DAVID X. LEVINE, works out of a Tribeca studio – but had a major work – on display – in a Bushwick open studio.
it was a pretty awesome piece – esp for being a large work on paper – completely done in prismacolor pencil !!
DAVID X. LEVINE in front of his monolith of a work on paper: ‘VANINA!’
you can get a better sense of the scale here !!
it took a little over 2 months of obsessive scribbling to complete, and consumed over 70 pencils, believe it.
it’s retained all that intense detailed handling, and plus (!!) the surface has become imbued with the amassed waxy totality of the over-all pencil density, adding a layer of mystery and an ambience that’s hard to describe in words, but is powerful in person.
it’s like a monolith – an emotional wall – straight out of a sci-fi movie.
it dominates the room – like a 2 dimensional, thinking, breathing, pulsating way-way-future robot, if not life form !!
when we are all reduced to planes, the better to deep space travel. believe it !!
origami rules the space race.
detail, DAVID X. LEVINE, ‘VANINA!’.
it’s also got a weird sexuality, esp for a monolith. comprised of two over-sized artist grade pieces of paper – the center “crack” takes on a very sexual overtone. a thin shallow flutter of communication.
a conversation about pure ‘plasticity’.
a sensual code, and a ‘river running through it’ – emotional (very human) language.
data, dudes – on many levels – despite the initial ‘simplicity’ and therein lies the many layers of metaphor, and emotion. not to forget – the purely graphic & thematic – punch.
yep, this is the hand that scrubbed that surface – red !! and waxy – from the tippy tip tip – of 70+ colored pencils.
curious to see if ‘VANINA!’ was but a ‘red’ only stop in an ongoing series of monochromatic overall pieces, we were enthralled to see the hard-edge range – of David Levine’s portfolio of (very) graphic compositions.
DAVID X. LEVINE, ‘Charles Stevenson Wright’, 2009. colored pencil and collage, 68 x 52 ins.
we got to cruise, and ask questions – thanks to the intimate open studio format – and were able to access a small but nifty catalog of his work – produced by STEVEN ZEVITAS GALLERY in Boston.
DAVID X. LEVINE, ‘Charles Stevenson Wright’, 2009. colored pencil and collage, 24 x 20 ins.
it was interesting to note the flickering dialog between the purely abstract images vs. the strictly hard-edged extremely graphic imagery inclusive – compositions.
DAVID X. LEVINE, ‘Carol Mountain’, 2009. colored pencil, 64 x 53 ins.
‘Carol Mountain’ seemed to have the best – of both worlds.
detail, DAVID X. LEVINE, ‘Carol Mountain’, 2009.
to see more, check out: DAVID X. LEVINE
DAVID X. LEVINE greets his cousin, fellow artist, STACY SCIBELLI, in front of his monolithic pencil work, ‘VANINA!’
. . . ya just gotta dig the name of that piece, or what !!
STACY SCIBELLI has just returned to New York City after 7 years away. she has been teaching at Mount Ida in Boston.
NYC bred, she has an M.F.A from S.V.A. and does “interactive social sculpture” utilizing people clothed in her hand-made hand-stitched ‘sculptural’ garments that challenge notions of individual boundaries.
you can check out her work, here: STACY SCIBELLI
STACY SCIBELLI – dig that sewing needle – ink, girl !!
it’s straight after – my own heart !!
STACY SCIBELLI, ‘Utopia Parkway’, 2008. wool/digital print. screen grab off her website.
but, we’ll give David – the last (!!) word:
DAVID X. LEVINE, ‘The Kinks’, graphite on paper, 11 x 10 ins. screen grab off his website/more drawings.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS, BROOKLYN, N.Y. JUNE 2, 2012.
~DAVID X. LEVINE – BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 13th, 2012, 9:45am
ANNA KUNZ in her Brooklyn studio, with her work behind her. BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS, BROOKLYN, N.Y. June 2, 2012.
Anna lives in CHICAGO where she teaches in the Art & Design Department of Columbia College – she works out of studios in both Chicago and Brooklyn.
ANNA KUNZ – work on paper.
ANNA KUNZ work on paper.
AMY FELDMAN (left) drops by to visit ANNA KUNZ in her open studio, very typical of the many comings and goings – that weekend.
AMY FELDMAN shows us the large newsprint fold-out poster-invite for her show, ‘DARK SELECTS’ – which opens this Thursday, June 14, 2012 at BLACKSTON GALLERY on the Lower East Side, 29C Ludlow St, NYC. the show will be up thru July 27, 2012.
ANNA KUNZ – sculpture – a screen grab from my fave section of her website – the Archive page.
Anna’s website opens with a very ‘flowing’, and glowing (!!) video – that belies its abstract premise,
most def – check it out: ANNA KUNZ
SCREEN GRAB – VIDEO INTRO – ANNA KUNZ: WEBSITE.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS, BROOKLYN, N.Y. JUNE 2, 1012
~ANNA KUNZ – BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 11th, 2012, 3:07pm
PATRICK RESING – in his studio. BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012.
now here is a guy, whose work is tech fresh, witty and animated – and needs no words – and, so is he !!
not of many words, that is.
PATRICK RESING. . . the peg board behind him lights up with a (gentle) red flash, glow ? every few seconds. very subtle, very hi-tech low-tech . . DIY outta the box !!
in fact very beautiful, almost a landscape, if you push the thought.
very cool. very swift. yeah, I really liked it. esp having just stumbled on it – totally unknown to me previously.
the simple piece – calls to mind: code, illumination, illiteratti, and plain and simple: art.
how, what, and why . . . going forward ?
so much thinking, so much visual aura, so much mystery. so little aggression. another reason to really like it.
obviously one very wired, very smart, but totally grounded, subtle guy. easy-over, sunny side-up.
note: in the background a peek at the FLEMING TWINS, Alan and Michael’s studio.
Patrick Resing: he’s obviously – game !!
systems, home crafted, but to the tune of: WILD !!
as in beyond knowing . . . not, crazy. a kind of funny take – on the grid of modern life. but not the gritty.
kind of like you know, Chinese Calligraphy – ca. 2012. the brushstroke is the digital impulse.
“STEP ON ME”.
and the little Chinese souvenir drum beat – crashed your eardrums and sends you a couple feet up in the air from the amplification.
the DIY amplifier.
so, this IS what’s so fun – about the BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS.
this year, esp – it’s got talent, mostly brand new and super smart. and you get to see it – in it’s natural brooding, if not downright, incubating – habitat.
inside – the inside of “beyond” – and, most definite NOT. the same old same old !!
summary: new decade art.
one last look. PATRICK RESING: tiny remote-controlled (?) car. art on wheels, no doubt.
oh, yeah, for sure !! it’s a robot !! car . . .
check out: the video !!
MOST DEF !! see more: PATRICK RESING at ANTPARTY.COM
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS, BROOKLYN, N.Y. JUNE 2, 2012
PATRICK RESING – ONE OF THE MANY TOP ‘DROP’ PROJECTS & VISUALS (!!) on his website – ant party !!
do I have to actually say, swift concepts. forward trending skills. cutting edge package, great visuals, great graphics. quiet aura. I’m thinking it’s pretty o-b-v-i-o-u-s, great. no ?
PARTY ON, GAME ON – BROOKLYN.
~PATRICK RESING – BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 8th, 2012, 11:10am
ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING: GAME ON – is so RIGHT !!
MICHAEL & ALAN FLEMING in their Brooklyn, NYC studio, open to visitors – for BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012.
as you might see, about their only barely discernible variance is their height, and – who came into the world first. which is what this piece is about, the cube represents the hardcore difference physically, and the 6 minute difference in hitting . . . planet earth.
ALAN and MICHAEL FLEMING, ‘Psychic Color Calendars’, 2011. one twin lived in New York and one in Chicago, during 2011 – and they tried to see if their long distance intuitive connection, some would say telepathic abilities, would produce matches that could trump distance on a daily color (lottery) chart involving 5 basic color options.
nope. they only averaged about 3 matches a month. though I did get to overhear that that when they are in closer proximity – and meet up in real time – most often they find themselves in the same color shirt. a source of friction when they were younger. (!!)
but it would be a mistake to simply take, or label – their twin state as a psychological basis for their art – it’s more like a very formal, visual, and spatial (!!) – Mondrian hard edge headset – meets new generation artist, head-on.
ALAN and MICHAEL FLEMING, ‘Rock Paper Scissors’, 2011.
in a concisely right-on essay, “All of Me: Alan and Michael Fleming’s Relations’ – produced in conjunction with their recent ‘ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING: GAME ON’ show at THREEWALLS in CHICAGO, March 9-April 21, 2012 – the essay’s author, DAVID GETSY, says it best:
“Alan and Michael Fleming chose sameness as the baseline for their practice. Twin brothers, they have consistently played off this inter-relation in performance, sculpture, and drawing. These two artists make art that refers back to the fact that they are one, irrevocably juxtaposed, pair.Their work is not however, just about their status as twins. More fundamentally, their emphasis on their near identicality offers an account – sometimes absurd, often playful, but always searching – of how we all relate to and rely on others. No one is really just one, and the Flemings’ work speaks to that very human predicament.”
DAVID GETSY is the Goldabelle McComb Finn Professor of art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
the ‘props’ – for ‘Rock Paper Scissors’.
the fun thing about getting inside artist studios of course – is seeing up close and personal, all the elements behind the scenes, that make up the artworks. and the theory.
more from the DAVID GETSY essay:
“All our choices and chances (!!) make us who we are as individuals. Game Over captures this with a starting point of simplicity and sameness that nevertheless cannot help but yield uniqueness.”
ALAN FLEMING, to the side of the multi-series video loop screening in their open studio.
“They first became known for their performances in which they combined and contorted their bodies into regular geometric forms in relation to architectural settings.” – David Getsy, and went on to produce a series of short videos of themselves climbing buildings . . a natural outgrowth of what they said was an early fascination, starting with treehouses in the ‘backyard’ of childhood.
dressed the same, and with the same natural instinctive gait – the slight difference in height and heft – is completely lost – and something very fascinating and Mondrian – even sculptural, roots across the space, the local – and the screen.
architecture meets artist, mind / space – gets shaken, and stirred.
they work as a solitary team, no cameraman. they just set up a camera on a tripod. no narration. no music.
(poetry) needs no words.
the FLEMING TWINS in GOWANUS, NYC !!
they said, funnily enough . . . it was harder to film these kind of jaunts in New York City, where amidst the hyper density and even higher, curiosity factor of the street-wise natives, someone was bound to notice. and no, it’s not legal to climb buildings in NYC.
apart from the ‘caper’ – it’s a super great visual. as is all their work.
and though this is hardly . . . ‘see something say something’, BUT – don’t laugh !!
if you want a funny digression, check out a recent ‘twins doing bad things’ – as in real bad things – in a parking lot – of a bank !! which happened, talk about random luck & chance !! just the day before.
see: ‘LONG ISLAND TWINS BUSTED in BANK ROBBERY’ – NEW YORK POST, JUNE 1, 2012 (!!)
the eagle-eyed New Yorker who dropped the dime – said the one who went into the bank, stood out and looked very suspicious because . . . he had his hoodie hood hood – pulled up way over his head, on a very very hot day !! the article goes on to quote the police as saying: twin criminals “are very rare”. o.k. so even more funny, to have just happened, yesterday ?
to a first time observer, their countenances are exact replicas, esp as the inner from-the-ground-up intelligence & humor that lights up their faces – flickers across each face – in a kind of two-step.
when they went to close down the computer screening equipment, it was like, the more oblivious they were to each other, being physically back-to-back at that moment, the more they moved and functioned in an unspoken lock-step. Mondrian x two. – meets determination rolled up into one easy-going, FED EX package – going places. that’s for sure.
you go !! BROOKLYN.
you go, NEW GENERATION – NYC – ART SCENE !!
tell ’em to forget their “downtown don” wannabe – yearbooks – and, you !! GO take over the streets.
and kiss the old scene. good-bye.
downtown nyc ? it’s just – art scab city. as in: been there, done that. esp when it comes on – in BULLY formation.
piece by piece, it’s o.k. but time to blow the cork on that scene. esp when it claims to be “the” as in the “ONLY”, NYC art scene. au contraire, 500+ artists in Brooklyn ain’t taking that “no entry” ceiling, lying down.
ha.
new wave coming in, gonna blow you away.
BROOKLYN, you rule.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS, BROOKLYN, N.Y. JUNE 2, 2012
~ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING – BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 4th, 2012, 12:29pm
ok, here’s our (!!) no. 1 pick – for the upcoming BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND !!
ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING – 120 WATERBURY STREET, BROOKLYN / just off the GRAND STOP on the L train !!
OPEN STUDIO HRS: 2-6 PM SAT JUNE 2 & SUN JUNE 3, 2012 – GO BROOKLYN !!
more info, see: ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING / BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS 2012
also, check out: SPATIAL INTERVENTIONS – THE FLEMING TWINS
~ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING – BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS !! – GO, BROOKLYN !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 31st, 2012, 11:55pm
FOR MORE BOATEL PIX – PART II: SCROLL DOWN
BOATEL LAUNCH PARTY – MARINA 59, FAR ROCKAWAY, NYC – SAT MAY 19, 2012
PORTS BISHOP, SERRA BOTHWELLFELS, KELIE BOWMAN . . .
SERRA BOTHWELLFELS’ boat – CHARLIE’S ANGELS.
something like 23 artists were given free rein to decorate 16 boats. the boats are really just the old hulls or shells of old boats – no engines, no plumbing. no stove or fridge – but . . . lots of romance. cheap, and with upgrade amenities, like bathrooms & showers, & some eats at the main dock. it’s definite bring your own food, beer and (swim) (sleep) (cooler with ice) gear !! you know. have fun, trip out on the water, and the sunsets – all the while staying, in one place. it’s the real deal. going far, by going . . . nowhere.
at left, MAMIE inside SERRA’S boat. the boats rent for an average $75 a night, and they seem to be booking, FAST !! you can’t take the boats tripping off into the waters, they have no engines !! but you can jump in the lake. (somewhat, it’s not exactly a designated swimming area.)
see: BOATEL – for more details
the hand-sewn quilt on Serra’s boat’s bed – matches the hand-painted Navajo-Indian, I’m guessing, inspired patterns on the wood details.
p.s. the distressed wood, on the walls and flooring, is also her doing, as is the tin ceiling, which you will have to go see for yourself.
Serra’s hand-sewn, pieced & knotted quilt – is based on an old Amish pinwheel pattern.
I liked how she left traces of her workroom . . .
as part of the finished interior.
KELIE BOWMAN’S boat – the SEA WOLF . . . was less artisanal retro cabin-in-the-woods rocking in the waters, and more like a rocking-you-to-sleep lullaby. a painted dream of a ship in a child’s poem, of running off to sea !!
STO, and KELIE BOWMAN – on Kelie’s SEA WOLF.
Kelie’s boat was a gentle rock and roller, very luminous in a soft way. like sun glancing off waves. hand painted through and through in a gentle giant’s pale blue spectrum, though also built up upon triangle elements come to think of it – !!
there was a hand painted braided sailor’s rope going along the wall, in Kelie’s signature delicate brushwork style – – along with with an endangered fish chart, ca 2000 !!
the Sea Wolf’s bed . . . the little hatch window in the back – opens onto the sea.
KELIE BOWMAN’S drawing on the little forward hatch – on the Sea Wolf !! thinking .. ‘land’ dreams on the ‘boat’ ride ?
UP-DATE: THURS MAY 31, 2012 – MORE !! – BOATEL LAUNCH PARTY – PIX !! – PART II
one of the two BOATEL SUMMER 2012 project curators: ORIEN McNEILL.
ANGIE KANG, the other BOATEL SUMMER 2012 curator.
midway on the BOATEL pier – a very outdoors communal lounge . . .
it was actually designed and put together by the BOATEL project co-curator, ORIEN McNEILL.
MAYRA CIMET & JASON SINOPOLI aboard their boat, the WHITE LOBSTER.
at the left, MAYRA CIMET. inside the White Lobster it was like a really hot summer night, your very own private clubland . . . . it was: disco ball – on waves !!
outside you could step out, and see planes overhead, but – the magic of being on the water, conquered all.
real fishermen, setting out.
someone even had a kayak – docked near by.
QUEEN ZENOBIA looked be fun, great graphics, walk like an Egyptian.
at the end of the dock, you could see the sunset just coming on – nothing beats a sunset on the water.
swimmers . . . and fur coats, BOATEL in a nutshell.
yep, it was !! hot enough to swim.
the pink flamingo (!!) on the CRUMB – LAURA McMILLAN’s boat, she of the fur jacket, just above, with the swimmers.
the NANCY BOGGS – was fun.
yep, those appear to be vintage stockings hanging – as curtains in the window.
inside the NANCY BOGGS, the day trippers, I mean renters, had arrived. get the party started. (!!)
the view of the marina – from inside the NANCY BOGGS.
inside the NANCY BOGGS, it was one of the bigger boats.
yep, those were faux ‘animal’ trophy heads !!
the bed looked very inviting. very comfy. that NANCY BOGGS crew were really into their – curtains !!
the NEW YORK, N.Y. by contrast seemed very modern, contemporary – it had a . . .
hand-stitched geodesic dome to keep you safe from the sun, on the rear deck. it was a real nice color too.
SIMON and GRISHA – inside their boat: NEW YORK, N.Y.
SETH KIRBY, one of the small group that had just arrived – to take over NEW YORK, N.Y. for the weekend.
Seth produces light shows for JOSHUA LIGHT SHOW, and . . .
he showed me some of his light show designs on his iPhone. that’s so NEW YORK, N.Y. !!
SETH KIRBY light show design. I liked this one in particular, because it echoed the geodesic dome on the boat, NEW YORK, N.Y. – which he and his pals had rented for the night.
the geodesic dome on NEW YORK, N.Y. one of the more contemporary-leaning boat designs. though actually aren’t geodesic domes . . a throwback back, too ? I mean, what’s that called: 60’s vintage modernism ?
the lantern on the stern of the NEW YORK, N.Y. the sun had really set, by now. sea board romance was on full glow.
good nite, BOATEL on FAR ROCKAWAY, a world away in many ways. and in Queens, the oft forgotten borough, art wise (!!) – no less.
CHASSY – the night watchman, and yes, he had designed a boat in the show. which one ?
the CHEMICAL REACTION !!
who could forget the CHEMICAL REACTION ? Chassy’s boat – it had an upside down, seatless wooden chair on the hood of the former cabin cruiser’s cockpit. now that’s a great metaphor – figure it out, for yourself.
BOATEL 2012 ? very nice. super special, way to go summer – on the water – you rule !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. BOATEL, MARINA 59, FAR ROCKAWAY, NYC, NY. MAY 19, 2012
~BOATEL LAUNCH PARTY – MARINA 59 – the PIX !! – MORE PIX JUST WENT LIVE: THURS MAY 31 – 10:24 PM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 27th, 2012, 3:10pm
FILE UNDER: . . . most glorious photo !!
MAY 21, 2012: MINT & SERF – aka MIRF when they work together on the same piece !! – SIGN A DEAL WITH PLUTONIUM PAINT COMPANY !!
p.s. that’s SERF on the left, and MINT on the right – and together that spells MIRF !!
watch: the video !!
see: MINT & SERF – THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
and, NOT just most glorious photo, but most glorious photo – with the best timing !!
just as we say a bitter-sweet good-bye to the old school Jersey Italian godfathers – anybody in BROOKLYN !! will tell you the – new bullies on the block – are the HASIDS, and the newest wave of gangsters – are the Russians.
likewise on the small town – that is the web !!
the ‘ultra-orthodox’ want to shut down the ‘internet’ – too much ‘schmutz’ !! and if you’ve ever been re-directed, to hardcore porn or fractured links – from our art world breaking news – you know (!!) it’s the Russians who are doing the URL hijacking !! and google messing !!
though, like all battles – it gets complicated locally – because the ‘ultra orthodox’ are also dominating this week’s racy tabloid headlines with their in-bred sex crimes against their very own children, not to mention spawning last summer’s notorious – Butcher of Brooklyn !!
talk about: have ‘schmutz’ will travel !!
how bout: clean up your own ‘schmutz’ first, bye the way, that’s ‘filth’ to you who maybe don’t know, as in porn, not lint !! yiddish – such a glorious , not to mention w eloquent language, or what !!
before take censorship up to the next level. though yeah, for their part: the Russians could use some serious hipster etiquette training – before the web becomes – totally useless.
. . . BUT BACK TO PAINT !! and 3 cheers for the art world !! now you know – why we love it !!
MINT & SERF ANNOUNCE: that after weeks of negotiating, that as of MAY 21, 2012 – “we are now part of the PLUTONIUM PAINT COMPANY . . . Plutonium Paint is an American Made high quality spray paint born and raised in DETROIT.” (!!)
(p.s. DETROIT – been in the news, too this week !! that’s one of the “hollowed-out” urban cities in crisis – where MAYOR BLOOMBERG wants to mandate new immigrant entry, for at least 5 years – to re-vitalize the industrial wasteland, or something, pretty much along those lines. look it up – yourserf !!)
IMAGE: PLUTONIUM PAINT
SAME . . . MIRF ROOF – NYC. IMAGE COURTESY: MIRF
MINT&SERF: CLEAR CANVAS at SOHO HOUSE, NEW YORK – TODAY !!
P.S. HEADS UP, or is that – CAPS UP !! TODAY, THURS MAY 24, 2012 at 9 PM – MINT&SERF would like to invite you – to participate in a ‘Clear Canvas’ event at Soho House. Clear Canvas is an “expansion on the idea of painting parties we have been hosting at the BROADWAY CHAPTER, our new studio.”
note: This is a LIMITED CAPACITY event, so they ask you to RSVP only !! if you are planning on attending !!
RSVP@MINTANDSERF.COM
so, how’s that for a nice – thunderstorm rainy day – read !! art world gangstas !!
UP-DATE: DUE TO BAD WEATHER, THUNDERSTORMS in NYC – THE CLEAR CANVAS EVENT – WILL BE HELD TO-DAY – SATURDAY, MAY 26 at 9 PM !!
~MINT & SERF . . . INK PLUTONIUM DEAL !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 24th, 2012, 9:25am
FILE UNDER: THIS is the real family BIZ !!
JON D’AMORE at a local booksigning for his new book, ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – a “novel based on a true story” – of growing up in the “family business” . . . aka as “the mafia”. with him, longtime childhood friend, DIANE LOMBARDI FLEMING – The Five Corners Branch Public Library, Jersey City, N.J. May 21, 2012.
so, how far do Jon and Diane go back ? Diane relates that their moms were pregnant at the same time – they were friends who both worked at the Lipton Tea Co., and their dads both worked at Union Textile, in Secaucus – in the 50s.
the crew !!
Cousin Jerry, Uncle Dominic and Rocky D’Amore, (Jon’s dad !!), North Hudson County Park, North Bergen, NJ, 1947.
“Shortly after Rocky returned from the Army. Three men Jon grew up loving. Jerry would become Jon’s Godfather.”
Jon was born about 5 or 6 years later.
His dad, Carmine “Rocky” D’Amore had been shipped overseas to fight for the American forces, in WWII, when he was 20, and stayed on in Germany for two years after WWII as a sergeant in the American Military Police.
“JON D’AMORE, Belmar, NJ, Summer, 1979: With LAS VEGAS just a memory and his music career doing very well … Jon took a break down at the Jersey Shore to see some friends.”
JON’s talk at the booksigning, was brief, too brief – he didn’t want to give away the whole story !!
but the bits and pieces – were fascinating.
he seems to have taken after his mother – and yes, she was a real original Italian Jersey babe, and so was Diane’s mother !! the “family business” just wasn’t in his genes – music was !! but somehow, he got caught up in the prevalent “culture”. as he relates, you couldn’t avoid it, it was just family. it was just how the newest wave of immigrants to America – took care of “business” . . . kept order, and made some dough along the way, esp – cousin Jerry !!
but more importantly, he said he always felt from day one: that this was a time, and a place – and a group of real characters, whose story needed telling, and he was determined to do it – the crew was down with that, but, he was told: he had to wait until 3 key players were dead (!!) . . . so the book was a long time, in the making.
JON D’AMORE went on to become a local musician of some considerable renown, & charm (!!) playing in bar bands, and as a studio musician on the Jersey Shore, and other local hangouts. looks like he got a whole lot of other stories, of his own, to tell, too !!
top left: “JON D’AMORE, Fort Lee, NJ. November, 1977: A favorite photo of Jon’s, this was taken in Palisades Interstate Park directly under The George Washington Bridge.”
top right: “JON D’AMORE, Belmar, NJ, 1979.”
bottom: “Jon D’Amore, 1980: In the studio doing what he enjoyed the most.”
“Jon (holding the machine gun) and Friends, May 1, 1982: It was a day to party and dress up. The car was used in The Godfather.”
yep, JON is a man with a story to tell, and tell it well – he does !!
the book also has a small, but real nice selection of archival photos – including one of his family at a dinner table – with a young FRANK SINATRA !! in LAS VEGA, NEVADA, circa 1957 !! but I’m with Jon – if you want to see the pix – BUY THE BOOK !!
“JON D’AMORE, LAS VEGAS, 1976: on the balcony of his 25th floor suite of the original MGM Grand on the Vegas Strip.”
Apparently Jon at one time worked for a union, guesting members in Vegas on a hefty expense accountant, but the real story, is the famous casino ‘scam’ his family pulled off. apparently Jersey-bred cousin Jerry took a trip to Las Vegas, took one look at the early frontier of legalized gambling – and didn’t come back. THIS is Jon’s story – as he relates how his “family” pulled off one of the biggest scams in the city’s history, and how he got sucked up into it. It all started when he was 22, and his cousin Jerry invited him down, for “his birthday” . . . !!
as Jon relates, it was just the culture of the times back then . . you had the corporate, educated white collar crooks, in high places, and the new immigrant Italian mob – on the other side of the game. all playing for big stakes. all crooks. (so, what else is new ?) he said his Italian “family” were just the newest wave of immigrant underdogs in the game, uneducated, and rough – but “they were very creative” when it came to thinking up new scams, and making off with big big piles of dough. he was, and still is, very respectful of their unorthodox ways – and he said ultimately, it all came down to one word: respect. and, they were all “larger than life.”
he said you couldn’t get away with something like that today, “too many security checks”, ha. so, the notorious caper, 100% true, and apparently way huge, a original Jersey-bred “family”-in-Vegas scam – is pretty much the dominant focus of his book, ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’, and he seems pretty proud of it, too. it is – what it was !!
just one flip of a random page – will tell you it’s – a real page turner !! 100% entertainment through and through.
JON D’AMORE – ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – cover art by IRENE A. LoPRESTO, copyright 2012.
so, YEAH !!
JON D’AMORE’S – ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – ‘A Novel Based on a True Story’ – by a real Jersey ‘boy’ who grew up with “Family biz” all around him – looks to be the sleeper hit – and best beach read – of the summer of 2012.
yep, it’s the REAL DEAL !!
PUBLISHED BY JON D’AMORE, 2012, with 311 pages, it’s $13 for the soft cover, and $22 for the hard cover edition.
you can order it: directly from Jon, for now !!
it will be available – at BARNES & NOBLE, by this AUGUST 2012.
IT’S also available, right now !! in e-book format at Amazon for KINDLE – & – Barnes and Noble for NOOK.
for more info, on the book & author, see: THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK – OFFICIAL WEBSITE
PHOTO OF JON D’AMORE and DIANE LOMBARDI FLEMING at THE JERSEY CITY BOOK SIGNING – & – the ARCHIVAL PHOTO SCANS BY: NANCY SMITH, COPYRIGHT MAY 21, 2012.
JON D’AMORE, ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – REVIEWED BY: NANCY SMITH, ARTLOVERSNEWYORK.COM – MAY 22, 2012.
~JON D’AMORE . . . and THE REAL ‘FAMILY BUSINESS’ – PIX from the BOOKSIGNING, JERSEY CITY, MAY 21, 2012 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 22nd, 2012, 11:49am
. . . and, the one time he didn’t – was his last !! yep, he got whacked, by the guy in the back seat. true story.
MEET the AUTHOR – JERSEY-BORN & BRED . . . JON D’AMORE – who will talk about his new book, THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK – in which he reminisces about his (accidental) mob life, funneling millions of dollars out of LAS VEGAS and saving – the NEW JERSEY DON – from 40 years in prison !!
TODAY – MONDAY – MAY 21, 2012 / 6 PM at THE FIVE CORNERS BRANCH LIBRARY – 678 NEWARK AVE, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.
JON D’AMORE was born and raised in northern New Jersey. His father and his cousin were connected to the mob. A talented musician and writer, Jon never had aspirations to fall into the “family business.”
Little did he know that his career as a musician would make him useful to the Mafia, or that he would play a role in one of the largest scams in LAS VEGAS history !!
‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ tells the story of Jon and his relationship with his cousin – Godfather Jerry. Not interested in working for one of the five New York Mafia families, Jon carves out his own path and becomes a musician. However, an invitation to spend his twenty-second birthday in Los Vegas with Jerry leads Jon to unsuspectingly become part of a scam that would go down in Vegas history.
Later, when Jon is summoned by mob boss ROCCO CASIANO, his knowledge of recording techniques saves the boss from 40 years of prison by proving the New Jersey State police edited audio tapes. Suddenly Jon is the honorary Godson of The Boss, and christened “The Kid.”
‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – “a novel based on a true story” (!!) – is a humorous, suspenseful retelling of actual events that led to the demise of the mob in New Jersey.
for more info on Jon D’Amore and his book, see: Jon D’Amore – The Boss Always Sits In The Back
and check out the up-dated OFFICIAL WEBSITE: with more info on the book & author – and, key (!!) – the ‘BUY THE BOOK’ – ‘ORDER IT NOW: DIRECT LINK !!
~JON D’AMORE – THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK / booksigning today . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 21st, 2012, 10:08am
NOTE: PIX – FROM THE BOATEL OPENING PARTY – GOING LIVE – THIS WEEKEND: MAY 26 – 27, 2012
JUST IN TIME for: MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND !! !! !!
KELIE BOWMAN, co-founder with STO of CINDERS, is wrapping up her recent residency at BOATEL in FAR ROCKAWAY . . . with an OPEN HOUSE – PAR-TAY !!
this – SAT MAY 19, 2012 – from 3-8 PM.
COME OUT and see 16 FLOATING INSTALLATIONS – by 16 artists who have been living & working for a month and a half on their boats – PLUS !! – the beach is only a couple of blocks away. just right – cause it’s gonna be one hot summer-like weekend, in the city !! with one big – early blazing – hot !! – SUN over MANHATTAN . . .
see: KELIE’S ‘BOATEL PROJECT’ REPORT – with (many great !!) PIX !!
SUBWAY: take the FAR ROCKAWAY bound A train to BEACH 60th ST & exit on 59th ST – then walk LEFT 2 blocks.
for more info: on BOATEL
TOP IMAGE/PHOTO: CINDERS
BOTTOM IMAGE/BOATEL POSTER: BOATEL
~KELIE BOWMAN parties at BOATEL this SAT !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 18th, 2012, 8:57am
