-scopeHamptons

A Definition of Style
by: aryana herz

TALK ABOUT A happy marriage of business and art! Jaguar, W magazine, other business sponsors and more than a dozen of today’s significant artists came together to bring The Hamptons something the rest of the world has seen: -scope, an art fair presenting “global culture on the verge.”

The exposition was held the weekend of July 15-17 in Southampton. Galleries and artists from Long Island and elsewhere in the world (Berlin, Chicago, Memphis…) pooled their talents in response to bringing art to new audiences by using out-of-the-ordinary methods. In addition to the fixed installation in Southampton, there were events, cinema-scope (featuring exhibitor works), kids-scope (hands-on activities to keep the kiddies distracted) and performance-scope (a live performance juxtaposing intense dialogue in front of an idyllic oasis setting)—much of which peppered the area with live broadcast feeds at select locations around town.

The works took on new vehicles too. Specifically, Jaguar donated 1/18th scale models of the Jaguar X-Type for artists to render their visions on. The one-of-a-kind models were part of the silent auction to benefit The Retreat, the only domestic violence agency on Long Island’s East End.

Overall, the works were cutting edge, racy, and at times disturbing, but exquisitely executed. The actual number of items on view was hard to calculate, but a strong Long Island presence was brought on by our favorite leaders in developing art innovation: Black & White Gallery (Brooklyn), boltax.gallery (Shelter Island), Sara Nightingale Gallery (Water Mill), Solar (East Hampton) and others.

-scope considers itself, “an invaluable resource for established and burgeoning collectors as well as museums, corporate curators and the general public,” as the group makes art buying more accessible. The fact that the -scopeCircle (their core committee) is comprised of arts luminaries from around the world, indicates a change of outward interest in the Hamptons, making a repeat highly probable. Good Bye Lindsay Lohan, hello -scope!