Some 651 red and white qulits of inifinite variety are on display at Park Ave. Armory (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
Through March 30, free, 11:00 am – 5:00 or 7:00 pm
347-463-5143
www.armoryonpark.org
www.folkartmuseum.org
infinite variety slideshow
Joanna Semel Rose wanted something very simple for her eightieth birthday: to see her collection of 651 red and white quilts together, all in one space. Her husband, Daniel, helped make that happen, resulting in the stunning exhibition “Infinite Variety,” on view for free at the Park Ave. Armory through Wednesday. Curated by Elizabeth V. Warren and held in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum’s “Year of the Quilt” celebration, the quilts are hung throughout the massive fifty-five-thousand-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, arranged in swirling silo-shaped cylinders you can walk in and laid out in a curved display near the back wall (where the makeshift Butterfield Market is serving red velvet cupcakes and other treats). You don’t have to be a quilt maker or quilt lover to be dazzled by the visual splendor, the myriad red and white designs coming at you from all directions, the patterns luring you in like endless eye candy, at times reminiscent of international flags with no political agenda. Rose, who considers herself a treasure hunter, not a collector, also thinks of the exhibition as a present for New York City, although there are plans to take it on the road. Named after a line from William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (“Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety”), the exhibit is part of an anticipated gift to the American Folk Art Museum by the philanthropic Roses, whose family has their names attached to such spaces as the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Rehearsal Studio and Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center. “Infinite Variety” is a must-see for New Yorkers of all ages; in addition, the American Folk Art Museum currently has on view “Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum” at its 45 West 53rd St. location and “Super Stars: Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum” at the 2 Lincoln Square branch. (Curator Warren will be giving a lecture on Sunday at 2:00 at the Armory, “Infinite Variety: A History of Red and White Quilts,” followed by a book signing; tickets are $15-$20.)
This cold-war-era classic stars Michael Rennie as an alien who lands on earth with a very important message: No peace, no planet. He brings along with him one of the great robots in cinema history, Gort (Lock Martin), and later utters to Patricia Neal one of the ten best lines ever: “Klaatu borada nikto.” This science-fiction fave works on a number of different and fascinating levels; during a 1998 UC Berkeley interview, director Robert Wise even noted, “Some people read a religious connotation into the thing, the resurrection and all. If you want to put a beard on Rennie and all, he could be a Christ figure.” The Day the Earth Stood Still is screening Saturday and Sunday afternoon as the conclusion to the Museum of the Moving Image’s “Fantastic Voyages” series. Be sure to also check out the museum’s inaugural exhibits following its major remodeling, including “Real Virtuality,” Chiho Aoshima’s “City Glow,” Martha Colburn’s “Dolls vs. Dictators,” and the always engaging “Behind the Screen.”
Legendary French star Catherine Deneuve radiates a colorful glow throughout her latest film, Potiche (Trophy Wife), her smile lighting up the screen as it has throughout her long career, which now comprises more than one hundred movies over more than fifty years. Reunited with writer-director François Ozon (2002’s 8 Women) and Gérard Depardieu (they first appeared together in Claude Berri’s Je Vous Aime in 1980 and most recently in André Téchiné’s Les Temps Qui Changent in 2004), Deneuve was nominated for a César for her role as Suzanne Pujol, a trophy housewife who primarily serves as arm candy for her husband, Robert (Fabrice Luchini), who runs Suzanne’s family’s umbrella factory like a tyrant and is a little too close to his secretary, Nadège (César nominee Karin Viard). When Robert is taken hostage during a nasty strike at the plant, Suzanne is forced into action, deciding to run the business with the help of her counterculture son, Laurent (Jérémie Rénier), and her conservative daughter, Joëlle (Judith Godrèche). At first clashing with the mayor, Maurice Babin (Depardieu), Suzanne is soon considering rekindling her long-ago affair with the rather rotund Maurice as she realizes there’s so much more to life than being a wealthy appendage. Loosely adapted from a Theatre de Boulevard comedy by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Grédy, Potiche is a charming throwback to 1970s female-empowerment movies, depicting long-held-back women suddenly grabbing the reins and embracing their personal and professional freedom, getting out from under the thumb of repressive societal conventions. Ozon infuses the film with numerous references to Deneuve’s history, evoking such seminal works as The Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle de Jour, and, of course, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and the costumes — particularly Deneuve’s fabulous fashion sense, which often dominates the scene — are a hoot, earning costume designer Pascaline Chavanne a much-deserved César nomination, but things get haywire in the final section, getting too silly and going too far over the top when politics come into play. Still, Potiche ably represents its genre, having fun with itself, which rubs off on the audience, who will have plenty of fun as well.
