Category Archives: Performances

Quick Hit: Street Artist Swoon goes down the Hudson

Carol Vogel did a quick write-up in the New York Times about Swoon, a street artist who works in Brooklyn and the NYC-area.  Here’s the scoop on an interesting event happening this Friday:

SWOON, the Brooklyn street artist, strikes again, this time along the Hudson River. On Friday she is opening “Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea,” a project involving a fleet of seven boats — raftlike vessels handcrafted from scrap wood and salvaged materials — that will float down the Hudson River from Troy, N.Y., to Deitch Studios in Long Island City, Queens.

Along the way the playwright Lisa D’Amour will give a performance from the decks of the rafts and from the banks of the towns along the river. Swoon is also collaborating with the circus composer Sxip Shirey, as well as a group of Bay Area artists and mechanics who call themselves Kinetic Steam Works and who are dedicated to powering kinetic artwork with steam. A band, Dark Dark Dark (accordion, cello, upright bass and banjo), will perform along the journey too.

Each of Swoon’s rafts uses alternative energy sources, including biofuels and solar power. When the journey ends in Long Island City on Sept. 7, Swoon’s “invented landscape” installations will open to the public at Deitch Studios there.

You can read Gamma Blog’s interview with Swoon here and there’s a list of other articles about her and her work here.

[art by Swoon]

Ben Katchor Upcoming Events

katchor

Here’s a listing of upcoming events with Illustration Full-time Faculty member Ben Katchor:

The Deep Tub and Other Stories: Readings with Projections
Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2pm

South Orange Public Library
65 Scotland Road, South Orange, NJ
Phone: 973- 762- 0230

NYU Creative Writing Program: Reading with projections and a conversation with Lawrence Weschler
Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 7pm
Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House
58 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10011
For more information 212-998-8816

Exhibition: The Chronicle of Daily Life plus Readings and Lecture
Sat. April 12th –  20th, 2008
Fumetto, International comix-festival
Luzern, Switzerland

International Literature Festival: The Word as a Way Out
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 4pm
Panel discussion with Junot Diaz, Julie Phillips and Ben Katchor
Openbare Bibliotheek, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Reading with projections
Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 8pm

The John Adams Institute
Jewish Historical Museum – Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Ben Katchor in Conversation with Josh Kornbluth
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 8pm

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St., San Francisco, CA
tel. 415.292.1200

The Rosenbach Company: a pop opera
Text & Drawings by Ben Katchor, Music by Mark Mulcahy
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 8pm

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St., San Francisco, CA
tel. 415.292.1200`

Illustration Faculty & Alumni Updates Digest

russian mr. wiggles.
  • Adjunct Faculty Neil Swaab tells us that the Russian edition of his book, Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles: Volume 1, has just been released. Get your copy here.
philip fivel
  • Illustration Alum Philip Fivel Nessen has updated his portfolio with new artwork. See more images here.
bentfootes
  • Illustration and Alum R. Sikoryak created the animation and archival images for the mockumentary, The Bentfootes, a loving skewering of 200 years of American dance. Catch a free screening:

Saturday and Sunday March 29-30, Tuesday April 1 @ 1:00 pmFestivalHUB @ Seaport | LMCC Swing Space210 Front Street at Beekman Street, NYC

angie mason
jonathan jay lee
  • Illustration Alum Jonathan Jay Lee sent us an email recently saying, “I did some really exciting stuff in Hong Kong, I drew this comic book for this HK popstar called Kary Ng. She wanted to be a superhero, it was used for her concert and her new single. I did a cover for HK magazine, and I redesigned and painted the interior of this club in Lan Kwai Fong…If you get the chance, I posted links and pictures of my projects in HK at the end of my website.”
george bates t-shirt
yaccarino
  • Illustration Alum Dan Yaccarino is writing a screen adaptation of his children’s book, Where the Four Winds Blow as an animated feature for Fox/Blue Sky Studios, developing a new animated series based on his popular book Unlovable and writing and illustrating more childrens books.

Congratulations to all our faculty and alumni on their recent accomplishments!Want to see your news here?  Email us!

Ben Katchor’s Opera Reviewed in the New York Times

slug bearers shot

The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (Or, the Friends of Dr. Rushower), an opera created by Associate Professor of Illustration Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy, received an enthusiastic review by New York Times’ critic Ben Brantley yesterday. Here’s an excerpt:

“The Slug Bearers” may deal with subjects common to contemporary satire: fiendish industrial autocrats (in this case, the cackling George Klatter, played by a Lex Luthor-like Stephen Lee Anderson); shortsighted do-gooders; the limited attention span of news gatherers; and the (literal) insubstantiality of a technology-driven culture.

But Mr. Katchor is not an attack artist, and “The Slug Bearers” is neither sendup nor angry social rebuke.

Instead, like much of this artist’s work, it is propelled by a brooding and amused awareness of the strange, individual quirks and appetites that both keep people apart and occasionally bring them together.

This sensibility is conveyed with real enchantment by the set and projection designs of Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg (subtly enhanced by Russell H. Champa’s lighting), which bring to eye-teasing life Mr. Katchor’s drawings of lonely town (as in New York City) and polluted country (as in the tropical isle of Kayrol). Projections on scrims are used to create some delightful trompe l’oeil moments involving walking amid street traffic, riding elevators and even answering the phone.

These are never mere sight gags, though, but part of a thoroughgoing mise-en-scène that melts boundaries between the real and representational. At the same time there’s a strong, melancholy suggestion that the people who inhabit this flat but fluid landscape can never fully step into the world they live in. (And I mean the characters, not the performers.)

Read the complete review here, listen to a narrated slideshow about the opera’s development here, and as an extra bonus, we present you with a small preview of the show:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1l7p7XBHc4&rel=1&border=1]

The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (Or, the Friends of Dr. Rushower)
An Opera by Ben Katchor and Mark Mulcahy
Vineyard Theater
108 E. 15th St (btw Union Square and Irving Pl.)
New York, NY
212-353-0303

[image by Carol Rosegg]

Ben Katchor in New York Magazine

slug bearers

Illustration Associate Professor Ben Katchor got interviewed for New York Magazine recently. He talked about the development of his new opera with Mark Mulcahy, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island. Here’s a snippet:

As a cartoonist working in theater, how would you compare the two?
Comics are an economical way to figure out stories. There are zero expenses. You just need a place to live. Whereas theater is the most luxurious art form that there is: You need live actors, and everyone has to show up at a certain time and do a lot of rehearsing. Are they going to catch a cold that day? Are they going to show up? You realize how fragile all of it is. But it’s a great thing. When you’re watching a great actor try to figure out his scene, it’s like watching a cartoonist making a drawing, but they’re doing it somehow with their body. It’s amazing.

How would you sum up the play for someone who hasn’t seen it?
It’s an absurdist romance. It’s about the romance of poetry and humanitarianism.

The show also seems to be making a statement about consumerism.
There is a trend in the world now toward the immaterial — with people digitizing books and making tiny portable electronic devices. But if you want to make table phones and toasters, they need to be augmented artificially. The weight needs to be augmented. There is nothing physically to them, they’re just little microchips and plastic casings. We’re at this strange point in time where a lot of life we’d like to have miniaturized so we can carry a library in our pocket. But on the other hand, we still have hands and physical bodies, and we need to deal with the physical world. It’s a dilemma of technology.

Catch the rest of Ben’s interview here and see here for more information about The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island.

Illustration Full-Time Faculty Ben Katchor’s New Opera!

slug bearers
TICKETS:
Purchase 30%+ discount seats online here:
https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/28151/prm/BB40SB
or, phone box office (212-353-0303) and mention the code BB40SB
Ticket discount valid for performances thru 3/2/08 only.
Phone and online orders are subject to regular service charges.
This offer not valid on previously purchased tickets, is subject to availability and may be revoked at any time.

Late Breaking News: Illustration Faculty Bob Sikoryak at Comic Book Club tonight!

comic book club

Illustration adjunct faculty Bob Sikoryak will be part of tonight’s edition of COMIC BOOK CLUB at the People’s Improv Theater.  Named as part of the Best New York Press 2007, Comic Book Club is a live weekly talk show about comic books, hosted by Justin Tyler, Pete LePage, and Alex Zalben.  Here’s an excerpt from a recent article in the New York Times:

The show, held in the People’s Improv black-box theater, has a minimal set: Two couches that look as if they were rescued from a 1970s rec room flank a screen displaying computer graphics. An audiovisual booth is situated at stage left and is run by Booth Man (Michael Solis, 26), the self-described supervillain of the troupe because he doesn’t read comics.

Each show is divided into segments including “The Stack,” in which the hosts and guests discuss the previous week’s notable comic books; “The Week in Geek,” about industry news, like, say, a creator’s signing of an exclusive contract, or the new trailer for “Speed Racer”; and trivia, in which an audience member tries to win a $25 gift certificate to Midtown Comics, a sponsor of the show. It’s a friendly quiz, and Mr. LePage supplies obvious hints to stumped contestants. There is also often a musical act.

The heart of the show is the chemistry among the three men, all aspiring comedians, whether discussing the annual, a comic book series’s larger, bonus issue, traditionally published in the summer (Mr. Zalben: “I miss annuals. You don’t get them anymore. You used to expect them every year.” Mr. Tyler: “Hence the word annual.”) or their recollections of a particular fan who has attended nearly every show.

Read the rest of the article here and try to catch the show tonight if you can.  Tickets are only $5!

Tuesday, January 8th @ 8:00 PM
Featuring: Kyle Baker (Plastic Man, Special Forces) &
R. Sikoryak (Nickelodeon, Drawn & Quarterly)
The People’s Improv Theater
154 West 29th Street, 2nd Floor
Between 6th and 7th Aves.
Questions? 212-563-748

Illustration Faculty Bob Sikoryak hosts Carousel

carousel 12-13

CAROUSEL

Cartoon slide shows & other projected pictures presented by a glittering array of artists, performers, graphic novelists, & other characters. Since 1997, Carousel has been presented around NYC at Dixon Place, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Makor, MoCCA Art Fest, and NY Comic Con, as well as at the San Diego Comic-Con, Small Press Expo, and the Blue Met Festival (Montreal).

Hosted by Illustration Alum and Faculty member R. Sikoryak

Featuring:
Robbie Busch
Megan Montague Cash
Danny Hellman
Michael Kupperman
Jim Torok
Lauren R. Weinstein

Thursday, December 13
8 pm (doors open at 7:30 pm)

Dixon Place
258 Bowery, 2nd Fl, between Houston & Prince
NY, NY

Tickets: $12 or TDF; $10 student/senior

You can by advance tickets & find more info at www.dixonplace.org or by calling (212) 219-0736.

Prints Gone Wild 2007

 

prints gone wild

Cannonball Press and Supreme Trading proudly present:
PRINTS GONE WILD 2!!
The second ever annual vernacular printacular mega-hairy Brooklyn affordable print fair.

Supreme Trading
213 n 8th St. Williamsburg, Brooklyn 11211
718-599-4224
www.supremetradingny.com

Fri., Nov. 2nd 6pm-12am Opening reception/party
Sat., Nov. 3rd 12-6pm Fair is open all day

FEATURING:
Tugboat Press Pittsburgh, PA
The Amazing Hancock Brothers McGregor, TX
Paping Brooklyn, NY
Sean Star Wars Laurel, MS
Howling Print Studios Brooklyn, NY
Space 1026 Philadelphia, PAYeehaw Industries Knoxville, TN
Triangle Poster Pittsburgh, PA
Team Lump Raleigh, NC
Drive By Press Madison, WI
Isle of Printing Nashville, TN
DRock Press Lexington, KY
Cannonball Press Brooklyn, NY
…and more!!

After last year’s incredibly successful fair,
Brooklyn’s own Cannonball Press has again assembled an
extraordinary menagerie of graphic artists under one
roof, who will be present, displaying their prints,
and selling them for $50 or less for two days only.

Long-time champions of the affordable art cause, as
part of New York Fine Art Print Week Cannonball Press
has brought together these great artists so that New
York can have a chance to see first-hand the
incredible resurgence in affordable fine art printing
that is happening across the country.

An entertaining sideshow will take place during the
fair, featuring the Toughcats from Portland Maine,
emcee David Rees (of Get Your War On fame), a
performance by the Amazing Hancock Brothers, the
Reverend Vince Anderson, and on-the-spot printing with
Drive-By Press, which operates a mobile press out of
the back of their van.

Come join us!

www.cannonballpress.com

Re*Generation Gallery Auction and Benefit

re*generation

Please join Virgin Mobile USA & DJ James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem for an evening of entertainment, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and the silent auction of new works by:

Diane Barcelowsky, Melinda Beck, Calef Brown, Thomas Campbell, Clayton Brothers, Daniel Davidson, James Gallagher, Julie Goldstein, Matt Hansel, Caroline Hwang, Jordin Isip (Illustration Faculty), Rich Jacobs, Chesiel John (Illustration ’02), Greg Lamarche, Matt Leines, Julia Marchand, Taylor McKimens, Jean-Pierre Roy, Antonio Sanchez, Denise Tassin and Eric White.

The RE*Generation Gallery
2007 Auction and Benefit
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
7 to 11 pm (bidding ends at 10 pm)
Skylight, 275 Hudson St. , New York City

100% of proceeds raised will benefit non-profit organizations working on the issue of youth homelessness.

Tickets are not required to attend the event but capacity is limited. To ensure admission and avoid the general admission line, pre-register as a VIP by making a donation of $25 or more to The RE*Generation online.

Go to http://www.regenerationgallery.com to pre-register as a VIP, view all of the works and/or place an online bid. Online bidding will end November 1st.