RETROFUTUROLOGY @ the Observatory

RETROFUTUROLOGY:
How the Past Saw the Present // How the Present Sees the Future

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, January 28, 8 PM

"Observatory is pleased to announce our new exhibition, RETROFUTUROLOGY, a group show of visual art, curated by the Hollow Earth Society (Ethan Gould & Wythe Marschall, Founding Colonels).

About the show: To have an imagined future, you must simultaneously have an imagined present and an imagined past…

A DeLorean decked out in flashing lights and wires: A modest-budget promise that, yes, the technologies of our age can puncture the time barrier! Where to go? A rowdy 1950s? A steampunk 1890s?

Our visions of the future are nested. Our conception of time is hyper-real.

This is the process on which the present runs.

Come see contemporary art that investigates futures-past, futures-possible, and other nestings."

Featuring paintings, sculptures, and other works by many artists, including: Adrian Agredo, Tracey Atkinson, Emi Brady, bunny M, Jon Burgerman, Chiezo, Devon Clapp, Jesse Corinella, Rachel Debuque, Derrick Dent, Matt Duffin, Ethan Gould, Andrea Hendrickson, Richard Herzog, Andy Hunter, Patti Jordan, John Lee, Haydex Li, Benjamin Mayock, Marianne McCarthy, Megan Murtha, George Pfau, Nick Raynolds, Matthew Robinson, Sean Star Wars, Tom Sarmo, Rachel Schragis, Joelle Shallon, Greg Shelnutt, Niko Silvester, Melissa Stern, Lisa Temple-Cox, and Robin Treadwell.
In addition to this show Observatory is constantly hosting all sorts of interesting events with emphasis on the what some might think bizarre (you know taxidermy, skull collecting, Aquatic Ape Theories.. stuff like that)many sell out quickly so try and reserve if you can!

For instance on Friday, February 4th it's "The Secret History of the Ouija Board": A talk and visual presentation by Mitch Horowitz.

Click here for the schedule.

Observatory
543 Union Street at Nevins
Brooklyn, NY 11215
observatoryroom.org
observatoryroom [at] gmail.com

ON VIEW: Friday, January 28 – Friday, March 5, 2011
HOURS: Thursdays & Fridays 3–6 PM, Saturdays & Sundays 12–6 PM

If you go, be sure to check out the Paradise 2 Show in the Proteus Gowanus space while you are there!

Snow Noir

This is F.I.B's 800th post. Crazy.

150 Days Till Summer

"The Double-D" Pool.

Freddy's Bar Re-Opens February 4th!

This time it's official with a date and everything! I have seen the inside and can vouch that it is quite like no other place, it's got elements of the old Freddy's but it's been taken up quite a few notches. Here is the official press release in it's entirety.

"Freddy's Bar is very proud to announce its Re-Opening on Friday Feb 4th.

On this special night the doors will open at 5 pm, and will close at 4 am.

The headline music act of Les Sans Culottes will go on at midnight, with opening acts of Apple recording artist Brute Force and eclectic world roots band The Magpie kicking things off.

An exhibition of glitter and flock paintings by N.Y artist Nancy Drew will be on display.

The new bar is not the old Freddy's, but many items did make the long journey from demolition to re-birth, including the original prohibition era red mahogany bar, the old booths and tables, and a few special items as well. The “Chains of Justice” will still grace our bar as a reminder of our fight against eminent domain abuse and the power of the community bond. The video art of Donald O'Finn will still be prominently featured. The decor is unique and vibrant, a mixture of old and new, antique Hollywood Regency chandeliers, steam punk accents, vintage wallpaper as well as handmade erotic wall-paper and permanent art installations from local art stars like Nancy Drew and Steve Pauley. The stamp of co-owner/artist Donald O'Finn is evident almost everywhere you look, from the fish tank sunk into a wall with giant albino frogs to the barn wood wall constructions and oversized gothic frame mounted to a flatscreen TV.

The entire bar has been created almost exclusively out of re-cycled, found or hand made objects, with next to nothing being purchased “New,” Thus we are “Green.”

We have been built by the community, thus we are for the community. The creation of this bar is owed to the hard work of the new owners (all previous staff members), and especially to the generous efforts of other staff members and many a bar regular, who all pitched in with innumerable hours of contribution. Owned by staff and built by regulars - the old guard is out and the new guard is in, the inmates now run the asylum.

The Music!
LES SANS CULOTTES: "The seven-headed beast from the hardscrabble streets of Menilontant," Brooklyn-based francophonic rockers, LES SANS CULOTTES, made their US debut at Freddy's Bar back when Freddy's was the preeminent domain of a pre-eminent domain Prospect Heights.

BRUTE FORCE: Apple Records recording artist, currently on "Come And Get It, The Best of Apple Records," and Bar None/Sony, Confections of Love, teams up with Steve deSeve, drums, Andy Mattina, bass, Jon Keay, guitar and Daughter of Force, vocals...to perform The Best of Brute Force.

THE MAGPIE: Moody and gritty old world roots music sourcing every corner of the globe for influence.
* See The Magpie at Cafe Steinhof this Wednesday night!

The Artists!
NANCY DREW: NY Artist Nancy Drew has created permanent installations of handmade flocked & glittered wallpaper, a Pollock-esque floor painting, Clyfford Still-esque painted silver walls, as well as an endless video loop "Bill - The Drinking Cat." Bust Magazine said “Nancy Drew caused quite a stir with two NYC solo shows…masterpieces bursting with intriguing tactile surfaces and layered with sparkly girl power.“
“Painted in her trademark glitter and flocking on canvas, Nancy Drew’s painting embrace and amp up the notion of ‘retinal art’ by making it vibrate with familiar if unexpected associations. -- Christian Viveros Faune, Village Voice

STEVE PAULEY: Artist Steve Pauley has made a site-specific granite engraving specifically for Freddy’s. It is a re-construction of the original Freddy's men’s room graffiti, faithfully carved into a wall-mounted 100-pound piece of black granite.
Holland Carter of The N.Y. Times calls Pauley's granite engravings “striking and unorthodox.”

LISANNE McTERNAN (that's me!): Designed and collaged 2 bathroom doors with cult and camp media imagery for the new Fred's. Her work can currently be seen at Proteus Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY.

DONALD O'FINN: Donald O’Finn’s cult art videos are the product of re-purposing and re-contextualizing appropriated media samples. They have been shown nationally and internationally and most recently enjoyed a solo exhibition in Berlin Germany.

“Donald O’Finn’s feverishly edited encyclopedically strange video collages…” Village Voice – Best Of 2001 – 2008

“The most tripped out and intelligent re-cuts of movie clips, commercials and various other resources you can imagine.” OpenAchedemic.org

The new Freddy's Bar is located at 627 5th Ave,between 17th and 18th Street in the South Slope. It is one block from the Prospect stop on the R train, and 8 blocks from the 4th Ave and 9th Street stop on multiple trains.

Thank you
Freddy’s Bar
The new owners:
Matt Khun
Matt Kimmett
Donald O’Finn

"Paradise 2" Opens at Proteus Gowanus - Saturday

Proteus Gowanus is a jewel of a spot residing in an alley on Nevins Street off of Union Street. I happen to have a drawing in this show and hope you guys check it out sometime!

The details....

Please join us at Proteus Gowanus as our investigation into Paradise,

in all its infinite variety,continues to unfold through art, artifacts and books.

Saturday, January 15 at 7 pm
Proteus Gowanus presents the opening reception of the 2nd Paradise exhibition,
featuring the work of 15 artists, designers and architects.
Some of these works examine the inward aspect of Paradise,
evoking states of happiness, exaltation or -- less heavenly --
the struggle to achieve perfect inner harmony.
Others have turned toward the future, imagining urban utopias,
culinary perfection and even the rendering of heaven itself.

We hope this eclectic gathering ignites your curiosity, and
instigates further investigation!
In the coming months, we will host more events exploring Paradise
through music, food, philosophy, architecture, religion, nostalgia and technology.
We invite you to attend and contribute your own thoughts and ideas
to our yearlong project.

Contributors to Paradise 2
Diane Bertolo

Micheline Gingras
Marcia Hillis
Leslie Kerby
Peter Ketcham
Tom Klinkowstein
Patricia McDonough
Lisanne McTernan
Eva Melas
Joseph Motroni
Adine Sagalyn
Erik Schurink
Theo Stewart Stand
Terreform One
Kit Warren

Proteus Gowanus is located at 543 Union, between Nevins Street and the Union Street Bridge, entrance is on Nevins.

First Street

Repetition

Or Empire Bud Light

In case you were wondering.....

Luna's Tire has moved down 4th Avenue

Another Year

View from Windsor Terrace, Prospect Park 2011.

Preservation Support for the Gowanus Awarded by Historic District Council!

I am happy to learn that the hard work of a Gowanus neighbor of mine has paid off. This person, who chooses to remain anonymous, has been tirelessly working to get the Gowanus Urban Industrial district considered for preservation since before the Toll Brothers knocked down the Blades-Forman Lumber Company warehouse at the end of 2nd street near the canal (which should of been landmarked) back in December 2007.

Contrary to what many developers say, there are many beautiful buildings in the Gowanus which exude their own unique industrial revolution era charm. The type of charm which has vanished from other parts of Brooklyn and other parts of the city and needs to stay. The Gowanus district spans from Butler up to Hamilton Avenue and is bordered by Hoyt and 4th Avenues. It really is quite larger than most people think. Since 4th Avenue has been partially destroyed and marred by some pretty fugly condo buildings it is a bit of a relief that an agency in NYC actually cares about maintaining what is so special about the Gowanus corridor.

The Gowanus has been chosen along with 5 other neighborhoods in the five boroughs by the New York Historic District Council as part of a program called "Six to Celebrate". The other neighborhoods chosen are Bedford-Stuyvesant,Jackson Heights, The Bowery, Mt. Morris Park and Inwood.

Here are the details from the New York Historic Distict Council's website.

"The six, chosen from applications submitted by community organizations, were selected on the basis of the architectural and historic merit of the area, the level of threat to the neighborhood, strength and willingness of the local advocates, and potential for HDC’s preservation support to be meaningful. Throughout 2011, its 40th anniversary year, HDC will work with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity.

“Neighborhoods throughout New York are fighting an unseen struggle to determine their own futures. By bringing these locally-driven neighborhood preservation efforts into the spotlight, HDC hopes to focus New Yorkers’ attention on the very real threats that historic communities throughout the city are facing from indiscriminate and inappropriate development.” said Simeon Bankoff, HDC’s Executive Director. “As the first list of its kind in New York, the Six to Celebrate will help raise awareness of local efforts to save neighborhoods on a citywide level.”

Read more at the Historic District Council's website here.

Blizzard Greetings from Found in Brooklyn

F.I.B failed to address the holidays this year. Soooo may this blizzard be the beginnings of good luck, health, happiness and prosperity being forcefully blown into your New Year!
My block here in the Gowanus, which is a fire truck route from the Red Hook Station did not see a snowplow until 11:30 am this morning. It was strange not hearing continuous plows throughout the night as done in all other storms. What's up with that? I have a feeling Bloomie is going to get an earful on this one. Just sayin'...And here is Hoyt Street completely forgotten at 1:30 in the afternoon. And no trains running in Carroll Gardens either...I am glad I did not have to be anywhere. I feel for you all that had to walk all the way over to 4th Avenue and Union to catch the R today.When I returned to the quiet almost country like tranquility of the Gowanus area I was lucky to hit the bridge at the moment the sun shone through the little holes of the rusty old corragated fence by the bridge.
Our own version of Stonehenge right here in the Gowanus!

* More photos at my Gowanus flickr set.

Third Avenue Icon

Shop Proteus Gowanus for Cool Gifts this Sunday

Tired of the usual schlock? Want some thought provoking and also utilitarian gifts? Get away from the maddening crowds to the serenity of Nevins Street in Gowanus. Check out the art in the galleries while your at it...dig the list of examples below to get an idea of what the aesthetic of Proteus Gowanus is all about!

From their press release:

You are cordially invited to the Proteus Gowanus All Day Holiday Shopping Party!Sunday, December 19, 12-6 pm

"Are you searching for unusual, offbeat, unique or peculiar gifts to give for the holidays?

Are you dreading the slog through mall and mayhem with the accompanying auditory torture of repetitious holiday music?

May we suggest you attend our all day (12-6 pm) Holiday Shopping Party and solve your shopping problem while drinking grog and listening to unusual, offbeat and peculiar holiday music.

Shopping at Proteus Gowanus is intellectually stimulating, likely to result in conversation and often amusing.

Among the many gifts you might find here are:

Umbrella Bags made by the Fixers Collective - $25
Reflective Vests for Uninsured Bikers - $20
10 Postcards of the Gowanus from the past 100 years - $25
A Pocket Cloud, complete with silver lining - $18
Felted Angels- $25, Enameled Jewelry - $40 - $85, and Knitted Slippers - $35
from the Republic of Georgia
Taxidermy Mice adorned with wings and costumes - $70
Fone Art Figures - $50-$150
Miniature Library Furniture made from library catalogue cards - $20-$35
Songs of Lewis and Clark, a CD - $18
Colored Blocks from the Learning Materials Workshop - $30 and up
Handmade Book Brooches - $30
A wide assortment of new and rare books
Plus books published by Proteotypes, our publishing arm,
including the newly released:
A Little Common Place Book - $15.00
The perfect gift for the itinerant thinker"

www.proteusgowanus.com
Where: 543 Union Street down the alley off Nevins

Plane Crashed in Park Slope 50 Years Ago Today

I found these proofs of the event in a collection of old photos that were in my possession. Here is the story on what happened.

"You Are Real": A Salute to the Mars Bar-A repost from 7/7/07.

The Mars Bar is the latest old school place that is getting the wrecking ball, although not really old in the old sense of the word, the Mars has been around since the late 1980's and has been the last hold outs of the type of east village bar where the punks, the postal workers, the homeless,the artists and all matter of people in between mingled. Things and conversations happen in that shoebox of a place that frequently seemed like hallucinations. It kind of stepped in where another 80's era east village bar, Downtown Beirut left off. Anyhow, it's closing. I don't care what the owner Hank says, the developers are probably not "good guys". Another bar that went on the chopping block this week was Max Fish on Ludlow Street. Also not really old but old compared to everything else on the block. I guess they were the beginning of the onslaught.

Anyway this is a post I did about 3 years ago saluting the Mars or as I like to spell it Marz.
How I spent my 7/7/07.
Man, am I glad I didn’t go to that drumming thing over at Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday! Sounded like it turned out to be an over crowded nightmare. It was sort of fascinating to me that the Boredoms had managed to attract such a crowd. Was it the Boredoms or the hype of the importance of the date 7/7/07? OK I just answered my own question, clearly it was the latter….What did we do on 6/6/06? Does anybody remember?! On 7/7/07 I could NOT get out of bed or out of my house, it must have been the centrifugal force of the sun telling me to stay home and meditate or simply exhaustion. So, after the sun set I ventured out and it was quite a lovely evening.

A friend was in town from LA and wanted to meet at the Motor City Bar on Ludlow Street in Manhattan. I ventured out into the 7/7/07 night to join Margie aka Vena Virago and CalmX (long time East Village resident and artist).Well, we lasted about 10 minutes before fleeing. The saturday night bar scene on Ludlow Street is pretty soulless. The music at Motor City was loud yet you still couldn’t hear it. SO the three of us old timers ended up at the Mars Bar, one of the or shall I say THE ONLY old school cheap punk rock NYC bar left. It is now surrounded by what else? Luxury condos! The ugliest tall tower glass and metal kind with Whole Foods just a hop skip and a jump away. The Marz is still doling out the cheap drinks (2 really strong vodka drinks and one beer = $11.00)has ranting bartenders, (this evenings hostess started complaining at the top of her lungs when someone put some jazz type music on…’WHO PUT THIS SH*T! ON!!” Of course she intercepted it and put on what SHE wanted to hear, “Too many creeps’ by the Bush Tetras) and a cast of regulars right out of “Midnight Cowboy” mixed in with an eclectic bunch of others. There is a lot of coming and going at the Marz Bar (it is a total “I’m waiting for my man’ bar, IF you know what I mean) but it's sort of a punk rock "Cheers" for all the "black sheeps" of the family to feel at home.

I salute you Marz Bar, long may you continue to be a zit on the airbrushed cityscape that our town has become. You are REAL.

See the original post here.