First Galleries

in the morning we head northeast into queens. an industrial area full of graffiti, a great opportunity for photos and creative inspiration. the first gallery we explored, called the sculpture center, was very appropriate to the neighborhood. most of the gallery was in a basement of an old warehouse. in the corridors and hallways of the basement, you, at times had to search for works in the shelving systems of the walls. a lot of the art was video-based. with a few painting and sculptures.

lunch

the moma ps1 was my first large scale art gallery experience. there were a lot of big names in the ps1, i was enthralled to see jeff koonz and chuck close. they had a large display of work by vik muniz, i had never heard of him before, but it was some of the most interesting work i had seen in ps1. the work was decieving, from far away it looked like a collection of works from different artitists, but when you approach the work, you realize he is drawing with things such as peanut butter and jelly, marbles, diamonds, ash, sand, caviare, to name a few, and then photographing these drawings.

after art, some of us drank pabst on the roof



at the sculpture center


corridor


hidden video art


large building covered in graffiti.

Friday

friday, i met sam and crazy gabe. we wandered around the neighborhood and into time square. we ate hot dogs, soft pretzels, and salmonella poisened chicken kabobs. hagled by street vendors and club promoters, we found our way back to the hostel. by this point most of the rest of the group had arrived, and we later went out that night to watch the ducks in the tournament. 10 dollar beers, and 15 dollar hamburgers at espn zone. go ducks.

first two days

Arriving in new york two days early, I met my friend michael in herald square. He has a place in sunset park, which is the southern most part of Brooklyn. On the roof of his building is an expansive view of Manhattan fading into the distance. One of the many things that I enjoy about new york is the city's roof access. It’s more of an accesory than a physical part of the building. There is always a seat with a view.

I covered a lot of ground in my first two days, before meeting the group. A lot of tourist attractions. Walked across the brooklyn bridge. Saw ground zero. explored times square, which is not not new york, it is disneyland. and saw a celebrity (Don Cheadle).

also, while visiting my friend's loft in bushwick, i met an artist who has collaborated with barry mcgee. He had all his work on display in their loft. It was a cool thing to see before visiting the galleries and museums. a prefunk of sorts. so, he gave me a couple of buttons and a link to his website:

www.retardriot.com/

now here are some pictures:


roof top


sunset park


brooklyn bridge


retard riot art

New York Slice