Week 02: ATSNYC 2020

Written By mary oleary

before i get started on week 2 of museum visiting, i think its important to make time, to mention that the fact that trump threatened to bomb iranian cultural institutions last week is abhorrent and also a crime under international law. granted, the next day the pentagon said it would not happen, but never the less it was a threat to the iranian people, culture and heritage and simply put unacceptable behavior for any world leader. the types of institutions in new york city that i am visiting pale in comparison to the history of what was threatened in iran. heritage sites like Masjed-e Jāme spanning from the 8th century that underwent 12 centuries of construction, or Persepolis from the 5th century BC - our oldest nyc institution was built in 1804 for just some perspective. while i am grateful much of the iranian conflict has calmed for now, its just almost unbelievable that civilian infrastructure was even threatened.

now, on to week 2- most of the places i went to this week were alternative, or have some sort of alternative link- its going to be a hard week to top!

Ernest Rubenstein Gallery at the Manny Cantor Center

the visiting of “galleries” is a bit loose in my museum adventuring. i am not visiting traditional galleries unless they have a specific cultural heritage which is more than traditional art sales and representation. i am a little flexible-but have a list that i’m sticking to. i can add if i think things were omitted (to eventually update to the wikipedia once the year is complete).

the ernest rubenstein gallery is part of the manny cantor center in the lower east side. they have a fitness center, family & early childhood services, teen center, adult center, and an art school. the reason this school gallery is of note is because the lower east side has seen many artist live and work there. (which, yes, can be problematic.) artists like chaim gross, louise nevelson and mark rothko have worked or studied there.

the current show up at the gallery is The Road Less Traveled By, inspired by the robert frost poem, The Road Not Taken is a survey of student work in their adult programming. There was a wide variety of student work from their studio classes. the exhibition begins in the lobby and continues to the gallery that is located in the lower level.

noteworthy visitor info:

  • closed: major holidays

  • free to visit the gallery- there is a desk you need to show valid ID at

  • restroom: yes

  • cafe: no

  • bookstore: no

recommended reading/listening:

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space

while called a “museum” the museum of reclaimed urban space is a living tribute to the alternative organizing in the lower east side. the LES in addition to having rich art history has a rich activist history. MoRUS housed in a former C-squat, that was entirely renovated by volunteers. there is a gallery as you walk in continues down to the lower level, where they have space that is great for organizing events, and can have small screenings. they have a permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions.

the exhibition i made it a point to go before it closed was about the activist group No New Jails NYC. NoNewJailsNYC began in 2018 when mayor deblasio put in land use approvals for new jails to be built once new york closes Rikers Island (a prison with notoriously atrocious treatment of incarcerated people). prison abolition is having a moment now, because of the hard work and organizing of primarily black run organizations and communities of color. given how pervasive police violence and how glaring unjust the legal system is, no new jails focuses their work on prison abolition, decriminalization, and center their work on community safety through care, mutual aid and direct support.

noteworthy visitor info:

  • closed: mondays and wednesday

  • $5 dollar suggested donation- that you can venmo!

  • restroom: yes - which that has a spy gallery (and is fully functional if you need)

  • cafe: no

  • bookstore: they have a zine rack where they have free and low cost zines, and small library for MoRUS to use while on site.

recommended reading/listening:

White Columns

While on the outside, white columns seems like gallery, at its its core its an alternative art-space, and one of the first in new york city. founded in 1970 originally called 112 for its original 112 Green Street address, (becoming white columns in 1991 when they moved), to be an anti-establishment style gallery. In 2013, along with other prominent alt-spaces, white columns was part of Common Practice a (now defunct) collective to discuss how smaller art world institutions can survive with the ever changing city landscape (re: how to afford to stay in business.)

the current exhibition was wilder alison and estban jefferson.

jefferson’s paintings were absolutely fantastic. the scale, the pigmentation shifts, the left pencil and grid lines and washes of a muted palate on linen canvas were just captivating.

noteworthy visitor info:

  • closed: mondays

  • free

  • restroom: no

  • cafe: no

  • bookstore: they have a zine rack where they have free and low cost zines, and small library for MoRUS to use while on site.

recommended reading/listening:

The Whitney

the whitney is one of my favorite institutions. while, yes there are a lot of issues, i think they have a really interesting collection and while it may be dated now, it was a revolutionary idea of for a woman, gertrude vanderbilt whitney, to create a museum, which focused on contemporary american art (as opposed to european).

the whintey has had several homes since its founding in 1930, as you remember the breuer (which is currently being used by the met) and is currently located in the meat-packing district in their multi-million dollar new home.

i love their biennial, if that was happening this year i totally would have planned that to be the exhibition i saw for this museum goal. the 2019 biennial was contentious last year, with protests surrounding their board member warren kanders. kanders is ceo of safariland - a company that produces military equipment and has been used against civilians at the boarder, Palestine and by police forces throughout the us. as of 2019 kanders stepped down from the board. why is this important? as a emerging expert in museums in new york city, its important to understand the contexts of the places i’m visiting, from their founding to their present day. museums are not neutral spaces- we shouldn’t treat them like they are, and have to address elephants in the room.

i decided to go the whitney last week, check out two of my favorite artists: rachel harrison and popeL- both artists i’ve been following for about ten years now. rachel harrison- rachel harrison: life hack is a survey show of her work on the 5th floor, and wiliam PopeL- chior which is a three part installation in the ground floor gallery and throughout the museum. popeL is having a moment currently, having a survey show of his work at moma, and public art fund recreation of his crawl pieces “conquest”.

as on view are making and knowing: craft in a rt 1950-2019 is a surprisingly great show . featuring works of he selections from the collection were alright - but do love that portrait of Gertrude. the roy litchenstein exhibition order and ornament explored some of his range outside of iconic pop style (don’t worry- two pieces are in the “dots”) and lastly, alan michelson’s wolf circus explores colonization with digital twist using AR.

noteworthy visitor info:

  • closed: mondays

  • $25 regular admission - free fridays 7-9:30pm (free fridays can be fairly popular- so be prepared to wait about 1/2 hour- the line chills out around 8 depending on if any of their exhibitions are particularly hot or just opening)

  • restroom: yes

  • cafe: yes, cafe and formal restaurant

  • bookstore: yes

recommended reading/listening:

museum goal completed: 8/240

mary oleary
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Week 01: ATSNYC 2020