By Raymond Tyler
As a member of the Atlantic City Arts Commision, it is my pleasure to attend opening events for artistic venues that enrich our Shore Local community.
I enjoy being there for large-scale venues like the opening of Boogie Nights at Tropicana. I also take pleasure in supporting smaller venues like Union Arts Hall. I am always glad to be included in events at Stockton University or The Noyes Arts Garage. But the duty I hate the most is when venues, and movements, end and I have to attend.
Saturday, Jan. 27, marked the end of one of the most important venues/movements in this area. Saturday night I attended a thank you party for everyone who enjoyed the space that was and is Drips Art X Fashion, located at 134 New Jersey Ave. in Absecon.
One could call Drips an art gallery or studio. One could also refer to the 1966 Batmobile as a means of transportation. But one would be leaving out that the Batmobile was the freakin’ coolest car a kid had ever seen to that point in history.
Drips is the most creative space South Jersey has ever seen. It reminds me of the great underground galleries I enjoyed in New York in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Remember when Mom and Dad said, “Don’t draw on the walls?” Drips looks like the owners said: “These are our walls and we are giving them all the life that paint can give.” The walls in Drips are bursting with painted masterpieces of all expressions of visual art.
More important and exciting than the walls is the actions that took place within the walls of Drips. I love Drips and I am sad to see it go because Drips gave access to true artists. By “true artists” I mean creators who are taking risks and creating dangerously; whose art will be more remembered than “liked.”
A true artist is not someone who can draw Tom and Jerry better than Hanna and Barbera. True art is not being able to draw a picture that rivals a photograph. True art is when a creator creates without knowing exactly how the paint will land on the canvas or how the brush will brush.
What made Dr. J and Michael Jordan exciting to watch was not the fact that they did the same dunks perfectly over and over. One of my favorite stories is when Dr. J explained a breathtaking move he pulled off against The Lakers by saying that he went in the air and had to figure out where he was going to go in the moment. When you watched Doc and MJ, you held your breath because you didn’t want to miss what they were about to create within the space of a basketball game.
Drips is a space for artists who are growing in the moment as well as established veterans. Drips is the space to see talented, skillful artists, poets, DJs and more figuring it out in the moment. I have never had a night at Drips where I was not amazed or that was predictable.
I am sad because there will be one less place for artists to have access. For a reasonable fee a creative person could manage their book signings, host a food tasting, set up a pop-up art exhibit or just have a great private party with “hella vibes.”
Saying goodbye to Drips is like the arts community losing a limb. There will be other studios and galleries still standing. There will, however, never be another space like Drips. Sooner than I care to think about it, we’ll refer to Drips with the same bitter sweetness that we remember Club Harlem.
I can only say that the party on Saturday was exciting. I will always remember Drips Art X Fashion with the same excitement I have recalling the legendary Lincoln Futura that was driven every week on that ABC program with Adam West.
As an artist, columnist and member of the Atlantic City Arts Commision, I want to thank Drips owners Rene “June” Ortiz and John Morris.
The gallery manager had this last message. “A message for the artists and patrons that supported Drips: Thank you for your support and don’t ever stop creating.”
You can connect with Raymond Tyler via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram @RaymondTyler2018.
