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ATZ Review: Legendarium at The Big Apple Circus

Posted in circus, Photography, tagged Big Apple Circus, entertainment, Jenny Vidbel, Liberty horses, Lincoln Center on December 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

Big Apple Circus Legendarium. December 15, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita

Going to the Big Apple Circus in Lincoln Center has been a New York holiday tradition since the 1980s. We especially like to go on New Year’s Eve when the show ends with a champagne toast and dancing in the ring, but this year we caught the show early. At last Saturday’s performance of Legendarium, scenery in the style of an antique handbill set the mood for a journey back in time even before the show started: “Presenting the unprecedented attractions of THE FIRST BIG TOP and exhibiting celebrated American jesters and natural born fools The AcroBuffos…”

Jenny Vidbel and her Liberty Horses. Big Apple Circus Legendarium. December 15, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita

Acrobats, trapeze artists, jugglers, a contortionist, an equilibrist, Liberty horses and former shelter dogs are also on the bill. The jovial ringmaster John Kennedy Kane shares entertaining anecdotes about circus history relating to the Brooklyn Bridge and Broadway. We learn that the first-ever circus ring measured 42 feet in diameter, which is the size needed for a horse to reach a full gallop, and that is precisely the size of the Big Apple’s ring.

Jenny Vidbel’s Ponies. Big Apple Circus Legendarium. December 15, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita

Over the years, Katja Schumann’s Liberty horses and Barry Lubin aka Grandma the Clown have been among our favorite performers. Lubin retired after last year’s show and we miss him. The highlight of the show was Jenny Vidbel’s Liberty horse act featuring Arabian horses and ponies. When the ponies trotted out, the audience let out a collective gasp of delight. Other standout acts were slack wire maestro Zhang Fan, Daniel Cyr and his mesmerizing Cyr Wheel, the Dalian Bicycle Troupe, Desire of Flight aerialists Malvina and Valeriy, and Emily and Menno van Dyke, who passionately dance the tango at the same time that they juggle.

The Big Apple Circus, Lincoln Center, New York City, through January 13, 2013; Alpharetta, GA, February 1-18; Bridgewater, NJ, February 18-March 17; Boston, MA, March 26- May 12.

Zhang Fan and Jenny Vidbel. Big Apple Circus Legendarium. December 15, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita

Video of the Day: Zamperla Zoppe Bareback Riders

Posted in circus, video, tagged "Olissio Zoppe", acrobat, bareback riders, equestrian, Ringling Circus, Steeplechase Horse, Zamperla Zoppe, Zoppe-Zamperla on January 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In this newly released video of the Zamperla-Zoppe Bareback Riders performing with Ringling’s Gold Unit last spring, the brothers Olissio, Gino and Ermes leap on and off the backs of cantering horses, turning somersaults and back flips with ease. Ringling skipped Coney Island in 2011, but we met Olissio Zoppe when he was here for a few days last July with Circus Vidbel.

At the Coney Island History Project, Olissio vaulted onto the Steeplechase horse’s back in a split second when asked to pose for the photo shown below. Circus people never cease to amaze. Olissio and his brothers have been acrobatic equestrians since boyhood and their skill goes back six generations to two illustrious Italian circus families. If the ceiling had been taller, we bet he would have done a somersault on the horse’s back and landed on his feet–even in flip flops!

Are the Zamperla Zoppe troupe, who are distantly related to the Zamperla family of Luna Park, returning for an encore performance? Will there be a circus in Coney Island in 2012? It’s unlikely since the lot where Ringling’s Coney Island Boom-A-Ring and Illuscination played in 2009 and 2010 has become the temporary home of the Seaside Summer Concert Series. The City-owned lot where Circus Vidbel played is the site of the new Speed Zone amusement park set to open this season.

Thor Equities brought in Cole Brothers Circus in 2007 and Reithoffer Shows and other attractions in 2008, but that’s ancient history. Since Joe Sitt got his rezoning for 30-story hotels and retail, we haven’t noticed any press releases saying “Thor is fully committed to the amusement industry.” In 2012, there are still a few empty lots in Coney Island big enough for a big top, but they’re held by real estate speculators. The saying “May All of Your Days Be Circus Days!” is one we don’t expect to hear in Coney Island this season.

Art of the Day: The Charmer and Other Work by Mark Heyer

Posted in art, circus, Photography, tagged Chelsea, Lohin Geduld Gallery, Mark Heyer, painting, snake charmer on November 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The Charmer by Mark Heyer. Oil on panel, framed. Lohin Geduld Gallery

Mark Heyer’s faux-naive snake charmer conjures up memories of cabinet cards of sideshow stars from the late 19th century. Set like a jewel in a gilded frame created by the artist, the painting is one of several circus and carnival-themed works in Heyer’s exhibition at Lohin Geduld Gallery. There’s also a sideshow talker, a circus tent being raised, an unruly circus act and daredevil motorcyclists.

“I have been painting from these types of subjects for quite some time,” Heyer told ATZ. The artist grew up going to the carnival at his hometown fair in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Coney Island’s sideshow and games were a source of fascination during the two decades he lived in Brooklyn. Heyer, who received an MFA from Parsons School of Design, moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, six years ago. “I am particularly interested in slowing down things, so that cool things don’t just get swept into a dumpster. Circuses and Carnivals seem to be some of the first things that go away and don’t come back. They are something that predates us and as the corporate world grows it seems bent on getting rid of these simple, amazing pleasures.”

Hey Pretty, Don't You Want to Take a Ride Through My World by Mark Heyer. Oil on panel, framed. Lohin Geduld Gallery

Both Heyer’s paintings and vintage photographs have an enigmatic quality and evoke a sense of wonder. ATZ asked the artist to talk about how vintage photos inform his work and the process by which he selects and translates a photo into a painting

One thing with vintage photographs that I always make an attempt to do is acquire the photo. There is something about me being able to hold it in my hands. Like the blind searching for a different point of view. That’s not always possible, so a print out has to do. Vintage photographs are fascinating, things were slower paced, or they seem so. Often, objects in these weren’t meant to be disposable.

Usually I start my search for either circus photos or sideshow photos. Those words are what I type in. Not to be silly or anything, but I do my best to go inside that photo, as a viewer of what is happening. I come out and bring what I found to my painting. I always intend to put just enough down, so that the viewer of my work has room to add to the story. The story is never wrong, because, most times there is only a date that goes with the picture. I love it if someone adds to the story and the story continues.

All in a Day's Work by Mark Heyer. Oil on panel, framed. Lohin Geduld Gallery

The circus tent being raised. To me, it’s the preparation for what is to come. The excitement, whirlwind of imagination will all be in there. This one came from an actual photo too. I thought it was amazing because you don’t usually see this in process. To quote a painting teacher I had. “Surprise and Clarity” This picture has that I think, because it is a surprise to see what they are working on and it’s very clear what they are doing.

The Unruly by Mark Heyer. Oil on panel, framed. Lohin Geduld Gallery

The Unruly is the last of what you ask about. This one in particular I invite the viewer to add to the story, because who is the unruly one? The mule? The clown on the left? Or even someone in the background could have done something to start this event. In the actual photo there is a wagon also, but it wasn’t needed for what I wanted to show. I imagine this photo was staged as part of an act, I don’t really know though. It was a great image from my favorite subject matter and also allows for many different endings to the story. When I first found this photograph, I intended this one to be the image on the card. It was also the first painting that I painted for this show.

Mark Heyer, Recent Work, through December 17, 2011. Lohin Geduld Gallery, 531 West 25 Street, New York, NY, 212-675-2656