this week in literature

MARINA ABRAMOVIC IN CONVERSATION WITH MARCO ANELLI

Marco Anelli photographed every person who sat opposite Marina Abramović during her marathon staring sessions at MoMA (© Marco Anelli)

The Strand Book Store
Third Floor Rare Book Room
828 Broadway at 12th St.
Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 (must buy copy of book or $10 Strand gift card)
212-473-1452
www.strandbooks.com
www.marcoanelli.com

In the spring of 2010, Yugoslavian-born performance artist Marina Abramović sat in a chair in MoMA’s atrium for seventy-eight days, staring deeply into the eyes of individual visitors as part of the retrospective “The Artist Is Present.” It was a powerful sight to see, filled with energy and emotion. Earlier this year, Matthew Akers documented the immensely popular event in a film also titled The Artist Is Present, going behind the scenes of Abramović’s creative process. Now Italian photojournalist Marco Anelli, who specializes in photographing long-term projects, has published Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramović (September 2012, Damiani, $40), which captures every single person who sat across from Abramović and includes the amount of time they did so. (People were allowed to sit for as long as they wanted, from several minutes to many hours.) The book also features pieces by Abramović and curators Klaus Biesenbach and Chrissie Iles. On Tuesday, October 16, Abramović and Anelli, who pulled off quite a feat of duration himself, will discuss the project in a special presentation at the Strand. You must purchase a copy of the book or a $10 Strand gift card in order to attend what should be a fascinating discussion.

NEW YORK COMIC CON

New York Comic Con celebrates King of the Nerds and more at the Javits Center (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
655 West 34th St. (11th Ave. between 34th & 39th Sts.)
October 11-14, sold out
www.newyorkcomiccon.com

If you’ve ever attended New York Comic Con, you know that the biblical prediction “The geek shall inherit the earth” is certainly true. For four days at the Javits Center, sci-fi and comic-book nerds will descend on the far west side, lining up for autograph signings (beware: some require substantial additional fees), giveaways, film screenings, panel discussions, concerts, and other special events that get bigger and bigger every year. The 2012 edition, which is completely sold out, includes a bevy of A-list, B-list, and C-list celebrities; among the wide variety of guests are Batman’s Adam West and Burt Ward, Carrie Fisher, Bill Paxton, Stan Lee, Bruce Campbell, Chris Columbus, Christopher Lloyd, Dee Snider, Anne Rice, Guillermo Del Toro, Kevin Bacon, Julianne Moore, Kirk Hammett, Tess Gerritsen, Rob Corddry, Ned Vizzini, Sean Astin, Seth Green, Kim Harrison, Terry O’Quinn, Vanessa Williams, Sir Terry Pratchett, Kevin Smith, Ron English, and legendary nerds Curtis Armstrong and Robert Carradine. Below are some of our recommendations for this massive celebration of a lot more than just comic books.

Thursday, October 11

Neal Adams Spotlight, with Josh Adams and Neal Adams, 1A14, 3:45

Robert Kirkman Autographing, Booth #1229, 5:00 – 6:00

Comic Studies Conference: Power and Sexuality in Comics, with Beverly Taylor, Cameron McKee, Evan Johnson, Mark Head, and Sam Cannon, 1A07, 5:15

Friday, October 12

CBLDF: The History of Comics Censorship, with Charles Brownstein, 1A08, 11:00 am

Adam West and Burt Ward Spotlight, with Adam West and Burt Ward, 1A23, 12:15

Christopher Lloyd Q&A, with Christopher Lloyd, 1A10, 12:30

Sir Terry Pratchett Introduces . . . Dodger, with Sir Terry Pratchett, Unbound Stage, 1:00

AMC Presents Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men, with Bryan Johnson, Kevin Smith, Michael Zapcic, Ming Chen, and Walter Flanagan, IGN Theater, 2:45

Joe Simon Memorial Celebration, with Angelo Torres, Carmine Infantino, Jim Simon, Mark Waid, Paul Levitz, and Stephen Saffel, 1A01, 5:15

Robot Chicken, with Clare Grant, Kevin Shinick, Matthew Senreich, and Seth Green, IGN Theater, 6:30

Kirk Hammett, Lead Guitarist for Metallica, Talks to Kevin Clement about His Passion for Collecting Monster Movie Memorabilia, with Kevin Clement and Kirk Hammett, 1A23, 9:00

Fans will be on their hands and knees, begging to get in to several special WALKING DEAD events at this year’s New York Comic Con

Saturday, October 13

Once More with Feeling: 15 Years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Jane Espenson, Jenny Frison, Rebekah Isaacs, Scott Allie, and Sierra Hahn, 1A21, 11:15 am

Mad about MAD, with Al Jaffee, Bob Wayne, Drew Friedman, John Ficarra, Peter Kuper, Ryan Flanders, and Sam Viviano, 1A23, 12:15

Bill Paxton and Johnn McLaughlin’s Seven Holes for Air Introduction, with Bill Paxton, David Uslan, Eric Reid, and John McLaughlin, 1E13, 12:30

Stan Lee’s World of Heroes, with Peter David and Stan Lee, 1E13, 3:00

Carrie, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Kevin Misher, and Kimberly Peirce, IGN Theater, 3:45

AMC’s The Walking Dead Panel Event, with Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Chris Hardwick, Danai Gurira, David Morrissey, Gale Anne Hurd, Glen Mazzara, Michael Rooker, Norman Reedus, and Robert Kirkman, IGN Theater, 5:00

Sunday, October 14

666 Park Avenue Special Video Presentation and Q&A, with Dave Annable, David Wilcox, Erik Palladino, Helena Mattson, Matthew Miller, Mercedes Masöhn, Rachael Taylor, Robert Buckley, Samantha Logan, Terry O’Quinn, and Vanessa Williams, 1E13, 11:00 am

The Following Pilot Screening and Q&A, with Annie Parisse, James Purefoy, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Williamson, Marcos Siega, Natalie Zea, and Shawn Ashmore, 1E07, 12 noon

Josh Gates Q&A, with Josh Gates, 1A10, 1:30

Ian McDiarmid Spotlight, 1E13, 2:45

FIRST SATURDAYS: MICKALENE THOMAS’S ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

Mickalene Thomas, “A Little Taste Outside of Love,” acrylic, enamel and rhinestones on wood panel, 2007 (© Mickalene Thomas)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, October 6, free, 5:00 – 11:00 (some events require free tickets distributed in advance at the Visitor Center)
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum will celebrate Brooklyn-based artist Mickalene Thomas in the October edition of its free First Saturdays program. Thomas, who explores the concept of female beauty and power in sparkling works that incorporate rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel into 1970s-style tableaux, recently received the Asher B. Durand Award from the museum, along with Martha Rosler and Amy Sillman, for their contribution to Brooklyn culture. The First Saturdays programming is built around Thomas’s “Origin of the Universe,” her first museum exhibition, which continues through January 20. Visitors are encouraged to come dressed in 1970s clothing as they check out musical poet Candice Anitra; a multidisciplinary performance by Latasha Diggs, Beatrice Anderson, and Jaime Philbert, followed by a Q&A; an artist talk with G. Lucas Crane, who will create a live sonic collage and place it in context with Thomas’s work; a curator talk by Eugenie Tsai about Thomas’s painting “A Little Taste Outside of Love”; an art workshop showing how to make a Thomas-like collage; an interactive performance and discussion with poet and conceptual artist Harmony Holiday; “Betty’s Story,” a musical tribute to Betty Mabry Davis (Miles Davis’s ex-wife and singer in her own right) by Nucomme and the Curators; and a fashion show, open to all, hosted by Raye 6, Marcus Simms, and Gizmovintage Honeys Beeline.

ATP: I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR

ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES USA 2012
Pier 36
East River between Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges
September 21-23, $60-$75 per day, three-day pass $199
www.atpfestival.com

At long last, after more than ten years, the ATP festival is finally coming to New York City. All Tomorrow’s Parties, the international music festival that has taken place in the UK, Australia, Asbury Park, and the Catskills, will be presenting I’ll Be Your Mirror this weekend at Pier 36 on the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Past ATP festivals have been curated by the likes of Sonic Youth, Pavement, Portishead, Mogwai, the Breeders, Matt Groening, Modest Mouse, the Flaming Lips, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; taking the reins at IBYM 2012 is Greg Dulli, leader of the recently reunited Afghan Whigs, who has invited friends and colleagues to participate from all over the musical map. Things get going on Friday with Frank Ocean, Philip Glass and Tyondai Braxton, Janeane Garofalo, Lightning Bolt, Lee Ranaldo’s “Hanging Guitar,” Hannibal Buress, DJ Edan, and Kurt Braunohler. Saturday’s schedule includes the Afghan Whigs, the Roots, José González, the Mark Lanegan Band, Dirty Three, the Antlers, JEFF the Brotherhood, the Dirtbombs, Scrawl, Emeralds, Vetiver, Afterhours, Charles Bradley and the Extraordinaires, Joseph Arthur, and DJ Questlove, while Sunday’s roster consists of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the Make-Up, Hot Snakes, the Magic Band, Autolux, Thee Oh Sees, Lee Ranaldo, the Album Leaf, BRAIDS, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Tall Firs, Blanck Mass, the Psychic Paramount, Endless Boogie, Demdike Stare, and DJ Jonathan Toubin. In addition, Criterion and Dulli have come up with a great selection of films that will be shown during the weekend, with Quadrophenia on Friday, The Night of the Hunter, Something Wild, The King of Marvin Gardens, and Dazed & Confused on Saturday, and Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, Paul Fejos’s Lonesome, The Royal Tenenbaums, Eating Raoul, and Harold & Maude on Sunday. Dulli has also recommended a handful of books, some of which will be highlighted on the Lapham’s Quarterly Literary Stage: James Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia, Steve Toltz’s A Fraction of the Whole, Denis Johnson’s Nobody Move, Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love, and Joan Didion’s Play It as It Lays, with Evan Michelson and Mike Zohn of Oddities talking about Geek Love on Saturday and Julie Klausner of How Was Your Week discussing Play It as It Lays on Sunday. To get in the mood, you can check out Dulli’s festival mixtape here.

NEW YORK ORIGINALS LAUNCH PARTY

Rizzoli Bookstore
31 West 57th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Thursday, September 20, free with RSVP, 5:30
www.rizzoliusa.com
www.newyorkoriginalsonline.com

It’s rather ironic that the first place profiled in Jamie McDonald’s New York Originals: A Guide to the City’s Classic Shops and Mom-and-Pops (Universe, September 2012, $24.95) is Domenick DeNigris Monuments in the Bronx, which has been selling headstones and mausoleums for more than a hundred years, since one of the things the book celebrates is longevity in addition to originality. “Decades ago, most small towns sold out their town squares in favor of cheaper and more convenient megastores on the outskirts of the city,” writes the man behind the Emmy-winning television series the book is named after. “People began to forget that the corner coffee shop or local shoe store provided not only goods and services, but also a small part of their community’s uniqueness and character. New York City is ironically one of the last vestiges of small-town America.” In words and pictures, McDonald, who was born in Indiana but now lives in Midtown Manhattan, visits seventy-five shops in all five boroughs, from Neir’s Tavern & Steakhouse, established in Woodhaven in 1829, to Brooklyn Copper Cookware, which opened its doors in Dumbo just two years ago. In the book, arranged alphabetically by borough, McDonald talks with the current managers and owners, many of whom are third and fourth generation, providing the history behind the shop as well as its current status. He makes stops at such honored eateries as Brennan and Carr, De Robertis Pasticceria and Caffe, Ear Inn, Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, Keens Steakhouse, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Russ & Daughters, and the Lemon Ice King of Corona as well as the Umbee Sunshade Company, which has been making umbrellas in Williamsburg since 1933; the Jane Hotel, which has been taking in travelers in the West Village since 1908; Brownies Pro and Sport Hobbies, a hobby shop in Port Richmond that opened in 1971; the Cameo Pet Shop, which has been selling tropical fish, birds, and other animals in Richmond Hill since, 1947; and JJ Burck Marine Supplies, which has been specializing in boating equipment on City Island since 1928. To celebrate the release of the book, McDonald will be signing copies at the Rizzoli Bookstore on Thursday, September 20, from 5:30 to 7:00, with refreshments supplied by some of the shops included in the book. Each book purchased that night will come with engraved New York City Taxi Correspondence Cards inside a hand-lined envelope, courtesy of Dempsey & Carroll, which has been making engraved stationery since 1878 on the Upper East Side.

TWI-NY TALK: PHIL HARTMAN OF TWO BOOTS

Phil Hartman and his son, Leon, will be celebrating the silver anniversary of Two Boots on August 23 in East River Park

TWO BOOTS 25th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT: AN EVENING OF FREE LIVE MUSIC, PERFORMANCE ART, POETRY, AERIALIST, AND FOOD
East River Park Amphitheater
FDR Drive between Grand & Jackson Sts.
Thursday, August 23, free, 5:00 – 9:00
www.twoboots.com
www.summerstage.org

Twenty-five years ago, New York native Phil Hartman and Doris Kornish opened Two Boots in the East Village, a pizzeria with a distinct Cajun flavor. In the ’90s they began expanding, adding a movie theater that screened alternative and foreign films while introducing pizzas named after fictional and real pop-culture figures. Today there are more than a dozen Two Boots restaurants, across Manhattan as well as in Brooklyn, New Jersey, Baltimore, and Los Angeles, selling specialty pies named for such favorite characters as Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs,, Andy Kaufman alter ego Tony Clifton, Newman from Seinfeld, Larry Tate from Bewitched, No. 6 from The Prisoner, Dr. John, Bella Abzug, Bette Midler, and Charlie Parker as well as the Village Vanguard. On August 23, Hartman and his son, Leon, who also works in the business, will host a free concert in East River Park in honor of Two Boots’ silver anniversary, featuring performances by Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Mamarazzi, Odetta Hartman, Himalayas, the Whiskeyhickon Boys, Lady Circus, and the Magic Beans; the event will also include poetry from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe (Caroline Rothstein, Mahogany Browne, and Marshall “Soulful” Jones ) and the City Lore/Bowery Poetry Club’s POEMmobile, live art and painting by Lizzy Grandsaert and Kat Carrot Flower, the Homespun Mini-Merry-Go-Round, and informational booths from the Lower Eastside Girls Club, the Lower East Side Ecology Center, and Time’s Up. The festivities will be emceed by actor Luis Guzmán, for whom the Luisaida pie is named after, and there will be free samples of the Newman and the Larry Tate. Phil discussed Two Boots, the revitalization of the Lower East Side, and more in our latest twi-ny talk.

twi-ny: What were the initial expectations when you opened your first pizza place twenty-five years ago?

Phil Hartman: Doris Kornish (my original partner) and I had two principal motivations: we badly needed funds to finish postproduction on our first film, No Picnic, which would go on to receive an award at Sundance in 1988, and we’ve always operated under this premise at our restaurants — don’t try to cater to an imaginary audience, just do something that we really love and hope that other people agree with us.

twi-ny: How did the idea for naming pies after famous fictional characters get started? Do you need to get permission to use the names? If so, has anyone ever turned you down?

Phil Hartman: The character names didn’t start until eight years in — beginning with Larry Tate, Mr. Pink, and Newman. I’ve always loved second bananas, oddballs, and the overlooked and underappreciated. And we’ve never been turned down — we just figure we’re honoring these characters and they would be proud of it.

twi-ny: What is your personal favorite slice?

Phil Hartman: The Bayou Beast (andouille, crawfish, jalapeños, mozzarella, and sauce), which combines the best of both worlds (Italy and Louisiana) is my fave — though as their parent, you know I love all the slices.

twi-ny: Is there a specific combination that you really wanted to work but it just couldn’t come out quite right?

Phil Hartman: My biggest disappointment is that we never really made our Pizza Piazza work — Mike, being one of our all-time idols (we’re enormous Mets fans); the pie was too soupy but will be resuscitated when he enters the Hall of Fame next year!

twi-ny: On August 23, you’ll be celebrating your twenty-fifth anniversary with a free concert in East River Park. How did the lineup come together?

Phil Hartman: We’ve always loved African pop music, and given that Fela Kuti is no longer with us, we had the chance to reach out to the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars and grabbed it. Mamarazzi is an amazing local Afro-funk band, with lots of our friends in it; Odetta, our daughter, just recorded her first album, and is bringing together her band and lots of special guests; Himalayas is an awesome Brooklyn marching band, which will rock the crowd, from within the crowd; Whiskeyhickon Boys are one of our house acts — gangsta folk at its best; plus Lady Circus from House of Yes, Nuyorican Poets Cafe all-star poets, live art by 4heads Art Collective, a mini-merry-go-round, and lots more.

twi-ny: When the first Two Boots opened back in 1987, the Lower East Side was a very different place. Since then, you’ve been at the center of the neighborhood’s transformation, adding such events as the Howl! Festival and leading an influx of new restaurants, music venues, and other institutions in addition to a revitalized Tompkins Square Park. How would you compare the Lower East Side of the 1970s and ’80s to the way it is now?

Phil Hartman: We’ve lost a lot of the color and complexity, but there still are a lot of great folks and great organizations carrying on the countercultural tradition here. It’s a lot less scary, which is good if you’re raising three kids here (like I have), but also a lot more tame (which is a shame!).

LIVE IN THE CLUBHOUSE: “GIL HODGES” WITH AUTHOR DANNY PEARY

Bergino Baseball Clubhouse
Cast Iron Building
67 East 11th St.
Thursday, August 16, free with RSVP, 7:00
212-226-7150
www.bergino.com
us.penguingroup.com

“Gil Hodges smiled, which was a big deal.” So begins Tom Clavin and Danny Peary’s latest baseball biography, Gil Hodges: The Brooklyn Bums, the Miracle Mets, and the Extraordinary Life of a Baseball Legend (Penguin, August 7, 2012, $26.95), the follow-up to their 2010 tome, Roger Maris: Baseball’s Reluctant Hero. Clavin and Peary delve into the life and times of the Indiana-born Hodges, the beloved eight-time All-Star who played first base on the Brooklyn Dodgers’ championship Boys of Summer team and later went on to manage the Amazin’ Mets in 1969. In more recent years, the late Hodges, who died in 1972 just short of his forty-eighth birthday, has been the subject of heated debate over whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Peary will discuss that and more when he talks about the book on August 16 at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in the Cast Iron Building on East Eleventh St. For our interview with Peary about his Maris book, go here.