Aliver Canaria
CDMG 1111
Trofimova
Field Trip
Last Wednesday, our class took a field trip to the Chelsea district to visit the
Chelsea Market, High Line, and Taglialetta Gallery. The Chelsea neighborhood is world
renowned as the center of New York’s art world with its 200+ galleries in the area. The
neighborhood is home to many artists as well as museums such as the Reuben and
Whitney museum. We took a tour around the Chelsea Market, Highline, and Taglialetta
gallery to be aware and inspired by the intricate designs and art in the area. I go to the
Chelsea District often to visit galleries but yet to visit the Taglialetta Gallery. The
Taglialetta gallery was fascinating to me because it featured works by many famous
artists such as Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Basquiat, Banksy, etc.… In
this paper, I will give a summary of works that I was inspired by in the gallery.
One artist that stood out to me at the Taglialetta Gallery was the silk screens
prints by Russell Young. His work was very reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s in which he
took photographs of celebrities and screen printed them with many different colors.
Russell Young has been fascinated by the myth and reality of the” American Dream”
which he often personifies as Hollywood glamour in contrast to the tragedy of each
celebrity. For his installation entitled “Jackie-O,” Young takes a rare photograph of
Jackie Kennedy shot in 1964. The print is enclosed in a black linen case each hand
pulled and given a unique color. Each color has a different affect to one’s mood. What I
found fascinating with his work was that the prints were covered in a layer of glitter, as if
to signify some kind of sarcasm. “It is a fantastical glorification, simultaneously
presenting the viewer with the tragedy of it all; finite beauty and the loss of innocence.”
Another piece that caught my eye was a piece entitled Nee Nee in Braddock by
the artist Swoon. It is an eight color screen print on hand made paper. The paper in
which it is printed on is the last of its kind being that the craftsman who created it
passed away. The art in which the paper is printed on depicts a young woman holding a
brush painting a town as if to signify that we are all responsible for creating her future.
The town depicts the streets of Braddock, PA, an economically devastated area that
Swoon is deeply engaged in. The print features a dismal town being flourished with
color and rejuvenated by the girl holding the brush. All the proceeds of the print will be
donated to Braddock Tiles, a ceramic studio designed to create jobs in the area.
The Taglialetta Gallery was a very captivating experience because there were so
many pieces of art by world renowned condensed into a small gallery. The gallery
fieatures many artists’ work such as Basquiat, Warhol, Lihenstien, Haring, etc.. Some
pieces of work I was fascinated by was the Jackie- O piece by Russell Young as well as
Nee Nee in Braddock by Swoon. The overall fieldtrip was a very engaging experience. I
will continue to visit the Chelsea District to visit galleries and be inspired by the many
pieces of art and design that are saturated within the area.