DUMBO festival displays performance art, sculptures

For the 12th year, Current TV was a sponsor for the Art Under the Bridge Festival in DUMBO, which was held from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28. Current TV is "about what's going on in your world: all the things you and your friends are actually interested in - that you won't find on any other news site or cable TV channel." The festival itself was a lot like Current TV's mission statement - something that you won't find anywhere else.

Another organization that has taken part in this festival is the DUMBO Arts Center (DAC). DAC is a non-profit organization that was founded by artists in 1997 and since then has made it possible for "NYC's visual artists…[to] harness their town as their canvas." DUMBO is really like a canvas because art can be seen on walls, in little studios and on the sidewalks.

The Art Under the Bridge Festival is free and open to all visitors and the art is all over the streets - even in places hard to image. From time to time, art just comes out to you. The festival clearly gives art a definition. This is not typical art like Michaelangelo or Monet - this is something unusual.

According to Breda Kennedy, the Executive and Artistic Director of DAC: "This festival allows artists to act upon that impulse by providing them with a place where the inspiring, the unpredictable, the spontaneous, the weird and wonderful can still happen."

The festival offers interactive art, simultaneous projections, installation/sculpture, lobby/elevator art, project glow, water art, performance art and videos. The official program of the festival clearly lists all the exhibits, tells a bit about them and explains where they can be found. There is also a helpful map that is included. To make things even easier, there is a schedule because not all the exhibits occur at the same time. For example, the projections occur in the evening while some of the interactive art is there all day.

The festival is very easy to get to as well. The F train goes straight to York Street and Jay Street. The A and C trains also stop near DUMBO, on High Street, in Brooklyn Heights. For University students at the St George Hotel, DUMBO is a short walk from the residence hall.

Getting off the subway at York and Jay Street, all of the art is clearly visible. One of the monsters of "The Monster Project!" by Kylin O'Brien is visible right on Jay Street. The monster is painted on the side of a building. According to the program, Kylin O'Brien "worked with school children from P.S. 8" to create monsters "to serve as guardians and commentary on our collective fears."

Along Jay Street there are five locations for open studios. The studios include some contemporary art pieces and designs. One of the studios features art by Lori Nelson, such as "Fun Mom" and "Call Center." The artworks feature people enveloped in some activities, whether at work or with children. Some of the studios also feature photography edited with Adobe Photoshop. But not all of the artworks are inside of studios - some are located outside. Stefan Killen, for example, has a picture of half of the Statue of Liberty on the sidewalk. "Throwing Things that Break" is a piece of performance art by Naomi Leibowitz that "explores the tapestry of meaning that constitutes domesticity and femininity." The artist threw down 25 breakable household items and afterwards cleaned up after herself.

The 45 Main St. loading dock has an interesting exhibit known as the "Laser Pendulum" by Bruno Billio and Mahan Javadi. The artwork consists of a fascinating green laser pendulum hanging from a ceiling in a dark lit place.

John Bonafede performed and displayed his art with potatoes. There was one man who was cleaning the potatoes that were later

to be consumed by the public and another man was just reading out loud to whoever was around to listen. Aside from the studios and trees, a lot of art was placed in the Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park. Chris Kinsler placed faceless figures that "are trapped in the anonymous actions of everyday life." The visitors could take pictures with the figures and Kinsler's friends were running around taking pictures of visitors as well. The photos can be found at www.flickr.com/p-hotos/nohead.

Another fascinating exhibit in the park was "The Lost State" by Natsu. "The Lost State" is an interesting 3-D figure that is made of a series of beads strung together to form it. All the beads were very colorful and overall the installation was definitely memorable.

Another fascinating installation was of Manhattan. One artist shaped Manhattan out of the collection of various bottles and cans. The height of each bottle was relevant to the height of each building in the city.

Jane's Carousal, "a fully restored 48-horse carousel" was also featured in the festival, but was not running yet. The Jacques Torres Chocolate Factory and Shop was also a popular destination because it was not only the place where one of the most famous episodes of I Love Lucy was filmed but because it offers tasty chocolate as well.

In DUMBO, there were many other exhibitions that were associated with the festival, like the three solo exhibitions that will be up and running until Nov. 9. The exhibit featured works by Sarah Kabot, "One by One;" Shin Il Kim, "Decoded Love" and Kwabena Slaughter, "Oh, Very, Yes!" "Decoded Love" features a dark room where nothing can be seen except a glowing outline of a circle.

The Art Under the Bridge Festival gives visitors the ability to view installations by various artists while enjoying DUMBO and interacting with the artists and other visitors. To view photos from previous years' festivals or to find out about more exhibitions and events, go to www.dumboartscenter.org or www.current.com/DUM-BOArtFest.