August 2010
The show Soundstorm at the Lab Gallery is filled with mystery, power and magic. It has endured the strongest heatwave of the summer and acts as a breathing force in the gallery space on 47th and Lexington. The evolution of the show has been intense. It has channeled massive amounts of energy in its existence and continues to surprise me. On a steamy Friday night in the beginning of its installation a street viewer coming from LQ (a Club on Lex), in a fit of rage with his girlfriend put his fist through the front window. Unfortunately the gentleman lost his arm in the process and created a peculiar dynamic to the development of this installation.
I find the show to be the strongest installation that I have seen in the Lab Gallery in years. The layers of intent behind the show by Daniel Rothbart and Maia Anthea Marinelli go back further than you might realize. On April 24th, 1995 Lisa Paul Streitfeld curated a performance installation in the Lab Gallery where different artist participated in a Meditation / Mediation ceremony where consecutive artists projected their intent on the vessels that are consistent elements in all of Rothbarts installation work. Among the artist who participated were Max Blagg, Anthony Haden Guest, Valery Oisteanu, Bettina Sellmann, L. Brandon Krall, Larry Miller, John Perreault, Francine Hunter McGivern, and Abraham Lubeslki.
These vessels hold the intent of the space and all who have participated along the way. The potency of the experience for me seems to heighten the current experience of Soundstorm making it a charged experience.
Instinctually I tagged different Roger Smith personalities on facebook as represented in different vessels layering the intent and contributing to its charge. As if the walls a being pulled inward by the pulley systems controlled by the weather the amount of energy and tension in that space is fascinating. I believe the show is a conductor of emotions and energy! It has brought much to the surface, not all good, but most certainly necessary. I believe all installations in that space should be marked as an experience. In the context of provocative art, I am thoroughly stimulated.
I look forward to seeing what kind of aftermath is to be experienced. Bravo Daniel Rothbart!
This blog post is a response to an inquiry on The Lab Gallery Facebook Page by Danika Druttman. I encourage anyone who has experienced the Soundstorm Installation at the Lab Gallery to post a response to it. It can be a video, an essay or even a picture post. Lets keep the dialog going. Let me know what you think.
Feedback is always appreciated.
John Knowles
