Mark your calendars for the opening of Hey, Hot Shot! 2012 Exhibition at Jen Bekman gallery on January 11th, from 6 to 8. Since the international photo contest began in 2005, 150 photographers from all over the world have received recognition, exposure and support. Renown for reviewing and accepting work from artists at all stages of their careers, one lucky winner receives $10,000 and a solo exhibition at Jen Bekman as well as gallery representation for two years.
From? Is it possible to find a new purpose for its rigors and focus?
Her latest book, Swimming Studies, adresses these very questions through paintings and photographs. Shapton’s essay from The New York times this summer about what makes us feel so primal in water is also an interesting read. View it here.
When the ocean isn’t enough, head for a river. The Eisbach is a manmade river in Munich, Germany that boasts a “standing wave,” near a bridge just past the Haust der Kunst museum. Practically an art installation in and of itself, surfers have come from around the world to take it on since its creation in 1972. Locals urge surfing newbies to stay away, as the shallow cold water makes for a challenge best suited for experienced surfers.
The rumor goes that the wave was first discovered by American soldiers stationed at the barracks nearby in the early 70s, and additional cement blocks and planks were added to stabilize the wave as they attempted to surf it while killing time. Authorities have attempted to remove the wave several times over the course of its history, due to the danger of injury, but the community has managed to preserve it. There are a few other standing waves in the city, also created around the same time, but the Eisbach is the best known and most famed.
Jan 04, 2013 | Categories: Surfing, Travel | Comments Off on Surfing the Eisbach
If your New Year’s resolutions involve healthier living, wander on over to the Harmony Juice Bar’s fantastic Banana Nut Butter Smoothie. Turns out I’m not the only one who returns home missing the Juice Bar so much that I try to imitate their delicious offerings.
Jan 03, 2013 | Categories: Harmony Hotel | Comments Off on Here’s To Keeping Your Resolutions
This week the New York Times devotes its “Character Study” column to an intriguing character indeed:
Now that beach weather has finally rolled round, Banshidhar Medeiros, 59, a factory worker from Queens and a lifelong surfer, can be found paddling out at sunrise on almost any day the surf is up.
“There are a lot less distractions out there in the winter,” Mr. Medeiros said. “It becomes a form of meditation. You fix on one point, the horizon, and you start to feel at one with the rhythm of the ocean. When you’re in that state and you catch a wave, it becomes an effortless dance, a flow.”
Winter surfing brings out big waves and deters lightweights. It turns a surf session into something akin to an arctic expedition. But when he’s in the right state of consciousness — a state Mr. Medeiros has spent his life pursuing — the icy ocean can become a bubbling caldron of spiritual bliss.
“When it’s cold, it’s more fun,” said Mr. Medeiros, who began riding the waves as a child in Hawaii. Since his teenage years, he has followed the spiritual teachings of Sri Chinmoy, an Indian-born guru who in the 1960s established a meditation center in Queens with a devoted colony of followers. Mr. Medeiros keeps a small photograph of Mr. Chinmoy laminated onto the middle of his longboard — a Hawaiian-made nine-footer.
“It keeps me centered — he’s my guardian angel,” said Mr. Medeiros, who rents a room in a house with other disciples in the Briarwood section of Queens. Mr. Chinmoy died in 2007, but there are still several hundred disciples living here around his old house and following his spiritual path of prayer, meditation, vegetarianism, celibacy and extreme physical challenges.
Ever since I came across the unassuming Clic bookstore and gallery on Centre Street last year, I keep returning to check out the photographers they feature in New York and their other locations. Consistently bouncing between emerging and established artists, events at Clic always draw a richly diverse crowd.
This Saturday, December 29th, Clic gallery in Saint Barth will be hosting a signing with the photographer Jean-Phillippe Piter to celebrate his most recent book, The Eye of St. Barth. Jean-Phillippe moved to France from Senegal at age 16 to study photography. He has worked in fashion, home decor, and major advertising campaigns. Known for his simple and sensitive black and white portraits, his newest book explores St. Barth, the island where he has lived since 1997. Find more of his work in Pure, the gorgeous magazine he founded and publishes.
Saturday, December 29, 6-8pm
Clic Gallery St. Barth
Rue de la Republique. Gustavia. 97133. Saint Barthelemy. FWI
Dec 28, 2012 | Categories: Creative Culture, Travel | Comments Off on Jean-Philippe Piter / The Eye of St. Barth
Sam Moyer, "The Drink," 2012, ink on canvas mounted to wood panel, 82 x 120 inches
Sam takes canvas and dyes it with India ink, folding and creasing the treated fabric and laying it out to dry outdoors. Thinking, in her words, â??like a sailor,â? Moyer relies on the weather to work with her, though surprisesâ??whether more or less happyâ??are always part of the process. â??Naomi Fry.
Dec 27, 2012 | Categories: Creative Culture | Comments Off on Sam Moyer, The Drink
If your New Year’s resolutions involve healthier living, wander on over to the Harmony Juice Bar’s fantastic Banana Nut Butter Smoothie. Turns out I’m not the only one who returns home missing the Juice Bar so much that I try to imitate their delicious offerings.
