Office by Alex Penny
An audio podcast about visual art.
This is an action packed week for all of the artists at NewMediator.org. There are a number of shows that some of our artists are in now and are going to open soon (even one opening today!).
Current:
Currently the NewMediator.org show is going on at Nighthawk Books until July 1st. You can still see works by Amanda Thackray, Sheree Rensel, James Post, Olivia Kaufman-Rovia, Jeffrey Augustine Songco, John Herman, and David LaMorte. Listen to the Audio Tour here.
Also currently on show is the Site Specific Art Show in East Islip, NY. Olivia Kaufman-Rovia is showing an installation piece and there is a closing reception on July 24th that I am definitely going to be attending myself.
Upcoming:
Presents: 3 Months of Mail Art for Hyperallergic HQ Sheree Rensel and I both have a piece of mail art in this show!
From Hyperallergic:
“Co-curated by Kate Wadkins and Hrag Vartanian, Presents will draw on the 100+ mail art works that have been sent to Hyperallergic since our initial request for submissions to our Mail Art Bulletin in March 2011. The show will include everything from practical jokes to prayer/envelope flags. They represent a range of materials and subject matter all emphasizing the tangible communication from one individual to another.
Please join us for our opening party Friday, June 17 from 6pm to 9pm at Hyperallergic HQ. We will also have gallery hours during Northside Open Studios on Saturday and Sunday June 18 and 19 from 12 noon to 6pm.
Hyperallergic HQ is located at 181 N 11th Street, Suite 302, Brooklyn, NY 11211.”
Brain Health Initiative
I am also helping put together a show at the Riverview Arts Center in Phillipsberg, NJ about the brain. The show, curated by Frank May, will address through art what it means to be a healthy brain. This show is slated for mid August, but the title and the line up are still TBA.
This is an audio tour of the current New Mediator Art Show at Nighthawk Books. The show features the work of past New Mediator guests John Herman, Olivia Kaufman, James Post, Amanda Thackray, Jeffrey Songco, Sheree Rensel, and your host David LaMorte. Links to the artists’ pages: John Herman (http://johnherman.org) Olivia Kaufman-Rovira (http://oliviakaufman.com/) Dave LaMorte (http://davidlamorte.com) James Post (http://jamespost.net) Sheree Rensel (http://wizzlewolf.com) Jeffrey Augustine Songco (http://songco.org) Amanda Thackray (http://ajthackray.com)
Last weekend I participated in the Highland Park Open Studios in Highland Park, NJ. Each year the Arts Commission and the Highland Park Artists Collective organize the event, promoting the artists and advertising for the event.
I had a lot of fun talking to everyone who came through the Lotus Studios and saw me and a bunch of other artists. I have attended many open studio events, but this was my first time exhibiting. It was a great chance to meet my neighbors, talk about my work, and promote our upcoming show:
NewMediator.org’s Group Art Show at Nighthawk Books 212 RARITAN AVENUE, HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. Saturday, May 28, 2011 2pm-6pm Featuring: John Herman (http://johnherman.org)
Olivia Kaufman-Rovira (http://oliviakaufman.com/)
Dave LaMorte (http://davidlamorte.com)
James Post (http://jamespost.net)
Sheree Rensel (http://wizzlewolf.com)
Jeffrey Augustine Songco (http://songco.org)
Amanda Thackray (http://ajthackray.com)
http://blip.tv/file/get/Teachingforthefuture-HighlandParkOpenStudios279.mp3
I am excited to share this interview I did with Duncan MacKenzie from Bad at Sports. A great deal of the work we are doing on NewMediator was inspired by the many dedicated folks behind Bad at Sports. I am basically stealing their idea and trying to do what I think they have done with the Chicago art world and apply it to New Jersey.
He was gracious enough to sit with me and discuss his many different roles. Duncan is an artist, educator, curator, critic, podcast, and merrymaker.
{Mp3 link}
Reminder:
We are gearing up for our first group show.
NewMediator.org’s Group Art Show {Kickstarter}
at Nighthawk Books
212 RARITAN AVENUE, HIGHLAND PARK, N.J.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
2pm-6pm
Today we sit down to talk with curator, Jewel Lim. Jewel is the curator at the Alfa Art Gallery in New Brunswick, NJ. We discussed her work at the gallery and the New Brunswick Art Salon.
The New Brunswick Art Salon is a juried show that features emerging and established artists from the New Jersey area. Part 1 runs from April 22nd through May 12th and features the work of Carlos Frias ,Dara Alter, Peter Arakawa, and Rita Herzfeld. Part 2 opens on May 13th and features Michael Bransfield, Darren McMannus, Jian Chen, Coleen Tyler, and Sam Ralston
For more information go to
http://www.alfaart.org
{Mp3}
John Herman is a writer, director, actor, web producer, musician and educator based in New Hampshire. John is a fixture of new media and pioneer in combining art and the web. As the creator of numerous projects that are also numerous in scope.
For our group show John is going to orchestrate 25 authors to write a single book in 24 hours. The writing/editing of the chapters will be documented over the course of the day and during our show.
For more information about John or volunteer to be an author for the book you can check out his webpage (http://www.johnherman.org/).
You can also check out the interviews with the artists who are going to be in our upcoming show Amanda Thackray, Jeffrey Augustine Songco, Olivia Kaufman, and support our show on our Kickstarter page.
Aditional Photos:
Today we talk to another one of the talented artists for our upcoming group show, James Post. James is a Brooklyn based painter who draws from eastern thought, his martial arts training, and the relationship between conscienceness and the body.
His paintings always seem in flux, drawing his own beliefs and research. Trying to capture a sense of transformation. I think what I love about his work is how he is able to articulate ideas and concepts that to most people are unexplainable. You can find more of James Post’s work on his website at http://www.jamespost.net
You can also check our previous artist interviews with Amanda Thackray, Jeffrey Augustine Songco, Olivia Kaufman, and our Kickstarter page.
Additional Photos:
Today we sit down with installation artist and sculptor Olivia Kaufman. We discussed her artwork and Upcycled, her most recent show in New York dealing with recycled art and installation.
There was also a recent Jersey Journal article about her and her work if you want to learn more about Olivia. Article in the Jersey Journal, on NJ.com
You can find more of her work and information about Olivia on her website: www.oliviakaufman.com
You can also check our previous artist interviews with Amanda Thackray, Jeffrey Augustine Songco, and our Kickstarter page.
Additional Photos:
We sit down with artist Amanda Thackray. She is a talented artist from New Jersey who is currently working on her masters at the Rhodes Island School of Design.
We discuss her work in printmaking, bookbinding, and now fiber arts. Amanda’s work is very process oriented and she takes us into her approach to her work. I have wanted to sit down and talk to her about her work for a while and I was happy when we finally got the opportunity to talk.
Amanda is also going to be one of the artists participating in our group show on May 28, 2011. You can find out more about her work on her website (http://ajthackray.com/ ) or at Newmediator.org
I’m excited to have Amanda Thackray on the podcast and part of our group show. Amanda’s artwork is both conceptual and self-referential in the way she uses her materials. These qualities give her work many layers of meaning. For some one like me, I like sitting down with her pieces and take time to parse their meaning.
Like her recent rug weaving work, the design of the function play off each other. The image of the fruit-fly life cycle gets worn away as the rug disintegrates under foot traffic. This makes the material and the subject matter deliberately temporary.
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