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The FREEwilliamsburg Art Crawl
By Keane A. Pepper
So Williamsburg has over thirty galleries… How can
anybody possibly see all of the shows without feeling overwhelmed?
Well, FREEwilliamsburg approached me to write a monthly
update on the local gallery scene. I’ve decided to
riff on the idea of the pub crawl, you know, where you tour
around the bars until you can't move. Visiting twenty galleries
in a day has an analogous effect, but I’m able to write
afterward.
So with a summary and a handy rating system (Greenbergs),
we hope to bring some focus to the proverbial art crawl.
I thought it'd be really helpful since most reviews come
out after the show has come down. There's really nothing
worse than walking ten blocks to see bad art, I mean bad
movies become cult classics, but where does bad art go?
Apparently Bob and Roberta Smith have decided bad
art should be tossed in the dumpster outside of Pierogi,
which is part of their show Art Amnesty. The duo
plaster Pierogi with signage that diss artists throughout
history with such witticisms like "Joseph Bueys Conclusive
Proof Not Everyone Is an Artist." My favorite saying
was something like Fillipo Lippi sucks. At a desk in the
middle you can do a "last drawing" and quit art
by signing a card promising never to make art again. The
joke, if that’s it, plays out well in the 'burg where
everyone is an artist, right? I felt sort of bad for the
'artist' in back, Kim Kimball whose game like installation
isn't strong enough to stand up to the critique out front.
It seemed the Smiths might be on to something, about ruining
it for everyone. (Through November 11th)
Rating: 
In search of something less cynical, to buoy my spirits
I ventured into the immaculate space at Priska C. Juschka
where I encountered the academic art of Jacqueline Fraser.
I read some text formatted to look 'literary' with little
brackets and quotes. Hanging above the sheets of paper were
wire frame sculptures of heads and torsos with fabric blind
folds and dresses. I felt is I was back at University in
the English department where an ambitious deconstructionist
decided to make an installation. While some of the 'poetry'
about lost children in third world countries was moving,
drawings of hats on fabric weren't ironic enough and killed
the vibe. Fraser seems to be holding her subject at arms-length,
and the effect is like reading Kenneth Cole social awareness
ads in Vogue. "A clearer Portrait of the Lost Boys
<< in eleven parts deftly and eleven details of straining>>"
runs through November 18th.
Rating:
Around the corner, Momenta had a group show. Why
do people always thrust concepts on group shows when sometimes
its just a group of people? Wanderlust feels like
they thought of the theme after hanging the show, like "Hmm,
a globe, a dick. wandering lust? No, no. Must be Wanderlust!"
Anyway, Bjorn Melhus has a funny, funny video, FireScene,
in the back. I thought it was Jerry Lewis arguing with Dean
Martin for a minute in the woods, but thank god for press
releases. It's worth stopping in for alone. Just don't think
too hard about the deeper meaning of the globe paintings,
the sex drawings, or the bathroom photos. You might conceive
of another concept for the work. (Through November 11th)
Rating: 
Better things were happening on the Southside of the 'burg.
Roebling Hall was all dark and spooky with the eerie
sounds of Bjorn Melhus's funhouse of video art. Really,
his solo show is good, it's just quite ridiculous. He's
got three video works on small LCD screens, all worth watching
in their entirety. Melhus acts in everything, deadpanning
samples from television, music, and film. I laughed, cringed,
and marveled at each one. When I realized that The Magic
Glass was done in 1991 I wanted to slap Charlie Kaufman.
His larger installation, "Sometimes" caught me
off guard. With sampled sounds from B horror flicks, a guilty
pleasure of mine I thought I'd arrived at a holiday specific
installation. Anyway, Halloween will be over before this
hits, but Melhus's excellent show is up through November
18th. Bring your friends who don't like "art".
Rating:
Am I terrible? I haven't set foot in Lunar Space
in almost a year, but I do like painting and there were
some interesting canvasses on the walls of Slideshow
on Bedford. Elizabeth Josephson's portraits of drag
queens and delinquents are straightforward expressionistic
paintings. Her lush portrait of two African-American youths
clutching each other is the best canvas in the room; you
can feel them. Her influences are obvious, but that won't
stop you from appreciating the wild color and unique subjects.
(Through November 25th)
Rating:
Parker's Box continues its trend of showing experimental
contemporary art with a two-person show of drawings. Er,
conceptual drawings, since Bruno Peinado shows paint
on paper and Simon Faithful presents laser etchings
and reliefs on linoleum. Peinado is the more painterly of
the two, with a series of primitive drawings of backwards
SEGA screens and the Boars Head Deli Logo. What's more Brooklyn
than the Boars Head Deli logo? Or are we pigs? Whatever,
the whole installation is pretty hip and interesting. Faithfull,
an English artist, makes drawings on a palm-pilot during
his travels. There's odds and ends from the city, even a
series of sketches of Grand Street, which is still down
and dirty despite the galleries. The idea might be cooler
than the objects themselves, but I dug the whole technology
progression from start to finish of a primitive act. (Through
November 4th)
Rating:
Over at Plus Ultra, Parker's Box director Alun
Williams was on display as part of a twist on the group
show concept. Finnish artist, Jani Leiononen put
the work of 7 artists into clouded glass vitrines where
the viewer must pay a small sum to uncloud the glass (It’s
the same trick they use at a trendy restaurants with glass
stalls). I was so poor I almost left, but that would have
been embarrassing so I plunked down my change to see some
of the artists. Don't worry if you don't have enough money
to see all the art either, its not as interesting as the
concept.
Leiononen has based the price of seeing the works upon fair
market value, basically if you pay up, you raise the cost
for everyone else. The fact that I got 15 seconds to see
the work made me chuckle. The show was cerebral, but doesn't
really succeed as a critique of capitalist practices. No
one wants to pay to see emerging artists. The vitrine-like
frames are handsome, and they recall a time when men used
to cover up their 'nude' paintings with curtains for some
odd reason. Try this same project at Mary Boone with collectors.
(Through November 10th)
Rating:
On the outskirts of civilization, Susan Black had
something to say about suburbia with I Will Take You There.
As a suburban escapee seeing Black's videos were like peering
into my own troubled memories. I was attracted and repulsed
watching the seemingly innocuous dwellings scroll by while
the amusingly mixed soundtrack pulsed in my ears. Noticeably,
Bellwether felt empty with only three televisions
and a projection. As a framing device, it lent Black's videos
some weight. Conceptually, suburbs are sort of empty too,
so the presentation felt appropriate to the material. There
were some decorative paintings on the wall that were mildly
interesting, but I would have preferred that the gallery
tough it out and keep the space empty for Black. (Through
November 11th)
Rating:
In October, video rules kids. If you don't get past N 6th
until the middle of November, its okay, so don't worry if
you forget to stop at the galleries on your way to the Turkey's
Nest.
Until next month, I need to rest.
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