Artwork’s Art All Night 2012 entranced spectators for the sixth straight year at the Historic Roebling Wire Works in Trenton on June 16 at 3:00 p.m. until June 17 at 3:00 p.m.
The showcase erupted over 35 musicians and bands, film screenings, installation works, a spectrum of visual pieces, and culinary heaven in the World Food Court. New Jersey flaunted its finest creations.
“This is just mind blowing,” said Jon Gordon, 24-year-old from Marlton, a first-timer for the event. “I’ve heard people talk about it. For a person who lives in South Jersey, almost an hour drive isn’t that bad when I get to see something this amazing.”
He said he enjoyed the juxtaposition of NJ artists, such as Seward Johnson, a sculptor from the Johnson & Johnson bloodline, and Will Kasso, the bonafide graffiti savant.
Kasso explained that his friend Barbara Stange had asked him to paint her car.
“She asked for the bumper and the fender,” he said. “So I just painted the whole thing. Once it was painted, I wanted to display it at AAN. It was a big hit.”
Kasso also painted a piece for the Black-light Graffiti Lounge. This year, he stepped aside to bestow spotlight on some emerging artists.
“I let them paint,” he said. “The BLGL was beautiful. It was mad house.”
The BLGL artists traded in canvas for human skin in Rock Ya Body by Leon Rainbow. Artists illuminated six models with the black-light paint before photographers angled the women for shots. Crowd volunteers were painted next.
“I was personally painting for five straight hours,” Rainbow said.
He invited Isaias Crow to the event. The 34-year-old artist from San Diego showcased his spray-paint and acrylic hybrid piece “Crolerized: Bountiful Hands”.
“It’s my name in graffiti letters mixed with the energy and essence of a woman,” Crow said. “Been showing work since 2006. This [AAN] is gorgeous. I do a lot of community organizing in San Diego. I’m inspired.”
Trenton’s own Werner Born was featured for the fourth consecutive year. The 23-year-old has been an artist his entire life, despite his career as an engineer.
“It’s really cool that anyone can submit [art work],” he said. “It’s my first year selling a piece.”
His digital painting “Finish The Fight” sold for $115. He stood in line with an empty wine glass that was about to be greeted by AAN’s annual smorgasbord of wines. Critique the wine, keep the glass. The art of fermentation produced an insatiable crowd.
“I came because my man told me there was $4 drink-all-night beer,” said Andrew Wilt, a 24 year-old from Trenton, who attended AAN for the first time. “It’s been a good night. The Drum Circle was bad ass.”
The AAN Drum Circle sounded off the 24 hour celebration.
Wilt was more impressed by the performances that followed the punk rock bands.
“It was all good vibes,” he said. “My favorite bands were Chalk And The Beige Americans; they were this white boy reggae punk band. The band right before them was hot too.”
“The last guys, Sweet Eureka, were a tremendous band,” said Gary Moto, a local musician who came to see the event. “They gave me their CD. He was playing with the same amp I played in 1973.”
Musical performances lit up two stages: one out-door stage and one in-door stage. The DJs changed the pace to house music at 2:30 a.m.
“We’ve played the past four years,” said Greg Ribsam, 28-year-old from Trenton and drummer for the band Dale J. Gordon who performed 12:30 a.m. until 1:15 a.m. “I like being able to get up there, speak our mind, and do what we have to do.”
The intensity needed a cool down. The installation piece “That New Car Smell” by conceptual artist Andrew Wilkinson, provided an escape to the surreal.
The dark room was trimmed with silver streamers that glistened like Christmas tinsel from light emitted by the black and white film being screen on the wall. In the absence of chairs, inflated tubes speckled the floor. One could rest. Cover songs of ABBA and The Carpenters played in the background.
“The car in America is a sanctuary,” said Wilkinson, who moved to Pennsylvania from England, and now resides in Titusville. “When you get in your car, you’re in control. It’s your bubble and your stuff. When you come in here, you’re not in control.”
He said the installation x-factor is the element of security. The black and white film was created from a trip through the car wash.
Wilkinson’s two other films, “Light Water Robot” and “Kiss Kill” were screened in AAN’s first annual Film Screening.
“I was very pleased how well-received and smoothly the first annual AAN Film Festival went,” said Film Festival Captain Joshua Borden. “There was always someone present during a showing, enjoying the film being presented. I am proud to say that every film submitted this year was shown!”
AAN’s Film Festival boasted 53 films its freshman year, according to Borden.
Need front desk assistance? There’s an installation piece for that. Trenton Social presented the Social Blog Lounge.
“They made this an installation piece itself, with an office look,” said Art All Night Blogger Kate Concannon, a 25-year-old from Cherry Hill. “That’s why we have the old school Macintosh and the fish.”
Concannon and fellow AAN Blogger Nick Stewart stationed the office to keep the world connected with artist interviews and updates through FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.
Trenton AAN 2012 featured over 1000 art pieces. No official feedback was provided on the number of attendees or the number of pieces sold. About 19 special events were presented, as well as 17 vendors to explore at the World Food Court. Sponsors included Blue Moon, Diffy Productions, The Times of Trenton and nj.com, and many more.
“I think it’s amazing and so well put-together,” said Christina Shay, a 33-year-old event volunteer from Lambertville.
“We killed it!” said Black Collar Biz, a 28-year-old hip hop artist from Trenton. “People tonight were saying that this is what Trenton needs.”
Trenton continues to prove itself as the cultural epicenter of the East Coast. The city's creative intellect raises the bar for modern fine arts.
Source: www.examiner.com
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