Michael Chapman

Difficult Crossing, limited edition etching

1991

Silkscreen Edition of 125 + 1AP Philomena Marano has spent decades “penetrat[ing] the soul of Coney Island to reveal its twin promises of candy-colored paradise and garishly ornate nightmare,” as Ann Aptaker describes, through the prints and cut-paper collage in her “American Dream-land” series (1979-). These colorful, graphic style works evoke the energy and amusement of Coney Island through depictions of the rides, the boardwalk, clowns, and food vendors. Many are large-scale papier collé installations, a technique Marano learned from Robert Indiana in whose studio she formerly assisted. In conjunction with “American Dream Land,” in 1981 Marano and Richard Eagan co-founded the Coney Island Hysterical Society, which undertakes projects such as restoring old rides in response to the alarming rate at which they were shutting down in the fabled amusement park of their childhood. Ms. Marano is a daughter of Brooklyn. She holds a BFA from Pratt Institute, is an intimate of the visual poetry of Coney Island, created the winning poster for the first Spirit of Brooklyn poster...

Mid Century Modern Palm Springs Architecture. Steve McQueen vintage car photographed for the first time at his home in Palm Desert. Archival...