PRESS
RELEASE
About the Exhibition
Coney Island is many things to many people,
now more than ever as the City, the Municipal
Art Society, community and civic organizations
and various developers clash about the future
of this legendary amusement and resort Mecca.
For artists Gary Schwartz and Jay Hochheiser,
boyhood friends growing up in the Luna Park
apartment complex in the 1960s, Coney Island
was home. Vacant lots and seedy, crime-ridden
areas coexisted with remnants of spectacular
amusement rides such as the stately Parachute
Jump and the exotic bathing pavillions.The boys
sensed Coney Island's magical past in the aroma
of Turkish Taffy and cotton candy and lived
its present riding the Wonder Wheel and Cyclone.
When Jay was 10, his family left Coney Island
and the boys lost touch. They reconnected in
2006 when Gary invited Jay to attend his first
exhibition at this gallery. One sunny day last
summer, the two returned to the old neighborhood
to visit old haunts, walk the boardwalk and
enjoy a Nathan's hot dog. Jay's color photographs
were created during that day. They at once provide
a path into a glorious, exotic history of a
place, while also bearing witness to the creeping
decay. The vivid, hot palette and the energy
of the people pictured communicate a sense of
hope as a new community of Coney Islanders makes
the landscape its home.
For the past several years, Gary has been painting
scenes based on his own photographs of Coney
Island, taken in the 1980s and 90s. After running
the images through various Photoshop filters,
Gary paints the scenes in Photorealist style.
Yet, in a departure from pure Photorealism,
Gary invents color and creates composites of
actual sites, as if these filtered memories
are more real to him than the places themselves.
This exhibition reflects an unearthing of a
shared boyhood history, a revitalization of
the past, not merely a nostalgic look back.
About Coney Island
Coney Island, a five-mile strip at the southern
end of Brooklyn, began as beach resort in the
1850s and soon became known as the "Playground
of the World," offering millions of urban
dwellers seeking fun, sand and spectacle all
manner of curious diversions, theatrical and
musical entertainments, amusement rides, hotels,
restaurants and bathhouses. Coney Island's Golden
Era in the opening decades of the 20th century
saw the rise of the Steeplechase Park, Luna
Park and Dreamland, each outdoing the other
in terms of spectacle and exoticism.
The steady decline of Coney Island began in
the 1950s, a result of urban renewal initiatives,
suburban flight and the New York City fiscal
crisis. While many of the legendary rides-the
Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone, the Aquarium and
the famous Boardwalk-still exist, it's impossible
to visit Coney Island without being impacted
by the dilapidated buildings and vacant lots.
Today we reminisce about its once glorious past
and wonder if Coney Island's mystique will live
on in a new, revitalized form. |
|
Gary
Schwartz
Groovin’ on the Boards, 2008
transparency ink jet print
10.5 x 14 in. |
| |
 |
Jay
Hochheiser
Shoot the Freak, 2008
transparency ink jet print
10.5 x 14 in. |
|
