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PORTRAITS:
Photographer Nancy Bruno was chilling on a beach in
Italy when she thought up the Beautiful Women Project:
“I was covered under an umbrella watching all of these women
who were so comfortable in their own skin. They seemed happy
with who they were at the present time. I wanted to know the
secret to this kind of confidence.” She returned to the Capital
Region inspired, and set out to photograph local women who
had “developed comfort through their life journeys.” Tomorrow
(Friday, Oct. 13), the finished exhibit, featuring 35 women,
will open in the pavilion are of the Saratoga Hotel and
Conference Center (534 Broadway, Saratoga Springs) from
5 to 8 PM. It will also be open to the public on Saturday
and Sunday (Oct. 14-15) from 11 AM to 3 PM; admission is free.
The exhibit is timed to coincide with breast-cancer awareness
month; proceeds from the sale of an exhibition book will benefit
To Life, a breast cancer support group. This fall,
the exhibit will travel around the region.
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ALBANY
IS ART: Credit Historic Albany Foundation for
their quick response to the Columbia Development Companies
plan for a huge chunk of State Street near the state capitol,
including the notorious Wellington Hotel. Columbia’s
plan includes the demolition of two buildings, and the “limited”
preservation of portions of the most notorious buildings,
the Wellington, the Elks Lodge and the Berkshire Hotel. HAF’s
proposal, which includes two plans, would see all the buildings
preserved and/or adaptively reused to some degree. HAF director
Susan Holland said that “our proposal capitalizes on
Albany’s history while developing a plan for the future.”
According to a HAF press release, their plan, “unlike Columbia’s
plan . . . satisfies all local, state and national historic
district regulations covering the site and keeps intact the
buildings’ unique architectural qualities.” Why are we talking
about this in Art Beat? Because the south side of State Street
hill has already been marred by two inappropriately designed
buildings, the IBM building at the southeast corner of State
and Pearl, and the massive, blocky comptroller’s building.
Kudos to HAF for trying to keep this huge section of State
Street from being permanently destroyed. Architecture is art,
folks.
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—Shawn
Stone
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Garbage
With Style
PHOTO:
Chris Shields
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Revolution
Hall in Troy was the place to be Saturday night (Oct. 7),
when Trashion came to town. The “recycled fashion show and
multimedia extravaganza” brought sculptors, performance artists,
designers, dancers, musicians and hundreds of spectators together
under one roof for an evening of audacious arts and heavy
drinking. If you weren’t there, you missed an impressive spectacle.
Seriously, where else are you likely to see a 10-foot-tall
crow-inspired dress made out of umbrellas modeled by a girl
on stilts? Or a dress made entirely out of video and cassette
tape? Or adults in their underwear rolling around in a storefront
window throwing rice on themselves? DJ Back From Japan closed
down the show by making full use of Rev Hall’s impressive
sound system and the hardcore dancers took full advantage
of the hall’s spacious floor. All the proceeds of the night
are earmarked for the Roarke Center and Fulton Street Gallery.
—Chet
Hardin
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Classifieds
