“Gunplay”is performed at the Chocolate Factory. |
Questions Create
New life
Chocolate Factory Swirls Arts Together
By ELLEN THOMPSON
It begins with a question. Take a look around yourselves. Look at the institutions that guide you, your neighbor’s and family. What is it you see; what is it that’s lurking in that social and political landscape, the Long Island City based Chocolate Factory asks its visiting artists.
“If they see something that we think fits with our concept of the company then this is theirs,” Chocolate Factory Co-Founder and Artistic Director Brain Rogers said, his eyes scanning the wide-open basement that once housed hulking machines. “Here’s the space, here’s what we have and can help you do. There are essentially no restrictions to what you can do, we tell them.”
“If you want to do a performance piece in that corner, then go ahead. Do it,” added Sheila Lewandowski, cofounder and managing director. “Or come over here and do it right there,” she continued, pointing to where the couple had been sitting towards the center of the stark white room.
Allowing such freedom to the directors and writers that have visited the 5,000-square-foot multi arts facility, has enabled the actors to obtain what Rogers and Lewandowski were struggling to grasp when they founded the company in 2003. They finally had a captive audience in their clutches; an audience they could begin a direct discussion with, an audience to help answer the political and social questions posed by Rogers and his collaborators. And with each shift of the audience’s position in the space, the answers shifted as well.
“They aren’t just spectators,” Rogers said of the audience. “They are part of the conversation. It is in turn a way of educating without presenting one specific point of view, I suppose.”
In keeping with the discussions taking place in the wide white room, Rogers and Lewandowski have moved their questions to the space’s narrow storefront gallery. The couple has placed local curator and artist Patrick Neal in the inquisitor role leaving it up to him to direct the conversation. It is Neal’s responsibility, beginning spring 2007, to link the six-to-eight painting, photography, installation, sound art and new media exhibitions by Queens-based artists each ear to the performance pieces.
“We’ve noticed the surge from the outer boroughs,” Rogers said. “But it’s the artists in Queens that haven’t really made their way into the discussion.”
“Exactly,” agreed Shelia. “And that is something we’ve been working towards. We’ve really seen an growing curiosity throughout the community.”
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Flux Factory’s artists enjoy a meal in their home. |
Always In Flux
Shape-Changing Space For Artists
By IMAN KHAN
A self-described laboratory for art, Flux Factory is a studio at which various mediums of art come together to represent the physical, social and cultural space that is New York City.
One of Queens’ many new emerging arts centers, Flux is a space like no other. Started in 1994 as a collective living space in an old spice factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, today, Flux Factory is a site which today houses events and performances of all kinds.
“Our mission was to bring artists together and produce new and collaborative work,” said Stefany Anne Golberg, executive director and one of Flux’s co-founders. “We bring together all types of artists without focusing on any one medium – that depends on the show.”
The collaborative works force participants to work with people they’ve never worked with before, with unfamiliar media, or formal constraints. Flux Factory supports work that reflects upon and alters public space in dynamic ways. The result is modern and Bohemian to say the least.
The “show” is something that the organization actually allows the community to have a say in. Once the members decide upon a theme, they actually take that theme into the community for feedback as a part of their collaborative mission.
Flux Factory is also a public and community space in itself. It has a computer center, darkroom, performance space, musical recording space, publishing equipment, and a weekly Thursday night dinner that has become a well-known venue for artists and intellectuals to present both finished pieces and, more importantly, work in progress.
What Flux has become most known for is for bringing back the long gone “art collective.” At any given time there are between 12 and 17 artists living in the converted former factory in Long Island City. They live together, work together and pay their shares of cost for doing so. The collective includes writers, painters, builders, cartoonists and what their Web site refers to as a host of other “evil geniuses.” According to Golberg, that is the point and where the name of the group comes from. Flux factory is always in flux.
“The artists are always coming and going,” Golberg said. “They are adding to us while they are here, and taking what they want on the way out. That’s what Flux factory is.”
Opolis, Flux’s most recent exhibit, which ended Aug. 5, was a show that highlighted Flux’s diverse composition. The third in Flux’s annual “Comix Fluxture” series, Opolis was an imaginary city, located in the Flux Factory main space. Individual city blocks were assigned to individual cartoonists and illustrators in order to “create comic narratives that also function as installation art. The ongoing objective of the series is to create works of art to be read intimately – as a comic strip – but also contribute to an overall installation spectacle.”
Flux’s next show, “Down The Street and Around The Corner” will open Sept. 23 and will highlight the street art that is becoming more and more prevalent in Western Queens.
Details about the show can be obtained by calling (718) 707-3362 or by visiting the Web site at www.fluxfactory.org.
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Actors from Confluence stage a multimedia performance. |
Meeting Of The Minds
Theater Group Brings Ideas Together
By JEFF FEINMAN
Since its inception in 2000, the Confluence Theatre Company has evolved into a unique stomping ground for various means of visual arts, including flashing, dream-like lighting effects, hypnotic video displays, emotion-filled sound effects, and fabulous movement sequences.
Making use of modern day technology, the Confluence Theatre Company is a Queens based not-for-profit organization that pumps a full degree of electrified life into each project. Audiences are treated to a visual experience that cannot be matched in ordinary theatre.
“When the company first started out, we were more of a traditional theatre performance company,” said Artistic Director Adam Bernstein. “In the summer of 2001, we did a series called ‘Under Construction,’ and we invited artists and other media to come in and collaborate with us on it. The collaboration with those other artists helped us examine those new ways to such an extent that it reshaped our mission and focus. We feel that we’re creating art for our time, which is certainly a time where everyone is obsessed with technology.”
Composed of a slew of visual artists and filmmakers, the Confluence Theatre Company puts a lot of time and effort into the creation of each individual project. The development of a piece takes up to a year and a half for completion, so that all ideas of collaborating artists are intertwined in just the right fashion.
Over the years, the company has had many performances at the Chocolate Factory in Long Island City. “They’re great, they do a lot of cutting edge work,” Bernstein said. “They’ve certainly been very supportive of us. We performed our last show in the spring of 2005 there, and we’re pretty happy to be coming back.”
Though many participants in the company come and go, there is an overall desire among the artists to create something original. There is a collaborative nature among artists in the Confluence Theatre Company that sets them apart from other companies. It would be difficult to find an organization that blends the creative energies of traditional film makers and color mastering visual artists in such an effective manner.
Even though there are many different minds involved with each project, the Confluence Theatre Company frequently has a message to relay within its work. “I think at the beginning, our goal was to form the company for an outlet to promote ourselves as individual artists,” Bernstein said. “I think it’s evolved to the point where it is now, where it’s more about the actual creation of the piece and its statement.”
Originality and substance, however, are not the only items of importance within the company, as there is a great amount of pride for the homeland. “The fact that we present our works in Queens is important to us,” Bernstein said.
The Confluence Theatre Company is busy working on an outdoor performance called “Recycled,” which will make use of recycled text and video imagery. The project will be performed by an ensemble of urban storytellers, combined with video samples to create a social commentary on environmental issues.
“Western Queens is one of the most polluted areas in the nation. As local artists, Confluence must act now to make a statement about this critical ecological degradation. Through the outdoor ‘green’ performance of ‘Recycled,’ we will inspire our community to adopt sustainable practices in their everyday lives,” the Confluence Theatre Company said on its Web site. “Recycled” is scheduled for presentation in the summer of 2007.
The Confluence Theatre Company has a number of presentations planned at the Chocolate Factory during the first weekend of December. For more information, visit www.confluencetheatre.org.
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A view from “The Soundless Music”at ToPaz. |
Blending Art Forms
ToPaz Provides What So Many Need
By IMAN KHAN
As a new generation of artists carves out its niche in Queens, a non-profit arts company in Woodside is leading the way for the borough’s contemporary dance movement.
The organization, ToPaz Arts – a name derived by cleverly combining Todd and Paz, the first names of the group’s founders – opened its doors in 2001 and is housed in a 2,500 square-foot space that was formerly a warehouse.
The founders, Todd Richmond and Paz Tanjuaquio, collaborated on a multimedia dance project in 1993, which planted the seeds of the eventual creation of the space they call home to their arts today – a place born of the effort to foster the need for collaboration in the arts, since they, themselves, came from such different backgrounds.
“We fell in love with Queens, in particular Woodside,” Tanjuaquio said. “It’s quiet and away from the city, which facilitates creativity.”
In addition to being a creative space for Tanjuaquio and her partner, ToPaz Arts is also a center dedicated to artists’ services. It provides local choreographers with hard-to-find rehearsal space at extremely low prices, something Tanjuaquia said is a very rare commodity in the dance world. The group also provides an array of technical support in terms of audio and graphic design needs to other artists looking for some assistance.
The complex that is ToPaz Arts houses a soundproof audio/media studio and an art gallery in addition to their dance space.
The art gallery, located in the front half of the space, generally features about four shows a year, featuring primarily emerging artists from all across the nation.
ToPaz Arts offers a summer dance residency every summer in conjunction with Queens Museum of Art. After an open call in which choreographers from around the country submit proposals and videos, four are chosen to receive rehearsal space and an opportunity to perform at QMA at the end of the summer.
Todd Richmond, vice president and treasurer of ToPaz, is a composer and multi-media artist who has been based in New York City since 1990. His very early exposure to art labs at Carnegie Mellon influenced his philosophy in the use of many media, from painting, sculpture and music, to film/video and computer technology.
Paz Tanjuaquio, vice president and secretary of ToPaz, is a choreographer and dancer who received her MFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and her BA in Visual Arts from University of California San Diego. In 1994, she established Paz Danz Productions to explore multidisciplinary dance works
Most recently for founders Richmond and Tanjuaquio, was a show called “The Soundless Music by Yoko Ono,” with music and choreography by the founders themselves. The New York Times called the piece, “intelligently conceived, image-filled dance.”
For more information or to contact ToPaz Arts, visit www.topazarts.org.
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Penny and John Wang answer an ages-old question. Tribune photo by Ellen Thompson |
Building On
A Dream
College Point Photo Gallery Delights
By ELLEN THOMPSON
After all these years, Penny and John Wang’s dream has come true.
It unassumingly stands at the corner of College Point Boulevard and 18th Avenue behind gray bricks and a banner that reads, “NYJPW College Point Arts Center.”
Inside, John had installed plenty of spotlights while Penny measured and re-measured, designing the dark wood stage toward the back of the 1,800-square-foot space.
“When everyone is sighing, for life could be so short, one should always treasure every moment of life and provide one’s expertise with meaningful work to contribute to the society for good will,” Penny said as she opened the scrapbook that holds the 2001-2003 transformation of her and her husband’s dream. “Look, from a dirty repair shop we rebuilt this beautiful 19th-century building to our dream. We brought to College Point not just the traditional Chinese culture and arts, but works that are influenced by it.”
As he weaved throughout the 16 specially made exhibition boards situated towards the windowed wall of the space, “Come look. Look you can see it here,” John’s voice echoed throughout the space, the artist motioning towards his prints hanging on the gray boards.
The integrity of each photograph is highlighted as it hangs beneath the spotlights he installed three years ago. The crisp greens of a teenaged boy’s pants grab the eye as the weight of his slumping body along the chain linked fence guides the viewer through a bustling Chinese street. In another photo the viewer is presented with an antique spinning sword, whose gold embroidery plays to the camera’s prolonged shutter speed.
Three boards back John pointed toward a double-exposed print. Approaching the photograph the viewer is greeted by the image of a nude woman kneeling, her back slightly arched, but with a shift of the eye, the woman is suddenly profiled her eye pulling the two overlapping images.
“It’s something isn’t it?” John said as a smile washed across his face.
The dream wouldn’t be complete though without stepping foot on that stage Penny had designed for her beloved performing arts. But before Penny could bring Chinese operas to the stage of College Point Arts Center, she had to focus on what laid behind that black curtain, a dressing room filled with mirrors and make up and a control room for audio and video equipment.
“We couldn’t have done this without each other,” said Penny as she admiringly glanced at John. “We built this place with our loving hearts. We are giving that love to College Point and the public along with our culture.”
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Aisling Arts has built a theater from scratch. |
From The Ground Up
Aisling Arts Builds A Theater Of Trust
By ELLEN THOMPSON
“If one person on that stage weren’t to believe in it, if just one didn’t believe… the whole world up there would fall apart.” Chrissie said glancing across the table at her cast mates.
The actors nodded in agreement.
“There’s just that whole trust factor as well,” Brad chimed in raising his voice just above the squeal of the espresso machine. “We do a lot of physical movement and weight sharing. At times we’re working with new people and that is where the trust is first created, I think.”
At least two of the actors sitting around the table at Brazil Coffee shop in Long Island City that Monday night had been classically trained without the trust factor. A handful of the others, though, were able to turn it on when they walked in to their first audition at Aisling Arts, a non-profit theater company based out of Long Island City.
“But yeah, it’s not something that everyone has,” Heather added to the discussion, leaning her thin frame into the coffee bean-encrusted table so that Chrissie and Chris at the other end could hear her. “I remember the first improv practice I did. The one with the fights and how physical that was. It’s not the type of trust actors easily feel with each other. Not many actors can spend 20 to 30 minutes climbing on each other like a jungle gym.”
Founding Aisling in 2001with nonexistent funds and a vision to venture into the avant-garde, Bryn Manion and Wendy Remington, two University of Massachusetts Amherst graduates, had no other option but to replicate “Shakespeare… and then some more Shakespeare.”
“It wasn’t until we finally gained our chops and decided to do a reproduction of ‘Macbeth’ with deconstructed text, where we poured KY Jelly all over Brad, and there were most likely naked actors in the basement of a church that we knew we were ready,” Manion continued.
Since becoming a non-profit corporation in the spring of 2003, Aisling Arts has radically interpreted more than 10 classical works and broken ground on the Force, a trilogy of plays. The company finally had the chance it was waiting for, a chance to walk audiences through a series of compulsive journeys testing seven character’s relationships, humanity and faith. It wasn’t until after the company had workshopped the plays for two and a half years that they were actually comfortable enough to share the series with an audience.
“We have finished a play and been close to opening and I’ve still cut out, like, pages 12 to 15, and all I can say is, ‘sorry you had to learn that,’” Manion said. “But actors like to work hard, they would prefer to have their skills challenged while doing something meaningful, rather than not feel creatively invested.”
“It is ours though,” Chrissie said, inhaling the caffeine-laden air. “It’s our character’s, it’s their world.”
To learn more go to www.aislingarts.com
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Genesis Repertory gathers around for a picture promoting “War Of The Worlds.” |
New Birth Of Old Plays
Theater Group Finds Its Genesis
By iman khan
Theatre is coming to Queens in a brand new way with the opening of Genesis Repertory, a professional theater company hoping to use theater to build communities while bridging them.
Evidence of the group’s intention to become a community builder as well as bridge, is one of their first planned productions, “Romeo and Juliet” set in the modern Middle East with Israelis and Palestinians representing the Montagues and Capulets. The stage for the play will be the United Methodist Church located at the corner of Crescent Street and 30th Road in Astoria. Acting out conflicts between Jews and Muslims on a stage in a Christian church—that’s what this theater group is all about.
“This play isn’t limited to Israelis and Palestinians,” said Mary MiCari, co founder of Genesis. “The whole world goes to Jerusalem so everyone can be represented in this play.”
MiCari and co-founder Jay Michaels are bringing their non-profit theatre company to Astoria to give audiences edgy, affordable theater. The group was founded in 1999, essentially out of frustration the founders felt at having to be at the creative command of their respective companies. Genesis, meaning birth, and repertory, meaning continual, combine to make a perfect title for what this group is all about – reinvention.
By taking classic works of literature and reinventing them, the group is able to place modern contexts into their productions for audiences to be able to relate to. Examples of past successful such adaptations are adaptations of Shakespeare were “Hamlet,” set in Dallas, Texas circa November 1963 and “Macbeth,” set in Argentina.
“One of the reasons we came out here is because art has become something for the rich people who can afford to subscribe to it, or for tourists,” said MiCari. “There is no theater for the Greek guy down the block. People here feel as though theater is unobtainable. Without pandering, we’re saying, ‘Here, this is for you’.”
The partners truly feel that Genesis can do for Astoria what the famed Joyce Theatre did for Chelsea in Manhattan, only make it more accessible. Whereas the Manhattan theater circuit is now mostly an elite, Caucasian arena, they wants Genesis to represent everyone, hence its move to an area as diverse as Astoria.
The group will launch Oct. 7 with a fund-raiser that will highlight the rich ethnic diversity in Queens. Auditioning for the fund-raiser has already begun with different groups from Africa, Korea, Bangladesh and a host of others being considered for performances.
In addition to live performances, the company also plans to offer classrooms on voice articulation, playwriting, speech and acting, which will begin Sept. 7. Auditioning for the company begins Sept. 6.
For information or to contact Genesis Repertory, visit www.genesis-repertory.org.
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Inside Valerie Green’s Green Space. |
Dancers Going Green
Finding A Place Where Dancers Can Fly
By JEFF FEINMAN
After being removed from her previous building in SoHo and replaced by luxury apartments, dance studio owner Valerie Green was without a dancing home, seeking another avenue to offer choreographers and performers an uninhibited chance to work on their craft.
In Long Island City, Green found exactly what she was looking for – a spacious building within a mere two-step of Manhattan. “I was aware that there really wasn’t anything in Queens as far as a professional style modern dance studio,” the 33-year-old Green said. “I thought Queens would have a need for that.”
As a result, a significant portion of the former Scalamandre Inc. silk factory located on 24th Street has been turned into Green Space, a jiving medium of modern dance and exquisite performances. Rehearsal space is rented out to people who need to polish up their moves.
Green Space, appropriately drawing its title from a play on words with its owner’s last name, migrated to Long Island City last November. In the fall, the studio will offer yoga classes to go along with its lessons in adult beginner modern dance and other contemporary styles. There is a “smattering” of dance classes, as Green put it, but the space is mostly dedicated to established modern dance companies and independent performers.
“I took a risk coming out here not knowing for sure if people would come, but there’s a need for dance rehearsal space,” Green said. “A lot of dance space is disappearing because of real estate. That’s why a lot of artists have been migrating into Long Island City and Astoria. It’s not just people from Queens. There are choreographers from Brooklyn and people from Manhattan, so people come from all over.”
Green said that one of the main draws to her “space” is the beneficial location, as the former factory holds a great deal of old-fashioned character and style, with a brick exterior and high ceiling. As dancers kick their legs up and prance about on the refurbished maple floor, they are also treated to an extensive view of the Manhattan skyline through the studio’s large glass windows.
Another benefit of Green Space is its affordable opportunities of self-production, as performers can rent the space and then invite an audience to observe the performance. Fertile Ground, a semi-formal workshop showcase, gives choreographers an opportunity to try out their work. The workshop involves a wine and cheese discussion where choreographers can get feedback on their work.
A passionate dancer since she was 3, Green grew up in Cleveland and eventually went on to receive a degree in dance at the University of Wisconsin. She moved to New York 11 years ago at the age of 22 to pursue a career in dancing. Green now lives on the border of Long Island City and Astoria. As a dancer, she has performed with many New York City companies, including The Wellspring Project, Dura Mater, Nancy Meehan and Dancers, and The Phyllis Rose Dance Company. “It’s kind of always been a lifetime passion,” she said.
Currently, Green is artistic director of her own company, Dance Entropy, which is a multicultural dance company that now calls Green Space home. On Nov. 12, Dance Entropy will perform at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan.
For more information on studio rentals or dance classes, visit www.greenspacestudio.com.
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Inside Hell Gate Social. |
Take A Trip To Hell
Artistic Life In Area Known For Its Dead
By IMAN KHAN
Hell lives in many forms, right around the corner in Astoria.
Taking their name from the famous Hell Gat, coined by Dutch settlers in reference to the once dangerous waterways that separate Long Island, Manhattan and the Bronx, Hell Gate Social instead is on an a mission to bridge an artistic gap that often exists between these areas, in addition to being a well-loved spot for locals to just hang out and be.
The entrance to Hell Gate Social consists of two industrial sized doors illuminated by red lights, setting the appropriately titled venue’s mood. Like it is on the street, inside the dark décor is again highlighted by pieces of dark red furniture. If Hell were a cool place to hang out and throw back a few, this would be it.
Described as having an artist friendly atmosphere, Hell Gate Social specifically welcomes artists of all disciplines, revolutionaries and fallen angels, according to their Web site.
But there’s more Hell in Astoria.
Hell on Reels, Astoria Moving Picture Festival, is an organization dedicated to promote dialogue and collaboration among participants within the local Astoria and greater Queens community, highlighting mainly short format films within said festival.
Drawing inspiration for their name from the same source as the social club, what’s apparent is that this would be a marriage made in, well, Hell.
Earlier this year, Hell on Reels launched its four-installment film festival at Hell Gate Social, screening films from Moscow, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Astoria. The film screenings take place outdoors, on the club’s patio.
These groups have something in common other than the inspiration for their creative titles, however – community, in particular the arts community.
Since they opened their doors, Hell Gate Social has been featuring artists of all types in their space. Dancers, singers, violinists, painters, and of course filmmakers have all had the opportunity to showcase their talent at this venue, which boasts of being a place for those who “live to love and love to live.”
In addition to providing a space for artistic expression, Hell Gate Social also hosts nights catered specifically to other communities, such as the alternative lifestyle night and industry night, both of which have significant overlaps with the artists’ communities.
Hell on Reels shares this sense of community with Hell Gate Social. The founders, Susan Agliata and Janine Fleri, say their motivation for founding the organization was to give Western Queens’ artists a creative outlet that is closer to home than Brooklyn or the city, while forging connections in growing community.
The fourth part of the Hell on Reels’ film festival will take place Sept. 10 at Hell Gate Social, located at 12-21 Astoria Blvd. in Astoria. The group is still accepting submissions of films via their Web site, www.hellonreels.org. Information on Hell Gate Social can be found at www.hellgatesocial.com.
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“The Pack” by Harry Spitz graces a Meatspace wall. |
Grabbing Some Meat
Meatspace Lives In Old Plant’s Carcass
By JEFF FEINMAN
In place of the meat carcasses and packing machinery now stands an array of fine paintings and elegant works of art that adds further creative energy to Long Island City.
The Meatspace Gallery opened for viewing Aug. 11, and is providing the Long Island City area with another avenue to display beautiful art work.
Located in the former Freirich meat packing plant, overlooking the East River and midtown Manhattan, the Meatspace Gallery is home to many art displays with an eye on natural and environmental themes. Visitors can enjoy taking in the creative works of art, whether they are collages or paintings.
A great deal of the art in the gallery also centers on kayaking and other forms of human-powered transportation, paying homage to the waterfront Long Island City area. In fact, Meatspace Gallery owner John McGarvey is also Arts and Events Director for the Long Island City Boathouse.
“It’s got a tremendous view of the city skyline and the waterfront,” he said of the gallery.
The new gallery fits right at home in the Long Island City community, filled with a great deal of eclectic artists placing their souls into portraits and plaster. As many artists’ spaces are forced out of Manhattan area in place of real estate and luxury apartments, Long Island City is growing more into a haven for evicted Bohemians. The Meatspace Gallery caters to such a group by offering lesser-known artists the opportunity to display their craft instead of filling their gallery with high-priced cookie-cutter artwork.
“The whole Long Island City area is blossoming with galleries and artist studios, and it’s a great joy to be a part of all that,” McGarvey said. “It’s nice to be able to help up-and-coming artists gain exposure and maybe get some grant money.”
The building is in the process of being transformed into a volunteer community services and art center. Meatspace shares the building with the Long Island City Boathouse and Recycle A Bicycle. McGarvey thanked the current landlord, Plaxall, Inc. for providing affordable gallery space and their dedication to community service.
“We are leaving much of the plant infrastructure in place and incorporating it into the art and functionality of its repurposing,” he said, adding that he is planning on creating performance space in the gallery.
The Meatspace Gallery is unique in the fact that it rents space out to different curators and artists, who stage their own art show. The exhibit on display now features photographs, inkjet prints, collages, and sculptures. Items included in the work are abstract paintings and pencil drawings, emotion-filled photographs, and eye-catching sculptures. Long Island City-based artist Natalie Campbell, for instance, has a sculpture made of time cards called “Literature Rack.” The exhibit runs through Sept. 12.
The gallery is located at 46-01 5th St., Long Island City. For more information on gallery sales or curator opportunities, visit www.meatspacegallery.com or call (917) 572-0513.
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Part of Dimitri Gerakaris’ “Woodside Continuum.”
|
Train Art
Passes By
Ride The 7 To See Into Queens’ Past
By ELLEN THOMPSON
Hurry, hurry it’s about to reach the platform. No, it doesn’t go that way. Here, like this. You swipe the black strip of the MetroCard this way. There you go, now come on.”
Reaching the platform of the Main Street-Flushing stop along the 7 Line, a deafening rattle drowns out the buzz of chattering commuters as the speeding train screeches into the station.
The doors open. People shuffle out as others crowd in. A man in a black coat and dress pants pushes through the swarming mass, breaking free from the silver train. He continues toward the turnstiles, takes a deep breath and releases it tilting his chin toward the musty station’s ceiling.
“Wait, don’t step on that train! Look, do you see that? How could we have missed that one, it’s even right here in the list. Sure it’s plastered all the way up there, but those colors. Wow, those colors.”
Tom Patti’s “Passage” at 74th Street. |
Happy World
There’s no way to see from below what’s exactly hand painted on those tiny three-inch-by-three-inch ceramic tiles, but it sure is something beautiful. Not to mention, it flawlessly reveals Ik-Joong Kang’s pain staking mosaic style.
The Korean-American artist, who is primarily known for mosaic-like installation works, represents various aspects of his life, or shall we say “Happy World,” in this subway art piece.
Born in Korea in 1960, Kang has lived and worked in New York City since 1984 receiving fine arts degrees from Hong-Ik University in Seoul and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
Under the glare of the lights, the 3,700 square edges of the tiles merge into a sea of greens, purples and yellows where nothing is trivial or random. Every miniature scene is playing off the neighboring tile or the one positioned just above it.
“Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to rush you toward the platform and then pull you back like that, but this trip is going to be the quickest hour and a half you’ve spent. And every minute is precious.”
The platform begins to shake underfoot as the next 7 train pulls into the station. More people shuffle out of the car as more people crowd in. Shoving through the swarming mass a seat along the orange bench is found and it’s time to see what stop is next on the list.
“Oh you’re going to love the next one. It might be a bit of a ride, but seriously when we get there it’s going to amaze you. Wait, hold on, there are actually two pieces at the next stop, still though, John Cavanagh’s 1986 mural is really going to get you.”
Ik-Joong Kang’s “Happy World.” |
Commuting Community & Woodside Continuum
A young woman pulls a zip lock bag of celery from her purse and gnaws on the thin sticks as the man sitting three seats down from her rests his head against the window, adjusting the ankle of his cement splattered pants.
The car jerks from side to side as it pulls into the 61st Street-Woodside Station. The woman puts the zip lock bag back in her purse and rises from her seat. The man doesn’t budge a bit.
“Ok, here we are. Ready?”
As the train doors close and the mezzanine clears of commuters, John Cavanagh’s porcelain enamel on steel mural, “Commuting/Community,” comes into view. It’s a wonder if the straphangers walking past the enormous black-and-white piece are aware of what Cavanagh is letting them in on. The intersecting cross walks, man holes, pedestrians and taxis are all part of the alternative commuter world these underground passengers rarely utilize.
While commuters pass Dimitri Gerakaris’ “Woodside Continuum,” a piece consisting of steel railings at the fare control area, on their way out of the station they are presented with a commuter history. Gerakaris’ intricately carved scenes of men waiting for the Long Island Rail Road locomotives offers a hint of days gone by.
“Oh no, look at the time. There’s still another stop with two more works that need to be seen.”
Just like clock work, the speeding train screeches up to the platform. People shuffle out and others crowd into the car.
The Columns
“Whew, what an hour. Just one more to go and then we’ve seen pretty much every piece of art along the 7 line, not bad, eh?”
Just like Happy World at the beginning of this trip, the Columns created by Syndey Cash, is easy to miss when stepping off the train at Queensborough Plaza. The clear pieces of glass take the shape of two unassuming columns, each playing on the placement of square pieces. There’s much to say about the simplicity, but as the next swarming mass pushes past to catch the 7 train before it pulls away it would be impossible to hear over the buzz of the commuters’ chatter.
Each stop has something unique in Queens. Each represents the neighborhood. Get yourself a day and a MetroCard and see what zips past the windows.
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