Photographs of the “Wall of Lies,” a 110-foot long, 10-foot tall outdoor mural with the 20,000+ lies told by Donald Trump while in office as documented and fact-checked by The Washington Post. It was first installed in Bushwick Brooklyn and then in SoHo Manhattan in the month prior to the 2020 Presidential Election.
A nice New Year’s surprise with a featured story in Hyperallergic!
Susan Wallner did a wonderful piece about my show at Front Room Gallery for her “State of the Arts” program, which airs on NJTV, WNET and ALL ARTS – a great mix of footage from the gallery, old movie clips and music from 1973, the year the Wayne Hills Mall opened.
“Mallrat to Snapchat” is an artnet pick !
“Mallrat to Snapchat: The End of the Third Place” at Front Room Gallery
If you don’t feel like lining up outside a mall as soon as you’ve digested your Thanksgiving turkey, the Lower East Side-based Front Room Gallery has a very different experience for your Black Friday. Artist Phillip Buehler has been photographing some of the nation’s most deserted and decrepit sites for decades, and in his new series he’s exploring the demise of the commercial shopping mall. The timing feels especially poignant as centers like Hudson Yards and New Jersey’s forthcoming Dream Mall are cropping up.
Location: Front Room Gallery, 48 Hester Street
Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 7 p.m.–9 p.m.; Thursday–Sunday, noon–6 .p.m.
—Caroline Goldstein
Just back from exploring the abandoned AMC headquarters building in Detroit with my buddy Lowell Boileau. It’s where they designed AMC and Jeep cars and SUVs. More photos in the gallery here.
Installation view of the exterior of “American Trilogy” at the Spring/Break Art Show
For the first time I showed more than one of my walk-in panoramas under the title, “American Trilogy.” It was curated by Larry Walczak. The show was held on the 22nd floor of #4 Times Square during Armory Art Week.
“American Trilogy: Ferguson” places viewers on the spot where Michael Brown was killed by police. I remembered the rioters, tear gas, military assault vehicles and rooftop snipers from the nightly news, but when I was there it was a quiet neighborhood, and on the line where he fell was a makeshift memorial of hundreds of stuffed animals, flowers and notes. The panorama was part of a Black Lives Matter event in Times Square in 2015 as well as installed in a Brooklyn public high school for Black History Month.
“American Trilogy: Arlington” places viewers in front of Muslim soldier Humanyun Saqib Khan’s headstone. His Gold Star parents spot at the Democratic National Convention and were mocked by then-candidate Donald Trump. On Khan’s headstone is the Muslim Star and Crescent and surrounding headstones have Jewish, Christian, Mormon and Buddhist symbols. The panorama was originally installed in Erie Pennsylvania, a red part of a swing state, the week before the Presidential election.
“American Trilogy: Washington” places viewers in front of the White House during the Women’s March on Washington, where they are surrounded by protest signs and a sea of pink pussy hats. It debuted at Spring/Break.
Interior of “American Trilogy: Washington” and two women viewing.
Detail of “American Trilogy: Washington, 2017”
Happily, the exhibit received a lot of press. My favorite quotes were:
“He really seems to be on to something here–standing there looking out at the makeshift memorial for Brown, a black teenager who was unarmed when he was shot and killed by a white police officer, was really moving.” Nicole Disser, Bedford & Bowery
“We are living in unprecedented times. Sometimes, it helps to travel outside frames that are most familiar to us, the narratives we are spoonfed. Step into the panoramas of ‘American Trilogy’ and you just might walk out with a different perspective about a person, place, or cause you thought you knew all about.” Daniel Kessel, Bushwick Daily
“They are technical tours de force, but more importantly they are eloquent reminders of the obstacles facing contemporary America.” Robert Ayers, Ocula
Three photos from my book, “Woody Guthrie’s Wardy Forty,” will be in the exhibit, alongside work by similarly inspired photographers.
Opening is Friday, January 8th. More details at: https://www.facebook.com/events/564244597061368/
On October 22 as part of Rise Up October, an event was held in Times Square called, “Say Their Names,” where the names of 100 people killed by police were read by their families. I installed my walk-in photograph of Ferguson, where Mike Brown was shot and killed. It was quite moving to talk to some of the families and hear what they had to say.
Panorama installed in Times Square
Inside Ferguson
Protest at Washington Square Park that was also part of Rise Up October
Alan Goodman of Revolution newspaper stopped by my studio and interviewed me about the walk-in panorama I created about Mike Brown and Ferguson.
In May I wen to Ferguson to photograph, with images of the riots from the nightly news still vivid. I found something very different. On the yellow line where Michael Brown dies was a makeshift memorial made of hundreds of stuffed animals, flowers and notes. I created a 360 degree, walk-in panoramic photo that let people step into Ferguson.
