Site-specific installations are the focus of this month's edition of The Floodlights, a column that presents artists making work from the East End. All of the installations selected were made to make the most of their settings. They also present a close connection to the art making practices of each artist and provides a glimpse into what these artists are up to lately.
Selected are Christine Sciulli: "Quiet Riot" at Duck Creek Farm; Steve Miller: "The Surf Shack" at the Hampton Classic; Michael Combs: "Outhouse 2014" by Michael Combs at Hallockville Museum Farm; and Evan Desmond Yes: "The App Store" at GeekHampton.
Continue reading for details.
Christine Sciulli: Quiet Riot at Duck Creek Farm (East Hampton, NY)
If you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to embraced and captivated by beams of light, you're probably in luck. "Quiet Riot" transforms a historic barn into a room where light beams rule and interaction with the piece changes everything.
"Quiet Riot" brings together three projectors installed around a "room" that's 35 feet x 20 feet with ceilings that tower 12 feet high. Visitors can walk around inside the barn to experience the piece, linger and take in the light trails or observe the work from its perimeter.
.
"Quiet Riot" by Christine Sciulli. Photo courtesy of the artist.
.
The installation is an expansion from Sciulli's Engulf Project that was presented earlier this year at the Parrish Art Museum in "Artists Choose Artists" and at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City. At the Parrish, the work was presented within tight quarters framed by a simple wood structure to meet space demands of the expansive group show.
"Quiet Riot" takes Engulf concept and transforms it into the large-scale immersive installation that it always wanted to be. Set inside the former John Little Barn on the Duck Creek Farm property, the artist described the work this way:
"A multitude of expanding and collapsing white circles of light seem to transform as the three surrounding video projectors broadcast them through the diaphanous large-scale suspension of illusion....One views it from all around the work. It's the Parrish piece exploded into the barn!"
Sciulli's primary medium is projected light. In addition to smaller works, she has created multiple public works and installations. These include appearing at the Central Park Great Lawn as part of the Global Citizen Festival (2013); the South Fork Museum of Natural History (SoFo) in Bridgehampton; in the City of Peeksill as part of Peekskill Project V (2012) and others. Most recently, Sciulli was selected for inclusion in the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2014 Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts in New York City. Sciulli is based in the Hamptons.
"Quite Riot remains on view through September 20 at Duck Creek Farm, 367 Three Mile Harbor Hog Creek Road, East Hampton, NY. The work is viewable on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m. or by appointment by calling 917-365-6850.
09/06/14 UPDATE: The installation is temporarily closed pending an East Hampton Town code inspection.
"Quiet Riot" by Christine Sciulli. Photo courtesy of the artist.
.
"Surf Shack" by Steve Miller at the Hampton Classic (Bridgehampton, NY)
"Surf Shack" brings a bit of surf and sand to the Hamptons Classic. The installation invites a laid-back attitude and place to escape from the fierce intensity of competition. To help with relaxing, there are eight surfboards with handmade (and applied) designs by Steve Miller.
Surfboards as art canvas is relatively new for Miller but a medium that he warmed up to in a hurry. Miller is known for art that makes use of X-ray technology and printmaking for work that entwine fine art and science, and, most recently, environmental concerns. His "Health of the Planet" series took Miller into the Rainforest and jungles to find endangered wildlife and plants for his work.
Continuing along these lines are x-ray compositions applied to surfboards. The boards are usable, said Miller, but he suspects they'll be collected as art versus object. So far, Miller had made around 24 art surfboards. He is based in Sagaponack and New York City.
"Surf Shack" can be experienced on the grounds of the Hamptons Classic, held from August 24 - 31, 2014 at 240 Snake Hollow Road, Bridgehampton, NY 11932. General admission is $10. The "Surf Shack" is sponsored by Douglas Elliman so don't be surprised to find info on luxury homes mixed with the summer beach vibe.
.
"Black Selfie on White 016" by Steve Miller, 2014, installed at the "Surf Shack". Long Board Diamond Tail Single Fin, 108 x 22.75 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist.
.
"Gator Green on Blue 013" by Steve Miller, 2014. 87.5 x 22 inches.
.
"Outhouse" by Michael Combs at Hallockville Museum Farm (Riverhead, NY). Part of the Parrish Road Show.
.
"Outhouse" is as direct as it seems...it's an installation that presents a full size wooden outhouse with a wooden walkway. After taking in the structure, it begins to move closer to art than architecture. "Outhouse" channels the architectural style of a "bayhouse" in the tradition of fisherman's shacks found along Long Island marshes for decades, according the Parrish. Still not close enough to art? The piece is actually a forerunner (or a model) to a new work that will make use of this type of structure to create "Self Portrait" by Combs. The work is expected to be completed next year and Combs anticipates incorporate aluminum and mirrors with the outhouse structure, according to the museum.
Combs is from a long line of fisherman, duck hunters and fisherman that stretches back to the 17th century. His work frequently incorporates these traditions into his fine art which is distinctly masculine. Making use of an American outhouse structure speaks to Comb's interest in outhouses and their historic use of being part of base camps for hunters and fisherman, according to the Parrish.
Combs work's has been the subject of solo shows. He has exhibited at numerous galleries in New York City and nationwide. His work was recently the subject of a solo show / retrospective at 21C Museum in Ohio. His work has been presented at the Parrish Art Museum on several occasions, including his 2005 installation "The Trophy Room".
"Outhouse" opens with a reception on Thursday, August 28, and continues on view through September 28 at Hallockville Museum Farm, 6038 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901.
RELATED: "Master of Evocation: Michael Combs and Parrish Road Show" by Mike Solomon.
.
"Outhouse 2014" by Michael Combs. Installed at Hallockville Museum Farm
.
Evan Desmond Yee: "The App Store" at GeekHampton (Sag Harbor, NY). Part of the Parrish Road Show.
"The App Store" may be something like a play within a play - the installation aims to create an Apple store within an Apple service store. Located in an adjacent room next to GeekHampton's actual store (and set next to their classroom for computer-related instruction), Evan Desmond Yee will create his mock Apple storefront to display his sculptural interpretations of iPhone apps.
"Yee's analog art objects emulate their digital counterparts but with paradoxical material, weight and scale," writes the Parrish. "With "The App Store", Yee questions our obsession with design and whether or not technology will fulfill its promise of a virtual utopia."
Yee graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in sculpture in 2013. His work has been exhibited with Lyons Wier Gallery and Galerie Protégé in Chelsea, Keyes Art Project of the Hamptons and NYC and other galleries.
The installation will have an Opening Reception on Saturday (August 30) from 6 to 8 p.m. at GeekHampton, 34 Bay Street, Sag Harbort, NY 11963. The show continues through September 28, 2014.
______________________________
The Floodlights is a monthly column that casts its beams upon artists who are making art on the East End of Long Island (defined as Riverhead and eastward. This includes The Hamptons, The North Fork and Shelter Island).
______________________________
Copyright 2014 Hamptons Art Hub LLC. All rights reserved.