Governors Island is a tranquil, green oasis and former military base that’s also only a brief, free voyage from Manhattan or Brooklyn. Since 2007, the entire island has been open to the public on summer weekends, playing host to concerts and art events like the beloved, annual Figment. (This year’s takes place July 11-13.)
Beginning this year, Governors Island will be an art destination all summer long. When the island opens to the public tomorrow, visitors are invited to a two-day open house at Building 110 — an exciting new studio, performance, and exhibition space that is a project of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. The weekend will feature performances, screenings, and artist talks. Throughout the season, art lovers will also have the rare opportunity to explore works in progress at Building 110’s studios. Yesterday, LMCC gave Flavorpill an exclusive glimpse of this wonderful space and a chance to meet the talented and friendly artists at work there. Click through our photo gallery after the jump and makes plans to visit ASAP.
Jongil Ma‘s large, site-specific work in progress, Yes, Honey, you can bounce back and forth, and you are a bit closer to it.
Building 110’s open, light-filled studios. Many artists have chosen projects inspired by the island or incorporating materials found on it. In the foreground is a “battle drawing” from The Shining Mantis‘ (Mike Estabrook and Ernest Concepcion’s) Kangarok project.
Hidemi Takagi explaining her project, Blender, which focuses on the foods New York’s diverse ethnic enclaves import and consume. Over the summer, that umbrella-topped contraption you see will be on the move around the island and full of snack foods from around the world, packaged with information about their country and neighborhood of origin.
Erica Leone of the Work Progress Collective stands near a wall of photos. The three-member group is at work on an interactive project exploring the effects of the economic crisis through interviews, focus groups, video, audio, and photography.
Maeung Gyun You uses newspaper to build out a site-specific installation.
In Kill Me or Change, Chin Chih Yang tackles our disposable culture with a work that will include 30,000 aluminum cans (the number the average American will consume in a lifetime) hanging at the end of a crane. Yang will eventually invite a viewer to pull a string to release the cans onto the artist’s head.
Sungmi Li‘s flat, glazed works are inspired by the daily journey to and from Governors Island by ferry.
All photos by Sean Ruch