All of Erin Woodbrey’s work stems from a curiosity, bewilderment, and deeply felt confusion about the world. Using a sort of image and material-based existential inquiry, she often finds herself asking, how did we get here?

Woodbrey’s most recent exhibit, Time Mothers—on display at the Gaa Gallery in Provincetown through October 8th, is no exception. “With Time Mothers I wanted to explore the significance of objects,” Woodbrey says. “I was looking at objects as time-based reliquaries, and documents of lived experience, held, worn, used, and re-purposed.”

The objects ranged from books, tables, projectors, images, chairs, eggs, and clothing, to art objects and public spaces. In Time Mothers, Woodbrey explores how we interact and learn from these objects in everyday life, both private and public, as well as the unseen and physical part that happens silently, through accumulation, interaction, and lived experience.

I’ll Be Your Mirror, 2017, color slides with slide projector on plywood stands, variable dimensions. Photo courtesy of the artist.

“There’s something profoundly esoteric about objects, especially things that have been around for awhile or have history. They sort of take on another life outside of their initial and intended purpose,” Woodbrey says. “I always wonder about where things came from and how they’re made.” In this way, the show is also an inquiry into the origin of objects and the act of creating, which begs the question: What drives the impulse to create?

Woodbrey asks these questions and many more through Time Mothers, the title of which is a sort of a poem in itself. It’s a call to action to think about our mothers more, think about the things that care for us, our well being, and betterment. “If we thought of all our mother figures more, maybe we would be less destructive, more supportive, and make better decisions, either in honor or protest of such a figure,” says Woodbrey.

God Mothers, 2017, plaster, paper, books, chair and plywood platform, variable dimensions. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The inspiration for Time Mothers came in part from a sculpture Woodbrey found in a park of a woman holding the head of a horse-like creature. The figure and the animal were created of stone and cast concrete but the woman’s head was missing and in its place was a piece of bronze rebar. “In the absence of that I thought she needed a name. So I called her Time Mother,” Woodbrey says. “The park is a very visible public space, in close proximity to a highway, a train, and a bikeway, but overall the space is a place on the way to another place. I see her as a silent overseer to all of this.” A large scale image of this sculpture serves as the focal piece for the exhibit, which also features a series of ceramic pieces, video stills, and sculptures created using everyday objects (objects that Woodbrey has learned from in the past).

Fragment (Weave), 2017, porcelain, 22 1/2 x 7 x 2 3/4 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.

“Spaces and things not only reveal and tell stories about our history, but they have the power to form our lived experience,” Woodbrey says. “Our interactions with objects and nature illuminate a certain causality of our thinking, accumulation of actions, and maybe even, if we choose to listen and look closely, what eventualities may exist ahead.”

Erin Woodbrey–artist
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Website

Top image: installation of Time Mothers. Photo courtesy of Erin Woodbrey.

The post The Time Mother appeared first on Take Magazine.

The Salt Hotel brand has become a household name in Provincetown thanks to Salt House Inn, Eben House, and now Salt Supply—the lifestyle brand’s first independent retail outlet, which opened in April 2017. “Provincetown is our home. It’s where the company was born, with Salt House Inn; so it has been really special to be able to also bring this retail concept to town in its largest and most flushed-out iteration yet,” says Kevin O’Shea, co-founder and creative director of Salt Hotels.

Retail seems like a natural extension of the brand as they have retail spaces inside the Salt Hotels in Shelter Island (The Chequit) and Asbury Park (The Asbury). Ptown will be the first brick-and-mortar location for Salt Supply that is not attached to a hotel but instead is a part of the vibrant Commercial Street retail scene. “We love that this retail platform allows us to highlight and support like-minded brands and bring these truly unique products to the communities where our hotels are located,” O’Shea says.

Salt Supply sells many of the great products they have sourced for the Salt hotels, such as the Further hand soap that is in every guest bath or the Conway Electric EXTO extension cords. In addition, they feature a distinctive collection of products from small independent designers, craftsmen, and manufacturers, all of which are personally curated by O’Shea and his creative team.

Echoing the spirit of Ptown, the new retail outlet aims to bring delight in the unexpected with a sense of humor, offering unique products that are not available elsewhere in town, and an ever-changing stock that follows the seasons and town events.

“I describe it as the perfect supply shop for anything you could need,” O’Shea says. “The perfect birthday present, a host gift for your friends whose house you are staying in that weekend, something to spoil yourself, something for your kids or your dog, or something to make your space more beautiful.”

Salt Supply has also commissioned its own signature Ptown logo from local artist Amanda Williams Galvin, owner of Revel Revel in Boston, and sells bags, shirts, and cards all printed with the unique graphic. The team is hoping to launch an online store this summer so guests can continue shopping even after they’ve gone home for the season.

Kevin O’Shea–co-founder & creative director, Salt Hotels
Salt Supply
Website
Facebook

The post A Salty Supply appeared first on Take Magazine.

Despite a cool breeze and an overcast sky, Provincetown buzzed with excitement as cinephiles from across the world gathered for the 19th edition of the Provincetown International Film Festival this past week. Take Magazine kept a keen eye out for this year’s gems and notable events in case you missed them: from John Waters zooming down Commercial street, to Chloë Sevigny’s white Margiela go-go boots and all the gossip in-between.

Scene: On the Street

Though there was plenty to see and overhear in the lines leading into the Fishermen Hall, Waters Edge Cinema and The Art House, we kept a nosy ear and a wandering eye on Commercial Street for all the tangential action happening in and around PIFF. Here’s a bit of what we saw:

• George Meyers, general manager of Amherst Cinema meandering down Commercial Street wearing an excellent hat, no doubt scouting for premiere films to bring back to Western Mass.

• A fox unexpectedly darting through a sea of gay men, causing quite a ruckus.

• John Waters literally everywhere. On the street, in the theater, wearing signature ill suits, striped sneakers and a beautiful small mustache.

• Independent executive producers and directors celebrating their premieres, including Sofia Coppola.

Sofia Coppola, photo by Mae Gammino

• While experiencing a small holdup in the press line, a West Coast photographer whispered, “This isn’t how we do it in L.A.” — an observation followed by zero clarification.

SCENE: On Stage and in the Theaters

In addition to the dozens of short films, documentary features, and narrative films, PIFF featured many events and conversations with all sorts of directors, actors, and film industry folks. Here are some moments you missed:

• A meta-moment of John Waters politely watching himself on screen commentating on the early career of Jayne Mansfield during the screening of the documentary Mansfield 66/67.

• Chloë Sevigny sharing her favorite roles at theater camp as a teen, which included Annie in Annie Get Your Gun, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, and Annie in Annie.

Seen at Water’s Edge Cinema: perhaps the best all-gender, inclusive restroom we’ve seen.

• Chloë dishing that movie director Harmony Korine used to almost exclusively date “thick Puerto Rican girls.”

• Sofia Coppola basically admitting to John Waters during their Filmmakers on the Edge conversation that Kirsten Dunst is her “Divine.”

• Sofia Coppola calling Paris Hilton “a hoarder” but noting she’s “much more likable than her persona lets on.”

• John Waters sharing with the crowd that Italian designer Valentino Garavani never drinks sparkling water because he believes “bubbles make you fat.”

• Audible sobbing and sniffling during the screenings of The Last Pig, 32 Pills, and The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.

• Julie Klausner admitting (to no one’s surprise), “My best friend in the world is an homosexual man.”

Top image: Sofia Coppola, John Waters, and Chloe Sevigny, photo courtesy of Mae Gammino/Provincetown International Film Festival

The post Seen and Overheard at Provincetown International Film Fest appeared first on Take Magazine.