NYC ROADTRIP

Chris Burden

100 Years (version #1, ps1, nov 2009), a traveling exhibition produced  by P.S. 1 and Performa, as part of Perfroma 09, comprises important moments of the last century of performance art history. The exhibition, which changes from venue to venue, contains film, photography, artifacts and audio, and is intended to be an archival jackpot for students, educators and others. Also included is a special survey of performance video organized by Electronic Arts Intermix, a New York-based nonprofit that is a leading resource for video art. – This is gonna be amazing!

A Clearing in the Streets
Collect Pond Park; Leonard & Centre St

Julie Farris and Sarah Wayland-Smith, both with backgrounds in landscape design, were commissioned by the Public Art Fund to design and build this temporary public installation in downtown New York’s Collect Pond Park. A Clearing in the Streets is a living urban meadow partially enclosed by a series of plywood panels, measuring 15 feet in diameter. It’s an attempt to “re-insert” nature into the concrete jungle while allowing people on the street an opportunity to re-evaluate how they relate to their urban surroundings.

On view through October, 2009.

New York Central Art Supply
62 3rd Avenue, btwn 10th and 11th; 8:30-6:15 pm, Mon-Sat; 212 473 7705 

Serving the city’s artists since 1905 or so, this historic art store offers a world-class inventory of art supplies, including old standards, new technologies, the rare and exotic.  Their selection of paper, both handmade & manufactured, for instance, is said to be one of the best in the world. Every material artist’s wet dream-come-true.

Obscura Antiques & Oddities
280 East 10th St.; 212 505 9251

Obscura is a neat little shop of horrors brimming with taxidermied creatures, victorian clothing, old medical illustrations, coffin plates, old dolls, glass eyes, mourning wreaths, vintage photographs and… well, the list goes on and on.  This is a must-do for anyone in need of a bizarre gift for a friend with unusual or just plain morbid sensibilities, collage artists, junk junkies, or if you just love rummaging for weird, unique stuff.

 

 

Crew member Alex. Photo by Karol Orzechowski. 2009.

One of our most popular and fun activities is our Chelsea Gallery Hop. On our second night in town, armed with a list of gallery openings, a big bunch of us meet at a pre-determined street corner in the Chelsea Art District – and away we go into the art-fueled night! This is a great opportunity to let loose with your fellow Roadtrippers and mix it up with local gallery goers!

Installation detail. 2009

Detail of NYC-inspired postcard by Robb Mirsky. 2008

NYC Roadtrip is social art on the move. Ever evolving at the confluence of relational aesthetics, psychogeography and DIY culture, it’s an opportunity for fun-lovin’ adventure-seekers to network, get inspired, conduct creative field research and experience everyday urban life in unusual ways; explore  the non-touristy, local nuances of New York City; and plug into a vibrant travel community unlike any other. 

After each NYC Roadtrip, passengers and crew are invited to participate in NYC Retro Show: a multimedia exhibition of individual and group perspectives on various New York City-inspired subjects, such as the mapping of moments; organized chaos; the artist as wanderer; “street art, street life”; the urban playground; and collective myth-making.  

No matter what your background or passion – photography, architecture, painting, scrapbooking, film, performance; student, professional, hobbyist, novice – this is a chance to make the most of your New York City experience. Don’t just go on vacation. Go on a creative mission.