ESSENTIAL EVENT // Sarah Small's "Tableau Vivant": 120 Models and Otherworldly Musical Talent

On May 23 and 24, around 120 models will descend upon Brooklyn's art-deco landmark Skylight One Hanson. No, it's not some sort of weird Terry Richardson casting call. It's the latest and biggest version of photographer Sarah Small's Tableau Vivant, in which those models will be "assembled together as a living, breathing image." A real-life enactment of Small's ongoing photographic series, The Delirium Constructions.

"I bring models into improbable, close interactions to examine the social and graphic contrasts of youth and experience, hysteria and discipline, tragedy and hilarity, and sexuality and desexualization," Small says of the series.

The first Tableau Vivant took place in 2009 and featured 35 models. This time the number has nearly quadrupled and there will also feature an incredible musical component; including traditional Bulgarian folk songs, choral drones, and opera performed by members of Small's own Black Sea Hotel a cappella quartet. She's also working with Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and composing an aria for Abigail Wright of the Metropolitan Opera. And, as if that doesn't already sound awesome enough, the Brooklyn Rider string quartet will be performing as well.

Tableu Vivant happens at Skylight One Hanson May 23 at 7pm and May 24 at 8pm. Find more info at livingpictureprojects.com and get tickets here.

Check out a video of one of Small's previous Tableau Vivants, which took place at powerHouse Arena during the Dumbo Arts Festival:

Tableau Vivant - Dumbo Arts Festival - powerHouse Arena from Sarah Small's Tableau Vivant on Vimeo.

MEMBER PURSUITS // Ellen Rose's Bold & Elegant Jewelry

Ellen Rose is not a timid jewelry maker. She uses everything from vintage silk ties to plastic vending machine toys to create bold and vibrant pieces. Her work is neither delicate or gaudy. It's sophisticated in a grandiose way—you might even say royal.

We checked in with Rose, a 3rd Ward member since January, and were excited to hear that one of her pieces, "Baltusrol Necklace," will be featured in an upcoming issue of BUST Magazine! The necklace is a typical Rose creation—a bright, flowing piece that grabs your attention with a beauty that is uninhibited but still subtle and thoughtfully composed.

Right now Rose is continuing to build her portfolio, which also includes her drawings—"detailed, pattern-based black ink pieces that are at once whimsical and macabre." She says that 3rd Ward has been a great home base for her work. "Apart from the facilities themselves, the atmosphere of serious, creative pursuit incites me to approach my work in the same way," she explains.

Roses' work is available from Anthropologie in Chelsea Market at Ninth Avenue and 15th Street in Manhattan and online from her Etsy shop. Check it out and pick up one of her excellent pieces! We're particularly enamoured of her "Night Lagoon" necklace.

Take a look at a couple of Ellen Rose creations below.

Ellen Rose's "Walrus Formal"

Ellen Rose's "Baltusrol Abridged II"

-- John Ruscher

TEACHER FEATURE // See Grace Bello's McSweeney's Monologue This Weekend

In a short story published on McSweeneys.com, Grace Bello, an accomplished writer and flash fiction teacher here at 3rd Ward, took A Street Car Named Desire's iconic Southern belle Blanche DuBois off the stage and plopped her in quite a comical scene: a corporate holiday party.

Now Bello's take on DuBois is headed back to the stage as part of BLOGOLOGUES: Sex, Drugs and Interwebs, an hour-long performance of blog posts and other online pieces presented by New York's Lively Productions.

"Blanche DuBois is one of the most haunting and complex characters in American theater, so I'm really excited to see my satire come to life in this show," Bello tells us. "Plus, the story was published in 2009, so I'm glad not only that the story found a home in McSweeney's but that is finding a home on the stage and continues to resonate with readers."

Lively Productions contacted Bello out of the blue asking for permission to perform the monologue. "I've actually never seen my work performed by other people," she says. That'll change this weekend, though, when she'll depend on the kindness of strangers to act out her splendid piece.

BLOGOLOGUES: Sex, Drugs and Interwebs happens this Friday, May 13 and Saturday May 14th at 8pm at Under St. Mark's (94 St. Mark's Place, between 1st and A). Find out more at livelyproductions.com and get tickets here.

All of a sudden we have the urge to shout, "STELLLLLLLLLLAAAA!"

NEW MEMBER WELCOME // Say Hello to Shana Schnur, Fashion Photographer

We're thrilled to introduce one of 3rd Ward's newest members, Shana Schnur!

A professional photographer working on fashion and other commercial projects, Schnur graduated from the School of Visual Arts last year. She collaborates with partner David Manning, and you can take a look at some of their work at shanaschnur.com.

Schnur is currently putting together a lookbook for the upcoming Fall & Winter Collection of NYC-based jewelry brand Auden Design. "Right now we're working to pick the right model, and will be holding a go-see at 3rd Ward with Auden in a week or two," she says.

"One of the biggest things that drew us to 3rd Ward is that it's a local community, not a big anonymous photo studio that exists to pad their bottom line," Schnur says. She's also excited about the possibilities that a 3rd Ward membership will open up, including the freedom to pursue exciting projects that may not have immediate financial payoff. In addition to her work with Auden, she has plans for a couple avant-garde shoots, as well as one that "combines themes from old sci-fi, high fashion, and contemporary cultural trends."

Sounds awesome.

Meanwhile, here's some of Schnur's work:

-- John Ruscher 

TEACHER FEATURE // Harry Gold's Heavy Metal

This weekend, you have the opportunity to experience a range of pieces by sculptor, metalworker, and 3rd Ward instructor, Harry Gold. Start with his smaller-scale work, on display tonight at the Member Group Show from 7-10pm; then move on to his large sculptural pieces included in 3HREE, an art/music show held over three days (May 6-8) at 3 Egg Studios (79 Lorimer St) in Williamsburg.

Gold, who teaches an ongoing patina class called Metal As Canvas and has also taught Welding Techniques For Furniture & Sculpture at 3rd Ward, finds inspiration from all directions and mediums. He can pinpoint architecture, nature, people, books, and music as having the most impact on his vision, but typically, he understands his motivation to create a particular piece only long after its completion.

A few years ago, upon moving to New York from Santa Fe, New Mexico (where he was head patina specialist at a large bronze art foundry), he was so struck by our water towers that their representations starting popping up in his work. While he has the metal shop to thank for his productivity these days, “Beer in the vending machine is pretty great,” he says. Come check out the shop, and join him for a cold one.

-- Cara Cannella 

OPEN CALL // Greenpoint Open Studios and Northside Festival invite you to participate in Northside Open Studios

Greenpoint Open Studios and the L Magazine's Northside Festival are teaming up to present Northside Open Studios in June and they want to showcase your art!

Registration is open now for artists in all mediums who would like to open up their Williamsburg and Greenpoint studios to the public on June 18 and 19th from noon-6pm.

There are also opportunities to collaborate with galleries, local businesses and public spaces for special programming and events. The registration fee is $20, or you can opt to volunteer during the festival instead. Artists will be featured in 10,000 copies of the Northside Open Studios brochure and on the website. The deadline for registering is May 15.

Check out the open call flyer below and head to northsideopenstudios.org for more info!

-- John Ruscher

THIS WEEKEND // Jazz Legend David Amram Live

When it comes to cultural offerings, NYC boasts an embarrassment of riches. Though sometimes it’s easy to glaze over and go a little numb to our incredible access to world-class art. 

If you’re familiar with that slumber, a performance by jazz legend David Amram this weekend is just the tonic to wake you up. From 8pm-1am on Sunday, May 8, the 80-year-old virtuoso takes the stage at 3HREE, a three-day art and music festival featuring fine artists and sculptors, including 3rd Ward instructor Harry Gold, at 3 Egg Studios in Williamsburg (79 Lorimer St).

The composer/conductor/multi-instrumentalist—best known for breaking ground with improv French horn-playing and exposing an American audience to world music—has collaborated with the likes of Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Getz--along with Jack Kerouac in pioneering jazz-poetry readings in 1950s New York. Wynton Marsalis has called him “a godsend to those who believe in the power of music to change lives and to inspire,” and that’s no hyperbole. He’ll fill a packed house, so arrive early, and savor the chance to catch this wizard in action.

 

--Cara Cannella

New Museum Street Fest : Farm Functionality meets Agrarian Celebration

The Greenhorns, a national grassroots nonprofit organization by and for America’s young farmers, will launch SEED CIRCUS at the New Museum’s StreetFest on May 7. SEED CIRCUS is a series of events featuring new inventions that are applicable in two fields: farm functionality and agrarian celebration.

For this first SEED CIRCUS event, Greenhorns will invite urban festivalgoers to join young farmers in an improvisational construction. The multipurpose meet-up tent they create together will build capacity on farms for community celebration.

The workshop-sized, quilt-like tent is meant to house young farmer scheming, socializing, and a future rich with farm revelry. Designed by Brooklyn-based artists sourcing surplus fabrics from Queens, the tent will be crafted in the Bowery with the combined muscle of New Yorkers and young farmers hailing from the city’s vast regional foodshed. A custom-built, pedal-powered sewing machine will provide the necessary friction for this proudly patchwork undertaking.

Be sure to swing by and say hello to Upholstery Instructor Elise Mcmahon this Saturday as she pedals for a great cause!

MEMBER SHOW PREVIEW // Chris O'Neal: Making dreams (and nightmares) come true

Artist Chris O’Neal is literally making his dreams a reality. One of his pieces, part of a series of three dream-inspired drawings, will be on display as part of this week’s Member Group Show. Wonder what a psychoanalyst would have to say about a sharp-fanged dog with a head shrouded in pink? Us too.

Chris's body of work runs the gamut from flyers, logos, type and websites. He even has plans to produce a limited-run of posters and t-shirts in an 3rd Ward screenprinting class. He's also taking classes in business plan writing and wine tasting.

Bottomline: by the time the Member Show's over, Chris will be a regular Brooklyn Renaissance Man -- drawing his entrepeneurial dreams under the warm buzz of a Syrah.

-- Cara Cannella

TEACHER FEATURE // Embroidery artist & 3rd Ward instructor Iviva Olenick at the Affordable Art Fair

Looking for great art that won't break the bank? Then head to the Affordable Art Fair this week, where 3rd Ward embroidery teacher Iviva Olenick will be presenting her unique and amazing work.

The fair runs from Thursday, May 5 through Sunday, May 8 at 7 West 34th Street in Manhattan, with a preview tonight from 6-9pm.

"My 'post-its' are small-scale, hand embroidered pieces," says Olenick. "They are essentially snippets of conversations I have with myself about relationships past and present, primarily romantic, always intimate. Sometimes, they include actual dialogue, overheard, borrowed, or from my own conversations with people other than myself."

Check out more of Olenick's work on her blog, Brooklyn Love Exchange, a project sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council. On her way home from an opening, Olenick walked by several places that reminded her of past dating relationships. "I realized I am one of many Brooklynites with these kinds of memories and associations, and started dreaming of a way to capture other people's romantic stories connected to specific Brooklyn sites."

All work at the Affordable Art Fair is priced between $100 and $10,000. "From an artist's point of view, it is a wonderful way to have one's work seen by many different people in a very short time span," Olenick adds.

She will be represented at the fair by Cobble Hill's Muriel Guepin Gallery, which specializes in accessible and affordable art.

Want to learn how to make your own embroidery work? Sign up for one of Olenick's upcoming "Extraordinary Embroidery" workshops!

-- John Ruscher