Suds, sausage, shellac
Tuesday, January 24th: 8 until 11 PM.

Ethan Crenson, Open Source Collaborator (Founder of Fuse-Works) and Artist, will be playing 78 rpm records at the Der Kommissar, a small joint around the corner from Open Source and run by the same people who founded Open Source.

Der Kommissar offers a Brooklyn twist on an Austrian institution, the Würstelstand. Sausage stands in Vienna are far more than glorified hotdog carts, they are the nexus of food culture. Rather than taking their food to go, patrons tend to hang around, have a beer, and interact socially. Featuring a menu of artisanal Austrian-style sausages, eight draft beers, and an extensive selection of schnapps. Der Kommissar brings a little bit of Vienna to 5th Ave.

559 5th Ave, between 15th and 16th Street
South Slope, Brooklyn

Leigh Davis, detail from Foreclosed Storage Unit, 2009

“Now the truth of the matter – and one has no eye for that in times of great peril, and only by a great effort even in times when danger is threatening – is that in reality the burrow does provide a considerable degree of security, but by no means enough, for is one ever free from the anxieties inside it?” – Franz Kafka, The Burrow

Open Source Gallery is pleased to present The Burrow (H.H.), a new project from Brooklyn-based artist Leigh Davis. Working from photographs she took of an inhabited self-storage unit in New Mexico and using materials found in the surrounding neighborhood, Davis’s installation repurposes the gallery as a transitional living space, in which everyday artifacts of human existence take on different meaning when encountered in a place not designed for habitation. In constructing The Burrow (H.H.) specifically for the gallery, Davis engages her ongoing interest in creating projects in relation to the opportunities and constraints presented by the sites in which they are located.

The title of the project is taken from The Burrow, a Kafka story told from the perspective of a compulsive character who describes with pride the concealed burrow he has built to protect himself. As the character elaborates on the details, however, the description grows more paranoid and fantastical, and ultimately the narrator becomes trapped, possessed by his own creation. Davis’s project similarly creates a state of curiosity and uneasiness, in which viewers are invited–through the objects presented–to reconstruct for themselves the life lived by the person who is not there. But by restricting physical access to the space, the project relegates viewers to be voyeurs, from the outside, prompting them to consider their own relationship to the imagined life inside.

Even Robarts: from the series “popsicles”

Open Source is proud to present Evan Robarts and James Moore.
A collaborative installation opening on Saturday, February 11th, 2012.

Responding to their environment, Evan Robarts and James Moore will be presenting two site specific works intending to activate the space into a different dimension based on their work’s energies. Both artists work is characterized by formal and conceptual experimentation with material and a desire to transform thoughts into objects. An exchange and interplay of notions ranging from platonic ideals, semiology, biomimicry and nostalgia influence and infiltrate one another changing the original context of their individual pieces while its interplay creates a new understanding to the larger work as singular whole.

Evan Robarts’ work stems from an attraction to material and form as a means to capture the ideal and eternal. Reaching back to his childhood, he incorporates nostalgic memories, colors, and objects in his work. “Youth is central in my work, I relate very strongly to the evocative pull of the mysticism and unencumbered joy of childhood.” says Robarts about his work.

James Moore experiments with industrial objects that symbolically resemble organic matter, such as foam as tree sap, electrical circuits as a human nervous system, and modern, architectural spaces with life forms and bodily matter seeping from the cracks. “I often inject what I see as a mutating, extraterrestrial, and psychedelic life force into my work in order to resurrect or rebirth a space in contrast. ”

At Open Source Evan Robarts shows a variation of the series “popsicles”. He covers the concrete floor with (melted) popsicles. In juxtaposition to Evans nostalgic installation, James Moore will install a single light sculpture that leaks a primordial ooze out of the bulbs, reminiscent of the office light at one’s day job, or factory. As if it had a mysterious visitor channelling through it from another world.

Performance
March 2nd, 8PM

Brooklyn-based artist, composer and musician Sara Bouchard returns to Open Source for a special combined performance and exhibition of her recently completed song cycle and series of works on paper “The News: Monday-Friday.”

The two parts of “The News” each consist of five songs that Sara wrote in five consecutive days. Each day, from Monday through Friday, Sara collaged lyrics from words and phrases cut out of that day’s newspaper and used her background in American roots music to interpret the corresponding melody and instrumental accompaniment. Sara carried out this rigorous exercise during a week in 2010 to create Part 1 and again in 2011 for Part 2.

Through this process, a modern American folk tale emerged. A community, uprooted from their homeland by a natural disaster, is forced to migrate into the unknown and adapt to their new surroundings. A kaleidescope of characters parade by: a mysterious religious leader, a haughty politician, a mourning mother, a stranger with bright ideas… It remains up to the listener/viewer to weave the pieces together, but an underlying concern emerges: how can we maintain a permanent home when the waters keep rising?

Sara will perform the songs on guitar, mandolin and autoharp amidst an exhibition of mixed media works on paper. The visual works are transcriptions of the songs in which collages of the lyrics are presented alongside Sara’s alternative system of musical notation, which she devised to emphasize visual patterns in the melodic line.

In addition to the debut of Part 1 of “The News” in 2010, Sara has exhibited and performed several times at Open Source, including her recent work “Songs of Lewis & Clark,” the group show “Associated” and the two-person show “Urban Plant Research.” “The News: Monday-Friday” was largely realized at the residency program chashama North in 2010 and 2011. Sara earned a B.A. in studio art from Yale University in 2003 and performs regularly in the Americana string band Union Street Preservation Society.

http://sarabouchard.bandcamp.com

“Karl Spörk, Another Meeting” is part of “The Meeting”, an exhibition in honor of the life and work of Karl Spörk at the International Studio and Curatorial Program, ISCP.

The name of the show is based on the late, Austrian, artist Karl Spörk’s work from 2000 titled “The Meeting.” This video lasts 63 seconds and is essentially a conversation between the artist (Karl) and the great Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer. Set in a darkened room each sits in a separate chair with their back to the camera facing a television, the video depicts Karl’s animation of Durer’s anatomical figure studies in which the arm moves to touch it’s own genitals. Reminiscent of a psychotherapy session there is a long period of silence until Albrecht praises the artist on his manipulation, Durer: “I like it” Spörk: “I am glad you like it, Albrecht.”
A lot of Karl Spörk’s work, his personality and his life as well as his death has captured us. Nick Kline and Monika Wuhrer are curating a show that brings together numerous international artists and curators reflecting the intensity of Karl Spörk’s life especially filtered through his artwork.

Karl Spörk, Another Meeting at Open Source will project the “hen and hare”, a video by Karl Spörk. Spörk’s father, a butcher by profession, instructs the artist how to slaughter animals. Monika Wuhrer calls for a podium discussion inviting butchers to explain their jobs from their point of view and talk about the perception of the profession within their family, their friends and the public.

Participating artists at the ISCP
Margrethe Aanestaad, Lene Ask , Jane Benson, Songul Boyraz, Caterina Czepek, Tomas Eller, Gerald Freimuth, Andi Gut, Peter Höll, Christoph Girardet, Christopher Ho , Nick Kline, Else Leirvik, James Leonard, Michael Lobgesang, Ole Martin Lund Bø , Josh Mueller, Marcus Langender, Stefan Olah, Hans Schabus, Diana Shpungin, Karl Spörk, Monika Wuhrer

Crators: Nick Kline & Monika Wuhrer
Text: Ute Meta Bauer, Andreas Stadler, Annette Sudbeck, Kristina Tieke
Catalog: Schlebrügge, publisher (forthcoming)

Sponsors:
bmuk, Austrian Cultural Forum, Steven and Nancy NYC, International Studio and Curatorial Program, Der Kommissar

view photos on flickr

As a holiday gift to a friend or family member, consider contributing to one of the much needed items listed below.

Our volunteers work really hard for little compensation. We’d love to give them some free rides.

Unlimited Ride MetroCard, 1 Month Unlimited Ride MetroCard, 1 Week Limited Metrocard One Ride

Open Source likes to provide some wine for the openings.

One Bottle $10.00 USD Two Bottles $20.00 USD 1 Case $100.00 USD

We are winterizing our space and came up with the waste free idea to insulate: Gabions – Book Sculptures by Kate Harward

Open Source is in desperate need for a new computer that can help us track, maintain, publish, communicate and excite.

Or just give as much as you can to use for our Programming.

You can also send us a check made out to Open Source Gallery

Open Source Gallery
306 17th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Please note: All donations will be used to go towards the item you selected. We might also use some of it for different purposes.

select catalog

Associated $30.00 USD James Leonard $15.00 USD Jason Reppert $15.00 USD Naoe Suzuki/ Anne Phelan $15.00 USD

Year Books (11″x8″ and 11″x5.5″)

select book

2010 (11"x8") $50.00 USD 2011 (11"x8") $50.00 USD 2011 (8"x5.5") $15.00 USD

On November 2, 2011, Open Source Gallery hosted the Green Idea Pool at its location in South Slope, Brooklyn. The event was a fundraiser and open call to the community to come explore and share ideas on how to winterize our space using more green and sustainable approaches. A forum for creative problem solving that leads to green low cost solutions both for the immediate, as winter approaches, and permanently.

Open Source is essentially a converted garage with its original carriage doors and basically no insulation or heating. The goal of our project is to pool as many ideas as possible, then determine the best ones for implementation — ones that are simple, practical, elegant and will efficiently heat our space for the winter while lowering our energy costs.

Our open call solicited interest from a number of organizations whose focus is green building and green design. The firms included — Loadingdock5 (http://www.loadingdock5.com/); Build It Green! NYC (http://bignyc.org/); Right Environments (http://www.rightenvironments.com/); Gregory Duncan Architect (http://www.gduncan.us/ ); Ryan Schede Studio (http://www.ryanenschede.com/); Prospect Architecture (http:// www.prospectarchitecture.com/).

The ideas included for consideration as a result of the open call, were wide in range and scope from building a green roof to cutting a small door into one of the large carriage doors and leaving the main doors locked for the winter. But based on an assessment of our immediate needs we decided to implement the following changes as a start to our project:
• Insulate the ceiling using cellulose batt insulation (R-value 3.0-3.8 psi) between the ceiling joists. For this we will need 24″ wide roll for a total of about 320 sq. ft. In addition, we will use discarded small sheet and board material from Build-it Green — MDF shelving, disassembled IKEA units (R-value 2.35 psi) etc. — to create a patchwork finish to the ceiling.
• Install a gabion of books as insulation to fit the large carriage doors. The design module would comprise pre-made gabion baskets filled with books and laced together in place against the doors. We intend to host a special event where the community can participate in building the gabion, by bringing books they no longer need to fill the baskets themselves. We also plan that when the weather becomes warm, to deconstruct the wire mesh baskets for re-use or recycling and have the books sold or donated.
• Install a winter curtain to serve as both heat insulation and as a visual and conceptual background for other projects to be produced and displayed in the gallery during the winter of 2011-2012. This fabric installation is the work of Chilean artist Felipe Mujica and is the focus of an exhibition titled One Day This Will All Be Yours, which opens at the gallery on November 30.

An important component of our project will also be educational. This is chance for us, as well as the community to challenge our assumptions on energy efficiency and find the solutions that are the most effective, practical and sustainable methods to lowering our energy costs.

We plan to build an energy model with Gregory Duncan that would document and chart the space’s energy use as we implement the changes or improvements that we hope will help us lower our energy costs. Each idea would be viewed as an experiment. We would establish baseline data that shows our current energy use and then compare against each idea as they are implemented. We would also measure the effectiveness of each idea — whether it fulfilled the goal of providing adequate heat during the cold winter months.

Part of the process also is to invite our community to demonstrate their own ideas — where performance art piece meets building science laboratory — and publicize these events. We have already received a number of interesting entries for consideration such as the SunBike — a mobile solar-electric system on a retrofitted cargo bike designed to meet all kinds of “street power” needs; and building a windmill with a crew of teenage volunteers to test its generating capacity.

THANK YOU. Every donation helps.

Membership

Choose Level of Membership

GOLD : $40 USD – monthly SILVER : $20 USD – monthly BRONZE : $10 USD – monthly GOOD : $5 USD – monthly

Benefits of becoming a Member:
GOLD:
- yearly edition of the “BEST OF OPEN SOURCE” book
- monthly catalogs (NOTE: some months like soup kitchen and soap box derby and camp will not have catalogs)
- invites to special events
- 20% discount to kids programs and all catalogs

SILVER:
- yearly edition of the “BEST OF OPEN SOURCE” book
- invites to special events
- 15% discount to kids programs and all catalogs

BRONZE:
- invites to special events
- 10% discount to kids programs and all catalogs

GOOD:
- 10% discount to kids programs and all catalogs

FRIENDS OF OPEN SOURCE

You have to donate $1,000 or more per year.

- yearly edition of the “BEST OF OPEN SOURCE” book
- monthly catalogs (NOTE: some months like soup kitchen and soap box derby and camp will not have catalogs)
- invites to special events
- 20% discount to kids programs and all catalogs
- Open Source T-Shirt

You can also send a check to
Open Source Gallery, Inc
306 17th street
Brooklyn, NY 11215

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE