BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
What’s this world coming to?
‘URBAN
Anyone watching the news and reading those depressing
headlines can’t help but feel a twinge of hopelessness and despair.
Sometimes, city landscapes reveal disturbing areas of urban
decay, symbolizing that almost-universal sentiment. Telling stories of the past, cities
are the hope and promise of our future. But tragically, many once-beautiful places
in America and elsewhere have succumbed to the ills of our modern-day society:
economic distress, homelessness, displacement, rampant drug use, gentrification,
negligent landlords and even greed. A tale of two cities more aptly describes the
plight of some New York City neighborhoods, where rising rents and shiny new
buildings co-exist (not always peacefully) with growing urban decay and a lack
of affordable housing.
“As in life itself, we acknowledge the good with the bad, the reality with the
fantasy. This balance worked out well in creating a collection of images that reflect
20 JULY 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
DANCE’
the turbulent and inspiring lives most people lead in our cities, at this moment,”
said co-curator Orestes Gonzalez, who was involved in choosing diverse works for
“Urban Dance: A (juried) Photo Exhibition,” now on view at Plaxall Gallery (5-25
46th Ave. in LIC) through July 21.
Thanks to a collaboration between the gallery and Long Island City Artists (LiC-A),
who both made this eye-opening show possible, you can experience a must-see
collection of powerful images – taken by 39 talented artists – that capture the
contemporary urban experience of cities worldwide: in the U.S. and NYC (especially
Queens), as well as in France, China, Israel, Senegal, Turkey, Cuba and Argentina.
Art lovers will also find a little levity in the mostly somber mix, with more classic,
humorous images of city life: street fairs, shop windows, people interacting with
each other, or day-dreaming, posing for portraits, having a taco at the market, etc.
Co-curator John A. Bennette reflected on the exhibit’s meaning. “Jagged edge,
on point, twisting, turning, leaping, gliding. Sleek, recumbent, noisy, silent: I think of
cities as living organisms with movement, songs and rhythm, all set against robust
geometries and ever-evolving transformations,” he explained. “I can visualize not
Art
Corrine Spector, Isabelle Schneider, Arien Cang, Hazel Hankin, David Obermeyer, Sheri Lynn Behr, Johanna Warwick
Global urban experiences
come to life through
images in Long Island City
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