softbox

2009-10-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting the project blog. To see posts on the Open House and Spring Space to see her in all her glory, check out the tabs on the right side bar to see more photos from the building process, guests, and events.

Splitting up

2009-07-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Softbox is shrinking like our economy. I'm splitting up the space due to finances and an impending MFA show. It'll still be beautiful, but the scales of public vs. private are tipping heavily towards the private for now.

Spring Space Closing party

2009-06-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

tons of fun! A little steamy but the last hour was gorgeous on the roof.

summer sunset

2009-06-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Spring Space Closing

2009-06-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

Spring Space is closing on Sunday, June 28th. There will be a reception/potluck from 4pm-7pm. See sidebar for directions!

Spring Space Opening

2009-06-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

Spring Space opening went well! The work looked beautiful on fresh white walls with good lighting. Valeria's "curator's didactic" around the center pillar was a great sculptural addition and guests got to see the light change over the course of the night. She was at her best.

It is open by appointment until the end of the month. Email me: softbox "at" joqnelson.com.

Spring Space, curated by Valeria Federici

2009-05-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

Softbox's contribution to A Lot of Possibilities as Spring Space will open Saturday May 30th.

The show is curated by Valeria Federici based on an open concept of boundaries and limits.
Federici writes: "In harmony with Soft Box, a location that escapes standard definitions of space by existing as a living object molded by individuals and transformed through their ideas, Spring Space presents episodes of straddling boundaries and facing barriers.”
“In an implicit manner, to define means to exclude. Spring Space addresses the possible interruption of such proscription by investigating, reinventing and overcoming limits.” Federici continues.

Artists include:
Alyssa Casey
Marion Misilim
Roel Vanderlinden

Work of the artists involved is a direct response to their experience in and with a foreign country and culture:
“Travelling in Alentejo, Portugal, I was deeply struck by the strong resemblance of that landscape to the region of California where I grew up.” Alyssa Casey said.
Having been trained in biology, art, and the research methods of physical geography, Alyssa decided to place her own emotional truth under scrutiny by conducting an experiment to objectively test the resemblance of Alentejo and California.

Alyssa Casey, from California-Alentejo

Marion Misilim travelled to Romania to visit her family. She came to the US when she was 3 years old with her parents escaping communism. Her relatives still live there. Marion first travelled back to Romania in 1997 in an exploration of another life she may have lived. Marked by the death of her grandmother, in her last trip in 2008, she noticed how much the country is changing driven by progress and how local identities risk extinction.

Marion Misilim, from web projects.

Roel Vanderlinden travelled to US for the first time in the summer of 2008. The constant presence of American flags throughout the landscape - hanging from windows, standing in many backyards as well as atop many buildings - inspired him and his brother Martijn an ongoing project to spread the message "unity through identity". The project already brought Roel in Lisbon, Seville, St. Savinien, Novo Mesto and Zagreb making fields of painted flags, of all countries, in all countries, with all people.

Roel Vanderlinden from "unity through identity."
_________________
Federici holds a MA in Art History from The University of Rome, Italy. She moved to New York City on October 2007 where she now lives and works. She has been working for art galleries both in New York City and Massachusetts where she managed several exhibition research projects and co-operated on installation curatorial aspects.
Federici's past projects include:
-Participation in the MCLA Arts Management Program, North Adams, MA, in Summer 2007, co-installing several exhibitions at Gallery 51
-Work with Picture Projects Inc., Brooklyn, NY, for exhibition managing, developing and researching.
-Co-curated Sand Counting Lab, an installation by Alison Cornyn for the exhibition “Sand, Memory, Meaning and Metaphor” at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, NY.
-Installation planning and oversight for exhibition of Gilles Peress photographs as part of Access to Life project at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. travelling to Madrid, Spain, Oslo, Norway and Rome, Italy.
-Currently, Federici is working at a permanent exhibition for a landmark building by Frank Lloyd Wright in Elkins Park, PA.

(The project California - Alentejo was originally created within the context of the Festival Escrita na Paisagem 2007 (Written in the Landscape), a festival of performance art in Alentejo, Portugal. After a road trip in 2004, where in she brought Alyssa to the Alentejo landscape, Inês Barreiros included Alyssa in the section "Andamentos" (a section dedicated to young artists/performances). The artist would like to acknowledge Inês for her invaluable creative and logistical support. The project would not have been possible without the generosity and help of she and her entire family, Leonilde, José, and Ana Barreiros. California – Alentejo was created with a grant from the US Embassy of Portugal, Department of Cultural Affairs)

Three Bull Shenanigans

2009-05-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Softbox hosted its 1st dance party for 3 Taurus troublemakers, Meredith Davenport, Ellie Krakow, and Rebecca Loyche. The "unfortunate matador" cake by Jane Hansen went over well, especially with Cool Papa who broke out of his cage while we were out to dinner and devoured half of it.

Video night-organized by Lara Duren

2009-04-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Fantastic. We climbed up to the roof before hand, a perfect "1st spring day" in New York. We don't look for daffodills, the real signs of spring are bare legs and sundresses.

Crowd was mesmerized by the sometimes silly, sometimes dark, work. Artists included:

Barchael, Michael Berube, Amy Brener, Meredith Davenport, Rob Debbane, Lara Duren, McLean Fahnestock, Nathan Gwynne, David Kagan, Ellie Krakow, Yuliya Lanina, Jess Levey, Rebecca Loyche, Nathaniel Lieb, Lars Rasmussen, Sarada Rauch, Meg Vinson, Alex Golden, and Seldon Yuan.

There was fun with wheels, too, rearranging the space.

Resident Mary Mazzer also showed her work, material paintings using cardboard and chenille plus a panel of psycho-responsive watercolor drawings.

SoftBox-Short Video Screening Night + Meet the Resident!

2009-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Short video screening event curated by Lara Duren.
Humor. Dark. Light. Bizarro.

Artists include: Barchael, Michael Berube, Amy Brener, Meredith Davenport, Rob Debbane, Lara Duren, McLean Fahnestock, Nathan Gwynne, David Kagan, Ellie Krakow, Yuliya Lanina, Jess Levey, Rebecca Loyche, Nathaniel Lieb, Lars Rasmussen, and Sarada Rauch.

Also, Mary Mazzer will be showing work she's made in residence at Softbox since December.

They'll be some goodies, BYOB is appreciated.

Saturday, April 18th
Opens at 7pm, Screening starts at 8-ish

Video Screening, Call for Entries

2009-03-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

This is an upcoming event curated by Lara Duren. Please forward this to anyone that might be interested!

Video and time-based artists––

Softbox is calling for submissions of time-based art. Time––if you've got it, give it!

We are looking for work that embodies all flavors of humor and it's relationship to the human condition. We want it real, we want it raw, and we want it bad. We don't care how you dish it out as long as it's hot and ready to... wait, what was I talking about? Right! Humor–– make us laugh, make us laugh so hard we cry, annoy us with your idiocy, disturb us with your irony, astound us with your wit, make us uncomfortable, comfortable, sad, angry, sock it to the man––do all of the above and more!
l venue check out softboxqueens.blogspot.com

Submit your work in m2v and aiff files. If you can't do this send a DVD. Please only send a DVD if you absolutely can not submit your work in m2v/aiff form. For performance based work, submit a proposal with visual components. All submissions need to be under 20 min long.

Deadline for submissions is Monday, April 6th.
Although feel free to submit earlier!

If you would like your submissions returned please supply the appropriate postage or pick it up at the event on April 18th.

For performance proposals or general questions please email me at laraduren@comcast.net.

Work will be screened on April 18th. More details on that later!

Space All Over

2009-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

Softbox is a part of a 4 show coalition , conceived by Anna Lise Jensen. The 1st show takes place at Jensen's apartment in February, opening the weekend of Feb 7-8.

A Lot of Possibilities, the first show at Winter Space, mirrors one room's view of a communal garden. This formerly abandoned private lot was taken over by the City and neglected, until locals decided to organize and turn it into a garden. The exhibition explores the idea and experience of transformation and transplantation through various interior "lots" of participating artists: Nanna Debois Buhl, Laura Fayer, Sandra Eula Lee, Sandra Mack-Valencia, Kenneth Rasmussen, Mark Inglis Taylor and Jonathan Velardi.

Winter Space
15 W. 103rd St. #4D
New York, NY 10025
Open Weekends, 11am-4pm, from February 7th-March 29th.

A Lot of Possibilities opens February 7th, and Winter Space stretches the opening experience by avoiding it. An official opening is replaced by continual presence and visits -spontaneous as well as planned - on Open Weekends, 11am-4pm, from February 7th-March 29th. After that, the exhibition will be open per appointment only (call 917 549-7285) till next winter season rolls around.

Softbox New Year's

2009-01-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

Mary Mazzer

2008-12-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

Meet Mary Mazzer!

Mary moved in over thanksgiving and will stay and softbox until March. She just finished her MFA in Painting from Kent State University in Ohio.

It was a two-for-one...she brought Cool Papa Bell with her, a Lab/Great Dane mix that dismembers stuffed squirrels and leaves their body parts around the place.

Girls' weekend

2008-12-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

Softbox was a full house, hosting Sarah Sutton and Mary Colan from Cleveland, along with another Ohio buddy and new softbox guest Mary Mazzer (post coming soon). They came to town for a Julie Langsam opening at Frederieke Taylor and a little birthday mayhem for Sarah. There were some heated and manic art convos (involving heavy YouTubage and flash drives) and a capacity test of the water heater.

Mary took these nice tricolor skyline shots:

Lidy's thoughts

2008-11-24T22:04:00.000-08:00

Performance from Oracle, by Lidy Six. This was a gathering led by a shaman on the dutch island Terschelling.

Lidy was the first guest to Softbox (see post "New Guest: Lidy Six"). This is part of an email from her about her thoughts about the space and her own work.

"...First things that crossed my mind:
Your space relates a lot to my work of the last years, specifically my series ‘Oracles’ in seven parts. In several parts the whole space was white with the audience on white cushions. In part 3 I had a dream interpreter as guest. I was laying down in bed with her, in a large bed for two persons in the middle of the space, the audience around on cushions. For one and a half month every morning I wrote down my dreams of the night. During the performance I told her some of that dreams and she worked with me and the dreams, it was a journey into a dream world with the audience involved. Everything was white, also the bed and sheets and her and my nightclothes, white because of the dream world, it has something diffused, volatile, another dimension. The light had an important role too.And in part 7 we asked also the audience to come in white. That part was about the power of sound and color, I showed you some images on DVD. Here we traveled through seven colors via light and sound. With this part I was very busy during my stay in NY. Last Friday I had a meeting with a new lighting designer for developing further ‘Oracles#7’. I told her about my stay in NY and about your space too (I couldn’t show photo’s, will do that later). She said that she could imagine that it would be nice to work with light in your space for some days, to explore things, also with your rooms on wheels. She is a very good lighting designer, is also writing about light, for example a very good article about the work of James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson.

After leaving and thinking of your space for example the idea fell in that it could be nice to sit a whole day in your space, on white cushions, without talking, in silence and experience the light, all the transitions in light during the day. Starting in the dark in the morning up until the darkness in the evening, from before dawn till after sunset. Writing this now, I become consciousness that it has to do with the sky-scape of Turrell in PS1. I could imagine to do this on a clear winterday, I think that gives beautiful light. And invite people, ‘audience’ for this experience. I remember that you told me that during the day there are sometimes different colors in the space. I would love to experience that..."

Open House press

2008-11-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Kyla Calvert wrote about Softbox after interviewing me before the open house. She is covering the neighborhood on her blog (scroll down to Thursday, October 2, if you can make it past the post titled "Rikers Island guard made me fight thug, ex-inmate").

The open house was also reported in Queens Chronicle by Paul Leonard, see article here.

Chen!

2008-11-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

Chen Tamir from Flux factory (and curator of Living Room) is the most recent guest at Softbox. She's unfortunately a double refugee at the moment, coordinating the clean-sweep of Flux Factory (lost to eminent domain!) and from her own domicile. I think some fluxers are stuffing envelopes at Softbox this week for their benefit.

Election Night Party

2008-10-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Wanna come over and dare to dream?
Election Night party:
Nov. 4th, 5:30pm until it is over (that's right, see above, dare to dream!)
BYOB
I'll have my TV, NPR, and internet to help the baited breath.
Maybe even an interactive color-me-in-map!

Please RSVP

Apply to Softbox

2008-10-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Interested in coming to Softbox as a resident? See information below!

1: Description of Program

Short term subsidized residency, 1-3 months, live/work warehouse space with option for hosting an event.

2: What supports/services are provided as part of the program? i.e. housing, studio space, food, stipend, etc..

Subsidized live/work opportunity at below market rental price. Opportunity to stage a small-scale event or performance in the space, possibilities include music or theater performance, film/video screening, relational projects.

Basic sculpture tools available: table saw, chop saw, hand tools. Private studio plus option to build larger site-specific work in space.

Information about events and resources provided by host as needed, access to host’s contact list for promotion.

3: What disciplines is the residency for? Visual Arts, music, architecture...

Unlimited, but there are restrictions on the use of space in terms of lighting, audience size, harsh chemicals and noise levels.

4: Who is eligible to apply?

Emerging or established artist, international welcome. This opportunity is ideal for an artist who is coming to New York to work on a project/performance, to research project possibilities and network, or relocating to New York and needing a short term place to live, work, and present projects.

5: Application procedure and Materials

Email application in prose form describing yourself, statement of need, proposal for use, time frame, web link to previous work and/or attached images, and 1 professional references available by phone. Feel free to attach CV or press.

Email or phone interview to follow initial review.

Applications accepted on a rolling basis, length of stay dependent on needs and availability.

contact: Jo Q. Nelson, softbox "at" joqnelson.com

Class

2008-10-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

I had my "Monument and Social Sculpture" class over to the place. It was a helpful critique, gave me a lot to think about and helped to synthesize what I was doing with past and future work. I'm looking forward to making some smaller scale pieces (literally and in scope) playing with ideas of public vs. private space, a proto-institution, and collective vs. individual authorship.

The crit in a circle moved over to a little impromptu lecture hall for our prof Paul Ramirez-Jonas to lecture about artists working in the
Public Sphere as defined Habermas and examples of contemporary artists working with institutional critique through creation of alternatives, infiltration, and rejection. We also watched a
documentary of Thomas Hirschorn's Musee Pracaire Albinet

New Living Room

2008-10-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

A visitor at open house suggested I approach IKEA as a corporate sponsor. Softbox is dangerously close to being one complete IKEA Hacker project, more found and adapted than bought IKEA goodies.

My friends at Mango Leaf let me borrow some great bamboo pieces that really accent the space and bring some much needed organic textures.

Open house

2008-10-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

The open house was a success. It was great to hear reactions and ideas from visitors, including 2 tour groups led by the Living Room curator, Chen. It feels like a big shift to talk about the project as actual, not theoretical, as physical rather than virtual.

One great thought posed by a sometimes boss Daniel Smith of Disign LLC: What is the principal "unit"? Are the pods subservient rooms within the overall space "unit," or are the pods the "units" and the space the "landscape."

Hosting came up over and over again as the overarching concept, explaining both the design and the program.

Panorama view of Softbox, all dressed up for Open House.

Setup for sweet corn from the Sunnyside farmer's market.

Visitors exploring guest pod.

Pod, day and night

2008-10-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

New guest! Lidy Six

2008-09-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Lidy is an acquaintance of an acquaintance staying with me for a couple of weeks. She is a theatre director from Holland in town to research for a potential project here. She had a production called Tower of Babel at PS 122 in 2006.

I had some fun Merle Ukeles moments getting the room ready, taking maintenance and into process and performance. Hostess with the mostest.

Guest Pod

2008-09-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Got the guest pod geared up for my first visitor, Lidy Six, from Holland.

Pod progress!

2008-09-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

New Garden

2008-09-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

They were having a sale at my local florist on their starter plants, so I got some new friends. I got a bunch of cute peppers, I hope they can deal with diffused light plus my DIY grow lights.

My good friend Marion Cowings, jazz singer extrodinaire and experienced urban gardener said "...well, you only know a plant after you've killed it four times..."

1st pod

2008-09-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

Rounding the bend on the first pod. It looks so purty and naked.

The wall panels are coroplast corrugated plastic, 4mm thick.

Pod construction! Finally!

2008-09-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

Got started on the first pod floor today. Super psyched. The corner/caster placement engineering has been a challenge. I got a professional advice from Joe Petrilla, a carpenter and cabinet maker I met on a freelance gig with
Disign LLC.

This is my super nerdy jig for making the corner braces/caster supports.

Construction and reorganization

2008-09-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

My awesome neighbor Jae (AKA my favorite Shelty Momo's dad!) lent me his table saw which is making quick work of my projects, like...

...revamping some shipping cartons from Vietnam into a rolly, double cabinet.

Out of sight, out of mind. I'm generally streamlining material stuff around the space, this sure helps keep up appearances!

Floor circles

2008-08-28T17:47:00.001-07:00

Here's the plan for the new paint job. Oil based this time, will be fumey but a helluva lot more durable. My friend Tilman recommended an equal surface are for the big circle and remaining white, a proposition made possible by the awesome SketchUp!

I premarked the circles the old fashioned way, a nail, some string, and a sharpie! There will be a small circle around the column around the benches, a medium circle accentuating the stage and a large one off center in the middle.

OHNY/FLux factory Living Room!

2008-08-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

Softbox will be a part of the openhousenewyork/Flux Factory partnership and show the first weekend of October. It is called Living Room and curated by Chen Tamir (also one of the curators of a show I was in there last year
NYNYNY: So Nice We Named it Thrice). I originally proposed to do a site specific intervention with a host site participating in OHNY, but in the end, and thankfully to Chen's suggestions, I'm going to "debut' Softbox instead.

See Press Release below for more details:

Living Room
Flux Factory in collaboration with openhousenewyork
October 4-5, 2008

Flux Factory has invited ten artists to transform strangers’ homes into sites for interactive works. Domestic or historic locations throughout New York City will become arenas for exploring what it means to inhabit a space, to make it one’s own. In conjunction with openhousenewyork, “Living Room” locations range from private living rooms to historical sites throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

Explore a wall of secrets, a room-cum-optical-device, and rooftop camping, among other exciting projects!

“Living Room” is a continuation of Flux Factory’s interest in the urban experience, in New York history, and in the overlap between private and public space. Being a live/work collective, we are fascinated by what it means to make a space one’s own. Aside from satisfying a mild desire for voyeurism common to us all, this project is an opportunity for the public to peek into private sites normally off limits.

This special exhibition is one of the many itinerant projects Flux Factory is mounting in the face of immanent eviction from our Queens premises.

Works will be on view throughout the OHNY Weekend on October 4-5, 2008 from 11:00 – 6:00 unless otherwise noted. A free, 20 person shuttle will leave the Center for Architecture on Saturday and Sunday at 12pm to transport visitors to the sites. To RSVP for the shuttle bus, and for detailed information, please visit fluxfactory.org.

Openhousenewyork is a non-profit organization celebrating New York City’s architecture and design, culminating in America’s largest event of its kind, the Annual OHNY Weekend.

Participating Artists:
Emily Clark
Rodney Dickson
Kim Holleman
Prem Krishnamurthy
John Monteith
Jo Q. Nelson
Filip Noterdaeme
Trong Gia Nguyen
Douglas Paulson
Tattfoo Tan
Lauren Wilcox

Curated by Chen Tamir

“Living Room” is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and Queens Council on the Arts, as well as generous support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts,
and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

farmin', part two

2008-07-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Got the seedlings for the garden box, the drainage works! I made a "watering can" by drilling small holes in the lid of an old water bottle. Much better than the full on dumping method.

Stage trim

2008-07-15T14:47:00.001-07:00

My little-stage-edge-trimmer-jig. The bottom leg rests against the sides so I could mark on the top to trim with a circular saw.

Farmin', queens style

2008-07-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Most recent IKEA hack are the Ivar shelves left behind by the old tenants, cut down with casters leftover from an IKEA file cabinets assembly freelance gig. The recycling bins and soil beds are cut from extra shelves and the storage really cleared up the storage area, AKA "the back 40."

Gravel/rocks from the neighborhood for drainage, cheesecloth, then potting soil.

Drainage spout into a cut 2 litre bottle, H2O can be put back into bed.

I made out like a bandit at the farmer's market at 43rd St. and Skillman, one of the cenyc markets. Hudson Valley Farmhouse was out of the kick-ass cheese ravioli I had last week, so I'm trying the spinach pasta instead.

A day's work

2008-07-11T20:13:00.001-07:00

The best part about this feeble attempt at time lapse is Rusty bustling around. Good view of the state of things, though.

Major progress moving the kitchen off of the stage so I can finish the floor and "lounge it out." I should've learned my lesson about white shag carpets in dusty lofts, but I still want one. Bad. The artist I'm working for, Fabian Marcaccio, has one in his loft, it is wool, nice quality, needs a cleaning once a year. Hmmm. I got inspired about the floor paint from helping him with his new space. Oil based "silver grey" from janovic/plaza. Did wonders on raw plywood and may be a bit more manageable than white, even if it means sleeping on a friend's couch while it dries.

Fabian's new studio, before and after.

To Do

2008-07-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

After a visit with my sister Sarah I realized there are a ton of half-done projects, the short-term mixed in with the long-term.

Thus the new to do list. Small bites, chew each 10 times before swallowing.

Rusty!

2008-06-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

Russ McClintock brought a little Miami flava to the joint last week. He's a good buddy from Chicago who fixed up a photo studio there and spent a week helping out while waiting for his visa to relocate to London. He's an incredible photographer, there are some images of the space on his blog .

Taking down florescents

2008-06-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Russell and I took down the florescents and said good riddance. What an unbelievable difference.

New Kitchen/New Lease

2008-06-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

The deep clean worked its way up onto the kitchen stage, made myself a fabulous lunch to go with the new lease under "Softbox LLC." I stopped by NY Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts to get my membership and make an appointment to start the process. My Suzie Secretary alter ego is twitching in anticipation

Is it spring cleaning if it is June?

2008-06-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Been doing more scrubbing and mopping, half the space is open again. I built a "test pod" to practice living in 8' x 12'. It is more spacious than I thought, or maybe I've just been conditioned to New York City standards of personal space.

I also built a new temporary window for the skyline side, which is much better for the elements and can be taken off when AC becomes necessary.

Spring Clean!

2008-04-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Did the spring cleaning last night, got a bit carried away. Even the plants got a new clean home.
Took these dreamy pics of the vespa and column with Photobooth

Studio Rat

2008-04-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've been super busy at school this month, up for mid-program review so softbox construction got put on hold until May. I'm still dreaming of her though, you can see by the pod-models.

Softbox pipe dreams translated into site specific piece for my review.

Momo's green

2008-04-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Check out my project inspired by looking for greenspace for Momo, my neighbor's pup, around Softbox.

Softbox model

2008-03-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Andrea's Party

2008-03-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

New floor done!

2008-03-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

Andrea is a paint rolling maniac. Floor is finally done. Party pics soon.

Sunburst over Sunnyside

2008-03-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous coming home on the 7 the other day, had to hustle up to the roof for these.

Final pod design

2008-03-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Got the pod design truly nailed down (har har) and even made a nerdy excel spreadsheet to estimate costs. Looks like they'll be $400 each, which doesn't account for some free supplies we already have and any other stuff we may be able to scavenge on craig's list + the like.

Stage, part deux

2008-03-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

OK, so Bamboo would be fabulous, but maybe a little out of our "start up" budget. I had the idea to floor the stage with boards from woden pallettes left on our loading dock. Since they did a big cleanout today, I was able to harvest a bunch.

Not sure about the patern yet, I love the idea of a rough edge. I have a feeling it'll be pretty "mosaic-ey" when dealing with the real rough wood.

Stage construction (or "Tilman is my Hero")

2008-02-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

We finally got the stage constructed from the lumber I bought from Hope Hilton . She made an amazing "front porch" installation for her MFA show, and of course spared no expense. It was great to get to reuse wood with from a project with such good mojo, which was (not to mention) essentially the exact same size.

Tilman rocked my world. Did not stop til the job was done. Fantastic.

Floor

2008-02-21T22:21:00.001-08:00

After Agonizing over how to finish the floors (financially and conceptually), we decided on a white wash. This was the brainchild of Justin, a welcome alternative to my possibly ill-advised idea of a red floor. We had a lot of conflicted emotions about painting it, covering the wood (as crappy and water damaged as it was), but...

...after 1st coat of primer we were in love. Glossy gorgeousness and mostly of all, sealed and CLEAN.

The new white floor is paradise, or half paradise until we move all our possessions on top of it and do the other side.

The Master Plan

2008-01-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

Everything is so clean in a 3D model. Sigh. We've written a bit about the spatial plan in other posts, here are some images of what we are hoping to build.

The rooms, or "pods" will be on wheels, making for maximum floor plan flexibility. The walls will be made of independent 4' x 8' panels, wood or metal studs, stretched with transluscent white plastic like little softboxes. They are designed modularly so that they can be joined together or used as open space for exhibitions and projects by removing panels. Design and materials aren't set in stone yet, but hopefully will be soon.

The stage will double as the kitchen on a regular basis, with curtains installed to hide kitchen furniture during performances. The whole stage will also be moveable, in case the leaky pipe of death acts up again.

boring necessary progress

2008-01-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Well, we've spent the last 2 months doing some pretty unromantic things, like setting up living necessities and fighting the elements. Between the air leaks and the water leaks, it took some time to get the basic improvements done to make the place warm and dry.

Kitchen with "adaptive reuse" cabinets

My boudoir, courtesy of Pearhead's old trade show booth

Custom made window to fill glass block hole. Works better than a taped up garbage bag, I'll tell you that.

Painted radiators. If I could, I'd paint the world silver.

Scary corner pipe of liquid death. It has been Kilz-ed so it isn't as scary as it was when it seemed to be made entirely of rust. It's still drips around the ceiling from the splashes upstairs, but at least the 4" crack in the back that woke us up every morning with our very own "water feature" is filled.

Soooo...

Now we're back to dreaming, doing manual labor that yields more fun results, like my "new" chairs:

Sister Organizations

2007-11-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to contact and meet with other organizations that are similar to our goals to get some advice about their start up and development. I've been getting great advice which should come in handy with balancing the manic big plans with necessary details.

I had an installation at Heaven Gallery February 2005. It is both a non profit exhibition space and a residence. They show emerging artists and provide opportunities for young curators as well as hosting film screenings, performances, and space for other fundraising events.

Commerce Street Artist's Warehouse (CSAW) is Houston based, artist run cooperative. I did a short residency there in Spring 2006, invited by Theresa O'Connor (super Art Babe!). It is a complex of studios and live/work spaces whose programming includes an artist residency program, gallery space for visiting curators, and large performance space.

Theresa O'Connor, Installation View, i need your carcass..., 2005

Spaces Gallery is a well established Cleveland institution that promotes both local artists and guest curators. They have a reputation for exhibiting high quality contemporary art, often with a emphasis on installation and new media work. The are able to provide a stipend to artists in their exhibitons in lieu of being a comercial space.

I met Eric from Forward Motion Theatre at a fashion show in the West Village. He gave me some great advice on initial legal and finance stuff, including a referral to the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and the New York Foundation Center.

Hope Hilton is a classmate that is a part of a collective called Dos Pestaneos, orginally of Atlanta, now in New York. Great advice on collective management, etc.

Hope Hilton, Lament, 2004

We love Shigeru Ban

2007-11-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

Shigeru Ban is a fantastic Japanese architect that the New york times called an Accidental Environmentalist for his use of recycled materials. He recieved a lot of attention for his emergency shelters built from paper tubes in Japan, Turkey, India and Rwanda.

Justin's Mom ("Hi mom!") sent him some info on Shigeru's Naked House with moveable pods. He also found a great book with detailed contruction docs which will hopefully help us with some of the physics, etc.

Material resources

2007-11-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

We've been talking a lot about our green strategies. It seems like there are three strategies that we have available to us.
-Classic warehouse living practice of building it with what we find/inherit
-Purchase used or surplus materials from a retailer
-Purchase new green products to support companies that are creating new solutions.

I think we're all familiar with the 1st, being broke, DIYers. We all agree, too, that aside from being creative with what is immediately available (i.e. using the cardboard tubes from fabric bolts and soundproofing), we'd love to be a testing ground for new products.

I had a great visit to Green Depot in Bushwick. The have zero off gas materials for just about any chemical (paint, stripper, floor coating, cleaners). Can't wait to fill up a truck. They also act as the middle man/consultant working with their partner for materials they don't supply themselves, i.e. windows.

NY Stuff Exchange is a great "rolodex" of wher to buy, sell, and donate recycled stuff.

Build It Green NYC is a non for profit retail outlet, with salvage and surplus building stuff. Through their site we also found Green Home Buildingt that has a great "Ask the experts" feature.

If I had a hammer...I'd blow out glassblock!

2007-10-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Justin went to town on the existing broken glass blocks. Wish I had a pic of his beaming face.

New Toy: Seafoam Vespa

2007-10-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

I got a great new prop for the space/dream come true.

I've wanted this exact bike since I saw a woman in Florence in 1998 riding one with matching riding gloves. I have fantasies of riding the backroads out to Montauk, but they may have to wait til the spring (as will the necessary repairs, insurance, and lessons!). I got it from a neighbor who brought it over from Vietnam. It is in great exterior condition but unknown mechanical condition.

Dirty Softbox!

2007-10-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

We got down to grime removal today. Brooke mopped the floor 3 (or 4?) times and we did some serious excavations on the windows.

Brooke found a birdnest in an old vent box, now with wires cut and sealed up. The birds were going crazy right outside as we were cleaning around it. A great pad, for sure, with a cartoon-like birdnest inside protected by old vent flaps. It reminded me of a show being organized right now about displacement. Damn those newcomers driving out existing tenants.

scavenging

2007-10-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

We used to say that the guys who used to pick up scrap metal in the alleys of Chicago were "Chicago's Metropolitan Recycling Program." Dan Peterman and Chicago Resource Center took that to heart when they helped organize these guys and get them more reliable vehicles.

Scavenging is the orginal form of reuse/recycle that happens when you are thrifty (read: broke). I got these SWEET casters from my neighbor to help with the first moveable wall and some other leftover building materials as well: glassblock for repairs, leftover drywall and studs. These will definitely give us a jump start on the first couple of weeks...we may not be tent city for as long as I thought.

Roof Top Views

2007-10-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Sunset with a beer after a day of loading a container. Who could ask for more.

Clean out

2007-10-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

The pallette jack is my new best friend. We cleaned out the space today, by equal parts scavenging and dumpster loading. The products left by the previous tenant (baby photo albums, foot print plaster kits, etc.) were a HUGE hit with the folks that work in the building.

Andrea and Marion rocked the house. I kinda love shutting up and working

colors

2007-10-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

I told you it was pretty. Sunset side to Skyline meet blue dusk.

The site

2007-10-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

The building is on the borderline of Long Island City and Sunnyside, Queens. It is mostly occupied by textiles shops, each floor holding 2 shops. Our unit was leased by a tableware designer as the full 1/2 floor, subsequently divided up. Softbox was previously rented by a gift ware company for the past 6 years. There are several other smaller units leased out by artists with varying degrees of "live" in "live/work." The complex does not feel like the Soho warehouses of the 1960s which allowed a "marginal" existence, according to my sculpture prof Robert Morris. Rather, it has a feeling of entrepreneurial creative enterprise; potentially a necessary condition at this point to sustain space in New York.

Softbox rocks

2007-10-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Softbox. Softbox is a 1600 square foot warehouse space in Queens, New York which came to me rough but will hopefully in phases come together as a live work/studio space as well as a testing ground for future projects.

The building is classic box warehouse with glass block window walls. I have been subletting a smaller unit on the same floor for the last couple of months. The glass block distorts and clarifies the color of light, making the room feel like a softbox.

It should be a slow moving and flexible project. I see it as progressing in phases, from the immediate clean up and temporary (tent city) phase to providing studio space for several friends, and eventually additions of plumbing and more permanent structures. Stay tuned...

Directions

2007-05-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Click here for google maps.

Take 7 train to 40th st/Lowery stop.
Walk north on 40th st. (city on your left) to 43rd ave.
Take a left on 43rd ave., past 39th place to 39th St. Miller bldg is on NW corner of 39th St. and 43rd ave. Enter in door to the left of Loading dock and come to 3rd floor in elevator or stairs.