this week in art

TICKET ALERT: AN EVENING WITH JOEL SHAPIRO

Sculptor Joel Shapiro will be at the National Academy on November 4 to discuss the evolution of his work

Who: Joel Shapiro
What: An Evening with Joel Shapiro
Where: Assembly Hall, National Academy Museum & School, 1083 Fifth Ave. at 5 East 89th St., 212-369-4880
When: Wednesday, November 4, free with advance RSVP, 6:00
Why: National Academician and sculptor supreme Joel Shapiro will be at the National Academy on November 4, discussing the evolution of his extensive and impressive career, “focusing on the development of form, its possible meaning, and the relationship between sculpture and drawing to the plane.” The New York native is represented in the current “On the Square Part II” group show at Pace on East Fifty-Seventh St., and his work can also be found in museums, galleries, lobbies, and public spaces around the world, including the Sony Building at 550 Madison Ave. “I was always interested in art, but I didn’t pursue it. I mean, I had this sort of idea that I was supposed to become a physician,” Shapiro told Lewis Kachur in a 1988 interview for the Archives of American Art Oral History Program. “It was tough to come to the realization that in fact what I really was good at, and what interested me, and what satisfied me, was doing art work. That came much later.” (Oral history interview with Joel Shapiro, 1988 July 15 – December 14, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.) The talk will be followed by a reception in the Sonia Gechtoff Gallery.

HANNA LIDEN: EVERYTHING

Hanna Liden’s bagel sculptures pay tribute to a New York City icon (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Hudson River Park at Christopher St.
Through October 20
www.artproductionfund.org
everything slideshow

In The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten wrote, “If you have never tasted a bagel, I feel sorry for you.” I understand that completely. I spent countless Sunday mornings as a child going out with my father to pick up lox, whitefish, sable, cream cheese, and a bag of hot, steaming bagels, their aroma lofting through the car as we drove back home, where the rest of the family awaited our arrival with great anticipation. Swedish-born, New York City-based artist Hanna Liden pays tribute to the bagel and her adopted home with the sculptural installation “Everything,” which continues in Hudson River Park through October 20. (The bagels in Ruth Wittenberg Plaza were taken down September 30.) Liden’s bagels are much bigger and harder than the standard hand-rolled, water-boiled doughy delights, which date back to early-seventeenth-century Poland, but that doesn’t make them any less visually appetizing. Carved out of styrofoam and then covered with polyurethane, the bagels are stacked three, four, and five high, except for one that sits alone under a tree, making a unique kind of bench. Some have black and brown areas where they have been toasted — “a romantic tribute to the darkness and grime, which are essential and beautiful characteristics of our city,” Liden notes — and some have poppy or sesame seeds. One of the stacks forms a giant vase, with a tulip sticking out of the top, as Liden, who has previously made vases out of such objects as a takeaway coffee cup, a boot, and a Yankees helmet, has fun with the homophone “flour-flower” while also evoking the work of Claes Oldenburg. To Liden, the bagel also represents the “eternal cycle of city life” and is something that is uniquely New York; bagels don’t taste the same anywhere else in the world.

HANK WILLIS THOMAS: THE TRUTH IS I SEE YOU

Hank Willis Thomas installation in MetroTech Commons explores different aspects of truth around the world (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

MetroTech Commons, Brooklyn
The Truth Booth: Thursday, October 15, free, 12 noon – 8:00 pm
Fall Talks: The New School, Wednesday, October 21, $10, 6:30
Installation continues through June 3, 2016
publicartfund.org
the truth is i see you slideshow

Throughout his career, Brooklyn-based visual artist Hank Willis Thomas has attempted to uncover the truth while investigating race, popular culture, gender, branding, and commodification. In works such as “B®ANDED,” “Unbranded,” “What Goes without Saying,” and “All Things Being Equal . . . ,” Thomas strips away the surface of media and advertising to get to the heart of black identity in America. For his latest work, the Public Art Fund project “The Truth Is I See You,” Thomas has filled the main walkway in MetroTech Commons with twenty-two speech bubbles of varying sizes, mounted near the tops of lampposts, each a quote about truth, in English on one side and in a foreign language spoken in Brooklyn on the other. Each bubble is accompanied by a placard that gives the translation and pronunciation of the phrase in the second language, all of which are from a poem written together by Thomas and ©ause Collective cofounder Ryan Alexiev: “The truth is I love you / The truth is I know you /The truth is I see you / The truth is I hear you / The truth is I feel you / The truth is I respect you / The truth is I follow you / The truth is I choose you / The truth is I remember you / The truth is I remind you / The truth is I liberate you / The truth is I believe you / The truth is I am you / The truth is I understand you / The truth is I need you / The truth is I miss you / The truth is I reflect you / The truth is I accept you / The truth is I trust you / The truth is I support you / The truth is I balance you / The truth is I welcome you.”

Visitors will be able to share their own thoughts on truth on October 15 in MetroTech Commons (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Among the languages are Swahili, Italian, French, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Yiddish, Vietnamese, and Hebrew. In the center of the path is a video monitor playing “In Search of the Truth,” consisting of clips of various people finishing the statement “The truth is . . .” that they recorded in the large, inflatable “Truth Booth,” a collaboration between Thomas, Alexiev, and Jim Ricks of the ©ause Collective that has been traveling around the world, stopping in Afghanistan, Ireland, and South Africa as well as the U.S. so far. Meanwhile, across the commons, a metal tree with bare branches holds aloft a half dozen cushiony speech bubbles that spell out “The truth is I love you,” along with question marks. “The Truth Is I See You” makes a powerful statement about inclusion, referencing America’s supposed melting pot, particularly in a borough containing so many different ethnicities. On October 15 from 12 noon to 8:00, “The Truth Booth” will be in MetroTech Commons, where visitors are invited to add their own thoughts about truth. Thomas also has contributed to the Public Art Fund group show “Image Objects” in City Hall Park (through November 20); his sculpture, “Liberty,” features a purple arm spinning a basketball atop a plinth. And on October 21, Thomas will be at the New School for a Public Art Fund Talk as part of the “Public Context, Private Meaning” series. (Thomas can also be seen in Thomas Allen Harris’s 2014 documentary, Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People, based on the book Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present by his mother, Deborah Willis.)

WILLIAM KENTRIDGE IN NEW YORK

William Kentridge invades New York this fall with an opera at the Met, a performance at BAM, and a number of discussions and lectures (photo courtesy the Metropolitan Opera)

William Kentridge invades New York this fall with an opera at the Met, a multimedia performance at BAM, and a number of discussions and lectures (photo courtesy the Metropolitan Opera)

When William Kentridge comes to town, he really comes to town. Back in 2010, the South African multidisciplinary artist was all over New York City, with the smashing “Five Themes” retrospective at MoMA, his production of Shostakovich’s The Nose at the Metropolitan Opera, a unique artist book at Dieu Donné, a screening of some of his animated films accompanied by live music at the World Financial Center, and a performance of his one-man show “I am not me, the horse is not mine” at MoMA. He’s back in the city this fall, with a host of wide-ranging events, exhibits, and performances all over town. On October 12 (free, 7:00), he’ll be giving a lecture, “The Sentimental Machine,” at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture. On October 13 ($30, 6:30), he’ll be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in conversation with printer Andrew Hoyem in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium discussing the limited-edition letterpress book The Lulu Plays, delving into the nature of human imagination and time. On October 14 (free, 5:00), Kentridge will deliver the Belknap Lecture at Princeton, “O Sentimental Machine,” about his Trotsky-inspired multimedia installation.

From October 22 to 25 ($30-$100), Kentridge teams up with longtime collaborator Philip Miller for the audiovisual chamber opera Refuse the Hour at the BAM Harvey, a wildly inventive lecture-performance with dance, music, projections, and more, a companion piece to his wildly inventive “The Refusal of Time” 2013 installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In conjunction with Refuse the Hour, Kentridge will be at BAM Rose Cinemas on October 24 ($15, 5:00) for a discussion with physicist and Refuse the Hour collaborator Peter Galison, moderated by Dennis Overbye. From November 2 to December 31 (free), the Marian Goodman Gallery will be showing works by Kentridge in the third-floor project room. From November 4 to 8 ($10-$40), The Lulu Plays will be on view at the IFPDA Print Fair at the Park Avenue Armory. And from November 5 through December 3 ($27-$335), there will be eight performances of Kentridge’s four-hour-plus version of Alban Berg’s Lulu at the Met, featuring Marlis Petersen in the title role, Susan Graham as Geschwitz, Paul Groves as the painter and the African prince, and Johan Reuter as Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper, conducted by Lothar Koenigs. We’re exhausted just reading about all the sixty-year-old Kentridge has planned; we can’t even begin to imagine doing it all, but we’re going to see as many of these events as we can, and we urge you to do the same.

ONASSIS FESTIVAL NY — NARCISSUS NOW: THE MYTH REIMAGINED

Onassis Cultural Center NY
Olympic Tower
645 Fifth Ave. at 51st St.
October 8-11
www.onassisfestivalny.org

The Onassis Cultural Center is celebrating its newly renovated home in Midtown with a four-day festival built around the myth of Narcissus. As the Onassis Festival NY website explains, “From psychoanalysis to selfies, the Narcissus myth serves as an emblematic example of the unparalleled influence of Classical antiquity on our culture.” The festivities begin on October 8 with the opening-night presentation (free with advance RSVP) of choreographer Jonah Bokaer and composer Stavros Gasparatos’s specially commissioned Triple Echo, a site-specific work exploring mimesis, with solos by dancers Hristoula Harakas, Sara Procopio, and Callie Nichole Lyons, live percussion by Matt Evans, and recorded vocals by Savina Yannatou. The festival, curated by BAM director of humanities Violaine Huisman, continues through October 11 with more than two dozen free events (most requiring advance registration). Below are some of the highlights; there are also art installations by Lynda Benglis (“Now”), Blind Adam (“Columns”), Andreas Angelidakis (“Mirrorsite”), Jenny Holzer (“You Must Know Where You Stop and the World Begins”), and others, as well as satellite events at BAM and McNally Jackson.

Thursday, October 8
Triple Echo, by Jonah Bokaer and Stavros Gasparatos, featuring Hristoula Harakas, Sara Procopio, Callie Nichole Lyons, Matt Evans, and Savina Yannatou, Onassis Cultural Center Atrium and Gallery, 7:00

Friday, October 9
Narcissus & Art in the Woods: A Lecture with the Bruce High Quality Foundation, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 11:00 am

Narcissus & Fashion, with Sarah Lewis, Konstantin Kakanias, and Mary Katrantzou, moderated by Judith Thurman, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 2:30

Narcissus & Technology, with Zachary Mason and Sree Sreenivasan, moderated by Dominic Rushe, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 5:30

Saturday, October 10
Narcissus & Ballet, with Heléne Alexopoulos and Jennifer Homans, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 11:00 am

Narcissus & Acting, with Paul Giamatti and Vanessa Grigoriadis, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 1:00

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (Jonas Mekas, 2000), part of the BAMcinématek series “Diaries, Notes, and Sketches: Cinematic Autobiography,” BAM Rose Cinemas, $10, 2:00 – 7:20

Narcissus & Song, with Eleanor Friedberger, BAMcafé Live, Lepercq Space, 30 Lafayette Ave., 9:00

Sunday, October 11: Family Day
Narcissus & Space: A Short Film, Moon Mirrors, with filmmakers Sharon Shattuck and Ian Cheney and astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, moderated by Matthew Stanley, Onassis Cultural Center Gallery, 10:00 am, 12 noon, and 2:00

Tell It Again! with Efi Latifi, Onassis Cultural Center Atrium, 11:15 am & 1:15 pm

Narcissus & Echo, with Benjamin Weiner, Onassis Cultural Center Atrium, 12:15 & 2:15

NEW YORK COMIC CON

Jason Jones and Samantha Bee will be at New York Comic Con on Friday for a special fireside chat

Javits Center
655 W 34th St. at 12th Ave.
October 8-11, sold out
www.newyorkcomiccon.com

So you’re one of the lucky ones who got a ticket to New York Comic Con before they sold out. Now what? Navigating among the thousands of panels, signings, screenings, booths, cosplay contests, writing workshops, and fan meet-ups can be absolutely staggering, enough to send any relatively sane attendee off screaming onto Thirty-Fourth St. So we’ve done some of the work for you; below is a handful of our recommendations for each day. In addition, throughout the weekend, there will be autograph sessions with the following special guests: Danny Glover, Carl Lumbly, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Phil LaMarr, Kevin Conroy, Ron English, Grumpy Cat, Terry Brooks, David Mack, Finn Jones, Natalie Dormer, Todd McFarlane, John Hodgman, Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Andrea Romano, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Jones, Greg Rucka, Jerry “the King” Lawler, Cassandra Clare, Tim Bradstreet, Billie Piper, Doug Jones, Walter Simonson, Jewel Staite, Jose Feliciano, John Leguizamo, Frank Miller, R.L. Stine, Ann M. Martin, Raina Telgemeier, Chip Kidd, Ruben Bolling, and hundreds more.

Thursday, October 8
We Need More Diverse Comics, with Ivan Velez, Alex Simmons, Eric Dean Seaton, and Karen Green, moderated by Christian Zabriskie, Room 1AO5, 11:15 am

Andre the Giant: The Man Behind the Legend, with Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, Shannon Eric Denton, Jarrett Williams, and Michael Kingston, Room 1A24, 12:30

Gamera 50th Anniversary Event, NYCC Live Stage, Booth #656, 1:00

Nerdist Writers Panel, with Aaron Cohen, Ben Blacker, Brian Koppelman, and Craig Engler, Room 1A10, 3:00

Sean Bean Brings Legends to NYCC, with Sean Bean and Kenneth Biller, Empire Stage 1-E, 7:00

Friday, October 9
75 Spirited Years: Will Eisner & the Spirit, with Denis Kitchen, J. C. Vaughn, Karen Green, Melissa Bowersox, Michael Solof, and Paul Levitz, Room 1B03, 11:00 am

In Conversation with Seth Meyers: Late Night Host Discusses His Career in Comedy with Vulture.com’s Jesse David Fox, Room 1A10, 1:45

The Adventure Continues: A Justice League Reunion Event, with Andrea Romano, Carl Lumbly, George Newbern, Kevin Conroy, Maria Canals-Barrera, and Phil LaMarr, Empire Stage 1-E, 2:00

A Fireside Chat with Comedy’s First Couple Samantha Bee + Jason Jones, Room 1A10, 3:00

Wicked Reads, with Zac Brewer, April Genevieve Tucholke, Kim Liggett, Jake Halpern, Danielle Vega, Michael Buckley, and Danielle Paige, WORD Bookstore 1-B, 4:00

Pop Surrealism: Behind the Scenes with Top Artists and Galleries, with Camilla d’Errico, Carlo McCormick, Jonathan LeVine, Mab Graves, Tara McPherson, and Travis Louie, Room 1B03, 6:30

GOTHAMs Ben McKenzie and Robin Lord Taylor will sit down for a Warner Bros. panel at Comic Con on Sunday (photo by Jessica Miglio/FOX; © 2015 Fox Broadcasting Co.)

Saturday, October 10
Chicks Kick Ass — the Ongoing Epic, with Daniel Jose Older, Hannah Moskowitz, Kim Harrison, Melissa Grey, Rachel Vincent, and Sara Raasch, Room 121, 11:00

Firefly Reunion, with Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Jewel Staite, Main Stage 1-D, 11:30

Sexy, Scary and Seriously Funny: Rachel Rising and the Horror Comic Tradition, with Ben Saunders and Terry Moore, Room 1B03, 12:15

The X-Files, advance screening of first new episode and Q&A, with Chris Carter and David Duchovny, Moderated by Kumail Nanjiani, Main Stage 1-D, 1:15

The Last Witch Hunter, with Breck Eisner, Elijah Wood, Rose Leslie, and Vin Diesel, Main Stage 1-D, 3:15

Comics Creators Consuming Coffee: Where Food & Comics Collide, with C. B. Cebulski, Amy Chu, Steve Orlando, Justin Jordan, Regine Sawyer, Ryan Dunlavey, and Grady Hendrix, Room 1A05, 4:15

The Cyanide and Happiness Group Sketch Jam Panel, with Joel Watson, Kris Wilson, Rob Denbleyker, and Shawn Coss, Room 1A10, 8:00

Sunday, October 11
Goosebumps & The Baby-Sitters Club Revisited: A Conversation with R.L. Stine, Ann M. Martin, Raina Telgemeier, and Dave Roman, Room 1A10, 10:45 am

Lucasfilm Presents: Star Wars: A Galactic Reader’s Theatre, with Michael Siglain, Adam Gidwitz, Alexandra Bracken, Chuck Wendig, Ian Doescher, and Tom Angleberger, Room 1A21, 12 noon

Darryl DMC McDaniels Presents: Boom! Bap! Pow! Hip-Hop & Comics! with Alan Ket, Chuck Creekmur, Kwame Holland, Bio, and Darryl DMC McDaniels, Room 1A18, 1:15|

Warner Bros. Television Takeover Featuring Gotham, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Blindspot, Supergirl, and Person of Interest, with Amy Acker, Arthur Darvill, Ashley Johnson, Audrey Esparza, Ben McKenzie, Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Ciara Renée, Cory Michael Smith, Glen Winter, Jaimie Alexander, James Frain, Jessica Lucas, Jim Caviezel, John Stephens, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Martin Gero, Michael Emerson, Phil Klemmer, Rob Brown, Robin Lord Taylor, and Sullivan Stapleton, Empire Stage 1-E, 1:30

Mad about MAD, with John Ficarra, Sam Viviano, Jonathan Bresman, Peter Kuper, and Tom Richmond, Room 1A21, 2:30

The 8 Doctors of Classic Doctor Who, with Andre Tessier, Barnaby Edwards, Deborah Stanish, Kathleen Schowalter, Ken Deep, and Lanaia DuBose, Room 1A10, 4:00

NEW YORK SUPER WEEK

Multiple locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan
October 5-12, free – $249
www.newyorksuperweek.com

Fretting because you didn’t get your New York Comic-Con tickets in time and it’s completely sold out now? The vast popularity of NYCC has led to New York Super Week, with related special events beginning on Monday and running for eight days. There are more than eighty panels, concerts, trivia contests, movie screenings, comedy shows, social media parties, and other geek gatherings, with appearances by the likes of Kevin Smith, Masashi Kishimoto, Seth Green, Janeane Garofalo, Kristian Nairn, Finn Jones, Danny Fingeroth, Justin Guarini, Larry Fessenden, and John Hodgman. Below are only some of the many highlights.

Monday, October 5
Celebrity Karaoke: An Epic Evening with the Stars, with Deborah Cox, Justin Guarini, Tony Vincent, and Alex Brightman, Hard Rock Café, $25-$40, 7:00

Playing a Superhero: Privilege or Curse?, with Mark Editz, author of How to Be a Superhero, the Learning and Media Center at the DiMenna Center, $8, 7:15

Star Wars vs. Star Trek: Attack of the Khan, with DJ Benhameen, Tatiana King Jones, Jean Grae, Pharoahe Monch, and Quelle Chris, Benzaquen Hall at the DiMenna Center, 410, 7:15

Tuesday, October 6
The Best American Comics 2015, with Bill Kartalopoulus, the Strand, free with suggested purchase of book or $15 gift card, 7:00

Running Late with Scott Rogowsky: Brooklyn’s Live Late Night Comedy Talk Show, with Horatio Sanz, Impractical Jokers “Sal” Vulcano & Brian “Q” Quinn, Budd Mishkin, Dale Seever, and Here We Go Magic, Littlefield, $10-$20, 9:00

Wednesday, October 7
Comics and Jews: Panel and Auction, with Danny Fingeroth, Paul Levitz, Arie Kaplan, and Paul Kupperberg, hosted by Karen Green, Center for Jewish History, $10, 6:30

Meet the Creator of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto, discussion, Q&A, and signing with Masashi Kushimoto, Apple Store SoHo, free, 7:00

Thursday, October 8
Robot Chicken Season 8 Party, with Seth Green and Matt Senreich, Brooklyn Bowl, free with RSVP, 6:00 – 10:00

Uptown Showdown: Superheroes vs. Villains, with Janeane Garofalo, Travon Free, Jessica Delfino, Michael Hartney, Nick Turner, and Joe Garden, Symphony Space, $15, 8:00

Twentieth anniversary screening of Habit (Larry Fessenden, 1985), with Larry Fessenden and cast members in person, part of weeklong thirtieth anniversary celebration of Glass Eye Pix, IFC Center, $14, 9:00

Friday, October 9
A Night of Ice and Fire, Featuring Kristian Nairn, Finn Jones, and More, Hard Rock Café, $45, 8:00

The Thrilling Adventure Hour Presents: POW! Sparks Nevada Live, with Marc Evan Jackson, Mark Gagliardi, Hal Lublin, Janet Varney, Scott Adsit, and special guests, Littlefield, $15-$50, 10:00

Saturday, October 10
Hollywood Babble On Live! with Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith, Hammerstein Ballroom, $20-$60, 7:30

Comic Con Vixens II, with Topher Bousquet, Hazel Honeysuckle, Dangrrr Doll, Bastard Keith, Tiger Bay, Rosey la Rouge, Puss N’ Boots, and Lux La Croix, Hard Rock Café, $25-$75, 10:00

Sunday, October 11
PressPlayNYC, with Christian Leave, Tina Woods, Sigh Mike, Drew Phillips, Joey Kidney, Taylor Baxter, Chase Goehring, Alex Reininga, Pierson Oglesby, Tyler White, Dakota Brooks, Wes Finn, Chris O’Flyng, Cody Ryle, and Steffan Argus, Hammerstein Ballroom, $35-$249, 12 noon – 6:00 pm

We Got This Live! with Mark Gagliardi, Hal Lublin, John Hodgman, and Carter Parton Rogers, (le) poisson rouge, $15, 8:00

Monday, October 12
New York premiere of Wagakkiband Concert Movie (avex music creative, 2014), IFC Center, $14, 7:30