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Brass Ring Dept: Coney Island “Carousell” RFP Up for Grabs

Posted in Amusement ride, News, Photography, tagged B & B Carousell, B&B Carousell, Brooklyn, carousel, Coney Island, local, Parks Department, RFP on December 4, 2011| 9 Comments »

Painting and signage at B & B Carousell, Coney Island. August 2005. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Wanna grab the brass ring in the new Coney Island? New York City is seeking an operator for Coney’s historic B & B Carousell, which was saved from auction in 2005 when the City purchased the ride for $1.8 million. If you fancy the idea of running it, there’s a proposers meeting on Tuesday at 11 am at the Arsenal in Central Park that you shouldn’t miss. Last month the City’s Parks Department issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) to operate and maintain the restored 1919 carousel at the new Steeplechase Plaza next to the landmark Parachute Jump. Proposals to operate the B & B are due on January 17, 2012. (December 30, 2011 Update: Parks sent out an addendum today to provide a website where available plans may be downloaded and extended the deadline to January 30th)

In the RFP, the $2.00 ticket price for a whirl on the Central Park Carousel is cited as a point of reference for proposers. In 2009, the Central Park Carousel took in $188,123 and the concession fee there is $7,500 per month, according to the New York Post. You may not get rich selling tickets, but the ten-year lease for the B & B also includes a food service facility, merchandise kiosks, vending machines and a special event room, which is expected to be a popular spot for birthday parties.

B & B Carousell, Coney Island. August 2005. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The carousels in Central Park and Prospect Park as well as the horses on the Flushing Meadows Carousel were all relocated from Coney Island, which once had dozens of operating carousels. B & B is short for Bishoff and Brienstein, who brought the carousel back home to Coney Island from New Jersey’s Bertrand Island in 1932. The frame was the work of Coney’s William F. Mangels Carousell Works and the carvings were done by Charles Carmel. Jimmy McCullough and Mike Saltzstein owned and operated the ride since the 1970s.

These snapshots of the B & B were taken with a film camera in August 2005 after the City purchased the carousel. It was the last time that we saw the B & B. The ride was soon packed up and moved from its longtime location on the north side of Surf Avenue and sent to Ohio for restoration. A fairground art collector once told us that the scenic art gracing the B & B and its pavilion was the work of August Wolfinger, a German immigrant who worked closely with Mangels. As a banner painter he was known as “The Michelangelo of the Midway.” Some of the medallions and signs shown in the photos will be back on view when the B & B reopens in Steeplechase Plaza in 2013. The ride will be installed in a glass pavilion with large-scale neon lettering spelling B & B CAROUSELL with a double L, of course.

Alan Jackson Video Shoot on Coney Island Boardwalk!

Posted in Music, News, Photography, tagged Alan Jackson, Boardwalk, Coney Island, country, Eric Kowalsky, Paul's Daughter, So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore, video shoot on December 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

Coney Island remains a popular spot for video and film shoots, even after the amusement parks have closed for the season. On Friday, Nashville came to Coney when country music singer-songwriter Alan Jackson strummed his guitar on the Boardwalk in front of Paul’s Daughter. Thanks to Coney Island photographer Eric Kowalsky for being on the scene and getting these great photos of the video shoot.

The name of the song Jackson was singing is privileged info, but we guess it’s from his upcoming album set for release in the Spring of 2012. The backdrop of the shuttered store and closed-down rides made us wonder if the tune is about the end of summer or perhaps the end of a love affair, as country songs often are. Jackson’s last video “Long Way to Go,” released this summer, is up for Great American Country’s Top 50 Videos of 2011. You can watch it on his YouTube channel.

If the video crew had come a month ago, before Paul’s Daughter’s signage was removed to make way for the new “vision” for the Boardwalk, they could have used a masterpiece of Americana as a backdrop, not just the few signs left behind. The restaurant formerly known as Gregory & Paul’s and its frequently photographed signage were featured in the 1999 music video “Summer Girls” by LFO. It’s sad to see Coney’s hand-painted signage, which has a quirky character and an authentic patina, being forced out by the powers that be. Will the Coney Island Boardwalk remain a magnet for video and film shoots when it’s mostly shiny and new and neon?

UPDATE January 14, 2012…

The video for Alan Jackson’s new single was released yesterday and it’s a beauty! Music Video: Alan Jackson’s So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore

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