Booze has been the downfall of many an artist (absinthe, ear, etc.) but it paid off nicely for Bushwick photographer and sculptor Phoenix Lindsey-Hall last night, as she took home a $10,000 check from Herradura. Drinks on her!
The tequila maker, in conjunction with downtown-based arts org Creative Capital, invited nine artists to turn oak barrels into mash-terpieces; their creations went head-to-head in competition last night at Villain in Williamsburg. Lindsey-Hall, who works in the wood and metal shops at Parsons, put her laser-cutting skills to use by turning parts of her barrel into moving cogs (and they say tequila impedes cog-nitive function). We’re too hungover to describe it, so just check out the video (that’s her on the left).
Sure, we could show you photos of the third-place barrel by Kate Fauvell, who took home $1,000, or the second-place barrel, which took home $3,000 — or you could just trust Gersh Kuntzman, a Daily News editor who judged the contest, that Lindsey-Hall’s “three-dimensional horse-related object,” as he eloquently described it, was the clear winner. “I didn’t get where I am today without knowing great tequila barrel art,” he insisted after the party, as we unwisely continued drinking at Skinny Dennis.
Like a fine tequila (can anyone recommend one?), Lindsey-Hall’s art barrel didn’t happen over night. About six weeks ago, “two dudes dropped off a barrel and I was like, okay, awesome,” she told us. She fashioned the carouser’s carousel, dubbed “Still Moving,” during the course of a month or so while also preparing for her solo exhibition at Duke University in her native North Carolina. That show, “Crimes Against Nature,” is considerably more serious minded: it features warped ceramic recreations of objects that were used in alleged hate crimes, including a powerful piece that evokes a fatal beating that occurred in 2008, just blocks from her home in Bushwick.
If you’re heading to Art Basel Miami Beach next month, look for more of Lindsey-Hall’s work at Bushwick Art Crit Group’s exhibition at the Select Art Fair. The group just raised $11,800 to bring Bushwick artists like Lisa Levy to Basel, and is planning to include Lindsey-Hall in the “subversives” category along with another B+B favorite, Meryl Meisler.
