The Sea and the Rhythm

Since August 15th, seven handmade floating sculptures have been making their way down the Hudson, stopping at different ports along the way so their 40 passengers, led by the artist known as Swoon, can step on shore and stage a series of musical and theatrical performances.

The trip will wrap up when the boats dock at Deitch Studios in Long Island City on September 7th. Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea is a sequel to a 2006 project on the Mississippi River by Swoon and the Miss Rockaway Armada. An exhibition at Deitch of Swoon's prints and structures will follow.

I first became aware of Swoon when we lived near the Gowanus Canal and noticed her woodcut-paper paste-ups around the neighborhood. I saw her speak at an AIGA event a few years later, and after that she had a fairly mind-blowing show at Deitch projects.

Her work is very recognizable and you can see it all over, though not quite as much as before, as she is obviously very busy these days.

Click here to see some of my Flickr photos of her paste-ups.
More info on Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea at Deitch and at switchbacksea.org.

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PS - I did a graphic identity project for the Gowanus Canal when I was in school at Parsons. I did a lot of research in the archives of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and this is one of the more interesting photos I found:

The Gowanus had temporarily dried up, and this crowd was having a look from the Carroll Street bridge. A police officer on duty counted something like 38 guns in the mud below.

And

I've just returned from a few days in ice-cold NYC for some client meetings, so most of this week's posts will be on the stuff I ran across during that brief whirlwind. Here are some photos to kick it off…

Marlene Dumas from her current show Measuring Your Own Grave at MoMA

Swoon in Chelsea

Birds in Bryant Park that reminded me of Littlejeans, both because they look like him, and because he used to stare at this particular fun-size species out the window and think murderous thoughts.

A little garbage rabbit, 22nd Street, Chelsea

53rd Street, Midtown

27th Street, Chelsea

People on 10th Avenue watching news of the crash landing in the Hudson.

My brother outside of Jones, where we had brunch before I left. They were playing the Cave Singers and Dead Moon as we sipped bloody marias and ate our sausage, eggs and grits at the counter. Seemed like a good way to end the trip.

…and here's what I came back to:


I will love and miss New York forever, but I'll be back a lot.
And Seattle? When it's sunny out? Absolutely stunning.

John Baldessari, Goya Series: And, 1997,
from Artist's Choice + Vik Muniz = Rebus at MoMA

Last Exit to Brooklyn

So, yeah, we got back from New York last Thursday and I immediately came down with the worst cold I've had in years. Not the swine, but swine-ish. It's still pretty bad but Littlejeans is doing his best to take care of me while I slog through my projects (Emily, pictured above in all her chicness, is in Idaho for one last trip before diving head-on into school next week).

Anyway – this week I'm going to somewhat haphazardly post a selection of photos from our time in New York. Today's are from an afternoon we spent in Red Hook – something we always loved doing when we lived in Brooklyn. It continues to develop in interesting ways while maintaining its industrial flavor.

The Mighty Gowanus – miniature Duwamish of Brooklyn

[Click to enlarge – artwork by Swoon]

Hope & Anchor was full-up so we had lunch at this new place, Fort Defiance. Emily had a tomato, mozarella, and basil sandwich, and I had a banh mi, and both were delicious. They also have Six Point Apollo Wheat on tap and their cold-brewed iced coffee is maybe the best I've ever had...no small thing, being from Seattle.

More NY pics coming soon, and you are welcome to have a look at my Flickr sets for old ones if you like.

Dinner and a Movie

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Now that Gallery Girls is over (probably never to return, which let's be honest won't be too much of a tragedy for anyone), and in an effort to make the start of the week suck a little less, Monday nights have become art/artist documentary night.

On the screen tonight: Chiara Clemente's Our City Dreams (profiling New York City-based artists Swoon, Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith, Marina Abramovic, and Nancy Spero (1926-2009)).

On the menu: pasta puttanesca (appropriately cheap and dirty, like some of the best parts of the city).

Our City Dreams

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This was in the theater last time I was in New York, but I didn't have time to go – so I'm looking forward to seeing it now that it's available on DVD:



Filmmaker Chiara Clemente, daughter of renowned Italian painter Francesco Clemente, tracks the journeys of five female artists whose stories are tied to New York City in this biographic portrait shot over the course of two years. The documentary spotlights the work of Egyptian artist Ghada Amer, Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic, American artist Kiki Smith, Big Apple street artist Swoon, and American artist and activist Nancy Spero.
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