October 2005 Archives

By Justin Quinn Pelegano

Wait, I think I dreamt this once. Or, why do my flashbacks always have to be in neon? And I'm surrounded by the pop-tart-culture of my youth when it was okay to wear bright thick shoelaces in your Reeboks. Then again maybe that was never okay. Maybe that was just me. But here it is once more. Bold totem homage to Spielberg's E.T.; to those eerie Smurfs; to a purple goddess standing huge, multi-colored hair ready to rope me into her canvas, My Little Pony hovering over her shoulder like an equine demon tempting our lady into naughtiness. Lego men sculptures on guard for a world of exploded Skittles. And, of course, Flipper. My favorite dolphin in various stages of vomitous, garish bubble gum something spewing from his beak. And yet I can't help fixating on the NY Giants football helmet looking like peanut scrapings from the floor at Rodeo Bar. Do not miss this.

By Jessica Cogan

We are now in the dull, dark and soundless days of autumn that Poe described. The air has a gloomy, oppressive chill. The desolate sky grows dark too soon. Nature everywhere turns a dreary brown and dies. Melancholy thoughts turn naturally to the grave and mortality. And we face our darkest, most insufferable fears - misery, death and... puberty.

By Dinika Amaral

Whoever thinks the activism of the '60s is dead is dead wrong. I was one of these 'whoever' people, but an afternoon chat with ABC No Rio's Steve Englander left me feeling like Warren Beatty must have felt as John Reed in Reds, a raging idealist eager to change the world. Of course, Reed did his bit by trying to fix the earth with political radicalism. ABC No Rio treads the gentle, yet explosive path of art activism.

This year ABC No Rio is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the finale of a year long series of events is their 25th Anniversary Gala Benefit & Silent Auction, which is this Thursday, 20th October from 6-10 PM. Participating in the auction will be some of the founding members and people who have exhibited at Rio over the years like Kiki Smith and Tom Otterness. Other artists include Maureen Connor 'Tea and Sympathy,' Mike Estabrook 'Shrinky Dink Bug Demons,' Robert Flynt 'Untitled,' David B. Frye 'The bigoted evangelist Neal Horsley laying with a beast of the field' and Robert Goldman 'Electriced.' Even Yoko Ono has contributed a black and white signed poster that has the words 'Imagine Peace' in bold, centered and in all caps.

Interview by Mikal Saint George
Photos by Evan Sung

Penny Arcade is not an interview subject. Penny Arcade is a one-woman cultural prism. She bends and refracts the light of human experience and displays shades and colors of a shared spectrum we never knew existed and at times were afraid to look at. More than just entertainment or a hipster "happening" the Arcade experience is a journey through space, time and thought. Not everyone has appreciated this.

10 Questions with Found: Tyrannosaurus Rex

On our usual walk to fetch an afternoon caffeine fix we noticed these flyers somebody had put up that read FOUND: TYRANNOSAURUS REX. The flyers had a photo of a toy T-Rex and an email address that you could contact to claim the little beast. We saw similar flyers last summer where items like a mixed tape and a folding chair were also "found" so we were curious as to what this lost and found business was all about.