Transport

2009-2010

Recent economic chaos had laid bare the tentative framework that supports America’s culture of consumption. The auto industry, the quintessential symbol of the pioneering American spirit, appeared on the verge of the collapse during the months prior to 2009. Suddenly, scarcity seemed imminent and a desperate search for new sources of oil, the essential nutrient of our economy, had raised the specter of social conflict on a global scale. Meanwhile, much of the U.S. populace is staying home, ordering in and watching reality TV. These developments lead us to ask where we – as individuals, as a nation and as a species – are going? Are we stuck? How does one get from one place to the next, anyway? And most importantly, perhaps, where exactly do we hope to arrive?

These concerns set the stage for the 2009-10 theme at Proteus Gowanus. Transport was a three-phase exhibit. Throughout, we hosted events related to our theme.

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Transport 1

Fall 2009

Transport 2

Spring 2010

On Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 6 pm, the Transport exhibit entered Phase II of our exploration.  Phase II explored transportative themes of falling, rising, rolling and changing perspective in our continually evolving exhibition of art, artifacts and books.

Transport 3

Summer  2010

On June 12, 2010, Transport Phase III was launched. This exhibit was curated by the group Underwater NY, with work ranging from paintings to letterpress prints to stories in bottles, from photographs to artist books to installations, all inspired by things found in and around the waterways of New York City. Underwater New York is a creative conduit between artists and a landscape of underwater objects and phenomena, encouraging a new consideration of the waters that surround, splice and serve our city. Extracting directly from the arteries of transportation that have shaped New York since its start, the Phase III exhibition invited artists to imagine previously unconsidered depths.