Blog – Art in Odd Places

January 18, 2013 – 9:15 pm

Today’s guest: Lawrence Graham Brown (pictured above with assistant Leon Dozier)

We’re wrapping up our coverage of other.explicit.bodies, which premiered last weekend at Dance New Amsterdam. Last week we spoke with the show’s curator, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko about his performance, other.explicit.body. Today we’re sitting down with Lawrence Graham Brown to discuss his performance Acute Case of Black Fever (a reaffirmation of Black love). Again we touch on the black male body and constructs of race and gender, but we also discuss the influence of culture in performance art.

For those of you who missed other.explicit.bodies, I highly encourage you to keep up with all the performers.

other.explicit.bodies was a two-night event. Program A, presented on the first night and featured work by Lawrence Graham-Brown, Kate Watson-Wallace, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Marjani Forte, Saul Ulerio, Erin Clark, Cori Olinghouse, and Rebecca Patek. Program B, which ran the following evening, featured Lawrence Graham-Brown, Holly Bass, Megan Bridge, devynn emory, Jasmine Hearn, and Jen Rosenblit.

Today’s musical segments feature the talents of Chilly Gonzales and Snappy & Floyd. You can download Snappy & Floyd’s debut art-rap mixtape for free via their Bandcamp page.

Finally, be sure to check out Lawrence Graham Brown’s upcoming show:

Edge Art: Black-Latino(a) Artists, an Inter-Caribbean Dialogue

The City College of New York, CUNY
160 Convent Avenue
NAC Building
New York, New York 10031

Exhibit Dates: February 4-28, 2013

Michael Neff: Suspended Forest

January 15, 2013 – 12:11 am

Michael Neff is an artist, designer, and photographer living in Brooklyn, New York. He’s also pretty creative when it comes to figuring out what to do with your discarded Christmas tree.

His installation, titled Suspended Forest, hung under the BQE in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For those who missed it, here are a few photos courtesy of the artist.

“After December 25th, New York sidewalks are crowded with stacked Christmas trees that no longer have a purpose,” Neff writes.

“I wanted to figure out a way to give these trees another purpose, and perhaps encourage people to think about our consumption around Christmas.”

“This year I hung 35 trees side by side by side in an unused space under the BQE in Williamsburg that is fenced off from the public, creating an unexpected and enchanting presence in an otherwise drab stretch of pavement under the highway. This area is bordered by Metropolitan Avenue which provides a lot of foot traffic, and therefore a broad audience. I enjoy installing art in the public sphere as it has the opportunity to be seen by and affect people who might otherwise miss it if it were installed in a gallery or museum.”

Check out more photos on Instagram with the hashtag #suspendedforest.

AiOP podcast #2

Michael Neff: Suspended Forest