustration.

You and I complete the piece.

The ART of Graffiti at Benrimon Contemporary

And I thought I was cool when I learned how to do bubble letters in Junior High!

Aight New Yorkers, ya'll know graffiti when you see it with tags and characters. This exhibit at Benrimon Contemporary takes the appreciation and beauty of its work to a new level. The work will be up until August 10, 2010.

Now when I walked outside after viewing the show, there was a couple that asked me about what exhibit was being shown. I tried to sell it but not everyone understands or wants to appreciate graffiti. Whether you think you do or not, there is no harm in checking it out. Either you will gain an appreciation you didn't have before or be further impressed with the kind of work that can be done with an aerosol can.

"An urban art culture has grown in popularity and adapted various forms, art dealers saw an opportunity to promote a new art form within the white walls of a gallery" Press release

When I visited the gallery, I had a chance to talk with curator Mario Ramos. He along with Claudia Bumbas are owners of 1HUNDREDB, a LES storefront that serves the urban art culture.

Featured are pieces by PNUT, Cap1, Stayhigh149, Noc167, Richard Hambleton among others with tribute to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Stayhigh149 has a NYPD ticket dated 1969 proving that he is one of the founders of bringing street art to the masses.


On their blog http://1hundredb.blogspot.com/ or flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/1hundredb they also have pics from opening night with the numerous artists it includes. I included an example where it looks like the event was a nice chance for the artists to show appreciation for each others work and for fans to meet in person the mysterious artists who's work they've only seen on the streets.

"Graffiti on the subways cars was a phenomenon witnesses by New York City's straphangers during the early 70's and lasting in intensity until 1989."Press release

Mario is an awesome guy and this is an awesome show. When I walked in 2 days after the opening (which had over 1,000 people) , I could still smell the fresh paint from a live installation (subways doors included ;)) done on one of the gallery walls. He pointed out that while looking at the tags on the mural, it may look like a mess at first, the taggers respect each other's space. If by accident someone writes over someone else's tag, the offender would write "Sorry" to the other person..

We talked about how the form of art has become one more thing to issue fines or jail times for. Some parts of Europe are turning into what NY was in the 70s and 80s, as NY artists seek places around the world to express themselves.

The freedom of expression NYC once had and was known for is now highly regulated. 

Artists now are now using stickers to leave their mark.

Now advertisers are leaving their mark on the subways. $$$$$$$$$$ (To the MTA that if given all the money they would need to get out of their convenient deficit, would still have NO IDEA how to manage their money. Honestly I feel if business students took on the MTA finances, they would have it solved in a semester)....but anyway.

What are your thoughts on the branded subway cars? Would you prefer that, plain or cars done with original art?

I recommend checking out the work at Benrimon Contemporary so you have a better perspective to answer that question (if you don't have the experience of all 3 in the subway already).

"See, Also" goes beyond sight at Central Booking Art Space in DUMBO

"See, Also" is currently being held at Central Booking Art Space in DUMBO [111 Front Street] and will run until August 18. The show was really enjoyable as it brought out the curiosity in all of its visitors with various interactive works. 

The show was curated by Omar Olivera, a native Brooklynite now residing in Queens and part of the Central Booking team. He also included a piece in the show that made pixels fun and colorful. Most of us encounter pixels when we enlarge a picture too much, taking something we are familiar with and turning it to a nearly unrecognizable and grainy image. Omar

 turned what would appear to be unrecognizable into something fun 

by taking the pixel out of the picture allowing it to stand on its own to create its own image.

While I described pixels as taking a picture and enlarging it, the way Omar approaches the use of pixels reminds me of the Impression style of painting. The technique used with Impressionistic work is that colors aren't blended perfectly, the human eye is a part of completing the illusion. So while the colors in a painting can, from a far, appear to be blended well, when you get up close, you see the brush stokes and the separate colors of paint. Omar celebrates those stokes and colors.

Part of his work includes a light box and several patterns of pixels printed on transparencies, a way for the audience to experience layering pixels and allowing the eye to blend the colors together. Another part of his piece took up an entire wall of Central Booking Art Space which was pretty much a large painting of pixels.

Another artist featured at "See, Also" was Andrea Uva who included work from her Braille series. Her work can be seen here on her website. It is certainly an interesting concept in providing those who can't see, the opportunity to still experience works of art in an objective and descriptive way. In her words:

"The purpose is to allow the visually impaired to experience art by stripping a painting of its paint and reducing it to a type of language code."

Even how the works are created feels thoughtful.

Other works in the show included a carton of drained eggs. The eggs had their form and a note was inside each egg. Now how would you get to the note? Well you would have to crack the egg!! The only slightly messy part were all the shells. It was fun to see people's reactions to this piece which ranged from skeptical to "haha, this is pretty cool....I wanna crack another one."

Another work that caught my attention was several dozen drawing on paper each hung by a silver binderclip on a horizontal line along a wall. The drawings were very neat with clean lines and hardly showed any erasures. The drawings did not seem connected to one another. Part of the experience was just the act of  thumbing through them wondering what was going to be seen next.

You should experience it for yourself.

About Central Booking Art Space:

Conceived by respected and accomplished artist/curator, Maddy Rosenberg, Central Booking’s objective is two-fold: create a distinctive space where the virtually infinite forms and range of book art and prints can be seen in one place while simultaneously providing both established and emerging practitioners of the genres with an outlet for their work. Central Booking’s overall mission is global in scope: to serve as a catalyst for the integration of artist’s books into the mainstream art world where they are now often marginalized.

Part 2: Artists Panel Discussion at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art

Here is the conclusion of what the artists thoughts were on their work and the process of creation.

Your thoughts on the divide between ideals and evidence. What you want to convey versus what you see.

Here was when Tom put an interesting spin saying that art is one type of documentation that is allowed to be correct. Very good point. It can stir controversy but noone can argue that the artist's view is incorrect. My thoughts are that everything we experience day in and day out go through our filters, our experience and what we interpret from them are 'correct' to us. So everyone can have various 'correct' versions of the same event. 

Inventing work with its own internal logic or leave something for the audience to grasp?

Lisa's work "Pontiac Kingston" is of a car dealership that had closed. It's painted in a way to have the cars, the lot and building appear to be melting. Pretty cool execution in my opinion. So with this piece, Lisa does little of both; it's not very literal and involves some thought by the viewer to interpret what's going on. Our work, as Kamrooz puts it, is an abstract reflection of the world in which we live.

Liz originally was doing paintings just for her and later on wanted the audience to connect and have an experience with her work. So I ask, as artist ourselves, how are we able to connect to work that inspires us? Perhaps the person that created it had us in mind when creating their work.

For Ryan, part of being an artist is creating your own world with its own dialog and rules. I agree, not everyone will get it. I'll add that everyone that experiences a piece adds a little more dimension to it. A work can grow infinitely through the experiences of others. 

At this point in the panel discussion, I can rely on Tom to sum things up in his concise way: An artist is someone that creates art for an audience, if you are doing it for yourself, it's a hobby. If there is no communication with the viewers, it's not art.

Do you have more in common with conceptual or abstract style?

Kamrooz identifies with abstract expressionism though he adds that it's problematic for artists to be asked to take a position. True, sometimes it's hard to put your work into a category. 

Liz doesn't consider herself a figurative painter (you can view her piece by clicking here) and would identify with being more conceptual. For her, an abstract piece would need to be planned, she couldn't start something with the intention of it being abstract. Instead, she would allow the process to dictate the style.

Tom's one-liner was that abstract is art being made in conceptual terms.

For Lisa's answer to the above question, she says that it depends on what it is that drives the starting of the painting. Good point.

Ryan considers himself to be an abstract artist as he is driven by the relationship with colors. So when one color is in one area of the canvas, he would think about what other color would compliment it.

Do your paintings surprise you?

For Lisa it does. Since her work, along with what other artists experience, changes in the process of creating it, the outcome does surprise her.

Discuss source material as it relates to your work.

Source material is important to all the artists in the panel (and for me too). It is very important for Ryan who uses newspapers, magazines, his own pictures, and the internet. He would tack on the wall images that he's considering using for a painting. They may be on the wall for a while and then he'll let his instincts take over. For example when new canvas arrives to his place, he'll know what picture would be painted on what canvas. 

Lisa travels a lot so the subject matter for her work leads her to visit places in person. She would do sketches on location as well as take pictures. She would even use found objects for some of her work. She told a story about finding a litter box on the side of the road in the town where she lives and it had been there for a while. She ended up taking in and painting it.

The internet is a common source of pictures. Tom uses it too and in fact, draws from his monitor! I admit to doing that too :) After this initial sketch, he'll do a larger one before sketching to the canvas. Tom adds that source material is important to make work more credible.

Liz would look for images online and print them out while researching a topic or concept of interest. She'll let the idea stew for a while before starting a painting. 

Kamrooz also uses source material such as patterns and photos of textures and would get ideas from carpet stores. He also made a link between Persian rugs and conceptual painting as there is a story and context behind those rugs. However, over time, the history and meaning has been lost to where it is now only something pretty.

What musician or band has influenced your work?

Ryan: Nirvana

Lisa: The Doors

Kamrooz: Bob Dylan

Tom: Frank Sinatra 

Thanks everyone for reading! If you're an artist reading this post, it'll be interesting to hear what your answers to any of these questions would be.

Big Strokes & Big Quotes at the "Big Picture" Panel @PJFA (Priska C. Juschka Fine Art)

Folks, this is one cool exhibit. It will be up until August 6 so I hope you get a chance to see it. You can preview the works on display here:

http://www.priskajuschkafineart.com/works_online.php?exhibition_id=127&page_id=0

A Little Bit About the Gallery:

The former Williamsburg gallery, founded in 2001, has been in Chelsea since 2005 at 547 W. 27th Street on the 2nd floor. 

"...the gallery wishes to create a continuous dialogue with both the local and global community." 

That can be seen in the works in its current show that addresses issues related to the economy, family, entertainment, being human, music and other topics.

The Panel:

The panel discussion was lead by David Coggins who is a contributing blogger for leading culture magazine Interview.

The curators of "Big Picture" Tom Sanford and Ryan Schneider (who also have work in the show) were joined by fellow exhibitors Kamrooz Aram, Liz Markus, and Lisa Sanditz.

The questions asked by Mr Coggins were from artists and non artists who he emailed for suggestions prior to the panel. It offered a nice mix of technical and personal insight into the artists work.

What work do you have at home?

Most of the work artists have on the walls of their homes are done by their friends. Obtained either as gifts or as part of an exchange.

Tom claims to have over 50 pieces of art which drew "Wow's" from the audience of about 40 enthusiasts.

For Kamrooz, friends of his that aren't painters usually are photographers so he has works of theirs on his walls. Also he likes to pick up early works of artists as he takes an interest in seeing how their work changes over time.

Liz mentioned that she has a self portrait a friend of hers did while they were in grad school together. (Liz went to Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia). She also has images of dogs and horses.

Are you a "starter" or a "finisher"?

 

This question was brought up by Lisa who admits to being a "starter." She described the difference as follows: Starters enjoy the hammering it out part. Getting that blank canvas to start to take shape. Finishers have a harder time starting (I'm a total finisher then) and are fine jumping into it once the foundation is in place.

Tom put it this way: the first 1/3 of the painting is exciting and fun, the middle 1/3 is a strain as reality of how much work is left to do sets in, and the last 1/3 is fun again. Tom's a finisher. He adds that being a painter is a pain because it's such a slow medium. As rewarding as it is, I couldn't agree more.

For Kamrooz, it depends on what he's making. It's either a method of plan/execute or build as you go. He considers a painting to be finished once the artist stops painting it. Well yeah. His timeframe for a painting is spending about 6 hours at a time on it though months can go by before it returns to a painting to complete it.

Liz is a finisher. Similar to Kamrooz, she either knows what she wants to paint before she starts painting or she knows the process she wants to take. 

Ryan is a finisher as well (Score: Finishers = 3, Starters = 1, Kamrooz = 1). He finds the start frustrating (I hear ya) with the whole needing paint to dry stuff. The great experience/feeling comes from completing the work.

Does your work end up as you envisioned it or does it change along the way?

For Ryan, the idea is usually set in mind. Tom put an interesting spin saying that art is one type of documentation that is allowed to be correct. Very good point. It can stir controversy but noone can argue that the artist's view is incorrect.

To be continued with the artists thoughts on:

• Your thoughts on the divide between ideals and evidence. What you want to convey versus what you see.
• Inventing work with its own internal logic or leave something for the audience to grasp?
• Do you have more in common with conceptual or abstract style?
• Do your paintings surprise you?
• Discuss source material as it relates to your work.
• What musician or band has influenced your work?

Other Artists in the Show Include:

Colleen Asper, Paul Brainard, John Copeland, Holly Coulis, Justin Craun, Van Hanos, Daniel Heidkamp, Aaron Johnson, Emily Noelle Lambert, Wes Lang, Eddie Martinez, Brian Montuori, Michael Williams and Jeremy Willis

Does smeared paint on canvas leave you feeling dirty?

Try Orbitz gum.....hahahaha. That laugh felt good.

So back to painting. When it comes to totally abstract work, it's mostly a miss for me. If you appreciate some structure, like myself, please raise your hand.

Even with my own work, my 'abstract' paintings aren't full blown

'throw all caution and lines to the wind' 

type of abstract. Just that it's lacking something to recognize within the painting. I'm thinking it through though as I go along.

I started thinking about this when I had a reaction to some works in a gallery I visited recently (neither gallery nor artist will be named). My reaction was to tell the world that those paintings were a piece of crap. Random sh*t on a canvas doesn't do it for me though a Jackson Pollock, for example, would.

The difference?

How I imagined it being done in both technique and scale. 

The creation of a Pollock work is like a workout as he is always moving around the canvas. Sometimes he would think about where the dribble of paint or brush stroke would be and of what color and sometimes he would just let the drops fall as they may.

However there are works, mostly on a small scale, that look like complete crap and is taking up valuable gallery wall space. It's one thing if a kid in kindergarten is just playing around and it might be cute if you know the kid. Yet if someone who considers him/herself an artist is just smearing paint on canvas, I just want to hang my head. Was the artist pressed for time so they threw something together? It's something I personally can't make sense of.

Ultimately, it's a matter of perception

If the artist is happy with it, and there is someone in this world that would want to pay for it, fantastic.

Me, however, will continue to put thought into what I paint and how it's painted. Everyone is welcome to like, love, hate, or not care as they will.

Paying tribute to the traditional roles of women

Currently, Ceres Gallery [547 West 27th Street Suite 201] has an exhibit featuring their member artists which closes Saturday July 17th. I'll get to my thoughts on some of the work I saw in a moment. First I want to give props to Ceres. I didn't know it existed until I visited (gallery spaces in Chelsea turn over fairly frequently). The mission of Ceres is:

"...a non-profit alternative center dedicated to the promotion of contemporary women in the arts.... We believe that the arts provide an important social service and that art has the power to enhance and enrich the quality and depth of our lives." Ceres brochure

AWESOME stuff Ceres. Hopefully artists in any career and creative part of their life can also appreciate what you're doing.

The work that were shown at this exhibit was wide-ranging in size, subject matter and techniques. The work from their member artists here: http://www.ceresgallery.org/artistmain.htm


One portion of the gallery space featured work by Dare J. Boles Lot of Women. One of the 16 she has on display is shown here.

Dare is a mixed media artist using patterns, pictures of faces and objects, as well as textures to create layers in her work. Without the use of shadows, the work remains very much 2-dimensional. The pieces at this exhibit was no larger than 16'' x 20'' and all reasonable price ranging from $325 - 900. Huge difference from a non-profit versus a for-profit where you would see several more zero's on the price list (of course through the sale of work is how the galleries help to pay the rent).



She had an interesting mix of work all centered around what womens roles are within their respective societies. Her pieces spanned from African, Asian, Muslim, American, African-American cultures as well as several others. She adds "Historically, a woman's role in life has been determined by society." The same goes for the role of men.

"I am inspired by the sunny climes of the Caribbean, the rich colors of Africa, and the quiet beauty of the Asian culture. Always, my art is about finding unique and personal means of expression and a continuing search for ancestors." Dare J. Boles artist statement

In some societies these roles of care-giver are positions women are born into and perhaps not encouraged to think for herself while for others, it has now become a choice to have your purpose to be that of pleasing men or to be a housewife. One may feel that women in the world have come a long way to claiming independence as entrepreneurs, Presidents, Prime Minsters and choosing to be single mothers. In Dare's work, are the women in her work unfulfilled or content? From her pieces, I felt respect for those that have and have had these roles. IT just made me think about what I would be doing if I lived in the 1800's or even 800's. 
Fortunately, I'm happy in my present.

Spray! was only OK (I'm glad I went to other galleries after this one)

From "um, alright" to "DAMNNN", here's the beginning of what I thought about four exhibits I checked out in Chelsea:

Today I intended on going to only two exhibits in Chelsea. Given the HIGH concentration of galleries in that area, there is always to possibility of spending an entire afternoon or evening gallery hopping. For this evening, I ended my hopping with four gallery visits which were (ranked below from "eh" to "WHOA"):

• D’Amelio Terras [525 West 22nd Street]: Spray! thru August 13th
• Ceres [547 West 27th Street Suite 201]: Ceres Members Group Show thru July 17th
• Flomenhaft Gallery [547 27th Street, 2nd floor]: A Summer of Photography thru August 20th
• Priska C. Juschka Fine Art [547 West 27th Street]: Big Picture thru August 6th

This review will explore Spray!

"...these works celebrate spray paint's ability to create atmosphereic layers that seem to extend beyond the frame."  D'Amelio Terras Press Release

Spray! was an exhibit I was looking forward to, but I was personally disappointed by most of the work there. Fortunately there were a couple of pieces I felt were worth bringing to your attention. 

The quote above from its press release reminds me of Dan Christensen's  Pavo, 1968, Acrylic on canvas which can be viewed here. This belongs to a series of loop spray paintings he created in his career. Beautiful, simple and airy from the valve of a spray can shows how he was able to control the medium. The various intensity of the colors makes the loops feel like they are flowing in and out of the canvas as well as overlapping and intertwining with one another. Makes me think of dozens of hula-hoops being scattered about. Hula-hoops are airy and fun as well as this piece.

"Armed with a palette knife and a spray gun, Keltie Ferris grapples with the idiom of gestural abstraction."  Artinfo.com

This piece of Keltie Ferris had me staring at it for a while. There was so much going on in the piece. It felt chaotic like it wanted to be geometric but wasn't allowed to or that it wanted to be random with no structure but the few rectangles in the piece wasn't going to allow that to happen. I walked around and ended up coming back to the piece. I even went to the gallery website on my phone and saw that it photographed completely differently and that just made the piece that much more interesting. I can't find a good image of the work I'm referring to but you can see similar pieces online at http://hortongallery.com/artist/keltieferris

There was one other piece that was a white on white painting that I thought was cool and I'm completely blanking on the name of the artist. That makes it hard for me to find an image or similar images of the work to show you. Once I do I'll update the post.

==================================================================

Bottom line on Spray! Other than 2 or 3 pieces out of the 11 shown, Spray! was a blah experience in my opinion. Experience it for yourself though!!! Address and links are at the top of this post.

This is only one person's opinion. If you agree, disagree or feel indifferent about the show, let me know.

==================================================================

All the artists on view at Spray! are:

Dan Christensen, Keltie Ferris, Katharina Grosse, Jacqueline Humphries, Rosy Keyser, Yayoi Kusama, Robert Moskowitz, Jules Olitski, Stephen Prina, Sterling Ruby, David Smith

ODC/San Francisco

I'll start by saying that these dancers are very athletic.

Featuring the entire company, three pieces were performed:
- RingRoundRozi
- 24 Exposures
- On a Train Heading South

I saw this dance company at the Joyce on October 16th. With RingRoundRozi, the dancers are already onstage and the music starts with the sounds of little children who sound like they are playing together. Those sounds gradually fade to music composed by Linda Bouchard.

The syncronization of the dancers was onpoint. The lifts (in some cases women were lifting men) were very strong and at times during fast dance sequences.

Their second movement used the sounds of a violin. The third used music which (in my opinion) was hard to keep count to but this performance was seamless. It was exhausting watching it actually because the dancing was so intense and the expression on the dancers' faces showed that they were taking it seriously and were focused. What I liked also about this piece was when at points when a couple was on stage (with or without additional dancers), they would do a sequence of moves across the stage which would bring in another couple. Not like that's something new in dance, it was noticible and well done here.

24 Exposures was a nice piece. The opening had people on the edge of the seat not wanting to breath too hard! The women were in sundresses which matched color with their male dance partner who were in khais and tanktops.A guy on all fours at centerstage with a wman standing on his back, he slowly begins to stand (a few "Shh's" come from the audience) and you can see some of the dancers standing to the sides of the stage with anxious looks. The woman starts to shake a bit as she trys to maintain her balance. They both make it!! She's standing on his back and he's standing (with his lowerbacked arched to support her). The audience applauds and the dancers begin their performance. The woman leaps backward off his back and lands on her back in the arms of 2 guys. Talk about trust! Through out the performance, there were several instances of falling back into a guy or gilr's arms (though not from the height at the beginning).

The second movement of this piece included incredible lifts and spins at fast and furious speeds (music used were of string instruments).

The third movement was very mellow. It started with a woman dancing alone on stage with a big grin on her face for about 2 minutes. five guys then come on stage at a diaginal until they get to centerstage. Once there they carefully do numerous ballet moves in place while other women gradually get on stage and are playfully trying to distract the guys. After a few minutes everyone is dancing with so much energy-spinning, running, lifting, and having a good time. The piece comes to an abrupt and interesting end with four women (with the help of three guys in a way being used as stands) show the still shots of a woman who would be leaping into the air.

The final piece of their performance is called On a Train heading South. Here the music uses a piano and large blocks of ice hang in a semi arch with a light on each of them. Of course the light causes the ice to being to melt and drip water on the stage during the performance. The music also includes snippets of pop music such as "Toxic" from Britney Spears and sound bytes from Bush and the sounds go back to instrumental.

The dancers don't dance under the melting ice until towards the end of the performance. The mood changes towards the end. A woman in front stage center continuously draws a semi circle with her hand making eye contact with the audience while two guys are dancing with each other across the stage and are all wet (pants soaled through from all the water on the stage). Three women in the back of stage right are doing various poses on the floor. The music becomes so soft that you can begin to hear the drops of water from the hanging ice hit the stage. Then the lights fade to black.

Well done folks!!

Jennifer Muller/The Works

This time around, I saw Jennifer Muller/The WORKS at the Joyce Theater. Well this was the first time I have a seen a screen curtain used to its fullest potential-of sorts. 'Flowers' (the first piece of this performance) were shown as stills and the image changed to other flowers of moved along a close up of a still while we can see the dancers performing-very interesting. There was only one flower shown at a time and made me wonder why only one was shown at a time instead of two or a bunch? I guess not to distract from the lackluster dance. Also what annoyed me with the music/choreography was that the dance used the same tempo of the music but not the same rhythm-why? That threw me off.

This piece was in 5 movements which mostly featured the company except for #2. Now I came in about 5 minutes late after the start of movement 1 and my attention was focused mostly on the use of the screen than on the dancers-shame on me. But I got my bearings once the 2nd movement started. Number 2 featured a couple...nothing took my breath away about this one. The sloppiness of some of the lifts and trying to figure out the connection between these flower images with the choreography and music was where my mind was at.

In the end, the dancers for those various movements changed their pants which as designed, extended their fluid footwork. The costumes chosen were a nice and simple compliment to the piece.

The 3rd movement had upbeat music-again nothing special happening here.

The 4th had a slower tempo, was more relaxed with subtle sounds of rustling trees...and their pants were green.

The 5th (with red pants) had tribal beats but the movements were too fluid therefore this section of "flowers" seemed disjointed. At this point the close up of the flowers on the screen were no longer adding to the work.

The next piece was "Island". It started with a perhaps 3 minute film of horses playing on a beach then the screen disappears. The sounds of running horses and the water continue in and out throughout the performance. A dancer comes out doing several horse inspired movements like stomping their feet/hooves. More dancers come out and I notice that their pants are brown and "Aladdin" like with the extra fabric at their thighs and tighter by their legs. The music changes a few minutes into this and gone also are the horse movements-yippee. There was one part in this which used ocean sounds with upbeat beats-that woke me up a bit...

...Maybe it's my craving for a snack that's preventing me from fully enjoying this. At the beginning of the piece with the horse movements, the costume made sense. As the music changed and the dance changed, the dancers should have also changed clothes because the Aladdin pants took away from the choreography. Other than that (note the piece ended with the same dancer in the beginning doing the horse movements and then the lights were down) a thought came to mind. There are several elements to a dance performance (in no order of importance): the costume, the music, the setting (if applicable), and the choreography. So far, I see the elements not working together. They would work well is separated (ie the music played with no dance, the dancers performed with no music). That would go over better with me than how it was playing out. Again perhaps it's the craving talking. Oh, and to add to the horse garb, the horse dancers had wigs to slightly imitate a horses mane as they whipped their heads around as they stomped their feet-just thought I throw that in.

OK, now on to their last piece titled "Speeds". The dancers are dressed in all white. They wind across the stage, first walking vvvveeeerrrryyyyy slowly, then pick up the pace to a fast walk as they get to the back of the stage. The last two dancers in the line stay on the stage and begin to dance. The first piece of music sounds like a track that is playing while being fastforwarded. The second piece of music sounds like old school Nintendo video game music--oh geez....There was a piece in the middle of all this with a couple and so far (and ultimately) was the highlight of the entire show. The music was not trying to do too much and I could really get into the beauty of the piece (wow there was really potential here). I was happy for those few minutes and no longer tempted to walk out. Another couple performed to the sounds of that video game music-not much to say there.

Throughout this piece, dancers shouted the word "Change" which signaled a change in the choreography.

There was a place too where a woman wearing a sundress and sunhat walked across the stage from the back of stage right toward a spotlight at the front of stage left. She then kneeled in the direction she came from. There was no music-and she didn't move. I (and I'm sure others in the audience) thought there was something wrong with the track. There was silence and no movement for about a minute and then she casually walked off stage right...OK then.

Now granted the place wasn't sold out like other performances I've been to at during the last 3 days of its run at the Joyce (already a glimpse of the dullness to be displayed) but the applause wasn't that enthused. Perhaps some people enjoyed the performance while some others were happy it was over. I was the latter but wasn't compelled to clap at all.

Next performance to be reviewed on November 13th: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker: Once

The Hubbard Street Dance Company

Welcome to my first blog!

With this being the first, allow me to set the scene for this review. I get tickets to Joyce Theater performances weeks if not months in advance and arbitrarily picking what performance I want to see based on their descriptions in the catalog. OK, I'm a native New Yorker and there is no better artistic city than here. So while I would like to keep an open mind regarding the performance of a dance company from outside of New York-that doesn't quite work-I expect on OK performance with higher expectations set for performances from New York based companies. Well let me say that the performance I saw last night made me want to jot down my thoughts in the Playbill during the pauses and intermission and want to run home to create this blog. The Hubbard Street Dance Company is a must see. They are performing at the Joyce through August 20th.

Yesterday's performance was Program A which featured:

SF/LB (New York Premiere),
Gimme (New York Premiere),
Love Stories (New York Premiere), and
GNAWA (New York Premiere)
As the performances went on, the more impressed I became with the company. So let's start with SF/LB by choreographer Daniel Ezralow.



The ensemble opened the show in silhouette, then as the lights came on, I see they are dressed in suits and ties facing the audience. Split into three rows they jumped in their place and over the next several minutes the lines merged together then split apart again (still jumping) as the ensemble start jumping to the side, around each other back and forth and every-which-way then more choreography is eased in with spins, more interaction between dancers, and dancers rolling around on the floor. The group starts to break up and come on in pairs, smaller groups and such. Then you notice when a dancer appears on the stage again, their tie is off, then after another few minutes, the jackets come off. Towards the end of the piece the cast comes back together on stage, jumping resumes with a smaller portion of choreography and then it ends with the dancers collapsing to the ground.

From the audience there was scattered giggling. It was amusing and intriguing...couldn't help but imagine the people I encounter wearing suits jumping in their place on that stage like little kids. Now that I think about, having that dynamic may have been meant to take those 'stuffy' business types and have them act like kids with all the energy in the world and just having fun-enough fun that they collapse in exhaustion...very interesting Daniel!



Now Gimme with choreography by Lucas Crandall:



For the first two minutes or so, there's no music and the two dancers are on center stage in silhouette both holding on to the ends of a string. He pulls, she stumbles back then goes back to her starting position. He pulls again and she reacts the same way. He pulls again, she stiffens up. He pulls again and she doesn't react and the dance begins. Since the first few minutes there's no music, their squeaky boots are the course of sound as they stomp and maneuver their way around the stage. The lights slowly come on and the music starts which is a string instrumental. At several points in the performance either one of the dancers lets go of the string then recaptures it. The piece ends as the dancer sit front stage center facing each other, both with the ends of the string in their months (the guy was doing most of the chewing) as the string becomes more taunt. Closer and closer they become and he pulls her in for a kiss-then the lights go out. It was a sweet rendition of the memorable spigitte scene from "Lady and the Tramp."



Here's Love Stories with choreographer Lar Lubovitch:



To the sounds of jazz music, this is the story of love told in 5 movements from the realization of how important and special it is to how it can hurt when it doesn't work out. The first movement starts with the cast of three couples dancing together in a circle-nothing special happening-and then a male dancer dressed in white enters and does his thing to the interpretation of the lyrics of "Nature Boy" by Tobin Del Cuore and Ensemble. This when the couples realize how important love is and exit which begins the 3 movements that feature each of the 3 couples all of which starts and ends with the couple center stage with a spotlight on them. I liked out the movements were only a few minutes long otherwise that would have been a lot to sit through. It was enough to pay attention and appreciate the lyrics of the song and the dancers and still look forward to the next movement.

The 2nd movement with the music of "The More I Have You" by Charlaine Katsuyoshi and Jay Franke (a still is in the picture above) is very energetic and lovely. About half way through their performance, the woman is center stages striking flirty poses as the guy dances around her. This performance had a very innocent and sweet feel.

The 3rd movement was to the music of "Prelude to a Kiss" by Cheryl Mann and Patrick Simoniello. The choreography for this piece was very intimate/sensual as well as clean and simple. Like the first two movements, the dance interpreted the lyrics very well. The guy was a bit sloppy at one point when he was preparing to lift her (and note I was in the last row of the theater) I heard his hand slap her leg-geez I felt that. And there was a point then they were to interlock their arms with their backs to each other and that took an additional attempt. Besides that, it was well done.

The 4th movement was to the music of "Everytime We Say Goodbye" by Taryn Kaschock and Issac Spencer. It starts with the impression that the couple has just (or about to ) break up. Slowly they walk to each other and begin to dance. The choreography is very subtle and poignant since I just broke up with a guy. It ends with the two dancers center stage with the spotlight on them. The guy holds out his hand, the woman hesitates but then extends her hand to meet his but snaps his hand back and walks away, she's then alone on stage and starts to crouch to the follow shaking-a very interesting sequence.

The music used for the last movement was "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" by Tobin Del Cuore and Ensemble. "Nature Boy" begins this last movement and one by one, the couple join him on stage. Everyone seems happy and in a way, grateful to the guy in white. Though towards the end the couples are in three corners of the stage with "Nature Boy" in the center. The couples are in an embrace...then the guys walk away while the women remain in their positions. One by one, the woman unfreeze and dance with guy in white then exit the stage. When the last woman exits, the guy ends up in center stage, on his knees with the spotlight on him. Very interesting piece in a way saying, all good things must come to an end.



Lastly, there's GNAWA with choreography by Nacho Duato:



In a word, this was incredible. I loved the music used for this "Ma 'bud Allah" written by Hassan Hakmoun and Adam Rudolph. GNAWA is in three movements.

In the first, the cast in on stage with two in the middle (woman and man) in different costume 'gliding' through the cast straight to the back of the stage and behind the curtain to the sound of a stream. Then the beautiful beats begin and the cast starts the choreography very well coordinated to the beats.

The second movement features those two dancers that glided off stage at the beginning of the piece to the sounds of a stream. That same sound is used as their intro and exit for this movement. The music used is a bit more mellow as they dance together.

In the last piece, the cast one by one brings out a candle in a beautiful holder and slowly places their candles along the edge of the stage. The energetic music used in the first piece plays again and the two dancers from the previous movement again appear and disappear behind the back stage curtain. As the piece was concluding, the thought that came to mind was that the precision of the dancers and the beats of the music was reminiscent of Alvin Ailey and I consider that a great compliment. This piece was truly breathtaking and draws you in where it feels like a minute has gone by and you haven't blinked. The audience roared in applause at the conclusion of this piece and gave the dancers a standing ovation--well deserved!

Here's the tour schedule for the rest of 2005 and 2006




Next dance performance to be reviewed: Jennifer Muller/THE WORKS October 1st