Dumbo Arts Festival 2013 Kicks Off Weekend

DAF13

The Dumbo Arts Festival runs through Sunday (Sept 29, 2013) at 6pm. Almost every part of the street, art galleries, shops, walls, parks, and waterfront will have some form of art. So wandering around and discovering them is part of the fun. For a full listing of art, visit dumboartsfestival.com/find-art. Click more below for select installations, events, and exhibitions you’ll want to visit:

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

The New York Photo Awards: The New York Photo Awards have attracted exceptional work submitted from over 25,000 photographers and visual artists. Over 150,000 images have been uploaded and reviewed by the top names in the genres of Fine Art, Documentary, Advertising, Book Publishing, and Multimedia Industries in the U.S. and abroad. After the first round of judging, top vote-getters in each category (Fine Art, Documentary, and Photobook, both general and student subsets) will be invited to exhibit at The powerHouse Arena. (Location: 37 Main Street)

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

8-bit Post-it: Working in the spirit of the guerrilla Post-it bombing movement, “8-bit Post-it” is an exhibit and performance piece that uses the office staple the Post-it pad to recreate iconic characters from 8-bit video games like Space Invaders and Frogger. (Location: AT&T Festival Lounge – 1 Main Street)

Yuko Shimizu and Stefan Sagmeister - YES Octopus

Yuko Shimizu and Stefan Sagmeister – YES Octopus

DumboWalls Streetart Murals: The DUMBO Improvement District and Two Trees Management Co in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation Urban Art Program (NYCDOT) and the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, announce the creation of DUMBO Walls, a series of eight outdoor murals packed within a four-block stretch of DUMBO along the BQE. (Location: Along York Street against the BQE walls)

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Bird on a Wire: “Bird on a Wire” is an interactive projection piece. People passing by notice the subtle flutter of birds perched on telephone wires. When a viewer calls the phone number displayed, they see and hear the birds flock into motion. After a few seconds, the birds resume their position on the wire, ready for the next caller. (Location: AT&T Festival Lounge – 1 Main Street)

Photo by rigbymartin

Photo by rigbymartin

Ceci Est Un Coeur: “Ceci Est Un Coeur” is a 14 feet tall inflatable sculpture of a human heart. Anatomical in shape and poetic in scale, it engages its audience in a dialectic between science and mysticism. The easily identifiable form challenges some of the vital characteristics of a heart. Its white color allows the viewer to project new associations. Advancements in science allow us to have a very clinical knowledge of the way the human body functions, depriving it from its emotional qualities and leaving little room for any philosophical questioning. As a hybrid icon of science and art, the giant inflatable heart bridges the gap between body and soul. “Ceci Est Un Coeur” attempts to return the heart to its poetic origins. (Location: Washington Street at Plymouth Street)

Photo courtesy Dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy Dumboartsfestival.com

Dandelions: “Dandelions” is an installation representing the fleeting last stage of the flower before it turns to seed. At that stage, the iconic dandelion is a dream catcher, a villain, a rag tag reminder of negligence, a promise of a wish come true. Using metal and other familiar materials, Marney Fuller portrays the weed as a statuesque reminder of its resilience, akin to Brooklyn. (Location: Manhattan Bridge Archway and Anchorage Pl)

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

For and About: Art and Reactions to Superstorm Sandy: “For and About: Art and Reactions to Superstorm Sandy,” curated by Radar Curatorial, is a group exhibition and accompanying zine focused on how artists experience and interpret natural disasters. The exhibition is centered on the communities hit hardest by the storm, creating a space to reflect on the collective and individual experiences at the one-year anniversary of the storm. (Location: 111 Front Street, Suite 218)

Photo courtesy brian888huang

Photo courtesy brian888huang

foto/pods: foto/pods is the event that started it all! United Photo Industries curated 4 shipping containers for the 2011 DUMBO Arts Festival and from that sparked PHOTOVILLE! This year, UPI will be back on Main Street with 3 exciting and fresh exhibitions by 3 young and emerging New York artists. The installation will coincide with PHOTOVILLE on Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Location: Main Street between Plymouth and Water Streets)

Photo courtesy swissmiss

Photo courtesy swissmiss

Macaron: These styrofoam “Macaron” sculptures are simple in shape and beautiful in colors. A metaphor for New York City’s racial diversity, the oversized treats measure close to 4 feet in diameter. Seeing them is bound to put a smile on your face. (Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park, John Street path)

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

PHOTOVILLE: PHOTOVILLE is a new Brooklyn-based photo destination, a pop-up village of freight containers transformed into temporary exhibition spaces, which first took place in the summer of 2012. PHOTOVILLE is back for 2013 and will feature a feisty mix of 35 world class photo exhibitions, over 45 lectures and hands-on workshops, night-time projections and events, and a summer beer-garden with food trucks that creates a photography destination like no other. It is FREE for the public to attend starting September 19th through the 29th. (Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5)

Photo courtesy tripill

Photo courtesy tripill

Rainbow Pixies: “Rainbow Pixies” occupy space between wilderness and civilization – in the artist’s imagination. These small, rainbow colored and tentacled creatures breathe autonomously and explore their environment. As a reflection on how the city nourishes us all, the artist hopes they will create a shared and serene dream with the crowd. (Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Main Street Lawn)

tolerance

Ship of Tolerance: The mission of the “Ship of Tolerance” is to educate and connect youth of different continents, cultures, and identities through the language of art. It is a conceptual piece that is meant to reflect how divergent cultures interpret tolerance and how these interpretations overlap. The ship’s sails are stitched together from paintings by hundreds of schoolchildren from different ethnic and social backgrounds, and will convey a message of tolerance and hope. By participating in the creation of this ship, children will learn about respecting different cultures and ideas while appreciating how they differ from their own. In short, through this creative process they will both demonstrate and gain a vibrant lesson in tolerance. (Location: East River cove)

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Strings: Halfway between instrument and sculpture, “Strings” is a sound installation that invites participants to play, listen and move within a space, becoming part of a musical instrument. Strands of thread are tensed in oblique planes from ceiling to floor and from wall to wall, defining an architectural space that invites visitors in. Once inside, they become performers, moving through the space to find different ranges of pitch and timbres in the instrument that surrounds them. “Strings” uses open-source software for customization of the installation’s parameters for any style. It allows for the exploration of sounds through space, texture and movement. Everyone is invited to participate. (Location: AT&T Festival Lounge – 1 Main Street)

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

Photo courtesy dumboartsfestival.com

8-bit Post-it: For three performances on Friday and Saturday evenings, Clifford Ross will present his “Immersive Harmonium Video.” This immersive video will be projected inside the century-old archway below the Manhattan Bridge with live collaborative music performance by Taikoza, the renowned Japanese drum group. A site-specific work, the colorful, dramatic digital imagery contrasts with its setting and harmonizes with the music. Together, Ross and Taikoza have created a unique and ecstatic experience for the public. (Location: Manhattan Bridge Archway)

bklynflavor

Welcome to Skewville: NYC Street Art legends, Skewville, will be showing new sculptures and paintings during their highly anticipated solo show with Mighty Tanaka Gallery, in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Best known for their highly stylized pieces, they will be reappropriating a variety of materials to create a new body of work with their trademarked twist. For their upcoming show entitled “Welcome to Skewville,” the artists will be transforming common items into unique 3D interpretations that will invite the viewer to take a closer look and interact with the artwork. “Welcome to Skewville” will be a fun and playful insight into the mind of an artistic powerhouse. (Location: 111 Front Street, Suite 224)