James Daniel

James Daniel (jamesmatthewdaniel.com) accidentally moved to Chicago from Texas. Once he was there, he decided he might as well take some classes at a nearby university. When he graduated, he got caught up in the changing lives of all his contemporaries and unintentionally ended up in NYC working as a photographer. He hopes to learn/do/make everything he can, before he slips or sneezes and ends up somewhere new.
Posted inArt

A Trip Through BETA Spaces

by James Daniel

I spent my Sunday wandering into the living spaces of Bushwick, searching for art, and there was a lot to find. Though, much of what I found seemed to have woken up at 11:30am to start setting up for the event that technically started at noon. Truly, I didn’t mind. Who am I to complain, when I’m spending my day invading the homes of artists?

The experience for me was as much about walking through the grey, unwelcoming streets of Bushwick as it was seeing the plethora of work being created there. It was stumbling around, looking for the garage entrance; It was walking down a dark, graffiti’d hallway, wondering if I was even on the right floor; and it was opening the many different doors to find vibrant colors, projections, snacks, wine, or any other sort of welcoming warmth.

Posted inArt

Sculpture on the Edge, Socrates Park

by James Daniel

Even on a cloudy day, it’s beautiful to get an opportunity to look across the East River at Manhattan from Astoria, especially when the view remains unobstructed by buildings, warehouses, elevated tracks, and all that other urban detritus. Socrates Sculpture Park provides an extraordinary view that, in itself, is worth the trip, but also acts as a tremendous background to the art on display in the waterfront park.

While I walked through the park, taking pictures and studying the pieces, plenty of people used the space outside of looking at art. Some visitors used the park to play with their dogs, others to do aerobics, groups of kids came after school to avoid going home, and not one, but two people used the space to have long cell phone conversations redefining collapsing relationships.