Interactive video installation at Park Ave Armory

Closing tomorrow, June 11th, some pictures of Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda's projected video installation called "The Transfinite" at Park Avenue Armory. I stopped by last night with the after-work crowd, so it was very busy, which made for some interesting people watching amid the strange visuals and accompanying sounds.

The Park Avenue Armory is a giant space just off 66th Street where performances and grand scale art installations take place. Taken directly from the Armory's website, it can be described as a "55,000 square foot drill hall, reminiscent of the original Grand Central Depot."

Recent exhibitions and activities at the Park Avenue Armory include a giant showing of red and white quilts (which I am bummed I missed) and a music festival as well as an indoor carnival last October.

The Armory arts show, 2011

The Armory Show—my photo friends and I go every year!

3 years ago on Saturday, March 7th, 2009 my friend Edward, who runs Wired New York, organized a meet-up for local photographers at the Armory Show out on Pier 94 by 12th Avenue and the Hudson River—and we've gone to the show every year since!

I have some past blog posts showing the contemporary art that I've admired at the show over the years, and here's another one:





"New York is a lot of work" - $1,000 worth of dollar bills foil stamped by Reed Seifer


From the 'Untitled' Gallery in New York - $576.60 worth of pennies
laid out on the floor by Los Angeles artist Ry Rocklen


From oliva arauna galeria - 'Three Women', consisting of one photograph,
six light projectors and six tripods.


The Armory Fence - site-specific neon installation by Ivan Navarro, 
Displayed by Paul Kasmin Gallery




'I Love U' 2009 piece by Kira Kim, made of LED bulbs and mixed media pieces.
Shown by Kukje Gallery in Seoul, Korea and the Tina Kim Gallery in New York.


My friend and I taking pictures of a cool piece by Michelangelo Pistoletto
set up by the Giorgio Persano gallery

more on The Armory: Linear art

The Armory seemed to have everything new and nothing old. I've never seen anything like its! Lots of lines and colors and materials.

Basically, The Armory show is made up of hundreds of local and international galleries—from NYC to California to London—and they all have their own cubicle-like space where they exhibit their artists' works. Back in the day when The Impressionists, Fauvists and Cubists (including Marcel Duchamp, one of my favorites) exhibited, people were shocked by the wacky art (refer to previous post)! Nowadays, people aren't shocked by anything...

The Armory art Show

This weekend I discovered that there is a show called The Armory Show. It is an annual international exhibition of modern art, first held on February 17, 1913 in NYC. The art displayed gave many Americans their first taste of modern art and set the stage for such contemporary creativity.

I had never heard of this show before, so I was a little stumped when I got to the outer edge of Manhattan on 55th Street and 12th Avenue, by the Hudson River, for the show being held in Pier 94 and Pier 92. I was out to meet with some fellow photographers who had planned the outing, and it wasn't until a random guy sitting next to me on a bench turned to me and asked, "So what do you think?" I didn't have much to say... so he gave me a little background about the show. And then I went home and googled it.

At the Armory arts Show

The Armory Show, which was first put on in 1913 as the "International Exhibition of Modern Art", now occurs every year in March. It is the place to see contemporary art from artists, galleries and collectors from all over the world all in one spot—two big spots that is, being Piers 92 and 94 out on the Hudson.

I went last year and was so pleasantly surprised and so exhausted after walking among miles and miles of gallery art that I couldn't wait to return this year and fill my camera card to the max with more color, people, shapes and outrageous things again.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I don't stop

One weekend back in the beginning of March, I went to the Armory Show on Pier 94 and half a dozen galleries in Williamsburg Brooklyn. It was exhausting and painful (feet-wise) but I couldn't stop or quit because this is New York and this is part of what I came here for! To see what the New York art galleries and museums have to offer, to spend hours traveling to the edge of Manhattan and out to Brooklyn and back if I have to.

So I'd only been to the trendy Williamsburg neighborhood once before, only to get lost and scared as day fell, but this time I was with a group of photographers. We visited Pierogi, The Boiler, The Black and White Project Space and Jack The Pelican.

Here are some memorable images from the night:

Alina and Jeff Bliumis, 'Casual Conversations in Brooklyn'

Jonathan Schipper's '215 Points of View', 2005-09, steel frame,

215 monitors and surveillance cameras, rubber, cables.

At The Boiler, part of Pierogi.

The Affordable Art Fair

The Affordable Art Fair is my new favorite art fair in New York. It was similar to The Armory Show, which was rows and rows of 20th and 21st Century fine art set up in gallery booths from all over the world.

This show was comprised of rows and rows of fine art from both young talent and established artists and galleries, but it wasn't as overwhelming and the artwork seemed closer to home (lots of city scenes). I didn't buy anything because my walls are already covered with Jack Vettriano, Le Chat Noir and vintage James Dean posters, but the theme is affordable art ranging in price from $100 - $10,000.

While there I enjoyed viewing works from local NYC galleries, London and Toronto galleries, and even the familiar studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Below are some of my favorites.

Julio Brujis, 'New York', digital photographic print
at the Mark Jason Gallery booth from London


Floyd Douglas, Dutch artist, photography on canvas
on display at The Art Shop booth from Amsterdam

Stephen Brooks, acrylic on canvas pieces from Behr-Thyssen LTD in New York