BROOKLYN, NY.- The award-winning photo series Christmas In America: Happy Birthday, Jesus is getting a new twist this holiday season.
For the first time, elements from the famed series come to life alongside the shows more than 18 photos, as Brooklyns
Industry City emulates an iconic scene from the series, including a Christmas tree perched atop a forklift and a live Santa greeting visitors.
Created by Phoenix-based artist Jesse Rieser, the series documents the weird, wonderful, and altogether wild ways Americans celebrate Christmas. Since its opening in 2010, the show has received awards from numerous industry publications, including Communication Arts and American Photography.
The free exhibition, located at 220 36th Street in Industry City, is on display through Monday, December 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. All works are available for purchase throughout the show. Throughout the photo residency, visitors can expect other programming to include readings, seasonal beverages, and treats and live music.
During an eight-year photographic exploration, Rieser examined Christmas celebrations in communities nationwide in order to learn about different traditions, discover the holiday magic that inspires individuals to commemorate this occasion, and understand how individuals mark the holidays meaning. His prints showcase a myriad of celebrations, from thousands of Santa Claus frolicking in a fundraiser race, to garages and homes that are transformed into elaborate wonderlands, to religious traditions, and beyond.
Riesers celebration of the mundane and humorous elements that often go overlooked in daily lives can be traced to his midwestern upbringing in Springfield, Missouri. Currently working between New York and Phoenix, he continues his curious exploration of subtleties paired with his signature style of light and color.
In 2011 Rieser was named an Art Directors Club Young Gun as a top international creative 30 and under, and in 2012 he was the recipient of the Magenta Foundations Flash Forward award as a top emerging fine art photographer in North America and the U.K.
Industry Citys 6 million square-foot campus of interconnected industrial spaces is home to more than 450 companies, including a wide range of artists and designers. Art installations, including a six-story monolithic mural by Camille Walala, are featured throughout the 35-acre campus. The propertys ongoing public arts initiative, The Collision Project, invites creatives of all disciplines and backgroundsfrom architects, engineers, and florists to graphic designers, poets, sculptors and moreto submit their ideas for experiential art installations at various locations throughout the complex.