davemcgee.com

Occasionally goes on a one year hiatus.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Should Have Done This Earlier

Come one. Come all. Come giggle. Tomorrow. With us.
Happy Valentine's Day.
Perv.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum

PRESENTS


Sex, Lies and February... a pageant?
a play-reading what teaches us the true meaning of February.


by Thanksgiving! A! Pageant! playwright David McGee
"directed" by Deena Selenow

featuring
Preston Martin, Slaney Chadwick Ross, Mark Lindberg, Elon Rutberg, Karina Richardson
&
introducing Laura "Moss" O'Brien as Ma Groundhog


THIS Caturday, February 16 @ 7pm
159 West 119th Street @ Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
There will be beer. There will be laughs. There will be groundhogs.

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THEN join us NEXT week at
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Ad Nauseam Lyceum


PRESENTS



BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX!
a collaborative installation project


Saturday, February 23 & Sunday, February 24
12 - 8 PM

Reception Saturday February 23 from 5 - 8 PM

chashama on 119th
159 West 119th Street @ Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.



Ad Nauseam Lyceum is proud to present BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! a collaborative installation project at chashama on 119th on Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum has been granted a chashama residency for the month of February at a defunct storefront on 119th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. Instead of curating a traditional group show as we have done in the past, Ad Nauseam Lyceum will use this unique opportunity to explore new territory as an organization and to utilize the distinct talents and interests of our community of artists. BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! is a collaborative art installation created by Brent Birnbaum, Matthew Broach, Celso and the Endless Love Crew, Ryan Frank, Scott Goodman, David Herman, Peter Lester, David Ort, Joan Pamboukes, Tara Parsons, Jake Scharbach, Deena Selenow, Rory Sheridan, Adam Parker Smith and Kyle Walters.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum
will present a large scale collaborative installation that reflects the distinct connections and conflicts between various artistic mediums, styles, and processes in which artists are working today. By engaging with the space in alternative and experimental ways, Ad Nauseam Lyceum and its collaborators aim to explore and expose how different types of work can relate to each other through the context of the exhibition display. With some artists working independently and others in collaboration, this ambitious project will present work in a setting that resembles the sanctuary of the artist's studio and outside the confines of a commercial gallery.
Created through the communal efforts of over fifteen artists, BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! will be an alternative to the traditional group exhibition and exist as an experimentation in curatorial practice.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum
is an artist run organization committed to showcasing multi-disciplinary work by emerging artists in New York . The group aims to give young artists an opportunity to collaborate, present work, and have a creative dialogue outside the traditional art market. Founded in 2006 by Ryan Frank, Deena Selenow, and Rory Sheridan , the group has hosted previous events at Ephemeroptera Art Space, chashama, 717 Studio, and EXPLOSIVO! and has collectively shown the work of over 50 visual and performing artists. Dedicated to blurring the lines between various artistic genres, Ad Nauseam Lyceum is a platform for a new generation of artists working in performance, visual art, and digital media.


chashama is a non-profit New York City arts organization with a nine-year history of supporting artists of all genres and experience levels by offering them access to space and major support resources. chashama provides opportunities for artists by transforming vacant real estate into multi-arts complexes and animating them with innovative and challenging art. Through low and no-cost admissions, chashama provides more opportunities for audiences as well as artists.

BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! will be open for a final presentation on February 23rd and 24th from 12-8pm,
with an opening reception on Saturday, February 23rd from 5-8pm.


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Ad Nauseam Lyceum
adnauseamlyceum@gmail.com
www.adnaus.com

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Obama-Morris-Jumel!

Two down, twenty to go!

Stephanie and I set out this morning for a day of Obama canvassing, and historic house visiting. Which is just about the best day I can imagine. We walked around Haarlem (real New Amsterdamers use two A's!) handing out fliers and hanging up signs in business windows (with permission) and at bus stops (without permission). We wore Big Ol' Blue Stickers, we wore buttons on our hats, and lo, did we encourage the masses to go out on Tuesday and vote for our candidate of choice. Our neighborhood, which had been strangely empty of political signs of any sort, is now covered in Obama material. Apparently, some people make their voting decisions based on, like, printed material they see hung around their homes? That's... strange. But, OK, I'll go with it. Does it work on the Internet too? Just in case:

So go vote, damnit.

After we performed our civic duty or whatever, we headed up to the Morris-Jumel Mansion, which is in Washington Heights. British Colonel Roger Morris caused the house to be built in 1765 as a summer home, and at the time owned a parcel of land that extended from river to river across Manhattan. That's not so possible anymore, but luckily the house still exists, on a nice little piece of land that still has a fairly nice view. It just has a fairly nice view of an entirely developed island, instead of the wilderness that Morris must have looked over.


During the autumn of 1776, the house was George Washington's home and headquarters. Oh. So Washington Heights is not just a clever name, then. Later, the house was captured by the English, who taxed the HELL out of its tea. After the colonies won the war (spoiler!) and George Washington was President, he brought members of his family and cabinet back to the house for a sight-seeing trip. Washington, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton all dined together in the, er, dining room. We felt appropriately awed, I think.
Later, the house was purchased by Stephen and Eliza Jumel. When he died, she married Aaron Burr, who shot up the dining room in retroactive Hamiltonian spite. Not really. Well, maybe. They didn't specifically say he didn't do it I guess. Anyway, this was his (Burr's) bedroom.

Now that I've made your browser work to look at this post, I might as well keep it up, right? Here's me on the stairwell doing my best to look regal:


Here's Stephanie looking toward the place where the herb garden once was:

Here's the octagonal room, which was apparently an architectural marvel at the time:

A mirror, featuring the reflection of Eliza's bedroom:

And, finally, the end of another wonderful expotition.

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