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Week 9 Articles: |
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| Music - |
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| Peter Fowler's Army |
| 1/14 by laura |
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The load is too heavy, but they must go on. They are stuck in a sticky situation with no route of escape. And sometimes, they are forced to blend into the environment.
Peter Fowler is lesser known for his sculpture than he is for his paintings and understandably. His paintings are vibrant and monumental, a child's essence combined with urban street art but his sculpted works take on a serious tone, set in neutral colors and quiet situations. This makes for great content pondering - the subject matter concerns chameleon soldiers and earmarked trespassers.
The soldiers are G.I. Joe types camouflaged in white paint and humping globs of acrylic. The men emerge from plastic caverns, wade through pencil thickets, over cloudy silicone, and lay silently among rocks and cacti. Every few men, Fowlers adds a smidgen of smut that only the careful observer would notice - one toy man had screw shaped wiener. Even war cannot be taken seriously every moment; sometimes you need to laugh in the midst of tragedy.
Meeting Peter Fowler made for a light-hearted start to a Saturday afternoon. It would be wrong of me to deny Fowler a review of his paintings and gallery space, which is why Thursday's article will be focus on both, and include a slideshow. In the meantime, check out more of his work -
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| A Hotel Nourishing, Is Filling! |
| 1/15 by laura |
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Matt and I were waiting patiently in a corner of Nietzsche's for one performance, and were entirely shocked by the one that preceded it. A Hotel Nourishing took stage and we dropped jaw at their ethereal presence in a place notoriously known for sound distortion.
The two band members are peaceful, just up on stage, unaffected. Nothing is happening at that moment, other than the noise that their limbs and lips are producing. Sonny Baker's voice is harmonic in the same way that makes Dan Auerbach so alluring, a seamless melding of words. There is no defined sentence structure or end points, simply an amazing amount of self-control over timing. They've created wry and foreboding lyrics to be sung joyfully. Soulful Delta blues meet a Buffalo basement and some real time drumming talent, Cameron Rogers.
The drum in the music is its own entity, pitter-pattering, even moaning, and forming soft sounds that even the drum didn't know it could make. Between the strumming and the drumming the synchronization is flawless, but again, the two seem to be encased in their own bubble. The riffs are tight but whimsy, to match the other sounds that are colliding midair. It's my new music to write to, that's for sure.
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| Buffalo Art Is Alive - Figuratively |
| 1/16 by matt |
We spent the weekend strolling through town with the same excitement as seeing that new gut-busting film. With winter sun in our eyes, we stopped first at Insite Gallery to view their newly hung HUMAN DRAMA. Famous locals such as Jackie Felix, Dorothy Fitzgerald, Catherine C. Koenig, Adrienne Lynch, Nathan Naetzker and Brian Porter filled this fine space with larger figurative works. As expected, this grouping was for the most part random and unimpressive. However, I have always been a fan of Brian Porter's work - it is consistently well crafted and elegant, refined and innocent. Jeers go to Nathan Naetzker for his Girls of MySpace which is, on many levels, just too creepy and respectively, poorly executed. I could also do without the photorealistic masking tape seen in Koenig's work. I am not sure why one would do a great painting, of a great drawing and render the pushpins or masking tape that held up said drawing. On a side note, be sure you do not offend the resident curator with your speak of an alternative arts magazine. We absent-mindedly forgot that the o-so-alternative Block Club is located in this same space. Blah.
Onwards and upwards! We made it to Art Dialogue Gallery, typically home to more "mature" artists and their ration of watercolors. I was pleasantly surprised at their latest adventure, Best of the Best Resident showing. I compiled a list of ten names that struck a chord, but will only mention a few that stand out. First, Andrew Sanders' Portrait Of Richard Brown is an intimate portrait crafted with great execution. I only wish it was hung in a more visible setting. My new local favorite and our Friday's Feature, Joyce Hill crafted the second, an abstract visual comprised of loose paint strokes and collage. And third, William C. Maggio's Art of Presence #25, a large black and white circle formed by a series of horizontal lines; simplistic, yet striking. Overall, I found this to be a well-rounded exhibition and an excellent collection of work by local artisans. My brother has a superb portrait exhibited here as well, but I do not want to be biased.
Later in the evening, we donned our fancy gallery attire and ventured into the cement haven known as the Tri-Main Center. The three solo-shows showcased feminist painter Amanda Wachob, multi-media collage artist Phillip Hendrickson and photographs by Stephen Houseknecht. Hendrickson's large-scale collages greet the BAS visitors and put them in a state unrest. Viewers are to contemplate technology and its effect on mankind. These semi-abstract images of gears and wires are each intertwined with one figure in each image and protrude from the paper, connecting technology with biology. Being of grand size, yet filled with such detailed imagery, I found my eyes dancing from one piece to the next with engagement. Continuing through this excellent space, we met with somewhat of an extreme opposite in visualization. Stephen Houseknecht is a technically proficient photographer, however, I am not as excited about his WWII planes as most middle-aged men might be. I did enjoy the untraditional format and found it to be refreshing for a photo showcase. While Amanda Wachob is an excellent artist, there was enough of an issue with her figures' proportions that I found myself focusing on that instead. Never the less, you can view our interpretation of her work
We closed the evening with a stop at Hallwalls for yet another hors d'oeuvre filled opening. While Laura was interested in the quietly animated video loops by Kelly Richardson, I was more turned on by the darkness of Megan Greene. A slight departure from her jewelry, she presents us with some remarkable rendering patience and an unbelievably steady gauche painting hand. She elegantly materializes these abstract forms into a striking composition of fabric, metal, feather and bone. The use of black paper only draws me in further to view these Gieger-esque portraits. Perhaps she is influenced by recent fashion trends. I wait impatiently for more of this type of work from Megan.
Buffalo is fortunate enough to maintain such a wide array of galleries and yet unfortunate enough not to retain an art market. There is certainly an innovative talent among these young artists and collectors should be taking note. My typically pessimistic view of the local scene has taken a back seat to this wave of inspiration.
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| Get Into The Fiery Furnace(s) |
| 1/17 by laura |
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There is a lot going on in the Buffalo music scene to get excited about. The first being, the bands here are uber progressive in their techniques and stage presence. The second being, the venues are always on board for promoting garage and basement bands - be it that they're actually talented or just having fun on stage. Following suit, the Tralf Music Hall, normally known for booking safe Indie show, has extended an invite to The Fiery Furnaces.
The Fiery Furnaces are consistently transcendent and energetic and I believe that they will draw more than the typical early 20's crowd to the Buffalo venue. The endless arsenal of experimental sounds delicately balanced with melody calls for an audience of mature and engaged listeners. This may also be a show for the up and coming bands of Buffalo to attend themselves, for insight and inspiration. "The Fiery Furnaces have challenged the notion of what makes a song, weaving aural fragments into ten-minute-long opuses that take any number of melodic turns." - As stated on Thrill jockey Record Review.
Too often it is that bands settle on a distinctive sound once they have become "known" but applaud goes to The Fiery Furnaces who continually re-engineer their sound while plugging in some established habits at selected intervals. The members seem to be so at ease on stage that, at a certain discrepancy, they will improvise a chord or two and deconstruct a familiar sound in order to sate the audience with a song anew.
I would care to leave The Fiery Furnaces genre-less because at some points they have scintillating pop lyrics meshed in between thunderous musical storms and then transition bluesy guitar stabs.
They tend to clash instruments and pin one style against another leaving the listener clambering for an explanation.
The tour has been under way for a few weeks and the band has had the opportunity to warm their musical muscles before taking stage here in our City. Buy a ticket and we'll meet you there, Tuesday, January 22.
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| Pittsburgh Goodness |
| 1/18 by laura |
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I have several idiosyncrasies and one of them is a severe addiction to coffee, which is why a local shop is always our first stop. In Pittsburgh, you'll find a small coffee house aptly name Kiva Han, named after a gourmet coffee beanery tucked into a corner of Istanbul.
This coffee shop has withstood the true test of customer and resident loyalty - a competition with Starbucks known to the natives at the Craig's Street coffeehouse war. However, the past year has proven that the eccentricities that Kiva Han's offers it's customers far outweighs the corporate, mechanical accessories of Starbucks and therefore welcomes a house full of patrons on any given night. Corporate monkies...
The exterior is not intimidating, rather a glass corner that creates a relationship with the consumers and the outside environment. We'd like to throw it out there that the Beehive, also located in Oakland offers a range of cultural events for the usual crowd of beatniks, including live music, poetry and improv night. I guess that Buffalo is not the only city with sever loyalty to its independent coffeehouses, if only the notion would trickle further South.
You can visit til midnight!
Where? 420 Craig Street (Oakland)
How much? $1.23/house, God-awful cheap, the way we like it!
Take that Kiva Han brownie with you, cause your off to the woods next. In the center of the city, you'll discover Frick Park, 600 acres of hiking and even an off-leash dog park. For those terrain riders, it offers bike trail equipped with specific maps to minimize environmental impact. Regarding the brownie, save it until you wander into the hippie circle seated near the bowling green.
You can visit until 11 PM! They let the bears loose after that.
Where? Download a map here.
How much? The park is free but the pot probably is not.
The Mattress Factory calls Pittsburgh its home as well. They currently have an installation that focuses on India, but it should not be mistaken for the kind found in a history museum. Anita Dube has constructed monumental words in reference to current social and cultural setbacks facing modern day India. The material used: steel, plastic mesh, found trash, drywall, paraffin wax, wood, books, salt, acrylic, pvc and rope light. All constructed words begin with the letter "w"." I wanted to work with one letter and kept writing strings of words. I could have ended up with the letter, "c" or "t" or anything but eventually I picked "w", I thought I could deal with the issues, I was interested in through these words at this time," said Anita.
Hema Upadhyay's works are currently on display at the Mattress Factry as well. Her large-scale sculptures and chandeliers are constructed with matchsticks and matchstick boxes to convey a Universal violence that she feels is a powerful force in modern society.
Also currently on exhibit, are selected works from the Raqs Media Collective. Telephone poles cut across a gallery room while steel and silk screened images of roads line the walls. "We are most interested in the texture of memory. How it is lined...what kinds of stains and blots and markings," stated the Collective. It is a unique opportunity to witness the changing scene of cotemporary sculpture.
You can visit from 1-5 PM!
Where? 505 Jacksonia Street and free parking!
How much? $9
Because visitors cannot do Pittsburgh in one day, this time around, we're going to keep it low key and independent. The Taste of New Orleans Café is one of the few "Northern" Louisiana bistros where the food is so close to the real thing, you would swear that there is a palm reader waiting for you in the restroom.
Laurel Turner transplanted herself in Pittsburgh following Hurricane Katrina's devastation and we are not complaining. The food is true Creole creation: jambalaya, bouillabaisse, pork chops and dirty rice but Turner forgoes the ham hock out of respect for local veggies. She is said to have the touch for constructing a spicy meal that takes your palate to the brink of punishment, but then reveals to it, indiscernible flavors instead.
You can visit from 11 - 9 PM!
Where? 514 Main Street
How much? Sides, $2-4; entrees $12.50
End the night with some martinis! We're kidding of course, but how about a cold beer in a church? Much like our hometown's Soundlab, Pittsburgh has taken to refurbishing church spaces into music venues. Oh, but Pittsburgh has gone one step further and added a theater, recording studio, skatepark and Rock hostel, a hotel for traveling artists. This means that the bands stick around after to catch up with the crowd and cool down. The Greyboy Allstars, an experiment funk and soul band with 70's vibes takes the stage on Saturday.
You can visit until 2 AM, but doors are at 8:30
Where? 400 Lincoln Avenue
How much? $22 (not as cheap as Soundlab!)
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