Mayan Prediction Makes for 'Amagansett, Armageddon'

Neoteric Fine Art in Amagansett is turning doomsday fear into a celebration of art and the future in light of the Mayans' prediction for next week.

In it's last show of the season — or ever, perhaps, if you believe in the prediction — “Amagansett, Armageddon" is about both the “end” of this world, and the “rebirth” of the next, according to Scott Bluedorn, the owner of the gallery, which opened in July. The Mayans made a predicition that Dec. 21, 2012 would bring the Apocalypse, marking the end of a more than 5,000-year era, according to the Mayan "Long Count" calendar. Some have interpreted it to also be the beginning of a new period of time.

The exhibit includes several local artists' visions of apocalypse, as well as prophecies for the new age. Artists include Christine Sciulli, Alexis Rockman, Rossa Williams Cole, Nika Nesgoda, Virva Hinnemo, Kenneth Joel Murphy, Dalton Portella, Melissa Mapes, Rory Evenson-Phair, Dan Resnick, Bluedorn and others.

Bluedorn was thinking a lot of the Mayans' prediction and the idea of mass hysteria when he came up with the concept for the show. It will include some pre-exisiting work and some works created just for the exhibit. "It's going to be very different," he said, adding that it's really a dual show about the end of one world and the vision for the future one. 

"Deepwater Horizon," a sculpture by Cole, an artist whose hopes for the environemnt often are seen in his work, is about his vision of what the technology could become. A freestanding 2-by-2 feet sculpure with several dimensions, it is made entirely of natural materials. "You know what it is, but it's different material — twigs, logs and bamboo," Bluedorn said.

Sciulli, whose main medium is projection, will display "Atomic Tango" for the apocalypic theme.

A party will be held on the opening night from 7 p.m. to midnight, with DJs performing. Bluedorn is also excited about a Tesla coil demonstration, an interesting visual, he said, as it "basically shoots out electricity that you can manipulate" under alternating current. Nikola Tesla, an engineer best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electrical supply system.

The exhibt will run three weeks until mid-January. Neoteric Fine Art will close for a winter break and re-open in late March, Bluedorn said.