Date: September 3rd 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 16, 2009

The Faces are Coming! The Faces are Coming! Coney Island USA to Auction 100 Funny Faces at the Jonathan O’Hara Gallery.

Outta the way Cow Parade, the Funny Face Project is Taking Over!

Coney Island USA has asked 100 of the country’s top contemporary artists to take on the iconic Coney Island Funny Face. Each artist has been given a hand-cast Funny Face (10”X10”X3”) to decorate, deconstruct, reinvent and riff on in absolutely anyway they see fit.

The Faces will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on September 16th from 7-10 pm at the Jonathan O’Hara Gallery (41 East 57th Street, Suite 1302 between Madison and Park Avenues) with all proceeds going directly towards supporting Coney Island USA’s arts programming and the fight to preserve the historic amusement district of Coney Island. Preview dates for the Funny Face Project are September 14th and 15th from 10am- 5pm with online pre-bidding available at www.coneyisland.com/funnyface.

Participating artists include: Hank Murta Adams, Joe Coleman, Jane Dickson, Einar & Jamex de la Torre, Rodney Allen Greenblatt, Eve Andree Laramee, Genesis P. Orridge, Izhar Patkin, Pike Powers, William Quigley, Kenny Scharf, Robert Wilson, Robin Winters, Marina Zurkow, and many more.

"As New York City struggles to redefine Coney Island and its amusement district, I created this version of the Funny Face as a way of inviting artists to join in re-envisioning the magic of Coney Island for the 21st century," explains Fred Kahl (aka The Great Fredini) who both conceived the Funny Face project and sculpted the blank Funny Faces sent to the participating artists.

All tickets for the Funny Face Project auction are $50. Guest’s ticket price will be applied to the final cost of their winning auction bid. For more information or to purchase your ticket, visit www.coneyisland.com/funnyface.

Note to editors: If you would like more information about this topic please call Kate Bartoldus at 718-372-5159 or email kate@coneyisland.com.