On for this weekend

Here's what I know is going on this weekend.

Saturday, 1pm - Karen Kelly, Director of Publications for the Dia Art Foundation will be giving a gallery talk on Robert Smithson--at Dia:Beacon.

Across the river, the Newburgh Sculpture Project kicks of at noon on Saturday in Newburgh. Beacon resident, Thom Joyce is among the participating artists. There are other goings on in Newburgh on Saturday as part of their series of Last Saturday events.

On Sunday, bau is hosting an artist talk by Egon Zippel. The talk starts at 5pm, followed by a music performance by eddi at 6pm.

Animal Tales

Several local papers, last week, carried items on this story regarding the arrest of Alexander "Sandy" Saunders on 9 counts of animal neglect. Putnam Sheriff's deputies department had removed some animals from Saunders' farm citing the unhealthy condition of the animals, and the stables in which they were kept. Saunders denies the charges and claims the accusations are the result of a politically motivated attack on him for hosting a Jackson Browne concert to benefit Democratic Congressional candidate, John Hall. Saunders is scheduled to appear in court on Sept 13.

The group from Collaborative Concepts has been organizing an outdoor exhibit of sculpture to be held on Saunder's acreage. The exhibit will feature the work of approximately 30 artists and is scheduled to open in September.

Van Brunt hosting artists

Artists Colin Barclay and Lori Field will be at Van Brunt Gallery from 1-3:30 today to speak about their work.

Independant film in Newburgh

The Downing Film Center will open Saturday night with screenings of the 2006 film Water.
Located on the bottom level of Yellowbird Gallery, the film center plans nightly screenings of independant, classic and foreign films. There will be two films every night of the week with matinee screenings on Fridays and Sundays. Adult tickets range between $6 and $8.

The Downing Film Center is located at:
Yellow Bird Gallery
19 Front St, Newburgh, NY 12550
tel: 800.974.8594 or845.561.3686

Call for Commuters' photos of Bannerman's Castle

As part of Beacon's upcoming Windows on Main St. exhibition in August, The Bannerman Commuter Project is seeking Photographs of Bannerman's Castle taken from Metro North and Amtrak trains. The rail line running along New York's Hudson River Valley boasts numerous natural and manmade wonders, none of which are more intriguing than the ruins of Bannerman's Castle, set on an island located just south of Beacon. The former armory of sorts, was built to simulate a Scottish castle and recalls creates a romantic scene of another place and time. The island and castle represents a form of magical realism that has become part of the daily commute for thousands of people. We want to see how you see Bannerman's Castle. This project is made possible (in part) through a grant from the Dutchess County Arts Council, administor of public funds through NYSCA's Decentralization Program. Submission Guidelines: Email images to: info@maykr.com Submission Deadline: Wednesday, August 2, 2006 Anyone is welcome to submit images. Send us digital jpeg images captured with your camera, or camera phone. Please limit resolution to the equivalent of a 5"x7" at 300 dpi. We will accept up to 3 images per person, although we may not be able to use all 3. Images received will be incorporated into an installation in the window of the Bannerman Island Gallery at 150 Main St in Beacon. All contributors will retain the rights to the images and receive photo credit. for more information, please contact us at info@maykr.com

work live work

Here are a couple of rental opportunities that are floating out there.

The First is in Peekskill:

APARTMENT FOR RENT IN PEEKSKILL

Looking for someone to share a very large Apartment/Artist Studio in Peekskill’s historic downtown Artist District (perfect for Peekskill Open Studios and Studio Visits). The space is 1850 sqft – split into separate 925 sqft lofts. Upstairs lives a local Curator of Contemporary Art (www.hvcca.com) who is around about half of the week. Perfect location in the center of town. Steps to local Farmers Market on Saturdays and Flee Market on Sunday. Peekskill Coffee shop is around the corner and the N. Division Street restaurants will be right outside your door. A short walk gets you to the Metro-North train station for a one hour ride to the city. The space is large and full of sun - Central A/C, separate bathrooms, every appliance brand new, $755 plus your share of utility bills (about $25).

If you are interested in seeing the space, please call Daniel Fuller at 315.572.6111 or email danielfuller@hvcca.com .

The second is a short term opportunity to share an art studio at Bulldog Studios from now until September. The studio is roomy and full of natural light, perfect for a consciencious , neat artist. $350/month. Conact Carol at. carolmarch@earthlink.net.

einLab on the radio: Sunday July 16, 10 pm

einLab will be performing on the Columbia University radio program,
“Live Constructions” on WKCR 89.9 FM next Sunday, July 16th
from 10-11pm Eastern Time. If you are not within the station’s
50-mile broadcast radius or have poor reception, it is also
available via real audio or mp3 stream at:

http://www.WKCR.org/

(click on ‘live broadcast’)

We hope you can tune in! For more info / music previews, you
can visit einLab at:

http://myspace.com/einLab
http://purevolume.com/einLab

current events: Iannarelli, Rinnhofer

We're All In This Together, via nynarts.com

Peter Iannarelli's sculpture, We're All In This Together is included in the 70th Annual Mohawk Hudson Regional exhibit at The University Art Museum at The University at Albany. Lily Wei juried the exhibition which runs through August 5. Peter's artwork is included in a catalogue of pieces that recieved juror's awards.

Angelika Rinnhofer's work has been included in Photography Now: One Hundred Portfolios; a juried survey of photographer portfolios in DVD format released by Wright State University in Ohio.

Kathy Feighery's latest

This week is a big one for Kathy Feighery. Project Runway returns this week with a new season, bringing with it a sense of purpose to her Wednesday nights. Also, on Thursday, July 13, Kathy opens an exhibit of new work at the Brenda Taylor Gallery in New York with a reception from 6-8pm.

Kathy Feighery

Jeanne Gentry Keck

July 13^th- August 12^th

Opening July 13^th 6:00-8:00pm

B R E N D A

T A Y L O R

511 W. 25^th Street New York, NY 10001

212. 463. 7166

www.brendataylorgallery.com

If you're heading down to Chelsea, you can also catch more of Kathy's work in a group show through July 15 at Heidi Cho Gallery, located at 522 W 23rd St.

2nd Saturday recap

A few images of some goings on July's 2nd Saturday.

Michael Natiello with Model for Efficiency and Performance, Take Five, 2006, his collaboration with Sara Mussen at Victoria Raabin's Imagine That Studio. The pairing of Natiello and Mussen is the second in a series of informal collaborations between area artists called Tink Tanc. Below, "Model" in motion.

Curry Mendes' opening at Chthonic Clash.

Colin Barclay's opening at Van Brunt.

Lori Field's work at Van Brunt.

Van Brunt's Hudson Room, featuring a new Jen Bradford.

Above, and below: Egon Zippel's installation at bau.

As a service to artists

Trolling around the web:

Via NYFA.org, I found Service Works, this grant making project created by Josh Greene.

Last Week, Edward Winkleman opened a discussion on artist resumes.

There has also been a circle of discussions/debate on artist statements spawned by Tyler Green at MAN. Art Soldier has links to plug you into the exchange if you choose.

July 8 - 2nd Saturday

Egon Zipple, "Bits, Pieces, Gold....and Waiting" at bau.

It's here again. This month finds openings at Riverwinds, Bannerman Island Gallery, the Back Room Gallery, bau, Van Brunt Gallery, and Chthonic Clash.

Feel Design is celebrating it's 1st year anniversary, and is featuring an exhibit of photography.
For more details, visit the 2nd Saturday info page at beaconarts.org.

Curry Mendes, "Indigo" at Chthonic Clash.

Images from Change of Altitude/New York Expansion

The images below are from the exchange exhibits between artists in Beacon, and artists in Denver CO.
The first five images of the Change of Altitude exhibit of Denver artists at Spire Studios through July 16. The exhibit is open Satuday and Sunday from 12-5pm. As this coming Saturday is 2nd Saturday in Beacon, the hours will be extended. Press release.






The next four images are of the New York Expansion exhibit of Beacon artists at Edge Gallery in Denver. This exhibit also runs through July 16.

Ten Tents

Walking along Main St. yesterday, I noticed some work has been done in the old Juicy location at 502 Main. There is a sign on the door stating the space will become a non profit organization called Ten Tents.

Among the objectives listed on the notice on the door:
- multi purpose art-lab for emerging & underrepresented artists working on paper
- produce gallery shows
- maintain a reading room
- grow a permanant collection
- establish an art materials fund
- create a "cabinet" of work by artists working on paper, including photography.

The website, tentents.org is not yet operational, but I'll be looking for more info.

In the Naus

I was perusing some of the additions on bau's website today. I'm aware that Gary O'Connor, who joined bau at the end of last year has left the group recently. The listing of the current membership now lists Poughkeepsie artist, Franc Palia as the new member filling the vacancy.

There's a new page on the site that profiles the current state of composor, Joseph Bertolozzi's project "Bridge Music." The ultimate intent of the project is to perform a musical composition by using the structure of the Mid Hudson Bridge as an instrument. You can check it out here.

Living Artists of Beacon juried exhibit

There is a call for entries for The Living Artists of Beacon Juried Exhibit to be held at the Muddy Cup.
The exhibit is open to all artists that are listed in the Living Artists of Beacon Directory. 24"x24" is the maximum size for submitted artwork, and the deadline is July 21. The opening reception will be held on August 12, 6-9pm at the Muddy Cup.
The jurors for this exhibit are: Mia Barkan Clarke, editor of the artist directory, and Jennifer Mackiewicz, Senior Administrator, Dia:Beacon.

If you are interested having more details, email me at info@maykr.com, and I'll pass them along, or you can email Mia at miaart@aol.com.


Mia, the editor of the Living Artists of Beacon Directory announced recently that a grant that was hoped to pay for publishing the directory did not crystalize, and she is looking for financial supporters to help pay to get it published. She'll be trying to sell ad space to facilitate publication. I realize that the desire is to have a physical format of the directory so that visitors to Beacon may pick it up, but I wonder why it couldn't just exist as a downloadable pdf file on BACA's website - at least for the time being.

The art of stupidity

Today's POJO is carrying an item about the Saturday night burning of the mailbox behind Beacon's Post Office. The fire, set sometime after midnight, destroyed the box and all the mail inside. If you think you might have had mail that was destroyed, there is a phone number to call listed in the newspaper.

Summer has arrived in Beacon, and the hordes of young folks loitering on the street are again growing. Though certainly most of the kids are not doing anything wrong the apparant dirth of activities for young people in Beacon provides an environment for such acts of destruction to occur - and they do occur.

There's been talk of Beacon's need for some sort of youth rec center, but the development of such an institution is highly unlikely. It seems to me there is plenty of room for individuals - and individuals in the art community - to take up some slack.

The art community gets yolked to a number wagons by many interests looking for benefit in the boon of the developing "creative class." So many towns and villages in the Hudson Valley and beyond are touting that they are in the middle of an "Arts Rennaissance." Such importance has been place on the arts as economic driver, and thought of as such so universally, that I think this movement will one day be considered together with the urban renewal efforts of forty years ago as the folly of municipal management. It may work in some places, but this donkey simply can't pull that cart everywhere.

But what the art community can do, and has done historically, is make a difference in the quality of life for a community one individual at a time. This issues facing Beacon's youth can be well impacted by the efforts and skill sets of artists and others involved in the creative community in this city.

Some efforts to get involved with Beacon's young people do exist. Dia has an education program that that involves Beacon area students at the Elementary, Middle and High school levels. I know that some local artists have done talks at the high school in the past, but I'm not aware of any current program that engages the wealth of artists active in Beacon with the youth or general public of Beacon. Bulldog Studios' lease agreements stipulate that tenants are required to devote time public service, but that seems to be a mythical beast.

I've meandered a bit now, I was simply struck by this asinine vandalism over the weekend and it got me going. I think more should and could be done.

If anyone knows of other art related community based programs, let me know. I would like to help promote these efforts, and if they don't currently exist, try to get something started.

10 x 10 x 10 in Ellenville NY

Jill Reynolds, Linda Stewart and Steven Spaccarelli are among the ten artists from ten Hudson Valley Communities that have installations in ten vacant storefronts in the village of Ellenville NY. The work featured in this project includes sculpture, performance and installation.

The other participating artists are:
Huma Bhabha, Isolde Kille, Grace Knowlton, Jesse Meyer, Anat Shiftan, Eeo Stubblefield

The exhibition runs through July 30.
For more information, contact Michelle Booth at 845.647.7080 x303.

Holiday Weekend in Beacon Town.

If you're hanging around town this weekend, looking for something to do:

You've seen the dismembered heads all over town, now hear Tony Moore's fully constituted body give an artist talk at 4pm today at bau, 161 Main St.

You can check out Dia's film screenings today and tomorrow at 2pm.


You can also check out Dakin Roy's Huge Yard Sale today and tomorrow.












Yes indeed these are Beacon's cultural salad days for sure.