Jennifer Sirey’s Three Holes (2011) at Feature, Inc: glass, bacteria, water, vinegar, monofilament.

Drawing Apparatus from Robert Howsare on Vimeo.

Absolutely Fabulous – Art Gallery from Jack Spearing on Vimeo.

SVA alum Lisa Kirk is having another big moment.  Her solo show, If You See Something, opened last night at LES gallery Invisible-Exports (also my gallery, duh).  Her work will be included in The Influentials, opening tonight at SVA’s Visual Arts Gallery, curated by SVA faculty member Amy Smith-Stewart, one of my favorite New York curators (and roving gallerists).  For that show, which pairs successful women alumni with their recognized saints, Lisa Kirk is bringing the elusive and exclusive David Hammons.  Amazing!

Meanwhile, her Backyard Adversaries video installation is up in Manhattan’s own backyard, Governors Island.  It’s part of the NYEAF Wave(form)s – Exhibition of Electronic Art on Governors Island.

The Backyard Adversaries HD projections – four of them, projected onto stretched canvases, and randomly leaping from screen to screen – are supernaturally crisp and dimensional.  Who knew that an artist specializing in perfumes, pipe bombs, and cosmetic projectiles could also be a naturalist cinematographer?  White light shimmers from the surface of a crystal-clear creek, and the distant sun seems to vaporize outlying leaves among the overhead foliage.  As the camera follows two children at a time through their outdoor adventure, we little feet navigating slippery rocks and child-eye-level perspectives as the children arm themselves with canvas masks and a shared plastic machine gun.  Like in Kurosawa’s Rashomon, we hear varied interpretations of the mise en scene, all in the disinterested, yet tender and sympathetic voices of grade school storytellers.  It reminded me of the opening narration from GZA’s Liquid Swords album, minus the music, and while watching, I mind watched itself unscroll decades of associations: Bridge to Terabithia, Childrens’ Crusades, Lord of the Flies, Wyeth’s “Christina’s World,” Robert Gober’s installations, and Lewis and Clark.

The space itself seems decayed when the projections go bright enough to reveal shale slabs of paint have cracked and fallen from the walls.  We also see the complex rigging of projectors on the ceiling, which I took as a testament to Harvestwork’s A/V availability.  That decayed space, however, fits with the post-apocalyptic recovery of Backyard Adversaries, in which the child heroes appear unsupervised and unaccompanied (not counting the camerawoman), with no neighbors and no urban encroachment.

Speaking of, getting to Governors Island was much easier than I expected.  Only 40 minutes total from Chelsea, and the ferry ride is quick and fun.  Remember to board at the rear if you want a view of Governors Island as you approach, because the ferry turns around before heading south.  When you disembark, turn a sharp left and keep going for about 10 minutes.  When you get to the kayak rental, turn soft right, up the bumpy path and walk up toward St. Cornelius Chapel.  Just before the chapel, there’s a yellow house (over yonder, that’s where my baby stay).  Go in.  The NYEAF signage is inadequate, and I got lost.  Now you won’t!