One of the mythical sites in GR is Punk Island. It is an island just north of the RR bridge (north of Wealthy). It is accessible from the rr bridge with some climbing. It is called “punk Island” because it was a favorite hangout of the punks. George is particularly interested in the bridge and brings it up often as his ideal place to live. Thus the research on Houseboats on the Grand. Another former studio member - Otis from the WEalthy project- is on the punk island kick this summer. He thinks a ferry system is not out of the question.
I’m in the process of looking into this as a real site for the studio. It would be ideal to have workspace in the adjacent City property to the East. There is room for a remote work trailer. Space in one of the buildings would be preferable.
The whole property from Wealthy to Cherry - used to be the city wholesale food market.
Working on or next to Punk Island would also work with focussing on the River.
It might be good to develop a way in which the island could be a site for future temporary art projects.
I’m really digging the river as a focus! With the studio being first semester, we would be getting a little taste of 3 out of 4 seasons with this body of water (tail end of summer, full fall and early but usually bitter winter). I’m sure there’s much changing to take into consideration, I think it could be really interesting.
I’ve never heard of ‘Punk Island’ before, but the advertisement has me sold. Although both Gillette and Punk involve the river, I feel like they are almost opposite sides of the spectrum in other ways.
PUNK: (I can’t say too much because I’ve never been there BUT from what I can gather) - - more of a subculture/rebellious feel to it and not just because of the name. The whole means of transportation we would have to work around as well as the obscure location, when compared to the Gillette at least, are exciting to me.
GILLETTE: I already commented on the post, but in summery it’s contrast to Punk Island comes with location and popularity/daily use. This is amplified even more by the Art Prize coming up, I’m sure it will be a hot spot, but don’t get me wrong, hot spots are a lot of the time “where it’s at”.
I could go either way – they both hold a lot of potential.
Christie,
Thanks for pointing out the 3 seasons part. Having been cold in past projects, I had focussed on the fact that it is relatively warm during first semester so outdoor work is more of a reality.
Some neighborhood kids call it “choo choo island”.
The term Punk comes from the fact that the punk kids used to hang there.
Paul