this week in literature

EGON SCHIELE’S WOMEN

Galerie St. Etienne
24 West 57th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Tuesday, October 23, free, 6:00 – 8:00
Exhibition runs October 23 – December 28 (Tuesday-Saturday), free
212-245-6734
www.gseart.com
www.randomhouse.de

Over the last several years, there has been a heightened interest in the always-popular and well-regarded Austrian artist Egon Schiele. In 2010, John Kelly gave the final performance of his award-winning theater piece Pass the Blutwurst, Bitte, which dealt with Schiele’s female muses, and one of the highlights of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival was Andrew Shea’s Portrait of Wally, a gripping documentary about the ownership of Schiele’s portrait of mistress Walburga “Wally” Neuzil. Now Schiele expert Jane Kallir, the codirector of Midtown’s Galerie St. Etienne, which boasts one of the largest collections of works by the artist, has written Egon Schiele’s Women, (Prestel, October 25, 2012, $80), a gorgeous examination of the women in Schiele’s life and on his canvases, placing his work in context of the history of Austrian art and evolving views on women’s freedom and sexuality. Kallir, who appears in Portrait of Wally, looks at Schiele’s relationship with his mother, his sister, various models, and his wife and sister-in-law. The book boasts more than 250 images, including dozens and dozens of splendid reproductions of paintings and drawings by Schiele (not limited to female subjects but also including glorious self-portraits and male figures) as well as works by Oskar Kokoschka, Gustave Klimt, Alfred Kubin, and Edvard Munch, archival photographs, a timeline, a bibliography, and an extensive index. In conjunction with the publication of the book, Galerie St. Etienne is opening the companion exhibit “Egon Schiele’s Women,” consisting of more than four dozen works by Schiele. “While Schiele, in his personal life, was hardly a feminist, in his art he freed women from the controlling male narrative that had heretofore shaped the interpretive discourse,” the exhibition essay explains. “His nudes, in particular, not only challenged the taboos of his time, but presaged the more fluid, open-ended approach to gender and sexuality that prevails today.” Kallir will be at the opening-night celebration of the exhibit, giving a gallery talk and signing copies of the book at 7:00. In addition, she will be at the American Jewish Historical Society on October 22 at 6:30 ($15), participating in the “Culture Brokers: Jews as Art Dealers and Collectors” panel discussion with Emily Bilski and Charles Dellheim.

LAST CHANCE: THE FEVERISH LIBRARY

“The Feverish Library” features a different kind of book collection (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Friedrich Petzel Gallery
537 West 22nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through October 20, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-680-9467
www.petzel.com

How can you go wrong with an exhibition whose main image is a still of Burgess Meredith as book lover Henry Bemis holding up his glasses at the end of the classic Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough at Last”? Well, there actually isn’t time enough, as today is your last chance to see a celebration of a potentially dying breed, the printed book. Taking its name from a quote by Jorge Luis Borges, “The Feverish Library,” organized in cooperation with Matthew Higgs at Friedrich Petzel in Chelsea, features works by more than three dozen artists that incorporate books and the concept of reading. Gavin Brown creates a grid of paperbacks on the floor. Cindy Sherman photographs herself in front of a bookshelf. Richard Artschwager’s “Book” is a huge open wooden tome that can’t be read. Erica Baum’s “Author” shows a cross-section of printed pages. Liam Gillick’s “Prototype Construction of One Manuscript” is a wrapped pile of four reams of red paper. The all-star collection of artists also includes works by John Baldessari, Martin Creed, Hans-Peter Feldman, Taba Auerbach, Carol Bove, Martin Kippenberger, Richard Prince, Wade Guyton, Rachel Whiteread, Sean Landers, Wolfgang Tillmans, David Hammons, and others. In addition, in a nod to Joseph Kosuth, at the front is a collection of the favorite books of Petzel artists; Dana Schutz picks Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Nicola Tyson goes with Laurie Weeks’s Zippermouth, Troy Brauntuch selects Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Sarah Morris prefers Vladimir Nabokov’s Transparent Things, and John Stezakar chooses Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.

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.