Downtown Brooklyn is playing host to two exhibitions that relate to the surrounding areas in interesting and very different ways. At galleries next door to each other, experience what seems to be a fantastical forest of giant trees made from red craft paper and a scale model map of the oil-dependent world built from recycled plastic. Both engage issues central to our relationship to the environment while maintaining a strong connection to world you see through the windows.
Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen, The Experience of Green, 2009, The Dumbo Arts Center, Mixed media and paper, dimensions variable. All images courtesy and of property the artists.
THE EXPERIENCE OF GREEN
Dumbo Arts Center – 30 Washington Street
Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen
Until November 29, 2009
FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: PART 2
Smack Mellon Gallery – 92 Plymouth Street at Washington
Ellen Driscoll
Until November 8, 2009
1.
THE EXPERIENCE OF GREEN
Experience it…
As you step into the gallery, you’ll be greeted by a friendly face at the desk. This gallery is free to visit, but they do ask for a two-dollar donation, as it is a non-profit space. After donating, there’s no better way to experience the exhibition than to get lost amongst the trees. On your journey into, through and around these handmade creations, pay attention to the structures – each tree has its own unique ‘bark’ or ‘ring’.
· Examining the outside of the first tree that you come upon – what do you notice about its construction? How is the paper treated – is it twisted, folded, crumpled, layered, or handled in some other way?
· Take a quick look around – how is it situated in relation to the other trees? Does it touch or overlap another? What kind of in-between spaces are created?
· What about spaces inside the trees - what do you notice about the interiors?
· How does the light change in each of the spaces?
· What are the different ways you could experience this space?
Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen, The Experience of Green, 2009, The Dumbo Arts Center, Mixed media and paper, dimensions variable. All images courtesy and of property the artists.
It took many people over two weeks to construct the forest in the gallery. Before that, the two artists spent 6 months in a nearby studio space donated by the Walentas (Owners of much of the property in DUMBO) constructing parts of each tree and figuring out how to deal with such an enormous space.
Talk about it…
Each tree has a wooden frame over which the red paper was layered (click here to see pictures). Think for a minute about the materials that are used to create the trees – paper and wood, trees themselves once.
· How would you interpret this work — what does this installation make you think about? Myths, stories? Which ones?
· The impact humans have on nature? In what ways?
· Why do you think the artists used red craft paper and red paint to cover the entire gallery space? What if it was a different color such as purple or blue – how would that change your experience?
Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen B. Nguyen, The Experience of Green, 2009, The Dumbo Arts Center, Mixed media and paper, dimensions variable. All images courtesy and of property the artists.
· How does this work relate to the world outside?
Think about the title of the exhibition – The experience of Green. What possiblemeanings might this title have? Does it refer to vegetation, leaves, being green, seeing the color green, the opposite of red?
Draw it…
After you walk out of the gallery, will the experience go with you? Since Dumbo Arts Center is directly across from Brooklyn Bridge Park, take a stroll over there and sit amongst the trees for a bit. Compare what you saw at DAC with this experience of the real thing?
· Take out your pad and pencil. Divide your paper into two and make a close up drawing of the bark that you see on the trees in one half.
· In the other half make a rubbing of the bark and compare.
· Go around to each tree in the area and do the same. Try it with leaves!
When you’re done – head over to Smack Mellon Gallery.
2.
Ellen Driscoll. Fastforwardfossil: Part 2. 2009. Smack Mellon. Image: ARTimeNY..
FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: PART 2
Smack Mellon Gallery – 92 Plymouth Street at Washington
Ellen Driscoll
Until November 8, 2009
Experience it…
Rising at 5:30 AM, I harvest #2 plastic bottles from the recycling bags put out for collection on the streets of Brooklyn. For one hour, one day at a time, I immerse myself in the tidal wave of plastic that engulfs us by collecting as many bottles as I can carry. The sculptural installation for Smack Mellon comprises 2600 bottles transformed into a 28 foot landscape. – ARTIST STATEMENT
Walk around the installation and take a minute to find different forms made from the plastic bottles.
· Can you find a bridge, a mill, a couple houses, skyscrapers, fallen trees?
· What is the scale of the different elements – are they all the same size or does the size vary?
· Do they look realistic – what details are included?
Ellen Driscoll. Fastforwardfossil: Part 2. 2009. Smack Mellon.
Talk about it…
The plastic used in the installation are made from petroleum, or oil, to which the United States, Africa and the Middle East are tied together. Each of the large forms that the little scale model elements sit on are in the shape of these places. The plastic is left unpainted and often, certain shapes of the bottles are recognizable (see how the handles are used for the supports).
· How does the artist show the connection between these places?
· Why do you think the artist left the work unpainted?
· If you look out the windows of the gallery, what similar shapes, constructions, and materials do you see?
· Take a minute to draw some of the shapes that you notice – the rectangles and triangles of the bridge. Draw the spaces in between the metal of the bridge. Do the same with the plastic in the sculpture.
Go home and make something about it…
Both of the installations you saw were created using found materials, or materials that are easily acquired or even thought of as trash. At home, find items that you might not consider art, and that you have a lot of. Construct a natural element from these materials, and then take another material and construct an industrial element from that. Combine the two into a single work of art. Display this work as you would any other – hang it on the wall or find a surface to display it on.