Subway Series

No, not Yankees and Mets but a series of maps and a story. In my days as a graphic designer, I worked on maps. Specifically the New York City Transit Maps when I worked for Michael Hertz Associates. I did Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens bus maps, guide-a-rides at the bus stops, Express busses, and was a junior designer on the New York City Subway map, working with the always interesting Nobu Sirasi. The impetus for this blog is that The Museum of Modern Art recently sent a notice celebrating their new gift shop products designed by Massimo Vignelli and they included his Subway map on the page. Seeing it lauded gets my dander up. I really dislike this map. In the interest of design, I agree it is good looking but in the interest of the user, it is incorrect! It can get you lost in a New York Minute.

Vignelli's map has subway lines that run only in straight lines with 90° or 45° turns. This causes geographic errors —on  the West Side of Manhattan, Broadway is seemingly misplaced. It shows as west of Amsterdam Avenue when it should be east. It drifts toward West End Avenue near 72nd Street, where it should intersect with Amsterdam. It passes West End Avenue north of it's endpoint creating several blocks of fictitious Upper West Side real estate, the Broadway line crosses the Eighth Avenue line not at 42nd Street, but at Columbus Circle, Bowling Green is not actually above Rector Street,  and these  are only a few of the map's geographic errors. According to the New York Times, Vignelli said, “Of course I know Central Park is rectangular and not square, Of course I know the park is green, and not gray. Who cares? You want to go from Point A to Point B, period. The only thing you are interested in is the spaghetti.” ...“On purpose we rejected any visual reference to nature or landmarks." Vignelli further defended his design by pointing out that diagrammatic representation is common practice.”

I worked on the map after his. It is not so pretty but it does a great job.  In fact, a version of it is in use today. A lot of work went into the planning. Helped by

Dr. Arlene L. Bronzaft, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Lehman College and Dr. Stephen B. Dobrow, the editor of transportation newsletter Notes from the Underground and an Associate Professor teaching urban systems at Fairleigh Dickinson University, a committee focused on the relationship between transportation within a city and an understanding of the city’s geography, and they asked actual New Yorkers. Michael Hertz, my former boss, was contracted by the MTA to execute the new  ideas. The new map featured subway lines that bend and turn along with New York City —a hybrid of the graphic and the geographic.. This is important because I think we have the most complicated system in the world —a result of being first and of the conglomeration of competing transit companies/lines.  MoMA may not think it's good design, but our map is an early successful exercise in user interface —the mantra of the modern world and it works!

But since this an "art" blog,  here is some for you, created on the Subway. You have to work fast or take the local to Coney Island. Artwork by Josh Bayer, Kurt Hoss, and Tony Serio.

By Josh Bayer

By Kurt Hoss

By Tony Serio

Managing Disaster

A few years ago I bought a little model of the Unabomber's cabin from a series that contained buildings like the Texas Book Depository and Ford's Theater.  They were made by Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym.  I bought it because it was a difficult time in my life and I wanted to be able hold disaster in the palm of my hand. I thought it would make things more manageable. 

Imagine my surprise when I walked into the Museum of Art and Design to see NYC Makers, the MAD Biennial saw some of the little buildings on display. Including an alternate series: Eighteen Buildings (from the Missing Monuments Series) I guess the moral of the story is that art conquers all. Ars Vincit omnia!

Photo of he Missing Monuments Series by Eva Heyd.

video installation?

The security camera across the platform was a no less sublime example of a video installation. Supremely unintended?. Perhaps called ,"he/she who waits..."

Andy Confluent

You know about my obsession with Andy Warhol...well, it's gotten stranger and more connected in odd ways than ever.

Now there is a silver Andy monument by Rob Pruitt right outside my window, where I used to see Andy himself everyday coming and going from Interview magazine...and my studio is neighbor to the Silver Factory which was his studio. (For a chronology of Andy and his players)...and now in Andy's honor I always wear the fragrance from Bond No. 9, Silver Factory...


...and last weekend I met a lovely artist, Madelyn Roehrig, who talks to Andy Warhol at his grave and who started filming people at the gravesite talking to Andy...which turned into...a work of art. November 5 at the Warhol—Madelyn Roehrig's Figments: Conversations with Andy: Year I & Year II (2009-11), with live music by Meeting of Important People, Dave Olson, and Uke & Tuba.

Rarely Seen Art!

Yesterday I was stuck on a subway train. A train broke down in the station ahead, and there were trains behind us at the last. Unable to go backward or forward into a station, after quite a delay we rolled slowly, connecting to the offending train, then exiting by walking car to car through both trains. It was a perfect blog opportunity for tunnel art you never get to see. Ah, rara artis!

Chashama Film Festival 2010!

You all know Chashama from installations and grants of studio space around the city. I just discovered they host a film festival.

____________________________

chashama Film Festival 2010!

This is the time where we ask you to send in your movies ASAP To be eligible for screening at this years festival. We will be accepting through august 14, 2010

We are looking for movies that are themed philosophically;

* documentaries,
* Narratives and
* music videos.

They can range in time from 10 seconds to 120 minutes.
Submission Fees are:

$10$ for 10sec-1min
$20$ 1- 60min,
$30$ 61min-120min.

HALF PRICE: When you get others to submit.
Our deal this year is half price for any who submit and has an associate submit.
Zero budget to Billion dollar budgets accepted!

We ask that you forward this message to all filmmakers looking for an outlet

AND take advantage of our half off prices.

Screenings will Occur Oct.22-23, 2010

________________________

And, of course , you can submit for the OPEN CALL for Videos on Broadway.

Modern Romantic American Landscape...Why does this sound weird?

I first saw Valerie Hegarty's work in a public project on the High Line in New York City. A painting being "reclaimed" by nature. Her work amusingly turns the conceits of landscape painting on it's head while also seriously investigating the meaning of landscape painting in the context of American history. A local artist, she also had/has a work on view in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum.

Videos on Broadway Open Call

OPEN CALL Point us to your artistic videos to be considered for exhibition at the Videos on Broadway exhibition space. We are looking for artists, young or old, serious or funny, etcetera or etcetera.

Videos on Broadway is a new project created by Susan Shaw to showcase contemporary art video to a diverse audience in New York City. Videos on Broadway provides emerging artists an urban location and video monitors to showcase their video art. Using a glass front building on the famous street of Broadway, we will give both the artist and the public a unique and free experience to contemporary new media.

We will show new work by artists from around the world. Videos on Broadway will use film and video to reflect the artists personal interpretations of social, political, psychological and spiritual themes.

The video below was a proof of concept test. The viewers are watching a rough cut of Susan Shaw: Nightcar. It was freezing yet people still stopped to watch. How great is that? We are still putting together the funding to be able to this right i.e. including things like announcement cards but we are nowhere without you. Please point us in your direction. E, W, N, S...

Kurt's view #2

Another recent photo I like. This one shot with his Lego camera, out the studio window.

Kurt's view

Just really liked this photo of his. It has the content he so loves, and the shapes, the frame, and the color are so sophisticated...

While we're on the subject...

While we're on the subject of architecture, there is a wonderful Scottish Gothic building (gargoyles and all) up the street from my studio. The McIntyre building at Broadway and 18th Street was designed in 1892 by Robert H. Robertson for Ewen McIntyre. It is very ornate and decorative, all recently revealed through restoration. The amount and style of details boggles the mind, including a prominent cross at the top. I have even heard the building described as "unspeakable eclectic."

This is a Japanese view, like the moon hidden by the clouds or a few blades of grass held to the night. Stripped of its detail, the shadow building still has a distinct and pious fingerprint and is no less beautiful.

Cut Velvet...

The last of the true lofts ...sad to say this ode to manufacturing is becoming a rare sighting.

Soon no one will even remember the jokes:

A man and his partner are having a very bad year with their garment business. They are in a loft building with many floors of small manufacturers like themselves, some much more successful than others. In despair the man jumps out the window. As he's falling, he calls out to his partner,"Cut velvet..."

A simple walk #...west side treasures

Then and Now

Imagine stuff delivered by train right into your building. Too bad it's gone—it would be a short commute. Kurt continues his hunt into historic old New York...

Bleak House Poetry

I was at the Apple Store waiting to take a class in Final Cut Pro when I espied this glorious gridded abstract. Bleak House, Weak Horse, Steak House, Nuclear, Atomic, Ho Nest...Honest

Needs No Explanation

It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood...

The Fire

We were on fire last week so things have been jumbled and out of kilter. No one was hurt and the firemen/trucks came right away but there has been some damage and we are regrouping. This was not the first time (maybe 1873?) the building has been on fire. Every time we remove later renovated sections, we've found scorched evidence. I'm happy to say though, this is the first fire where there is a sprinkler system and we had a very speedy Fire Department response. This photo, taken after the fire was out by Kurt, is shot from the second floor with a view of the Zeckendorf towers and the Con Ed building. It's nice and crisp (ho ho) since the windows are gone--one of those photos that needs an explanatory caption to belie it's peacefulness.

Of note, a couple of my canvases burned up in the fire. I'd like to think they were in sympathy with James Rosenquist's work after his recent studio fire. His loss is much greater than mine. And the loss of art is always a tragedy.

Renovation

While I firmly believe that renovation is up there with death and divorce, I am still excited about the fadade restoration where my studio is located. This landmark building was studio for many other artists before me. Notably, Isobel Bishop, associated with Social Realism, painted people in and around Union Square, sometimes right outside her window. These are some of Kurt's snaps from his daily diary of the process.

Hard Times for Artists = Creative Materials

I've seen art on cardboard, cereal boxes and lots of other found materials. Yesterday I saw these. What a good idea! Large size, good quality paper, the background already roughed in and a subtext layer of interesting content. It bears some thinking about.




O.K. Here's what I might do. Entitled "Mapping the Language of Love." see image below. Looks like a Susan Shaw, feels like a Susan Shaw. References her photographic portraits and therefore appropriate in the context of her continuum of work. She actually worked on both layers of image, one in the '70s (as a map designer) and the other in the '80s. Is definitely personal, yet is about push/pull of the picture plane. Resembles a prior body of work by Shaw, exhibited internationally and hotly collected. Hmm....maybe hard times are looking good...

Home is Where the Map Is...

As Artists we think a lot about mapping, whether it is in our paintings, drawings, sculptures or whatever. In addition, in one of my former jobs, I worked on the design and execution of the New York City subway and bus maps (I was lead designer for Manhattan and Staten Island as well as the guide-a-rides at the bus stops.) So it is not surprising I think a lot about maps and mapping. I've been using the web to explore this obsession, regularly visiting Google Earth (for those aerial views), Mapquest, and Google Maps and other applications like the very useful HopStop (to figure out the best subway combinations) and Street Locator (to find the cross street), and the always entertaining CrimeSpotNY. There even versions of maps that show local amenities. One thing is sure, in my neighborhood, I'll never go hungry.

I love to take photographs out of my studio window. Personal maps that are part of works in progress. Home is where the map is...