Research Archive

Group Show @ PS1

That Was Then…This Is Now

June 22 – September 24 2008
Organized by P.S.1 Director Alanna Heiss

Poster and Video Project

John Fekner & Don Leicht
This collaborative poster and video project was specifically created and installed in Sweden, ranked (3rd) with Norway (2nd) and Switzerland (1st) on the global list of countries according to the 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by a team of environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University. To see how your country is rated: http://epi.yale.edu
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Toxic Wastes from A to Z (coming after you and me) is a parody of a children’s alphabet learning aid which runs alphabetically through a list of toxic pollutants. Martin Nisenholtz invites Fekner, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and others to experiment with an early interactive computer graphics system (Telidon) at New York University’s Alternate Media Center (Interactive Telecommunications Program). Fekner generates colorful shapes and patterns in a deceptively simple lighthearted manner to engage the attention of the viewer concerning the seriousness of hazardous waste and the effect on both the general public and the environment. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1983, David Wojnarowicz had seen my Toxic Junkie mural on the 2nd Street on the Loisaida of New York. He suggested working on some collaborations and we did a few in different media. David was unique, intense and extremely generous. He was a sharing and supportive artist in every aspect of the collaborative process; no matter what the final outcome might be; a painting, a painted found sculptural object, or a sound recording.

A Day With(Out) Art
Dec 1

“I find them everywhere. Discarded objects from another time. The old folks are the only ones who remember the magic these shattered wooden cabinets possessed at one time. Read the rest of this entry »

Conceived by street artist John Fekner, City Squad consisted of musicians and non-musicians, and functioned as a musical extension to the Queensites outdoor stencil projects.

Performed by the John Fekner City Squad. Music & lyrics by John Fekner (voice) & Dave Santaniello (vocal). Animation and graphics by Andrew Ruhren and John Fekner and students from Southampton College, edited by Fred Baca. Thanks to Steve Grivas for playing the bass, deejaying pirate radio station (WHAT) in Jackson Heights, NY and encouraging me to pursuing the audio fun. This one’s goes out to Larry and Nancy Mullins. Dedicated to the memory of our best buddy, Dave Lella.

Fekner formed his own band City Squad in 1983 which was composed of musicians and non-musicians as an extension of Queensites, a group of teenagers from Jackson Heights who assisted with the outdoor stencil work.

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1977-1979
Black and White+8mm 14 min. (collaboration with Fred Baca)

John Fekner began experimenting with video and audio, working with Fred Baca on Environmental Stencils 77-79, a grainy, grim, raw, b&w 8mm film/video that not only documents Fekner’s stencil projects, but is also a bleak portrait of New York City in ruins.

These 2 short conceptual videos are part of the Glitches series, made by John Fekner in 2002.

Once Upon A Time

Decay Glitches