~TOMMY MALEKOFF: ‘PERENNIAL SHADOWS’ . . JEFFREY STARK
THEN AGAIN, surprise, surprise.
ALL THAT IS ‘GREEN, leafy & organic’ – is not . . . GOLD !!
KUDZU – THE GREAT INVADER.
on the other hand,
TOMMY MALEKOFF . . . set the tech ‘gold’ standard for video clip running time: 6 minutes !!!
‘PERENNIAL SHADOWS’ – a film by TOMMY MALEKOFF
featuring original music by JOE WILLIAMS & a poetry reading by rapper PROJECT PAT.
poem by TOMMY MALEKOFF.
This was ‘new video’ screening . . .
in an alternative, surprising / ‘micro’ gallery venue, of a poignant film on the fearsome nature of ‘interloper/predator’ super species / micro/bio / ‘green’ engineering, gone – wrong.
the 6 minute film, projected on the back wall of a small steel & glass futuristic mini-box of venue . . was a . . visual knock-out.
a break-out. break-down, lyrical. factual. on point & . . cutting edge.
visual ‘dream’ . . of a living nightmare.
it presented the all-green, leafy Kudzu reality, for what is: a rolling landscape of territorial ‘take-over’. in a gently revealing, supremely edited & visually stunning . . ‘tourist’ ride.
we are taken for an overview – made by a local insider.
a lovely, leafy death sandwich, munch on that.
Presented last THURS FEB 9 – SUN FEB 19, 2017 . . .
‘PERENNIAL SHADOWS’ . . .
ran as a continuous loop, accessible through the storefront window of the alternative, minimalist JEFFREY STARK GALLERY, located in the basement lower level of a busy mini-mall – in the heart of New York’s Chinatown.
the sound track was audible though a small exterior speaker.
JEFFREY STARK, which seems to be the brainchild of ANGELO LANZA,
is actually an ‘alternative’ to a pop-up, (as well as to the mainstream art scene in general) in that – the venue is ongoing, but without the need to ‘staff’ itself on a regular basis, being that all the shows at the small box-like space, are visible – through the glass storefront every day, 9am – 9pm.
as well, there is an online real time surveillance camera focused on the storefront which also constitutes the homepage of the gallery’s website / & which lets you see what’s going on in there; the shows, the install, the openings, the down times . . . 24/7.
check it out: read more, see past & upcoming agendas / watch the action, or non-action as the case might be: JEFFREY STARK GALLERY, CHINATOWN
JEFFREY STARK GALLERY gets its name from the former occupant of the underground mini-mart . . ‘booth’.
Filmmaker TOMMY MALEKOFF . .
presents a short film on how KUDZU, a green leafy vine / an organic plant, once thought to be a ‘lifesaver’ turns out to be – not . . ‘so much’.
truth be told, it was kind of thrilling.
both the film & . . the mini-mall viewing locale.
the profound implications of the free-growing / no-stopping-it green ivy gone wild, as the camera catches it devouring everything in its path, obliterating the native plants & absolutely covering ALL historical & cultural footprints.
with no preaching, bye the way.
TOMMY MALEKOFF, is just showing it . . like it is. the imagery just simmers along. and makes its point.
the camera’s gaze – is as light as a bird.
Kudzu: the green super-ivy is a real death threat. a real migrant, if you want to put the ‘word du jour’, in a truly frightening context. an invasive ‘Mother Earth’ endgame, a globalization take-over, disguised as rolling greenery, poetry-in-motion – traced out for you, with a gorgeous, haunting photographic eye, a ghostly, ancient & delicate Japanese-inspired soundtrack, and a few words of spoken poetry towards the end.
Screening: in the midst of teeming inner-city commercialism.
it was, for an incredible moment, an experience of what I can only term as . . . cultural ‘intersection’.
though the film could be shown in a cardboard box, and it would still weave . . its magic.
there it goes, the interloper Kudzu . . creeping along.
TOMMY MALEKOFF who is now New York-based, grew up in North Carolina, where this ‘not-so-green-is-it’ nature endgame is taking place, and so he is by DNA, born & bred . . close to the subject at hand.
man vs nature.
relentless . .
the . . ‘living’ DEAD.
the industrial crowded mini-mall environment, would make you think . . all that is ‘green’ is preferable, – but NOT !!
but still, all the better – to see . . the ART.
that is a montage of ‘stills’ or otherwise related photos, from the film – on the opposite wall, in a display case, the kind ‘realtors’ use.
boy with a bat, sinister undertones. photo detail, display case.
nature walk. photo detail, display case.
your typical ‘real estate’ or ‘tour company’ display, not.
Kudzu: an organic ‘destroyer’, a green ‘interloper’ originally sourced from Japan, now eating up North Carolina . . .
captured in a photo-montage, in an industrial display case, in the lower level of a mini-mall in Chinatown, exhibited in a gallery with 24/7 online – surveillance.
if that’s not . . .
GLOBALIZATION, and the face of the future, I don’t know – what is.
TOMMY MALEKOFF at the right.
from left, artists: JACK IRV and ASPEN.
Aspen also hails from North Carolina, Greensboro. as does Tommy.
TOMMY MALEKOFF shows me where they screened the film for the opening night, right in the center of the mall on a large screen that hung from the higher level.
this where they hung a large screen & projected the film for the opening.
right next to the escalators, and all that shiny metal and glass.
and industrial red Chinese signage.
deep ‘mall’ space. =may as well be . . deep outer space.
it’s so far out – from the usual gallery scene.
huge. cavernous. commerce & tech-oriented ambience.
the opening night – crowd, on Tommy’s phone.
they knew they were encapsulated – in a special moment.
it was the night of the big storm – or I never would have missed it.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH. SUN FEB 18, 2017.