June 26 - August 13, 2004
"There is nothing
more life affirming than a wall"
-Maxwell Blum, The Letters of an Industrial Horticulturalist
The Franklin Abraham started as a residential tower designed in the once fashionable Rococo-Moderne style. In the 200 years since its inception it has expanded into an amalgamated superstructure that encompasses all aspects of civic life: residential, retail, manufacturing, commercial industry, government and entertainment. It is the modern metropolis manifested in a single building.
"Maxwell Blum, an
eccentric industrial horticulturalist, conceived the first designs of The
Franklin Abraham during the Pale Blue Epoch of metropolitan development. His
ambition was to build a residential environment around vast indoor gardens
of poisonous vegetation. Although only one garden remains today it is considered
one of most exquisite in the northern hemisphere.
Maxwell Blum Jr., who, assisted by M.S. Cambridge's invention of the light-indentation
rapid transit system, initiated the first phases of light manufacturing and
shopping arcades within the building. In the years to come the massive zoning
emancipation would allow for independent developers to build additions to
the original structure without governmental interference, yielding
the largest expansion of square footage in history. The Franklin Abraham currently
houses two million inhabitants is a mile and half wide, two miles long and,
in places, over 150 stories tall. It is the primary manufacturer of LaVista
soft drinks, Footwear by Alexander, CoreGuy Air Circulation products and Narco
Moisturizer. It contains the largest shopping center in the world, two casinos,
a bustling 24 hour television production studio, and an advanced omnidirectional
electromagnetic elevator system."
-Zachary Shamban, Ajax Index of World Architecture
Andrew Kreps Gallery is pleased to present Jonah Freeman's The Franklin Abraham, the artist's fifth solo exhibition at the gallery. This exhibition renders two distinct representations of The Franklin Abraham: a film and an installation.
The film is a series of chain-linked dramas that brings us through the varied socioeconomic strata of the building. A despondent teenage girl and her older newspaper-stealing boyfriend; a timid office worker on a date with a sinister-looking romeo; bored, subterranean youth gangs; the tribulations of the family/mega-corporation that own the building; an enraged anarchist, a moisturizer-huffing bartender and her angry patrons. The segments focus on the banal details of everyday life while simultaneously implying the gargantuan scale of the building.
The installation offers an arrangement of ephemeral material collected from the Franklin Abraham - advertisements, newspaper clippings, historical imagery, product display consoles and theatrical light environments.
The film will screen every hour on the hour from 11am-5pm. The total running time is 56 minutes. A reception will be held for the artist in the gallery on Saturday, June 25th from 6-8 PM at 516 West 20th St., New York City. For information call 212-741-8849
Jonah Freeman
September 6-September 30, 2000
In his third solo show Jonah Freeman takes a gated community as a platform to examine a variety of ideas and emotions surrounding contemporary architectural systems.
The works in the show focus on such topics as architecture and theatrical experience, where every part of living, (air, light, sound, food etc.) is tailored to the desires of the inhabitants, the voyeuristic/ exhibitionistic relationships that exist within such a community and the play between the psychic states of fear and safety.
Instead of using a documentary style to define this environment, Freeman employs the luscious cinematic techniques of fantasy, such as theatrical lighting, staged dramatic situations and a constant stream of popular music.
The
details of the work are focused on everyday elements. A woman washing dishes
or a man passed out on a bed are some of the aspects depicted in the series
of photographs. Also in the gallery is an installation of changing light in
a corner as well as a two-way mirror glass room with a ceiling of yellow florescent
light. Both works point toward the abstract and emotional experiences of architecture.
A video composed of tracking shots
and close-ups with an altered pop music soundtrack gives a sense of suspense
and nostalgia to what is otherwise empty environs. Each banal and plotless
detail is given the coating of spectacular presentation.
The
exhibition will be on view from September 6 - September 30 2000. A reception
will be held for the artist in the gallery on September 7 from 6-8 PM at 516
West 20th St., New York City. For information call 212-741-8849.
