Well, May 21st came and went without a single unusual casualty inflicted by either of the Horsemen. The epicenter of the Apocalypse seemed to be in the heart of New York City in Union Square. The wisest of the wise embraced New York City streets, dripping beer and various narcotics onto the pavement and floorboard of multiple bars. Alarms and sirens commingled with the chorus of singing Amish/Quakers/Shakers/Mormons (whatever affiliation they were) and the warnings of preacher men barking from behind the planted crucifix where people had funny photos taken of themselves. Later, a long-haired man, a blonde double of Jesus Christ from a Western hemisphere painting took to the crucifix and let his hands dangle there for onlookers to gasp at.

Foreboding clouds loomed nearby as the clock ticked closer to 6PM. It was then that I began to wonder, Which time zone is God in? Christians gathered across the street from Whole Foods and sang for Jesus while a nearby prayer station offered services for your soul…just in case. While taking pictures, a sudden creeping feeling came through to my brain and heart. People wearing colorful clothes danced in Union Square behind the Christian singers. Fake Jesus wandered near his cross, the prayer station, the preacher man, the people dressed as zombies lumbering by, and then the clouds, slowly pressing over us. My god, I thought. If the end were near, this is exactly how it would happen.

It was 5:57 pm. I perched myself on the cross, aimed my camera into the crowd to await the Rapture when a sudden chorus began counting down to zero. I realized that the end, if it was really coming, was only a few seconds away. When they reached zero, the crowd erupted into cheers:

New Year’s Eve Part II.

Osama bin Laden is Dead Part II.

The end of the world had run out of time. Perhaps deities above saved the day or perhaps the ramblings of an old man in need of some fast cash just got rich.

Afterwards, I looked for those Christians. The preacher man. Even Jesus but none were to be found. Taken by the light into Heaven? Shamefully retreated to their churches for heap loads of “what’s next?” Maybe…after all, how else is a church going to make 80 million dollars besides spreading false alarms about the end of the world? Back to the drawing board. Maybe next year they’ll bring on bigger dramatics by a hired hand from Universal Studios.

Last night, the Clic Bookstore and Gallery located in the Lower East Side housed a multitude of devoted fans and music lovers alike who all gathered to honor and be in the presence of one of music’s greatest chameleon’s, the world renowned singer/ songwriter and DJ, Moby. It was there that he unveiled and launched his latest album, book and photography exhibit, Destroyed.

Composed of photography by the enigmatic artist himself, Moby introduces fans to the often isolating world of touring, travel and time away from the familiar. His photographs set the tone and scene for his album of the same name, and plays like a soundtrack against the diverse imagery, all the while reflecting on Moby’s talented eye for the aesthetic. Both earnest and thought-provoking, Moby’s latest auditory and visual accomplishment is truly a brilliant collaboration to behold. Destroyed the exhibit, will be up for another month at Clic (255  Centre Street).

“Touring is all contrasts and strangeness, and that’s what I’m trying to convey in these pictures.” ~Moby

[CHECK OUT his innovative microsite where you can listen to the album and look at his pictures...it's right over HERE!]

The terrible tragedy at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has prompted concern for the safety and welfare of reactors worldwide.  No one is more concerned than the good Ukrainians who currently monitor the Chernobyl site.  The current covering for the reactor site is still the temporary shell put in place over the reactor in 1986.  That’s why Ukraine is taking the ultimate measure in reactor defense—radioactive robot mummies.

In 1986 a giant steel and concrete arch known as the sarcophagus was quickly built to contain the radiation.  This was a temporary measure, yet is still in place and could be severely weakened by a large tremor.  An even bigger, badder sarcophagus is going to be built to contain the reactor like some massive sci-fi Russian doll.

The new sarcophagus can safely lay Lady Liberty to rest for all of eternity, reaching a height of 108 meters in the center.  This new shell will be built off site in sections due to the radiation dangers directly above the reactor.  The sections will then be pieced together and the whole shell slid into place on Teflon rails.

You obviously can’t even dream of entombing the Pharaoh of all nuclear reactor disasters without some servants.  Besides, with the old shell crumbling there’s going to be an awful mess in the afterlife and the reactor’s going to be pissed.  That’s why there will be robot servants entombed within the new sarcophagus to serve the reactor for eternity.

Once the new sarcophagus is completely sealed these robot servants will go to work dismantling the old shell and cleaning up radioactive material.  They will then assume their secondary roles to serve as company for the reactor in the afterlife, paint spectacular murals on the walls, and give Brendan Fraser Hell.

I’m exercising free speech: Fuck you, Egyptian Government.

During the Iran protests of 2009, we covered the plight of its citizens, who just like Egypt, remain under the thumb of its government. Perhaps its presumptuous and arrogant for me to say that they probably don’t like it but it’s a safe bet. Their right to protest its government due to jaw-dropping political corruption is the right of man and is only taken from us when a power decides when it’s a “right” and when it’s not. [I'm not so good at news reporting so go here to read more about what's been going on in Egypt.]

To echo Bill Maher, I’d like to repeat his message to the Tea Party “movement:” We do not live in a tyranny. We have not yet experienced this. Despite the severity of our country’s (no, I’m not naive so forget about listing conspiracies here) issues — both hypocrisy and internal — we do not live in a tyranny. Despite living under Bush’s “reign of terror,” we did not live in a tyranny. We will not ever live in a tyranny simply because of our ideals regarding free speech.

I am not forgetting what happened to Wiki Leaks or the suspension of habeas corpus or the Patriot Act or how the media quashed reports of hundreds of thousands of people protesting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq back in the early years of the wars. I am not forgetting Guantanamo, the overthrow of heads of democratically elected governments in South America, or the imprisonment and desterilization of political dissenters in Puerto Rico. I’m not forgetting so many open mouths wired shut by the US government for practicing democratic ideals. What I’m saying is that we have the right to bitch about it and do something without worrying that our government will shut us down.

Yes, we have some serious problems with our government and its policies but they will not shut me down for telling it to go fuck itself and Egypt has no right or power to tell me that I can’t post this video.

Listen well:

Natalie Portman Reigns Supreme as the Black Swan

Aronofsky has proved time and time again what a visionary director he is, tackling a variety of hard-hitting dramatic films with a unique style unlike any before him. From Pi to Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and his latest masterpiece, The Black Swan, he has once again established himself as a dominant force to be reckoned with.

This time, Aronofsky inhabits the theatrical world of ballet, leaving no stone unturned as he vividly paints a picture outside of pointe shoes and pirouettes to expose the lesser-known world of dancers purging and inner paranoia taking hold.

Natalie Portman, in a role that the young actress noticeably shines in, plays the timid and sheltered Nina, a dedicated ballerina who has been plucked from the corps to play the role of the Swan Queen in her director’s new version of Swan Lake. The role itself requires its lead character to encompass two very specific and separate individuals – the bewitching, beguiling and seductive Black Swan (whom Nina’s own perfectionism thwarts her from achieving) and the virginal and delicate role of the White Swan (a part which Nina excels in with little effort).

Still, Nina’s obstacles lie in her director’s diligent need to pull Nina out of her comfort zone, often by pushing her buttons sexually. Played effectively by Vincent Cassel, (as a convincing womanizing director you love to hate and on occasion, vice versa) he continuously demands more from the young starlet, harping on her lack of sensuality at almost every turn and constantly pushing her to go beyond her limits. Also fixated on Nina is Wynona Ryder in a chilling portrayal of the jilted ex-prima ballerina who isn’t quite ready to give up her role as the Company’s lead and immediately zeroes in on Nina as the catalyst for her fall from grace. Although, Ryder’s role is not necessarily a defining one, she still manages to burrow deep inside Nina’s psyche as the movie pulsates on.

Then, there is Nina’s analytical mother, played by a pushy Barbara Hershey, a true and clear driving force in Nina’s strict and disassociate lifestyle of choosing to focus on ballet and little else. A stage mother to the fullest degree who sadly seems to watch by with a heavy heart while her own daughter chases after dreams she herself could not fulfill, only exacerbates things for Portman’s unstable character.

Just as it seems that Nina has achieved everything and all she could ask for, Lily (played by a sensual and wide-eyed Mila Kunis) enters. Flirtatious, bold, and an ideal candidate for the role of the Black Swan, she is everything Nina struggles to be and is not.  In a series of odd events the two find themselves becoming entangled in a friendship of epic frenemy proportions, where lines are blurred only to be crossed until finally, Nina begins let go, giving into her wildest urges, including those she never even knew she possessed as she desperately tries to find her own inner “Black Swan,” all the while becoming more and more detached from reality.

One of the main themes found within the movie was that of ‘The Artist vs. The Craft’. Many an artist have fallen victim to their own inner demons. Are we honestly to believe that Van Gogh was in sound mind when he lopped his ear clean off? Nina’s departure from sanity is no different, except that as the audience we are invited to join in and watch as her mind begins to bend and detach itself until she can no longer differentiate fantasy from reality. It is through her own ideals of reaching an undefined sense of “perfection” that proves to enforce as well as hinder her ambitions and will keep movie-goers at the edge of their seats right up until the final moments of this captivating psychological thriller.

Last weekend, Whiskey Dregs editor, Carlos and I embarked on a journey by ferry that took us from the safety of Manhattan to unknown and rural Staten Island, a place that has been quoted by our new good friend, Arthur Matos, as one of “NY’s largest & best kept haunted secrets”. The reason for our adventure – to set out on a Historical Haunted Tour of Snug Harbor where four paranormal investigating teams all collaborated in joining forces in a tour-like atmosphere where curious thrill seekers and paranormal enthusiasts like ourselves could experience what it was really like to see live investigations occur and see live investigators execute their methods.  If you’ve seen popular ghost hunting shows before then you might think you know what goes on but we wanted to have a firsthand account – and we got it!

Hosted by Epic Paranormal’s founder and director, Arthur Matos, each team positioned themselves in various locations throughout some of what are said to be Snug Harbor’s most haunted locations. One paranormal investigator is paired with a historical guide with extensive knowledge of the grounds whom accompanies each group while various stops are made throughout the grounds of this once self-sustaining community which was a former safe haven for retired sailors from all over the world. It’s said and has been confirmed by various studies that some of these restless spirits and entities still remain on the property to this day.

There is no doubting that the energy and vibe of the area is somewhat eerie and foreboding, and considering the tour begins after dark it’s a fun and chilling experience for those who are true believers and even those who often consider themselves skeptics. Snug Harbor is considered a valued historical landmark and the Epic team alone has been studying the activity found in the area for that past four and a half years and much of Arthur’s research stems from the mid-nineties.

Last week marked the first weekend of the Historical Haunted Tours of Snug Harbor and so far it’s been a huge success, not only were all tours their opening weekend sold out, but they are sold out for the duration and following two weeks the tours are being held. The experience was one well worth having, even for those who may not believe in the paranormal. Let the record show that even we experienced some interesting phenomena, one of us more than the other, but we both left with a newfound respect for the unknown.

What was so fascinating about the entire experience was that you were let into the extraordinary world of paranormal exploration through the eyes and minds of those who actually do the exploring. In each different location each team would go over their process of ghost hunting and searching for the inexplicable. By showing us their tools, which ranged from thermal cameras to sense and capture heat or cool spots, voice recorders to capture E.V.P’s (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) and E.M.F. detectors (which measure the amount of magnetic energy in a given area – the more energy in a given area the more it’s believed an entity can draw energy within a space to materialize and manifest itself) attendees got to witness and even test run the equipment firsthand.

We were lucky enough to ask the EPIC Paranormal team and SCARED Investigators a few questions on their methods and their thoughts on the unknown.

Questions with Epic (Eastern Paranormal Investigation Center)

W.D.: What was it like spearheading an event like this with so many other paranormal teams at Snug Harbor? Was this an obvious location to hold it, or were there others that were considered?

E.P.: Although EPIC has attended paranormal events in the past, it was an honor for us to spearhead its presentation, but to also host it on such a historical site. We not only got to work with some great individuals from other groups, but we were also able to show the attending guests one of Staten Island’s most historical locations, claimed by many to be “haunted”! Having a multi-team paranormal event, gave the guests at Snug Harbor a chance to listen to the stories and the unique techniques & methods which each team uses during an investigation, from urban explorers & metaphysical to the scientific!

The EPIC team has been researching and collecting data on the events, stories and unexplained phenomena which has been occurring at Snug harbor for many years. Many individuals familiar with the location had never heard of the strange activity which occurs there. So that made Snug Harbor a prime location for EPIC to approach them with the idea of holding such an event. A historical location which is claimed to be haunted, right in our own backyard? We could not pass up the chance.

W.D.: What, in your opinion, is the most haunted or paranormal area that your team has ever encountered and what finds did you uncover?

E.P.: That’s a great question and one which I’ve been asked quite often. Although EPIC mainly focuses on residential homes & families who claim to be experiencing unexplained phenomena. There have been a few locations which the EPIC team has investigated, but none as interesting and shocking as the Governors House, located within Snug Harbors Cultural Center. Even though the EPIC team covers as many areas of possible contamination and eliminates as many variables as humanly possible, we encountered, humanoid like dark figures right in front of us, E.V.P.’s aka, Electronic Voice Phenomena which was directed at the question at hand, and a feeling of pure disgust, nausea, irritation, coldness and [discomfort] when entering one of the specific bedrooms. As one of the investigators put it, “it feels as if we’ve walked into a party which we were not invited to.” That is the type of feeling which we all felt when walking into [this] specific bedroom. I would have to say that the Governors House at Snug Harbor is definitely the most uncomfortable & uneasy location which I have been in.

W.D.: Why is it that you decided to form Epic and what do you see for Epic in the future?

E.P.: I formed EPIC, the Eastern Paranormal Investigation Center, not only to seriously seek for answers to my own questions and curiosity, but more so because I saw a trend. I researched and found that many of the paranormal groups in the field were focusing on investigating and writing about the famous haunts, not to mention that they have been done time and time again and although many of these groups also investigated homes, none actually focused on them, none that I personally saw. So I decided to form EPIC, an organization which focuses on residential claims of paranormal activity. We make it a priority to concentrate on the families who have no one to turn to due to the fear of either being ridiculed or tagged as crazy. EPIC is a discreet professional research and investigative organization which tries to find rational explanations before attempting to label any claim as paranormal.

Questions with SCARED! Team:

W.D.: You use a lot of fun equipment when researching for the paranormal – which piece of equipment do you feel has been the most instrumental when catching
entities and or spirits and what have your experiences been?

Chris: This answer isn’t as simple as one gadget – during investigations at
different locations we’ve got results from a variety of different equipment.
We’ve gotten curious readings from our EMF Detectors, our Motion Detectors
and both video and audio anomalies from our cameras.
Brian: I agree with Chris on this, but my answer is skewed in a different
direction. My answer would not be a gadget, but a person – our psychic has
been our best bet at detecting paranormal activity. The gadgets are good at
confirming what she feels, but without her, we’re often just fumbling around in the
dark…sometimes literally.
Karrie Ann: I would say my digital audio recorder, which is the most popular and
consistent piece of equipment for a paranormal investigator. I have received
many direct responses to questions I have asked while conducting an EVP
sessions.
Brooke: The most instrumental piece of equipment own is my H2 Zoom surround
sound audio recorder. I use it for catching EVP’s, and I have been very happy
with the quality of the sound during evidence review.

W.D.: If you had to go on an investigation and could only bring one piece of equipment
to catch and or monitor spiritual activity – what would it be and why?

Brian: Gadget-wise, I always have my EMF Detector with me. I know what man-
made things cause it to go off, so if I’m getting a reading in an area I shouldn’t
be, or even better, if it’s free-floating and I can follow it around, that’s great evidence.
So many other methods require review to catch evidence – my EMF
detector sounds off immediately telling me what I need to know.
Chris: As a documentarian, I prefer to always have a video camera. The most
basic equipment of course is your body and your senses and sometimes the
simplest device can be very useful. A visual account of your experiences in
important on any investigation. With a video camera you are not only able to
document possible visual anomalies there is always the chance of finding EVPs
during review.
Karrie Ann: I would bring the Paracorder 667. The Paracorder 667 is 3 pieces
of equipment in one unit. It is a DC EMF detector, which is what we believe a
spirit would emit if present. It is an EMF Pump to promote and possible enable
paranormal activity. And it also can also be used as a communication device.
Brooke: I agree that the best piece of equipment to bring with you on an
investigation would be yourself–using all of your senses to determine if there is
activity in a room is key. However, something that can document the activity that
you feel is helpful, whether it be a still camera, video camera or audio recorder.

W.D.: If the SCARED! team could go to any haunted location to investigate, which spot
would it be and why?

Brian: Let’s go big – the pyramids at Giza. I’d get my taste for the paranormal as
well as my hand at some Indiana Jones-type archeology. Maybe we’ll even find
a spaceship underneath them!
Chris: The White House – who gets in there?
Karrie Ann: One location that I would love to investigate would have to be Hart’s
Island in NY. This place has all the ingredients for a paranormal cocktail…
prison of war camp, boy’s workhouse, women’s insane asylum, yellow fever
quarantine zone, and a cemetery of the unknown and executed. With Hart’s
Island being the final resting place for more than 850,000 restless spirits there is
bound to be some kind of activity there.
Brooke: I would love to see SCARED! go global and investigate a haunted castle
in another country–Ireland or Italy, perhaps. Maybe someday we’ll have that
SCARED! jet.

We at The Whiskey Dregs would like to personally thank all the teams that participated in the Sung Harbor Historical Haunted Tour for their diligence to seek the truth and to educate society on the elements that occur that we as human beings cannot often explain. To learn more about Scared, Epic, the tours themselves and other teams involved please click the links.

I Sell The Dead

I love zombie movies.  The gore and scenes of slaughter are almost filler for me, because what I really love is the variety that you just don’t see done well with other monster clichés.  Zombies truly lend themselves to a large range: comedy and slapstick, all-out gorefest, thriller (pun intended), and just about every exotic virus known or unknown to man.  Apocalyptic in scope, or just one group trapped in a cabin in the woods, these plots can occur anywhere, in any context, at any time.  So here is a wide range of some of the best.

Pontypool (2009)

Nothing is more isolated than narrating a zombie holocaust in small-town Ontario from the isolation of a morning show radio booth.  In an interesting spin on the typical “Zombie Virus” scenario, the infection in Pontypool is spread through language, Tourette syndrome gone wild.  Based on the Tony Burgess novel Pontypool Changes Everything, this one makes the list.

Re-Animator (1985)

It’s more difficult to combine any other movie monster with comedy than the zombie.  Gore, zombies, and humor lend themselves so well to the screen that it’s difficult to come up with a list of ten movies and not include five of these gems.  In this one a reagent is used to reanimate bodies, but it all goes horribly awry.  Think of Weird Science, but instead of some hot chick you can summon zombies.  It’s just as exciting.  This film has also made Jeffrey Combs a cult hit to all of us who thought we were too cool for Star Trek.  (Just to clear things up… no, he did not die in 9-11.)

I Sell the Dead (2008)

This is a personal favorite of mine, and I would love to bump it up a few notches on the list but I know too many people would bitch.  Grave robbers run into trouble with a competing grave robbing guild, Ron Perlman is a monk, an alien circus freak corpse is somehow central to the plot, and Angus Scrimm looks as creepy as ever.  How can you go wrong?  The answer is you can’t.  Watch this movie.

The Seprent and the Rainbow (1988)

Wes Craven throws his hat into the zombie ring with this late-80’s release starring Bill Pullman as Dennis Alan, a Harvard anthropologist.  Upon hearing of a voodoo drug used to zombify people in Haiti, word gets back to the U.S. and Alan is approached by a large pharmaceutical property more than interested in this discovery.  This film is set apart from the others on the list in that an added layer of depth via political strife is crucial to the plot.  Alan is harassed, tortured, and arrested by local Haitian warlords and yet still pursues this Voodoo drug.  He is eventually kicked out of Haiti, but returns for a strange, yet satisfying, ending.

Zombie (1979)

A.K.A. Zombi 2, Island of the Zombies, Zombie Island, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.  Hated by the Conservative British Parliament for its gore (not saying much—a crumpet with too much jelly might make them wheeze), this is among Fulci’s best.  I always get asked, “Are you a Romero guy, or a Fulci guy?”  I tend to lean Fulci.  A zombie fighting a shark explains why.  Anyway, the island of Matool is cursed and the dead come back to life.  Obviously, the dead are zombies and a lot of people get killed.  If you’ve never seen this movie, you will be as annoyed by Paola as I… but don’t worry.  Fulci takes care of business.

Evil Dead (1981)

Honestly, I flipped a coin.  It was this or Evil Dead 2.  I consider Army of Darkness to be more in the period epic category than zombie film, belonging in the same league as Gladiator and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.  At its core Evil Dead is a classic something-dark-in-the-woods horror flick.  Made on a shoestring budget with minimal effects, the film still manages to have some great scares.  Now lauded for its cult status now as a comedic hit, but I dare anyone to make a horror film on this type of budget and not laugh at the result.

Dellamorte Dellamore, or Cemetery Man (1994)

Something is wrong in the ground at Buffalora Cemetery in the Italian countryside.  Within a week of burial, the dead awaken.  Francesco Dellamorte comes from a long line of Dellamorte’s tasked with the duty of killing these poor saps as they emerge.  Francesco, however, has big dreams and is not content with the family business after he discovers he possibly killed the love of his life.  If you know someone who thinks Twilight is the ultimate Halloween love story, show them this film.  You may just save a lost soul.

Dead Alive (1992)

Otherwise known as Braindead in New Zealand, this under-the-radar pre-LOTR Peter Jackson movie is perfect.  A Sumatran Rat-Monkey is responsible for a zombie virus spread through biting, of course.  When poor Lionel’s mum is bitten by the Rat-Monkey, Lionel takes it upon himself to see to it that she is cared for after she emerges from the grave.  Naturally zombies get out of hand and Lionel can’t control all of them.  Sedatives and zombies just don’t work that way.   It all leads up to a finale that is worth the price of admission.

White Zombie (1932)

So this is “the film that started it all.”  The original masters were lost until the 1960’s, and the film was all but forgotten.  The modern “remaster” still suffers from terrible sound, but this is definitely worth watching.  Béla Lugosi stars as Murder Legendre in this film, still on the cusp of “talkies” that the acting has the exaggerated, delayed reactions necessary to silent film.  Adapted from a play, White Zombie depicts the origins of the zombie genre—Haitian voodoo—long forgotten in our era of viral zombies existing solely to prey on live humans.

(Free download and stream)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Not “the film that started it all,” but so seminal to the genre that it absolutely must be included on any list.  The raw, black and white footage adds to the silent atmosphere, generating a more frightening effect than most modern cameras and special effects could reproduce.  (In numerous dreadful attempts, none have come close to reproducing this original.)  Add to that a complex layer of social commentary in an era of civil rights and domestic unrest and the term “classic” still does little justice.

Queen Mary

By: Alexis Guerra

The imperial and majestic HMS Queen Mary, which resides against Long Beach Harbor in California has always had a bit of a sordid past. Built in Clyde, Scotland and starting out in the 1930’s as a luxury liner, the ship transported many of Hollywood’s elite, politicians and royalty back and forth across the Atlantic.

In 1939, when World War II occurred that the ship was then transformed into a war ship that soon came to be known as “The Grey Ghost” and played a significant role in many major invasions. With the war’s end, the Queen Mary picked up it’s transcontinental voyages again until 1967 when it was sold to the city of Long Beach to be turned into a Hotel and Maritime museum. Since then it has been the scene for many “paranormal” experiences and has been boasted as one of the most haunted destinations in possibly the world.It is said that there are more than 150 ghosts and spirits wander the hallways and passages of the ship, many of them thought to be soldiers from the war.

The video below was taken during a paranormal investigation lead by ghost hunters, in which not one but many ghosts were caught on tape wandering down the empty corridor. All aboard, everyone…

GHOSTS OF THE QUEEN MARY
Uploaded by czoom. – Classic TV and last night’s shows, online.

Insert your Haunted Mansion jokes here but when you see the video, you’ll know that we’re not suggesting a visit to the ride. No, no, no. This video was taken from a hand held camera, videotaping the footage from a security cam. The ghost is clearly seen and does not require any audio or a finger to point at an obvious smudge. You’ll see the ghost strolling down the sidewalk, through a closed gate, and into the water. Let’s just hope that the ghost doesn’t go home with you like they do on the ride. Waka waka.

Ghost Walking Around at Disneyland
Uploaded by czoom. – Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Amalgamation: Eddie Ochoa @ Pandemic Gallery, 37 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY
Through September 18

Pandemic Gallery, in South Williamsburg, bears the evidence of a recent volley of arrows, with about 9 or 10 of them stuck in its Eastern wall.  The culprit, Eddie Ochoa, hailing from San Antonio, Texas, is featured here this month in “Amalgamation”, his first solo show in New York.  The images Ochoa is re-creating in “Amalgamation” represent a web of suspended disbelief in which he has captured various mythological images and formed them into his own system.  They nearly read like Tarot cards, each representing a message of warning or destiny.

Also on this Eastern wall is a portrait series of mostly mythological female characters and goddesses, each seemingly captured in a moment of leisure or ceremony, with translucent far-away eyes.  The Goddess of Justice is absorbed in a book whose octopus arms are reaching out for an embrace; A Goddess is both coming and going from her pillar of smoke, her body angled in a backwards arc. A Wonder, the standout among these, is a waif-like woman in the fetal position, with long blond hair floating all around her, whose only mythological feature is her hooves for feet.  She is suspended in the desert night sky, a cosmic figment, her chin tucked into her knees with an expression of either fear or fulfillment, and has captivated a few spectators from the mortal world.

The male subjects of Ochoa’s work sit poised and proud always without real faces, looking directly at you with the same translucent eyes as their female counterparts.  A King and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, seem like gangsters with imposing postures, as though they were holding court.  Songsinger, the standout piece of the whole lot, is playing his guitar and dancing, immersed in a whirlpool of movement so engaging, you feel as though you’ve been singing and dancing with him for hours.  Each of the male figures is nearly throbbing with energy, ready to pounce, while Songsinger is virtually made of contagious endorphins.

There is a compelling gravity and sturdiness to Ochoa’s work, despite the ambience of his characters.  Nearly all of them draw in with their crystalline gazes wearing elaborate costumes, against bold, stark colors.  This weight is emphasized by his use of collage, using layers upon layers, each little bit creating a bigger mass.  Nearly every line and pattern of the wardrobe of his characters is a separate piece of paper, as though they were paper dolls.   Each layer of would be textile – a shawl or pair of trousers in Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, a pair of socks in Raven Daughter – feature neat, flat, geometric patterns, creating a rhythmic embrace for each figure. Real beads, which are not without their sacred allusions, are used as jewelry and accents.

And then there are the Blue Bones, of a land-beast; painted blue and encased in glass display shells as though they were artifacts, or clues to what lies in the soil of Ochoa’s work.  But these bones, as I learned from Ochoa himself, were in fact those of a deer found in the woods in Pennsylvania, far from his home in Texas.  The Blue Bones along with the arrows, which were found at a friend’s apartment in Brooklyn, all came together as a segue for Ochoa’s artistic journey from San Antonio to New York.  Ochoa took aim, fired, and has hit the bull’s eye in New York with this intelligent and emotionally impactful show. The Bones, the arrows in brick, the layers, the beads, the deities, all suspended here, in “Amalgamation.”