“I like the California vibe in art. There’s a lightheartedness,” Peter Coffin told us last night at Red Bull Studios in New York, where a crowd gathered to celebrate the opening of his show LIVING. It’s true, the DeLorean parked in the center of the gallery seemed straight from the west coast, covered with hilarious liberal bumper stickers like “Things Go Better With Kale” and "'Politics is the entertainment division of the military-industrial complex' -Frank Zappa.” Peter Coffin, with his strawberry-blond hair, also looked straight from the sunshine state. "My background is in conceptual art, but I like to call it idea art,” he said between hugs from friends and art collectors who were attending the event.
In one corner, the audience could step into the center of flickering stage lights, ambient sounds, and blowing fans, as if transported inside the heart of a movie. The whole exhibit was smoke and mirrors. Literally. A smoke machine puffed away. Three smooth mirrors spun so seamlessly they appeared to be still. Illusions abounded.
Downstairs was Peter Coffin’s third installment of Music for Plants, a greenhouse where a variety of musicians will serenade the vegetation. Do the plants grow differently to music? “I think they do. There’s scientific research. But, I’m not so interested in evaluating whether it works or not. I’ve set up this system so people can imagine plants growing to music and that’s what I’m interested in.”
Peter Coffin is from Berkeley and his work is informed by new-age California mysticism and the rise and fall of ‘60s counterculture. An alphabet is rendered in a lit rainbow that towers over the show. It’s beautiful, but what does it mean? In the wall text for the show, Mary Margaret Rinebold writes, “The unseen sets of relations between ourselves and what we are looking at, or standing near, actually take the foreground of the scene we find ourselves in, pushing both us––the subjects––and them––the objects––to the periphery.”
Okay, so maybe that doesn’t explain it. “I’m more into catalyzing ideas than dictating them.” Peter Coffin said. “I like the way music works, because it doesn’t need to be explained. I also know what it’s like to dream musically.” Did you dream before the exhibit tonight? “Well, I didn’t sleep very much last night.”
The DJs were just beginning to set up and the Red Bull drinks were flowing. It didn’t look like he’d be getting very much sleep tonight, either.
Through September 16
Red Bull Studios
220 West 18th St.
New York, NY 10011
MAP![]()
Photos courtesy of Greg Mionske / Red Bull Content Pool
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In one corner, the audience could step into the center of flickering stage lights, ambient sounds, and blowing fans, as if transported inside the heart of a movie. The whole exhibit was smoke and mirrors. Literally. A smoke machine puffed away. Three smooth mirrors spun so seamlessly they appeared to be still. Illusions abounded.
Downstairs was Peter Coffin’s third installment of Music for Plants, a greenhouse where a variety of musicians will serenade the vegetation. Do the plants grow differently to music? “I think they do. There’s scientific research. But, I’m not so interested in evaluating whether it works or not. I’ve set up this system so people can imagine plants growing to music and that’s what I’m interested in.”
Peter Coffin is from Berkeley and his work is informed by new-age California mysticism and the rise and fall of ‘60s counterculture. An alphabet is rendered in a lit rainbow that towers over the show. It’s beautiful, but what does it mean? In the wall text for the show, Mary Margaret Rinebold writes, “The unseen sets of relations between ourselves and what we are looking at, or standing near, actually take the foreground of the scene we find ourselves in, pushing both us––the subjects––and them––the objects––to the periphery.”
Okay, so maybe that doesn’t explain it. “I’m more into catalyzing ideas than dictating them.” Peter Coffin said. “I like the way music works, because it doesn’t need to be explained. I also know what it’s like to dream musically.” Did you dream before the exhibit tonight? “Well, I didn’t sleep very much last night.”
The DJs were just beginning to set up and the Red Bull drinks were flowing. It didn’t look like he’d be getting very much sleep tonight, either.
Through September 16
Red Bull Studios
220 West 18th St.
New York, NY 10011
MAP
Photos courtesy of Greg Mionske / Red Bull Content Pool
