Generally speaking, and safe bet this is true in your neighborhood, the pretty flippingest cool stuff happens in garages.

Natulis ArtTemporary invites us to recap this historical cultural trend as they put out an open call for free studio space this August in a former car repair shop in Berlin, Germany:

• Bands from The Clash to Iggy Pop and Mc5
• Bill’s early Microsoft experiments
• Chelsea district art galleries

http://natberlin.com/garage-art-about/

True, the liminal space of a garage is irresistable.  You can try things out in the garage that you could never get away with in the house, even in the basement.   It is space that feels set apart, where one can experiment and suspend cultural notions about what is safe, what is allowed and what people do.   Everywhere, there are local, national and international heroes garaging it old school while keeping it innovative.   Samples from my personal ‘chive? – Ta-DA:

S.L.A.M  (Streb’s Lab for Action Mechanics) 5,000 squ. ft at 51 N. 1st St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn http://www.streb.org/V2/space/index.html

Biopunk scientists hacking genomes around MIT (ever hear of glow-in-the-dark squid?) http://bostonbiotechwatch.com/2011/04/14/hacking-ourselves-%E2%80%9Cbiopunk-diy-scientists-hack-the-software-of-life%E2%80%9D-by-marcus-wohlsen/

And of course there’s West Haven, Connecticut.   In a backyard garage on Savin Avenue, a horse and carriage are kept in circulation, you see them cruising around town.  And in a more industrial setting, 14 Gilbert St. hosts  a long-term affair between sculptor and sculptures in the studio of Guggenheim award-winner Robert Taplin.

http://roberttaplin.com/pdf/art_new_england_nov_dec_2010.pdf

Do you know what interesting ideas are taking shape in some of the garages near you?  Believe me, it’s worth investigating.   Welcome these incubators into your midst, even or especially if it is unclear what’s being spawned.  And on August 30, if you’re anywhere near Berlin, enjoy the party at  Scharnhorststraße 32 celebrating nine artists who have made “ephemeral, time sensitive art at tremendous growth rate” in their provisioned spaces for  Garage Art 2012.