Artist Organized Art

It is easy to file this show away as another DIY art/music show that evokes such words as Noise or Institutional Critique, but it was much too disparate and instinctive to be pigeonholed into a curatorial schtick. For Shake Out - while also escaping the fuzzy New Age togetherness - contents were secondary to the phenomena of the series of collective action it generated, from curating to participating to spectating. This serial Summer group art shows with post-dusk performances by the ragtag lineup of NYC bands drew an astounding amount of spectators to the point where some had to wait to get inside. Considering the location and stigma attached to the Rockaway (it's faraway, has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the U.S., high crime rate) this is quite a feat.

Amidst this context, What a Feeling by Cat Chow, and Stick Chart by Bridget Donahue seemed at home and uniquely site-specific. Both employed semi-discarded material to construct loose geometry and presented casual sophistication that resisted being wall display (a la the artist-alchemist Arte Povera experiments of the 60s). Together, the artworks created an out-of-focus portrait of a future tenant.

Next morning, Shaun was busy at the organic vegetable stand
run by Elizabeth Gilchrist of Blooming Hills Farm.


Elizabeth Gilchrist and Taka

The stigma attached to Rockaway, with its proximity to the surfing beach, is what gives MoSh FroP its potential - and what differentiated the Shake Outs. They weren't statements, but more like snapshots capturing enormous cultural potential from the neighborhood.

Taketo Shimada

Artists: Alex Miller, Blain Vandenberg, Cat Chow, Dana Bell, Grant Worth, Kyle Field, M.V. Carbon, Robbie McDonald, Scott Hug, Taketo Shimada, Wyatt Kahn

Bands: Skint, Wet Ropes, Revival Times, Little Wings, Lazaro Valiente, messages