Our Trip To New York

Last week all the MFA students traveled to New York to visit the Whitney Biennial and some galleries. I (Eric Steen) think I can speak for all of us when I say that we really had a blast and that the experience was enlightening in more ways than one. For me, the visit demystified what I thought was some supernatural and unreachable New Yorkness. I've read parts of William De Kooning's biography, and he felt small behind the shadow the French Surrealists. But then the war started and the French artists travelled to New York. All of a sudden de Kooning realized that these artists were human just as he was, and maybe in some ways he felt more empowered by his own work - that maybe he too had something to offer. Being in New York made me realize that our group has a lot to offer.


Here's Varinthorn...up to no good.

I would like to mention a couple galleries that I thought had some interesting things happening. On the 5th floor of the New Museum was a space called the "museum as hub." The New Museum has teamed up with four other museums around the globe and are launching various projects about their neighborhoods. It doesn't seem like these museums are collaborating in any sense other than briefly talking together and coming up with a theme. They are calling each other partners. There was a drawing on a wall on the 5th floor that diagrammed an artists neighborhood project. There were arrows pointing to how one person or event led to the next event - some of the events included dinners or community education. This was a simple way to document an extensive project visually for an art space. I know that there are all sorts of artists and collectives working on projects similar to this and I think it's a great thing that museums are attempting to take on these projects. The New Museum made these projects seem very official, like an artwork on a white wall, but I really can't find too much information on their website that pinpoints exactly what the "museum as hub" project is - they sort of beat around the bush with it. I understand that the name implies that the museum will serve as, well, a hub for launching neighborhood based projects, but I don't know how well this is communicated on the website. I think it's a cool start though.



Another great start is the Environmental Performance Actions (EPA) at Exit Art. The EPA was their first attempt at a new program they are calling Social-Environmental Aesthetics (SEA). This show consisted mainly of formal displays of artist projects that have used the social realm to address environmental concerns. Future Farmers and Amnity Works were a part of the show, as were about 30 other groups or artists. When viewing the show, you would look at a picture and then read the text which described in some detail an artist project. For example Rapid Response posted signs, guerilla style, that read "Global Warming" at Exxon gas stations. You would read about the project and look at the image or two posted on the wall. There was really a nice conglomeration of projects and being that this is the first time Exit Art has done this, and that I think I heard them say SEA will permanently take their underground gallery space, I really look forward to seeing what comes next. As an artist, ideally it would be great if the space could be used for more of a hands on learning, some sort of didactic showcase...
Here's the Exit Art people talking with us:


Some other major highlights and unforgettable moments of the trip include:
- Being on Neighborhood Public Radio (NPR) at the Whitney Biennial for about an hour. We got to talk about our art projects and our MFA program on air.


Here's a snippet of Cyrus and Sandy on air. This really does no justice for our show though:


- Listening to Matthew Higgs from White Columns talk about his hope for a social revolution in the arts. He believes that if every nonprofit supported another nonprofit the entire system for the arts would be revolutionized. From what I had seen, White Columns seems to be taking steps in a great direction - and interestingly enough their budget has doubled since he's started working there three years ago. Some other galleries that we visited felt like they too needed a jumpstart to get back on track. There was a real freshness and energy here.



-Katy overheard the people at the Sculpture Center say "oh look, they're all sitting down, that's so West Coast" when we were all sitting on the floor listening to the curator talk. Then, the other person at the counter said, "Maybe they'll all sing Koombaya." Some of us thought that was funny.

-The Coco Fusco performance at the Whitney was quite a treat. Fusco critiqued the use of female sexuality as an art of interrogation and "tactical creativity."

-There was a nice place around the corner from our hotel, I think they call it Honey Space. It has been converted into an art gallery but it apparently is just some building with unfinished construction. So the gallery is always open, it has no door and people could probably steal the artwork really easily. Posie's band played a show there during their last night. I guess it's closing. Here's some images of the place and a table that was in an upstairs gallery/studio:


Other pictures around the city:
This guy sells Obama tees: myspace.com/sarahandandytees

A fun but expensive bar: the Trailer Park

Graffiti Wall

A shop in Chinatown

PSU MFA NYC TRIP ITINERARY

TUESDAY 18TH

Depart: Portland International Airport, Jet Blue, Flight #166, 11:55 PM

WEDNESDAY 19TH

Arrive: JFK International Airport, 7:57 AM

Check in:

Leo House
332 W 23rd Street (between 8th and 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10011-2289
Phone: 212.929.1010

1st Destination: New Museum (meet with Massimiliano Gioni, Senior
Curator @ 2:00 PM, museum tour)

New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
Phone: 212.219.1222
http://www.newmuseum.org/

2nd Destination: The Drawing Center (meet with João Ribas, Curator @ 4:30 PM)

The Drawing Center
35 Wooster Street
New York, NY, 10013
Phone: 212.219.2166
http://www.drawingcenter.org/

3rd Destination: Artists Space (meet with Hillary Wiedemann, Gallery
Manager @ 6:00 PM)

Artists Space
38 Greene Street 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212.226.3970
http://www.artistsspace.org/

THURSDAY 20TH

1st Destination: Whitney Museum (meet with Kim Conaty, Biennial Coordinator @ 11:00 AM)

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue (at 75th Street)
New York, NY 10021
Phone: 1-800-WHITNEY or (1-800-944-8639)
http://www.whitney.org/

2nd Destination: Whitney Biennial at The Park Avenue Armory

Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue (at 67th Street)
New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212.616.3930
http://www.armoryonpark.org

FRIDAY 21ST

1st Destination: White Columns (meet with Matthew Higgs, Curator/
Director @ 11:00 AM)

White Columns
320 West 13th Street (Enter on Horatio Street, between Hudson and 8th Avenue)
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212.924.4212
http://whitecolumns.org/

2nd Destination: Exit Art (meet with Lauren Rosati, Assistant Curator
@ 2:00 PM)

Exit Art
475 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212.966.7745
http://www.exitart.org/

3rd Destination: Chelsea Galleries, Art Centers, and Museums

After Exit Art visit return to Chelsea to visit galleries, art
centers, and museums independently.
Chelsea Gallery Guide: http://chelseaartgalleries.com/

SATURDAY 22ND

Depart: Leo House at 10:30 AM

1st Destination: Sculpture Center (meet with Nickolas Roudane, Member
and Visitor Services Manager @ 11:00 AM)

Sculpture Center
14-19 Purves Street (off of Jackson Ave. between Jackson and Thomson Ave)
Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: 718.361.1750
http://www.sculpture-center.org/

2nd Destination: P.S. 1 - Independent (curators are not present on
Saturdays. P.S. 1 opens @ 12:00 PM)

P.S. 1
22-25 Jackson Avenue at the intersection of 46th Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101
Phone: 718.784.2084
http://www.ps1.org/

3rd Destination: Pierogi (meet with Joe Amrheim, Curator/Director @ 2:00 PM)

Pierogi
177 North 9th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: 718.599.2144
http://www.pierogi2000.com/

4th Destination: Momenta Art (meet with Eric Heist, co-Curator/
co-Director @ 3:15 PM)

Momenta Art
359 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: 718.218.8058
http://www.momentaart.org/

5th Destination: Brooklyn/ Williamsburg galleries, art centers, and museums
Brooklyn/Williamsburg Gallery Guide:
http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/galleries.html

SUNDAY 23RD

Check out of Leo House

Open Day

Depart: JFK International Airport, Jet Blue, Flight # 165, 7:20 PM

Arrive: Portland International Airport, 11:00 PM

POSSIBLE EVENING ACTIVITIES

Wednesday 19th

Matt Mullican performance - Whitney Biennial @ The Armory
8:00 PM
- North Hall
Link: http://whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_mullican

Thursday 20th

Leslie Thornton - "Peggy and Fred in Hell: At the Armory" 16mm transferred to video. black and white with sound: 90 minutes.
7:00 PM - 4th Floor Screening Room
Link: http://whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_thornton

Friday 21st

Whitney After Hours at the Whitney Museum - Innovative Art and Performance 6:00 to 9:00 PM, Pay what you wish
Link: http://whitney.org/www/afterhours/index.jsp

Coco Fusco performance - Whitney Biennale at The Park Avenue Armory
7:00 PM - Company Room F
Link: http://whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_fusco


Metropolitan Museum of Art is open until 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday evenings: http://www.metmuseum.org/visitor/index.asp?HomePageLink=visitor_l

Performance event at Exit Art. Performance entitled "Somehow" by resident performance group, Trickster Theater. They will be performing within the "Brainwave" exhibition beginning at 8:00 PM: http://www.exitart.org/

Saturday 22nd

Fritz Haeg performance/event - Whitney Biennial at The Park Avenue Armory
2:00 to 4:00 PM - Drill Hall
Link: http://whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_haeg

Coco Fusco performance - Whitney Biennial @ The Armory
7:00 PM - Company Room F
Link: http://whitney.org/www/2008biennial/www/?section=artists&page=artist_fusco

2008 MFA Exhbition Schedule

AUTZEN GALLERY

April 7-18
Kate Simmons, MFA Exhibition, "Household Predictions and Fanciful Remedies"
Opening Reception Thurs, April 10, 6-8p.

April 28-May 9
Kevin Nagler, MFA Exhibition, "Video Show"
Opening Reception Thurs, May 1, 6-8p.

May 19-30
Posie Currin, MFA Exhibition, "Things In and Of Themselves"
Opening Reception Thurs, May 22, 6-8p.

June 9-20
Amber Moss-Jensen, MFA Exhibition
Opening Reception, Thurs June 12, 6-8p.

MK GALLERY

April 7-18
Amy Steel, MFA Exhibition, "Good Morning"
Opening Reception Thurs, April 10, 6-8p.

April 28-May 9
Shelby Davis, MFA Exhibition, "This All Happens, More or Less"
Opening Reception Thurs, May 1, 6-8p.

May 19-30
Joel Garcia, MFA Exhibition
Opening Reception Thurs, May 22, 6-8p.