Day 2

Today we went to Brooklyn to visit the Artist studio of David Kramer, followed by numerous gallery visits around Old Williamsburg. I was very excited to go to an Artist studio and witness the manner in which they live with and by their work and how their own creative process comes to life in their own environment. I was a huge fan of Kramer’s work, and enjoyed the time we spent there watching his DVD’s and browsing through his pieces. I am amused by the conversation in his work between text and image and the humor that he adds to them. His work makes you sit back and think about life on a less serious note and to laugh at the things that we rarely think about in our everyday lives but are true. One of his paintings in particular (of a couple in a heart shaped-jacuzzi), struck my fancy: “I am desperately trying to hang onto my notions of life…. But I am afraid that all that does is make me seem more and more CREEPY”- D. Kramer. After visiting David Kramer’s studio, we left and went to see our first NYC art galleries. I had mixed feelings about the work in the galleries we visited today. Some of the galleries were full of blank canvases, and installations that looked as if they were painted and decorated by a 5 yr old. I’m sorry, but tying string around a black canvas in different directions, and dangling stuffed animals and other creepy childhood objects from it does not constitute as art, but rather a bad dream that came to life and resides in Brooklyn.

There was one really fun installation at a gallery called “ROCK IRAQ” an it was a miniature set up of a rock stage for a music concert with miniature instruments, backstage, clothes, bathrooms, everything! There was a surround sound of noise playing to go with the piece of an audience screaming at the stage, a very surreal experience.