Boonville brings together images from six iconographic American towns of the same name in an effort to present a single, unifying view of America. Whether in New York, Indiana or California, each Boonville possesses archetypal American qualities.
---
I was fortunate enough to take a break from Syracuse recently with a weekend outing in NYC with a couple of friends. We did lots and lots of walking and exploring around Chelsea with the intent of checking out galleries and new works. It was wonderful. I encountered a great variety of incredible work by artists I'd never known, including Timothy Briner and his photographs. I remember having somewhat of a visceral reaction to his latest series, Boonville. There was a quality to the composition of those photographs that confronted me, but I still can't quite place what it was that struck me. The images were difficult to ignore.
The following day Jeff and I headed to midtown to see the ongoing exhibitions at MoMA and the Guggenheim. Both were fascinating and really exciting for me, personally. One of the events I encountered at MoMA was the Tim Burton exhibition, an expansive retrospective of his life and work. I've never really been a Tim Burton enthusiast, but I've enjoyed a number of his films and always appreciated his uncompromising and unique vision. The exhibition was staggering in the amount of work on display. There was a ton of great memorabilia, sculpture and photographs that was fun to approach, but what I thought was most fascinating was his earlier (amazingly elaborate) sketches from his alienated youth in Burbank and later how some of those earlier ideas were fully realized in bigger projects. I have to admit that I was hoping they would have Pee-wee's bike on display from Pee-wee's Big Adventure, but unfortunately it was not on hand. Maybe there's only one left in existence and Paul Reubens has it locked in a bunker somewhere down in the Earth's core. I like that thought.
Stray notes from my notebook over the weekend:
- # of times I said "This place will eat you alive." = 12
- # of times I heard someone earnestly say "Meat is really popular right now." = 2
- # of times I forgot to pack underwear = 1
- # of times I heard a homeless man sing "Kiss from a Rose" while riding the subway = 1
- # of times I ran into Kristin Allen-Zito = 1
- best hipster accessory I saw in Brooklyn = Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket
Posts
