Who turned up the heat in New York City? 100?F? It’s pretty hot around here at the moment, but if that isn’t quite hot enough for you, you may want to visit the legendary MoMA PS1 Warm Up music series. The contemporary art centre is based in Long Island City, Queens and is a subsidiary of the Museum of Modern Art, every summer it plays host to the much anticipated Warm Up event, combining architectural installations, modern art and critically acclaimed live music.
The first event kicked off on Saturday July 3rd with a line up including, Delorean, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, Glasser, John Talabot and Krollreven. The clear blue skies were a compliment to the set up at this historical Queens venue. As you entered the courtyard you were faced with an array of poles (Pole Dance, created by the architectural firm Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu) and a ceiling of netting containing a multitude of brightly coloured exercise balls. The centre focal point was a small pool and off to one side there was a private beach area complete with hammocks and a floor of sand. The idea was to try and bounce the exercise balls down from above you, they fell through strategically placed gaps in the netting that were also spraying out a fine cold mist to reward you for your efforts.
It was like an artist’s playground, everything was interesting and had a slight creative edge to it. Towards the back of the courtyard was the stage where the live music acts performed throughout the day, with Delorean headlining and closing for 9pm. Your ticket to PS1 also gets you entry into the gallery which is a great chance to explore some modern art and enjoy some air conditioning.
This was the first time I had seen or heard Delorean play live; their sound was perfect for the event, they have a very modern sound, light and uplifting, ideal for a summers day in the middle of an art installation. Their music makes you feel quite floaty and free and there is a slight hint of a retro European dance vibe in some tracks. Think electronic meets Belearic with a twist of trance – it brings a euphoric sensation to your ears. Songs to listen to are ‘Stay Close’ and ‘Seasun’. As you listen to them you can almost feel yourself squinting at the bright glare of the imaginary warm sun rays that are hitting your cheek.
As the day drew to an end and the skies grew darker the courtyard grew busier and the crowd were in good spirits. The exercise balls that had one by one made their way down to the ground were suddenly back in the air, crowd-surfing from person to person. I almost felt like I was a festival, carefree and having fun. After such a multi-sensory experience at MoMA PS1’s Warm Up I’m not sure a Saturday afternoon would be complete without sunshine, live music, modern art and of course who can forget the flying exercise balls?
MoMa PS1 Warm Up is on every Saturday from July 3rd until September 4th from 12pm – 9pm, for more information visit http://ps1.org/warmup and for more on Delorean visit http://www.myspace.com/delorean.
