Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Today, tomorrow and always


The above picture is from today's New York Times by Yoko Ono.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Nasreen Mohamedi



So often dreams of utopia lead to nightmares of dystopia. But pocket utopias have a beginning, middle and end, they're definable. My Pocket Utopia ends at the door of my relational space.

Yesterday I left Pocket Utopia and walked out into the cold to Nasreen Mohamedi at Talwar Gallery. I found another pocket utopia.

Friday, December 19, 2008

My Christmas List


Here's my list, I've been good this year, there's a variety of items, large and small:

Step by step instructions for building a Desert TearDrop Trailer.

And, a smart car to pull it with (it doesn't hurt to ask).

If the smart car can't pull a teardrop, I'd like to have step by step plans for a "mini camping trailer."

If the above was more than you wanted to spend, there's always Mel Bochner's new book Solar Systems & Restrooms.

Or a couple of sheets of Lenox 100, machine made, 100% cotton paper from New York Central.

And a big donation to the World Food Program.

Happy holidays!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Lee Lozano: Myth or too Real






Lee Lozano was an amazing artist. After all that Sunday saloning on the subject of whether Lee's life was myth or too real, it's nice to spend an evening just looking at art...online.



Feastory by Amanda Hughen
ink, graphite, and acrylic paint on drafting film
56 x 36 inches
2007

2007 Prototype for Billboards at A-Z West by Andrea Zittel



Luna, 2005 Edition of 30, 22.5 x 30 inches, intaglio: hardground, aquatint, spit-bite aquatint, sugarlift, white ground, drypoint and roulette by Aaron Noble



and, Calabi-Yau sketch 1, 2007 by Fred Gutzeit

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Hop on!

Free smART Brooklyn Gallery Hop buses will run from four different hubs; each route loops through a different art gallery district.

• Register by phone: 718-802-3530 or email: smart@visitbrooklyn.org
You must give your name, phone number or email, and specify which hub
and time you want (e.g., 2pm BLUE loop). Please note that you may only
make reservations for 2 people. Seating is limited - we will accommodate
people without reservations only after seating people with reservations!
• Buses leave on the hour: 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm*
Please arrive at the hub location at least 15 minutes before departure.
Schedules for each loop will be handed out on the bus.
*The 5pm bus is the last trip for the day – please be advised it has NO return loop!
• Enjoy hopping on & off the bus within each line’s loop!
Please note this is not a door-to-door service.
(Galleries will be within approximately three blocks of each stop)


64 participating Brooklyn art galleries will offer exhibitions and refreshments, as well as a chance for visitors to learn more about Brooklyn’s expanding art scene. Four smART Brooklyn Gallery “districts” will be included in bus routes. Participants can visit galleries in the Gold Loop: DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, and Red Hook; the Red Loop: Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bedford-Stuyvesant; the Green Loop: Crown Heights, Park Slope, Gowanus, Sunset Park, and Flatbush; and the Blue Loop: Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

For more information on the smART Brooklyn Gallery Hop, visit www.brooklyn-usa.org,

Friday, December 5, 2008

Lee Lozano Salon, Sunday at 4pm



Pocket Utopia presents a Sunday Salon on the life and art of Lee Lozano

Lead by Fred Gutzeit in conjunction with his current show: "Love to Fred from Lee Lozano"

Sunday, December 7th starting at 4:00 pm.

Kevin Regan, resident artist, will serve coffee as part of "Coffee Talk," his relational riff on Lozano and social space

"The kind of things other people did as art, she really did as life--and it took us a while to figure that out," Lucy Lippard

Lee Lozano image above from Sammlung Rolf Ricke

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Odetta


Let's all listen to "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and remember Odetta.

Then have a gander at William Lamson's work and call it a Pocket Utopia moment!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Pocket Utopia in New York Mag!



image by resident artist Kevin Regan

Art on a Shoestring

That’s where creativity really thrives.

By Jerry Saltz Published Nov 30, 2008

reposting just the Bushwick part here, get the rest on the NY Magazine site.

The last time money left the art world, intrepid types maxed out their credit cards and opened galleries, and a few of them have become the best in the world. Now, as money is leaving art again, history could repeat itself—especially in these two neighborhoods, where you can feel experimentation percolating.

Bushwick

It’s the closest thing to the eighties East Village. Start with Norte Maar (646-361-8512), Lumenhouse (718-942-5395), and English Kills (718-366-7323). Move fast; some may be gone next year, and the ones that stick around could make a real difference. You should also stop at Pocket Utopia (917-400-3869), where you’ll likely be greeted by the ball-of-energy artist known as Austin Thomas, who, in the year and a half she’s been open for business, hasn’t sold a single work to a collector—only to artists.

Thanks Jerry!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sundays at the Pocket





I'm studying up on Lee Lozano tonight in preparation for next Sunday's salon. The pictures above are from last Sunday.

Friday, November 21, 2008

A Must See



James Kalm has a video about Fred, his show, and Lee Lozano (with supporting roles by Pocket Utopia and friends.)

And Elizabeth Riley made a beautiful video of Fred's installation, another must see!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

27 seconds






Twenty-seven seconds per image in iPhoto was sometimes adequate, sometimes way too long, and sometimes not enough when describing how I attempt to break down the barriers between art and life, how art making is a cumulative process, and defining my work as community-oriented, in addition to talking about drawings, sculpture and social spaces. All of this photo sharing and clock beating occured at Brown University on Tuesday when I spoke to Leigh Tarention's class and other members of the undergraduate Visual Arts Department.

I took the train to Providence, walked to Brown's Philip Johnson building, and visited with Leigh's printmaking class. It seemed like I was there for 27 seconds!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Arts in Bushwick is Everywhere (and in Bed-Stuy)






Peri Lee Pipkin, Pocket Utopia's intern has opened her own space in Bed-Stuy called Video and they had a well attended opening on Saturday with really beautiful drawings and awesome zines. Way to go Peri, we're so proud of you all, cool space!

There's art all over Bushwick. Last weekend during Arts in Bushwick's BETA Spaces we stopped in at Norte Maar's Hecho en Bushwick and checked out art in the park. And don't forget about Privateer, even though I'm trying to forget Saturday's performance! Pictured above Andrew Hurst's mixed media painting.

The Washington Post's travel section even writes about Bushwick, so it most be a destination!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

100 Shadows at Jefferson Market Library






Jefferson Market Library has a beautiful, small exhibition of photographic shadows, they're anonymous, elusive snapshots that capture your attention.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Salon a la Fred



Read the article about Lee Lozano's Fred and Fred in the Brooklyn Rail.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A platform to work



We've opened things up even more at Pocket Utopia for Kevin Regan. Kevin will join Amy Lincoln as another artist in resident. It's great to have more people around! That's our intern Peri working on the floor.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Timeout says...the L to Morgan Avenue is a Pocket Utopia


I've posted this picture a many times on this blog, but Mike took it and Timeout Magazine referred to in a recent article about Pocket Utopia's neighborhood.


Time Out New York / Issue 684 : Nov 6–12, 2008
TOUR NEW YORK
L to Morgan Ave
We took the L to Morgan Ave and found killer street art, cheap vintage and no barf.

By Andrew Frisicano

35 mins from midtown

Upon exiting the Morgan Ave stop, the first thing we notice about Bushwick is its abundance of street art: Wheatpasted installations have supplanted the gang graffiti of yesteryear—well, most of it, anyway. We step inside The Archive Cafe (49 Bogart St at Grattan St, 718-381-1944), a video-rental store and cornerstone of what some locals are calling Morgantown, and ask assistant manager and Cool Hand Luke fan Dan Mitchell for the nabe’s best spots. He recommends Life Café (983 Flushing Ave at Central Ave; 718-386-1133, lifecafe.com) for its vegetarian options, especially during brunch; the voguishly divey Wreck Room (940 Flushing Ave between Central and Evergreen Aves, 718-418-6347), notable for its pool tables and cheap swill; and thrift store Urban Jungle Vintage (118 Knickerbocker St between Flushing Ave and Thames St, urbanjunglevintage.wordpress.com).

We head in the direction of Mitchell’s faves, but get sidetracked by two guys filming a music video near the gates of a Boar’s Head warehouse. Lensman Tyler Ribble loves the ’Wick. “I’ve lived here a year and a half and there are always rooftop parties and barbecues,” he enthuses. The crew gives a thumbs-up on Mitchell’s picks, and vocalist Matt Singer adds one more to the mix: Roberta’s (261 Moore St between Bogart and White Sts; 718-417-1118, robertaspizza.com), a brick-oven pizzeria known for its gourmet pies and homey vibe.

Urban Jungle Vintage
While chowing down there, we chat with Juan Figueroa, owner of the NY Loft Hostel just down the block. “It used to be a clothing warehouse, like most of the neighborhood,” says Figueroa, who says the only clothier left in the ’hood is Martin Greenfield—famous for dressing notables like Bill Clinton.

We head over to Tina’s Restaurant (1002 Flushing Ave at Wilson Ave, 718-821-9595), a nook of a diner with an odd schedule: 3:30am to 4pm. The predawn business is strong with “night owls and Boar’s Head drivers,” says owner Tina Skermo. “Sometimes they’re waiting outside for me to open up.”

Farther down the block, we spot a packed crowd feasting on vegan scrambles at Life Café. Manager Andy Mills says the joint reflects the neighborhood’s arty vibe even when its doors are closed: “All three of our gates were done by graffiti artists that I’m told are extremely famous.” (A little research tells us the scrawlings belong to Jace, Pez, Eine and Aiko.) We soldier on until we hit art studio and “social space” Pocket Utopia (1037 Flushing Ave between Morgan Ave and Vandevoort Pl, pocketutopia.com), whose open door beckons. Artist-in-residence Amy Lincoln points out a wheatpasted piece across the street, compliments of Swoon. We admire the work en route to another gallery: Factory Fresh (1053 Flushing Ave between Knickerbocker and Morgan Aves, factoryfresh.net), whose current show, “Quality of Life,” displays four photographers’ takes on New York’s forgotten spaces. Codirector Ali Ha reports that the previous night’s opening party was a success, but they had a problem curbing attendees’ BYO inclination. “We’re trying to do everything legit,” says Ha. “At our last spot [in the LES], we got talked to by the chief of police.” So why the move to Bushwick? “The Lower East Side is done—it’s where everyone starts puking into garbage cans at 7pm. Lots of artists live out here now.”

We leave, turn the corner and finally arrive at Urban Jungle, ready for flannel shirts (priced at a paltry $7). Adam Wistar, a student who has lived in the neighborhood since last summer, is trying on threads. “Getting some shirts for the winter—one-of-a-kind items, you know,” he says with a grin.

On our walk back to the subway, we spy a massive Barack Obama mural, just blocks from a new condo development and a community garden. Good or bad, big changes are happening here, and the motto seems to be, “Yes, we can.”

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I Voted


and he won!

More Freddy, Sunday Salon - November 9th @ 4:00 pm









Pocket Utopia presents, Fred Gutzeit: "Love to Fred from Lee Lozano"

A Sunday Salon Discussion.

Sunday, November 9th starting at 4:00 pm., refreshments served.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Fred Opens

Fred Gutzeit: “Love to Fred from Lee Lozano”

1 November – 14 December, 2008

Jeremy Jones And Audra Wolowiec in the project space and a new print edition by Libby Hartle