Domino Sugar Factory, BKN Navy Yard, and surrounds

I took a bike ride over to the Domino Sugar Factory last weekend to check out an open house that the new owners were giving. It was my first opportunity to see the Factory close up inside the gates. Likely, it was my last chance to see it before they tear down a large portion of it because as you can guess, they are setting up luxury condos in it's place. I hope they save the main building and the Domino sign at least! On the way back, I had to stop by the Brooklyn Navy Yard because they have some amazing urban decay there. Essentially, there's an entire row of old houses and mansions that are in a beautiful state of decay - a sort of unique dance/battle between man made structure and nature. Click on the image above to see.

Banksy Exhibit Photos posted

In case you're not in New York, or you just can't get yourself down to see the show, take a look at these instead (click image below):

Banksy Exhibit

I saw the Banksy exhibit today in the Village (7th Ave South, just above Bleecker St in between Jekyll and Hyde, and Sushi Samba). Although, admittedly it might not be for everyone, I really really enjoyed it. You should definitely try to go. I believe it's only up for this month of October, so go now! Banksy has a great sense of humor and definitely makes you think twice about being a carnivour. Anyway, I took a whole bunch of photos and can't wait to post them. In the meantime though you can take a gander at these two. Tweety was my favourite part of the exhibit.

Banksy exhibits in New York

Banksy has a show near my office now and they've put up two nice wall murals to call people's attention to it. This is the better of the two. It's at Howard and Broadway, if I remember correctly. I know I'm a few days late in mentioning it but in case you haven't seen it yet, here it is.

Peter Saville in New York

Peter Saville (one of the greatest designers of album covers and other mediums, not to mention a founding partner of Factory Records) was in New York on Friday for a panel discussion and signing at White Columns in the village. He was supporting a book that documented a recent show in Zurich of his design ephemera. I was a huge fan of Saville's work growing up, so it was a real honor meeting him. It turns out that, like most of the people I respect, he was very modest and seemed like a really decent guy. One of the most interesting things I learned about what he's up to now is that he's acting as the city of Manchester's Creative Director. Although, perhaps funny at first, it's actually a very good idea. I wish more cities did something like that. Saville had some insightful words about the job.
Anyway, I had a very good time and also finally got a chance to meet a work-neighbor, (noted artist) Robert Longo. Longo got to know Saville in the 80's and wound up directing New Order's 'Bizarre Love Triangle' video through his Saville connection.

Here's a couple pictures of Saville's new book and a groovy promo card for a flat-pak 'plinth' he designed.

South Fork of Long Island photo selects

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to receive an invite to stay at a friend's rental in East Hampton. It gave us a chance to have a last chance at going to the beach in Amagansett and Montauk and visit Jackson Pollack and Lee Krasner's house and studios. It was really cool to see the floor of Pollack's studio and see the remnants of some of his well-known works splattered on the floor. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me take photos of it, but I was able to take some random shots of the house and barn from the outside. Pollack had a really cool 50s-era amp and turntable that you'll see in the photos. These shots were mostly taken with my new 85mm f/1.8 lens, so I'm obviously having a lot of fun with depth of field. Hope you enjoy.
South Fork, NY, September 2008

Last chance for summer?

...looking forward to showing more photos of this weekend from the far
east.... of Long Island ;-)