ArtCall Diary - Entry 5/12/2000
Deep Into Deepdale
Now just how Harlem fits into this story I have no idea. In fact, I don't
have much of an idea how most of the following got into this particular
diary entry. We have come to learn that Con Ed has left the E/V and you
now have to go all the way to Harlem to make any kind of face-to-face contact
with them. We saw another Mumia poster on the back of a traffic sign. Heck
of a way to kill time. As the day unwound, we found out that there wasn't
any 'real' estate agents anywhere and that there were no openings in the
Gallery Guide for Friday, we headed to The Pink Pony (176 Ludlow St.) for
some 'pre-Deepdale' coffee. We wound up running smack dab into an open
reading and Orion Feig, master wordsmith. He is back and living off of
Spring and Bowery somewhere. The open readings are a Friday staple that
start at 7pm (admission $5). At 9:30 we took off to 248 1/2 Broome, home
of the Deepdale Gallery, for one of their famous 8-12pm openings. As we
turned the corner of Ludlow and Broome, there was Linus Coragio, metal
sculptor extrardinaire. Linus had already begun to weld his way to fame
and fortune out front with a beautiful bench that had a row of locker doors
for the seat benches. He will be showing at Deepdale in October and has
set up a welding studio in the Broome St. basement.
An eclectic crew was in attendance for this Morrie Cramer show that best
could be described as 'constructive destructivism'. The exhibit had heavy
fetishistic leanings, a video center showcased the artist's performance
wares that come out of his Keap St. Brooklyn studio. Art dealer, John Gerstaad
lamented that he had never staged a solo show of Cramer when he still had
a gallery. Today, John is keeping busy playing drums. Marguerite Van Cook
reported that she was busy painting and sculpting and beginning to develop
some 3D works for her electronic portfolio. Marguerite also noted the disparity
in the cost and similarity of the look of fashion between Urban Outfitters
and the 14th Street merchants.
The very crowded gallery included the likes of Johnny V, ex Public Nuisance
artist, who was on the video at the opening. Amy Shapiro was attending
in a nifty black and white cow print jacket. Artist, Scott Borofsky was
in from Vermont for the weekend, claims he was developing "the greatest
computer game ever!" Gloria McLean checked in fresh from George Washington
U. where she been teaching dance for a semester. Performance reader, Shelly
remarked on the
Wide-Open Cabaret that it was
"too eccentric to keep a real job", if she keeps on performing there.
This opening was both eclectic, eccentric and electric. Everywhere we
turned a new story seemed to break out. You can feel a genuine revitalization
going on and we at ArtCall
are glad to be part of it. The four paintings above are part of Mr. Cramer's
work so you can get a feel of what is transpiring. This work inspires activism,
even Gecko, one of Cramer's models, is busy at work these days. As the
opening finally broke down, we gathered below the stainless steel shark
at Baby Jupiter's, a lone tattoo sign reminded us of the upcoming
Tattoo
Convention and we wondered if Clayton
and Elsa could get the ArtCall in for coverage.
Saturday found us doing anything but what we wanted to. Missed the galleries,
the stores, the glitz, the glamour, we missed everything. Although there
was a stop at Radio Mexico for another hamburger that "could not be beat",
followed by a trip around the Manhattan loop and a quick stop at University
of The Streets (above 7A restaurant) to see Judy, the jazzy door gal. We
heard tales of space in the place, so we left with renewed hope (we are
still looking for office space). Speaking of spinning tales, we also did
our laundry as it was time to come clean.
photos ©carol braddock aka red ed
artworks©Morrie Cramer
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