Dumbo NYC

First Thursday today, Thursday, September 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A chance to visit many quality galleries at night in the Dumbo Historic District – galleries showing works from artists of many disciplines, especially photography, while hosting receptions, producing live music performances and curator/artist talks among other highlights.

Let’s not forget the incredible views you can enjoy as you walk from one gallery to the next and the local drink specials afterward. Most of the art is for sale. Printed maps and 1st Thursday cards are available on-site.

Participating galleries may vary each month. For more information contact Zannah Mass at zannah@twotrees-dumbo.com or 718-222-2500 x38.

This month’s highlights include: Almacen Unlimited Art’s (111 Front St., Ste 222) U.S. launch right here in Dumbo for their first satellite gallery outside of Brazil with an exhibit of Yuli Geszti entitled “Form, color and beyond”; The exhibition Material Witness featuring paintings made of unconventional materials by Bari Kumar & Mondongo at Bose Pacia, a two-night only Back to School Sale!! at Mighty Tanaka Gallery showcasing the work of many emerging Brooklyn artists, Cinema 16 at Smack Mellon presenting short films by Maya Deren, Wallace Berman, Kihachiro Kawamoto and live performance of scores by Ablehearts, and a showing of Ira Fox’s digitally altered photographs entitled still lifes at Magasin Totale.

Check gallery websites for updates.
A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 228
Amos Eno Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 202
Bose Pacia, 163 Plymouth St.
Brooklyn Arts Council, 111 Front St., Suite 218
Caption Gallery, 55 Washington St., Suite 802
Cave Canem, 20 Jay St.
Central Booking, 111 Front St., Suite 214
Collective Consciousness NYC, 10 Jay St.
DUMBO Arts Center, 30 Washington St.
Farmani Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 212
Giacobetti Paul Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 220
Henry Gregg Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 226
Klompching Gallery, 111 Front St.
Kris Graves Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 224
Magasin Totale, 10 Jay St., Suite 724
Melville House, 145 Plymouth St.
Mighty Tanaka Gallery, 68 Jay St., Suite 416
NY Studio Residency Program, 20 Jay St.
One Arm Red, 10 Jay St.
Powerhouse Books & Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main St.
Pratt Institute Photo Seniors, 20 Jay St.
Rabbithole Studio, 33 Washington St.
Randall Scott Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 204
Smack Mellon, 93 Plymouth St. @ Washington Street
Spring, 126a Front St.
Umbrage Gallery, 111 Front St.
VII Photo, 28 Jay St.

First Thursday on Thursday, August 5th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A chance to visit many quality galleries at night in the Dumbo Historic District – galleries showing works from artists of many disciplines, especially photography, while hosting receptions, producing live music performances and curator/artist talks among other highlights.

Let’s not forget the incredible views you can enjoy as you walk from one gallery to the next and the local drink specials afterward. Most of the art is for sale. Printed maps and 1st Thursday cards are available on-site.

Participating galleries may vary each month. For more information contact Zannah Mass at zannah@twotrees-dumbo.com or 718-222-2500 x38.

This month’s highlights include: Photographic exhibits Sultry II and Quorum at KRIS GRAVES PROJECTS, Venetia Dearden’s Glastonbury: Another Stage at VII Photo Agency, exploring the Native Spirit with Andre Martinez-Reed, Atara Baker, Anne Foudral and Ruben Reyes at the Henry Gregg Gallery and a solo exhibition of new video work “Field Transitions / Memory Screens,” by Sean Capone investigating the ‘special effects’ of media and cinema at the Dumbo Arts Center.

Check gallery websites for updates.
A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 228
Amos Eno Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 202
Bose Pacia, 163 Plymouth St.
Brooklyn Arts Council, 111 Front St., Suite 218
Caption Gallery, 55 Washington St., Suite 802
Cave Canem, 20 Jay St.
Central Booking, 111 Front St., Suite 214
Collective Consciousness NYC, 10 Jay St.
DUMBO Arts Center, 30 Washington St.
Farmani Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 212
Giacobetti Paul Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 220
Henry Gregg Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 226
Klompching Gallery, 111 Front St.
Kris Graves Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 224
Magasin Totale, 10 Jay St., Suite 724
Melville House, 145 Plymouth St.
Mighty Tanaka Gallery, 68 Jay St., Suite 416
NY Studio Residency Program, 20 Jay St.
One Arm Red, 10 Jay St.
Powerhouse Books & Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main St.
Pratt Institute Photo Seniors, 20 Jay St.
Rabbithole Studio, 33 Washington St.
Randall Scott Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 204
Smack Mellon, 93 Plymouth St. @ Washington Street
Spring, 126a Front St.
Umbrage Gallery, 111 Front St.
VII Photo, 28 Jay St.

ART ATTACK, a ‘guerilla display of art’ is featuring Orianne Cosentino’s Moving Violation on July 1, 2010 (6-10pm). For one night only, a truck transformed into a gallery space will be parked in Dumbo near Rabbit Hole Studios (33 Washington Street). Info on Moving Violation:

MOVING VIOLATION, a selection of paintings from the series QUOTA, shows the progression from abstract canvases to strikingly concrete corners of the city. Light and movement are key elements of the works as are the actual sheets of the familiar bright orange violation paper. As the siege of the city has also transformed, the coffers still regularly reinforced with the dollars of the hard-working folks, the relevance of this series continues.

As an art student during the mid-90’s in NYC, Orianne spotted her first discarded parking ticket strewn on the ground near 23rd street on the eastside. Finding it a compelling piece of urban design, she decided to keep an eye cast downward as she maneuvered the city to see how many more she could find. The collection grew rapidly, and still does, though they are never taken off cars nor acquired illegally in any way. It is incredible how many of these garish and obvious shards of paper there are littering the streets and, ironically, the collection was sparked just as Mayor Giuliani began his obsession with cleaning up the city. Some tickets are reclaimed in frustrated pieces, others waterlogged, many still in a pristine condition. Certain gems were written upon, with insults and messages to those bearing the bad news. In their found state, they are incorporated onto the canvases as both overt and subtle elements.

First Thursday on Thursday, July 1st from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A chance to visit many quality galleries at night in the Dumbo Historic District – galleries showing works from artists of many disciplines, especially photography, while hosting receptions, producing live music performances and curator/artist talks among other highlights.

Let’s not forget the incredible views you can enjoy as you walk from one gallery to the next and the local drink specials afterward. Most of the art is for sale. Printed maps and 1st Thursday cards are available on-site.

Participating galleries may vary each month. For more information contact Zannah Mass at zannah@twotrees-dumbo.com or 718-222-2500 x38.

This month’s highlights include: An art-making event entitled Art at Dusk at Art in General for the final night of Kambui Olujimi’s Wayward North, a special reception for the annual postcard show Wish You Were Here at A.I.R. Gallery, the group show of new members at Amos Eno gallery entitled Crossroads/ Seven Act, and Mario Tama’s photographic exhibition Coming Back: New Orleans Resurgence (at Umbrage Gallery), which explores the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the on-going recovery in the city.

Check gallery websites for updates.
A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 228
Amos Eno Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 202
Bose Pacia, 163 Plymouth St.
Brooklyn Arts Council, 111 Front St., Suite 218
Caption Gallery, 55 Washington St., Suite 802
Cave Canem, 20 Jay St.
Central Booking, 111 Front St., Suite 214
Collective Consciousness NYC, 10 Jay St.
DUMBO Arts Center, 30 Washington St.
Farmani Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 212
Giacobetti Paul Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 220
Henry Gregg Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 226
Klompching Gallery, 111 Front St.
Kris Graves Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 224
Magasin Totale, 10 Jay St., Suite 724
Melville House, 145 Plymouth St.
Mighty Tanaka Gallery, 68 Jay St., Suite 416
NY Studio Residency Program, 20 Jay St.
One Arm Red, 10 Jay St.
Powerhouse Books & Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main St.
Pratt Institute Photo Seniors, 20 Jay St.
Rabbithole Studio, 33 Washington St.
Randall Scott Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 204
Smack Mellon, 93 Plymouth St. @ Washington Street
Spring, 126a Front St.
Umbrage Gallery, 111 Front St.
VII Photo, 28 Jay St.

The Brooklyn Heights Association joins with ISSUE Project Room to celebrate Walt Whitman as part of their Centennial Celebration.

A Special Evening of Music and Poetry in Brooklyn Bridge Park include a special outdoor performance, “I Do Not Doubt I Am Limitless: Walt Whitman’s Brooklyn” and bands including Wingdale Community Singers, Christy and Emily, Prince Rama, and others.

When: Thursday, July 1, 2010, 5pm – midnight
Where: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn (Rain Location: The Tobacco Warehouse)

The event is FREE. For more info, go to www.thebha.org

Wall Street Journal also mentions the BHA event.

Lonny Grafman, founder and president of the Appropedia Foundation, which shares knowledge to build rich, sustainable lives, will be a resident on Flock House* at Smack Mellon on June 23-24. He will be available for free consulting and discussion on a wide breadth of sustainability topics.

• Are you looking for ways to decrease your impact in your apartment?
• Are you a family looking for ways to bring more sustainable and safe living to your household?
• Are you an entrepreneur looking to leverage the incredible New York wastestream or the growing green market?
• Are you a local change agent trying to get a neighborhood to be net zero on trash or energy?
• Or are you just looking for ways to exchange our negative footprint for a positive handprint and to be a better ancestor?

June 23-24: Lonny Grafman
Open Sustainability Cocreation from 12-6pm

Smack Mellon Gallery
92 Plymouth Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

We’ve heard lots of artists priced out of the now gentrified Dumbo Brooklyn (Paul Raphaelson, for example). Occassionally we get stories in our inbox from those who are looking to find roomates or share studio space (such as this one at 10 Jay) because local artists are leaving Dumbo. (we love hearing from you but don’t like to hear you have to leave Dumbo.)

Jed Davis, a musician who formerly lived on Plymouth Street in Dumbo is one of those musicians who had to pack up and leave Dumbo for Albany, NY. He released a song called Yuppie Exodus From Dumbo. It’s got a catchy tune and the lyrics are smart and funny- even mentions J Condo, a certain pizza place with 2 hour lines, Etsy, and McSweeney’s and Grizzly Bear, both loved by hipsters. (lyrics are on Jed’s site, and also reposted below). [Ed note: That pizza place recently added a surcharge of $2 EXTRA for residents who pick up, so I've since banned them.]

We caught up with Jed who said that he was reluctant to leave Dumbo but the cost of living in the neighborhood was affecting him and friends around him. While packing up, he discovered that many of his neighbors were too, which inspired the song. Some of the vocals were recorded at his space in 135 Plymouth Street (can you hear the train going over the bridge in the background?) The song has been pressed in a signed and numbered edition of wax cylinders, which will never degrade, no matter how many times you play it on your family Edison. Give the song a listen, and if you like it, download the song for 99 cents. We hope Jed comes back and hope that your new digs in Albany doesn’t ‘gentrify you out’.
Read the rest of this entry »

KLOMPCHING GALLERY’s opening reception for As Above So Below by Odette England and Micro Mundi by Elaine Duigenan is tonight Thursday, June 17, 6:00-8:00 pm.

Micro Mundi is a collection of stunning black and white photographs that depict the arterial wanderings of snails, as they graze upon algae, leaving behind an aftermath of claw-like patterns—caused by the rasping action of the snail’s spiky tongue. For Duigenan, these ’smail trails’ represent mini worlds which connect on a universal scale. Indeed, presented in an annular format, they appear as if floating planets seen from space.

As Above So Below
Odette England’s new body of work is also concerned with the sensory and philosophical interpretation of our world. The phrase, As Above So Below, refers to the widespread indigenous cultural belief that the heavens and earth are the foundation of all creatures, including themselves. In this context, land and sky are more than just geographical icons, they are mirrors in which they see themselves reflected. England has documented the vast desert landscape of Southern Australia, photographing the land and sky from a single standpoint as a double exposure, thus merging the space between as a primal ‘middle ground‘ in which humankind resides. The resulting color photographs are quiet, metaphysical studies that astutely span time and space.

Related, there is an event at Klompching on Saturday, June 19 from 1:30pm—2:30pm for a talk by Elaine Duigenan (photographer) and Leland Melvin (astronaut). The astronaut met the artist, loved her work, and brought it to space. In 2008, a chance encounter between Elaine Duigenan and Leland Melvin sparked a very special friendship. The Micro Mundi photographs became part of a wider connection spanning art and science. On November 16th, 2009, Leland Melvin was launched into space on the Shuttle Atlantis, accompanied by one of Duigenan’s ‘mini worlds’.

Image: ©NASA

KLOMPCHING GALLERY (www.klompching.com)
111 Front Street, Suite 206, Brooklyn NY 11201
212-796-2070

Some people love taking photos of their food and blog about it. And others love sharing their opinions about food on sites like Yelp. Food critics have been around for a long time, but these days, they are like rock stars with groupies (or foodies) following every restaurant they review.

Join Gelf and other Big Apple gastronomes in a discussion of food criticism and the encroaching influence of blogs when Media Circus returns to the Brooklyn waterfront on June 17. Robert Sietsema, longtime restaurant critic for the Village Voice and contributor to the erstwhile Gourmet (interview here); Alex Vallis, editor of NBC’s new food blog, Feast (interview here); and Gabriella Gershenson, Editor of Time Out New York’s dining section and blog, The Feed (interview here), will cut up and digest food writing in the world’s hungriest city.

The work of local artists will be on display, as well.

The event will be held Thursday, June 17, at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm) at the JLA Studios art gallery on 63 Pearl St. in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn—just one subway stop away from Manhattan! Admission is FREE. Drinks will be available.

Anyone see this today?

In a photo taken by joshderr, he noticed construction on the corner of Prospect and Jay Street before realizing that it is some sort of art work. He says:

What initially appeared to be road work at the corner of Prospect and jay street in DUMBO turned out to be some sort of art project (Street art taken literally?). New asphalt was laid down with a swirling flourish design sunk within. Given that laing down asphalt is a fairly labor-intensive job, and doing it cleanly requires heavy equipment, it is doubtful this was done by a single person. Aside from the DOT branded cones surround it, no artist name or credit otherwise was found. Ideas people?

Here’s another detail view on flickr. If this is in fact art, who is the artist?