Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A Series of Reveals, Now Open, Unfolds Over 10 Weeks at One New York Plaza


photo by Starboard Photos
Arts Brookfield presents
Zach Morris
Third Rail Projects
A Series of Reveals
, an evolving art installation
inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass
One New York Plaza Art Space, Concourse Level
Project Webpage
Exhibit: January 10–March 18, 2011;
on view Mondays through Fridays 7am – 7pm

Open Studio: Through March 11: Fridays 12pm–6pm
March 14 – 18: 12pm – 6pm Daily

A tiny window display in an empty storefront in the Financial District is slowly expanding into a lush dream world that will continue to evolve before visitors’ eyes through the middle of March.

A Series of Reveals, an art installation from the arts collective behind last fall’s Halloween sensation
Steampunk Haunted House, will animate the windows of the One New York Plaza Art Space through March 18th. Created by site-specific artist Zach Morris of Third Rail Projects, the evolving piece evokes the dense, mysterious Victorian dreamscapes that are a hallmark of Morris’s artwork.

Tucked in between fast food eateries Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway, the work will unfold before viewers’ eyes in weekly increments with each new layer drawing passersby deeper and deeper into an increasingly detailed world. Partly inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, A Series of Reveals began as a small, sparsely furnished “rabbit hole” and is slowly expanding to include plants, portraits, strange Victorian machines, mannequins, and other intriguing oddities.

A new stage of the piece will be unveiled each Monday and remain in place throughout the week. Each Friday, Morris will begin work on the next stage in full view of the public, who is invited to come into the art space to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process and learn more about the project.


The project will culminate with its final reveal during the week of March 14th when the art space will be fully opened to the public. Visitors will be able to explore the space’s interior, see a cross-section of the completed installation, and meet Morris who will be present from 12-6pm each day.

Third Rail Projects is dedicated to creating work in the public sphere that engages local communities. Known for its immersive, site-specific art and performance projects, the group has received popular and critical acclaim for its Steampunk Haunted House, “a lavish delight for the senses,” as described by The Village Voice. A Series of Reveals marks the company’s third partnership with Arts Brookfield.

“Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects have an unparalleled talent for drawing audiences into their distinctive world, one enthralling step at a time,” said Debra Simon, Artistic Director of Arts Brookfield. “We’re thrilled to partner with them once again on a journey that will bring whimsy and surprise to the daily lives of everyone passing through the concourse at One New York Plaza.”

Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects acknowledge Caroline Williams and The Fund for The Drifting Encyclopedia for making this project possible. “A Series of Reveals” is also made possible in part by Materials for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation, and support from individual and institutional donors.
About Third Rail ProjectsThird Rail Projects, led by Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, is dedicated to reframing dance and performance and bringing art to the public through an array of media and within a variety of contexts including site-specific performances, dance theater, installation art, video and multi-media projects, and immersive performance environments. Collectively, Third Rail artists have been granted commissions, support, and residencies from presenters, organizations, and foundations including: Arts Brookfield, Danspace Project, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Abrons Arts Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Theater Workshop, Topaz Arts, La Mama ETC, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, The American Music Center, The Lucky Star Foundation, and Materials for the Arts, among many others. Third Rail artists have also received numerous awards including two 2008 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards for Vanishing Point, a 2001 New York International Fringe Festival Award for Choreography from the Present Company, and others.

For more information please visit
www.thirdrailprojects.com.
Sponsored by Brookfield Office Properties
Brookfield Office Properties enlivens its public spaces through an acclaimed visual and performing arts program. Arts Brookfield is committed to working with regional artists and commissioning original works of art in all disciplines including visual art, dance. theater and music. These events offer artists unique opportunities to work in new and unusual spaces while providing provocative cultural experiences for tenants and visitors alike.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

All photos by Tom Pearson
Below is a photo slideshow from the installation (Flickr), followed by an excerpt of the film component within the installation:


"If you want to get your weird installation on, time is ticking... we're calling this one out as can't miss." – New York Press
Full project page at: thirdrailprojects.com
Kissing the Gunner's Daughter (2010), by Tom Pearson, is an interactive art installation that features fragments from a ship's interior, a captain's log of its travels, and the true tale of a man from Michigan who traded his home for a replica of the Santa Maria. The work simultaneously conveys the story of "The Santa Marias," a traveling band of Cherokee vaudevillians who find themselves immersed in the burgeoning roadside attraction performance culture of Florida in the Forties.Kissing the Gunner's Daughter was originally presented as part of The Drifting Encyclopedia in the Courtyard Gallery at the World Financial Center by Arts World Financial Center, and then subsequently as a larger installation (or outpost of The Drifitng Encyclopedia) at Dance New Amsterdam (DNA). At DNA, the exhibition was presented in conjunction with performances of Walking In Two, by Tom Pearson and Donna Ahmadi and enjoyed a run from September 9 through November 15, 2010 as the inaugural presentation of DNA’s Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation.
The film above is culled from family reels, specifically located in and around St. Augustine, Florida in the late 1950's and early 1960's. The film was encased underneath sand and oyster shells inside a bench/trunk within the installation. The bench/trunk lid also featured a collage of images from Florida roadside attraction culture. The above excerpt is five minutes of a 20-minute reel.
DNA's presentation of Kissing the Gunner's Daughter was funded, in part, by a grant from New York State Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick through the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. The creation of Kissing the Gunner's Daughter, as part of The Drifting Encyclopedia, was originally presented by Arts World Financial Center and made possible, in part, by the River To River Festival. Additional support for the work came from Materials for the Arts/New York City Department of Cultural Affairs/Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation, and by Third Rail Projects with support from individual and institutional donors.DNA’s Heritage Series Contemporary First Nation was made possible with support from American Express.

Beautiful Dreamer in Hudon, New York



Beautiful Dreamer is a durational site-specific performance installation that inhabits the Great Hall of the Hudson Opera House. Evoking a dreamlike reflection of turn-of-the-century elegance, referencing the region's ties to whaling and maritime industries, and recalling performances and events that happened in the site in bygone eras, Beautiful Dreamer is an immersive performance that happens all around the audience, and is performed on a fifteen minute loop, without pause, for three hours during Hudson's Winter Walk Festival December 4, 2010.

Directed by Zach Morris and Tom Pearson

Designed, Created, and Performed by:Christopher Cummings, Zach Morris, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tara O'Con, and Tom Pearson

Beautiful Dreamer is made possible, in part, by Kuumba Dance & Drum, Operation Unite, NY, Materials for the Arts/DCA and Department of Sanitation; and was developed during the TOPAZ ARTS Choreography Residency Program made possible, in part, by NYS DanceForce with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. Additional material was created with support from Abrons Arts Center; and by Third Rail Projects, with support from the Lucky Star Foundation and individual and institutional donors.

The One You Love is Sick



Trailer of the performance in Hong Kong, April 2010.

The One You Love Is Sick Documentary



Here's the edited documentary from our work in Hong Kong in April 2010.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

A Series of Reveals



an evolving art installation inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass

One New York Plaza Art Space, Concourse Level

Exhibit:

January 10–March 18, 2011

on view Mondays through Fridays: 7am – 7pm

Open Studio:

Through March 11: Fridays 12pm–6pm
March 14 – 18: 12pm – 6pm Daily
DOWNTOWN STOREFRONT TO EVOLVE INTO LIFE-SIZE DIORAMA IN “A SERIES OF REVEALS,”
JANUARY 10–MARCH 18


New art installation from Third Rail Projects, creators of Steampunk Haunted House,
to unfold at One New York Plaza over 10 weeks
http://www.artsbrookfieldproperties.com/

New York, NY (January 24, 2011) – A tiny window display in an empty storefront in the Financial District is slowly expanding into a lush dream world that will continue to evolve before visitors’ eyes through the middle of March.

“A Series of Reveals,” an art installation from the arts collective behind last fall’s Halloween sensation
Steampunk Haunted House, will animate the windows of the One New York Plaza Art Space through March 18th. Created by site-specific artist Zach Morris of Third Rail Projects, the evolving piece evokes the dense, mysterious Victorian dreamscapes that are a hallmark of Morris’s artwork.

Tucked in between fast food eateries Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway, the work will unfold before viewers’ eyes in weekly increments with each new layer drawing passersby deeper and deeper into an increasingly detailed world. Partly inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, “A Series of Reveals” began as a small, sparsely furnished “rabbit hole” and is slowly expanding to include plants, portraits, strange Victorian machines, mannequins, and other intriguing oddities.

A new stage of the piece will be unveiled each Monday and remain in place throughout the week. Each Friday, Morris will begin work on the next stage in full view of the public, who is invited to come into the art space to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process and learn more about the project.
The project will culminate with its final reveal during the week of March 14th when the art space will be fully opened to the public. Visitors will be able to explore the space’s interior, see a cross-section of the completed installation, and meet Morris who will be present from 12-6pm each day.

Third Rail Projects is dedicated to creating work in the public sphere that engages local communities. Known for its immersive, site-specific art and performance projects, the group has received popular and critical acclaim for its Steampunk Haunted House, “a lavish delight for the senses,” as described by The Village Voice. “A Series of Reveals” marks the company’s third partnership with Arts Brookfield.

“Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects have an unparalleled talent for drawing audiences into their distinctive world, one enthralling step at a time,” said Debra Simon, Artistic Director of Arts Brookfield. “We’re thrilled to partner with them once again on a journey that will bring whimsy and surprise to the daily lives of everyone passing through the concourse at One New York Plaza.”

Zach Morris and Third Rail Projects acknowledge Caroline Williams and The Fund for The Drifting Encyclopedia for making this project possible. “A Series of Reveals” is also made possible in part by Materials for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Sanitation, The Lucky Star Foundation, and support from individual and institutional donors.

About Third Rail ProjectsThird Rail Projects, led by Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, and Jennine Willett, is dedicated to reframing dance and performance and bringing art to the public through an array of media and within a variety of contexts including site-specific performances, dance theater, installation art, video and multi-media projects, and immersive performance environments.


Collectively, Third Rail artists have been granted commissions, support, and residencies from presenters, organizations, and foundations including: Arts Brookfield, Danspace Project, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Abrons Arts Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Theater Workshop, Topaz Arts, La Mama ETC, 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, The American Music Center, The Lucky Star Foundation, and Materials for the Arts, among many others. Third Rail artists have also received numerous awards including two 2008 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards for Vanishing Point, a 2001 New York International Fringe Festival Award for Choreography from the Present Company, and others.

For more information please visit
www.thirdrailprojects.com.

About Arts Brookfield

Brookfield Properties brings life to its public spaces through an internationally acclaimed visual and performing arts program. Brookfield Properties supports local, regional and international artists and organizations by commissioning original works and presenting art forms in new and unusual spaces.