Art All Night Rocked!

It's Thursday, and Joe Harvard has almost recovered from the excitement of Art All Night, 2017, and the effort required in setting up a guerrilla black light art gallery, 40 miles from home base, in 24 hours. Fortunately gARTen Event Curator Mallory Massara arrived first thing Saturday morning on June 17 to assist with setup, and remained until 10pm that night, returning again on Sunday, Father's Day morning, to help during the Interactive Art Circuit class at 11:30 and the breakdown at 3.

Mal also applied the same considerable skills at exhibit arrangement that she brought to the gARTen's holiday black light art show at art629 Gallery in December, 2016, though this time she had to hang the display wall first, and then hang the Beauty Thru Radiation pieces we'd brought along to share with our new friends in Trenton.

We had lots of friends drop by, and Joe manned the Magic Tent from his arrival at noon Saturday until the event ended at 3pm Sunday. Doctor Danger's Love Wagon was center stage, and all day long kids and adults got to play the Kaossilators and a Novation Launchpad yoked to an iPad in the Doctor's rig.

Puppy Grease played inside the Roebling on Saturday afternoon, and came by before and after to hang out, help create plastic fish for our Aquarium, and offer spontaneous performances -- including one impressive busking session during a downpour. PG trombonist and live art pioneer Josh Matson AKA Dogmatic set up his easel in the late afternoon and remained at his station all night, painting at least three canvases.

People continued to arrive right up through 4am, and trailed off until the 5am lull, when for a brief spell Joe was nearly the only person in sight in our part of the Roebling Wire Works grounds [see panoramic photo below], Dogmatic having gone to the parking lot to check on fellow band member Trashboat Dickinson.

This was the gARTen's first away game, and we were joined by some of our favorite acts from the Asbury Underground events we've participated in -- the Asbury Underground All-Stars -- for the first AU Road Trip. Disregarding some uncooperative weather May Darlings, Geena, Keith Monacchio and Puppy Grease Lite all turned in sets that managed to stop passers-by in their tracks, despite the rain. As it got dark and the black lights came on the crowd was treated to a jam between Geena and members of Puppy Grease, and one of several Doctor Danger mini-sets.

Sunday was Father's Day, and although a bit groggy from his first all-nighter in some time, Joe began breaking down the black lights, numerous extension cords, and audio equipment at first light, walking it to the parking lot in half a dozen trips; by 7 am he was ready for a break. Revived by a Coconut Shaved Ice, he enjoyed a Breakfast Crepe when the food trucks opened again at 7:30, and even got a hot tea when Mal returned around 11 am. Joe was scheduled to teach an 11:35 - 12:05 Flower Power class as part of Art All Night's inaugural Interactive Art Circuit; this became an 11:30 - 1:00 class, and could have gone on for hours more, as the crowd was growing and kids just kept on coming, but it was time to stop and begin packing non-essential stuff if Joe was to make it to a 6:30 Faith Concert commitment back in Asbury Park. JOE'S LAST WORD: "Art All Night was amazing, the whole Artworks team was a pleasure to work with. Next year I'll leave Sunday night open!"