Page 12 - New York Waste Hot & Sweaty Summer 2015

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sizzlin’ Summer Issue NY WASTE 2015
Frieze Art Fair New York 5/13/201
The Frieze Art Fair, which started in London, has been going strong in New York for the past few years. Located on Randall’s Island, it’s reached by a nice ferry ride.
There is so much wonderful work to admire and take in at Frieze New York. Here are a few noteworthy artists worth men- tioning:
First, I was truly captivated by the work of British-born sculp- ture artist Yinka Shonibare. Her amazing piece, “Butterfly boy” jumps right out at you. This mul- ticolored sculpture image of this
butterfly, part boy and part bug, is set to a dancing mold as though the artwork is about to
come to life. She is represented by The
James Conan Gallery in Chelsea New
York.
Another great Brit artist is Grayson Perry. His cloth art of Britain’s Best is the perfect satirical humor that sums of British culture to a tee.
Nicole Eiseman’s painting, “Close To The Edge,” is a great nod to 1970’s classic rock culture.
Next, I caught Paul McCarthy’s sculpture, “Chocolate Silicon Block- head,” 1999-2000. Paul works on a very large scale. You can’t miss his giant chocolate work begging for at- tention. His strong sense of pop cul- ture and structure makes his work truly eye-catching, like the giant blue
gnome he designed last year. This year’s piece is no exception. He is represented by Hauser & Wirth (worldwide gallery.)
Another intriguing artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson, photographs images of women with camera heads
and other surreal images which create her own artistic statement.These “Phantom Limbs” photos are from her Shutter #17 se- ries and quite a turn on the camera as im- ages with two meanings.
Being a vinyl record junkie, I was most in- trigued at seeing Pieter Schoolwerth’s painting “No Record #3.” His oil, acrylic and giclee print of a DJ burning up in flames and melting into a turntable is truly mind blowing. He is represented by Miguel Abreu Gallery on Orchard Street on The Lower East Side in New York
These exhibitors are just a small tip of the iceberg from this year’s Frieze Art Fair!
The Northside Festival June 8-14 2015
The Northside Festival is now in its seventh year. It’s bigger than ever, while still edgy and
relevant, and maintains its North Brooklyn roots. This festival is the only music festival that really cares about music and films over commercialism.
Over 400 bands,150 speakers and 50 films were presented. The film selection always has some great upcoming films that are shown at a few different movie theaters bars and ho- tels. Places like Nitehawk Cinema, UnionDocs, Videology and the Wythe Hotel had some cutting-edge films.
I was able to catch just a few and discovered one called “Abby Singer/Songwriter” at the Nighthawk. It was quite an amusing film based on a true life experience of an aging, has- been rock star working as a corporate businessman. He meets up with
a wannabe filmmaker and together these two off-beat guys find them-
selves while making funny music videos. This film was shot on location in Manhattan, Brooklyn and parts of Queens. A Q&A followed afterwards with most of the cast in attendance. The Nighthawk Cinema is a truly an unusual place to see a film, as waiters walk around and take food and drink orders while you are watching the films.
The Northside Innovation Expo which was held in a tent next to McCarren Park. It had many interesting vendors from Brooklyn and across the globe promoting different products and apps to download. Ice pops were being
served,which were so refreshing on an extremely humid day.
One really creative company, TalkSpace, had a pop-upbubble as you enter. It zips up like a big tent but it’s see-through. It’s a therapy bubble if you need to talk. Another fun vendor was
Cashaca 51. They have a new way to create a music playlist right into your Spotify account. Then there was Push For Pizza, a music group moonlight- ing as a pizza company. How cool is that!
Of course, the main focus of the
Northside Festival is the live music and there was quite a bit to choose from here. I caught the band Luna doing a sound check
in the same space as the Innovative Expo. This really rad late 1980’s indie pop band was
their first NYC show in over10 years. They sounded great and the fans were singing all
the words to their songs.
Now it was time to check out all the up-and-coming bands and different venues in Brooklyn. I was not only looking to check out new bands, but also new venues and DIY spaces, since I’m just as interested in exploring undiscovered territory.
I first checked out Alphaville, a fairly new venue in Bushwick. This is a really cool tiny space. The bar girl was im- pressed that I figured the name of the bar was taken from the French film by Jean-Luc Godard. I caught the Scottish power pop band The Spook School at Alphaville. Their performance was very humorous.
From there I trucked down to Aviv, another new DIY space, located on Morgan Avenue. There was no sign, and it was a bit hard to find, but when I did I saw two industrial bands in a crowded small space with a projected light show. This is a small space with artwork painted on the walls that continue up the stairs leading to the bathroom. The were also couches in the back to chill out in. The bands White Suns and Excepter blended in nicely with the trippy un- derground atmosphere.
On Friday I wanted to check out another DIY space called Pet Rescue. Now, this space is an actual apartment where live bands can play. I went through a parking garage, up a flight of stairs and then down the hall where I found The Rizzos, a nice little rock band playing in this
guy’s living room.
From there I headed to Muchmores, another DIY space set up in someone’s house. KDH, a great heavy rock band was playing when I arrived. Their guitar player was on his knees, playing on the floor as the crowd just danced away.
Next, I went over to The Gutter Spare Room, which is a bowling alley, bar and live music venue all rolled up into one. The Dead Stars, a three-piece high-energy band, was exploding on the stage with raw talent and great sounds.
I was told to check out an amazing pop band, The City And The Horses, at The Living Room, which is actually a club with a cool rooftop. The City And Horses is made up of an extremely talented bunch of musicians who write very interesting songs like “My Strange Ways” and “Cool Joe.” Marc Louis and Chuck Palmer are great singers and write melodic songs that remind me of groups like “Big Star.” The place was packed and everyone one in the crowd was getting down to the music. Paper Garden, a Brooklyn record label, was showcasing all of the bands for this spe- cial night.
Williamsburg Walks was set for Saturday and Sunday. There was grass for people on sit on while vendors were sell- ing food, and artists had painted murals and there was even a small stage for live bands. Well, I saw this group called Honduras and they totally blew me away. The singer looked a bit like Joe Strummer of The Clash, with his dark shades and attitude, and his singing reminded me of Jim Carroll. They were tight, loud and had the right tunes to keep the Sunday afternoon crowd alive and rocking out.
I ended the festival with a band called Jeremy & The Harlequins. This was another great band with the right rock and roll attitude. These guys were pure rockabilly in dress and clothes and hypnotized the crowd right back into the 1950’s as the boys and girls were bopping together. With songs like “Trip Into The Night” and “You’re My Halo,” it was just magical. The singer even had a 1950’s microphone. In fact, Little Steven picked their song for his coolest song of the week on his radio show “Underground Garage.”
So the Northside festival went out with a bang and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2016!