The Third Degree

GETTING TO KNOW YOU...
We asked our Winter Residents to answer a few questions about themselves, the artists they like, the music they listen to and the books they are reading.... It's all in the interest of science. And curiosity. And nosiness. But their answers are thoughtful and interesting. We're happy to share them.

AMANDA BUONOCORE
www.amandabuonocore.com

Amanda Buonocore in front of a wall she excavating, revealing work of past residents

What artists working today do you find interesting?
Hmm.... although some of the artists I love are still alive not all of them are still "working". My all time favorite artist is Robert Morris.  His work is thoughtful, playful, simple, and concise.  He also has this wonderful ability to make me laugh even though I am not sure it is always what the work intends.  His work and writings has influenced my work greatly.  He is a huge idol of mine.

Hanne Darboven, although recently passed away in 2009,  is another one of my favorite artists.  Her work really plays with the boundaries as art as a tool by which to conceptually organize information and personally explore the essence of time.  She does this through the use of organized / systemized daily writings which ultimately become conceptual records of both physical time and personal experience.

Two, more contemporary, artists that interest me are Rachel Harrison and Paul Chan.  Both these artists have a unique way of addressing the use of simple objects to create complex systems which create both humorous and thoughtful results.  They both seem to uniquely exaggerate and elaborate on the use of the "ready made" and create a new position for it within contemporary conceptual sculpture.

What's on your current playlist?
My playlist is always changing but I guess repeat artists that I listen to because I know I will always be satisfied are:  Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes, The Cure, Frank Zappa, Wyclef Jean, Beastie Boys, and Mos Def.  Strange mix, but it does always please me.

What books are you reading and recommend?
I have currently just started reading Hal Foster:  The Return of the Real and John Ruskin:  The Ethics of the Dust: Ten Lectures to Little Housewives on the Elements of Crystallization.  They are two very different writers from to very different times, haha, but both have proven to be awesome so far :)!  I am very excited to get further into each.  My all time favorite books that I constantly return to for answers / inspiration are:  1. Robert Morris: Have I Reasons.  2. John Ruskin: On Art and Life.  3. Tolstoy: What is Art?  4.  Umberto Eco:  Travels in Hyperreality.  5.  Lucy R. Lippard:  Six Years: The dematerialization of the art object...

I also really enjoy the book Speaking of Art.  It is a collection of transcribed audio interviews with several different artists over a 40 year period of time.  It's just an all around great book to own.  The interviews are insightful, inspiring, and feel really personal.  Great for any art lovers book collection.

What is a Fun Fact about you that isn't on your CV?
I am actually quite good at hula hooping.  I can even run short distances while hula hooping simultaneously. And I welcome any and all challenges to this fun fact and would be happy to prove my unique skill!

SARAH ELISE HALL
www.sarahelisehall.com

Sarah Elise Hall in her studio. The canvas in the background  covers the entire studio wall.

What artists working today do you find interesting?
I get really into an artist’s work when I feel I can somehow relate to its internal logic. I love work by Terry Winters, Sarah Sze and Yayoi Kusama because they all create these complex visual networks that appear to evolve in a self-similar way while maintaining surprising elements in mark making, materials and environments. Lately I’ve been looking at the work of Amy Sillman and Ida Ekblad a lot. There is an energy in their work that I find really compelling – something systematic yet spontaneous happening at the same time. The work hits me on a visceral and a cerebral level, which I like.

What's on your reading list?
I have two books from the series Documents of Contemporary Art hanging around in my studio: Painting and Failure, They’re packed with great essays and interviews.

I’m also reading Just Kids by Patti Smith(really good)  and I’ve started re-reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 ( a favorite book).

And on your playlist?
Umm, my play list right now is a motley crew of musical acts: The Roots, Massive Attack, Miles Davis, New Order.

What's not on your CV?
Life before art school: I rode my bicycle from Canada to Mexico and raised money for Children’s Wish Foundation in Canada.

PAOLO FORTIN
www.paulfortin.com

Paolo in his studio with the beginnings of paintings.

What fun fact about you is not on your CV? 

I think this is more dirty than fun, but I have the habit of enjoying a fine Cuban cigar every now and again on warm nights in the summer.

What’s on your current playlist?

Music is extremely important in my life and it fills every hour of my day. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience frequent, seven to ten day drives across Canada and up into the western arctic. As the hours and miles roll along it is music that creates the soundtrack to the changing images that I witness and utilize in my artwork. While working in the studio, music is constantly playing. What intrigues me most about music is how it can trigger involuntary memory and set the stage for your emotional and creative output. Through music, I am able to embrace my own Proustian, "episode of the madeleine", and retrieve memories that, although inevitably partial, tend to embrace the essence of the past. These ideas of recollection, essence and the transitory play a large part in my artwork and therefore, my work as an artist and music are inexplicably linked.

The music I listen to changes with the mood and time of day. Playlists tend to be on random much of the time and because I listen to a diverse repertoire, a typical playlist can bounce around with much contrast. It's not improbable to go from Anthony Pappa  to Sammy Naquin to Lucinda Williams to NOFX, and then possibly

The Winter Residency Begins

THE THREE AMIGOS
Our Winter Residents arrived a few weeks ago during the nano-second that actually was our winter this year. They have spent the past few weeks getting to know each other and setting up their studios. Although they use different techniques and have different styles, their work shares a common interest in exploring the surfaces--including the actual surfaces of the Carriage House walls.

Amanda Buonocore, Sarah Elise Hall and Paolo Fortin get together in Sarah's studio

If You Think This Is Cold...

THIS IS NOTHING WHERE I COME FROM

Our snowstorm last week was beautiful while it lasted, which wasn't long. The snow melted the next day

Paolo Fortin, one of our Winter Studio Residents, wrote to us last week to tell us he would be a little late coming to Islip because it was snowing where he lives...near the Arctic Circle. We got his message during the middle of our own snowstorm on Long Island, which dumped 4 inches on the sidewalks leading to the Carriage House. Around here, that's our idea of a natural disaster.  Four inches? That's not snow, according to Paolo. But let him describe his life in Inuvik, Canada, and his difficulty getting here in his own words:

My plan was to arrive in the afternoon on Feb. 1st. I have a flight booked via Newark but may have to re-schedule as I keep an eye on the weather this week. Weather in the western arctic at the moment is terrible. We've just endured a five day blizzard and the temperature has dropped below -40F. I was stuck for three days in Whitehorse trying to get back home to Inuvik while flight after flight was cancelled. I returned home to a six foot snowdrift in front of my door. The road out (yes, only one road - think "Ice Road Truckers"...) has been closed more than it has been open this winter. It's my hope that I can still get south in time to catch my Toronto to Newark flight on the 1st, but I have to admit that it's day to day with the weather. I will keep you updated on the progress of getting out of this isolated place. It sounds ridiculous I know, but its a reality up here.


Hopefully, Paolo and the dog sled team will arrive sometime this week!

Meet Our Winter 2012 Studio Residents

GETTING BACK TO ESSENTIALS
Three emerging artists have moved into studios in the Carriage House this month. Jason Paradis, the curator of our studio residency program, selected the artists because all of them are exploring essence. Whether stripping away layers of paint or removing surfaces on sculptures, they are reducing their artistic practices to the essential elements.

You can get a preview of what they will be doing here in the next three months by clicking on their websites. Welcome to the Carriage House!

Amanda Buonocore is from Nassau County. Learn about her at: www.amandabuonocore.com
Paolo Fortin in from Canada and Suffolk County. Meet him at: www.paulfortin.com
Sarah Elise Hall is from Brooklyn. Follow her career at: www.sarahelisehall.com

Up In Smoke

BURNING AMBITIONS

Hong Seon Jang's installation at the Carriage House this December had visitors gaping in wonder. Made entirely of ordinary kitchen matches, Parasite resembled a huge tree branch. The piece was based on fractal proliferations that mimic cellular growth patterns, particularly malignant ones. The matches connote fever and imminent danger.

The installation was over 20 feet long, made of matches glued end to end.

When the exhibit ended, the artist asked the staff to deinstall the work. What other way to do so than to assign Parasite to its logical fate? In a simple ceremony we called "Burning Sensation," Hong Seon's hours of labor went up in smoke.

Mary Lou and curator Sara Kinsey carried the matchstick tree outside.
 Catch Mary Lou's Vanna White moment in the video.

The fire was not what what we expected. Here's a fun fact: it is hard to create a fire of matches--counterintuative but true. And finally, the deed was done. 

Though difficult to light at first, when the matches finally caught fire the blaze was bigger than we bargained for. See the video for our startled reactions. Pierce Cohalan, who captured the ceremony on an iPhone, kept us all from panicking.