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October 5, 2006
Footprint Art
The Gowanus Lounge, Atlantic Yards: The Art Show (AKA "Footprints")
The controversy swirling around the Atlantic Yards proposal, and the dramatic impact that it would have on the surrounding community and its residents has spawned an art show called "Footprints: Portraits: of a Brooklyn Neighborhood." The new group show includes paintings, photos, drawings, videos, and collages and features some of those living in buildings and on streets that would cease to exist if the development goes foward. It opens on Saturday, October 7 at Grand Space, which is at 778 Bergen Street in Prospect Heights. The show runs through Nov. 3, with an opening reception on Thursday, October 12.
Among the standouts in the show are bold portrait of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Daniel Goldstein, a portrait of a Pacific Street resident, some pretty cool photography and more.
Courier-Life, Living In the Footprint: Under the Heel Or Stepping Forward? - 32 Artists Look At the Atlantic Yards Project
Belle Benfield and Daniel Sagarin, co-curators of the exhibit, put out a call to independent local artists last February to fan out across Fort Greene, Prospect Heights and the surrounding communities in an effort to discover and document how the advent of more than 16 skyscrapers and an 18,000-seat basketball arena could impact real people living in real communities.
Courier-Life Publications, Musing On Atlantic Yds
In December 2003, when Forest City Ratner announced their proposal for the redevelopment, the effect on residents was immediate and dramatic. One moment they were residents of Prospect Heights. Then because their homes and business were within the re-development boundaries, they found themselves living in the shadow of an uncertain future. A new ‘neighborhood’ was created which developers refer to as the ‘footprint.’
Using this metaphor as inspiration, curators Daniel Sagarin (photographer) and Belle Benfield (painter/printmaker) charged a group of local artists with the task of making artwork about their experience as they walk through the changing neighborhood outlined by the Empire State Development Corporation’s proposal.
The results are diverse, ranging from beautiful landscapes recording the skyline for posterity to abstractions dealing with the sensations of destruction or loss. Work from photographers, painters and filmmakers will be on display.
Exhibition hours are Wednesday through Friday, 5-8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 347-255-5435 or 917-301-7972 or go to their website www.brooklynfootprints.com.
Posted by lumi at October 5, 2006 6:37 AM