New short video on Youtube - The Ocean Show goes to the Sea...the Atlantic Seafood Festival ... really good things can take allot of time, like wine & cheese and art...)

PLASTIQUE--THE OCEAN SHOW  the show rises Again!

*August 1994: the birth of the ocean show concept at Creative Space Place, New Brunswick

This first image (minus the poem), was created by New York artist, Harriet Leonard before we even thought of the ocean show!)

Each piece created for this show measures 8 ft. H x 4 ft. W, and was done  on heavy, transparent vinyl or acetate in one case. The theme is the ocean and denizens of the deep. Here we have documented  the show. There were twenty-six artists at the beginning but over the years, the show grew. The pieces came from Alaska, Georgia, New Mexico, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Louisiana and New Jersey. The show converged for the first time in November/December 1995 in an exhibition at  Lincoln Center's Cork Gallery, 65th Street & Broadway, New York.

Our goal was to begin an experiment, opening doors and gathering artists  to see how far we could make this ocean roll. "Plastique-the Ocean Show" has visited hospitals, libraries, senior centers, schools, and festivals.

At Broadway House For Continuing Care, CARE was not taken of the show, and 11 of the pieces met with a mysterious, unexplained end.

What didn't disappear was removed and put into storage.

The summer of 1999, Rebecca Brenowitz from the Human Relations Council in East Brunswick called VAL to invite us to come and see the 300 ft wide concrete wall in the woods fronting the old Country Swim Club on Dutch Road, East Brunswick.

We saw in that bare expanse of concrete, a chance for the dreams of all the artists in the ocean show to rise again and expand. 37 sections 8' X 4', and another 2 sections each approx 25 ft wide for murals. Each section framed by a natural frame of bricks.  We got an idea: to create a customized fish brick and pass them out randomly to young and old and  welcome an additional 400 people into this grass roots funded community project.

.... then we began e mailing the Virtual Fish Brick and inviting Digital Artists to paint the brick in Photoshop and e mail it back to us to join in a fish brick line up on the Internet.

We also welcomed fish image designs via the Internet to be reproduced at this end.

To see some of the original artists' creations, click on their names below.

18 years later, and the pieces are still returning to their respective owners!

With a story to tell....

 

Travels of Plastique-The Ocean Show

Plastique-The Ocean Show @ Barnes & Noble, June. 2007

Old Bridge Library, Old Bridge, NJ

Robert Wood Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ  Photo  Photo

Atlantic City, New Jersey - SeaFood Festival   Photos  Photos  Green Dragon  Great White Fish

Broadway House, Newark, NJ (last stop) 

J. Wray, East Brunswick, NJ (the concept person) More Complete list of Artists/Schools in the Ocean Show- needs to be updated!

Bernard Axelrod, Metuchen, NJ     web site

J.B. Brown, NJ    web site

Luci Butler, Florida      web site

Jaru Chang, NJ

Connie Cherniak, Staten Island, NJ

Jo Dagon, Alaska

DOJORO, North Port, NY    web site

"Little Bobby" Duncan, Jamesburg, NJ    web site

Celeste Fleming, NJ

Carol Freeborn, NJ 

Steve Getlik, Conneticuit

Joanne Guerra, Milltown, NJ   The Duck

Joanne Guerra Angel Fish

Rob Laumbach, NJ 

Harriet Leonard (1.)New York, NY  

Harriet Leonard, New York, NY (2) web site

Daniel Noll, Scottsdale, Arizona 

Mike Preston, Middlesex, NJ 

Michelle Santacross, Summit, NJ 

Janet Simpson, North Port, NY 

Pat San Soucie, Oregon    web site

Nancy Speelman, Hillsborough, NJ     web site

Sue Schott, Pittsburgh, PA 

Ms.S. Class, McKinley School, New Brunswick, NJ.  web site

 Angel Vargas, NJ

Kim Wade, NJ at RWJH, New Brunswick, NJ

29 People at the Ananda Ashram Gallery
in the East/West Yoga School of Visual Arts, Monroe, NY

Ginny Wick, Hillsborough, NJ   (Tortoise & Shark)

Ginny Wick (Octopus & Jelly Fish)

Silke Wouters, NJ 

Chris Mackinnon, Shark River, NJ      web site

Karen Chicmansky, Hillsborough, NJ  

 

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