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  • It was a cold Saturday afternoon, but I was motivated to trek over to Chelsea to check out the Kitchen Girls & Toy Boys show at Rush Arts Gallery.  Artists Sindy Butz and Sol Kjok are participating artists in the show and have both worked with AFP on various projects.

    It didn’t take long for me to identify Sol’s very large piece, “Strings Attached” as I walked into the gallery.  Her figurative work bursts off the canvas with great detail and her use of color brings out the emotion in her characters.  In this piece the characters are strung together and appear to be grasping and climbing over each other while still maintaining a certain co-dependence.

    I was impressed with the overall quality and diversity of the work in the show.  The work of Reinhold Gottwald caught my attention. His colorful, small, abstract pieces on wood are hung/arranged as if they are a group of  planets sharing the same solar system. I found Markus Fiedler’s beeswax sneakers quite intriguing and an interesting piece(s) to be included in the show. I was impressed with the incredible detail he was able to achieve using beeswax.

    I noticed Sindy crouched down on the floor, but I didn’t realize that her performance had already begun. What is she up to this time? Sindy’s not afraid to take on the not so obvious social issues of the day. Her thought provoking work continues to evolve and this performance would not disappoint.  The message on the floor read, “The West Tastes like Gold.” As Sindy began to digest glistening gold leaflets of some sort very methodically, my first inclination was that her subject matter is related to the overwhelming perception that everything that happens in the West is all great and proper.  You know the one that says America is the only great bastion of society in the world?  Sindy’s consumption of the gold tells the story of the gullable sheep consuming the narrative and everything that comes with it. Have you ever wondered why you rarely hear of anything good or positive happening in other countries around the world? Is this the subject matter? I’m not sure, but you know what they say about art, it’s up to the individual’s interpretation.

    After enjoying my conversation with Sol about an upcoming collaboration this summer, I decided to stop by a couple of other galleries while I was in the neighborhood.  I came across Pavel Zoubok Gallery and decided to take a peak. I am familiar with the gallery as one of our friends, Max Greis is represented by Pavel Zoubok.  Their current exhibition is featuring work from artists Raven Schlossberg and Bradley Wester.

    Schlossberg’s collages are created from clips of vintage magazines and take a stab at the manipulation by the mass media, while Wester’s work was eye catching with it’s wide range of mediums, color and sheen. I also stopped in to check out Mixed Greens Gallery which is currently featuring some photography work from artist Julianne Swartz. Swartz utilizes a mirror as a creative tool for juxtaposition in her work. The result is intriguing connections and iter-actions between her family members.

    – Frank Jackson

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    Credit: Diana Kong-Wasielewski

    Brooklyn by way of D.C. band Jukebox the Ghost playing Irving Plaza Saturday night to a packed house. For what was effectively a hometown show, the fans showed up in force. Openers Secret Someones and Little Daylight warmed up the crowded venue and around 10 the band finally took the stage.

    They began with “Postcard” off of their newest album, Jukebox the Ghost, which came out earlier this year. It’s an upbeat follow-up to the more somber, but still poppy Safe Travel that the band released in 2012. The record was the first on their new label Cherrytree Records. Jukebox signed to the branch of Interscope Records in late January. The month turned out to be a busy one for the band. In addition to releasing a new records, the band also played Conan, did a cover swap with Twin Forks, recorded a Bangels cover with Secret Someones and did a Bands and Brews sessions with Baeble Music. The band’s guitarist Tommy Siegel also spoke to the Nerdist for their Car Tunes and Cartoons series and released a book of his “van doodles” after a successful Kickstarter campaign.

    For their Irving Plaza appearance, the band played a mix of songs from each of their albums. This included tunes from their debut Let Live and Let Ghosts, like “Static to the Heart” and “Victoria”, and songs from their second album Everything Under the Sun, like “Schizophrenia” and “The Stars”. For long-time fans, a highlight of these older songs was the combination of “My Heart’s the Same” and “Lighting Myself on Fire” played back-to-back as they appear on Let Live.

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    Credit: Diana Kong-Wasielewski

    Of the newer material, tracks like “When the Nights Get Long” and “Sound of a Broken Heart” translated excellently to a live setting. Jukebox always put on a good show and Jukebox’s latest Irving Plaza show appearance no exception. After a decade as a band, they have perfected the science of a live show. Jukebox really knows how to bring a cohesive and high energy set to the stage. They’ve also developed a successful formula of dropping back and allowing each member to be highlighted. Most concerts have that one slow song, where the light dims and the tempo drops. For Saturday night, Jukebox selected two songs from their new records for this section of the set. Siegel and drummer Jesse Kristin left the stage for “Undeniable You,” which vocalist Ben Thornewill sang solo from his keyboard. This was follow up by “Show Me Where It Hurts,” which Siegel sang standing instrument-less at his mic. It was the perfect presentation. Each song spotlighted each vocalist’s ranges. For “Hollywood”, another song off the new record, Kristin crawled out from behind his set to sing the intro, something never before heard on a Jukebox album.

    Perhaps because they were so well presented, songs like “Hollywood” sounded as good live as they did on the new record. The same can be said for “Girl” and “Made For Ending”. As good as these songs were to hear live, the most dynamic and perhaps most memorable moment of the night was the band’s cover of “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, which the majority of the audience recognized instantly and enthusiastically sang along to. Members of Secret Someones and Little Daylight joined the band on stage for the second cover of the night, “Walk Like An Egyptian”. Jukebox’s version of the song was recorded with their soon-to-be labelmates after the two embarked on tour together. The Bangles tune was well-received by the audience, who danced around as members of the venue’s balcony released dozens and dozens of balloons onto the attendees below. It was a colorful and lively end to the night that seemed truly fitting of a Jukebox show.

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    Credit: Diana Kong-Wasielewski

    There are a handful of dates left on the tour, including ME, MA and their other hometown of DC. Afterwards the band will be playing a series of sets at the famed SXSW, the a few festivals in the spring/summer.

     

    -Zoe Marquedant

  • This week, Brandon Ballengée, artist/ biologist/environmental activist, is preparing to transform the Feldman Gallery booth at The Armory Show into a space to mourn the massive extinction of species. It’s an incredibly weighty topic, often referred to as the Holocene or Sixth Great Extinction, which continues at an alarming rate. In promotion of this important showcase, called “Frameworks of Absence,” I requested to interview Ballengée, asking him to share with Art for Progress his favorite personal fashion items. After hesitating, Brandon said “oh well, that would be fun!”

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    Pioneering in ecological art, Ballengée has been described by the critic and curator Kim Levin “as taking these issues to a new level of intensity.” His work has been included in Documenta 13 (Germany), Prospect 2, (New Orleans), 3rd Moscow Biennale (Russia), Biennale for Electronic Arts, (Australia), and the Venice Biennale (Italy). And, Ballengée was awarded a Conservation Leadership Fellowship from the National Audubon Society’s Together Green Program in 2011-2012. “Frameworks of Absence” features physically cut images of missing animals from historic prints and publications printed at the time in history when the depicted species became extinct. A portion of proceeds from Ballengée’s “Frameworks of Absence” will support the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) efforts to defend and protect endangered wildlife and wild places. To find out more about this thrilling exhibition, go to: BrandonBallengee.com

    In the meantime, click on link below to discover more about this amazing environmental artist’s most prized fashion items after the jump.

    Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco

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  • The first feature from writer/director Lance Edmands (who previously served as editor on Tiny Furniture, among other movies), Bluebird is quiet, brooding, and visually stunning. The film’s slowly unfolding narrative tracks the reverberations of an accident on a small Maine logging town and its working-class inhabitants. Meditative and highly atmospheric, it’s as much a portrayal of a harsh, bleak environment as it is of the individuals who live there.

    Courtesy of Factory 25

    Courtesy of Factory 25

    Amy Morton plays Lesley, a longtime school bus driver who becomes distracted at the end of her shift one day and fails to notice a sleeping boy in one of the rear seats. Her husband Richard (John Slattery), a logger, is largely preoccupied by news of an impending mill shutdown and probable layoffs while the couple’s sensitive teen Paula (Emily Meade) is engrossed in negotiating the beginnings of a new romance.

    In the accident’s aftermath, the affected parties react in various ways: the boy’s young, irresponsible mother (Louisa Krause) hires a lawyer against the wishes of her own mother (Margo Martindale); the devastated Paula lashes out at her father and seeks comfort in her budding relationship. Though seemingly impervious and a bit distant, Richard shows clear signs of stress and the outwardly stoical Lesley herself eventually and quietly breaks down. These are not demonstrative people; though there are outbursts of emotion, much is kept under wraps.

    Courtesy of Factory 25

    Courtesy of Factory 25

    The gradual unraveling of these characters is shown amid the snowy chill of Maine in winter, shot with painterly eye by cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes (who directed the recent documentary Ballet 422 with similar unfussy stillness). The tone of the movie owes a lot to Lipes, whose extended establishing shots resemble beautifully framed photographs with small moving details. Also effective is the pensive music by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans. Though grim, Bluebird is not entirely tragic; hopeful notes temper the bleakness as characters share their vulnerability and loss. Overall, it’s a strong debut from a filmmaker with a distinctive point of view.

    Bluebird opens this Friday at Cinema Village, 22 East 12th St., Manhattan.

    Film Fests Around Town

    The World of Kanako

    The World of Kanako

    The Film Society of Lincoln Center is currently hosting its annual Film Comment Selects festival (through Mar. 5), which showcases “the coming soon and the never-coming-back, the rare and the rediscovered, the unclassifiable and the underrated.” In other words, it’s a highly eclectic assortment of cool and/or unusual films gathered by the venerable magazine’s editorial team. Opening night featured Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, Mark Hartley’s no-holds-barred documentary about the studio founded by notorious schlock purveyors Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, whose movies have become ‘80s cult classics. Plenty of interesting stuff is still to be screened: Mike Nichols’ underrated 1975 film The Fortune, starring Jack Nicholson, Stockard Channing and Warren Beatty; Anarchy, Michael Almereyda’s remake of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline; a six-film retrospective of Danish director Nils Malmros, and Tetsuya Nakashima’s revenge thriller The World of Kanako), to name just a few.

    Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th St., and Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 West 65th St., Manhattan.

    When Marnie Was There

    When Marnie Was There

    Starting this week is the impressively diverse and discerning New York International Children’s Film Festival (Feb. 27 through Mar. 22), North America’s largest film fest for kids ages 3 to 18. With a jury including Susan Sarandon, Gus Van Sant and Bill Plympton, and a remarkable roster of movies, it’s obvious that this is a serious enterprise. Many of these films  are obviously not just for youngsters. Opening and closing nights are heavy on animation, but it’s very solid fare including Aardman Studio’s latest, Shawn the Sheep; the beautiful Japanese coming-of-age film When Marnie Was There; and the multinational effort Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, with various “chapters” helmed by different directors. The festival’s live action movies are no less intriguing, with documentaries such as Norway’s Ballet Boys and USA’s Landfillharmonic, and features including Netherlands’ Secrets of War and France’s Lou! Journal infime.

    NYICFF screenings take place at various theaters throughout Manhattan.

    Marina Zogbi

  • Frontman/Founding Member Davey Fortner

    Beginning with the opening track off their debut album Throw Up Your Hands for One Night Stands, Freshman 15 played a short, but enthusiastic set at Chinatown’s Santos Party House. The floor was dotted with young fans (and a few 21+s in wristbands) who had arrived early to see the one of the many openers that night. Before the Georgia pop rock band took the stage their statemates, Everybody Run, played an equally empty house. Despite the showing or rather lack there of, both bands played a high energy and spirited sets. Freshman 15 especially played a well-rehearsed, even choreographed show with intermittent, but well-timed stage jumps and similar stage antics. Lead singer and bassist Davey Fortner hoisted his instrument in unison with guitarist Mike Baker, showing a clear chemistry amidst the band. Despite being down a member and having to borrow Everybody Run’s bassist Shaan Singh, they showed no signs of being  tired of the road or of one another. The Don’t Worry Be Happy tour they were on with headliners Carolina Kings and Survey Says was well underway, but even missing a bassist (Davey Hoogerwerf left the band in 2012), Fortner, Baker and drummer Leo Teran powered through.

    The earlier band’s bassist meshed seamlessly with their energy and matched their goofy smiles with a grin of his own. There was a positivity to the set, as there was to their second album, that translated to their live show. “Our California Song”, a sad tune with an upbeat and plenty of crunchy guitar, was the best song of the night, rivaled only by the closing track “Are You Ready For This?” The latter was a fitting choice given the band’s status as relatively unknown and recently unsigned. Perhaps they were right in asking if we were “ready.” Despite their skill, willingness and songbook of good old-fashioned pop rock song, New York didn’t seem ready or rather aware of them. There are plenty of fans off Freshman 15’s brand of music, who are emotionally limping around in search of a pop rock fix in the wake of Blink 182’s recent news, but for some reason the connection isn’t being made.

    The track “Secret of the Ooohs/Wizard of Ahhhs” off of Here’s To Feeling Good, which didn’t make the set, but includes the line “don’t listen to what we’re wearing / a t-shirt doesn’t make a song” is a fitting bridge between the albums. Assuming one is a nod to the other, it sends the same message as “Are You Ready?” and in a way summarizes what Freshman 15 are like live. In shorts, bare feet and facial piercings, the band looks the part of a pop rock band. They want to be taken seriously based on their music not their appearance. As a result, they each seem very comfortable on stage and in their own skin. Fortner and Baker bantered back and forth in between songs, seemingly unaffected by the fact that they didn’t draw a stronger showing. They seemed most at home oddly enough when the band played their cover of MIA’s 2007 hit “Paper Planes.” They mimicked the sounds of cash registers and guns excellently, strumming their strings above the headnut to get the right shrill.

    It’s hard to play an early show to an almost empty house, but Freshman 15 didn’t let it show. The band was popular enough at one point to sell t-shirts and CD at Hot Topic, but they have faded in relevance since 2009 and their first album. It doesn’t help that their second album Here’s To Feeling Good wasn’t as solid as their first. It wasn’t a sophomore slump, but it just wasn’t as strong. The record’s single “Mistaken Ex-Girlfriend” was a low point in the set compared to the smarter, sassier “Phoenix Can Keep You” (Hopefully they’ll return to their original formula for their  third album should there be one.)  Still, the set was solid albeit short and proved that these southerners can really (pop) rock.

    -Zoe Marquedant