Blue Plate Special at Dead Horse Bay

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Artists: Aline Bouvy, Anima Correa, Andrew Ross, Larissa Lockshin, Nick Fusaro, Pamela Council, Stephanie Hier, Sydney Shen

Exhibition title: Blue Plate Special

Venue: Dead Horse Bay, New York, US

Date: October 1, 2016

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists

“Surely you know what a blue-plate is, man? They shove the whole meal at you under your nose, already dished up on your plate – roast turkey, cranberry sauce, sausages and carrots and French fries. I can’t bear French fries but there’s no pick and choose with a blue-plate.”

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“Blue Plate Special” is a term used in American diners and cafes, primarily in the first half of the 20th century, referring to a low-priced meal that changes daily. Popular belief has its origins in the Depression, during which a manufacturer started making plates with separate sections for each part of a meal—like a frozen dinner tray—it seems that for whatever reason they were only available in the color blue. A dictionary entry around the same time indicates that the blue plates were, more specifically, inexpensive divided plates that were decorated with a “blue willow” or similar blue pattern. “No substitutions” was a common policy on the Blue Plate Special.

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Dead Horse Bay is a small water body off Barren Island between the Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet in Brooklyn, NY. The bay was given its name sometime in the 1850s, when horse-rendering plants still surrounded the beach. From the New York Times: “Dead Horse Bay sits at the western edge of a marshland once dotted by more than two dozen horse-rendering plants, fish oil factories and garbage incinerators. From the 1850s until the 1930s, the carcasses of dead horses and other animals from New York City streets were used to manufacture glue, fertilizer and other products at the site. A millstone used to grind horse bones can still be found along the Millstone trail. A large array of glass bottles and pieces of broken glass on the beach, along with old shoes and construction materials, many from the landfill, which is now leaking.

Blue_Plate_Special_Poster

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Aline Bouvy, La Vie Intense (Emeline), 2016
Resin, jesmonite, pigments, PVC sheet

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Stephanie Hier, Have you heard any good jokes lately, 2016
Oil and temporary tattoo on linen with glazed earthenware frame

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Larissa Lockshin, Untitled (Picnic), 2016
Velvet, gold leaf, batting, clam shells, plastic, various textiles

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Larissa Lockshin, Untitled (Picnic), 2016
Velvet, gold leaf, batting, clam shells, plastic, various textiles

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Anima Correa, Combate de Angamos, 2016
Glazed Ceramic

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Andrew Ross, Untitled, 2015
Hydrocal and acrylic paint

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Andrew Ross, Untitled, 2016
Hydrocal

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Andrew Ross, Bent bows, faces, toes, 2015
Plywood and dowels

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Larissa Lockshin, Untitled (Box), 2016
Glazed stoneware ceramic on latch hook yarn rug with gold leaf

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Stephanie Hier, Jim I wore a tie today, 2016
Temporary tattoo on canvas with glazed earthenware frame

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Stephanie Hier, Jaywalk, 2016
Temporary tattoo on linen with glazed earthenware frame

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Stephanie Hier, Can’t bear iced drinks, 2016
Temporary tattoo on canvas with glazed Earthenware frame

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Anima Correa, Batalla de Miraflores, 2016
Glazed ceramic

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Anima Correa, Batalla de Chorrillos, 2016
Glazed ceramic

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Anima Correa, Water on fire, 2016
Oil on canvas

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Sydney Shen, Untitled, 2016
Wood, rubber, rhinestones

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Sydney Shen, Untitled, 2016
Tote bag, photo prints, plastic cups formerly containing waxworm larvae, partial vesper bat skeleton

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Sydney Shen, Untitled, 2016
Tote bag, photo prints, plastic cups formerly containing waxworm larvae, partial vesper bat skeleton

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Nick Fusaro, Untitled, 2016
Epoxy resin, acrylic paint, felt, sand

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Nick Fusaro, Untitled, 2016
Epoxy resin, acrylic paint, felt, sand

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Anima Correa, Batalla de Miraflores, 2016
Glazed ceramic

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Aline Bouvy, La Vie Intense (Claudia), 2016
Resin, jesmonite, pigments, PVC sheet

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Aline Bouvy, La Vie Intense (Claudia), 2016
Resin, jesmonite, pigments, PVC sheet

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Pamela Council, Loof’her, 2016
shower loofahs and shoe horns

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Pamela Council, Loof’her, 2016
shower loofahs and shoe horns

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Pamela Council, Loof’her, 2016
shower loofahs and shoe horns

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Pamela Council, Loof’her, 2016
shower loofahs and shoe horns

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Anima Correa, Ocupacion de Lima, 2016
Glazed ceramic

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Larissa Lockshin, Untitled (Music Box), 2016
Glazed ceramic, gold leaf, on latch hook yarn rug, satin

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Larissa Lockshin, Untitled (Music Box), 2016
Glazed ceramic, gold leaf, on latch hook yarn rug, satin

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Anima Correa, Combate de Iquique, 2016
Glazed ceramic

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Larissa Lockshin, Untitled (Picnic), 2016
Ceramic, gold leaf, satin, velvet, various textiles, batting

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Stephanie Hier, installation view, 2016