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Julia DePinto

Gowanus Open Studios

October 2, 2019 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: The Arts Tagged With: julia depict

Kevin R. Frech, Commune, Video

The first time I spoke with Johnny was to confirm my participation in Gowanus Open Studios, a wonderful yearly event sponsored by Arts Gowanus. The annual mid-October event draws people of all ages and backgrounds from all five boroughs. It provides artists opportunities to network while giving the public access to creative interaction in their spaces.

As a visual artist who occupies a 96 square-foot studio space in an old industrial warehouse, I’m new to the Gowanus art scene. I moved to Brooklyn in the spring of 2018, but like many artists, I was unable to secure a studio space until the following year. “You’re not alone,” Johnny later told me. “The scene is always in flux. Artists have occupied industrial and commercial buildings in our neighborhood for many, many years, but have also been continually pushed out of their spaces due to new development and the ever-evolving gentrification of our community. But artists are resourceful; we’re good at finding new spaces for creating, regardless of whatever barrier is holding us back.”

Johnny  Thornton is the Program Director of Arts Gowanus,  a nonprofit organization that advocates for local artists by organizing events to promote and sustain the multi-disciplinary art communities of Brooklyn. Part of their mission is to keep artists in Gowanus and neighboring areas through artist-to-artist relationships, monthly networking, workshops, fundraisers, exhibitions, and collaborations. Johnny spoke about a small group of artists in the 90s who revolutionized the event long before Arts Gowanus became the organization it is today.

For decades, New York City artists have struggled to find affordable studio spaces; usually seeking unused spaces in vacant buildings in disused neighborhoods. According to Johnny, “The problem with this pattern is that new developments come in and raise the rent so much that artists cannot afford to stay. Economic growth and gentrification tend to follow artists, but then push them out, creating a destructive cycle. This is how Open Studios was formed. Artists were seeking to form a community in a developing city that was also forcing them out.” This problem is not unique to the majority of New York residents. We live in a city where housing costs rise much faster than incomes. Massive shortages of affordable housing have affected many communities in the five boroughs.

I met Johnny outside of his studio, which is housed in a restored factory building that hosts private and shared spaces for artists to create, collaborate and exhibit. He walked me through a gated back entrance, through a long hallway, and into his studio– a space that I was not entirely prepared to enter. Narrow and rectangular with tall ceilings, it was filled with paintings of overlapping red blood cells, loosely rendered and aggressively outlined in a thick, black paint against a white background. The drawings and paintings were on various sizes of paper and canvas and covered every inch of the space, from the corners of the ceiling to the cracks in the floor. Stools, chairs, and easels were also painted, getting lost in the mammoth installation. I felt I had entered a dreamscape or memory. But it wasn’t my memory; it was Johnny’s. I stood in silence for a few minutes, trying to make sense of my surroundings. To contextualize the immersive installation and my immediate reaction is to say that it was quite unsettling. It was a meditation of a medical document, drawn in visual language, void of any text.

Johnny Thornton; Studio View & Installation of Cells

Soon after relocating to New York for graduate school, Johnny was diagnosed with an illness that changed the trajectory of his art career. As a once active, hyper-realistic portrait painter, he was suddenly limited to create within the barriers of physical mobility. Though his health began to deteriorate, he found catharsis in the repetitive act of drawing the circular cells. In his words, “My illness changed the way I work entirely.” This too made me look differently at Johnny’s art. His health has since improved, and I can now look at the artwork as a hopeful act.

Gowanus Open Studios is now celebrating 23 successful years. This year’s Open Studio event takes place the weekend of October 19 & 20 from 12:00 pm- 6:00 pm. The event is open to all ages and welcomes those who are interested in the process of art-making, collecting, or simply want to get a glimpse into the lives of local artists. Take time to come and explore the arts during this magical fall weekend. You’ll be glad you did!

In the corner of Johnny’s studio, placed casually against the sea of blood cell paintings, are stacks of painted canvas. These highly emotive paintings depict human forms, contrasting elements of physical and psychological identities. The gray figures are vulnerable; they open themselves up to the artist, but gaze past the viewer, attempting to avoid eye contact. Thick, black gestural marks lie on top of the figures, loosely outlining the contours of the body. Johnny describes the new works as “explorations of the constructed self through the lens of corporeal degradation and contemporary construction.”

I asked Johnny what viewers could expect to see this year at Open Studios. He responded by showing me a large-scale painting of gestural blacks lines juxtaposed a white backdrop.

Johnny isn’t the only artist preparing for Open Studios. Brooklyn-based, multi-disciplinary artist, Jenn Schmidt and video artist, Kevin Frech are also preparing their studios for visitors this fall. 

Jenn works in print-media, graphic design, sound, video, and site-specific installation. Entering her studio feels like entering a memoir of the natural world, albeit wrapped in patterns of psychedelic color and phenomenon. Her work questions the role of visual iconography and repetitive actions within a given environment. Prints on cotton fabric reference the physical body and are reminiscent of long walks through fields in Belgium, which is where she connects ideals of femininity and nature.

Jenn Schmidt; Studio View

Jenn showed me multi-faceted images of weeds, flowers and pinecones; all are elements of nature that find balance between echo and ecofeminism. The performative act of collecting weeds encouraged Jenn to consider ways in which women identify with nature. “It’s like a protection of self,” she explained. “The persistence of weeds is a global concept. Often overlooked, they exist in space and in between spaces.”

Viewers can expect to see Jenn’s newest monumental artworks, completed recently at an artists’ residency in Belgium. They may even hear echoes of Corita Kent’s famous words, “Flowers grow out of dark moments.”

When I visited Kevin Frech, he was arranging monitors and sets of headphones. Kevin’s work examines the social practices of Western contemporary society. As technology improves communication, it also alienates us from one another and our natural world; regardless, we continue consuming its resources. Commune involves a single-channel HD video with stereo sound, and depicts an assemblage of adults consumed by their smartphones. The piece is compelling, mesmerizing, and all too relatable. Technology is meant to connect us but it also has the potential to isolate us. I watched the video several times through before being interrupted by my own iPhone.  

Another piece, Foundation and Empire, features a single-channel HD video that speaks to issues of global warming and ways that money reshapes our world. In the video, Frech suspends ten, $100 bills in a block of ice and uses time-lapse to capture the melting. Unmistakenly paralleling climate change; as the cash becomes exposed to warmer temperatures, the ice melts, causing the entire structure to become unsustainable.

I spoke with Kevin about his work and what he hopes his art will convey to visitors. He stated that the videos function on multiple levels and that he tries to make art that everyone can relate to. He noted that in previous years, children and youth have identified with his work and understood the difficulty and absurdity of the pieces.

For more information about Gowanus Open Studios: www.artsgowanus.org


Jennifer Prevatt, Autumn Fairies – Park Slope Reader Fall 2019 Cover Art

Jennifer Prevatt is a visual artist who works in illustration, installation, and paper sculpture. Her introspective studio practices investigate the intimate layers of thought and memory within the scope of dreams. She creates visual narratives of archetypal thought patterns within the framework of fairy tales. After graduating in 2010 with a BA in Scientific Illustration Jennifer spent 8 years abroad. She received an MFA from Newcastle University in 2014 and has exhibited her work internationally. Jennifer is an Artist in Residence at Trestle Projects in Brooklyn.

http://www.jenniferprevatt.com

Filed Under: The Arts Tagged With: julia depict

Brooklyn For Warren: She’s Got a Plan

September 18, 2019 By Julia DePinto Filed Under: Community Tagged With: brooklyn for warren, election, elizabeth warren, julia depinto, park slope politics

Brooklyn for Warren members meet Elizabeth Warren in New Hampshire

If you support Elizabeth Warren, what is your plan? She’s got a plan; what’s yours?“

This is the mantra of grassroots organization, Brooklyn for Warren, a group of Brooklyn- based activists who are ALL IN for a Warren- 2020 Presidency. The preliminary idea for the canvassing chapter began in April 2019, not long after the Massachusetts Senator brought her presidential campaign to Long Island City. This is the same city where Amazon withdrew its plans to build a corporate campus, a decision Warren supported. Founder of Brooklyn for Warren, Milo, began holding sessions in his Brooklyn home, inviting the public to join in conversations regarding the need for structural change. These conversations led to the discussions of a future- America under a Warren Presidency. Networking with the digital community of “All In for Warren” quickly spread the word to Warren supporters living in the five boroughs, that a local group was organizing. By June the small group was visible to the public, in ways of canvassing, marching in parades, hosting happy hours events, and spreading their work throughout Brooklyn. They are also visible on multiple social media platforms and are recognized for crafting “Elizabeth Warren’s Comprehensive Meme Plan,” a database of appropriated images that pair Warren’s policies with pop culture references.

“We are all about creating visibility,” says Milo. “Warren appeals to ALL people and protects ALL people. This is why we are building a community of her supporters. We want to help her become the next President of the United States.”

We connected with the leaders of Brooklyn for Warren’s Policy and Social Media Teams to discuss the fundamentals of grassroots organizing, and to learn more about Warren’s plans for structural change. We wondered how her plans might affect the five boroughs.

As a note, Brooklyn for Warren is not part of Senator Warren’s official campaign and cannot speak directly for her or her campaign. They do not have insider knowledge of policies that have not already been made public. The following questions and answers include policy proposals that Warren has publicly discussed.

A local member of Women with Warren and Brooklyn for Warren outside the Park Slope Food Co-op

In a little over four months’ time, Brooklyn for Warren has grown from an idea to a dynamic grassroots organization with seven teams, 17 team leaders, and an email list with over 1,300 subscribers. Can you tell me how the policy team evolved? 

I attended the second house party hosted by Milo, back in April. As we began to grow, we developed our “Policy of the Week” segment for our biweekly happy hours. These sessions teach volunteers about one of Senator Warren’s policy proposals and give them talking points for how to discuss them when they are out canvassing, phone banking, or tabling. As the program quickly developed, it became clear that we should have a dedicated policy team, which I now co-lead. We organize the policy of the week segments and are working on additional tools to give volunteers easily digested summaries of Warren’s policies.

What is the impact social media can have on a campaign? Do you have any examples of how social media has increased awareness of Senator Warren’s presence, policies, and presidential campaign in Brooklyn?

It helps us organize events and get people involved and active. Warren herself tweeted out about our presence in Prospect Park with Cardboard Liz a couple of months ago. It definitely helped raise attention to what we’re doing here in Brooklyn. I have great conversations via DM (direct message) on a daily basis with people wanting to not only get more involved but also want to learn about her plans. Some of these people reach out because they feel more comfortable with one-on-one conversations. Also, people have been offering to send handmade Warren merchandise including buttons, stickers, and bath towels as a token of appreciation for our work.

How is Senator Warren going to help rebuild state and local infrastructure? Are there any plans to rebuild infrastructure in NYC?

Senator Warren has not released an infrastructure-specific plan, but a number of her plans address infrastructure in various ways. For instance, her plan for rural America invests $85 billion to create a public option for Broadband Internet access. Her green manufacturing plan invests $2 trillion over the next ten years into green energy research, green energy manufacturing, and exporting that technology around the world. Much of this, necessarily, would be devoted to infrastructure in various ways. Her plan for economic patriotism would create millions of good-paying domestic jobs.

There are massive shortages of affordable housing across the country. NYC’s affordability crisis affects New Yorkers of nearly every income group in every community across the five boroughs. Does Senator Warren have a plan to combat high rent and lack of affordable housing in NYC?

Her plan is a national one, not specific to NYC, but it would certainly help the severe lack of affordable housing we face here. The plan would make a historic investment in affordable housing that would bring rent down by 10% across America. It also creates 1.5 million new jobs through construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing and addresses the historic impact of the racist and discriminatory policy of redlining, where the government subsidizes mortgages for white families, but not black and brown families. Warren will subsidize down payments for first-time homebuyers in historically redlined communities, which will help close the wealth gap between black and white families. It is fully paid for by imposing an estate tax on inheritances over $7m.

Warren’s own story is not unlike the stories of many working-class Americans and single-parent families who struggle economically. How does she appeal to voters differently than her opponents?

Warren’s approach and tactics become a part of every conversation. She is able to communicate through ideas, not guise or rhetoric. Current and previous Presidents have based their politics on slogans like “hope” and “great.” Warren’s politics are based on ideas and plans, not slogans. She’s really in charge of the conversations, and if you have something that is consistent and tangibly sound, then you can speak to all voters.

©Brooklyn For Warren

There are a number of Democratic presidential candidates who effectively speak to core American values and present a strong vision for the future of our country’s economy. What makes Senator Warren especially unique to the other presidential candidates?

The thing about Senator Warren is that, although it looks like she has all these plans to solve all these different problems, at their core, every single one of her plans is addressed at fixing one core problem–the vast inequality in American society. It’s the problem that she has spent her entire career studying and trying to remedy. What makes her array of plans different than in any other campaign we’ve seen is that they resonate with people–they’re not just a disparate array of white papers–they show that she has a deep understanding of all the different ways people are hurt by inequality, whether it is the racist history of redlining, the huge power imbalance between the 1% and everyone else, the ways corporations have changed the rules of the game to their advantage, the ways working mothers are held back by the lack of child care and so many more.  And they present an optimistic vision of how our society can be equal. While her plans are bold and visionary, they are also very practical. They are fully paid for, and she has talked about the need to eliminate the filibuster so that they can actually become law.

I believe down to my toes (to borrow Warren’s phrase) that once people get to know Senator Warren, those who are open to having their minds changed will become convinced that she is an exceptional candidate who really stands out from the rest. There was some interesting polling earlier this summer that measured how closely people were paying attention to the primary–among those paying the closest attention, Warren was in the lead. To me, that says that once people have the opportunity to learn about her, many of them will end up supporting her because of the strength of her ideas and conviction, her toughness, her record of getting things done, and her innate goodness that just shines through.

How can our readers contribute to your cause?

We welcome anyone of any ability. Everyone has something to give for the fight– we see it daily in our group. From broke students to those who are able to do more than their $2,800 campaign limit. We welcome those in Park Slope and elsewhere who want to use their energy to support the strongest economic and social justice candidate to represent ALL of Brooklyn. Our success is based on community building around Elizabeth Warren, and our team members are all a reflection of her. It’s a further testimonial to her inspirational personality and candidacy, and to the people who have come together to build something. It’s a positive reinforcement daily.


For more information on Brooklyn for Warren, including upcoming events and ways to contribute, please visit: brooklynforwarren.org


Filed Under: Community Tagged With: brooklyn for warren, election, elizabeth warren, julia depinto, park slope politics

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