To kick off the 2007-2008 season Location One presents Crater New York, a participatory project created by the artist duo of Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese. The project takes on the form of a drawing contest that is free and open to the public, artists and not-artists alike. Contestants fill out an entry form and select either digital or analog medium to create a rendering of the model installation of the Moon that will be placed at the center of the gallery. On one of two computer stations or two traditional artist easels, contestants will have ½ hour to complete their drawing, which will then be hung on the walls of Location One’s main gallery for the duration of the project. The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges including artists, critics, real estate developers and celebrities. The Jury will be announced in September. Three prizes will be awarded on September 26th with each winner receiving a deed for a plot of land on the Moon.

At a time when many seek a virtual life in metaverses like , when property on the moon is available for sale and ownership, Ligorano/Reese have devised a contest to evaluate contemporary artist skills in hand drawing and computer aided design. Using the moon as a drawing model, this project recontextualizes the tradition and practice of the “en plein air” landscape.

Proceedings of the drawing challenge and the work created will be shown simultaneously in Second Life, hosted by artist/critic Richard Minsky in his SLART gallery outpost on the island of Artopolis, and will also be live-streamed on Location One’s website.

Joining mankind’s ancient fascination with the small celestial body that circles the Earth, Ligorano/Reese’s interactive performance-exhibition invokes questions about imagination, representation, and judgment. It explores the concepts of virtual space and virtual reality, as well as artistic practice, the place of artists in society and in the future of New York. Will artists have to move to the moon to afford working and living space? Will they help redefine outer-borough living? To this end Ligorano/Reese have asked several artists to participate in populating the 8 foot diameter maquette of the moon by creating models of the first lunar artist colonies, using recycled materials in novel ways.

The contest is free and open to all visitors of Location One, with prior sign-up and registration. There will be two contest sessions on weekdays, and four sessions on Saturdays. Thirteen contest match-ups, reflecting the 13 annual lunar cycles, for a chance to own a piece of the pie in the sky.

Crater New York has received generous contributions from Tekserve, the Apple Specialist, and Material for the Arts.