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We caught Shepard and his crew in the act of installing a gigantic new Obey poster on Waterbury & Scholes. Although his most recent interview didn't go so well Shepard, man that he is, stepped up to the plate to answer a few questions for the Bushwick Dream.
So why this piece and why here?
Well, I'm friends with Jay Leritz who is one of the owners of Yummus Hummus. He and I knew each other when we lived in San Diego. He told me that this building was an open spot and of course I noticed that there are a lot of musicians in this neighborhood and that there's this metal venue right across the street [Acheron]. And I DJ, and I've been doing this series as a tribute to the record cover format, the square format, so I thought this would make sense. And I also had the measurements and it worked, mathematically. So, yeah. You turn your limitations into assets. I always like to do big stuff outdoors, if I can. I think this is a good spot, I like this neighborhood.
What else do you have planned while you're in New York?
I'm in town until the 6th. I've done a little bit here and there, some opportunities have presented themselves and I have some other walls lined up, some in Brooklyn and some in Manhattan. Obviously some of my assistants from L.A. are here helping. I'd rather just have it be a surprise, have people stumble on it than say where it's going to be. Some things fall through and some new things pop up. But we're gonna be in public art mode right now.
What do you think about Brooklyn Museum pulling the plug on the Art in the Streets exhibit that they were planning to have this year? They said it was for financial reasons, but there's some suspicion that that wasn't quite the full story.
You know I don't know, I haven't heard anything other than that it was for financial reasons. I am friends with one of the curators there and she was really excited about doing it. And they've done other graffiti shows in the past, so I don't know, I don't see why this one would be more problematic politically than any of the other ones. I do know that it's an expensive show to put together, L.A. MoCA was barely was able to fund it, with sponsorship. So, it could be legit, who knows.
It's disappointing when you think of New York being a real birthplace, in a lot of ways, of the graffiti and street art movement. Even though of course it's expanded to a lot of cities around the globe. You know, it's an important place for the show to be seen and I hope it makes it to a few other cities, but it was a major accomplishment in L.A. and I'm happy for that.
I'm grateful for anything that happens that puts a good group of artists together and shows what they're doing. A lot of the commentary that I hear is, "Well, you know, what do you think about the de-clawing or de-fanging of street art by putting it in a museum?" Well, first of all, it's not street art in a museum, you fucking moron. It's art, it's just art. Street art is on the street. I'm so sick of that shit. You know, I still do street art, everybody that calls themselves a street artist should still do street art. Otherwise you're just an artist, but it's fine to use a lot of different platforms for art. You know, it's totally narrow-minded to say that art's only legitimate in galleries and museums, and it's just as narrow-minded to say it's only legitimate outdoors. Those things, anything that's about unhealthy boxes or categories that people want to put things in because they want to be a gatekeeper in that category--it's about them and their ego, it's not about a thriving dialogue about the power of art, so, fuck that shit!
A stranger is just a friend that you haven’t met yet. Bushwick Dream puts random people on the spot. This time: Brent H., hailing from Chapel Hill, NC. and found at Pearl's Social and Billy Club
Why are you here?
I'm in Bushwick just returning from London after working there for ten years as a photographer and there are reasonably priced shooting spaces here. You can see my work at brenthelsel.com.
What’s the border of Bushwick, in your opinion?
Williamsburg and..... well actually, I have no idea.
What’s your weapon of choice?
My camera, because I can catch my people at their best...... or their worst.
On summer days Brooklyn turns into Throwback City. The block parties, the front-stoop playgrounds, the gushing fire hydrants--it's like walking through a Helen Levitt picture. Nowadays Bushwick is also looking more like it did in the years B.C. (Before Condos). Never more so than when the gentlemen of the various Puerto Rican bicycle clubs throw open their garage doors. There are at least three different such clubs in Bushwick where middle-aged (mostly male) members congregate over brews and seriously blinged-out vintage bikes. This weekend we encountered the boys of the Pa-La Loma Club on Harman Street. Learn more about the PR bicycle clubs of New York here and here.
A stranger is just a friend that you haven’t met yet. Bushwick Dream puts random people on the spot. This time: Justin P., hailing from L.A. and found on Jefferson St. bet. Irving and Wyckoff.
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Why are you here?
I moved here from L.A. to be a fine illustrator.
What’s the border of Bushwick, in your opinion?
That’s a hard one, because I just moved here from around the Montrose L. Hmm...I would say between the Morgan and Montrose L stops.
What’s your weapon of choice?
I’m a pacifist. I guess I’d say...the pencil!
A bearded man in his thirties skips across the gum-speckled sidewalks of Myrtle-Broadway. “Batman on Broadway!” he announces at-large, his voice echoing under the elevated subway tracks.
He flails about in a superhero costume and does a leaping kick in the air. His funny noises are interspersed with sweeping statements about love. He runs in place, dances, jumps and crouches ninja-style. He’s light on his feet, but the effect is more Disney than Marvel Comics. Some pedestrians stop and stare, others keep walking. A dozen cellphone cameras are whipped out and by evening his antics will be up on Youtube.
Thus ends my encounter with Bushwick-based performance artist Matt Silver. An hour before this we sat in a local café and discussed his work over glasses of strawberry juice.
“When I perform I really want to tap into the heart of it. The heart of it is, I want to make you laugh.”
I wonder about what the members of his regular Broadway audience really think. After all, his “stage” is within walking distance to the mental hospital on Flushing Ave. Don’t you ever feel shy, I ask him?
“Sometimes I feel shy. Like right now....”
As he speaks his hazel eyes twinkle and his hands make opera-like gestures, but in between questions he seems as bashful as a four-year old. The thing with Matt is you’re never quite sure whether he’s performing or not. But according to him he’s always performing.
“When I was younger I was inspired to stay on, like all the time. I was inspired to be this other character.” He tells me that his parents eventually got used to it.
You might be tempted to dismiss Matt as just another New York street performer. To do so would be to miss his most engaging works--the steady stream of mini-epic films that he writes and stars in. Titles like Heartpocalypse and Love Comes Out of Your Butt are shot on location and include a sizeable cast and crew. (Some of his most memorable scenes included actors dressed as giant sheaves of corn stilt-walking under the Broadway el.) The fantastical films have a great cinematic flair. A recurring character is Man in White Dress: Matt as a misanthrope in a thrift-store wedding gown trying to spread a message of love.
“Love is a universal theme. It’s a good mythic adventure, like the search for the holy grail. For me it’s called the love portal. It’s the search for the love portal, to open it up. That would be amazing.”
He then tells me that his next film will involve a three-headed monster. His larger goals are just as ambitious.
“My project is to become that mythological clown character. I don’t know, over these years, one of the reasons I street-perform is because like I want to become a mythic hero. That would be fun before I’m dead. I mean, it would just be fun, you know? Becoming like a mythic clown. And just use it to make people laugh. I’m gonna do that.”
Back on the street Matt dashes across the heavy traffic on Broadway to take up a new post next to Popeye’s Chicken. He struts and crouches, jumps and dances. Some spectators call out, “Hey Batman!” and dance along with him. “Love is all you need!” he shouts.
We all know how potentially dangerous the streets of NYC are as motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike constantly flaunt traffic laws, but just to further illustrate here is a fantastic video by NYC resident Ron Gabriel showing the dangerous game we all play.
Today if you drove down Flushing Ave you may have seen two men with three large dice. One shuffling them around in the ninty-five degree heat and the other across the street taking pictures in a four hundred degree black Jeep. Ad Deville's new project is a little stop action video that will be available here soon. It will be of these dice depicting the Bushwick autonym rolling around and looking basically awesome.
And the result:
Located on 222 Montrose, directly off of the L train stop, The Vortex apparently has seen its last days. According to a craigslist ad the junk store will be opening its doors on Fri, June 10th 2-4pm to give away all of its eclectic mix of books, clothing, and mass collection of knick knacks. If you are lucky enough to be around and not working this is the perfect chance to gather up some fun goodies for the price of nothing.
Photo from Yelp
The funny thing about BoS--or indeed any sort of open studios event--is that the artists participating can't go around and play visitor at other artists’ studios. So Bushwick Dream did the legwork for you. Here are some pearls of wisdom we observed from your comrades.
Free is good. Julia Colavita makes ethereal, airy sculptures and paintings that combine chance-driven methods with intricate line work. The results are as fragile and as beautiful as the human body. From her comes our final and most practical tip: how to score free acrylic paints, direct from the factory, without breaking the law.
A stranger is just a friend that you haven’t met yet. Bushwick Dream put random people on the spot. This time: Mike F. (Originally from Sandusky, OH) found at The Pine Box Rock Shop.
Why are you here?
I run an educational program..... and let's be honest...... the women.
What's the boder of Bushwick, in your opinion?
They're mentally created and changing every day.
What's you weapon of choice?
Hidden away inside a buliding on Stewart Avenue where the hallways smell of fresh paint there is an artist with one hell of a vision. Cathy Choi has only been doing these pieces for about five months but her work clearly shows she has a serious eye for making something new and truly unique. Cathy's art is as if somehow she freeze framed the moment when a multi colored ocean wave breaks against the beach and it's truly stunning. With no predisposed idea of what it's going to end up looking like when it's completed, she mixes resin, glue and oil together (the recipe proportions and technique is highly gaurded) then with less than thirty-five minutes to finish due to the drying time she has a piece of artwork that Mother Nature herself would look at and say, "Goddamn."
The funny thing about BoS--or indeed any sort of open studios event--is that the artists participating can't go around and play visitor at other artists’ studios. So Bushwick Dream did the legwork for you. Here are some pearls of wisdom we observed from your comrades.
Mine your heritage--or someone else’s. Photographer and mixed-media artist Delphine Diaw Diallo is a Parisian with Senegalese heritage. While she has found inspiration in travels to her ancestral home of Senegal, she’s also been to places as exotic as Montana. Her Great Vision series was made on the Crow Indian Reservation, home every year to the world’s largest family reunion.
The funny thing about BoS--or indeed any sort of open studios event--is that the artists participating can't go around and play visitor at other artists’ studios. So Bushwick Dream did the legwork for you. Here are some pearls of wisdom we observed from your comrades.
Take pieces of the city, but don’t let the city take pieces of you. Nate Anspaugh came to New York six years ago with the intention, like many transplants, to have his own piece of the Apple. He took this literally and found himself tearing off and taking home the posters he found around town. Soon this expanded to the unavoidable advertisements that clog up our mental and physical space. Nate transforms these fragments into masks, commenting on on how our personae--the masks we wear--are being more and more shaped by media and a juggernaut consumer culture.
The funny thing about BoS--or indeed any sort of open studios event--is that the artists participating can't go around and play visitor at other artists’ studios. So Bushwick Dream did the legwork for you. Here are some pearls of wisdom we observed from your comrades.
Pro Tip: Be organized and make big plans. I took one look at Cojo’s workspace and wanted to invite him to organize my closets. This, my friends, is the mark of a productive mind. Even more impressive is his ambitious project wherein he made a new sketch--in his signature thick outline style--everyday for a whole year. Now he will combine the elements of these drawings into a series of ten 8-foot paintings. A great way to ensure that the art keeps coming.
Olivié Ponce works in the sun. His landscapes, inspired by the scenes of Mexico City, are abstracted. The hard lines of buildings, streets and poles have become organic and ghost like, fading into the distance as if in a thick fog. Detail is not his concern but rather distance and depth, creating worlds vaguely familiar as if from a long forgotten dream.
His space will be open June 4th, noon - 6pm.
Outdoor photos courtesy of Olivié Ponce.
Not even the vagaries of the MTA’s maintenance schedule could stop the 5th annual Bushwick Open Studios from getting off to a cracking start. Did you check out Curbs and Stoops Active Spaces and their 3 curated rooms, including “Stay Gold” by Throwaway Art and our own lovely Robin Grearson? Did you watch CA Conrad get smashed between two giant heels at Brooklyn Fireproof’s YR Friday Nite? Did you find the pot of gold left for you by Hack Interactive? Finally, did you heave with the sweaty masses at the official BoS Launch Party at Pinebox Rock Shop? No? Well, you've two more days to redeem yourself. Get to it!
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
Columbia born artist Jessica Angel plays with the building blocks of information, breaking down our forms of communication to their abstract vessels. She strips language, maps, and cityscapes of there meaning, opting to utilize their form and visual strength; rebuilding and redefining. 300 characters become a picture thats worth a 1000 words. Think about that.
Jessica Angel will be sharing her space all three days of BOS; June3 - 5th, noon - 7pm.
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
Indecision can be a blessing. Jon Lewis loved both painting and photography, and found it difficult to choose either. He now melds the two by using gum bichromate, a painterly photographic technique from the 19th century. Visit Jon during his first BOS to see these timeless yet thoroughly modern portraits (85 Meserole Street).
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
Adam Distenfield takes only what the earth gives him, sculpting large rocks donated to him by construction sites. His Brooklyn Rockwerks studio on 129 Noll Street is a shelter for the unloved boulders edged out in the name of progress. Go visit him this weekend to see how he's breathing new life into New York’s native granite. (P.S.: Be sure to check out his amazing roof garden!)
We headed over to Brooklyn Fire Proof to get some pictures of the installation of art for Fireside Follies' Yr Friday Nite, and discovered there was a slight delay in installation, so we couldn't get the sneak peek we wanted to show you. But we did get a chance to talk with co-curators Eric Nelson and Mike Lala about the Follies' Friday night plans, and here's what Mike told The Bushwick Dream.
Q. Fireside Follies began as a reading series but it's expanded into other creative areas. What is it now?
A. Fireside is now "Yr Friday Nite," a multidisciplinary, immersive arts event, where we take the Brooklyn Fire Proof space we normally use and fill it with fine art and projections, then do a reading, have performance and video screenings, and host musicians in the midst of it. I think people will really get an amazing sense of how many different kinds of talented artists there are in Bushwick, and there really will be nothing else like this at Bushwick Open Studios this year.
Q. Have you been part of Bushwick Open Studios events in the past? What can we expect for this one?
A. Yes, last year we hosted a reading at Northeast Kingdom. This will be 10 times bigger than that.
Q: You're not reading at your own events, but you're both writers. Why not?
A. We thought about it, and then thought about it again. It just seems a little crass to perform at your own events. We know people who do it, and they do have wonderful events, but Eric and I have made the decision to not do it this season, in order to give other writers the opportunity to read.
Q: So what is going on with your own writing lately?
A. I just finished assembling a chapbook of poems that will be out on Knickerbocker Circus in June. Eric's working on a novel that he's sending out to agents and publishers, and I'm 30-ish Word pages into a new poetry manuscript.
Q. It's finally getting warm lately. Have you considered changing the name to Poolside Follies?
Find us a pool. We're there.
Q. Anything else coming up?
I just got word that I'll be curating a reading for the New York Poetry Society's festival out on Governor's Island later in July, so stay tuned!
Fireside Follies
YR Friday Nite
Brooklyn Fire Proof
119 Ingraham St.
More event info, here and here.
A sly, mischievous entry in the BOS directory came to our attention and we just needed to know more about the "Waterboard Spa" that will be set up on Morgan on Saturday. Here's what Waterboard Spa co-conspirator Dolan Morgan told us.
Q. What happens if someone dies by accident?
Q. The L-train will be down all weekend and you're going to be in front of the Morgan stop. Did you think about moving over to a bus stop instead? Isn't riding the L-train shuttle kind of like torture?
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
Nestled away in her studio in Bushwick, long time NYC resident Lisa Corinne Davis creates the topography of self. Touching on race and identity, her paintings' underlining geometric structures give rise to chaotic organic shapes and color. The myriad of forms contained within are familiar yet defy definition, with a semblance of microbes, plant life and crystalline formations. A look at a Lisa Corinne Davis painting could just as easily be a view through a microscope as a look out of a plane window. These maps of self contain no key, no markers, no hints of scale. Try not to get lost.
She will be sharing her space on June 4-5th, noon-7pm.
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
The BluBox is a place where alchemy is performed. Within its cavernous space three internationally known artists Peter Simon Mühlhäußer, John O’Reilly and Stephen Shaheen bind material, process, expression and form. The result is a collection of sculptures beautiful in execution and evocative in subject. This is certainly a place where one can go to marvel. The BluBox will be sharing their space Fri - Sun, noon - 7pm.
As the days count down to Bushwick Open Studios our neighborhood is buzzing with creative energy. The people are at work. Art is being made.
Gavin Sewell makes mixed media pieces on canvas in studio 409 at 119 Ingraham Street. Sand, plaster, paint, photographs, magazine fragments--these are just some of the materials he uses to create his richly textured pieces. Gavin is “aiming for longevity”--the longer you look, the more surprises you’ll discover in each piece.
A stranger is just a friend that you haven’t met yet. Bushwick Dream put random people on the spot. This time: Michael D., found at Little Skips.
Why are you here?
I’ve been here for 5 years. I came out to New York for school and I actually graduated from Pratt Institute in architecture a week ago. I actually moved out to Bushwick this year, I was living in Bed-Stuy the past 4 years.
What’s the border of Bushwick, in your opinion?
I..think that there is a border that’s formed on Broadway. I guess that’d be the Bed-Stuy border? And then between here and Williamsburg, I don’t really know, like I’ve no idea!
What’s your weapon of choice?
My weapon of choice....what would my weapon of choice be? That’s a funny question...I would probably say my camera actually!
