A portrait of the artist artists of the Hudson Valley...at least all of those vying for a spot in this year's Hudson Valley Invitational exhibit at the Dorsky. 

On Saturday, June 25, the Samual Dorsky Museum in New Paltz, NY is opening this year's installment of it's annual Hudson Valley invitational exhibition.  The theme this year is BEAUTY!  In fact, the exhibit is named "Excercises in Unnecessary Beauty."    One might think that the nature of beauty is a bit of a passe subject, perhaps even Unnecessary as the title implies, but in reality, finding, creating moments of beauty in life....even that which might not fit with traditionally established notions of what beauty is is what it's all about. 

Dorsky curator Brian Wallace joined us on the Dead Hare Radio Hour for episode #4 (Apr 11, 2011) to talk about the Dorsky's history, the annual invitational, and the inherent challenges of curating (read approving and rejecting and navigating the angst that can come along with that rejection) local artists for an exhibit like the Hudson Valley Invitational.
This year, the artists who made the cut are: Jane Bloodgood-Abrams, Hannah Raine Brenner-Leonard, Karen Capobianco, Amy Cheng, Vincent Connelly, Timothy Englert, Charles Geiger, David Hebb, Jim Holl, Sue Horowitz, Roman Hrab, Charise Isis, Lynn Itzkowitz, Michael Joyce, Iain Machell, Tanya Marcuse, Gilbert Plantinga, Susan Sammis, Bill Shuck, Charles Stein, Scott Serrano, Paul G. Stewart, Joy Taylor, Harry Wilks.

If you're still wondering about beauty, this video meditation on the subject by Hennessy Youngman makes the case for why beauty is still relevant in art and in society.



The reception for Exercises in Unnecessary Beauty is happening from 5-7pm on Saturday June 25.

The non-archival orifice: panel discussion on Carolee Schneemann, Apr 10, 2010 2-4pm

On a trip to LA back in 2007, we visited took in the Whack! Art and the Feminist Revolution exhibit at MOCA.  I regret not having seen the exhibit when it later traveled to PS1 because my impression of the installation in LA was of an un-congealed mess and I may have had an improved perception of it in another venue.  There was a lot of great work by a range of notable artists which suffered by the wholesale lumping together of it with less successful work, all in the broader interest and exhibit.  Certainly, the purpose of the exhibit was to chronicle of the development of the Feminist movement through works of the time; perhaps more appropriate fodder for a book than an exhibit.  Nontheless, walking through the exhibit was an experience; one that was oddly like that of  visiting the Vietnam Memorial in DC.   Along with us in the galleries were visitors - obvious veterans of the time- walking through the exhibit with the air of making a pilgrimage to remember their comrades and their own experiences from the time of this struggle.  Although I found the exhibit overly nostalgic, I appreciated the programming choice in pairing Whack! with Andrea Zittel: Critical Space, and a MoCA organized exhibit of pre-fab housing at the Pacific Design Center called Some Assembly Required.  The web of domesticity/gender roles/lifemaking issues that ran through the three exhibits was broad, brilliant stroke -BTW, the Zittel show was majorly engrossing.
The one moment that highlighted my experience in Whack! which will stay with me forever is beholding the actual scroll that Carolee Schneemann used in her piece Interior Scroll from 1975.  I have often seen photos documenting the performance piece in which the nude artist reads from a long thin scroll of paper that she pulls from her hoohaa,  but was the first time I had privilege of seeing (and even pondering) this piece of ephemera.  It was impressive.
Narrow, yellowed and brittle looking and, if my recollection serves, with bits of clear tape to join pieces of paper to achieve the length of three to four feet; I was stunned by the decrepit nature of the artifact.  I don't know how long it rested up there inside her body, but the condition of this scroll immediately brought to mind the Dead Sea Scrolls - and they sat in their respective caves for nearly 2000 years and don't look much worse for wear than this holy relic from the 70's, which reveals much about the climatic differences between the vagina and the Dead Sea region.

Carolee Schneeman and her work, which is the subject of a survey exhibition entitled Carolee Schneemann: Within and Beyond the Premises at the Samuel Dorsky Museum in New Paltz, NY will also be the subject of a panel discussion tomorrow afternoon from 2 to 4 pm at the Rosendale Theater in Rosendale NY (408 Main St.)  The panel, which has been organized in connection with the exhibit will be populated by:  Emily Caigan (SUNY New Paltz Women's Studies), Maura Reilly (American Federation of Arts), Brian Wallace (Dorsky Museum), Linda Weintraub (independant scholar), Kenneth White (Stanford University) and moderator Patricia Phillips (RISD).
A screening of select film and video works by the artist will follow the discussion at 5 pm.  Admission is $6, $4 for students.  Call 845.658.8989 for more info.

The Dorsky Museum's annual regional invitational opens today in New Paltz. Ecotones and Transition Zones, curated by Brian Wallace examines the relationship between environment and culture. Here's the line up of artists participating in the exhibit which runs through September 6, 2009:

Michael Asbill
Robert Capozzi
Robert Capozzi / Lorrie Fredette / Dylan McManus / Laura Moriarty / Jill Parisi
Ryder Cooley
Dick Crenson
Simon Draper / Habitat for Artists
Dana Duke
Beth Humphrey
Heather Hutchison
Tanya Marcuse
Susan Miiller
Wayne Montecalvo
Itty Neuhaus
Franc Palaia
J. Gilbert Plantinga
Emily Puthoff
Jill Reynolds
Ryan Roa
Camilo Rojas
Thomas Sarrantonio
Ida Weygandt

A free gallery tour will be given tomorrow, June 14 from 2 to 3pm. Tomorrow is also the final day to see the Dorsky's other exhibits: Bradford Graves Selected Works, Analog Catalog: investigating the Permanent Collection, Eva Watson-Schutze Photographer (this show has some stunning portraits.)
Simon Draper's Habitat for Artists is included in the exhibit and will have a presence in the museum, on campus and throughout New Paltz during the run of the exhibit. HFA is seeking proposals from artists interested in working in one of the diminutive studio spaces in public areas around New Paltz for three week periods. visit HFA's blog for contact info.

Alon Levin to speak at SUNY New Paltz, Weds, Feb 25 @7:30

Alon Levin Bezembinder, 2007
As mentioned here previously, Dutch artist Alon Levin will be giving an artist presentation on Wednesday, Feb 25 at 7:30pm in Lecture Center 102 on the campus of SUNY New Paltz.
Alon is in residence at SUNY New Paltz through May 1, 2009.

Here he will be provided with a studio, living space and materials generously supported by a grant from The Netherland Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture, and SUNY New Paltz. During his residency, Levin will create an installation piece that will be featured inDouble Dutch, a major exhibition at HVCCA opening September 12, 2009.Double Dutchwill feature artists from The Netherlands who created installations along the Hudson River, at HVCCA, and in the City of PeekskillWhile in residence at SUNY New Paltz, Levin will give an artist presentation, be available to interact with students, and share his experiences with them as a Dutch artist. The exhibition and residency marks the quadricentennial of the settlement of the Dutch along the Hudson Valley, and seeks to explore Dutch aesthetics and its influence on the region.

The Dutch return to Peekskill and HVCCA & Alon Levin to give talk in New Paltz, Feb. 25

Karen Sargsyan on the left being introduced by Livia Straus.On Sunday, HVCCA opened an exhibit of work created by Karen Sargsyan during his Fall residency in Peekskill, with a reception and a question and answer session with the artist. The Armenian born Sargsyan is based in Amsterdam. Sargsyan's exhibit is part of a full year of programming, coincident with the quadricentennial of Hudson's voyage up the river, that recognizes the significant role of Dutch culture on the region.
In September, the museum will open a new exhibit called "Double Dutch: Exploring The Soul of Dutch Art Through the works of Seven Installation Artists". Sargsyan will be represented in Double Dutch, as will Alon Levin who has just embarked on a three month residency at SUNY New Paltz as part of a collaboration between the college's Department of Sculpture and the museum.
Levin will be giving a lecture on the SUNY New Paltz Campus on Wednesday February 25 at 7:30pm. The lecture will take place in Center 102. more details to follow.