michele witchipoo photography – WitchesBrewPress's Blog

NY Art Week 2020 – VOLTA

Before the novel corona virus gripped NYC, I attended a few fairs during NY Art Week.

Now I’m sort of regretting attending any of these events. Covid-19 is deadly, and I’m now on edge. So if you’re reading this, please take being quarantined seriously.

Anyway, let’s go back to a more carefree time, which was only a few weeks ago.

In 2017, I had the opportunity to attend both VOLTA and The Armory Show. This year I managed to get a comp ticket for the VOLTA opening night. VOLTA is a slightly edgier or trendier than The Armory Show. In 2020 it was held in a somewhat smaller space. A bonus was the open bar.

Please pardon me. I had details of many artists and galleries shown at Volta. The current pandemic has thrown everything off. In the meantime, please enjoy these photos.

Hand santizer available on a booth table. VOLTA 2020. March 2020.

Although exhibitors weren’t wearing faces or masks, there were hand sanitizers available on dealer tables.

Artists and dealers traveled internationally. I met this lady from Japan, who encouraged me to visit her country. She showed the work of one artist, whose paintings take a year to complete. Many of the art came from Asian countries: China, Korea and Japan.

One booth had paintings that depicted NYC street life. First glance it looked like large scale photographs. Closer inspection showed it was life like paintings. Impressive.

Houdini’s My Homeboy Part III (Broken Wand Ceremony 2009)

Final installment of the ‘Houdini’s My Homeboy’ mini-series. Here’s photographs taken from Fall 2009, at the annual Broken Wand ceremony.

The term ‘broken wand’ is used when a magician dies. Since Harry Houdini was a president of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.), the organization continues to gather at Machpelah cemetery every year to mark his passing.

The broken wand ceremony for Houdini is usually held sometime around Halloween. The exact date itself varies because Houdini was Jewish. Therefore S.A.M. follows the Jewish calendar in honor of him.

The exact ceremony itself only takes a few minutes. A small speech is said, then silence as the wand is symbolically snapped in half.

At the time these photos were taken, the original bust of Harry Houdini’s head was missing. Due to the bust being vandalized four times, S.A.M. kept their own copy. Their bust would only be taken out and put on Houdini’s burial site during special occasional such as this. Since then, a new replica has been made, and discovery of another Houdini bust came to light.

Taken Fall 2009. Replica of Houdini bust at burial site for Broken Wand ceremony. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

Photo dated 2009. Replica of Harry Houdini bust at his burial site for the annual Broken Wand ceremony. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

14534_207458378256_4446644_n — Dated Fall 2009. Upclose shot of Houdini bust. A replica since other Houdini bust have been vandalized in the past. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

Member of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) gather around just seconds before the annual Broken Wand ceremony. Glendale/RIdgewood, Queens, NY. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. — Dated Fall 2009. Members of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) gather around just seconds before the annual Broken Wand ceremony. Location: Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale/Ridgewood, Queens, NY. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

If you’re curious about burial grounds in the outer borough of Queens NY, here’s another link. Dated June 2013:

http://abandonednyc.com/2012/06/17/houdinis-grave-in-nycs-spookiest-cemetery/

Previous installments of the Houdini photo essays:

Houdini’s My Homeboy Part I

Houdini’s My Homeboy Part II

Magic Mapped From The Grave

Houdini’s My Homeboy (Part II)

I first became intrigued by Harry Houdini back in elementary school. My fourth grade teacher assigned everyone in the class a book report. As we searched the school library, I came across this biography of Houdini. It was written for grade school children of course, but that’s how I became interested in the magician.

Over the years I would hear about people gathering around every Halloween at Houdini’s resting place. Then around 2009, I moved to the Ridgewood area. As my luck would have it, I would be living within walking distance to Machpelah Cemetery.

As it’s been reported, Machpelah Cemetery is a rather sad place. The cemetery itself has not been properly maintained. In fact, the whole entire area is in disarray. It’s certainly an eyesore next to the other surrounding cemeteries. Whenever I’ve paid a visit over the years, I’ve seen two maintenance men at the location only once. If they were maintenance men – they didn’t seem to be doing their job.

This Jewish cemetery would have been forgotten if Houdini hadn’t been buried there. Over the years it’s gotten the occasional relief. David Copperfield, one of the best known contemporary magicians has donated $15,000 to the Society of American Magicians. Other donations came in to keep towards the upkeep. Despite this, conflicts between Machpelah’s manager, David Jacobson and the New York chapter of SAM (Society of American Magicians) occurred. In recent years, the Houdini Museum from Scanton, PA stepped in.

Included are some photos taken by me in 2009.

Gated entrance to Machpelah Cemetery in Queens, NY. Photo by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Mourning statue at Harry Houdini's resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Mourning statue at Harry Houdini’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

16436_186329063256_254878_n — Harry Houdini’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Note left at Harry Houdini's resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Note left at Harry Houdini’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Items left at Harry Houdini's resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Items left at Harry Houdini’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Harry Houdini's resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Harry Houdini and family’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Where Houdini’s father is buried. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Side of Harry Houdini's resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Side of Harry Houdini’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Other side of Harry Houdini's resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Other side of Harry Houdini’s resting place at Machpelah Cemetery. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Other tombstones at Machpelah Cemetery, where Harry Houdini is buried. Photo by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Machpelah Cemetery, where Harry Houdini is buried. Photo by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

Bus stop at at Machpelah Cemetery, where Harry Houdini is buried. Don't even bother using this bus line. When I was waiting, the bus completely passed me by. You're better off taking the subway, and hiking all those blocks. Photo by Michele Witchipoo 2009. — Bus stop at at Machpelah Cemetery, where Harry Houdini is buried. Don’t even bother. When I was waiting to catch the bus going home, the bus itself completely passed me by. You’re better off taking the subway, and hiking all those blocks. Photo by Michele Witchipoo 2009.

To be continued…

*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/harry-houdini-grave-machpelah-cemetery_n_1921103.html

*http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/houdini-returns-of-course/

Houdini’s My Homeboy (Part I)

*Originally posted this material on my Facebook account. Photos and commentary are dated from 2009 when I first moved into the Ridgewood area.

**Previous blog post dated 2010: https://witchesbrewpress.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/mapped-magic-from-the-grave/

Ever since doing book report on him during elementary school, I’ve been slightly fascinated by magician Harry Houdini. Houdini and the rest of his immediate family are buried in Machpelah Cemetery, located in Ridgewood, Queens (although it’s really closer to Glendale).

Photo taken Nov. 2009. Office. Machpelah Cemetery, final resting place for Harry Houdini. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

I found the address recently on the Find A Grave website:

Machpelah Cemetery
8230 Cypress Hills Street
Ridgewood Queens
NY 11385

Photo taken Nov. 2009. Machpelah Cemetery, final resting place for Harry Houdini. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

16436_186328113256_8312194_n — Photo taken Nov. 2009. Machpelah Cemetery, final resting place for Harry Houdini. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

There is a supposedly a telephone listed with the address, but don’t bother calling it. As you can tell by the photos, the office hasn’t been in use for quite some time.

16436_186653168256_6634425_n — Photo taken Nov. 2009. Abandoned office of Machpelah Cemetery, the final resting place for Harry Houdini. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

Photo taken Nov. 2009. Machpelah Cemetery, final resting place for Harry Houdini. Office. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

As I was leaving Machpelah Cemetery, I noticed a sign screwed into one of the nailed up doors. The sign states that the Houdini site is solely cared for The New York chapter of the Society of American Magicians. The sign’s statement ends with a quote “We never pay the bill.”

Sign of misquote. Photo taken Nov. 2009. Machpelah Cemetery, final resting place for Harry Houdini. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.

When I got home I did some research to discover the entire exact quote.

“Turns out, someone does come and shape up the grave once in a while. The New York chapter of the Society of American Magicians has a Houdini Gravesite Committee, and a Brooklyn man named George Schindler is the committee chairman. He said that the bust of Houdini that once adorned the grave site was often vandalized and is now kept in storage by the committee, whose members bring landscaping tools to the cemetery and tidy up the grave site several times a year.

“Houdini paid for perpetual care, but there’s nobody at the cemetery to provide it,” he said, adding that the operator of the cemetery, David Jacobson, “sends us a bill for upkeep every year but we never pay it because he never provides any care.”

Link to the entire quote and article: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/houdinis-final-trick-a-tidy-grave/

Machpelah Cemetery is right next door to other Queens cemeteries, all which are way better maintained that the one Houdini is buried in. However, despise Machpelah’s negligence, the final resting place for Harry Houdini still hold much more mystery.

Photo taken Nov. 2009. Machpelah Cemetery, final resting place for Harry Houdini. Photo and design by Michele Witchipoo.

Coney Island Baby Part One

One of my favorite places in NYC is Coney Island.

Who doesn’t know about Coney Island? It’s been an iconic part of NYC for who knows how long. When I was growing up in NYC, Coney was in a state of decline and disarray. Now it’s having a resurgence somewhat. Even though most of Brooklyn’s character has been wiped out by the current gentrification, there’s still elements of the old NYC coming through. For example – last time I visited Coney, three people wearing tee shirts with the word “fuck” could be seen. Two of the shirts read “fuck you you fucking fuck” and “fuck you I have enough friends.” Stay classy Coney Island.

I took some photos of the ever changing Coney, once inhabited by rabbits. I’ll break these posts into two parts, since plenty were snapped. Without further ado, here’s part one.