ART YARD BKLYN Art Words Benefit was a great success!!!
Reg Lewis, AYB Teaching Artist, Spoken Word Poet and MC for the evening sums up:
“Immediate Atmosphere: a warm, electric and eclectic sound scape live designed by DJ Abby Johnson; her audio touch threatened to turn the benefit into a spontaneous dance party.
Additional atmosphere: opposite of the DJ booth, a long, cozy lit table hosted a garden of beads which helped guests and artists generate a vast collection of friendship bracelets and other symbolic names and statements; the inspirational jewelry making activity lasted the full length of the event and produced plenty of riveting results.
Dominant atmosphere: the stunning artwork that constituted the silent auction established the vibrant and enchanting mood in the center of the gallery space by providing a magnetically diverse range of paintings and portraits as produced by AYB students and teaching artists. Meridith’s McNeal’s extraordinary series of paintings rounded out the gallery - the artwork was initially created for her first residency in Rome: Magical Things. Meridith’s warm, meticulously detailed watercolors infused the mundane objects with a brilliance that illuminated the entire space with an affectionate representation of life - an emotional tribute filled with admiration and love. Magical it certainly was.
Paintings by AYB Artists (left to right, top to bottom): Meridith McNeal, Evelyn Beliveau, Lenika Silva, Jenn Dodson, Mich Goenawan, Simone Awor, TJ Edgar, Neah Gray, Diana Rickard.
The performances: Delphine Levenson kicked off the performance segment of the benefit with a moving poem written as her visceral response to the state of the general dis-union of our nation. Her young voice presented a mature presence that captivated the audience although this was her first time ever reciting her written work in a public space; Delphine is also an extraordinary visual artist.
Liv Collins and Jules Lorenzo of Joopi presented next; the duo performed a set of original songs that have already garnered the young artists a solid, committed following. The songs equally addressed social and emotion elements while creating a warm bass and guitar echo throughout the gallery space that was matched by the heartfelt applause of the attentive audience.
Gem Mercado, the event coordinator, also took center stage with a series of original song that she presented in solo fashion. She too addressed matters both social and emotional as she accompanied herself with intimate guitar chords and solos which complemented the visual atmosphere of the exhibited work. Gem’s performance was also met with warm applause indicative of the bond she created with the audience.
Then I (Reg) closed the performance segment of the benefit with excepts from his extended monologue, “The Attention Wars.” The piece which has been workshopped through AYB lessons, both in-person and remote, represent my ongoing effort to spread the wisdom of the Shhh - the simple suggestion to self-silence oneself as a measure for mental health and peace. It effectively established some appreciated Stillness, Silence, and Space.
The outcome: it may be safe to say that the 180 Franklin Avenue Gallery Space has never hosted a more dynamic, inspirational, supportive event that transpired the evening of Friday, November 8th. AYB won not by only raising valuable funds that will go to supporting its mission to enrich the lives of artists of all ages in Brooklyn and beyond who thrive with professional, creative guidance, but also by raising awareness about the amazing work taking place at AYB. It was a smashing sensation which foreshadows an even greater future to come…(join us!)”
On Monday in AYB Advanced Studio on Zoom AYB, Artist Nayarit Tineo presented “Marginalia and the Dialectics of Intimacy in Art”.
After introducing examples by artists Tara Faye Coleman, John Baldessari, and Jenny Holzer, participants were tasked with perusing their journals to extricate marginal notes of percolating ideas and thoughts about their art practice. Nayarit encouraged us to share notes that are highly personal, even private, the better to incorporate our life experiences into our art making.
Nayarit recounts: “I was moved by how everyone eagerly delved into their own notes—whether on iPhones or handwritten pages—to share their thoughts with us. It was powerful to witness so many people reflecting on the importance of being present and embracing self-challenge. From Meridith’s simple iPhone notes to Cheyenne’s reflections on self-growth, the class shared such meaningful insights. Neah bravely questioned her own identity, facing fears of self-expression, while Karla advocated for women’s empowerment, and Vera contributed a richly layered text on belonging."
Meridith made a watercolor featuring images of her cell phone showing, “Notes to self,” listing various things from her “to do,” lists, including recipes and follow-ups for the recent Art Yard Benefit.
Nayarit Choosing the words, “Don’t think I have enough heart for it,” Nayarit illustrated the meaning of this phrase with an abstract image of blood red shapes on a black background. This design lends gravitas to her message to self.
Nayarit Tineo, Marginalia, part 1 & 2
Neah also did a bit of soul-searching, in her beautiful self-portrait entitled, “Why am I so Afraid 2 be Myself?” The combination of line drawing, with her unique font, carries the message beautifully.
Ed pulled a journal entry of a simple line drawing depicting a sinking ship calling out to its captain on a life-boat, “Do not forget me oh my Darling.” Ed recently watched the classic western movie, High Noon. In this movie, the sheriff must face off alone in a shoot-out with his adversary because no one in the town is willing to stand with him. The song, “Do not Forsake Me oh my Darling.” Drifts in and out of various scenes as the sheriff faces the reality that he alone must fight this battle. It’s a great metaphor for the battles we all face as artists and as citizens.
Vera Brown developed a fantastic piece from her notes on, “Affirmations for Clinical.” Her piece utilizes words isolated from each other by an organic shape which has the main message in the center, comprising a very clever combination of design and language.
Vera explains her work in greater detail: “I chose to take a different route with my piece. I kept the theme of belonging and decided to write a response to the original note. Puzzles have served as a metaphor for life recently, and I thought it would be a good way to illustrate the journey to finding one’s place in the world.”
Karla writes: "My mixed media collage piece is a statement about women’s rights and freedoms and the constant challenge to overcome the discriminatory definitions placed upon gender. Old photo album pages, images of women exercising for health and fitness from a 1943 Physicians Publication. It was a great lesson! Everyone really engaged in combining key words with visuals to bring their expressive voices to issues closest to them."
Kevin’s piece (still in progress), showing a self portrait kneeling in prayer, is a reflection on gratitude.
Ajula’s piece, poetically explores making change in the physical realm to effect change in the mind and spirit, repeating the mantra, “Hop on one leg while brushing your teeth.” Like Karla’s piece, it is another testimony to persistence. Never give up!
Marilyn, starting with the words, “Beautiful Portrait Colors = Feelings or Senses,” applied those words to a broken heart, a symbol whose meaning is universally known.
Lila emphasized being present in a digital format and later in the week pushing herself by approaching the piece a second time in mixed media collage.
Lila writes about her piece: "Thoughts within the Margins," is a poignant exploration of anxiety and mindfulness. Against a backdrop of a modern nature theme, a woman in a pink dress sits lost in contemplation, her mind swirling with the "what-ifs" that fuel her anxiety. The phrase "Stay Present" anchors the piece, inviting viewers to join her journey from anxious mind chatter to a serene state of mental clarity. This artwork is a personal reflection of the artist's own struggle with anxiety, and a gentle reminder to embrace mindfulness in our daily lives.
Lila Green, "Thoughts within the Margins" l & ll
Cheyenne retrieved two lists: One from mid-pandemic “Things to buy,” and a recent note “Things to do.” She talked about how time had helped her focus.”
Cheyenne Rivera, Marginalia parts 1 & 2
It is notable that so many ART YARD Artists are keeping journals. We encourage this practice to all creatives as a way of recording, sorting out ideas, and increasing your awareness of themes and patterns in your life.
Simone’s drawing features words of various sizes, indicating their importance in the overall scheme of things. In Simone’s world view, Protect, Peace, and Service are major features OF LOVE. In a much smaller font she subjugates the words, Define Red Flags and, Violent Lies.
We might add another category to Simone’s inspiring piece: Courage. For that is what it takes to overcome fear and seek the good in life, wherever we may find it.
On Tuesday in Advanced Studio in person at our studio at BWAC in Red Hook ART YARD Artist Jacob Rath presented a fantastic session inspired by the first Montessori cosmic fable which describes the creation of the universe and the Earth.
Jacob recaps: “I began class by telling Montessori's first cosmic story. This story is about the creation of the universe and the Earth; the relationship between the sun, Earth, and other stars; and the characteristics of solids, liquids, and gasses. The story is meant to be told to six year olds at the beginning of the school year, and provides an orientation to the study of Geography (or natural sciences) to the children. When I told the story over zoom, I told a modified version that removed any mentions of God or other religious references, but for this class I told the original version of the story that had these references.
Use arrows to scroll through photos of artists at work.
After hearing the story, students made artwork in response to the story. Many made artwork about the three states of matter, and many made artwork focusing on the sun.
Maria made a drawing of two volcanoes in her hometown of Mexico City.
During critique, we discussed how many of the works had a vibrant use of color, and energetic line work.
A few artists worked in mixed-media collage.
Chace, as usual, amazed us all with his artistic vision and eloquent explanation of his sculptural interpretation of the Cosmic Creation.
Chace presents at critique
For my (Jacob) piece, I made a drawing imagining what the sun would look like if it was blue.”
What We Are Reading
Neah’s tree drawing created in the Cosmic Creation session spurred on a discussion of TREES, tree behavior and books that some of us have read that delve into the nature of trees including The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, Finding the Mother Tree by Susan Simard, and The Overstory by Richard Powers.
As I was retrieving the book titles and thinking about these books, it occurred to me that AYB Artist Ed Rath’s tree paintings which “bypass the idealization of the human figure and express raw emotion by aping human poses. Branches become hair and arms, bark – skin, knots and holes – eyes.” (Press release for Ed Rath : Sacred, Profane, Mundane, M55 Gallery, 2017) are the perfect AYB visual counterpart to this discussion.
Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World (Greystone Books, English translation, 2016). With over 20 years of work with the forestry commission in Germany, Wohllenben’s book is an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. Told with from an awed perspective brimming with adoration for trees, I would agree with The New Yorker’s quip that the book is “heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment.”
Personal anecdotes, family history and the development of a childhood passion into a vocation, professor of Forest Ecology in the University of British Columbia, Susan Simard’s Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest (Knopf, 2021) is a testament to her prowess as a science educator! As the New York Times writes: “Her research is clearly defined, the steps of her experiments articulated, her astonishing results explained and the implications laid bare: We ignore the complexity of forests at our peril.”
Winner of Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and shortlisted for the Booker Prize The Overstory by Richard Powers,(W.W. Norton & Company, 2018) takes the ideas about trees as related by Simard and Wohlleben and weaves them into a vast, impassioned novel which is equally a work of activism, resistance and warning. The interlocking stories and characters span era and location as they fascinate the reader. It is quite a hefty tome, one I recommend reading from the page at one’s own pace.
Screenshots of book covers
Other Art News
AYB Artists have been busy in the studio…
Evelyn Beliveau shares “In a new body of work, I use figures based on fashion dolls to explore my unease with the beautiful-object role associated with womanhood. I portray a doll retrieved from my childhood home—posing it to play up seductive beauty, but depicting its joints as a stark reminder of artificiality. Tension arises from an interplay of realness and falseness, highlighted by visible brushstrokes.”
Vee Tineo shares their latest sculpture, a hand-built ceramic self portrait. Vee explains that it is the smallest human sculptural form they have made. The piece is pictured here in front of Brooklyn College, where Vee takes classes as part of their MFA degree work.
Assata Benoit has been working in collage on “expressions of the multifaceted feminine. Soft and demure, but also wild and emotional.”
Assata Benoit, Untitled collages, 2024
Shellorne Smith shared a new piece earlier in the week along with well wishes and a message of thanks for AYB. Not only did this delightful painting reach me at exactly the right time to brighten my day, but it called to mind Odilon Redon’s still life in the collection at MoMA, one of my mother’s favorite artworks of all time, thus a staple of my childhood art viewing experience!
Shellorne Smith, Vase with Flowers, 2024 and Odilon Redon, Vase of Flowers, 1912-14
Marley Haynes proudly shares her latest drawing (which fits right into our curatorial vision from Read Between the Lines!). The composition is lively, the line work bold and the inclusion of a shadow beneath the cup of noodles situates the object in space nicely!
AYB Board Member & Artist Cecile Chong invites us to a live performance in conjunction with her exhibition Chicken Little – List in Translation, Kates-Ferri Projects Monday, November 18th at 6pm featuring performance by AYB Teaching Artist Jodie Kyn-Kee-Chow.
💗🧡💙♥️🩷🩵❤️💚💛
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