The artists behind the cultural project the end / SPRING BREAK are known for staging some of Miami's most interesting and most diverse events, from Motown brunches to screenings of Encino Man. So we were surprised to hear that the next big thing from SPRING BREAK is a pop-up shop in Wynwood -- a relatively popular and tame trend in retail.
Not to worry, though. This temporary store has all the quirk and interest you've come to expect from a SPRING BREAK event.
"It's never really about developing a pop-up store as much as trying to keep with an artist's project in a way that both SPRING BREAK and the project come to terms with presenting the idea the best way possible," explained the event organizers.
We got all the details from Domingo Castillo, Patti Hernandez, and Nick Lobo, the pop-up shop's organizers, who in an email specified that they "are functioning as an autonomous voice for this interview."
New Times: What items will shoppers encounter? Anything in particular that you're personally excited about showing off?
SPRING BREAK: Because this project is turning into a meta-catastrophe of collaborative "exuberance" (to use a popular buzz word), I think the whole experience would be one that could only be a part of by bringing a lot of cold hard cash. I think the fact that this will be the last time to get your hands on some lovely original pieces of peruvian pottery that was sold exclusively at the Biscayne Wireless Corporation is the what we're most excited with being a part of.
Tell me about the USB-ready digital library. What sorts of publications are in the end / SPRING BREAK's collection? What kind of pricing applies to electronic books?
the end /SPRING BREAK library has over 10,000 books on literature, philosophy, critical theory, art, cinema, books about books, occult practices, how-to, and everything else your little heart can think of. These are all ready for anyone who wants to venture into the abyss of knowledge for the low price of nothing. Just make sure to bring a usb stick or portable hard-drive.
P.S. the end/SPRING BREAK library is a public and growing, if you have PDFs or e-books to donate we will gladly accept.
There's a music component to the shop as well, right?
The event is also functioning as a launch for a tape Nick Lobo produced called [Slowed and Mirrored], released by the Agurari lable. Augurari publishes audio works by visual artists who incorporate sound and/or music in their artistic practice. This tape is a collection of soundtracks ripped from K-pop instructional dance videos; the pop music gets slowed down to accommodate dancers learning the moves for the first time. What Nick has done is rip the sound from the videos and arrange them in order of skill level on cassette. Since the tape might be filed under "Deleuzoguattarian schizoanalysis," a cell phone shop going out of business is probably the perfect place to hear it for the first time.
Why choose the Biscayne Wireless Corporation for this all to go down?
We had been talking with Nick and the shop owner about doing this since February. Nick had rented a studio space upstairs from the shop and discovered that in addition to all kinds of data/cellphone stuff, they also did a sideline in Peruvian ceramics. We imagined it as a good example of retail dissonance -- the retail environment formed by out-of-sync networks, bill payment, data transfer, indigenous crafts, etc. The shop owner gave us the go-ahead awhile ago, but when we found out he was going out of business it seemed like the perfect opportunity to hijack a liquidation sale and make it into something more. He's selling all the fixtures and furniture while we do our event.
SPRING BREAK's happy hour liquidation & pop-up publication sale at The Biscayne Wireless Corporation (2405 Biscayne Blvd., Miami) takes place this afternoon from 4-6 p.m. Drinks will be provided.
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