The Dreamland Artist Club
Rita Ackermann, Craig Costello, Adam Cvijanovic, Jules de Balincourt, Dearraindrop, Christa Donner, Nicole Eisenman, Daze Ellis, Gents of Desire (DOOM + FINN), Toland Grinnell, Ellen Harvey, David Humphrey, Katrin Jurati, Greg Lamarche, Matt Leines, Andrew Lenaghan, Ashley Macomber, Ryan McGinness, Bill McMullen, Morning Breath (Doug Cunningham and Jason Noto), Jack Pierson, Steve Powers, Dana Schutz, Nathan Smith, SSUR, Matt Wright; Steve Powers and Peter Eleey, curators
June 12-September 6, 2004
Coney Island, Brooklyn
Photo © 2004 Charlie Samuels
Named for one of the famous amusement parks of Coney Island’s heyday, The Dreamland Artist Club consisted of more than twenty-five emerging and established artists who repainted rides and created custom signs, murals, and scenic backdrops for a range of Coney Island attractions. As a long-time admirer of the fading craft of sign painting, curator Steve Powers looked for inspiration in the tradition of colorful, hand-painted signage and advertisements that date back more than a century in the community. Like Powers, each of the participating artists had a personal, social, or aesthetic interest in the visual culture of the area; many were from Brooklyn or greater New York, though some came from Chicago and Los Angeles to participate. With a dramatic range of styles and practices, The Dreamland Artist Club offered a sampling of this era’s artistry and imagination to Coney Island, and proposed a new model for creative urban revitalization strategies that both compliments and builds upon the existing character of this legendary New York neighborhood.