photo by vee

*Tabula Raza gallery will on June 16 open “Rock Paper Scissors,” a show with a conceptual bent examining the shifting elements that go into each work of art (rock=physicality, paper=communication and scissors=tools).  The opening reception is Wednesday, June 16 at the gallery, 24 48th Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11220.

*Vee has been up and about, with typically lush images of Sunset Park. Stop by Sunset Park Stills and take a look.

*One of the most mouthwatering shots at Stills comes from the folks over at Buendia Productions. You can check out their Flickr page, or go strait to the (web)source.

*You should note that Buendia is having an exhibit (more here) on June 17 at Chashama’s space in the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

*It’s been a while since he visited Sunset Park, but sometime-neighborhood photographer Evan Sklar has been busy in New York and nearby states. Check out his blog…maybe we can woo him back for some summertime pics.

Know of art news that got left out? Drop a note to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com, or leave it in the comments…

Good morning. It’s Thursday. The weekend looms. Let’s start with the prettiest in news:

*Lush trees, boggy wetlands and birds…in New York City? That’s precisely what Joel Meyerowitz portrays in large-scale photographs of 50 city parks on show at the Museum of the City of New York. Commissioned by the parks department, the exhibit is the largest documentary of the city’s 29,000 acres of parkland since they were photographed as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA project of the 1930s. Sunset Park made the cut, City Limits Online reports, offering a little bit of urban to the pastoral scenes of the lesser known green in our nation’s great metropolis. Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks, at the Museum of the City of New York, Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., adults $10, through March 21.

*Governor David Paterson led the way in welcoming Councilwoman Sara M. González at the new Sunset Park High School into her second term on the council, YourNabe reported. The comment section (ever enlightening) offers a range of reactions to the news.

*Last weekend, nearly every paper ran stories on the tragic fire that killed five in Bensonhurst, including the mother of two young children.The New York Times offered some history, and the story about how the blaze affected families of the dead in Guatemala. The Post reported while the alleged arsonist said “demons” drove him to torch a baby carriage that drove the blaze, it may have had more to do with revenge. A Daily News story portrayed 2-year-old Josias’ confusion at his mothers death. Their home destroyed, the family has taken up residence in Sunset Park.

*A string of holdups in local warehouses, including at least one in the 72nd precinct, continued this week. From YourNabe.com: On January 11, two black males armed with handguns entered a warehouse on Centre Street between Smith and Court Streets and robbed a 43-year-old man inside. Police said that cops have connected the thieves to four similar robberies in the nearby 78th Precinct in Park Slope and the 72nd Precinct in Sunset Park.

*In other crime news, a police arrested a man believed to be a thief with a thing for mailboxes. Officials alleged 49-year-old John Sturiale was one of two men who in December stole metal and plastic post office containers worth upward of $2500 (who knew?) from the post office on 58th Street, YourNabe.com reported. First email, then missing containers. Times are tough for USPS.

Haitian civilians receive assistance in a camp set up by the Brazilian Army in Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the 2010 Earthquate. Image courtesy of the Agência Brasil.

Last week a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, demolishing the capital, Port-au-Prince, and crippling areas throughout the troubled country. Thousands died. One week later, a 6.1 aftershock made a tragic situation worse. In the midst of looting, hunger and torn families, NPR found one story with a bright spot–an employee and a guest trapped in pitch-dark elevator shafts side by side. They kept one another company, offered hope and survived. In that same spirit…

The Tabula Rasa gallery is asking Sunset Park and those throughout the city to reach out to strangers, in the dark miles away, and help at a fundraiser this Saturday, January 23 from 1-4:30 pm. All the money raised will go to charity.

Local artists are donating work to be auctioned from the gallery at Saturday’s event. The back room presentation space will be used to hang the work in a display which will be constantly “turning over” as donations are made and new art replaces work being taken.

Anyone writing a check of $75.00 DIRECTLY to one of the designated charities can select an artwork 11″ x 14″ or smaller. Anyone donating $150.00 can select from these or a larger works. Any and all contributions are welcome. For those who can’t give, the gallery is also looking for volunteers for the event.

Tabula Rasa Gallery, 224 48th Street between Second and Third Avenues in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Chinese documentarian Wang Bing made a name for himself with Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks, the nine hour chronicle of the demise of an industrial district in northeast China. Crude Oil, which follows a 14-hour workday of crude-oil extraction the Gobi desert of Inner Mongolia, runs 14.

From November 4-8, Light Industry, an alternative art space in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is screening Crude Oil in its entirety each day from 9am until 11pm. Read the full story