By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — While the Armory Show running this week offers New Yorkers a glimpse of the highbrow art scene, the sixth annual New York Fountain Art Fair offers its punk-rock antithesis.
There are paintings laced with political satire and street-art murals — and there are street performers, too. At a preview Thursday, performance artist Danni Rash prepared to show his signature stunt, a re-enaction of the cruxifiction of Christ. Naked.
"This is freaking New York, I can go anywhere with art," said the Upper East Side-based Rash, 28, who swigged Jack Daniels to keep warm as he stood outside Thursday wearing only the loincloth that he drops during his performance. "I can hold up a painting or even do something stupid and get recognition for it. New York is just a mecca of symbolism."
The Fountain Art Fair goes on view Friday at the Frying Pan, a boat on the Hudson River's Pier 66 near Chelsea Piers that's been converted into party and event space.
Organizer David Kesting said the fair tries to represent art-as-lifestyle thinking, and includes works like large paintings of aliens, fuzzy flowers and paintings of horses from SoHo, Chelsea and Brooklyn.
"We took artists who didn't fit into the art fair model," Kesting added, "and built a business that would increase recognition for artists from smaller, independent galleries."
This year the fair also features a 100-foot mural created by more than a dozen street artists, and 30 performance artists scheduled to perform throughout the weekend.
The murals depict everything from the grim reaper to portraits of neighborhood kids, and were contributed by artists from all over Manhattan and beyond.
The fair also shows avant-garde "galleries" set up inside the boat with over 20 artists from all over the country. The live performances are scattered throughout the space.
NoLita-based artist Greg Haberny's "gallery" in the fair features hundreds of politically-influenced sculptures and paintings made from broken glass, knick-knacks and bottle caps.
"It's fantastic," Haberny said of the fair. "It really is one of those fairs that pushes us to be better artists."
Fountain Art Fair will be presented at Frying Pan on 26th Street and Twelfth Avenue from March 4–March 6.
