What abstract photography means to me ...
... and what you might want to check out art-wise over the next few weeks.
I’ll get to some great creative happenings in the Bronx and beyond in a second. But I’ll begin with this.
I have taken photos of this wooden poll outside of our local library in Kingsbridge Heights many times. I never get tired of it — taking pictures of what I consider a provision of infinite possibilities art-wise, even though no one intended to create it as such. It’s what I choose, what we each can choose uniquely, from a large poll of various shades of red, the decay, the repainting, its changes over time. And for each of us different kinds of decay, color, shapes and sizes that draw us in. I know in general that’s what photography is all about — choosing what attracts you individually. But I don’t know the extent to which artists, especially abstract artists, think of how linked photography and creating art in your studio can be. Art doesn’t have to be in a gallery or framed on a friend’s living room wall. It also can be what we see all around us and learn what in particular draws us in that we turn into art for ourselves, and for others to see.
That’s my take on this at the moment. I still consider myself a relatively new artist. After my brain cancer surgery almost 12 years ago, I started getting into doing artwork for the first time. I’m 57 now and have a lot more to learn and explore. I look forward to every moment of that.
If any of you have thoughts on this, please share. You can comment on this post, or email me. I’m going to set up an email for this newsletter shortly, but you can email me at jordanmossbx@gmail.com in the meantime. Thanks!
OK, let’s see what’s happening all around us ….
Theatre & Dance
Here are two great places to see excellent theatre & dance this weekend and beyond!
BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance) has several upcoming performances, including “Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes’ groundbreaking book Translocas, exploring drag and transgender performance and activism, that comes to life for the first time in an electrifying three-night celebration at BAAD!” Click here for all the info. Ticket prices vary.
From June 20 to June 29, Pregones Theatre in the South Bronx (on Walton Ave. just south of East 150th Street) presents a limited workshop production of a drag origins story, “Parrots of the Pagoda,” inspired by the life and works of Johnny Rodríguez, standout musician, pioneering drag artist and empresario, owner of legendary El Cotorrito club in Puerto Rico, and brother to Tito “El Inolvidable” Rodríguez. The play is written and directed by Jorge B. Merced. Tickets are $25 and $10 for seniors. Pregones is a small, beautiful, artsy theatre, and all the people who make things happen there are wonderful as well :-)
Art Exhibits/Happenings
I loved seeing this exhibit at its opening a couple of weeks ago. Black Shedding(s) at Longwood Art Gallery, run by the Bronx Council on the Arts, is “a group exhibition where each artist's work comes together to tell a collective story. …. Through visual art, sound production, literary reflections, and educational resources, the viewer is invited into their own contemplation and conversation about diverse quests for liberatory transformation.” The exhibit goes on through July 10. More info here. And in my last edition, you can see a photo of excellent sculpture in the exhibit.
Also, an interactive public program for the exhibit, “A Hair Journey through Black Remembrance | Black Shedding(s)” is on Wednesday, June 26 from 6 to 8 PM. More info here.
There’s “Feel Free” art festival in Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood this Saturday, June 22 from noon to 4 PM. It’s a day you can dance, paint and so much more for all ages.
There are several art workshops and conversations happening this month at the Bronx Museum. Check ‘em out.
This coming Saturday, June 22, from 3 to 7 PM, Bronx River Art Center hosts an Open Studio Event for its studio artists and a Spring Student Exhibition. More info here.
At Wave Hill in Riverdale this Saturday, June 22, from 2 to 3 PM, there’s an opening of two new Sunroom Projects by Katherine Sepúlveda and Roger Ferney-Cortés. The artists will be in conversation with Curator of Visual Arts, Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, and at 3 PM, Ferney-Cortés will activate his sculpture Johny Paleta on the grounds.
Click here for more art exhibits at Wave Hill in Riverdale through August.
Poetry/Story Slam
On Friday, June 20, from 6 to 8 PM there will be a poetry reading at Edgar Allan Poe Cottage in Poe Park (2640 Grand Concourse) by poet David Mill on the life of Louis Armstrong and history of slavery in New York.
The Moth presents a Spanglish Story Slam at the Bronx Brewery (856 E. 136th St.) on Monday, June 24. Doors open at 6:30. Stories begin at 7.
Photo Exhibits
The exhibit of long-time Bronx photographer and filmmaker Edwin Pagán, “Los Inocentes (The Innocents),” appears on a fence in Van Cortlandt Park through the summer, including his photo, “Threee Kings Day,” above. The exhibit “is a documentary photo essay 35-years in-the-making that focuses on the resiliency of children who live in urban communities in less-than-ideal circumstances, but who prevail and thrive beyond their environments in the South Bronx, Spanish Harlem (El Barrio), and the Lower East Side (Loisaida).” You can see many more photos from from the exhibit here. Van Cortlandt Park is huge (the city’s third largest!) but you can find your way to the event site by just plugging 5920 Broadway, Bronx into your phone. The exhibit is presented by Photoville and The Bronx Historical Society. More info at: bronxdna.nyc.
There are several artist and book talks at the Bronx Documentary Center in the coming days and weeks.
Derfner Judaica Museum in Riverdale has an excellent photo exhibit through July 31: “Leonard Nones: Essential Workers,” features Nones’s portraits of staff on RiverSpring Living’s Riverdale campus (also known as The Hebrew Home). “The series of 18 archival inkjet prints are tributes to the strength, resilience, and compassion of all the people who work with the Hebrew Home’s residents.” You can see several of the photos here by Nones, who is a resident of RiverSpring Living.
Music/Concerts
Bronx River Art Center presents the 21st Annual Bronx River Sounds Performing Arts Festival with live weekend concerts now through June 29. An incredible array of Latin, African American, and multicultural musical acts will be taking the stage on Friday and Saturday nights.”
Thanks to the Bronx Arts Ensemble, there are several outdoor events at Pelham Bay Park music-wise this summer. All the info here.
There’s always great live music and performances at An Beal Bocht in Riverdale. Every Monday night they have open mics at 8:30 PM, hosted by Eric Sullivan. And Writers/Poetry Night with Melinda Wilson & Erin Lynn is the second Wednesday of every month.
A Bit Beyond the Bronx
At the Riverfront Art Gallery, a beautiful space to see art at the Yonkers Public Library, in downtown Yonkers, is “Radical Joy,” an exhibition that “features queer-identified artists whose work is centered around the radical act of expressing queer joy.” More info here.
OK, have a great weekend and week everyone!
This: “Art doesn’t have to be in a gallery or framed on a friend’s living room wall. It also can be what we see all around us” Absolutely agree!!