Art in NYC

I've been seeing an abundance of art recently in this city, filled with creatives extraordinaire as it is. New York has always been the mecca for artists of all types, the list is long of those that have lived, thrived and died here. The tradition continues. 

I recently took in the ethereal, otherworldly installation anthropodino by Ernesto Neto at the Park Avenue Armory. Talk about a head trip. The Armory is enormous and about the only place that can tackle Neto's one square city block, 80 feet high visual missive. Glorious to behold, one section of the piece drips with spice-filled gauze, like the stockings of giants. Walking through its ghostly constructed corridors, you at once feel peaceful and then can't catch your breath. See it before it is gone gone gone on June 14.

You can also catch great art evenings in Chelsea. The galleries there have receptions most nights, but Thursdays and Fridays seem most popular. I recently took in Liz Markus' paintings at Zieher Smith Gallery. Later at the Robert Miller Gallery, Patti Smith's photography and Jem Cohen's show were illuminating. The crowd is filled with the ultra-hip, and it is a quintessential New York City experience to walk among them. 

Finally, the public art in NYC is beyond compare. There is not enough room here to list them all, but any block is bound to offer sculpture of the highest order. Perhaps the greatest art masterpiece of them all is Central Park, which grounds all of us - creative wannabe's and artists alike - in nature's wholesome breath.

Live Hard with LVHRD

Cool stuff begets cool stuff. At Lucid NYC the other night, I saw a presentation by the viral buzz genius behind thehappycorp. He is also involved in an inspired event series LVHRD.

There is a similar premise to Lucid NYC - bring together like minded people in a way that is mind expanding, not numbing. The next happening is Monday, Nov. 24 at 8pm, something to do with on-the-spot fashion design out of material yet-to-be-determined. The event is in the mecca of hip, Williamsburg, at a mystery location. Get more info here.

New York City Photo Safaris

My high school friend Karen, who lives in Florida, turned me on to this cool happening this weekend. Leave it to the hip out-of-towners to spread the word! Anyway, Photo Safaris are these fun-fabulous photo events put together by Photojojo. According to their site, (1) You bring a camera (2) You take pictures (3) You go to a gathering place and put photos in a slideshow to win prizes. This weekend's event is hosted by Jake Dobkin of Gothamist fame. Sounds cool to me.

Cost is free and upcoming NYC events are on 10/25, 11/15, 12/6. There is no need to pre-register, but because details can change at the last minute they recommend you sign up for emails. You can also read more details about each safari on Facebook.

Check it out and be creative:

Saturday, October 25th / NYC
DUMBO Street Art Photo Tour
Host: Jake Dobkin of Gothamist & Streetsy
Time: 3:30 pm (RSVP)
Meet at: York St F stop

Gee... wish I had a photo to insert in here....

Spring '09 is here with Fashion Week New York

Its Fashion Week New York, with Spring '09 collections being shown around town, not just at Bryant Park. For textile art of the highest order, I hightailed it to the Jolibe collection being shown at the Hosfelt Gallery. Stunning, colorful modernist frocks with an homage to the ancient, this is clothing worthy of wear. Better yet, the collection was associated with Afghan Hands, the group that empowers Afghanistan women to support themselves through textile arts. View more photos here.

Saved from Shopping by Rev. Billy

Can I hear a hallelujah? Rev. Billy preached his freakalicious gospel at the Highline Ballroom this fine Sunday afternoon, compelling all to put down their credit cards and raise their hands to heaven. That is right, children, the holy spirit was among us in the form of trapeze artists, Coney Island freaks, a talented choir in green robed glory, and a message that speared your shopaholic sternum.

Leader of the Church of Stop Shopping, Rev. Billy is perhaps best known outside NYC as the subject of the documentary What Would Jesus Buy? produced by Morgan Spurlock. But he is a staple of the New York arts and activist scene, protesting corporatization, capitalism, and commodification of our once divinely diverse city. Delivered in a Southern Baptist style, his stop the buy buy buy madness message is aimed at big business and consumers alike.

As New York City is bulldozed into just another megamall filled with Banana Republics and Best Buys, Rev. Billy tirelessly takes to the pulpit with a trinity of prayers - stop gentrification, preserve culture, and suspend your spending. The preacher strives to save your soul with a communion plate of performance art and cleverly lyric-ed gospel music. For me, it was more cathartic than any wafer and grape juice divinity I was ever served.

Catch the Rev in action at Union Square Park on Thursday, June 5 at 5pm on the NW corner. Face the Shopocalypse, confess your carnal commerce sins, and be saved!

(credit: Photo by Dogseat.)

Fashion Week: Where Hemlines Meet Headlines

Now that the Giants have won the Superbowl, we can get back to the real entertainment spectacle going on in NYC right now. That is right, I am talkin' about Fashion Week Fall 2008, taking place Feb. 1-8. You know, the time of year when all the fashionistas get decked out in five inch heels (not an exaggeration), leopard print stockings and microminis and head on down to Bryant Park. It is not uncommon to see toothpick thin models running across 6th Avenue dressed in outfits that are fine art in and of themselves. A visual feast of high end couture, physically impossible beauty and downright freak-show spectacle, Fashion Week is a celebration of creativity of the sewn variety.

You have to be someone to get inside the tents, but anyone can walk by and gawk at the impeccibly decked-out-and-about beauties and designers flustered and rushing to their next gig. Who might you see? Zac Posen, Anna Sui, Michael Kors, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenberg and Heidi Klum. Current buzz is all about the swiftly-shrinking miniskirt going higher higher higher. We will see, but fact is that all clothing trends, no matter how trecherous, get their start here.

Private Screening of Close Up: Photographers at Work

Photography is a most intimate visual form of storytelling, and at its best its narrator remains humbly anonymous while simultaneously captivating the viewer. So it was a rare honor to glimpse the genius behind the image at the private screening Thursday of Close Up: Photographers at Work. This extraordinary new documentary by director Rebecca Dreyfus is stunning in its balance, illuminating both art and craft equally through a series of probing, revelatory interviews with those that have lived their lives behind the lens.

Produced for Ovation TV by Maysles Films, the hour-long special will debut at 8pm on Nov. 18, kicking off a week of photo-focused programming on the acclaimed multi-platform arts and culture channel. Artistic greats Gregory Crewdson, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Albert Maysles, Andrew Moore and Sylvia Plachy reveal how the sometimes arduous process of picture taking can translate our ideals into a form of fervid visual communication both immediate and sublime.

Bonus: Attended by many of the interviewees, including portrait genius Greenfield-Sanders and the soulful talent Plachy, the screening was a celebration of art meets artful TV. Legendary documentarian Maysles and his daughters Rebekah and Sarah, famed gallery owner Steven Kasher, artist/musician and frequent Greenfield-Sanders subject Lou Reed and Ovation TV programming head Kris Slava also contributed to the night's considerable cultural wow-factor. Check out Ovation's photo-focused programming beginning Sunday, including specials on Cindy Sherman and David LaChappelle, as well as series The Genius of Photography. Also note Ovation TV's of-the-moment contest collaboration with Fotolog, the world's largest photoblogging community.

House & Garden Design Happening Shows Savvy Form & Function

House & Garden launched Design Happening 2007 this past week, turning a potentially stuffy celebration of tables and chairs into an all-out, hipper-than-now assault on preconceived design notions. Uniquely entertaining programming loaded with art celebs galore revealed that design influences everything from the movies we love to the furniture that cradles our behinds. Two design chats in particular showed that substantial beauty, tasteful whimsy, expert craftsmanship and an eye for storytelling are elements vital to shaking up today's dangerously cookie-cutter design sensibility.

Cristina Grajales Illuminates Brazilian Modernist Design
At my new fave furniture gallery Espasso (superbly run by the artistically daring, impossibly charming Carlos Junqueira), brilliant advisor Cristina Grajales presented the cultural influences inherent in Brazilian design. Passionate about the important architects and designers of the region, Grajales has a deep and resonating connection to the beauty of Brazil's constructed classics. Learning about structural integrity combined with natural form and materials, a standard in the country's design philosophy, from a master like Grajales made for an evening of aesthetic illumination. Visit the remarkable Cristina Grajales Gallery at 10 Greene St. (near Canal).

Kristi Zea Turns the Lens on the Design of Cinema
What do the design elements of the Oscar-winning Goodfellas and Silence of the Lambs have in common with the look of thrillers like The Brave One and Changing Lanes? They benefit from the production design genius of Kristi Zea, whose keen eye for authentic environments has fulfilled the artistic vision of cinematic luminaries like Scorsese and Demme. At the famed Tribeca Cinemas, home of the Tribeca Film Festival, Zea took us through precise film moments where every element of production design coalesced perfectly to create screen magic. After showing the famed Goodfellas scene where Henry and Karen enter the Copacabana, Zoe commented, "Marty sure knows how to make movies." What a privilege to hear first-hand from the designer that collaborates on such art.

Bonus: Running into dynamic interior design talent Amy Lau at the Espasso event in all her redheaded glory, along with learning from Grajalas of so many notable female designers from Brazil. And at the cinema, hearing of Zea's next project Confessions of a Shopaholic and learning of how such creatures display their collections. Sounds like she could do research at my apartment.

New Photography at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two new glorious exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art make you fall in love with the art of photography:
Depth of Field: Modern Photography at the Metropolitan surprisingly showcases recent artists in a museum known for antiquities. The exhibit includes grand scale works by Cindy Sherman, Jeff Wall, Adam Fuss, Andreas Gursky and others. With approximately 2,000 square feet of exhibition space, these important art pieces are displayed in the new Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall of Modern Photography. The gallery allows photography to play a more prominent role among the classics that the museum is known for, and continues the commitment to media displayed in the recent landmark exhibition Closed Circuit: Video and New Media at the Metropolitan.

More in keeping with the Metropolitan's traditional offerings, the exhibit Impressed by Light: British Photographs from Paper Negatives, 1840-1860 showcases calotypes. These are rare photographs made from paper negatives from the earliest days of the medium. Because the calotype was especially well suited for travel and the hot and dusty climate of India, there are many prints of exotic, majestic locales. While this sprawling display of art may not have the same punch as the large scale moderns displayed across the hall, they do offer a rare opportunity to deeply study a unique moment in photography's history.

Scoop: If you love the museum, you can become a member for a mere $95. But if you want to pay per time, know that the $20 donation price is but a suggestion. Support the arts and give as much as possible, but for poor, starving artists a couple of bucks will do. Beware the fantastic gift shop which will tempt tempt tempt you with wonderful jewelry, books, cards and art offerings galore.

New York City Art Galleries in Chelsea

New York City has some of the best museums in the world. But if you really want to experience some cutting edge, as well as historically significant, art, check out the hundreds of galleries in the Chelsea section of the city.

Currently, there is a Lisette Model exhibit that left me speechless at the famed photography powerhouse Aperture Gallery at 547 W. 27th. Model influenced a wide array of contemporary artists, including my adolescent favorite Diane Arbus and fashion phenom Bruce Weber, whose influential works are displayed as well. But it is really all about Lisette, and while I would have enjoyed seeing even more of her iconic black and white images of New York City, I felt honored to view worldclass prints housed by the group responsible for disseminating innovative photography to the masses.

Bonus: The Chelsea art scene gives you everything from the quirky to the sublime. In a tiny hallway on the 6th floor of 547 W. 27th, there is the Alcove (possibly the smallest gallery in NYC). The stirring sculpture The Eternity of White by Doug Young is there until 10/27/07. Very An Inconvenient Truth meets Bible belt, this work is worth checking out. On the kooky side, Galerie Adler on the second floor offers crazed acidic comic book characters missing essential body parts. Where else but in New York City can you go from artistic spiritual crisis to sideshow freakhouse in the blink of an elevator ride?

Celebrity Studded Fundraiser for Afghan Hands

Last night, I attended my first New York City velvet-rope party, a celebration of the high-impact non-profit Afghan Hands at the Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Gallery in Chelsea. This gorgeous gathering was a classic example of a chic NYC crowd rallied around a cause, with a silent auction packed with services-to-the-stars and fashion-forward, celebrity worn gowns. Talk about beautiful people, both inside and out, as many were using their status to make a difference through this charity and others.

Afghan Hands is dedicated to empowering and educating widows in Afghanistan. By teaching the textile skills needed to create exquisitely realized embroidered scarves and shawls, these talented women gain independence both financially and personally. Above all, Afghan Hands pays for their artisans to educate themselves, and with this new found literacy and knowledge of basic human rights, provides a solid base of empowerment.

In addition to being take-your-breath-away stunning, these colorful, chic cloths are also profoundly moving, as each has a small bit of burqa material sewn into the corner. By deconstructing such a strong symbol of oppression, this dull blue patch of fabric symbolizes freedom from brutality, dependence and fear.

Founder Matin Maulawizada, a joyous, generous and genuine soul recently named a CNN Hero, launched the project with a clutch of savings and a determined dream to help those in his native country. A renowned celebrity makeup artist, his clientele immediately fell in love with the embroidery and started wearing them on set. The exposure and subsequent sales help pay for this important educational project, but the ordinary citizen can purchase items or donate too.

Bonus: Interviewing actress and Afghan Hands supporter Claire Danes (looking luminous) regarding her involvement. She explained to me that she enthusiastically gave these exquisite scarves to all her friends as holiday presents, and what a joy it was to help humanity by indulging in such beautiful fabrics. She was accompanied by her handsome (and sweet) British boyfriend, actor Hugh Dancy.

Cheap Art & Laughs: Affordable Art Fair & ASSSSCAT

I had a hankering for art on Sunday afternoon, so I headed down to Chelsea for the last day of the Affordable Art Fair at 125 W. 18th. St. The show had received a lot of good promo press, but I'll confess my expectations were pretty low. Quality canvases for under $10,000? Unlikely. Perhaps my experience at Sotheby's had tainted my love for the cheap artiste. Fortunately, the mammoth art extravaganza restored my faith that there is exceptional contemporary art available to collectors on a budget. The work displayed was all over the map - traditional, decorative, provocative - and more than 70 galleries were represented. Shows are held in New York City annually in June, and there are upcoming shows in the UK and Australia.

After gazing at great visuals there, I wandered around the block and happened upon the Chelsea Antique & Collectible Flea Market at 17th St. & 6th Ave. A different kind of aesthetic on the cheap, these booths were home to vintage jewelry, beads, clothing, collectibles and the requisite cast of thrift shop junkies. The wares were of a consistently good quality, as were the prices. Though smaller than many of NYC's more famous flea markets, this is definitely worth a visit.

To top off the evening, I headed to 307 W. 26th St. to check out the Upright Citizens Brigade's improv/sketch comedy act ASSSSCAT, hosted by Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live fame. On this particular night, fellow cast members included SNL's Seth Meyers, Colbert's Peter Gwinn, Old School screenwriter Scot Armstrong, and others from hot & humorous media. This comedic experience is wildly popular and had popped up on my cultural event radar with too much consistency to ignore. Besides, the 7:30pm show cost a mere $8 and the 9:30pm show is free. Lines formed around the block, however, so get there well in advance.

Bonus: Standing in line for the show and having an elderly gentleman ask me to hold his pet parrot Ed while he went into Gristedes to get a soda. Happy to say that Ed was talkative but exceptionally well behaved.

Marathon MoMA Day

Yesterday, I spent most of the day at the Museum of Modern Art, and the artsy offerings proved why the place is consistently one of my favorite NYC destinations:

Richard Serra: Sculpture: Forty Years

By far, this is the best sculptural exhibit I've seen in years. You can't help but be awed by the grandeur of Richard Serra's massive circular steel structures. There is an almost gravitational pull between the sloping metal walls of these immense constructions, and the physical energy is delightful and horrifying at the same time. Serra's earlier work with lead, rubber and fiberglass is also on display, just as stark and gripping though less grand in scale. All of it is art you can feel, deep inside your chest.

Bonus: Richard Serra will be live and in person at MoMA on September 6 at 6pm for a discussion of his work and the exhibition with curator Lynne Cooke.

Andy Warhol's The Chelsea Girls

After eating some seriously strange lime mint gelato in MoMA's sculpture garden and gazing at more Serra sculptures, I soon headed back inside to take in the screening of Andy Warhol's The Chelsea Girls. In a supreme stroke of luck for this Warhol film newbie, the movie was introduced by Douglas Crimp, art critic and curator, who eased us into this avant-garde cinematic extravaganza with personal insights into Warhol's New York City art scene.

Set in numerous rooms at the infamous Chelsea Hotel and featuring a seriously disturbed and chemically altered cast of underground characters, The Chelsea Girls is a triumph for societal outcasts. As Crimp noted, 'Warhol certifies depravity' by putting these charismatic misfits on screen with all their drug-induced screeching, scratching and rant-a-maroles. At times excruciating, at times meditative, at times hysterically funny, poignant and heartbreaking, this is one serious cinematic experience for those unafraid to venture into a split-screen purgatory. At a whopping 195 minutes, don't dare enter without a trail of breadcrumbs to lead you safely back to normal.

Double Bonus: The screening was free due to Target Free Friday Nights, which allows no-cost admission to the museum from 4-8pm each Friday. However, tickets to films must be obtained at the information desk before 4pm or at the Film & Media desk after that. Screenings often sell out, so get tix earlier rather than later.

Million Dollar Sales at Sotheby's

New York City's best kept secret on freebie entertainment? The auctions at Sotheby's. Heck, they even serve free coffee and bottled water! But buyer beware: the day ain't free if you raise your blue paddle to vie for exquisite art and collectibles. At the recent Contemporary Art Day Sale, works by Kline, DuBuffet, Motherwell, Pollock, Albers, Guston, Mitchell, Calder and of course Warhol (one of his soup cans, no less!) were on the block. The night before a Rothko sold for a record breaking $72.84 million - the highest for any contemporary art at auction. I did get to witness the excitement of $2.3 mil sale of a Frank Stella, and once those bids get up over a million you better believe the crowd hushes down.

The auctioneer was a handsome French-accented hottie, the crowd dressed in high-end artsy wear (best shoes & eyeglasses in Manhattan) and the phone-cradling brokers for overseas bidders all resembled Ralph Lauren models. Perfect people watching at these auctions, which are open to the public so go and buy buy buy if you can.

Bonus: For great art advice, get in touch with Robert Casterline of MW Gallery in Chelsea (also Aspen & Miami), the super smart and unpretentious art dealer standing next to me. His irrepressible enthusiasm for cutting-edge contemporary art means he's in-the-know.

Art as Food, Food as Art

Art as Food (for the Soul)
It is Tribeca Film Fest time here in the city, which means movies movies movies AND lots of events centered in Tribeca. I'll have more on that soon enough, as I'm slated to take in a few flicks and panel discussions over the next week. But to kick off my first-ever exposure to this cultural phenom, I joined a new friend on TOAST- Tribeca Open Artist Studio Tour. The walk offers an inside peek at artists in their natural habitat-their studios and living spaces. The art itself was of varying degrees of good, but then that wasn't the point. Really, the walk is about supporting and celebrating those that keep the crazy creative flavor of New York alive. Thank goodness for characters like Sam Wagner and his pet poodle, Yun Kyung Huh and her delicate pencil drawing collages, and all the artists that opened their doors to us curious folk.

Food as Art
Most of the time, I just eat to eat. But in Tribeca my lunch at Blaue Gans at 139 Duane St. was of a creative German bistro variety. Tasty and light Wiener schnitzel? You bet, along with other delights. Highly recommended. And my Sunday brunch at Artisanal at 2 Park Ave. featured a threesome of cheese (Fleu du Maquis, Livarot & Shropshire Blue) that was decadent and delish. Definitely a must-munch if you are into the artistry of fromage, especially the stinky variety.

Feeding the Soul & Feast for the Eyes

Art & Soul at Marble Collegiate Church: Located on 5th Ave. at 29th St., this church had Norman Vincent Peale as it's pastor for 52 years. Gorgeous building, wonderful programs. The Q&A focused on following the spirit in creative practice, and featured Tony-award winning actor Jeffrey Wright, perhaps best known for his title role in Basquiat. He also won acclaim in Syriana and Casino Royale. Wright gave great examples of following a calling/spirit/muse (name it what you will) in his art and the struggles and rewards that presents. In our brief discussion afterwards, it was nice to learn he grew up in D.C.

The Photography Show 07: An amazingly huge, glorious presentation of a diverse array of photography at this annual show, hosted by AIPAD. Many famous photographs by artists you know and love (Cartier-Bresson! Arbus! Man Ray!) and others not-so-known-but-soon-to-be-loved (Fontcubeta! Titarenko! Davis!) Around 90 galleries represented from all over the world, thousands of photos displayed, all genres, sizes, eras, scenes. A great treat for the eyes on a day when the heavens decided to open and let the waterfalls out to play.

Similar note: Hoover Factory posting on photog Chris Jordon. Neat-o!

Exploring Upper West and Upper East

I've been exploring more of the nearby neighborhoods the past day or so. Central Park is just amazing, and I'm right near the theater where they hold Shakespeare in the Park.

It only takes me 10 minutes to run across the park to the Upper East Side, where yesterday I visited the Guggenheim Museum. With it's Frank Lloyd Wright design (currently being renovated), the museum is one of the most beautiful in the city and a true architectural masterpiece. Speaking of art, the shopping on the Upper East is pretty fancy-schmancy ;-) Take a stroll up Madison Ave. between 75th and 90th and ooooo and ahhhh at the window displays.

Take in some more views of the Park, as well as photos of a quaint bookshop on the Upper West Side and Broadway (see Bookstore Bird, above) in my photos section.

Science and Art on a Snowy New York Day

Amazing what this city offers.

This morning I went to the Jeff Wall exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Pretty extraordinary -- powerful staged gigantic photos that succeed in telling a story, and thus take you far outside yourself. Great stuff. Some of the work tends to be dark and broody. For fun, see if you can count the number of potential serial killers he has lurking about (kidding, kinda).

At the suggestion of my friend Ann, I became a MoMA member. This entitles me to free access to all exhibits and films, discounts on lectures, members-only previews, etc. Better yet, I can get friends in for $5 each. So if there is something you want to see, let me know first so I can save you from the normal $20 entry fee. Learn more on the exhibits, membership, etc. here.

MoMA has always been special to me. When I'd come up to NYC during my 20's, the museum would be my mecca. I'd make a bee line for it, see all the cool modern art, and then head off into the city. It is thrilling to have such easy access to it 15 or so years later.

This evening, it was up to Columbia University to hear Oliver Sacks, renowned neurologist and author of such books as "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat". His topic was on "Music and the Mind." He was incredible -- filled with good humor, fascinating case studies and sharp intelligence. A longtime fan of his work, I felt incredibly honored to hear his lecture. And it was FREE! Check out Columbia's Web site for details on visiting lecturers.

As I woke up to a light dusting of snow on the ground, making the beauty of Central Park just breathtaking, I had to again pinch myself that I am really living here. Gratitude shout out!