Yeah, there were some great examples at Ben Frost's show. Is there typically a sense of spectacle at the Brooklynite shows?

Spectacle.  That's the perfect word I would like someone to use when referring to the our Openings.  It's not just simply about finding the right music to fit the show's theme.  Patrons come here and never know what to expect.  An old school slushie man shaving a block of ice, bucket drummers on the sidewalk, a Fife and Drum Band echoing off the apartment across the street.  There is always an added attraction.  City buses pass and you have people sticking camera phones out the window to grab a photo of what's going on.  I love that.   But the most important thing is the LIVE element of it all.  Like watching Tyson fight back in the day.  Had to see it live not on tape.
We have guest hosts who interview people throughout the evening and people from over 40 countries watching and chatting on our site. Someone at our last show said to me they felt like it didn't matter what else was going on in New York that night because this was the place to be.  Now just imagine you're the artist who's exhibiting work that night.  You have your fan base attending, but now there's new people being introduced to your work because of the atmosphere they've come to expect.

When did Brooklynite open and what were the early days like?

Brooklynite opened in June of 2008 after three exhausting years of construction.  It took so long due to money, time and the fact that just myself and one other person rebuilt the entire place.  The early days were quite interesting as I transitioned from managing an artist and building a gallery to dealing with lining up shows and appealing to new clients.  When we had the first opening here and people from all over the world as well as from around the corner came out to support it was pretty special. To be doing something good in a neighborhood that has had so much hardship for so long is an amazing feeling.

You seriously built the whole thing, ground up?

Yes I did.  Actually I had planned on doing everything myself. Talk about being naive.  I tried to adapt my art direction skills to building and leveling off an old structure.  One day while pounding away on an old crocked stud there was a knock at the door.  I open to find a man with a thick Jamaican accent who said something like, 'me hearing a lot of banging on the inside, but me standing on the outside.'  I tried him out for the day to see his skills and to make a long story short, he's now a good friend of mine who had tears in his eyes when he came to the first opening we had here.  Sometimes things just work out that way.

What's coming up for the gallery?

At the gallery in September we have the first solo show for DAIN.  He plans on really transforming this place into a whole new environment.  Same goes for our October show with PERU ANA ANA PERU.  In November we have our first group show but not in the traditional sense.  We've asked over 100 artists to weigh in on the economic downturn and design their own version of a "shoeshine/survival box".  Much like shoe shiners who get out on the streets to earn a buck. We've asked what each artist what they would do to earn a money in this tough economy.  The boxes will be displayed in a 'unified' fashion, showing solidarity, something not often easily achieved amongst artists. 

What would you do given the same question?

If time allows, I actually do plan on making a piece for the show.  Probably centered around something having to do with beat boxing.  I used to really be into it.  Figured I might be able to earn a few bucks playing beats in the subway.  Growing up in Brooklyn back in the 80's everyone had their thing.  Mine was beat boxing while others would rap over it. 

Tell me about some of the artists you've worked with in the past and some of the projects you've facilitated.

I think overall we have worked with some really talented artists in our short run here.  Miss Bugs, Joe Black, Aiko, Dain and Various & Gould from Berlin, who we found from one simple paste up they posted on Flickr.  When an artist comes in here and shows a 'hunger' we get excited.  A hunger to take chances. A hunger to hit the streets and show their work to the everyday person.  A hunger to make their show the best one they've ever done.  Based on this we seek to find public spaces for them to do large pieces.  Such was the case for REMED who did a blockbuster piece on Bergen Street in Brooklyn.  Or Miss Bugs and Joe Black who did spots in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 

Some people think the economic situation is meant to weed out parts of the art market that aren't meant to be here in the first place. Are you seeing this happen with other galleries or artists?

I do have to say, to answer the 'artist side' of the question, maybe work ethic and communication skills will weed them out in the end. One can only hope.  I've popped in and out of a lot of book stores over the last year trying to find the manual on "How to Be An Aloof Artist".  Ever hear of it?  Would love to get a copy at some point.  I think there are some artists out there who seem to think that being slow to respond to emails, not letting anyone take their picture, and infrequent bathing are requirements to being a 'real' artist instead of focusing more on substance. I think I know a few infrequent bathers. I'm guessing the same doesn't go for gallery owners. I'm picturing a 48 Laws of Power approach.

Just pretty much finished mastering number 10.  Still really need to work on 7.

Published in Urban Influencer