~TOMMY MALEKOFF . . AGNES B
‘TOMMY MALEKOFF – FILMS & PHOTOGRAPHS’
FEB 1 – FEB 28, 2018
AGNES B GALERIE BOUTIQUE NEW YORK, 50 Howard St, Downtown, NYC
there was a nice easy feeling to this show. which, also, keeping in step with this particular art season – leaned to the small side . . scale-wise. it still worked, just a little more like clockwork, than grand, raw gesture.
the first work I saw by TOMMY MALEKOFF, was in Feb 24, 2016 / almost 2 years ago to the day. playing on a loop – it was his short, essay-like film, ‘The Outdoor World’, 2016.
all ‘real-life’ footage. good flow-thru editing. I guess that makes it a documentary of some kind of genre. urban landscape ?
Projected large, and I mean . . wall-size in a large, empty storefront on the Lower East Side, the screening was hosted by SEAN VEGEZZI, ANDREW KASS & assorted friends, it mesmerized the hardcore audience. although much of the footage dwells on middle America, it also hit up on some extreme young black high school beat dancers, the contrast was the unspoken tension. though there was no overt joking, there was no judgement: just the flow of the oddness – of our culture, no matter on what side of the style line – it fell.
sweet curiosity is all I can say, in summary.
Tommy makes sure the world . . goes round. there were also some rough, low-fi hard-copy. still photo hand-outs.
Tommy makes sure the sound tracks, which are key – to his films, are as light-handed, and yet just as moving, or fluid as his images . . & in this, local musician / D.J. JOE WILLIAMS excelled with his, not easily defined . . original music soundtrack. more magic / more than travelog.
let’s just say: elevated & dreamy, if dreamy could be hardcore . .
music / to travel by.
see: ‘TOMMY MALEKOFF – ‘THE OUTDOOR WORLD’ – OPENING PIX / artlovers archive
the 2nd screening, I saw was just last year, also at just about this same time. Tommy must favor February, or Feb sure favors . . him !!
(witness the current show at Agnes B . . FEB 1 – 28, 2018.)
titled, ‘Perennial Shadows’, (2017), it was about the invasive & unstoppable, green destroyer . . Kudzu / the interloper weed that is taking over the southern USA. again a gorgeous film, with no words. and needing none. again, with a beautiful, oriental-tilting, ‘soundscape’ . . by JOE WILLIAMS.
“In the 135 years since its introduction (at the 1876 World’s Fair Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia), kudzu has spread over 3 million hectares of the southern United States & continues to ‘consume'” – voraciously.
Kudzu: It’s a big, fast moving . . geographic ‘topic’.
ironically, and rather ‘sustainability-wise’ (!!), the film was screened at the small, but internet ‘infinite’, 24/7 digital gallery called JEFFREY STARK, which is located within a small white box of an actual ‘booth’ . . in an Asian global-style mini-mall, in the heart of Chinatown, 88 East Broadway. the exhibits are online real-time, and can be viewed through the glass wall. this small, minimalist-leaning, avant-garde, highly curated space, with its steel & glass infrastructure, was actually a great ‘foil’ for the nature-driven documentary.
although the film screened on a large scale (in the main lobby of the mall), for the opening, it played on a much smaller scale for the length of the exhibit, and was definitely none the worse for it.
there was also a rather casual, tack board of commercial grade, color photos from the film’s production, in the hallway.
it’s rawness, of the photograph presentation – was very engaging, esp as it was so casually a part of the surrounding mall activity.
see: ‘PERENNIAL SHADOWS’ / artlovers archive
this current screening at AGNES B BOUTIQUE GALERIE NEW YORK, turns out to be more of a mini-retrospective, and the projections are even smaller, which makes things – very curious for art mavens, who have been feeling like Alice in Wonderland for the past few months.
as well, the accompanying photographs have evolved to professional color art prints, in professional frames. and it is a more formal array of photos.
actually, it was really nice to see some photos – in this more formal setting.
esp on the Agnes B. brick wall. switching up – is good.
this is an image from ‘The Outdoor World’ (North Carolina), part of a nice little trailer produced specifically for this show.
you can watch it, here: AGNES B. BOUTIQUE GALERIE – TOMMY MALEKOFF
from the press release:
“TOMMY MALEKOFF (b. 1992) . . is a New York based visual artist from North Carolina. His work with video and photography deals with insular worlds and displaced phenomenons in the American landscape.”
PIX FROM THE OPENING – FEB 1, 2018 – AGNES B. GALERIE BOUTIQUE NEW YORK
TOMMY MALEKOFF at the opening.
photo courtesy: Agnes B.
the venue. a small portion of the front of the very chic, storefront / retail fashion boutique is dedicated to showing very close-to-the-bone, art shows.
small is sustainable is chic.
the crowd piled in, as the night went on.
a frame from a loop / random, yet . . NOT.
very Americana.
Kudzu takes over. very green, AF.
but sustainable ? not so much, more like . . native-killer.
headphones. you could hear the soundtracks – in dedicated concentration.
there was also a loop of more personal clips. kind of like a fast forward diary.
this must be Sean, apparently a deep sleeper, because he sure got . . shook.
a framed photo.
horses, esp carnival or rodeo . . were a subtext.
the un-brutal, sunny side of being . . a boy, a horse. a cowboy.
the opening coincided with NEW YORK FASHION WEEK / NYFW 2018.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH / unless otherwise noted.
see: TOMMY MALEKOFF – PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
