Brooklyn Museum praises diverse glam art scene at its Artists Ball 2013

Last Wednesday night Brooklyn Museum brought out creativity and glamor in an eclectic style for its annual Brooklyn Artists Ball held every spring for over 150 years.

The party started with a swanky cocktail reception on the first floor. Even thought the museum was closed by that time, the guests could still see two exhibitions as diverse and beautiful as Brooklyn is right now. On the fifth floor was shown Gravity & Grace – Monumental Works by El Anatsui – a collection of large installation art by the African artist almost all made by materials such as cans or bottle caps that premiered in February 2013. At the same time on the fourth floor a large collection of John Singer Sargent watercolor works was exposed – a lot of it inspired by Venice and the Riviera.

The famous third floor dinner tables were expecting notable visitors. In the middle of a giant room with European canvases on the walls, lighted by a crystal chandelier, were set up twelve long tables – each one of them a work of art created by a different local artist that would only last one night. On table six Joey Frank’s fantasy entertained the guests with toy trains with cut fingers. Right next to it Analia Segal curved tablecloths, colored in red, white and black, resembling tongues. There was art deco style on table five, designed by artists crew Faile and street-art style murals on table 11, created by Navin June Norling. One of the highlights of the evening was certainly table four with The Supra-Siddidy by Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw, covered in balloons with maroon wigs.

As a performance the eccentric artists were having their own exclusive dinner party on a track system moving them back and forth above the table, enjoying a special meal consisting of giant paper carrots and turkeys. “It’s a lot of self-portraiture and we would really like to hide in the idea of fame and celebrity. It’s extremely tongue and cheek, we like to make fun of it,” the artists explained.

“In the past dozen of years or so this ball had really become a major part of our program. It’s about artists who have a purpose, who are saying something, who are creating they’re own vision. Some people think it’s controversial, some people think it’s edgy, but it’s real and that’s what we’re all about – working with artists who are doing their own thing and expressing their own creative vision” Brooklyn Museum’s director Arnold Lehman, speaking to The Upcoming. “Brooklyn is today the visual artists capital of the world and we hope working together to continue to be that way,” he added. To the young artists Lehman recommended to keep working, make sure people see their work and really commit to it. The event continued with an after-party with DJ sets by Andrew Andrew. Among the honorees of the night were Barbara Knowles Debs, Vik Muniz, Wangechi Mutu, Prince Amukamara and Roxy Paine.

Martina Dechevska
Photos: Ettore Loiacono

For further information on the Brooklyn Museum’s upcoming exhibitions and events visit here. For further information on performing artists Catron and Outlaw visit here.