Archives for May 2011

OFF THE WALL: Indie Art Publishers Rock in North Brooklyn

May 1, 2011 By WG News + Arts Leave a Comment

From the editors of

Art books by Brooklyn Art Press and zines by Birdsong, among publications being published by North Brooklyn indie art publishers.

You may have experienced it at a newsstand, on a friend’s bookshelf, or through a chance encounter at a local coffee shop, but no matter what the venue, there’s a new-found energy in the world of indie art publishing, and North Brooklyn is its hub. From small-press runs of art publications and handmade artist books to DIY zines and a menagerie of other visual projects, we’re in the midst of a minirenaissance of art publishing. If you don’t know the names of Pen15 Press, Wild Isle, For the Birds Collective, Birdsong Collective, Burn Books, and Brooklyn Art Press yet, welcome to their invention.

Phil on Fire: WG Making a Difference and more

May 1, 2011 By Phil DePaolo Leave a Comment

In the last few months, I have been able to write about issues that would have been difficult to convince the daily citywide papers to publish. I have often been frustrated, after working for weeks on a story with a journalist, to suddenly, without explanation, have the story axed by their editor. The freedom to write about anything and the encouragement from the editors at the WG News+Arts has been tremendous. It has helped get important issues into the major dailies, including the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal; and online magazines including Curbed, Brownstoner, Gothamist, and The Huffington Post.

Our story on the problems regarding the construction at Northside Piers was picked up by the Post, and the result was that it opened a dialogue between the developers, the Toll Brothers, and the building’s board and residents. We suspect that it had larger ramifications, including possibly sparking a national class action law suit. I will be doing a follow-up story on this in the coming months and I hope to have good news to report.

Another way to get stories into the press, I’ve learned, is to cite celebrities. In a recent story published here on the WG, I wrote about Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who received a huge 421a tax break on his multimillion dollar condo. That story was picked up, with my blessings, by the Daily News, where it ran not just as a story, but a cover story. And our report on Mayor Bloomberg’s failures in his third term was picked up by the Wall Street Journal. Several other WG stories also sparked coverage elsewhere, including our piece about the discovery of promises, but no guarantees, for affordable housing with the vote in City Council regarding the Domino Sugar factory, and the approval of a zoning change in order to build market rate housing. That was snatched up on the internet and appeared on the New York Observerwebsite. It shows you the importance of local papers like theWG News+Arts. It’s great to know we are making a difference. Even in tough economic times the WG continues to grow and deliver ground-breaking journalism.

Building an Innovative Williamsburg Theater at The Brick

May 1, 2011 By Mary W. Yeung Leave a Comment

From a recent production at The Brick, “The Tremendous Tremendous” written and performed by The Mad Ones. Performers are portraying The Tremendous Travelling Abbotts (a fictional troupe of actors from 1939). (Clockwise from the top) actors Michael Dalto, Marc Bovino, Stepvnie Wright Thompson and Joe Curnutte. Photo by William Hereford

When writers/directors Michael Gardner and Robert Honeywell leased space at 575 Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg in 2002, they just wanted a place where they could stage their own works and maybe invite a few a friends to do the same; never did they imagine that just a few short years later, the Brick would play host to a multitude of festivals, award-winning plays, improv theater, and even late night burlesque shows. “People have really latched on to this space and they’re taking us to all kinds of places,” says Gardner. From a young age, theater was in Gardner’s blood. “I grew up watching Woody Allen movies. I remember thinking I wanted to go to New York and be one of those crazy, neurotic people,” he laughs.

When he came of age, he followed his dream and enrolled in NYU to study theater, writing and music theory. “Robert and I cut our teeth in the Lower East Side experimental theater circuit. I worked with the Lower East Side Y and we staged plays in a storm cellar run by the theater group The Emerging Collector. At some point in the late 90’s, we were thinking about renting a garage in Manhattan and turning it into a small theater, but we found out people wanted a lot of money for their garages. That’s when we decided to look for a permanent performance space.” Their search lead them to Williamsburg, to a sizable garage inside a century-old building that has a previous life as an auto-body shop, and later a yoga studio. “It was a raw space when we first moved in, but we transformed it into a theater.” The theater’s name was inspired by the dramatic old brick walls that give the space its indelible character.