The Left Side of the Road

Nothing jolts an American out of their jet lag haze upon arriving in London like the blaring horn and screeching brakes of a double-decker bus barreling toward them as they look the wrong way and step into the street. Throughout Central London you'll see painted on the curbs in big block letters "LOOK LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT." And despite this precaution, the number of times I myself (even having lived in London) get caught up in my conversation or otherwise switch to New Yorker mode, confident of my surroundings, but am nearly flattened, is alarming.

It's familiar enough, London. The feel of the city is inviting and warm. But it's still another country, and as Wilde noted, no where is that more clear than the differences in language.

Indeed most of the challenges we met installing Moving Image in London surrounded vocabulary. For example, boxes full of equipment we needed were delivered by our tech team (the wonderful Aubury & Associates...if you're looking for installation help in London, we strongly recommend them). One box was labeled "28 kettle leads."

Again, having lived in London, I knew full well how much the Brits like their tea, especially during the work day, but even still, 28 kettle leads seemed excessive for our staff of 12 or so. Upon opening the box I found 28 cords for the TV monitors (with their characteristically oversized plugs...I mean really, can you work on that? They're enormous). Apparently the most popular use of these detachable leads is for the electric tea kettles you'll find in most homes and offices throughout the UK (and won't find any even remotely as solid or good in the US despite how hard you look...could we work on that?).

There's been a great response by the press for the London version of Moving Image, and some pretty sweet video interviews as well. Here's a quick round-up:

Coline Milliard, "Betting on Riskier Art, the SUNDAY and Moving Image Fairs Offer Affordable Alternatives During Frieze Week," Artinfo.com, October 14, 2011

Rachel Spence, "Other art fairs, various venues, London," Financial Times, October 13, 2011

Bethany Rex, "Opening Tomorrow | Moving Image | Contemporary Video Art Fair | October 13 - 16 | London," Aesthetica Magazine, October 12, 2011

Gareth Harris, "Moving pictures," Financial Times, October 11, 2011

FAD Website interviews with Moving Image artists and founders (see additional links to the right)

Thomas Keane, "Frieze Art Fair All’s Well That Ends Well," ArtLyst, October 18, 2011

As you might imagine, we have a lot to catch up on, but Murat and I would like to send a very special thanks to all the people who helped make Moving Image in London possible, including our amazing Curatorial Advisory Committee ( Edwin Carels, John Connelly, Solange Farkas, Mami Kataoka, and Elizabeth Neilson); our Moving Image team including Amanda Lees, Deborah Crowhurst and all the great people at the Bargehouse, Helen Toomer Labzda, Justin Amrhein; and our kick-ass team of interns: Micah, Clare, Joao, George, Victoria, Mark, Nina, and Polly. You guys rock!

Last, but not least, are the gallerist colleagues we met or reconnected with who participated in the fair. We love that you too are investing in this medium and look forward to working together as the project expands.

We'll have more images and tales to tell in the days to come.

For now, though, let me say thanks for hogging all the nice weather while we were away New York! This blustery rainy day is a LOVELY way to return home! :-P

Actually, it's great to be home... ...more soon.
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