Wednesday, January 15, 2025. After a night and early morning at 24 degrees in Manhattan and up to the low 30s by noon. But a dry cold with very little wind; so what can you expect mid-January? Christmas and New Year’s was already two weeks ago and the city is quiet at the end of the work day.
However Better Late Than Never. The first new art exhibit of 2025, was Obsession and Evidence, the work of Machine Dazzle which debuted January 1st at the Gallery AP Space in Chelsea. Today is the last day of the exhibit, although Mr. Dazzle is not going away and his work is In Progress and on the rise.
I became aware of his presence through Barbara Tober who has been a big supporter of his work. His “work” is his life, literally. He’s artist out of the school of Andy Warhol. Another generation, of course, but emotionally and artistically Warholian. School of Art and Public Presence. It’s rough, 21st century proletarian in presentation. But it’s authentic too. It’s a production also. To be around it is to be “in” it. Belonging. And of course full of nature.
I’ve seen very little of it so I can’t judge to explain. But Mr. Machine’s “Art” is very serious as a professional production, a sense that provokes curiosity.
“Obsession and Evidence” presented sculptures crafted from recycled materials, reimagining discarded objects as fossilized artifacts. The pieces highlight the role of waste in modern life and its unintended integration into the natural world. Complementing the sculptures are AI-generated visuals that depict artificial materials as organic forms, encouraging us to reconsider the relationship between the synthetic and the natural.
The opening day of the exhibition included a parade down 25th Street led by Machine Dazzle himself, featuring huge bundles of balloons and masks that were installed in the gallery.
Whatever it says, Mr. Dazzle’s work was born to be noticed. Again, like Warhol, it’s of its time. Our friend Barbara Tober hosted a lunch for 80 guests the day of the opening. Barbara is one devoted to her interests which are mainly seriously philanthropic and including The Arts.
They were celebrating the occasion with distinguished guests, such as Taylor Mac, Justin Vivian Bond, Carrie Rebora Barratt, Gillian McCain, Dusty Childers, Ben Rodriguez-Cubenas, RoseLee Goldberg and Dakota Jackson, Jackie Hoffman, Sharon King Hoge, Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman, Phoebe Legere, Helen Little, Daphne Merkin, Nicole Miller and Kim Taipale, Cay Sophie Rabinowitz and Christian Rattemeyer, Michael Sylvan Robinson, Tim Rogers, Marc Rosen, Pamela Willoughby, and Lynn Yager. Gallery owner, Jean Park, warmly welcomed the many guests.
Meanwhile, according to Helena Bonham Carter, “… everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams.”
SOCIETY DREAMS: Helena Bonham Carter
by Lauren Lawrence
The Dream: As a child of about four or five I had a recurring dream that I am wandering down a Sandy Lane in the forest. It is very dark. Suddenly around six feet in front of me a mound appears, and out from this mound pops a crab. The crab started chasing me. I turned and went the other way, retracing my steps. At the top of the lane there was this huge Gothic mansion, but between this sanctuary and me was this carpet of live snapping lobsters, and the crab was still behind me. What does this mean?
The Interpretation: At a transitional phase of life, Helena travels a lonely road into the forest of repression with the intention of breaking from the dependent, restrictive lifestyle of a young child. But, like Little Red Riding Hood, her excursion into the woods — her daring quest for separation/individuation — is met with fierce opposition. In many ways, the dream is an initiation of sorts which often pits dreamers against evil or frightening creatures that represent ordeals or trials of courage to be triumphed over. As such, these dreams are heroic attempts to illuminate and move the personality forward in its stage of development.
Upon entering the forest, symbolizing the unconscious or the unknown, the dreamer’s path is blocked for she has stumbled on an inner subterranean world of confrontation, a world beneath the surface, which is why there are ocean dwellers, crabs and lobsters. The crab represents the dreamer’s willful tenacity or a non too subtle reminder to claw her way back home.
In another view, dreams of being chased often signify the wish to affirm moral and ethical values, as the word “chased” has the phonetic rendering of chaste. This is why the crab makes Helena retrace her steps – returning to familiar ground and the security of the home. But the wish is conflicted; the gothic mansion perceived as a sanctuary is barred from access.
One understands the conflict within separation/individuation dreams. Obstacles or impasses are paired with something good — the mansion waiting on the other side. The child psyche is immobilized by both a wish for independence and a wish for familial protection. In this view, the dream wish is to tease through childhood fears in the hope of gaining an expanded self-awareness in the process.
For private dream analysis, contact laurenlawrence@aol.com
