The award-winning photo series Christmas In America: Happy Birthday, Jesus will get a new twist this holiday season.
For the first time, elements from the famed series will come to life alongside the show’s more than 18 photos, as Brooklyn’s 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, will be on display beginning Saturday, November 24 through Monday, December 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. A live Santa will be available for photos 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m on Saturdays and Sundays through Christmas Eve. All works will be 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 holiday’s 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.
Rieser’s 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 Director’s Club Young Gun as a top international creative 30 and under, and in 2012 he was the recipient of the Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward award as a top emerging fine art photographer in North America and the U.K.
Industry City’s 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 property’s ongoing public arts initiative, The Collision Project, invites creatives of all disciplines and backgrounds—from architects, engineers, and florists to graphic designers, poets, sculptors and more—to submit their ideas for experiential art installations at various locations throughout the complex.
Industry City is accessible by the D, N, R trains and multiple bus routes, including the B35 and B37. Parking is available at 37th and 2nd Avenue, along with bike racks and a CitiBike station.
