Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
For some of you, this post might be worth a lot since no photos are allowed, and this show is hard to get to. I took a bunch of discreet photos. Wunderground is a show of work from Providence or should I say Olneyville’s (the tiny town closeby) finest. It’s a show of work from Ft. Thunder… Slowly the Fort is becoming a distant memory instead of a near one. One of our friends Brian Ralph was a founding member. I remember calling him at the Fort, for project ideas and so on. He used the describe the place as being a spot where you needed to have shoes. He also would tell me how girls wouldn’t like being there. I never got to visit which is a regret, but this show helps a little. Amy opens the door for me. The show gets good billing on the facade of the building. It’s great to see the RISD museum give these kids some credit they deserve. This is one of the first things you see when you walk into the big room of installation pieces. It’s huge. I walked inside… When you pull on these ropes, bells, cymbals, and more. See the below photo. Taken straight up, we’re still inside of the first big room. Walking around that first struction, this is what you see. Let’s go towards the left building, I see a doorway over there. Common! Unmistakably, this is Brian Chippendale’s work. He has a CD of his side band playing. For scale… I bet you thought a person could walk into that doorway on the bottom right. But no, it’s small. So walking out of B. Chip’s room, there’s this structure that has music coming out of the tubes. Not all tubes play the music, but it’s pretty neat. Let’s go by this music box and then go left. Whoa… I dunno what this was, but it had this weird diorama in the middle. The sides were made of soft paper. I passed this one up when I walked in. It’s on the right. This was on the left. You walk in, and pow! This huge beast’s arm moves. Is this one by Leif Goldberg? Slightly wider view. The piece behind it, I didn’t get a shot of. The photo police roamed around at that time. Look above that noise tunnel piece… it’s lit up like an alien beacon. After leaving that room, it’s time to see the prints. Tons of them. Thousands… This is what Ft. Thunder was known for. Silkscreening wrecklessly. I looked and found a few Brian Ralph pieces mixed in. Ft. Thunder is slowly building it’s name back up, and I’m sure this is just a start. There’s a catalog for Wunderground. It just begins to portray the story of who these guys are, what their space was all about. I’d think the book would need to be triple the size, with tons more photos. I propose someone do a show where the...
Continue reading
For some of you, this post might be worth a lot since no photos are allowed, and this show is hard to get to. I took a bunch of discreet photos. Wunderground is a show of work from Providence or should I say Olneyville's (the tiny town closeby) finest. It's a show of work from Ft. Thunder... Slowly the Fort is becoming a distant memory instead of a near one. One of our friends Brian Ralph was a...
Continue reading
Julian’s restaurant is like a punk rock institution in Providence. Just down the street from Armageddon records which will stock every Load Records release you can get, it’s a meeting place for locals who want good food. But this isn’t a restaurant review. This was one of the many specials. Okay, so I picked a loser. This didn’t do it for me. Spaghetti squash, coconut milk, tofu scramble. It doesn’t sound right, does it? It didn’t do it for me. The potatoes were good, but that’s pretty normal no matter where you go. I don’t think I’ve ever had ruined potatoes. They’re good overcooked and mushy too. The bread was wheat and unexciting. I’m giving this place a bad rap right here, but it’s actually quite good. See how there’s art on the walls? More art on the walls towards the front window. That’s me looking at the art. Believe it or not, this where Jack Long had his first show outside of RISD, and it’s where I first saw Jack’s art. Since, he’s moved to LA, and we’ve shown his work many times. He’s one of my favorite artists and he’ll be showing with us again at GRNY in January.
Continue reading
Julian's restaurant is like a punk rock institution in Providence. Just down the street from Armageddon records which will stock every Load Records release you can get, it's a meeting place for locals who want good food. But this isn't a restaurant review.
This was one of the many specials. Okay, so I picked a loser. This didn't do it for me. Spaghetti squash, coconut milk, tofu scramble. It...
Continue reading
This was one of the many specials. Okay, so I picked a loser. This didn't do it for me. Spaghetti squash, coconut milk, tofu scramble. It...
Solomon’s MarketWhen I see this place, I’m inclined to think, this is what the American dream is all about. What was once a deli, now is something totally different. It’s been there since 1935, and sits in a residential area on a corner. It’s not necessarily a busy area, but a cozy one. If you take a step inside, you realize, it’s not a Korean restaurant. From living in Los Angeles, it doesn’t surprise anyone that a Korean restaurant might pop up someplace, but this is in Rhode Island. Using a kitchen stove with a few burners, you’d see all of them with their fire’s on with home cooking going on. A few employees are behind the counter, which most definitely has to be a family business. The menu is awesome. It’s Korean food all around. You’d think maybe they’d open up in an Asian area, there is one in Providence. Maybe they’d open in an area where there’s other restaurants… no! These folks opened up in a spot that’s residential and as local as can be. The place look like Solomon’s Market, sans Solomon and whatever he / she sold. Kimpap looks right and taste right. I forgot to mention, you won’t get a table full on banchan. But you will get a bowl of oikimchee (cucumber) and onion. It’s quite good and just about makes up for the minimalism. If this were 1935, you could easily picture an old dude maybe with a beard wearing an apron. Instead you get the folks who put their heart into their work. Glass noodles – Chop Chae Soon doo boo I’ve spoken a few words to the folks at Solomon’s. Their English isn’t great, but they’re always friendly, and happy to see their customers. I’ve seen it crowded, and sometimes, it’s not, and it’s a place for people to have something a bit different than the other Asian foods – Indian, Japanese, Chinese, or Thai. It would be too perfect to talk about it being kick ass busy, successful, owner in a Gulf Stream, but no, it’s perhaps just doing enough. I’m not sure what the demographics are in Providence, but I do notice, this is where there Koreans come to eat. So back to what I said. It’s the American Dream. A man with a plan,in a small New England town.Korean food time.
Continue reading