Home is Where the ART is.

Hello all.

So, I have been unable to post for a while, there have been several reasons for this, so keep reading and you shall find out why.

Since my last blog, much has happened I have left this world and come back changed.

My first weekend saw me tackle NYC PRIDE. Not only was the sheer size of the parade unbelievable, but there seemed to be so much more involved, or at steak for the paraders. The trash wasn't trashy.

Uk pride consists mainly, (from my experience) of young people getting ridiculously drunk and over using their GHD's, in order to maintain maximum attention. It should be noted, there is nothing wrong with these intentions, (I have them too) but if you were to ask them what Pride was really all about would they all know?

NY Pride was without this ignorance. The variety of floats, and marchers seemed to prove this.
While it is true that there is never a single community, just communities, NYC pride was radical without limitations. The police and fire dept marched alongside Trans men and women, I am certain this does not happen in the UK?

There was solidarity, and to many New Yorker's that is important.

I quickly made friends with Britanny and Gwen, who wasted no time in introducing me to famous bars such as the Cubby Hole. Women as far as the eye could see.

Several PBR's later, I was steaming in the heat. The heat bakes you slowly. The flora and fauna of this island stick to your back.

I explored, and then explored some more, and New Yorker's began to grow friendlier.
Then Annie Lanzilotte came down and took me under her wing. She is an inspiration. Talking greatly about the importance of process in performance. This is something I think we can all relate too. Well, those of use who have struggled with process in the past. She maintains that performance and the processes that produce it can't be forced. Now I know this, but there is a problem with that, when you have been surrounded by great artists, and ingenious ideas and all you want to do is produce something of equal measure. it doesn't just come? Should it just come?
Annie said that when we are children and we go outside and play in the mud, we make a world. It is nonsensical, but we don't worry or think about it, we just build a world and it grows because its natural. As adults we lose this somehow. I think it is true. Finding that balance, when it just 'works'. Like when Peggy Shaw just performs, or somebody else you have seen were it is just a naturalness. Very often, natural is brilliant.

There is not much time to dwell here.
I 86'ed my hostel and made a dash to the upper west side.
bare brick walls and that solitary house plant.
Peter Bruce Clarke and Columbia University, which sports a much more impressive library than Queen Mary.

Then the work began. The work of a non profit organization and all the time, effort and little moments that make it what it is.

I have been doing everything from emailing artists, to learning how fund raising is done. Taking calls, making reservations, giving artistic assistance, and ensuring that the artists have as much or as little as they need.

The space is a quarried hole that stretches back and back into an old building on the Bowery. A giant space that sickens with simplicity and extravagance. The air is thick with excitement, even in the recycling room.

Artists are coming and going, but us interns work till the magnesium gleam of the skyscrapers disappear and give way to the moon.

Check out the goings on at www.dixonplace.org.

Then, the inevitable happened.
My wallet was stolen, just as I was starting to settle and human contact was becoming less lacking. A nice gentleman, (a blatant drunk) helped me out though, all was not lost!

I took a midnight walk to Ground Zero, stayed for a while, and counted how many mini USA flags there were sticking out of every single machine and mechanical device that crowds the empty space. Needless to say there are a lot!

thennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, I thought my passport was stolen. I am not going into this one, it was at Western Union, where I had to go to get money, sans wallet.

Then I couch-surfed.....

Alison Wright, artist, graphic novel illustrator, boss drawings.
Charlie the cat aptly named after: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Charlie was a terror, but a sweet one.
Me and Alison attended a roof top artist evening, and on the way home, we saw the G train a'comin. So we ran to catch it, (as the subway in NY is never reliable or consistent) Little did we know there is a police station located in this specific station.
Impulsively,
Girlishly,
and full of silliness, we cast aside our monthly rail passes and ran under a police barrier....only to be stopped firmly in our tracks by officer Duane. (I forget his last name). He wasted no time in reading us the green-cross fucking code of subway bylaws and proceeded to cuff us both, while we were each checked out. Quicker than you can say ivejustbeenarrestedforjumpingthesubway, I found myself sat in a typists side room, cuffed, hands behind my back while Alison was reprimanded and put in a cell because she had some prior offense from like 72 years ago.

By this time, I was clearly a felon, my toilet requests were ignored, and my scouse Italian status was not going to get me out of this.

Luckily, they took pity on me, by way of a $100 dollar fine (which i have no intention of paying) and released me without charge.

Poor Alison had to sweat it out with the nimrods on those specially designed benches you just can't sleep on.

Moving on.

I have explored and checked out the following places for my budding peers which are built on experimental performance art. (they don't know what Live art is over here)

However, before you all go and exhaust this list, you should note that I don't think its quite as out there over here, as it is in our glorious bubble.

MOMA
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1097

The Kitchen
http://www.thekitchen.org/event/210/0/1/

The lincon Centre
http://new.lincolncenter.org/live/

The Bowery Poetry Club

PS122
http://www.ps122.org/

Here
http://www.here.org/shows/detail/300/

NY Alive
http://www.newyorkcityalive.com/

The flea theatre
http://www.theflea.org/

The CAVE

STREB LAB

ST ANNS WAREHOUSE

CHOCOLATE FACTORY

SOHO REP

madehereproject.org


I went to my first THINK TANK the other evening, which is a Live Art event surrounding the American dream. Very much a work in progress which has different areas of what we may consider the American Dream. The think tank is kind of a long table event without the long table. It involves people writing down questions on the topic of choice, in this case FREEDOM, and then splitting off into small groups to discuss it before reforming as one large group to discuss findings.
It was fantastic and a brilliant tool for research and devising.

I wrote down: How free is democracy? As this is something that I continue to question from our course at uni: Modernism and Democracy. Talking with Americans about this I discovered the same contradictions... that is really isn't? Or if it is, then it is freedom with limitations. Interestingly it spanned to space, and racism, to government factions and the fact that recently congress began to recognize industries and companies in America as 'people'.

Leave you with this: http://www.here.org/shows/detail/300/

During my exploring, I found Wooster Avenue, and the home of the legendary Wooster Group.
I knocked on the door, and offered my services, and I spent a day interning there. I am hoping it will happen again. It only involved answering emails and running messages...but I saw the space, I felt the atmosphere, and it will stay with me for a long ass time.

I also found the WOW cafe. It is a single room, with a makeshift bar and when i opened the door just a lone girl playing her guitar. (yes I know, how saccharine). There place needs a re-paint, but this tuesday Hollie and I are joining the collective. We go, sit in the circle and can write our own ticket, (apparently). So, we are going.

I have befriended lots of Americans. Namely Antonio my Jamaican Deli store owner. JAH.

and then I moved in with a Priestess performance Artist, Simba, Brooklyn is the town for women. Her halfway house hosts every nationality and artist going.

So I am setting off at a steady pace. Every day my shirt sticks uncomfortably to my back. But I love it here, there are lots of stupid wankers with no morality, plenty of factory fodder, and something that is just completely compelling.

I plead clemency, and self denial.