Woods’ Flurry of Silver and Gold

Aicha Woods' Sumptuary Flurry

Ripple Artist Aicha Woods delights to work with everyday matter and detritus. Her fragile, temporary installations tend to waver between emergence and entropy.  With her installation in Ripple Effect entitled Sumptuary Flurry, Woods utilizes a scattering of gold and silver buttons to not only pay homage to the once retail enterprise housed at 756 State Street, but also epitomize the title of the work itself as it is indeed a flurry of artistic expression influenced by Sumptuary laws.

But, what are Sumptuary laws?

Sumptuary laws (from Latin sumptuariae leges) are laws that attempt to regulate habits of consumption. Black’s Law Dictionary defines them as if “Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures in the matter of apparel, food, furniture, etc. Traditionally, they were laws that regulated and reinforced social hierarchies and morals through restrictions on clothing. food, and luxury expenditures. In most times and places, they were ineffectual. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) 

 

Happy Holidays from Ripple Effect!

Happy Holidays from Ripple Effect!

To celebrate the holiday season, we’ve decided to share a few photos from our recent holiday reception at 756 Chapel St. Like what you see? Then come check out all of the amazing art being created as the Ripple Effect continues to grow into the new year!

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Studio 756 Holiday Party!

To celebrate the amazing work being produced with Ripple Effect, and to celebrate the holiday season, we’re having a party!  Everyone is invited to attend the  Ripple Effect Holiday Party at 756 Chapel St. on Sunday, December 18, 2011 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.   Come down and enjoy a music performance from artist Sam Gibbons, as well as a slide show from artist Ernst Weber, whose photographs will take us back to the era of the 70′s and 80′s around New Haven.  Refreshments will be served, generously donated by the newest member of the block and New Haven community supporter, the Elm City Market.

Insook’s Installation is Filled with Love

 

Insook putting the finishing touches on Hi Love Kiss!

Insook Hwang, one of the amazingly talented artists from the Second Ripple, has been hard at work with her contribution to Ripple Effect entitled Hi Love Kiss!  Insook is known for creating installations that resemble a living organism by
combining small, repeating images that assemble into a larger more intriguing form, and her most recent creation at 756 Chapel St. is no exception.  Her’s what she had to say about her newest work:

The net like structure symbolize the accumulated memories and experiences the unconsciousness of human beings that lasts forever, shifting their forms and evolving themselves in the space. The bright colors (magenta, yellow, cyan) symbolize the memories contained in the structure as positive and invigorating such as good will and wisdom. Four portraits of myself are combined to make abstract crosses that take the form of stars, in stickers as well as part of the animation, that are spread out, moving humorously suggest that I am free and luminous being, like a star that can travel anywhere, shining in the darkness. Hanging pillows and stickers of different sizes are used to create the illusion of depth in the wall space. To give the appearance of volume to the net structure, I’ve drawn it out with lines of tape that run directly from the walls and onto the floor with the support of transparent vinyl. In the lenticulars, the word “love” is written in different languages (including Korean, English, French and German) that overlap each other in patterns like hidden codes.

Techniques of lenticuar prints, stencil, airbrushing, digital cut (for the stickers), sticker making, photography, animation, painting, drawing, sewing and collage were applied. Materials used are mylar, vinyl, leticular film, glitter film, sign film, printed paper, digital photo frame, acrylics and ink.

Behind the Bricks of 756 Chapel St.

Recently, artist Colin Caplan took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to detail the fascinating history of 756 Chapel St., home of Project Storefronts and the Ripple Effect.  Colin, known around town for his amazing Taste of New Haven Food & Drink Tours, is the founder of Magrisso Forte LLC., a historical building preservation and design firm.  Here’s what he had to share:

P & Q Clothes and James Carroll Dental Center, 1925.

The bearing brick building was built around 1877 in the Italianate Victorian style for Paul Weil, a German Jewish immigrant who ran a tobacco shop and saloon there. He was born in Germany in 1830 and was heavily involved in New Haven’s Jewish community. His sons joined him in his business, and in 1883, he expanded his business to include a restaurant. Weil bottled soda on site and specialized in cigars, Milwaukee lager beers and wine. The upper floors of the building housed over various periods of time barbers, a scene painter, an architect and dentists. By World War I saloon converted over to clothing stores, which occupied the building up to the early 1960s. In 1966, Salvatore Libero and William Goldfarb started the Goldie Libro Music Center which was enjoyed by many a New Haveners for almost 40 years, until they closed in 2003.

An advertisement from the 1877 New Haven City Directory featuring Paul Weil’s business.

There’s A Ripple in the Air

Ripple from Steven Olsen

It’s the beginning of December, which can mean only two things: Lots of holiday celebrations and lots of Ripples!  Which is why we’ve decided to combine the two and hold a ton of events to celebrate the great work being done down at 756 Chapel St. at the Ripple Effect!  Be sure to come down and celebrate with us, and Project Storefronts, on the following dates:

 

 

Friday, Dec. 2, 4-8pm:  The Good Life and Ripple Second reception

Saturday, Dec. 10, 12-5pm:  Make and Mingle Crafting and Ripple Third reception

Sunday, Dec. 11 , 8-11pm: Intercambio Performance

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2-4pm:  Ripple Holiday Celebration

Ripple from Joan Fitzsimmons

Ripple from Paul Thierault

Rippling Out in Effect from 756 Chapel St, New Haven, CT

Ripples are out folks!

October 22nd 4pm marked the live performance installations of  art in the Ripple Effect Exhibit at 756 Chapel St during City Wide Open Studios. This historic building, formerly a mens clothing store is also remembered as a well loved and known music store – Goldie and Libro.

Thanks to the first  incredible installations by artists,  the ecclectic group Professor X’s Crew of Gifted Tricksters was able to creatively respond to the pieces exhibited . Over the next several months,  the space will be continued to be creatively transformed by visual artists responding to the history and concept of the space that will also be installed with live performance.

Working within the theme of ripples – each artist and perfomer is currently  in the process of “tagging” other artists to add to the overall installation, creating new ripples of visual and performance based artwork.  We are really looking forward to the next wave of Ripple art and performances - starting from the Greater New Haven area, and potentially creating the newest bold wave of art across the country in the next upcoming months. Stay tuned for the second round of artists in Ripple Effect. Ripple Effect is located at 756 Chapel Street, New Haven 10-5pm and the exhibit will be up until January

Initial Ripple Artists include:

Julie Famis, Joan Fitzsimmons, Debbie Hesse,  Rachel Gilroy, Rashmi Talpade,  Katro Storm, Steven Olsen,  Laura Marsh, Paul Theriault,   Jacob Antone Konst

 First Ripple Performances:

Professor X’s Crew of  Gifted  Tricksters :

 Aleks Romano -  Mezzo Soprano,

Adam Matta – Beatboxer/Audible Artist

 Shola Cole – Vocalist/Performer

 Iyaba Ibo Mandingo – Painter- Performance artist & Poet