Over the past two months a few of my colleagues and myself have spent time in Pittsfield behind the MASS MoCA table as part of the popular 3rd Thursday events. Last month we were located right next to a live band which made communicating with table visitors nearly impossible. Luckily, the band was kind enough give us a few shout-outs over their speaker system, we had some yummy drinks from Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, and some brightly colored paper to help us communicate our message.

Stop by our tables at Downtown Celebration in North Adams TONIGHT and 3rd Thursday tomorrow in Pittsfield for two more chances to win free tickets to an event at MASS MoCA. Don’t forget to pick up gallery information and postcards for upcoming events while you are there.

Cheers,

Brittany

For the better part of my first two weeks as an intern at the museum, I was enlisted to do survey work of some of the yet-to-be renovated buildings on the MASS MoCA campus. At the same time I was getting better acquainted with the current boundaries of the museum space, I was also measuring the extent of the complex at large. Exploring all that real estate reminded me of the first time I was taught the scale of cosmological bodies in elementary school. First, we learned that the Sun is incomprehensibly large compared to the Earth, which already seemed pretty big. Then we learn that the Sun is only a red dwarf, a garnish on the astro-salads of all the supergiants laughin’ large in the sky. As big as MASS MoCA is right now, the complex is still filled with spaces like Building 17: artifacts of the old occupants (Sprague Electric) or at the very most, storage space for materials of older and ongoing exhibits. It’s uncertain if, when, and for what purpose all of the buildings on MASS MoCA’s campus will be reclaimed, but I wanted to make a record of what this one still contains.

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News from Joseph Smolinski whose Tree Turbine is spinning away generating electricity in Courtyard C as part of Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape.

Mixed Greens is presenting his first solo exhibition in New York. He will debut a series of graphite drawings, sculptures and a video commenting on the contemporary landscape. It opens September 4th from 6-8pm at Mixed Greens which is located at 531 West 26th Street in Chelsea.

Joseph’s view of the landscape changed the day he spotted an enormous fake tree used to camouflage a cellular communication tower. This “Franken-Treeâ€� has since triggered images of a biotech future where parasitic microwave transmitters use the trees inhabiting suburbia and apocalyptic gardens as their hosts. A large-scale rendering of an apple tree in the Garden of Eden, reminiscent of a Durer etching but complete with cell tower, will be shown as part of a series of masterful graphite drawings. The fine lines and textures are mesmerizing in their detail; each intricacy lures the viewer into contemplating the intersection between technological advancement and naturally occurring phenomena.

On an optimistic note, Smolinski has developed Tree Turbines which, like the cell tower trees, camouflage technology to blend into the landscape. A functioning electric wind turbine was first envisioned in the concept video Tree Turbine, that animates the landscape with a forest full of majestic, artificial pine trees powering a cabin, an electric car charging station and an entire city. Presented along with the video are a series of sculptures, drawings and documentation of the 20-foot tall prototype currently on view here.

Curator Denise Markonish reports:

From July 14 – 21, 2008 I was in New Orleans with video artist Pawel Wojtasik working on a project for my upcoming exhibition called These Days: Elegies for Modern Times (a group show also including works by George Bolster, Chris Doyle, Robert Taplin and Micah Silver) which will open April 4, 2009.

Pawel’s project, titled Below Sea Level, is a panoramic video being filmed in New Orleans in collaboration with the composer Sebastian Currier. The finished piece will project on a 36-foot diameter circular screen that is 12-feet high and it addresses the relationship between New Orleans and its surrounding waters, focusing most specifically on the effects of industry on the disappearing wetlands (for more information on this please check out Pulitzer Prize Winning journalist Bob Marshall’s devastating account of the wetlands.

While on site in New Orleans we filmed in the Lower Ninth Ward (the area most devastated by Hurricane Katrina, which is just now, three years later, slowly being rebuilt); in New Orleans’ amazing cemeteries; in Bayous Gauche just outside the city (where we saw alligators), at an alternative arts space utilizing abandoned homes called KK Projects; throughout the Gulf of Mexico; along the Mississippi River and more.

Gian Pablo Villamil, a recent graduate of NYU’s ITP Program was with us serving as panoramic guru and tech assistant on the project. Check out his blog with images and details about technical side of filming a panoramic video using the Ladybug 2 camera. Pawel and Gian Pablo head back to New Orleans this week where they will finish up filming (they are planning a trip to an abandoned Six Flags Amusement Park, a canoe trip through a forest of dead trees and many other adventures), and after that the editing process will begin. Come to MASS MoCA in April to see the finished results!

After a little summer cleaning Hardware is setting out all the merchandise they no longer carry for a blockbuster sale! Discounts up to 50% off on housewares, novelties, gifts, and accessories. The sale will take place on the second floor (near the Miss Rockaway exhibition) on Thursday, August 14, from 11:30-3:30. Credit cards will be accepted but cash is preferred. If you love Hardware don’t miss this sale!

Happy shopping,

Brittany

One of our devoted tour guides, Karen Matthews, recently went on an expedition behind The Clark Art Institute in search of the first generation of upside down (now right side up) trees from Tree Logic. Not only was her search fruitful, but she wrote an excellent article for The Advocate to share her findings. If you’ve ever been curious about the trees, be sure to check out Karen’s report.

Cheers,

Brittany