Image courtesy of Bushwick Film Festival

7th Annual Bushwick Film Festival 
October 2-5, 2014
Multiple locations
Brooklyn, NY
bushwickfilmfestival.com

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Tom Friedman, Toxic Green Luscious Green (Detail), 2014. Paint and Styrofoam, 60 x 96 x 5 1/2 in.

Tom Friedman: Paint and Styrofoam
May 22 – Aug 8, 2014
Luhring Augustine Bushwick
25 Knickerbocker Ave
Brooklyn
luhringaugustine.com

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LO: What are some of the highlights from Momenta’s 27 (26?) years in operation? Best shows, artists, performances, etc…?
EH: The first exhibition that made us realize this was “Reimaging America,” in 1987. It was a group exhibition guest-organized by social practitioner Mark O’Brien. Titled “Reimaging America,” It included some known and lesser known artists whose work addressed strategies of art practice that parallel social concerns of activism at that time: education, social justice, and the embracement of marginalized individuals (including native Americans, African-Americans, prisoners, gays, and lesbians), and suggested to us that art could have a larger social function than visual experience alone. The idea that you can simultaneously present, through an exhibition, a critique of the society we live within and a vision of the world we would want to live in, has become a guiding principle of the work we show.

We moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1995. Our aim there was to present exhibitions that reflected a diversity of visions from a multitude of perspectives. First solo exhibitions of artists including Omer Fast, Wangechi Mutu, Ricardo Miranda Zuñiga, and Momoyo Torimitsu serve as examples. At that time, Williamsburg was designated by the press as the new art neighborhood defined by a DIY, funky style. Momenta presented an alternative vision of Williamsburg as an international destination for artists with a diversity of backgrounds brought together because of the availability of relatively inexpensive industrial space, close to the center of art appreciation. With very limited means, Momenta presented group shows by artists from Uruguay, Thailand, Mexico, and elsewhere.

LO: What do you think of the Bushwick art scene, i.e. how it was, how it’s changing, and why its important to a larger NYC art scene?
EH: The gentrification of neighborhoods follows a pattern of searching for a space to create meaningful discourse. We look for places that will allow us to perform these dialogs. As these places are capitalized that space is lost and we look for another place for them to continue, to watch them grow. As artists we bemoan the loss and fear that space will disappear and we will lose any sense of connection between production and meaning. Our progress is being increasingly monitored and calculated because capital knows our worth. But that worth is another system of valuation that we do not recognize. Without these spaces of dialog capital will exist, however, without even the semblance of meaning. New York should fear this loss. As dialogue gets replaced by lifestyle, we lose the bedrock of cultural significance.

LO: Please talk about your work and how it intersects with running a non-profit art gallery?
EH: Recently I’ve been studying the Biosphere2 science/art project in Tucson in the early 1990’s. It was an experiment in a “closed system,” in which nothing came into or left the system. All food to sustain them was grown and harvested by the “Biospherans,” the system providing all their needs. It was both a utopic project, and a project that was defined by capital and ruled by class. It has a rich metaphoric content to reflect the desires of individual versus social needs within a capitalist discourse, about escapism and privilege. It ended badly, with the participants not speaking to one another, malnourished, and overworked. I am interested in the construction of ideals and the way these ideals are actually manifested, and what that says about us. These are the concerns that draw me to particular artworks and the administration of an organization.

LO: What do you think of artists as curators? Do artists bring something different, if at all?
EH: It’s difficult to generalize and I don’t know what other artist/curators get from it personally, or intend to contribute. For me it is an externalization of studio practice, a more public place for the presentation of ideas that is outside myself, that involves others. It may appear to be generous, but it is more complicated than that, and I have to wonder why I seem to need this space of control/lack of control.

LO: What advice would you give to emerging artists who are just out of BFA/MFA programs or who have settled in NYC?
EH: I have taught at NYU, Cooper Union, and Pratt. I cannot say that I feel good about art school. I enjoy having that place to speak together, to talk about their work, and what it could signify. But the slavery that lies below that freedom is disturbing. I am concerned about the debt that an “art education” incurs. How, on top of that debt, can one be expected to maintain a studio as a “professional artist” after school, or to “afford” to question the assumptions that we live with? Perhaps we need to find alternatives to institutionalized education.

LO: Who are your favorite artists and why?
EH: My favorite artists are the ones who want to talk about the world we are living in now, not just about their own practice. Artists that have an awareness of the complications of generosity, of the systems of power that we live with, use, and are not exempt from as artists.

LO: What shows and projects do you have coming up as an artist and at Momenta?
EH: I am presenting my Biosphere2 project at the Galveston Artist Residency in November. Upcoming exhibitions at Momenta include a solo exhibition by Jacqueline Nguyen concerning immigration policy in Canada in the 1960’s, an exhibition of Chilean artists organized by Christian Viveros-Faune, and an exhibition that examines art and power in the US in a historical context with Paul Lamarre and Melissa Wolf of Eidea Projects.

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Even though Henry didn’t think he would ever work as curator, he believes, “it does make sense that artists do end up curating. I see it as analogous to any other artistic discipline. It just happens that the curators use other people’s work as a medium, the gallery as a substrate. The finished piece is the exhibition.” The curator is kinesthetically involved, connecting the dots for the viewers.

For both curators, art has been used as a point of reference throughout their lives, anchoring their childhoods and subsequent careers. Robert’s father was an artist and a professor of art; making his son’s transition into the art world smoother than most. Henry credits the influence of his mother to lead him in a creative direction. She would take him to the Brooklyn Museum every Saturday, where they took art classes together. “My memories of these moments are quite profound. They were some of the first times I saw my mother as a whole person who could do things other than ‘mom’ things.”

Given their longstanding investment and experience with art from an early age, both curators agree that the origins of their curatorial projects can stem from anywhere, sometimes the farther away from the visual arts the better. Henry interjects, “inspiration can happen anywhere.  The more unconventional, the more compelling the exhibition could be. Getting back to the connect-the-dots metaphor, it’s not so much fun if you’re only connecting dots that are close to one another.”

The gallery presents mainly solo exhibitions, and tends to hearken back to the visual and conceptual principles that both curators share. They use their gallery as a point of exploration, in which the exhibitions function as a continuous string of challenges and experiments. While some shows are conceptually closer to their personal visions, “other shows are farther away. So, rather than a series of curatorial projects Robert Henry Contemporary functions as one continuous curatorial exploration with every show, containing some, but not necessarily all of the ideas in the cluster of interests that Henry and I share.”

Considering the name of their curatorial endeavor, Robert Henry Contemporary, art of the moment is of primary interest. While both curators share much in common, their artistic preferences and interest tend to be quite different. Henry states, “I’m attracted to somewhat minimal work. I also have a tendency towards works on paper, as well as works that are heavily process oriented.” Robert admits he has a great love for Dutch portraiture and landscape paintings of the northern Renaissance. “Rogier van der Weyden, to name one.”

Every show is an amalgamation of Robert and Henry’s personal visions and philosophies, and while this may appear to be a daunting task, the duo isn’t too stressed about it. “I think collaboration often requires compromise by all parties involved. The most successful collaborations are ones where you can see the dialog between the voices, and not simply the lowest common denominator.”

And if you asked these two what they would change about their space if they could, you’d find they’re perfectly satisfied just where they are. Henry states, “I actually don’t like to think about our gallery and our curatorial vision in those terms. Any space can be the most beautiful space in the world if you knew what to do with it. As for a dream artist, this is Brooklyn, after all. There are a lot of artists out there. In that mix is some really exceptional work.”

Robert and Henry are always looking to their next project, anticipating how they can provoke their viewers to ask questions, and engage with their space and the work they believe in. They aren’t slowing down anytime soon. This fall the gallery is anticipating a number of solo shows by artists James Cullinane, Richard Garrison and Noah Loesberg. In December 2013, Robert Henry Contemporary will head to the beach for the Aqua Art Fair in Miami. We have no doubt they will work hard together to bring the heat.

roberthenrycontemporary.com

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Leah Oates: How did Associated Gallery form and what is your collective vision for the gallery?
Associated Gallery: Associated evolved out of Weeknights Gallery, a previous curatorial project that Jen had been running in her studio at The Active Space. When time came to renew the lease in the space, Theresa and Jen, who are both painters and had neighboring studios, thought to combine forces and share studio #28 for painting and turn #27 into a full gallery, which became Associated when they asked another friend, artist, and curator, Julian Jimarez-Howard, to join. We collectively aim to engage the community of artists and showcase those who are underrepresented. We also have aimed to bring totally new ideas to the curatorial world, like with our plant show, “You Are My Sunshine,” in the fall, which received a Critic’s Pick by Jerry Saltz in New York Magazine.

LO: Bushwick has a thriving art scene composed of galleries, non-profits, artists studios and performance spaces. How do you see Bushwick changing and growing and is it the place where the newest, freshest art is being created and/or is its now getting to expensive to pull these things off as much?
AG: We were just talking about this! We are excited for the possibilities that the growing community lends itself to, but also nervous that the increasing rent costs will drive out the thriving art scene before artists really have a chance to settle in the neighborhood. We are worried that Bushwick is becoming more about commercial consumption rather than artistic production. This might seem to be good news for us as a gallery because we rely on people buying work from us (hey collectors!!), but it’s a kind of double-edged sword as we constantly consider the eventuality of being priced out of this neighborhood that we all consider home, or even worse, being stuck in an overly commercial and artificial neighborhood, like what has happened in lower Manhattan since the 80’s.

LO: Are the three of you artists and what do you think of artist run spaces?  There seems to be a resurgence of artist collectives and artist run spaces in the NYC area. Do you think that artists bring something to the table that non artists do not?
AG: We are all artists actually. But our energy as a group isn’t really like an artist collective. Artist run spaces like ourselves, Regina Rex, or Parallel Art Space operate like a standard gallery, showing the work of other artists, and not our own work. The fact that we are artists definitely informs our curatorial approach and aesthetic, but at the end of the day, at Associated, we’re three curators working together to create professional and compelling exhibitions.

LO: What advice would you give to emerging artists who are just out of BFA/MFA programs or who have just settled in NYC?
Julian Jimarez-Howard: Buy lots of vegetables because they’re cheap and healthy, even better, farm them.
Theresa Daddezio: Stay positive and motivated.
Jen Hitchings: You have to work together, and stay in touch with your mentors/professors.

LO: Who are your favorite artists and why?
TD: Artemisia Gentileschi because she’s badass.
JJH: Gabriel Orozco and Francis Alÿs have been decent sources of inspiration for me over the years, but really my favorite artists are my friends. I think that probably goes for all of us, though.
JH: Allison Schulnik, John O’Connor, Lisa Sanditz, and some musicians such as The Caretaker, since music makes a big impact on my painting practice.

LO: What shows and projects do you have coming up at Associated Gallery or elsewhere.
AG: Our next show, opening in late February, is a group show of artists who work with materials in the outdoors, or who create work that exists just outside of the “art world.” It’s a broad take on “outsider art.” The following show is a two-person exhibition concerning landscape, and in May we will be showcasing some BFA candidates from SUNY Purchase (where Theresa and Jen graduated are alumni). We hope to eventually have some exhibitions travel elsewhere, but that’s an idea for the future.

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Curated by A Dreem & Ms. Fitz

Bushwick Gone Basel
December 8, 2013
CuCu’s Nest
2805 Collins Ave.
Miami
bushwickgonebasel.tumblr.com

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Everybody’s favorite thriving scene of new culture at the fringes of the city now has its own exciting film festival to match. The Bushwick Film Festival is a celebration of the work of independent filmmakers and artists, giving them the opportunity to present their work to a diverse and excitable audience. The festival works to support and encourage the Bushwick community with film screenings, as well as by building on media literacy and film education programs. This year’s list of films has been released, and here are two that we feel should not be missed.

Una Noche
Written & Directed by Lucy Mulloy
Presented by Spike Lee
October 6th, 9pm

Two People He Never Saw
Starring Kevin Corrigan & Nick Sandow
Directed by Kevin Corrigan and Marcel Simoneau
Part of the Short Film Program
October 6th, 12:30pm

Panel: Women in Film, October 6, 5pm
Speakers, TBA

Consult the Bushwick Film Festival website for official dates and times
bushwickfilmfestival.com

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