twi-ny recommended events

EYES WIDE OPEN (EINAYM PKUHOT)

Moving Israeli film examines forbidden love in a religious Jerusalem community

Haim Tabakman’s debut feature examines forbidden love in Jerusalem

EYES WIDE OPEN (EINAYM PKUHOT) (Haim Tabakman, 2009)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between Fifth Ave. & University Pl.
Opens Friday, February 5
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.eyeswideopenisrael.org

After his father dies, Aaron (Zohar Shtrauss) decides to keep the family butcher shop going, even taking on a mysterious apprentice, Ezri (Ran Danker), who has arrived in Jerusalem with nowhere to stay and no money. Rumors swirl throughout the tight-knit Orthodox community about Ezri’s past, but Aaron refuses to get rid of him — and soon finds himself unusually attracted to the young gay student. As he fights his desires and tries to keep the burgeoning relationship a secret from his family, his wife (Tinkerbell) starts suspecting something is wrong, and everything he has built threatens to fall apart. A festival favorite at Cannes, Toronto, Karlovy Vary, and last month’s New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center, EYES WIDE OPEN is a subtly beautiful examination of forbidden love flying in the face of religious belief. Shtrauss portrays Aaron with an awkward uncomfortability that reveals his character’s painful inner struggle and complex moral dilemma, while Danker infuses Ezri with a quiet power. First-time director Haim Tabakman and screenwriter Merav Doster keep things slow and steady all the way, avoiding genre clichés and grandiose statements in favor of a gentle, compelling narrative that never hits you over the head.

KAREN COOPER CARTE BLANCHE

Jennie Livingston’s PARIS IS BURNING is part of MoMA celebration of Film Forum’s fortieth anniversary

40 YEARS OF DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES AT FILM FORUM
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
February 3-20
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
www.moma.org

One of the most important, influential, and beloved independent cinema houses in the country, Film Forum has been presenting feature-length narratives, repertory series, and new documentaries since 1970. In 1972, Karen Cooper took over as director, helping Film Forum become the place to go for the best in international cinema. In honor of Film Forum’s fortieth anniversary, Cooper has curated an exciting retrospective of nonfiction works that premiered at the three-screen art house, which has been located on West Houston St. for two decades. The series includes such seminal documentaries as Nathaniel Kahn’s MY ARCHITECT, Bruce Weber’s LET’S GET LOST, Rudy Burckhardt’s UNDER THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, Agnès Varda’s THE GLEANERS AND I, Terry Zwigoff’s CRUMB, Kevin Rafferty’s THE ATOMIC CAFÉ, D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus’s THE WAR ROOM, and Jennie Livingston’s PARIS IS BURNING in addition to films by Werner Herzog, Frederick Wiseman, Mosco Boucault, Paul Cox, and others. On February 5 at 7:00, Cooper and George Griffin will introduce short films from Serious Business Company, including Griffin’s VIEWMASTER, Bruce Conner’s TAKE THE 5:10 TO DREAMLAND, Anita Thacher’s HOMAGE TO MAGRITTE, Scott Bartlett’s 1970, and Karen and David Crommie’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF FRIDA KAHLO AS TOLD TO DAVID AND KAREN CROMMIE. This MoMA series is a marvelous way to celebrate one of the city’s shining jewels and, for those of you who have never been to Film Forum, to discover what the rest of us already know.

STAR BLACK: THE COLLAGED ACCORDION

Star Black will present collaged accordion books at artist talk and reception tonight at Center for Book Arts

The Center for Book Arts
28 West 27th St. between Sixth Ave. & Broadway, third floor
Wednesday, February 3, suggested admission $10, 6:30
212-481-0295
www.centerforbookarts.org

Poet and photographer Star Black will be at the Center for Book Arts in the Flatiron District tonight for an artist talk and reception in conjunction with the opening of her new exhibit, “The Collaged Accordion.” Black is displaying a series of accordion books made of found material, along with individual collages and original writings; among the pieces in the show are “A Room of My Own,” “Memorandum/Furs,” “Schirmer’s Abstracted,” and “The Blue Door.” The exhibition will continue through April 3; also on view at the center are “Narrative Sequences,” organized by artist Maddy Rosenberg and featuring work by Ben Katchor, Julia Schmid, Chris Bierl, and others, and “Leah Oates: Transitory Spaces,” a collection of books and book spreads.

PARSONS DANCE

Parsons Dance will update REMEMBER ME with the East Village Opera Company at the Joyce

REMEMBER ME AND MORE
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
February 2-21, $10-$49
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

Choreographer David Parsons and the East Village Opera Company bring an updated version of their collaboration, REMEMBER ME, back to New York City with a two-week stay at the Joyce. The multimedia show about a love triangle includes fourteen songs by the rock opera band, which rocks out to opera classics, with Tyler Ross and AnnMarie Milazzo performing live onstage; costumes are by PROJECT RUNWAY’s Austin Scarlett and lighting by Tony winner Howell Binkley. The stroboscopic solo CAUGHT, set to music by Robert Fripp, will be part of all programs. In addition, the season features family –friendly matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 consisting of WOLFGANG, EBBEN, NASCIMENTO NOVO, HAND DANCE, CAUGHT, and SCRUTINY as well as a third program, on February 17-18, comprising WOLFGANG, BROTHERS, SWING SHIFT, KIND OF BLUE, CAUGHT, and IN THE END.

TWI-NY TALK: ANAT LITWIN

Anat Litwin, “Sweet Epiphanies #4: The Leap,” paper cutout, 2009

SWEET EPIPHANIES
Colson Patisserie
374 Ninth St. at Sixth Ave., Brooklyn
Through February 10
Admission: free
718-965-6400
www.anatlitwin.com
www.colsonpastries.com

The Epiphany might be held on different days in January depending on where you live in the world and what part of Christianity you follow, but the holiday is continuing into February in a popular Brooklyn pastry shop. “Sweet Epiphanies” is a site-specific display at Colson Patisserie by Brooklyn-based Israeli-American artist and curator Anat Litwin, the founder and artistic director of the HomeBase Project and a senior fellow at LABA at the 14th St. Y. Litwin addresses the word “epiphany” in both its religious and literary contexts, incorporating the January celebration of the manifestation of Christ with Joseph Campbell’s theory of the heroic monomyth, which he borrowed from James Joyce. The exhibit, which features a series of colorful paper cutouts displaying silhouetted figures and crowns and evoking self-realization, is joined by the patisserie’s La Galette des Rois, the Cake of Kings, a traditional puff pastry that involves children becoming a king or queen for a day and receiving a lucky charm baked into the filling. Run by French pastry chef Yonatan Israel, who opened the patisserie in 2006, the eatery is the brainchild of Belgian pastry chef, psychotherapist, and cookbook author Hubert Colson. The engaging, enthusiastic Litwin participated in an exclusive twi-ny talk, discussing her work as well as her own epiphanies, one of which is hanging out at the shop and gauging people’s reactions to the show. “Since it’s been up,” she notes, “I’ve become addicted to sitting in the café and hearing how people from the neighborhood and guests respond to the artwork and reflect on it over cake and coffee. I would never had such lively, meaningful conversations in a gallery.”

twi-ny: How did you and Colson come together for this show?

AL: Yonatan Israel, the owner of Colson, and Ronit, his wife, are close friends. We’ve collaborated together in the past on several art projects, including a benefit for the HomeBase Project. I am familiar with the creative spirit and talent and professional approach and deep dedication that goes into the baking at Colson and was intrigued to create an art series for the patisserie that somehow responds to the place and to the world of French baking. When Yonatan and Hubert Colson, the main chef, told me about the Galette de Rois celebrating the Epiphany and about the traditional French game of becoming a king for the day, I was inspired. I loved the idea of the fantastic childlike immediate empowerment as king or queen and decided to give that an artistic interpretation and explore what kingly-hood really means in folklore and myth.

Anat Litwin, “Sweet Epiphanies #1: Red Royal Path Calling,” paper cutout, 2009

Would you mind sharing one of your own personal or professional epiphanies?

Professional epiphanies and personal epiphanies are somehow connected in the studio. But the nice thing in being an artist is that often an idea or inspiration comes to mind before you realize what it really means — the creative process is somehow a few steps before you, and on good days of inspiration you spend time chasing after your own muse / ideas, trying to discover and understand your inspiration through realizing it in form. One recent epiphany came to me after finishing the “Sweet Epiphanies” series. It became clear to me that as an artist and person I am totally interested in the fantastic transgression from the everyday to the sublime and back again. I believe in the possibility of the human to undergo salvation, and I pursue that through creating images and actions. I am a believer that way. This registered through the work on the series that uses the monomyth of Joseph Campbell as a key model.

What’s your favorite treat that Colson Patisserie makes?

I’m completely addicted now to the Galette de Rois and find myself with cravings for that almond-based butter dough at different times of the day. I am fearful that it soon will be out of season, then the coffee cake (which is remarkable) will have to replace it.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT MACY’S

The cast of FELA! will make special appearances at two local Macy’s in honor of Black History Month

MACY’S CELEBRATES YOU
Thursday, February 4, Macy’s Herald Square on 8, 6:00
Thursday, February 11, Macy’s Brooklyn, 12 noon
Admission: free
www.macys.com

Macy’s is celebrating Black History Month with a series of events throughout February, including a live performance by cast members of the hit Broadway show FELA!, followed by a Q&A. The cast will be at Macy’s Herald Square on February 4 and at Macy’s in downtown Brooklyn on February 11. There will be events all month long, including chef demonstrations and even comedy, all under the theme “Macy’s Celebrates You” and all free.

KIMBERLY BARTOSIK / daela

Kimberly Bartosik makes her DTW debut with the world premiere of THE MATERIALITY OF IMPERMANENCE

THE MATERIALITY OF IMPERMANENCE
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th St.
Wednesday, February 3, through Saturday, February 6, $15, 7:30
212-924-0077
www.dtw.org
www.daela.org

Evoking memory and the passage of time, Kimberly Bartosik / daela’s THE MATERIALITY OF IMPERMANENCE will have its world premiere this week at DTW’s Bessie Schönberg Theater, on a set dotted with LED lights designed by lighting expert Roderick Murray. The evening-length piece will be performed by Bartosik, Joanna Kotze, and Marc Mann, with music by Luke Fasano. The daela company “is dedicated to rigorous exploration of movement, sound and visual design towards the creation of performances in space-specific environments.” The February 3 show will be preceded by Coffee and Conversation at 6:30, while the February 5 performance will be followed by a discussion with the cast and crew.

February 4 performance reviewed: The oxymoronically titled THE MATERIALITY OF IMPERMANENCE is an existential examination of home and the human psyche. As the audience enters the theater, lighting designer Roderick Murray and composer Luke Fasano are playing Scrabble in the middle of the stage. Once everyone is seated — including in rows to the right and left of the stage, creating a more intimate feel — choreographer and longtime Merce Cunningham dancer Kimberly Bartosik starts making her way downstairs backwards from the back of the crowd while reciting quotes that soon devolve into random word jumbles. Meanwhile, Marc Mann enters, swings a microphone that is dangling from the ceiling, and attempts to talk into it as it passes by, barely missing his head. Bartosik and Mann then spend the next forty-five minutes or so moving around a mazelike stage divided into compartments by LED lights that turn on and off on the floor, being careful to never step directly over them, as if they were walls. They make their way through the “rooms” with sudden, harsh movements, not light on their feet, as occasional snippets of music appear and disappear and they take off their clothes and then put them back on, over and over again. At one point they meet at center stage and maneuver into an erotic position as Bartosik feeds a torn piece of paper to Mann, once again incorporating words and language into the evening-length piece. Then the couple departs, taking seats in the audience as long-legged Joanna Kotze performs a striking dance, paying no attention to the barriers that constrained Bartosik and Mann.

An abstract, avant-garde work that encounters plenty of bumps along the way, THE MATERIALITY OF IMPERMANENCE, commissioned by DTW, is a curiously compelling piece of dance theater. It can go from cold and confusing to warming and inviting in a heartbeat, a visual representation of the word jumble, low-tech music, and mostly unintelligible dialogue that tease the audience. The words might not make sense, but Bartosik hides little else; both she and Mann disrobe several times, Murray (who is married to the choreographer) gives lighting cues from the stage, and Fasano walks around holding up small speakers and placing microphones on the floor that the dancers struggle to talk into.