We at Art21 are thrilled to announce the addition of eight new featured artists to our Webby-nominated online documentary series New York Close Up! This expands the project’s roster to a total of eighteen artists in the first decade of their careers, all of whom are living and working in New York City. In addition, Art21 is extending its collaboration with all of the artists in this multi-year film web series, committing to telling multiple stories with each artist into 2013. Mark your calendars now: new artists and films premiere this Friday, June 1st!
The eight artists joining the project broaden the scope of stories about cultural production in New York City. Mirroring the multiculturalism of the city, new artists include the series’ first international/foreign-born artists: Diana Al-Hadid (Syria), Alejandro Almanza Pereda (Mexico), Mika Rottenberg (Argentina & Israel), and Erin Shirreff (Canada); as well as the series’ first native New Yorker: Liz Magic Laser. The new artists also bring fresh perspectives to media, genres, and process—such as different takes on the tradition of painting by Josephine Halvorson and Eddie Martinez—and contemporary art’s integration into the fabric of the city—such as in public artworks by David Brooks.
Stories woven into the films with these eight artists include the drama of completing major commissions from Performa, Public Art Fund, MASSMoCA, and Art Production Fund; artists’ first performances and one-person exhibitions; art education as a day job from the perspectives of being a teacher or MFA student; the business of art via sales, real estate, and studio assistants; political art and actual protests; as well as the fluid concept of New York as home, explored through artists both moving to and leaving the city.
Here’s the upcoming New York Close Up premiere schedule (click here to view the latest NYCU films):
June 1st : Mika Rottenberg
June 15th: Eddie Martinez
June 29th: Liz Magic Laser
July 13th: David Brooks
July 27th: Diana Al-Hadid
August 10th: Josephine Halvorson
August 24th: Alejandro Almanza Pereda
September 7th: Erin Shirreff
And watch the just-released trailer for the new additions to New York Close Up:
[vimeo:https://vimeo.com/42776931]
(Wondering where the fantastic background music in the trailer comes from? It’s a live recording of the phenomenal one-man band Zack Orion recorded in New York on 05.04.12. To learn more about Zack Orion see reverbnation.com/zackorion and facebook.com/zackorion).
Beginning Fall 2012, New York Close Up will release additional new films on all of the featured artists, including the ten rising stars in the project’s starting roster: Lucas Blalock, Martha Colburn, Keltie Ferris, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Tommy Hartung, Rashid Johnson, Kalup Linzy, Shana Moulton, Mariah Robertson, and Mika Tajima. To date, the series has released twenty-one five to ten minute films crafted from over 200 hours of original, high-definition documentary footage.
What’s more, on June 18th, from 6:00-8:30pm, Art21 is presenting an Outdoor Summer Film Fest at Big Screen Plaza on 6th Avenue between 29th and 30th Street. A full retrospective of New York Close Up films, along with premieres of new films, will screen on a 30 x 16 foot HD-format LED screen, nestled within a 10,000 square foot outdoor venue complete with wood boardwalk, bistro tables, tiki bar, and fish/burger shacks. So if you’re in New York, please join us!