QMAil: September 2005 WELCOME TO QMAilWelcome to the second edition of QMAil, the Queens Museum of Art's online newsletter. As the weather changes, we usher in the fall season and celebrate the opening of Odd Lots: Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clark's Fake Estates on September 17 while we hold on to a little bit of summer by extending Down the Garden Path through November 6. Please join us in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a spectacular line up of public events and feel free to contact us with any comments or suggestions. September masthead: Video stills of Gordon Matta-Clark working on Fake Estates project - Jaime Davidovich, Queens Project, 1975. Courtesy of Mitchell Algus Gallery. CURRENT EXHIBITIONSOdd Lots: Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clark's Fake EstatesQueens Museum of Art September 11, 2005 - January 22, 2006 Opening Reception, Saturday, September 17 White Columns (website) September 9, 2005 - October 22, 2006 Opening Reception, Friday, September 9 Odd Lots: Revisiting Gordon Matta-Clark's Fake Estates examines the legacy of Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978) through the history of his important project Fake Estates (1973-4). A meditation on property, ownership, landscape, and absence, Fake Estates was born when Matta-Clark discovered that the city periodically auctioned off “gutterspace” - absurdly small slivers of land carved from the urban grid by anomalies in surveying, zoning, and municipal construction. Matta-Clark purchased fifteen of these odd lots at auction. He then visited and photographed each one, and collected the related maps and deeds. None of his many plans for further use of the slivers was ever carried out before his death in 1978. Odd Lots was conceived and curated by Cabinet Magazine editors Jeffrey Kastner, Sina Najafi, and Frances Richard.  Odd Lots is structured in two parts. Part Two, at White Columns, presents projects commissioned from a group of nineteen artists, ranging from Matta-Clark's peers to emerging practitioners. Working in a variety of media, the participating artists investigate their own responses to Matta-Clark's precedent, and consider the ways in which Fake Estates might be used as a starting-point - literal or metaphorical - for new work.  Participating Artists More information about Odd Lots is available here. This exhibition has been made possible by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Altria Group, Inc. Photos: Gordon Matta-Clark - Reality Properties: Fake Estates, Jamaica Curb Block 10142, Lot 15, 1974, Collage: 24 black-and-white photographs, deed and maps. Courtesy of Jane Crawford. Down the Garden Path: The Artist's Garden After ModernismExtended through November 6, 2005  The garden has always been considered a quiet sanctuary from the rigors of everyday life, but artists have also seen the garden as a vehicle for expressing ideas beyond the idyllic. Down the Garden Path: The Artist's Garden After Modernism presents a broad range of materials that refer to gardens as points of departure to understand history, politics, and our relationship to nature. From models by modernist masters and sketches by contemporary art mainstays, to living works by emerging artists and outdoor installations in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the exhibition calls for a redefinition of the role of the garden.  Participating Artists Vito Acconci, Ghada Amer, Lothar Baumgarten, Roberto Burle Marx, Tom Burr, Mel Chin, Thierry De Cordier, Mark Dion, Stan Douglas, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Dan Graham, Lonnie Graham, Paula Hayes, Jenny Holzer, Ronald Jones, Anissa Mack and Dave McKenzie, Gordon Matta-Clark, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Isamu Noguchi, Nils Norman, Christian Philipp Müller, Ingrid Pollard, Robert Smithson, Alan Sonfist, Brian Tolle and Diana Balmori, Sergio Vega, Jan Vercruysse and Meg Webster. Lonnie Graham, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Ghada Amer, Brian Tolle and Diana Balmori, and Anissa Mack and Dave McKenzie have installed five new works in the open spaces adjacent to the museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the nearby Queens Botanical Garden. For more about Down the Garden Path: The Artist's Garden After Modernism click here. Down the Garden Path: The Artist's Garden After Modernism is made possible by an Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award. The Exhibition Award program was founded in 1998 to honor Emily Hall Tremaine. It rewards innovation and experimentation among curators by supporting thematic exhibitions that challenge audiences and expand the boundaries of contemporary art. The additional funding is provided by National Endowment for the Arts, New York Council on the Arts, Furthermore...A program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and The Florence Gould Foundation. Photos: Ian Hamilton Finlay (with Peter Coates) - Five Finials, 2001, Sandstone. Courtesy of the artist and Nolan/Eckman Gallery, New York. SPECIAL EVENTSCINEMAROSA - Queens only Queer Film SeriesSunday, September 18, 3 - 5 pm Every 3rd Sunday, Cinemarosa presents free screenings showcasing independent fiction and documentary films that reflect the lives and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender peoples and communities throughout the world. The monthly screenings also feature panels and talks with directors, producers, actors, and artists. Note: Films may contain mature themes.  Gay Pioneers, (Directed by Glenn Holsten), celebrates the labor of pre-Stonewall gay and lesbian activists responsible for organizing the first demonstrations (1965-1969) to fight for the rights of homosexuals in the United States. Gay Sex in the 70s, (Dir. Joseph Lovett), pays steamy homage to the period post-Stonewall and pre-AIDS (1969-1981) when gay men experienced an unprecedented sexual freedom. WILD FOODS with WILDMAN STEVE BRILLSunday, September 11, 2 - 3:30pm  Discover Wild Foods in Flushing Meadows with “Wildman” Steve Brill. Dozens of herbs and greens grow, overlooked, throughout Flushing Meadow Park. Learn to identify them and harvest them ecologically. Find out how to use them to prepare delicious recipes and useful home remedies. Find out the science behind these valuable renewable resources, plus their history and folklore, as well as associated comedy and humor. The session consists of a 30-minute indoor presentation plus a 60-minute walking tour, suitable for adults and kids. Learn more about the “Wildman”  | SIGN-UP FOR QMAilYour email is only used to receive QMAil. QMA INFORMATIONNew York City Building SUMMER HOURSJUNE 26 - SEPTEMBER 5 REGULAR HOURSSEPTEMBER 6 - JUNE 25 Closed Monday & Tuesday ADMISSIONAdmission is by suggested donation. LOCATION CALENDAR OF EVENTSExhibition Opening for Odd Lots: Revisiting Gordon |
