Written by: Susan Gardner
Edited by: Jo Ann Duggins
Photos by:Steven Schreiber
You walk into the space at 303 Bond
Street knowing something special is going to happen. Upon a quiet tree lined block in residential Brooklyn
appears a vast open space with high ceilings and grand scaffolding. The scaffolding takes the place of
theatrical wings and through their skeletal structures, one experiences the
voyeuristic pleasure of watching the performers prepare. There is a starkness to the set
dressings which is revisited in the muscular definition of the dancers and the
boning of their corsets.
The Judgment of Paris begins, and you are eager to believe the creation of Company XIV. Enraptured early by the technique and the artful movements of the performers, even nature herself joined in with a spring shower falling in the background.
Austin McCormick, the artist director and choreographer, does his Julliard education justice creating a piece well bred in both form and content – until the second act.
Both the advertisement appearing under Time Outs’ Burlesque section and the deliberate reference to the Blond Bombshells leads one to expect a bit of the burlesque. Upon first arriving, I asked the woman
seated next to me three questions. First I asked, “Where did they get those corsets?!” To which she
replied, “They made them.” I
hardly consider my self a skeptic and am quite eager to believe in the
abilities of others – but six performers who can construct their own
corsets? Upon seeing my raised
eyebrow, she clarified, “He had them made.” I then inquired about the space, “What kind of productions
usually go up here?” Again, my
well informed neighbor answered, “Oh, its Austin’s. I’m not sure if he rents it
out or not.” I was delirious! How
fortunate for the artist to have this haven to create. Although the show had not yet started
there was an electricity in the air which spoke of great things to come. And finally, my last question: “Is
there Burlesque in his piece?” “Oh
yes,” she replied, “at the end.”
The story line is oversimplified when the other two goddesses disappear, and we are left with a sadistic
Aphrodite
who seems to have a foreknowing of the effects of Paris’ infatuation. Although Aphrodite promised him the
love of Helen, the story unfold as if Aphrodite has only delivered Helen’s
body. Helen is shown as an unwilling
and innocent victim and one is left to ask, Mr. McCormick– What do you
think about Love and Beauty? Is it
really so untrustworthy – so shallow? When you remove the Goddesses and their jealous destructiveness,
you leave us to believe pain was the plan of the Goddess of Love. Let us not forget, the vengeful nature
Still, so artfully told – it was not hard to fall into this perspective. Artistic license with old myths is valid, and why can we not use the stories and icons of our predecessors to depict our own interpretations and give breath to our own experiences? We use art to share our perspectives and I was enjoying Mr. McCormick’s. Until the second act.
“Exploited by love and raped by Paris”
our young Helen is forced into the bawdy world of the Blond Bombshells. The platinum haired beauties giggle and
shimmy, answering questions with airy simplicity and shallow reflections. Helen is sold to a man who pays
Aphrodite – who has now been placed into the position of Madame of the
Bombshell. The Goddess of Love has
become the Peddler of Vulgarity. Helen
is scarred and frighten. She
experiences no joy in this burlesque world, and those others dancing with her
appear to have lost their senses long ago.
I take issue, Company XIV and must ask Mr. McCormick where he gathered his perception on burlesque. One should never pity the burlesque dancer; we are fortunate for our trade.
One may say I am being oversensitive, but I beg you to look at the timing. In the midst of a burlesque
revival, Mr. McCormick chooses for his metaphor an art form that is very much
alive with vinegar and wit. Additionally,
one can not help but think that Aphrodite and her dancers are modeled after
Lydia Thompson and her British Blondes who first introduced burlesque to
American in 1868. Is Mr. McCormick
belittling neo-burlesque through reference to it’s very inception in America or
is he out of touch?
I invite Mr. McCormick into a printed dialogue. Please reply, My sweet, lest I too be broken hearted.
Sincerely yours,
Miss RunAround Sue
Burlesque Producer and Performer
Sugar Shack Burlesque
April 11 2007
Tattoo artist Bryan Randolph and his wife, Jen have an amazing baby boy. This child of theirs was diagnosed with a rare and sometimes malignant cancer-like disease called Langerhan’s cell histiocytosis (LCH). I could not imagine what they are going through emotionally and financially. The good people of New York Adorned recently gathered tattooists around the world to auction off their art in efforts to raise money for Golden's care. I was amazed at how many people attended the event and wished I had thousands to give them. The artwork was amazing as well and works by the likes of Chris O'Donnell, Tom Yak, Robert Ryan and Timothy Hoyer were auctioned off at the end of the evening. It was hot as hell in Booklyn's Saved Gallery, but the temperature had nothing on the warmth these artist have for this family and their efforts to help them out in a time of need. I asked Lori Leven, owner of New York Adorned about the night's events...
How long have you all been doing this for the Bryan's family?
THOMAS AND KIMBERLY HOOPER AND I PLANNED THE PARTY WITHIN A MONTH'S TIME. WE HAD T-SHIRTS AND STUFF BEFORE THEN, BUT THE PARTY WAS THE BIG THING.
How did the auction go?
THE AUCTION WENT SMOOTH AS BUTTER..THERE WERE OVER 100 PIECES OF ART AND WE SOLD THE MAJORITY. WHAT WE DIDN'T SELL IN THE 3 HOUR PARTY, WE PRETTY MUCH SOLD RIGHT AFTER!
How much money was raised?
$35,000!
Can people continue to purchase artwork and donate to the fund?
WE ARE PUTTING UP A MYSPACE PAGE FOR DONATIONS SOON...
Will there be another event for Golden?
WE WILL BE SELLING THE FLASH FROM THE SHOW THROUGH MIKE RUBENDALL AND HENNING'S SITE WWW.TATTOOELITEINTERNATIONAL.COM and THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY THAT CAME OUT THAT NIGHT. THE SUPPORT WAS AMAZING!
If you would like to know more about Golden, visit the website HERE!
Here's some pics of the event (taken by: Ste Duggins):
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
July 18, 2007
BURN: To out do the competition. To ware out. (149st.com/glossary.html)
On July 7, 2007, my bro-in-law, Ste Duggins presented his first ever solo art show at Santa Ana's Grand Central Arts Center. The show was co-curated with the Molten brothers, Ken and Mike. Since I was unable to actually go to the show, I've decided to let my readers, that be you, know of the event. We are hoping that Ste will bring his show to New York and until then he will be showing in various other cities.
Burn is top graffiti and fine artists such as Serk, Such Styles, Pablo Luna, Esther Sanchez and others from around the country which presented their artwork on sculpted, vacuumed-formed train cars which were made by Ste. Ste also contributed his own artwork into the show. "I wanted to pay homage to origins of street art with this show...", says the 26 year old artist.
Ste says he hopes to bring the show to other parts of California, Seattle, and possibly Japan. He is anticipating a show in NYC but instead of freights he will be doing subway cars. When I asked him how he got the artists to participate in the show he told me, "Well, it started with Such and he and Kepto introduced me to a majority of the artists involved because I didn't know how to go about approaching them." It was a networking effort.
"I thought the audience reaction went well, but was pleasantly surprised at how mixed it was," responded Duggins after I asked him what he thought his audience reaction might have been. "Two little old ladies really liked Ekose's train which was funny and unexpected!" I ran into Esther Sanchez the other day and asked her what she thought about being asked to participate in Burn. She replied, "I thought it was a very original and cool concept. For me, it was awesome to get to paint on something with more dimension than a flat canvas. I was also amazed by the amount of work he's done for this show and how knowledgeable he is on the background of past and current artists who paint on the actual trains."
I personally think this whole project is incredible. Ste is incredibly passionate about graffiti and it's origins and I admire the fact that he's come up with this to honor that art. If you are interested in purchasing one of the pieces from the show, or more information on it, feel free to contact Ste via EMAIL.
