I have long had a deep love of abandoned and crumbling places. I know I'm not alone in this. Ruins are fascinating, a little sad, a little creepy. Of course, the beauty in ruins is made more complicated when the beautiful, crumbling structures are in the midst of modern American cities. It is easy to equate urban decay with beauty when you aren't trying to live in the middle of it...when it isn't your city that is falling apart.
The photos of 100 Abandoned Houses were shot in Detroit, which certainly has more than its fair share of urban decay. When we look at these, are we rubbernecking? Are we vultures? Do we pause and think, there but for the grace of god and the vagaries of economics goes my city? My home?
Whatever the case may be, they are beautiful, though hard to look at. They make me want to say a prayer and buy American.
If you have Javascript active for the site, you can pan around the room, including up and down. You can also zoom in onto small details with startling clarity. The tremendous size means that you can spend quite a while examining things and still not see it all.
Today (ETA: yesterday, at this point), I am taking part in an Edgewood College writing retreat at Painted Forest in Valton, WI. There is no internet here, but my plan is to prep a series of entries, to be posted later.
Our group drove over from Madison a little after 8. The drive through the Driftless Region was absolutely gorgeous. I am in love with the rolling hills and winding roads in this area. The "400" state bike trail runs near here, and I think I may wish to take a ride on it at some point this season.
Painted Forest is kind of a two-part location. The main activity of the retreat is taking place in the Art Studio and Study Center, which was built in 2004. I am tucked away in the sleeping loft, which is cozy and quiet and warm. Perfect!
Painted Forest proper is an old meeting hall for the Modern Woodmen of America from the 1890s. On the outside, it is just a plain, white wooden building. But on the inside, it is covered from floor to ceiling by murals painted by Ernst Hüpeden, a German immigrant who taught himself to paint while wrongfully imprisoned. The murals are weird and wonderful, full of symbolism and scenes of the organizations initiation rituals. My favorite parts were the areas were the murals move from wall to ceiling, with the tops of trees silhouetted against a blue sky, dotted with friendly white clouds.
It is a great location to do some work, without the distraction of the rest of the internet. (Though I was careful to make sure I opened a number of new tabs last night, so that I could make use of the internet in a slightly more static way.)
Solar System Scope can show you where we are in the solar system with a beautiful, interactive modal. You can set it so that the sun is at the center and watch things spin. You can set the Earth or any of the other planets as your perspective and see what it all looks like from there, or you can view the whole sky as though through a telescope. It is both fun and stunning.
As is always the case, there was way more to see on Gallery Night than I could reasonably fit in the 5-9 time span. It's like a buffet banquet: you try to get in tiny samples of as many items as you can, but you'll still be stuffed before you can try it all.
This year most of my stops were also in/near studio spaces, which make me happy. Two of the stops involved glass blowing demos, which are always a treat for me.
I started out the night at Studio Paran on Winnebago, which included glass blowing demos by Richard Jones, and "Tables for Two" in the gallery space, a collaboration by Jones and furniture-maker Christopher Ueland. The artistic cafe tables they had built and set up throughout the room really did invite visitors to linger and talk, while examining the work close-up.
Next stop was across the street at the Winnebago Studios. It was still early in the night, and I know that some of the artists were also taking part in shows elsewhere, so some my usual studios were closed. But it was still wonderful to be surrounded not just by the art of art, but by the mess and material of art-making. Even a tidy studio has an energy to it that thrills me.
I have a quick stop at Tandem Press on Dickinson and then across the street to my old digs, Evolution Arts Collective. There was some great new work in the show, and the space was really alive. I you are looking for inexpensive, shared studio space in the Madison area, I high recommend contacting them at evolutionartscollective@gmail.com.
Radiant Glass and reneéglass factory in the Madison Enterprise Center on Baldwin St was next on the list, where there was more wonderful glass blowing demonstrations, and some stunning works of glass on display by all the artists.
We were running short on time at this point, and decided that looking for parking downtown would eat up too much of what was left, so we had to skip the likes of the UW, Overture, and MMoCA. Instead we hightailed it up Monroe street to the always delightful Macha Tea House and Gallery, for some wonderfully weird paintings on velvet.
The last stop of the night was the most traditional, as we spend the last 10 minutes before nine in the Grace Chosy Gallery. There was some nice work on display, but nothing that knocked my socks off. It was aesthetically and technically sound, but it was also pretty safe. Not a bad thing, but far less memorable than some of the things we'd seen earlier that night.
After 9 bells tolled, we headed up to jacs for a light meal (all that we really needed after a night of gallery reception snacks). I can recommend the spinach salad, and will note that the small is quite substantial.
So, here's to Fall Gallery Night 2010. Now, on to Spring 2011!
This grand old post office building is going to be transformed into Moynihan Station, an expansion of Penn Station. In the meantime, a lot of it is currently vacant.
Wee! Tonight is Fall Gallery Night in Madison, and I am certainly excited for it.
I have well over a dozen venues that I'd like to visit, and only few hours in which to do so, which means I need to plan carefully. Fortunately, many of them are in clusters. Unfortunately, they are spread out from the near east side to the near west. Travel time is going to be a thing, as is parking.
Still, I know it is going to be a good time. I plan to bring my camera, and post some photos if I get some good ones.
I was obviously not the only photographer at the Floating Market. Here are some that were actually shot during the market. (And with better lighting, since she was working with more than just the pop-up flash.) It's a very nice set.
It is a nice article with good photos. This is totally the kind of place that I would want to live if I weren't a city girl who wants to be able to walk and bike to everything. They did a great job with the place, and it is truly a gem.
