Outing #1: Let's Go Make and Fly a Kite! by Linn Edwards and Brian Bell

Saturday, October 3rd: “Let’s Go Make and Fly a Kite” is facilitated by Brooklyn artists Linn Edwards and Brian Bell. After traveling to Floyd Bennett Field, New York’s first municipal airport on the southeastern shore of Brooklyn, participants will construct kites from recycled plastic bags and sticks, attempt to fly them, have a picnic, and explore the hangars and runways in the community park. The outing will be documented with video and photographs.

All week there was a threat of rain for Saturday. But our spirits weren't dampened! Linn and Brian were willing to slog it out, Benjamin Franklin style. As it panned out, we timed it all well, and missed the rain completely, save for the clogged ride home.

Uncharacteristically, I arrived at Linn and Brian's Lefferts Gardens apartment on time at 11:00 am, anticipating the beginning of this whole project. We were joined by Luna, a small medium-sized dog whose owner was in Italy (and who has been under my care for a week). Linn and Brian were armed with photo and video cameras and supplies for the outing. Fortunately, they are used to taking photographs of everything so I didn't have to struggle with a camera while driving. Half of the photos in this blog are by them.

Floyd Bennett Field is at the southeastern tip of Brooklyn, just before a bridge that crosses into southern Queens territory. As a defunct airfield, there are vast stretches of concrete runways, some of which are overgrown with plant life. Mostly, it's an unrestricted driving zone. You can do donuts in concentric circles if you have a mind to do so. We saw a teen learning how to drive a minivan, hot rods, and a training course for parking ticket cops in those odd little vehicles.

After a walk on the beach (we were excited to remember we live near a beach), we continued to explore the multi-faceted Floyd Bennett Field. It's a place where women feed pigeons, large men fly radio-controlled model airplanes, and Russian photographers bring their stick-thin Russian models. There is one accessible bathroom. Soon we got to business with making the kites out of plastic shopping bags.

As it turned out, we made only one. It was a group effort. The instructions were mostly useful, except on the subject of string. The importance of the string was emphasized, yet we couldn't make out what we were to do with it in order to help the kite fly. 

Flummoxed, we broke for lunch on the beach.

More exploring lead us to the museum the National Park Service maintains, which was very casual and un-New-York-ish. 

After passing through a gesture at a museological treatment of the airfield, we entered a hangar full of fully accessible Vietnam-era planes being restored by gregarious volunteers. Also memorable was a visitor who walked in with an 8-foot snake wrapped around him.

Choosing a strip of concrete frequented by the teen in the minivan, Brian experimented with the wind and the string while Linn ran Luna around. We decided several things were wrong with the construction: the dowels were too heavy and didn't flex enough, the kite wasn't aerodynamically cut, and we didn't know what we were doing. But that didn't stop us from trying to fly it; it's all in the trying

and pretending it worked 

 

and trying...


Satisfied with our efforts, we drove around some more and found a sports complex, a second sighting of the Russian wedding photographer and his venus (the duet made us a bit queasy) in front of the visitor-center-to-be, and a very large semi-exclusive community garden. As we wandered and wondered about the type of people who became members, what the surrounding social activities were, and the individuality expressed by each plot, I distractedly let go of the dog leash and was firmly reprimanded by a disembodied voice. Time to go!

On the rainy return trip, Linn and Brian tried to convince me to hold on to the Iron Maiden. So much fun! The places to explore! As I drove, looking out through a slightly impossible windshield because the wipers failed a few months ago and I haven't had the money or time to fix them, I wondered at their suggestion. Which seems the crux of this project: knowing I have to let go but constantly being reminded of the benefits. But really, it wouldn't have been half as much fun without Linn and Brian and Luna. I know not to give them up.

Five Selected Outings for The Last Days of the Iron Maiden

It was a tough decision, but here are the five selected outings for The Last Days of the Iron Maiden. Thank you to all of those who submitted proposals. Check this blog for opportunities to participate in some of the outings.  I'll post pictures and narratives after each outing.

Saturday, October 3rd: “Let’s Go Make and Fly a Kite” is facilitated by Brooklyn artists Linn Edwards and Brian Bell. After traveling to Floyd Bennett Field, New York’s first municipal airport on the southeastern shore of Brooklyn, participants will construct kites from recycled plastic bags and sticks, attempt to fly them, have a picnic, and explore the hangars and runways in the community park. The outing will be documented with video and photographs.

Saturday, October 10th: “Dinner Theatre: Mobile Picnic” is part of Brooklyn photographer/performance artist TJ Hospodar’s exploration of food and performance. The Iron Maiden will be used to pick up guests (with reservations) for one-hour in-transit picnics. Diners will be dropped off on the way to the next diner’s location. The Iron Maiden will also be available for the messenger servicelike “Run My Errands.” Please contact Mr. Hospodar at dinnertheatre@tjhospodar.com to make an appointment or for more information.

Saturday, October 17th: “Sun, Sunny's and Sunday: The End of Long Island and The Iron Maiden” will be directed by Brooklyn writer/actor/musician Richard Alwyn Fisher. An early autumn journey through the southern beaches of Queens and Brooklyn, Mr. Fisher’s itinerary includes Gateway National Recreation Area and Breezy Point Park, and will end at the Red Hook hideaway Sunny’s in order to usher in Sunday. The outing will be recorded for a future podcast series by Mr. Fisher. Other forms of artistic reaction and inspiration are encouraged by fellow passengers.

Saturday, October 24th: “Iron Maiden Bandwagon Tailgate Party 2009” is an outing by the collective Bandwagon (Brooklyn artist Chad Stayrook and Queens artist/curator José Ruiz). The Iron Maiden will lead a wagon caravan to a to-be-disclosed location for an All-American tailgate party. Forming a circle of wagons around the Iron Maiden at the destination, Bandwagon will induct both the Iron Maiden and Ms. Miller as honorary members of Bandwagon artists. The event is family-friendly and will include ice-cold beer, cider, a grill, baked beans, and a pop-up tent.

Saturday, October 31st: “Experimental Films on Wheels” is a night planned by New York artists/curators Evonne Davis and Emma Wilcox in which experimental works from the Gallery Aferro (Newark, NJ) film archive are projected from within the Iron Maiden on to its windows. The Iron Maiden will travel to and be stationed at several museums and nightclubs around the city so that passerbys can become spectators of the films. The film series will last throughout the Halloween night. Visit the project’s blog for updates on locations and times.

Proposals for The Last Days of the Iron Maiden are due on Monday!

I'm accepting proposals from friends/acquaintances in the New York area for my project "The Last Days of the Iron Maiden," as detailed below. The deadline is Monday, September 21, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST.

Dear New York Friends,

I am doing a project throughout the month of October that calls for your participation and planning. For various reasons, I'm sadly selling my Volvo station wagon, the Iron Maiden, later this fall. So, for grief management and a chance to spend time with friends, I'm calling for proposals to create an outing for us within the five boroughs of New York on one of five Saturdays in October.

The selected applicants will be picked up and dropped off by the Iron Maiden and me. We can go anywhere and do anything within Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, or Staten Island—be adventurous, visit places you/we've never been before, learn about local haunts, explore with a mission, scout locations, create your own art project. Proposals will be reviewed based on their inventiveness and potential for new experiences, learning, and fun. I'll keep a blog of the project, similar to the blog I kept during the "Iron Maiden Tour & Residency '06" (http://naomiller.com). I might also make work during the outings.

Attached is a fill-in PDF application. It can be opened in Preview, Acrobat Professional, and Acrobat Reader (n.b.: it cannot be saved in Reader). You can 1) fill in, save, and email back to me; 2) fill in, print, scan, and email; or 3) fill in, print, and mail to me. They are due in two weeks on Monday September 21, 2009. If have any questions, please let me know.

I look forward to reviewing your applications.

Best,

Naomi