A new art exhibit on Coles Street in Jersey City is turning the tables on the audience. Called “Public Nuisance,” the show is a collection of photographs of audience members who attended “Arsenal and Animal,” a past exhibit at the gallery held in August. Consisting of six life-size portraits and a wall of smaller photographs, the exhibit presents the audience as art.
“The audience is really what drives the gallery,” said curator of 58 gallery Orlando Reyes. “The people are what really drive everything – the community, the economy. We wanted to explore that sort of subject matter.”
Denmark-born photographer Svend Linbaek took over 1,000 frames of 120 people in attendance that night, although only a select few were chosen for the final exhibit.
“It was a really fun and great experience,” said the Manhattan-based photographer. “Everyone was so willing to participate.”
The portraits are 40-by-60 inches in size, which is almost full-size, Lindbaek said. A book called “Public Nuisance,” containing almost all the photographs, will be available at the closing of the exhibit.
“The audience is really what drives the gallery.” – Orlando Reyes
________
“Public Nuisance” will also be accompanied by a video installation and be up through October. For more information on the exhibit, visit: www.fifty8.com.
Audience participation
After being cited for a maintaining a public nuisance and ticketed by the city last month, Reyes decided to photograph audience members as a way to show the public the benefits of the gallery.
“We wanted to do something good for the community,” Reyes said, referring to opening the art gallery eight years ago. “But now we are being called a nuisance.”
Reyes said he has been “constantly ticketed” by the city. Although the space has been there for almost 30 years, he feels he is being harassed.
“It was at the closing reception for the last show,” he said. “It wasn’t that we were being loud or anything. It wasn’t a noise complaint.”
The studio was ticketed in the past for not having an entertainment license or what is called a cabaret license. A gallery, like 58 Gallery, needs a cabaret license to have live music or entertainment, he said.
But the problem for Reyes is that a lot the exhibits he presents are accompanied by live music or an artist performance like spoken word or interpretive dance.
“The definitions for a live performance are endless,” Reyes said. “The problem is the city doesn’t have a clear definition.” He said the city should redefine the codes for live performances to better regulate 21st century entertainment.
“I’m not a cabaret,” he said. “It’s not like I’m charging money at the door.”
Reyes said the problem has gotten so bad that he was even thinking of boycotting city-sponsored events like the Studio Art Tour. However, Reyes decided to participate, but to open after Studio Tour hours, as a “silent appeal.”
“I want to let people know we might not be here next year,” Reyes said. “We have such beautiful community support I don’t want one or two people with an axe to grind to out weigh the community.”
For more information on the studio, visit the studio’s website: www.fifty8.com.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com