OPENS TODAY . . . SAT JULY 8 / 4 – 8 PM
DAVID L. JOHNSON, ‘Community Garden’
JULY 8 – SEPT 20, 2023
ART LOT BROOKLYN, 206 COLUMBIA ST., BROOKLYN, NY 11231
DAVID L. JOHNSON, ‘Community Garden’, 2023.
“COMMUNITY GARDEN . . consists of eleven street planters that have been removed from different parts of New York City. Public and private entities previously used these planters to obstruct access to steps, benches, building awnings, and other potential resting areas. Emptied of bricks, cast cement, dirt, and dead plant matter, each planter has been replanted with wild bergamot. Also known as bee balm , bergamot is a native herb to New York State that attracts pollinators such as bees, hawk moths, and hummingbirds. Chewing bergamot leaves can allieviate headaches, stomach pain, colds, and high blood pressure. The oil from bergamot plants can be used as a salve to treat burns and cuts,”
~ART LOT BROOKLYN
~DAVID L. JOHNSON . . ‘Community Garden’ / ART LOT BROOKLYN / OPENS SAT Jul 8 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 8th, 2023, 9:47am
the show opened to . . not much fanfare, but it’s a remarkable, quiet, thoughtful exhibit,
with some pretty – special examples.
it opened last Feb 17, which seems ages ago /
but, its last days are this . . . SAT & SUN, July 8 & 9, 2023.
our south-western frontier, with its old ways, and deeply felt, hand-made ‘craft work’, is quickly passing into history. this show not only lets us view some original, and very wonderful ‘artifacts’ in the up-close & real / but presents them with a kind of big, big west canyon silence, and spiritual awe.
not only are we shown how these weavings were made, we feel how they were crafted, imbued with the very spirit of the land, and the (mostly) Dine / Navajo peoples connection to it. Dine being the indigenous term for Navajo.
‘Shaped by the Loom: Weaving Worlds in the American Southwest’
curated by . . HADLEY JENSEN
BARD GRADUATE CENTER GALLERY, 18 WEST 86th STREET, UPPER WEST SIDE, NYC
HRS: THURS-SUN / 11am – 5PM
note: requires admission ticket / see website
from the exhibit booklet:
“RAPHEAL BEGAY (Dine), Spider Rock (Tseyi’ – Canyon de Chelly, Chinie, AZ), 2021. Digital photograph. Courtesy of the artist.
Spider Rock, the sandstone monolith that rises from Tseyi (Inside the Rock), is the setting for the creation story of Na’ashjeli Asdzaa (Spider Woman), who brought the gift of weaving to the Dine.”
Dine artist
ca. 1900
wool yarn, cotton warp, and cotton string,
tapestry weave.
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York.
Collection by Uriah S. Hollister, ca. 1911.
exhibit label: “This Germantown blanket is an example of the vivid ‘eye-dazzler’ style of the 1880s, characterized by the combination of zigzag patterns and brilliant colors. This aesthetic developed in response to the introduction of Germantown yarn, a synthetic-dyed yarn manufactured by a Pennsylvania mill.”
note: and now, we know where the Amish/Pennsylvania Dutch ‘abstract’ quilters got their deeply bright colors from.
Dine artist,
Blanket, 1850s-70s.
Wool, tapestry weave.
Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York,
donated by Dr. Isabel Bittinger
William Pennington & Lisle Updike, ‘Navajo Shepherdess (wife of Hosteen Joe near her
hogan at Sanostee)’, ca. 1920-25. Photograph.
Courtesy H. Jackson Clark II, Toh-Atin Gallery, Durango, Colorado.
PHOTOS of the EXHIBIT: NANCY SMITH
~NAVAJO WEAVING / ‘Shaped by the Loom: Weaving Worlds in the American Southwest’ / BARD GRAD CENTER GALLERY / last weekend !!!! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 7th, 2023, 3:47pm
even though I mostly repair – large quilts,
via hand-stitch / which is very ‘micro’ – on a whole other level.
I, also !!
like to . . . micro-dose !!
I make unique, one-of-a-kind, lightswitch covers for JEFFREY TRANCHELL / JEFF’S GALLERY, DETROIT.
they are all 100% hand-crafted by me, made upon standard hardware lightswitch covers,
which is so totally . . . DIY ‘gone creative’ on the vernacular / plus, they absolutely – function.
NANCY SMITH, ‘Little Missy Yin Yang, Year of the Rabbit’, Turn Onz series, June 2023.
mixed media, affixed to standard hard-plastic lightswitch cover, installs with 2 screws.
approx: 10-1/2 x 8-1/2 in.
about 1/4 in. shallow depth / of the plastic cover.
FYI: it’s 2 weeks since I made her, and she looks absolutely terrified ?!!
2023 is shaping up to be very dramatic on many fronts; global, and personal /
plus I’m a natural-born, Chinese Zodiac birth-year Rabbit / but still . . . ?
SCI-FI – SKY HIGH . . . !!!
it’s only when I saw that recent viral clip of a super terrified woman on a plane, freaking out that . . . “a passenger sitting back there – wasn’t real” / that I got – it.
sci-fi is here & it’s not going anywhere.
so, apart from that recent suburban family in L.A. sighting, multiple career army whistle-blowers, and congressional UFO committees, my big question is: do we have an active ‘Men in Black’ crew, and did they show up, to de-brief her ?
NANCY SMITH, ‘Year of the Rabbit’ lightswitch
for scale / on my desk.
NANCY SMITH, reverse / signed & dated.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~NANCY SMITH . . ‘YEAR of the RABBIT’ / TURN ONZ / LIGHTSWITCH |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 7th, 2023, 2:21pm
WHEN LITTLE – IS – BIG / TAKE 3 !!
THIS IS HOW THE ART WORLD . . . MICRO-DOSES !!
note: CLOSING PARTY – SAT JULY 1 / 4 – 6 PM
CHRIS BOGIA . . in a 2 PERSON SHOW with LISHA BAI,
‘HERE COMES THE SUN’ . . . .
OPENED JUNE 3rd & has been – extended thru . . WED JULY 5th, 2023 !!
HALSEY McKAY, 79 NEWTON LANE, EAST HAMPTON, NY 11937
CHRIS BOGIA, ‘BONSAI IX’, 2023
ABS plastic, raffia, lacquer, acrylic paint
4 x 19 x 16 in.
image via Instagram @chrisbogia
CHRIS BOGIA, ‘BONSAI IX’.
yes, it is . . . 3d !!
image via Instagram @chrisbogia
note: for many a decade in the art world proper (!!!!)
this sculpture would have to be at least 6 ft. high – to be taken seriously.
ok, maybe 4 ft. high – at minimum.
installation shot:
left: artwork by LISHA BAI,
‘Bonsai in the Window’, 2023
Piecework linen fabric / 83.5 x 36 in.
and, on the right: ‘Bonsai IX’, 2023 – by CHRIS BOGIA
ABS plastic, lacquer, raffia, acrylic paint. / 4 x 19 x 16 in.
image via Instagram @halseymckaygallery
~CHRIS BOGIA & LISHA BAI . . ‘HERE COMES THE SUN’ / HALSEY McKAY / EAST HAMPTON, NY / LAST WEEKEND !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 29th, 2023, 8:57am
WHEN COLORED GLASS BECKONS – WITH LIGHT & LAUGHTER !!
WHEN LITTLE – IS BIG / TAKE 2 !!
JONNY CAMPOLO: ‘STRANGERS WILL CHANGE YOU’
OPENS SUN JUNE 25 / 1 – 5 PM
RUNS THRU . .. . JULY 24, 2023
MARVIN GARDENS ANNEX, 1540 DECATUR ST., RIDGEWOOD, NY 11385
HRS: SUN 1 – 5 PM
WEEKDAYS – BY APPOINTMENT
JONNY CAMPOLO, ‘Turn Off’, 2022.
Fused stained glass, silver solder, bulb / 6.5 x 6 x 2 in.
image: courtesy MARVIN GARDENS
JONNY CAMPOLO, ‘INSTANT LOVELAND’, 2019.
Fused glass and powder coated screws
11.5 x 20 in.
image: courtesy MARVIN GARDENS
~JONNY CAMPOLO . . ‘STRANGERS WILL CHANGE YOU’ / MARVIN GARDENS ANNEX / RIDGEWOOD, NY / OPENS SUN JUNE 25 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 23rd, 2023, 12:54pm
WHEN BIG . . . MEANS LITTLE.
‘BIG OBJECTS’ . . . 3 PERSON PAINTING SHOW:
DABIN AHM, MIHO ICHISE, GONCALO PRETO
opens SUN JUNE 25 / 1 – 5 PM
runs thru . . . JULY 23, 2023
MARVIN GARDENS, 1540 DECATUR ST., RIDGEWOOD, NY 11385
HRS: SUN 1 – 5 PM
WEEKDAYS – BY APPOINTMENT
when big . . means little, and little means . . BIG !!
summer 2023 or, what !!
GONCALCO PRETO, ‘203’, 2023
oil on wood panel / 5 x 7 in.
DABIN AHW, ‘Waltz’, 2023
oil on linen / 8 x 12 in.
MIHO ICHISE, ‘Sugar Candies / Kon Peito’, 2021
oil on linen / 10 x 8 in.
all images: courtesy MARVIN GARDENS
~DABIN AHN, MIHO ICHISE, GONCALO PRETO . . ‘BIG OBJECTS’ / MARVIN GARDENS / RIDGEWOOD, NY / OPENS SUN JUNE 25 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 22nd, 2023, 2:13pm
ok . . . !!
changing ‘imaginary’ / editorial gears, here !!
departing from the Shakers, and their innovative, minimalist, but hard-core functional / spare-as-possible . . designs and machines /
onto Max Heiges & his elegant, though brutalist-leaning, spare-as-possible, absolutely creative hard-core sculptures – that may take their cue from machines, but the only gears that they ‘turn’ – are the ones within – your head.
could we call that: spinning your imagination – as opposed to spinning your knitting wool ?
MAX HEIGES: “. . . AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON” / (!!!!!!!!!!)
a site-specific, free-standing / installation sculpture
which opened for viewing on MAY 7th,
and remains up . . . thru mid-July, 2023.
MARVIN GARDENS – (OUTDOOR) YARD / a few doors down from the main gallery /
1560 Decatatur St., Ridgewood, NY 11385
HRS: Walk-in – Sun 1 – 5 PM
weekdays by appointment
MAX HEIGES, ‘AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON’, 2023
photo: via Instagram @maxheiges
“site-specific monumental steel sculpture, inaugurating the gallery’s new outdoor space, to be called: ‘YARD’ / all the parts are found scrap metal, i.e. the horizontal spine is from the metal yard next door,
which Max assembled entirely on-site. the concrete block is hollow. though ‘visually intimidating’, it’s very safe. Max is a licensed metal worker (!!!), and all those leg joints are welded. the piece is structurally stable & fully reinforced with hidden bolts that can be seen in person.”
~MARVIN GARDENS
so, yes I did ask . . !!
who isn’t spooked by the illusion of DIY + design spareness / which this sculpture conjures. esp after this week’s loss of that apparently DIY-rigged / tiny 5 man submersible, at the bottom of the ocean – alongside it’s high ticket / tourist tour – target: the also ill-fated, even though professionally built, Titanic ???
photo: via Instagram @marvin_gardens
detail . . .
blunt, but compact.
more of a mind-game, than a machine.
not even a whiff of a ‘transporter device’, it stands for: imagination / in all its glory.
brevity and hardness that belie . . skills and, well: t-h-o-u-gh-t.
or, whatever comes to your mind, as you reflect upon this improvised scaffolding, of free-form thought.
a Trojan Horse for the 21st C. ?
the title seems to nudge us – in that direction.
detail . . .
photo: Instagram @marvin_gardens
blunt, compact, but . . . playful !!
maybe, even an autobiographical – flourish !!
a little girl running around, spinning through childhood.
the Trojan Horse still – comes to mind.
you can construct life how you will, and hope for the best /
best, ride that horse, we call: life, while you can.
playful, intimidating, and scary.
~MAX HEIGES . . “AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON” / MARVIN GARDENS / RIDGEWOOD, NY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 22nd, 2023, 12:25pm
‘THE COMMERCIALIZATION of SHAKER KNITS’
an exhibition EMILY ADAMS BODE ANJULA curated & organized with SHAKER MUSEUM
KINDERHOOK KNITTING MILL, 8 HUDSON STREET, KINDERHOOK, UPSTATE NY
up thru . . . SEPT 10, 2023
HRS: THURS – SAT / 10AM-6PM & SUN / 11AM-4PM
contemporary BODE ‘Shaker style’ / knit sweater
& that’s a mighty powerful red, if I ever did see one.
image via Instagram @shakermuseum
@shakermuseum: “In 1886, Canterbury Shakers received an order of 60 dozen pieces of knitwear. This inspired a single web knitting machine and high quality yarn. the result was a tightly knit pattern that was malleable without sacrificing strength. This lead to the rise in popularity among Northeastern Ivy League programs. Today, “Shaker Knit” refers to any knit that embodies the dense, durable quality of original Shaker Knits.”
image via Instagram @shakermuseum
Knitting Machine, ca. 1899
@shakermuseum: “Knitting Machine, ca. 1899, used by the Community Makers, the Lamb Knitting Company, Canterbury, NH / New Hampshire. This machine was used for making sweaters.”
image via Instagram @shakermuseum
detail, Knitting Machine, ca. 1899
Figure 39. A knitting-needle case from Hancock Shaker Village. The outside is dove-grey wool;
the inside is red flannel. The case is 5 x 9 inches.
pg. 77, ‘Shaker Textile Arts’, Beverly Gordon.
(photographed on my desk …)
SOME BACKGROUND HISTORY via . . . . ‘SHAKER TEXTILE ARTS’,
by BEVERLEY GORDON / Published by the University Press of New England, 1980.
second printing 1983.
“KNITTING was an integral part of the lives of the sisters throughout Shaker history. They knitted all of the community members’ socks, stockings, gloves, and mittens, and most of their undergarments; and they made many of these items for sale. In later years, hats, washcloths, facecloths, sweaters , potholders, toys, rugs, and other items were also knitted and sold in Shaker stores.
“AT FIRST, all knitting was done by hand, and by any standards Shaker hand knitting was exceptionally fine. Knitting needles, or ‘pins’, were purchased locally, and all were less than size 00 in the measuring system we use today.
“STOCKING knitting frames were in use in New England as early as 1790, and knitting machinery was well developed by the middle of the nineteenth century. At least some, and possibly most, of the Shaker communities purchased knitting machines and put them to heavy use. Canterbury had a special knitting shop where the machines were kept. Great quantities of sweaters ans stockings were turned out by machine, but all were finished by hand. Sweater sleeves and bodices, for example, were machine-knit, but cuffs and edgings were hand-knit.”
Shaker Knitted chair seat cover, Canterbury, NH. / date unknown, or not posted.
image via Instagram @shakermuseum
note: this looks to be ‘tube-knit’ / i.e. ‘corking’ aka done on a ‘Knitting Nancy’ (!!) / yarn wrapped around tacks imbedded into the tops of wooden thread spools, and looped. the ensuing ‘snake’ was then coiled, in this case into a seat cover. often a young child’s hobby.
or, used to be. does American Girl doll, ‘Felicity’ still come – with a ‘corking’ kit ?
continuing on,
with one more reference quote from . . . ‘Shaker Textile Arts’:
“COLOR: Many people assume that, given their emphasis on simplicity and modesty*, the Shakers used only dull, dreary colors. Though it is true that they avoided flashy colors, at least until late in the nineteenth century, they never set out to be drab. Early in the history of the sect, Believers were told they might use any color they could dye themselves, and Shaker dyebooks, mostly dating between 1830 and 1840 include recipes for various shades of red and scarlet, orange, brown, beige, rust, blue, gray, slate, yellow, lavender, and purple …. Later in the nineteenth century and certainly in the twentieth, (any) color restrictions disappeared completely. Synthetic (aniline) dyes were discovered in 1856, and by the end of the Civil War* a whole new range of bright, almost garish colors were generally available. The Shakers, like everyone else, loved the new and vibrant royal blues, purples, roses, pinks, greens, and reds , and there was never any question that they could use them.”
personal notes:
**likewise aniline dyed textiles crept into Native American weaving arts.
*’modesty’, now that’s a complicated word !! of course, modesty would be of paramount functional aim, in the clothing worn by a ‘communal’ sect, whose main tenet was celibacy . . . but, if you deep dive into their origins / it does comes to mind, that “running naked in the woods at night communally” . . “to show that one was not aroused sexually” and, that was therefore proof of one’s evolved / ecstatic spiritual pureness, was what got them kicked out of Britain / but perhaps, this is not the time or place. likewise, if one scrolls through the Shaker Museum Instagram page, the emphasis in on design skills, wonderfully made objects, and innovations. and I’m way okay with that, see above essay !!
but, I don’t see any ‘Talking with Spirits’ drawings !! though there is one lovely calligraphy drawing: Shaker Artist, ‘Word of the Savior’, 1843, ink on paper. Object ID: 1956.8113.1″
so, I’m thinking / how powerful the mysticism, and faith (!!) – that grew this incredible American design force.
“Put your hands to work and give your hearts to God” – Mother Ann Lee, Shaker founder.
~SHAKER MUSEUM & EMILY ADAMS BODE AUJLA / SHAKER KNITS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 21st, 2023, 12:24pm
‘THE COMMERCIALIZATION of SHAKER KNITS’
an exhibition . . EMILY ADAMS BODE AJULA organized with SHAKER MUSEUM
OPENS . . FRI JUNE 16, 2023 / 5 – 7 PM
AND RUNS THRU . . . SEPT 10, 2023
KINDERHOOK KNITTING MILL, 8 HUDSON STREET, KINDERHOOK, UPSTATE NY
HRS:
THURS-SAT / 10AM-6PM
SUN / 11AM-4PM
image via Instagram @shakermuseum /story reel
@BODE: “We are pleased to announce the opening of ‘The Commercialization of Shaker Knits’, an exhibition I organized with @shakermuseum which explores the evolution of Skaker knitting from ninteenth-century craft to profitable commercial practice & its distinct and long lasting impact on American athletic wear & fashion.”
image via Instagram @shakermuseum / story reel
@BODE: “The show features dozens of items from Shaker Museum including a dark blue wool machine knit sweater by the sisters at Canterbury Shaker Village, a white wool knit sweater coat produced by the Shakers at Enfield, a Lamb knitting machine used by the Shakers, knit mittens, clothing labels, and more.”
image via Instagram @shakermuseum / story reel
@BODE: “Over twenty Shaker knit sweaters, dating between 1920 – 1981, and various archival photographs from my personal collection will be on display, along with several BODE development samples which utilize and interpret the traditional Shaker knit.”
~SHAKER MUSEUM & EMILY ADAMS BODE AUJLA / SHAKER KNITS / OPENS FRI JUNE 16 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 16th, 2023, 7:28am
GOOD LUCK – in your NEW ADVENTURE !!
NEIGHBORS
75 East Broadway, 2nd Floor, NYC
HRS: Weekends 12 – 6 PM
the 4 partners who founded & run Neighbors:
HEATHER HATCHER, ALEXANDER DESCHAMPS, CHRISTAIN JOY, JASON GRISELL
photo via Instagram @neighbors_chinatown
“either one of us, or all 4 of us curates the space each month – so one month it could be a pop-up store, and the next a gallery.”
JASON GRISELL will be curating the next show in July.
~HELLO, NEIGHBOR !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 16th, 2023, 7:08am
