The Krasner (2015)
Watercolor on paper
20 x 28 inches
I love plants. The forms found within flora never cease to amaze me. Even with the most banal house plants, I want to know what’s special about them. I want to discover the secret; the knowledge of the greenest green thumb which is generally, as my wife Sarah would say, “not loving them to death.” And if I didn’t kill my new best friend then maybe, maybe I could make more?
The cloning begins.
On the corner of 13th St. and 3rd Ave. in Gowanus, Brooklyn, there’s an auto body restoration shop. Next to that is a recently renovated, large four story pre-war building where my friend, Andy Smenos, works in his studio. He’s on the second floor with something like seven other artists working in various different media.
It’s a typical Brooklyn studio building subdivided by a long dimly lit hallway with handyman drywall and scrap plywood partitions marked by the artists’ signature collection of odd things taped to the mismatched doors. Just inside his studio there’s an 8ft tall handmade fiberglass tiger that he mounted to an old coin operated kiddie ride. A quarter makes Tony, or whoever, do a little dance while Andy jokes about how it’s paying for itself twenty-five cents at a time.
Beside the giant tiger, there are canvases, foam constructions, little maquettes of Santa Claus, saber-toothed tigers and pink flamingos. There’s a beat up black leather couch next to a crusty window that boasts a close up view, through an expanded steel security grate, of a brick wall. Perched there in the window is a collection of surprisingly happy house plants. He says they must love the paint thinner and fiber glass resin but I think they love him; he has the thumb.
When he moved to New York he met fellow painter Eric White, whose studio was in the 13th street building. After doing the rookie studio shuffle, a space became available across the hall from Eric. Being a good studio neighbor, he gave Andy a little house warming gift when he moved in. The perfect present for the New York painter on the go; Chlorophytum Comosum is otherwise commonly known as the spider plant. This little lady removes benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and xylene from the air, all great qualities to have in any studio and especially one in still industrial Gowanus. As an added bonus, it boasts the rating of non-toxic and pet safe, though still not a salad green. As if that’s not enough to love, this particular spider is part of an art history lineage that would turn the ear of any painter.
Instead of the usual variety of cream striped leaves, these are solid emerald green and Andy jokes that while it’s hard to kill, like the dream, this spider is unique. He explains that these girls are not just given away to anyone, only artists who have boldly moved to New York are worthy. According to legend, she can be traced back to the fifties, clone by clone, to the studio of Lee Krasner. We have one of three clones he has given away so far. Happily having this honor bestowed upon us, we brought the little pup home and transplanted her into our experimental bio art project. So, the persevering spirit of Ms. Krasner lives on not only in her paintings but surprisingly in our new friend whom I fondly refer to as The Krasner.
