Sometimes I’m a little bit wary about supporting the Kickstarter projects of various artists; all too often, people feel entitled to your money while giving little in return, and even less to the community at large. A new project by photographer Tyler Kohlhoff and Justin Gorman is fine by me, though; their Kickstarter effort offers prints, clothing, and publications which seem like an even trade for a few extra bucks… but more importantly, their project has a foreseeable benefit for the greater good.

Kohlhoff and Gorman’s upcoming collaboration, Exhibit B: Lines Of Work, celebrates the joys of real, honest work, by focusing on all aspects of an average workday. Those of you who have been the SE industrial district have probably seen Rinella Produce‘s distinctive building. If you’ve ever wondered what happens there on a day-to-day basis, the first of these case studies will use photo essays and videos to capture the processes and behind-the-scenes functions of running a business such as Rinella’s.

The duo describes the piece on Rinella Produce and the ones to follow, saying:

Exhibit B features a number of case studies, the first of which is Rinella Produce, a venerable, family run produce distribution company located in South East Portland. Our focus with this study was on the owner David Rinella, and the pride he takes in employing 65 people in an age where his work is increasingly disappearing. The photo stories and video provide an honest look into the worker and the processes surrounding that work. The project will be rounded out by case studies including the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and with their road crews, Columbia River Boat Pilots and a day in the life of a butcher.

Profits from the Kickstarter will go towards print costs, large-format exhibition photographs, and the exhibit installation, to take place at Wieden + Kennedy (24 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, OR) on June 2nd, 2011. The duo says, “We will be making a run of 2000, 12 page, magazine size publications featuring photo essays, typography, info-graphics and a guest essay by artist and writer Victor Moldanado. The publication will be take-aways at the exhibition.”

Kohlhoff and Gorman have already met their $2,000 goal, but if you would like to donate to the Kickstarter, it ends on May 14th, at 2:59am.

According to the introductory statement to the Festival’s website, “Festival of Ideas for the New City is a major new collaborative initiative in New York, involving scores of Downtown organizations working together to harness the power of the creative community to imagine the future city and explore ideas that will shape it. The Festival will include a three-day slate of symposia; an innovative StreetFest along the Bowery; and over eighty independent projects and public events.”

In this guide, we’ve picked out some of the most incredible gallery-hosted events taking place during the course of this festival, serving as a filter for the best, so you don’t have to! We did not include, however, panels and conferences which are going on, so it is highly recommended that visit the Festival website at www.festivalofideasnyc.com to see those, as well as festival events we have not listed here.

Stay tuned for our post regarding Streetfest-related installations and happenings, taking place on May 7th!

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past fits and future pulls: james Fuentes llc

Daniel Subkoff and Will Chancellor offer for disassembly a large clay sculpture embedded with native seeds. Remains will be woven into the Bowery environs the following day using boustrophedon technology.
Location: Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (107 Suffolk St, btwn Rivington & Delancey Sts)
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-593
Date: May 7th, all day
More details: http://www.jamesfuentes.com/
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borderland: smartspaces

Curated by Andrea Hill, Borderland borrows from the format of television and the democratic ideas behind community access networks, airing a video art program that includes interactive works on public view 24/7. Featuring videos and interactive pieces by Benjamin Crotty, Noah Feehan / AKA, Rainer Ganahl, Tatiana Kronberg, Nour Mobarak, Adam Shecter.
Location: 200 Lafayette Street, btwn Broome & Kenmare Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-3756
Date: May 1st through June 1st, 24 hours a day
More details: http://www.smartspaces.org/
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Richard Long: Flow and Ebb: sperone westwater

Artist Richard Long creates an homage to nature in urban installations. Drawing made with river mud and sculpture of native stone generate a reconfigured nature. According to Sperone Westwater’s press release: “Long presents a text work Flow and Ebb, Rise and Fall in the gallery’s Moving Room, which travels between the second and fourth floors, referencing the motion of tides. The third floor features wall-sized text works that narrate Long’s recent outdoor walks and experiences, such as Human Nature Walk (2011) from his 21-day walk in South Africa. In Megalithic to Subatomic: From Carnac to Cern (2008), Long describes the extreme range of materials in nature – from large-sized stones to the minute atoms in particle physics.”
Location: 257 Bowery, between East Houston & Stanton Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-1656
Date: May 7th, from 10:00am to 6:00pm
More details: http://www.speronewestwater.com/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html
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URBAN TAPESTRY A Vision for the New City: theater for the new city

Urban Tapestry engages the public by weaving visual and performing arts into a 2-day event focusing on preservation and innovation. According to the website, this will be “a multidisciplinary exhibition, weaves visual, conceptual, and performing arts into a two-day event that combines preservation and innovation, building a base for a heterogeneous and sustainable city using visual art, installations, music and performance to engage the public,” covering topics as diverse as “Art & Design, storytelling and local history, party (reception), Exhibition, Lecture/Discussion, and Performance.”
Location: Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, between East 9th & East 10th Streets
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-549
Date: May 7th, from 10:00am to 11:00pm
More details: http://www.artistasdeloisaida.org/
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Cronocaos, an exhibition by Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture: new museum

Cronocaos explores the simultaneity of preservation and destruction, which obliterates any sense of a linear evolution of time. The exhibition will take place in a partially renovated space adjacent to the New Museum. And yes, it costs money, but thanks to expert curation, it’s always a good time at The New Museum.
Location: 231 Bowery, between Stanton & Rivington Sts
ADMISSION: $12
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-667
Date: May 7th, 11:00am to 6:00pm
More details: http://www.newmuseum.org
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Robert Melee: This is For You: invisible-exports

A looped screening shows five dancers interpreting nine physical acts including “imitate a chicken” and “lick your biceps” for Melee’s 2003 performance at Judson Church in an ode to a new era of performance art.
Location: 14A Orchard Street, between Hester & Canal Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-1665
Date: May 7th and May 8th, 11:00am to 11:59pm
More details: http://www.invisible-exports.com/
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Floating Constructs: Number 35 Gallery

Alexa Kreissl proposes a sculpture on outdoor surfaces, creating unfamiliar and multifaceted environments. Kreissl will present an installation incorporating sculpture, drawing, light and shadow. The shadows of a second, indoor sculpture by Kreissl are projected at various angles on the wall.
Location: 141 Attorney St between Stanton & Rivington Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-1577
Date: May 7th through June 12th, 12:00pm to 6:00pm
More details: http://www.numberthirtyfive.com/
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HOMENESS: Y Gallery

Three artists examine their own concepts of home in a series of activities based on the notion of NYC as a multicultural city with a big population constantly on the move. Performances by Ryan Brown and Jano Cortijo. Video-interviews by Cecilia Jurado. Installation inside and outside the gallery by Tom Fruin, pictured above. Installation by Antonio la Rosa. Discussion with leaders of local shelters.
Location: 335A Bowery Street Basement, between East 3rd Street & East 2nd Street
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-651
Date: May 7th and May 8th, 12:00pm to 6:00pm
More details: http://www.ygallerynewyork.com/
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The Self Illuminating City: Allegra LaViola Gallery

Inside, let yourself be overwhelmed by brightness as Timothy Hutchings fills the space with light. Outside, get tempted by Jennifer Catron & Paul Outlaw’s Fish Fry Truck and Crawfish Boil.
Location: 179 East Broadway, between Jefferson & Rutgers Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-546
Date: May 7th and May 8th, 12:00pm to 9:00pm
More details: http://www.allegralaviola.com/
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Urban Disorientation Game: christina ray gallery

Rediscover NYC as you are blindfolded and escorted to an unknown location. Remove the blindfold, make maps, explore the surroundings, and attempt to make it back to home base.
Location: Starting point at NE corner of Bowery & Rivington at noon. (Participants are asked to commit for the entire time.)
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-562
Date: May 7th, 12:00pm to 7:00pm
More details: http://www.christinaray.com/
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loophole: frosch&portmann

Swiss artist Raffaela Chiara responds to her New York experience with an illuminated mountain sculpture featuring a sound-filled cave; while drawings and photographs pinned to the wall become a personal map of the city.
Location: 3 Stanton Street, between Forsyth & Eldridge Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-585
Date: May 7th and May 8th, 12:00pm to 11:59pm
More details: http://froschportmann.com/
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1000 Hearts by Kristen Zwicker: Michael Mut Gallery

Prepare to embrace the cheesy and heartwarming! Videos and a multimedia participatory installation document artists taking to the streets of New York, distributing stickers that say “Love Yourself,” and hand-folded origami hearts with messages of what people love about themselves. Exhibition through 5/28.
Location: 97 Avenue C, between East 6th Street & East 7th Street
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-1628
Date: May 7th through May 28th, 12:00pm to 11:59pm
More details: http://www.michaelmutgallery.com/
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Group Show: Kin and Daimond Marchand: Kammeropolis: sloan fine art

Kin features several New York painters who have come of age in a heterogeneous time. Daimon Marchand invites viewers into Kammeroplis, an installation comprised of technological and organic elements.
Location: 128 Rivington Street, at Norfolk Street
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-631
Date: May 7th through May 28th, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
More details: http://www.sloanfineart.com/
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David Shapiro: Money Is No Object: Sue Scott Gallery

Embarrassingly personal and strangely generic, David Shapiro redrew and repainted all his personal bills and receipts for one year, revealing the common denominator of consumption as both distinctive and banal.
Location: 1 Rivington Street, between Bowery & Chrystie Streets
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-636
Date: May 7th through May 28th, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
More details: http://www.suescottgallery.com/
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Trystette+Bobbie Rae Present Solcycle: FusionArts Museum

Trystette+BobbieRae group RE-DE-CON-STRUCT the soul of their music/projection/fused art creating an artistic phoenix of multi-tiered communication and interaction, recovery through collaborative creative renewal. Art/music exhibition.
Location: 57 Stanton Street, between Forsyth & Eldridge Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-3194
Date: May 7th, 6:00pm to 11:59pm
More details: http://www.fusionartsmuseum.org/ + http://www.trystette.com/
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Shhhhhhhhhhhh: the underground library

Alternative to the “get anything, anytime” ethos of Internet spectacle, this series allows Festival-goers to check out multi-media books published as takeaway heirlooms, encouraging human contact through the distribution of art.
Location: Old School, 233 Mott Street between Prince & Spring
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-644
Date: May 7th and May 8th, 6:00pm to 2:00am
More details: http://www.theundergroundlibrary.org/
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School Nite: the they co

Restrictive allocation of city space foster partnerships between otherwise unrelated groups. Here, a vacant school is bequeathed to artists and cultural organizations for site-specific installations, performances, discussions and lectures implicating hopes, insights, and fears for a Future City. There are an endless, endless number of participants, as though this were a festival in and of itself! Don’t miss this! Included projects can be seen at the “more details” link below.
Location: 233 Mott Street, between Prince & Spring Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-3565
Date: May 7th to May 8th, 6:00pm to 4:00am
More details: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/program#event-3565
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Birds and Bees: Flight of Fantasy: ny studio gallery

Russian-based American artist Yuliya Lanina works with C. Eule Dance Company on Flight Of Fantasy a performance art piece that envisions “a sustainable balance between urban development and colonies of butterflies.” Considering her artwork features mythologically and symbolically-affected characters comprised of unlikely building blocks and body parts, you can expect this performance to be most interesting.
Location: 154 Stanton Street, between Suffolk & Clinton Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-621
Date: May 7th, 7:00pm to 7:30pm
More details: http://www.nystudiogallery.com/
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Survival AIDS/Hunter Reynolds: Performance & Panel: Visual AIDS and Participant Inc.

Artist and AIDS activist Hunter Reynolds enacts mummification while a symposium and discussion panel discuss how HIV and AIDS have shaped NYC’s queer community.
Location: 253 E Houston St, btwn Norfolk & Suffolk Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-2465
Date: May 7th, 7:00pm to 11:59pm
More details: http://www.visualaids.org/ + http://www.participantinc.org/
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Flash:Light: Nuit Blanche New York

Over twenty artists working in site-specific light, sound and projection art invite you to discover, drift and linger along an illuminated path of re-configured public spaces, temporary installations and performances through the night. Artists (list in formation): Vito Acconci, Rita Ackermann, Hisham Bharoocha, Marco Brambilla, Antoine Catala, Mitchell Joachim, Chris Jordan, Andreas Laszlo Konrath, Jason Krugman, Jules Marquis, Ohad Meromi, Cary Ng, Miho Ogai, Aïda Ruilova, Ursula Scherrer, Claire Scoville, Kant Smith, Softlab, Ryan Uzilevsky / Farkas Fülöp (Light Harvest), Adriana Varella, Guido van der Werve. The above video is Twenty-First Century Bonfire, an installation by Jason Eppink, from last year’s Bring To Light festival. Visit their website to see just a sampling of the amazing things they’ve done in the past. There will also be music inside the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, in conjunction with this event.
Location: New Museum and Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, Mulberry Street between Houston & Prince Sts
Map it: http://www.festivalofideasnyc.com/map#event-618
Date: May 7th, 8:00pm to 11:59pm
More details: http://www.bringtolightnyc.org/

Grimy, grimy, grimy! The new issue of Blood Becomes Water features work from Leah-Jade Connolly, Oliver Donnet, Rosie Eisor, Jaime Martinez (< crazy interesting website; I would recommend it), Kate Yang Nikodym, Raya Rayax, Iliyan Ruzhin, and Sam Scott Hunter. 40 digitally-printed black and white photographs with movable pages! Ace use of negative space amidst chaos!

BUY IT HERE.

Photographer Todd McLellan has a series called Disassembly, in which he pulls apart old items found on street curbs and transposes them into works of art — in a very different way. Evidently, all of the pieces were in well-working order, and it is a bit sad that what was once probably a beautiful typewriter is no longer usable, but recreation certainly is a beautiful facet of art.

You can buy a print of the above piece here.

Below, his artist statement on the topic:

In my series Disassembly, I photographed old items that are no longer used by the masses and often found on the street curbs heading for disposal. All of the pieces I photographed were in working order. I found it very interesting that they were all so well built and put together with screws, not glue. These pieces were all most likely put together by hand. I envisioned all the enjoyment these pieces had given many people for many years, all to be replaced by new technology that will itself be rapidly replaced with half the use.

Each piece in the series seems to be taken apart through different stages of life, often flying through the air in disarray, like in a slow-motion video enthusiast’s finest dreams, while others are as neatly arranged as our friend the typewriter.

Visit the “New Work” section of McLellan’s website to see more.
(And it’s highly recommended that you right click on any image and go to “Enter full screen” mode while viewing!)

Beards and mustaches are in, it’s true, but it certainly isn’t everyday that you see beardos and mustachios with such well-kept facial hair as you do at the World Beard & Mustache Championship. And rightly so; these are the best of the best, and the images you see were hand-picked by photographer Dave Mead, just for us. And when Mead isn’t photographing “the weird and unusual,” he is shooting commercial and editorial assignments, including gigs as stage photographer for Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival.

If you’re in Portland, you can check out this show, Magnificent Specimens, on display right now at Land (3925 North Mississippi Ave., Portland, OR); this show is on display through February 14th, 2011.

Jordan of Cathedral City, CA

Jake of London, England

Karl-Heinz of Berlin, germany

Jeremy of Anchorage, AK

Toot of Tahoe City, CA

Go to Roq La Rue (2312 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA) on January 14th. It will be incredible.

The opening, which will feature the mixed media photography and sculpture of the ever-talented Mandy Greer, the show sees Roq La Rue transformed into a multi-chamber installation. Textiles are sewn, knotted, and manipulated to create divine worlds. Greer has been getting the bulk of her attention around the Pacific Northwest so far — in many ways — but it’s time the world knows about her talents.

These images below are of Greer’s work, of course, but they are not the pieces in the gallery. You’ll have to actually go to see the real deal. (I am screaming in my head as I write this.)

Here’s the artist statement, lifted from Roq La Rue’s website, if you haven’t salivated enough yet:

“Honey and Lightening” is a show of installation chambers, sculptures of talismanic birds and a series of staged photographs all revolving around examining the mercurial nature of human desire. The substances honey and lightening both have literary, mythical and archetypal references to the occurrence and evolution of desire and it’s fading. I see one as the slow ooze of pleasure and the other as the dangerous, uncontrollable and inexplicably instant occurrence of magnetism between two bodies.

Two installation chambers create full body experiences of these ephemeral phenomena and crystallize them in tangible form as a way to signify the human longing for a perfect stasis of experience – which is impossible as emotion begins to degrade, evolve, fold in upon itself after the initial strike.

The Honey Moon chamber is a 10 foot tall mirrored jewelry box spanning 12 feet, enclosing a giant engorged golden chandelier formation encrusted with tens of thousands of gold-colored trinkets – the cheapest of the trashiest materials but representing the purest element from the bowels of the earth that has induced lust to the point of violence since pre-history. This giant mass of gold, as well as the body of the viewer, is reflected infinitely in 35 mirrored panels that create a simultaneously claustrophobic and expansive encounter that memorializes a temporary event. The mythology of honey, a bodily fluid produced from flowers, has long been associated with the ooze of erotic perfection. An ambrosial month of drinking honey-wine has followed the wedding ceremony since the Pharaohs. But locked up in the folklore of this transitional period is that the delirium ends and the state of bliss is forever sought after.

The Cherry Tree Root chamber is, in a way, a reverence to my own experience with Colpo di fulmine — “love at first sight” in Italian, which literally translate to “lightning strike”, and a craving to re-experience a place and time that no longer exists. Recently digging a 16 foot deep foundation hole, my husband and I removed 72 tons of dirt from our property to build a studio, exposing deep and gnarled roots that seems like frozen solidified lightening, long forgotten, dug up by us to lay the foundation for the rooms we hope we’ll die in. The root chamber is like entering this underground world hidden from view of long- ago electric ephemeral desires that have now turned into strong and sturdy roots- not as flashy as lightening but quietly enduring and growing. The roots are battered beautiful twisting accumulations of crocheted scraps of fabric I’ve saved for years, old ropes and remnants of past installations, hand-spun hair, rabbit fur and old clothes, all coated in the dirt from below my family’s foundation.”