on saturday i popped by the the art under the bridge festival presented by the DUMBO arts council. i exited the train station at york st. and immediately encountered people wearing full, face-covering bodysuits made of colorful knit yarn. the streets of DUMBO (which is the acronym for the neighborhood that exists Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) were filled with street vendors selling art, food and putting on public performances. i only got to partake in a minimal portion of this festival as i got there kind of late, but i was still able to catch some interesting stuff. my favorite part of the festival was the advent of the “open studio.”
DAC created a phenomenal guide (that can be viewed in its entirety here) that presented all events and artists participating in a stunningly designed fashion. an excerpt of the open studios chart is depicted below. the color, layout and typography are exquisite. i brought one home (it’s pretty big when unfolded - larger than a newspaper, and square) and i’m debating whether hanging it on my wall next to the owl print (pictured above) that i purchased from sesame letterpress, a design studio that prints and embosses on antique (sometimes foot-operated!) letterpresses.
i visited several open studios (mostly ones housed underneath the smack mellon gallery) and a few housed at 55 washington st (including sesame letterpress, mentioned above).
ari tabei creates these elaborate bags, blankets and dresses made of what appeared to be trash - recycled newspaper, plastic and rubber. “redress” pictured below.
lea bertucci had an interesting installation comprised of two motorized slide projectors with slides of naturally lit, industrial wasteland-like interiors. when the viewer’s body interrupted one of the projectors beams, it cast a shadow on the wall revealing hidden aspects of the other projector’s image.
yoko inoue’s studio was filled with fascinating ceramic masks featuring the likeness of hello kitty and other pop japanese figures, but ceramic with hair pieces attached to them, giving them the impression of ritualistic idol versus kitsch object.
kwabena slaughter creates extremely long (up to 54′) lightboxes showcasing slide film he shot using a specially modified, motorized camera that slowly advances a roll of film through a camera to create one continuous, time-encapsulating image.
lovid creates interactive hubs, video installation and hi-techno-plasticine installation art and sculpture.
several of the above artists will be represented at art in odd places SIGN Festival from oct. 1 through 26. the festival (from what i can gather) features all types of site specific art, this year on 14th street in manhattan.
what really excited me about this festival was the positive impression of DUMBO it gave. from years of rehearsing in this wealthy, loft-y neighborhood peppered with overpriced design stores and organic markets, i had developed an idea of the neighborhood that alienated me from it. but seeing artists in their 20s and 30s working in this seemingly too-expensive hood made it all seem a bit more within reach. not to mention, the public projects that have occurred there are stunning. lights and benches under the manhattan bridge overpass (the namesake of the neighborhood) are stunning, and gave a location for video art projects at the DAC festival. the square filled with metal sculptures and cafe tables just north of the bridge makes the neighborhood reticent of a hip european art district.
as i was leaving i picked up the print featured below. two-octopuses in love. it was a beautiful contrast to the steel cold modernism of the neighborhoods usual representation and architecture. the artist, daria tessler, told me she silk screens her prints in her bedroom.
