Taylor Sakarett’s a Human Pile: Presented by Lena Hawkins
December 13. 2022 – January 23. 2023
At a special location in L.I.C., NY. Ask a freek for the address.
JAN 13.
DUKE PAPI Best of Episodes Open 7pm Screening at 8 – 10 PM
JAN 21.
1pm – 11pm TAPE Heads Av Experiments
JAN 22.
Sunset 5:01pm – Midnight Death Anniversary Meditation led by Raquel Mavecq with Sound Circle
For more details please visit https://linktr.ee/nypublicpool or contact dukepapi@yahoo.com to view by appointment.
About the Show
In a series of intimate events titled Taylor Sakarett’s a Human Pile, Lena Hawkins is sharing the process of dealing with Taylor Sakarett’s artistic legacy.
Sharing contained selections from his life’s work and the gatherings around Taylor that he called a Human Pile.
Taylor Sakarett, a young, visionary Brooklyn artist and musician died in January 2020, age 30. Taylor, a prolific creator, left a majority of their belongings to Lena Hawkins, a collaborator in life and art since they met in 2009 at the Bushwick Trailer Park. See below for a more detailed biography.
On view from Taylor Sakarett’s a Human Pile will be work that has been archived by Hawkins so far including paintings, prints, drawings, assemblage sculptures, and audio visual explorations by Sakarett. The series will include screenings of Duke Papi, the TV show that aired on MNN, public access.
Currently in a storage unit and Lena’s home, a majority of Taylor’s work will be moved into a workshopping space to be shared and engaged with by other artists, who were his collaborators in life. Some items will be incorporated into new artwork imagined by Hawkins and collaborators, some items dispersed to friends, family and the street, and the art objects safely stored for future viewings.
Through documentation, conversations, and processing from these events Hawkins plans to have a more concise collection to continue to store. Still unsure what the long term storage for Taylor’s archives, Hawkins wants to continue working to catalog, document and safely store any works that remain yet un-processed including a huge collection of film negatives, analog recorded film, and audio recordings.
Collaborators
Andrew Braddock, Emil Bognar-Nasdor, Wesley Bryon, Billy Hahn, Wes Macarelli, Chris Lee, Raquel Mavecq, Chris Roberts, and Alex Romania
Taylor’s Biography
Taylor Sakarett, a New York native, lived in Brooklyn as a working artist and musician. Taylor died suddenly on January 22, 2020 at age 30 after a brief illness. Taylor was just at the beginning of what promised to be a fascinating ever-expanding exploration of the boundaries of art, music and performance. During life Taylor was a prolific creator leaving behind a body of art he called his life’s work.
Taylor began his life as a creative at a young age filming skateboarding and graffiti missions, he went on to study painting at Pratt, graduating in 2012 with a BFA. He collaborated with the many independent artists with whom he shared the Bushwick Trailer Park (2009 -2011), and then his own Bootleg Mansion (2013-ongoing). Others he met and performed with at The Abrons Art Center, the AnarkoArtLab, The Flux Factory, Glasshouse and MoMA PS1. His work included painting, photography, prints, drawing, sculpture, assemblage, graffiti, zines, music and video art.
Taylor’s creative and loving spirit lives on through his friends and family.
Autobiographical Notes
Excerpts from Notes to Self on Taylor’s Computer:
Taylor Sakarett
Native New Yorker
collecting and cataloging as a means
Exploring the city culture through video foraging and interviews
field work and sonics
Synthesizing the city
Forging connections
Through field recordings interviews bootlegs drawing and archiving
Human Relations
Urban fauna
The Human Pile
Curated shows at the trailer park
Strobe network
Various diy
Runs bootleg mansion
Cult favorite cable access duke papi
Construction
World building
Vs
One world
Taylor’s Bio from Dazed article “New Kids” published in 2009 on Dazed Digital:
I have a cable access show in NY called “Duke Papi”. The show is about a family of humans that we all come across. It is an attempt to illustrate and bring to light various members of the sub group which comprise the five boroughs. It’s documentary style, raw. Basically the order and the flow of the show mimics my everyday walk through life. Sometimes the experiences are epic and sometimes just normal. But it’s all about the interactions between people.
I live in Brooklyn now, but grew up on 42nd Street in Manhattan. When I was a kid I was getting into bullshit. I have been locked up 8 times, I’ve gone through the system in all boroughs. I did not know then that the experiences I had were going to open up the door for this project. I am now using the same energy that was getting me into trouble to do my show.
Spending the last 20 years in this section of the earth has definitely shown me whether I wanted to or not, the most ridiculous and crazy sides of the human psyche.
Additional Information on Work in the Show
A Human Pile
As a New York City native, Taylor’s artistic practice included an ever growing collection of personal artifacts trashed by strangers that he culled over years spent in the city streets. Taylor called this work a Human Pile and presented it first as their thesis show at Pratt in 2012, after which they continued to collect and manipulate these materials in the studio.
In April 2019 under the title End Moraine, Taylor presented an assemblage of found objects presented in an empty apartment secretly accessed. Terminal or End Moraine is all the debris that accumulates at the bottom of a glacier. New York City’s development was shaped by the Terminal Moraine that runs through all five boroughs forming the high elevations of the city. Taylor created as an otherworldly being reconstructing discarded interpersonal histories from the detritus that litters and shapes the city
As Hawkins came to care for Taylor’s belongings the question of a Human Pile philosophy became a riddle. What of Taylor’s own personal artifacts are just that and which are potential works of art?
Duke Papi
Taylor began filming life around the city at the age of 12, documenting all aspects of their life. Along with a group of friends, a crew known as Moldy Films, they produced videos of antics as teenagers skateboarding the Manhattan streets. By age 18 Taylor produced a TV series that aired on MNN, the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, public access from 2009 – 2011 called Duke Papi. Made in collaboration with Ben aka Lansky, the duo shared footage from graffiti and skateboarding missions interlaced with interviews and metaphysical conversations in the street.
Duke Papi is a time capsule of the city, primarily filmed from 2009 -2014 the show includes Moldy Films footage dating back to 2001. Duke Papi is far ahead of its time, pre-dating any social network video app and the confluence of smartphones in our lives. The show features many notable characters and creatives including but not limited to KRS-ONE, the Mosaic Man, Kembra Phaler, Julia Fox, and Rambo R.I.P.
Tape Heads
An event series created by Wes Macarelli to indulge in explorations in analog media. Taylor and Lena were regular contributors to these events, mixing vhs tapes and djing cassettes.One of the last Tape Heads events was in 2015 as part of the exhibition Strobe Network at Flux Factory, a project by Lena and Taylor. For this series of events around a Human Pile we will summon all the Tape Heads in our hearts.
PAST EVENTS
DEC 16.
Open 7pm Screening at 8 – 10 PM DUKE PAPI Episode 1-4
DEC 18.
1pm – 11pm TAPE Heads Av Experiments
DEC 21.
Sunset@ 4:32pm – 12 am Solstice Gathering
DEC 30.
Open 7pm Screening at 8 – 10:30 PM DUKE PAPI Episode 5-9
DEC 31.
NYE
JAN 1.
Polar Bear Swim 2pm at Fort Tilden Fisherman Parking Lot car caravans available if you need a ride
JAN 8.
1pm – 11pm TAPE Heads Av Experiments