Archives for October 2012

Legacy of Bruce Lee Lives On @ NY Martial Arts Academy

October 27, 2012 By Jason McGahan Leave a Comment

Bruce Lee stands in the ready position inside the entrance to the New York Martial Arts Academy, in Williamsburg. He is shirtless, bending at the knee, twisting slightly to his right, every muscle on his rippling torso obedient to his will.

It’s a movie cut-out of Bruce, mind you, a still photograph taken from a fight scene in Enter the Dragon. But this image has been enlarged to life size, and is lifelike enough for me to approach with reverent caution.

This is the enduring, iconic image of Bruce Lee, in a fight to the death, as it should be. His face and chest are slashed and bleeding, but his wounds are only skin deep. Blood streaks like war paint down his glistening body. His hands are up, his eyes are ablaze.
Andy Warhol, eat your heart out

Legacy of Bruce Lee Lives On @ NY Martial Arts Academy

October 27, 2012 By Jason McGahan Leave a Comment

Olechowski Beats Restler by 19 Votes—Apathy Alive and Well in Williamsburg

October 22, 2012 By Phil DePaolo Leave a Comment

OP/ED PHIL ON FIRE

In what had to be one of the most bizarre races in recent memory, Chris Olechowski defeated Lincoln Restler in their contentious race for the 50th Assembly District Leader post. The day after election day, it seemed Chris Olechowski had won by 136 votes. But as the Board of Elections counted hundreds of absentee and affidavit ballots in the following week, word came out that Olechowski’s lead was down to 50 votes. Then on September 22nd, I received this message from Lincoln Restler: “After every last valid ballot has been counted, we have won by 53 votes! Against all odds, we have pulled this thing off!”

So it seemed that the verdict was in and Lincoln was the winner as he had been two years earlier. You might recall in the 2010 race Restler was behind by 97 votes in his first race for democratic district leader, but then won by a 120 vote margin in a recount. But this year, things would be more bizarre. A few days later, I received this announcement from Restler: “The canvassing of voting machines was completed and emergency, affidavit, and absentee ballots were all fully accounted for. Board of Elections staff and our election lawyers confirmed the result: every valid ballot had been counted and we had overcome a 136 vote margin on election night to be ahead by 53 votes in the final result.

Community Farmers Markets, a Growing Trend

October 12, 2012 By Mary W. Yeung Leave a Comment

community markets

So many fall apples overflowing at the green markets. Honey Crisp, Winesap, Russet, Gala and Orins, enough apples to make apple butter, hard apple cider, apple pie, even parsnip and apple soup. Ginger Gold, Fortune and Winesap are considered heirloom varieties, while Northern Spy and Jonathan are New York natives, discovered in the 1800‘s. They are good for eating and baking. Mutsu, originally from Japan, are now thriving in upstate New York. The wide selection of apples have inspired me to think outside of the box. Tired of using the same old Golden Delicious in a pie? Try Jonagold instead, you’ll taste the difference in sweetness and texture.

Going to the green market on the weekend has never been easier. This year, Community Farmers Markets, has opened two new green markets in the nabe, one on the south side of picturesque McGolrick Park (Russell St.) in Greenpoint and another at the spunky Cooper Park (Maspeth Ave.) in East Williamsburg. There, you’ll find an array of farm produce along with enough artisanal food to make your weekend just that much more yummy.

Trent’s Top Gallery Picks: Jack Early at Southfirst

October 9, 2012 By Trent Morse Leave a Comment

[portfolio_slideshow id=21745]

JACK EARLY, “WWJD” AND “GALLERY PEACE”
Southfirst, 60 N. 6th St.; McCaffrey Fine Art, 23 E. 67th St., through 10/27

Jack Early gets super-duper hippie-dippy in these two stupendous shows. Pop psychedelia from the late 1960s and early 70s permeates everything—and even gets inside our ears. The exhibition at McCaffrey, called “Gallery Peace,” centers on Yoko Ono, with 13 life-size Yokos, one in each color of the rainbow, filling a room. Each is a plywood standee bearing a picture of her face seamlessly attached to the body of a classically posed French woman—stark naked except for a pearl necklace—culled from an old photograph. This repeating image brings to mind Botticelli’s 1496 masterpiece “The Birth of Venus,” but instead of emerging from a clamshell, Yoko bursts forth from various trippy American and Japanese iconography: shooting stars, a rainbow, a rising sun, Hokusai’s great wave.

Jack Early, “Jesus Had Two Dads (Oh Mary!),” 2012, wood, fabric, cotton batting, plywood, and rubber. Courtesy McCaffrey Fine Art. Photo credit: Tim Pyle.

Jack Early, “WWJD,” 2012, mixed media, installation view (detail). Courtesy Southfirst. Photo credit: Erik Rocca.

The vibrant standees surround the sculpture “Bed Peace,” a bare mattress imprinted with a large black-and-white photo of John Lennon and Yoko at the height of their hippie phase, which is meant to evoke the Shroud of Turin. Elsewhere, Yoko’s visage peeks out from a tie-dyed American flag and says in a speech bubble, “Jesus had 2 dads,” as campy comedian Rip Taylor exclaims, “Oh Mary!”

If “Gallery Peace” emphasizes the corporeal, the show at Southfirst, “WWJD,” is about transfiguration. The whole space has been painted sky blue, with pillowlike clouds attached to the walls, as if we’re floating in the stratosphere. A set of footsteps, made of muslin and filled with lentils, traverses the room and leads to a glowing cross, where an image of the main character from the 1970s play “Godspell” is crucified. If you’ve ever seen the play, you know that this isn’t your usual bearded and bedraggled Jesus in a loincloth. Rather, he wears a Superman shirt, striped pants, and suspenders, with big hair and sad-clown makeup—a sensitive, triumphant, and groovy savior. The installation is hippie culture gone to heaven, sacrificed for society’s greater good.

As with much of his recent work, Early has written soothing soundtracks to accompany the shows. This time, the songs, performed by Early and Britta Phillips of Dean and Britta, have a psychedelic tinge to the lyrics and instrumentation. (There’s a sitar and a flute!) These subtle and beautiful tracks demonstrate that the artist is just as formidable at crafting music as he is at making installations. Whatever the medium, Early’s creations have the power to transport.

Juergen Teller, No. 38 of the work “Irene im Wald,” 2012, C-print, 10 x 8 in. Courtesy the artist, The Journal Gallery, and Lehmann Maupin Gallery.