E M P T Y | V E S S E L | P R O J E C T | N E W S # 29 | MARCH . 06 . 06
Thanks to Complacent.org who have procured a temporary space at the fringes of the East Williamsburg Industrial Area to host a series of gatherings dedicated to joy, we will have the chance to create the one-night Sea Hag Ball, a revelrous fundraiser for the Empty Vessel Project's insurance policy on Friday, April 14, 2006.
Come help us brainstorm and strategize. Want to build a scrap boat for revelers to explore? Sell eye-patch shaped cookies? Bar tend? Judge a costume contest? Book a band? One meeting only! Sunday, March 12 at 6pm at the FIX on North 11 and Bedford, Brooklyn over whiskey and hot chocolate. Email
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org with ideas.
U P C O M I N G
FRIDAY, APRIL 14
The Sea Hag Ball
**transported to the East Williamsburg Industrial Park
We are accepting proposals for events and collaborations.
Email
as@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org to discuss your wintery watery scheme.
C H E C K T H I S O U T
This section is dedicated to work elsewhere congruous with the EVP's vision. We will occasionally direct your attention to the work of our fellow travelers.
When Artists Say We
This exhibition reflects on the context in which artists work as colleagues, as collaborators, in collectives, as friends, as critics, as bystanders, and as allies, sharing New York City as their site of practice. Information about the EVP and contributors and collaborators will be included in the archive of this show.
March 8 - April 29, 2006 , Tue-Sat 11AM-6PM
opening reception: March 11, 8-11PM
**38 Green St., Manhattan
artistspace.org
W H E R E I S T H E B O A T N O W ?
Access to the Empty Vessel is from the west side of 1st Street, one block south of the Carroll Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal.
To take a look at a bird’s eye view of the boat’s location, check out
http://maps.google.com satellite image at
http://tinyurl.com/ba9cd
For directions by train:
http://www.hopstop.com. We are 3 blocks
from the Carroll Street Stop on the F and G trains.
H I S T O R Y
'The plague of the Sea, and the Spoyle of Mariners'
Scurvy did not emerge as a problem for maritime explorers until the advent of long journeys necessary to penetrate the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. Vasco da Gama lost two thirds of his crew to the disease while making his way to India in 1499. In 1520 Magellan lost more than 80 per cent while crossing the Pacific. Two voyages made by Pedro de Quiros early in the 17th century resulted in huge mortality from a sickness Sir Richard Hawkins called, after his venture into the South Seas,
Scurvy came to public notice in Britain after Commodore George Anson led a squadron into the Pacific in the 1740s to raid Spanish shipping. He lost all but one of his six ships, and two thirds of the crews he shipped, most of them to scurvy. Their symptoms were vividly described by Richard Walter, the chaplain who wrote up the official account of the voyage. Here were descriptions of its ghastly traces: skin black as ink, ulcers, difficult respiration, rictus of the limbs, teeth falling out and, perhaps most revolting of all, a strange plethora of gum tissue sprouting out of the mouth, which immediately rotted and lent the victim's breath an abominable odor.
There were strange sensory and psychological effects too. Scurvy seems to have disarmed the sensory inhibitors that keep taste, smell and hearing under control and stop us from feeling too much. When sufferers got hold of the fruit they had been craving they swallowed it (said Walter) 'with emotions of the most voluptuous luxury'. The sound of a gunshot was enough to kill a man in the last stages of scurvy, while the smell of blossoms from the shore could cause him to cry out in agony. This susceptibility of the senses was accompanied by a disposition to cry at the slightest disappointment, and to yearn hopelessly and passionately for home.
Now we know that scurvy was a cocktail of vitamin deficiencies, mainly of C and B, sometimes compounded by an overdose of A from eating seals' livers. Physicians then speculated that it was owing to a salt diet, to a lack of oxygen in the body, to fat skimmed from the ships' boiling pans, to bad air, to thickening of the blood, to sugar, to melancholy; but no one knew for certain. Once on shore it was a superstition among sailors that the smell and the touch of the earth gave the surest cure. One of Anson's crew had his shipmates cut out a turf and put his mouth into the hole. Vitus Bering, the Danish navigator, died of scurvy half buried in the ground.
--This history lovingly borrowed from the BBC's History Homepage. For more, look here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/discovery/exploration/captaincook_scurvy_01.shtml
S H I P ’ S L O G
We believe that our generator is a counterfeit. We had no idea that anyone was bootlegging generators at all. We are working to restore power and will be hosting work days as soon as this snafu is resolved.
For updates on ongoing projects, check out our TWiki at
http://log.emptyvesselproject.org. Advice is always appreciated. Don’t be shy. Please post.
F U N D R A I S I N G
++
Grants grants grants.
We have found several that would be perfect for the Empty Vessel Project. We need some help getting them written, formatted and turned in before their deadlines. Are you a grantwriting champion? Or just want practice and resume padding? Want to hang out with the EV crew over spiked coffee? Get in touch. We really need your help as soon as possible. Email
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.
++
You can make a financial contribution to the EVP on our website at
http://log.emptyvesselproject.org or by clicking here:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=info%40emptyvesselproject%2eorg&item_name=Empty%20Vessel%20Project&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8
Thanks to the Madagascar Institute, we have a 501c(3) Non-Profit number we can provide you for your contribution.
Give to the Empty Vessel Project = save on your taxes.
W I S H L I S T
DOCUMENT THIS: We know that the EVP is a documentary waiting to happen. There is drama. And chaos. And love. And resolutions. We are inviting proposals from anyone with the skills, time and inclination to document this. Email
tk@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org for more info.
MATERIALS: We are creating a practice of re-use and salvage. We would like to give your old materials new life. Specifically, we are looking for: fire extinguishers, 10 gallon plastic buckets with lids, wet/dry vac, 50,000 –100,000 BTU oil or gas burning boiler OR a diesel stove, solar panels, 12V batteries, pressed tin, another small boat (canoe, kayak, motor), small fans, 1/2" or 3/4" plywood (about 12'x 42'), handles, hooks, and small cleats.
We will haul away any material contributions. Please forward widely. Contact
tk@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org to donate.
MATERIAL DONATIONS:
We are partnering with companies that have ecologically friendly materials and getting material contributions to the Empty Vessel Project.
BuildItGreen? (www.bignyc.org), a salvaged building materials warehouse in Astoria, has contributed some great slotted floorboards to face the cabin walls.
Mojo Fine Art Moving has been very generous with their trucks.
Do you know a company that might be interested in showcasing their products on EV? Contact
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.
H E R O E S
A history of heroes:
Danny, GDM, Captain Jim, Fictional Company, Ed, Michael, Madagascar Institute, Cindy Vanden Bosch, Dirty Fingers, Porkchop, northguineahills, Front Room Gallery, DJ Olive, Steven, Ed and Brooke, Paris 1968, Corey and the Free Store, Christian, Mike Topper, Alisa Blanter, Jesse Green, Leo Raphaely, Peter Field, Jeff Stark, Stephen, Lee Azzarello, Nathan,
ToddP?, Dan and Elizabeth, Trevor, Brian Spinks, Andy Baker, Shellshag (Jen and Shell), Urban Stitch (Alessandro and William), Paul Ford, Bez, Brian, Alex Lucas, Leah Beeferman, Brent Arnould, The Daniel Carter Quartet, Estee Pierce, Alison Prete, Jason Enghert, Rosie Weinberg, Johns Manville, Black Label Bike Club, New York Harbor School, Eric Forman, Gregory Zaslavsky, Leslie Stem, Andres Colapinto, Anney Fresh, Justin Green,
BuildItGreen?, Mojo Fine Art Moving, Dave Sharps, David & Sharon Lefkowitz Hannah Marcus, Ruban, Cameron Hull, Bill Wasik, Alyssa Abeta & Zeb Stewart of Union Pool, Dylan Gauthier, Arnie at the Puppet Lending Library, Josh Wienstien, Dept. of Transportation Bridge operators, The Doctor
W H A T I S T H I S ?
The Empty Vessel Project is an action, art, and sustainability experiment. We salvaged EV, a WWII rescue boat, to create a space for re-imagining the post-industrial urban environment. We are a non-profit, volunteer-run organization and encourage participation on all levels.
EV is moored on Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. The boat is our first project. We invite you to come join us on board to work and play.
We host work parties, movie nights, seminars, concerts, dinners, and workshops. The Empty Vessel is available to realize your dreams and schemes.
This newsletter is your guide. It appears in your in box each week, listing events and tracking changes. Can it be better? Contact
pz@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org with suggestions.
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