~’THE SOCRATES ANNUAL 2018′ . . CLOSING PARTY / PART I . . ANTONE KONST, RONEN GAMIL, NICHOLAS MISSEL
I did . . .
make it to ‘THE SOCRATES ANNUAL 2018’ closing party / Sunday March 24, 2019.
it was quite the wonderful time, with beautiful outdoors weather, right on the water, overlooking the iconic East River – with clear views Manhattan.
and, with many charming, very approachable, often clearly, and/or inadvertently . . interactive pieces, to wander about.
ANTONE KONST, with fellow Brooklyn-based artist, JOHN SZLASA.
note: large MARK di SUVERO raw metal sculpture in the background / his outdoor sculpture studio, is adjacent.
I was told di Suvero actually donated the slice of land, Socrates Sculpture Park is located upon.
ANTONE KONST, ‘Free Peddler’, 218, seen from the back, where all the interactive action is.
note: the “Lady and the Tramp” vibe, most jolly, loyal . . little dog.
the cutest . . albeit slightly ‘deconstructed’, doggie.
the ‘free exchange’ ‘backpack’ / ‘shelves’ of the ‘itinerant peddler’.
the was the ‘interactive’ element: take something / bring something. free exchange.
I got a free pot of garden blooms to take home, I guess my pix – are what I brought in exchange.
but make no mistake, this peddler is . . female.
with quite the strangest, most stubborn & determined, but maybe weary . . face.
it’s a lot of . . walking, with a heavy load.
well, at least she has a nice Woody Allen-type . . sun hat.
RONEN GAMIL, ‘HOME (-) AND GARDEN’, 2018.
Steel, drinking cans, aluminum, copper wire, plexiglas, flooring, paint, perennial woodland plants, compost, bulbs, woodchips, bricks.
each tent – assemblage: 18 x 32 x 32 in.
moving on from Antone’s larger-than-life, story-book peddler, the next thing to catch my fancy . . . .
were these ‘hobbit-sized’, or perhaps . . even tinier ‘houses’, for ‘fairies’, wood nymphs, or just plain ole Beatrix Potter squirrels, and the such. they seemed both magical, and shamanistic.
little ‘habitats’, made from re-cycled materials, surrounded by very cozy woodlands, they def seemed lived-in, home to small creature families, and most curious . . in a wonderful, innocent, smoke coming out of the chimney, childhood book way.
this set seemed like . . little hi-rise McMansions, with multiple floors, and big floor-to-ceiling windows, fit for a prosperous mouse family !!
these seemed more like tents fit for small adventurous . . hobbits, or gnomes.
so imagine my surprise, when I looked up the artist on the Socrates website, and found that, however playful and imaginary & also storybook – they seemed in person, in text . . they lived a more ‘political’ reality !!
with talk of “homeless encampments” ???
I had trouble connecting the dots, though maybe an agenda was . . necessary to get the project taken seriously, and/or considered ?? considered ??
see: RONEN GAMIL – PROJECT / SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
I mean, wasn’t it enough of a creative leap, to connect re-cycled soda cans – with animal shelters, albeit of the Beatrix Potter fashion ?
it’s an interesting case of theory – leads to Fiction and Fanciful day dreams.
I could see him selling brightly colored nylon ‘tents’ for American dolls, at Wallmart – as opposed to making human-size tents for stressed-out & desperate homeless. though I suppose instant, mobile ‘nylon’ or recycled material shelters are perhaps a very good idea – for humanity.
such as where the present world is & where, it’s heading to be.
interestingly, Mr. Gamil’s real-life travels, have included homeless camps, around the glove. According to his bio on the Socrates website, he’s a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn in 1980. He received his B.A. in 2008, and a Masters of Urban Planning in 2009, from the City College of New York, so he def has some very bona-fide academic roots / pun intended . . because he’s also a professional gardener !!
in fact, he is currently the horticultural supervisor at Prospect Park !!
see: RONEN GAMIL – BIO / SOCRATES SCULPTURAL PARK
things took a decidedly more desolate, and brute / dystopian tone, with these collapsed forms – of human making.
one part, after-STAR WARS / one part, pre- MAD MAX.
NICHOLAS MISSEL, ‘The Read Deal: Soft Touch & A Gentle Push’, 2018.
Silicone Rubber / 12 x 7 x 4 / 10 x 6 x 5 ft.
“A pair of enormous limp silicone machines, the Park’s compact loader, and a decommissioned bulldozer, that will lie sprawled across Socrate’s lawn. Cast from working pieces of equipment involved with traces of dirt, rust and debris, the sculptures can be understood as a meditation on global patterns of industrial production, material circulation, and the sustainablity of existence on earth.”
~Socrates Sculpture Park
see: NICHOLAS MISSEL – SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK WEBSITE
funny, how old machines – have such . . old human souls.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH