Hula Hoops, Hip-Hop and More!
August Happenings in the Bronx and Beyond....
Happy August everyone! Hope you’ve come across some cool creativity in the Bronx and beyond this summer, and can find some time to encounter even more. Here are some happenings you might like to explore …
I hadn’t been to the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers for a few years but I returned last week. They added a great new space surrounded essentially by windowed walls with wide views of the Hudson and whatever the sky makes it look like the day you’re there (art in and of itself!). The exhibit, by Japanese artist Kengo Kito, is a plethora of cut and connected hula hoops. It’s like a childhood dream and I laughed when one of the interns there told me it’s a bit of a challenge for teachers, parents, etc. to keep the kiddos from running through, stepping on and pulling at the hoops. So I see it as joyful for kids, drawing them into the space with delight, but also a bit of disappointment in terms of what they cannot do. I didn’t see this actually happening — there weren’t any little ones around — but I think it would be interesting to see how kids actually react, how different, how similar.
And here is part of an interesting description of Kito’s show:
“Kito is particularly drawn to hula hoops, not only because of their universal appeal for children and adults alike, but also because of the resonance of circles in Zen Buddhist philosophy. The circle, or ensō, can symbolize many things, from infinity and cycles of life to cooperation and togetherness. In addition, the form is both perfectly whole and empty, inviting us to contemplate fullness, the void, and the nature of reality.”
What Else to See …
Fellow Bronx artist Susan MacMurdy and I are hosting a closing celebration this Friday, Aug. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. of the member exhibit we’re both in at Blue Door Art Center in downtown Yonkers. Hope you can make it! Here’s more info. And here’s a photo my wife, Margaret Groarke, took of me and one of my pieces in the show:
It’s the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a lot going on. At the Bronx Museum of the Arts, there’s an exhibit called “Dianne Smith: Two Turntables and a Microphone” and a curator tour of the show on Aug. 19.
As I mentioned — with photos — a few newsletters ago, “Darrell Ellis: Regeneration,” is a MUST SEE at the Bronx Museum. By the way, many passionate artists and art lovers I know — even Bronxites! — have never been to the Bronx Museum. It’s free, folks! And it’s right off a good few subway and bus lines. So, no excuse! :-)
“Solfest, a Latine Theatre Festival” at Pregones/PRTT Theatre Festival from Aug. 27 to the 31st.
OK, this is a little far from the Bronx, but I was at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA in July and it featured an exhibit called,“Elle Perez: Intimacies,” and Perez is a Bronx native.
Current exhibit of Annette Black at Gallery 505 in Riverdale through Sept. 29.
“Tradition and Remembrance: Treasures of the Derfner Judaica Museum,” based at Hebrew Home in Riverdale. This is ongoing … and also moving and stunning.
On Aug. 27 there will be a closing reception of “Love is Love: The Other Side of Summer,” at Gallery 18 exhibit at the Riverdale Y.
One more thing! An incredible exhibit — “Things Come to Thrive … In the Shedding … In the Molting …” — by Ebony G. Patterson, throughout The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx through Oct. 22. Times review here.
OK everyone, please share happenings you dig, or are looking forward to, and I’ll try to include them in my next newsletter. I would also love to know if you visited any exhibits/performances that you learned about in past editions of “Art All Around Us.” And what was your take on it?
I’ll be back with the next edition in two weeks.
Enjoy what you see, hear and discover wherever you might be this summer!