this week in art

DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL 2014

Taezoo Park’s “Digital Being” invites visitors to play with its many parts, all made out of waste

Taezoo Park’s “Digital Being” invites visitors to play with its many parts, all made out of electronic waste

Multiple venues in DUMBO
September 27-29, free
www.dumboartsfestival.com

The annual DUMBO Arts Festival is one of the most fun events of the year, as live performances, art installations, gallery shows, pop-up parties, and just about anything else can be found in nearly every nook and cranny all around the district Down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. The eighteenth annual event takes place September 26-28, with hundreds of artists participating in solo and group exhibitions, open studios, site-specific public art projects, interactive presentations, family-friendly activities, and much more, with a few hundred thousand people expected to attend. And yes, it’s all free. Below are only some of the highlights.

Friday, September 26
and
Saturday, September 27
DiscoTransformer, by Thomas Stevenson, mobile music and light system in street vendor cart, roaming throughout DUMBO, 7:00 – 10:00 pm

Friday, September 26
Saturday, September 27
and
Sunday, September 28
Digital Being, by Taezoo Park, evolving kinetic installation made from electronic waste, with people invited to manipulate the sculpture in various ways, St. Ann’s Warehouse, 29 Jay St., Friday 6:00 to 9:00, Saturday 12 noon – 9:00, Sunday 12 noon – 6:00

Rub Me the Wrong Way, by Traci Talasco, immersive installation in which gallery space has been covered with sandpaper to represent societal expectations of women, BAC Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 218, Friday 6:00 to 9:00, Saturday 12 noon – 9:00, Sunday 12 noon – 6:00

Borges: The Complete Works, by Daniel Temkin & Rony Maltz, word search of every palabra ever written by Jorge Luis Borges, in Spanish and English translation (borgeslibrary.com), Manhattan Bridge, Adams Street side, 7:00 pm – 12:00 midnight

Xiu Xiu will deliver a special site-specific performance incorporating Danh Vo sculptures

Xiu Xiu will incorporate Danh Vo’s “We the People” Statue of Liberty installation into special performance on Sunday in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Saturday, September 27
Art Is Me, Art Is You: NYC Series #2, by Yikwon Kim, outdoor procession with artists marching in wearable art, including Yikwon Kim, Eleanor Bailey, Mike Brenner, Cyril Bullard, Bill Cromar, Vinson Houston, Richard Jochum, Grant Johnson, Scot Kaylor, Minny Lee, Yvonne Love, Courtney Morgan, Gabrielle Russomagno, Inyoung Seoung, Insook Soul, Graeme Sullivan, and Jay Sullivan, 12 noon – 4:00

The Imaginary Truck, by chashama, visitors invited to put on blindfold and be led through art truck, corner of Plymouth & Adams Sts., 12 noon – 6:00

I ____ a Dollar, by Jody Servon, public intervention exploring the value of a dollar, Main St. between Plymouth & Water Sts., 12 noon – 6:00

Saturday, September 27
and
Sunday, September 28
Barter Town (Trading Post XVI: Mesh & Lace), by Heather Hart Experience, interactive sharing economy in which visitors can barter for palm reading, massage therapy, costume making, face painting, and other services, no money allowed, 12 noon – 6:00

BEAUTY, interactive performance art by the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC), with Shahnaz Habib, Rachel Kalpana James & Svetlana Swinimer, Sunita Mukhi, Qinza Najm, Nooshin Rostami, Reya Sehgal, and Purvi Shah, Parul Shah, and Deesha Narichania, Main St. between Plymouth & Water Sts., 12 noon – 6:00

Sunday, September 28
Dreams for Free, by Jody Servon, in which visitors can share their dreams in exchange for a lottery ticket, Main St. between Plymouth & Water Sts., 12 noon – 6:00

Kling Klang, by Xiu Xiu, live music performance incorporating Danh Vo’s “We the People” installation, Pier 3 Greenway Terrace, Brooklyn Bridge Park, 1:00 – 4:00

The Imaginary App, by Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) and Svitlana Matviyenko, celebration of publication of anthology The Imaginary App, the powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., 5:00 – 7:00

CROSSING THE LINE: “EVERYTHING BY MY SIDE” BY FERNANDO RUBIO

Seven actresses and seven audience members share seven beds in Fernando Rubio’s EVERYTHING BY MY SIDE (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Hudson River Park
Pier 45, Greenwich Village
September 26-28, $5, 2:00 – 7:00
Crossing the Line festival continues through October 20
www.ps122.org
www.fiaf.org
everything by my side slideshow

Argentinian multidisciplinary artist Fernando Rubio makes his U.S. debut this weekend with the site-specific interactive performance piece Everything by my side. A copresentation of PS122, Hudson River Park, and the French Institute Alliance Française as part of FIAF’s annual Crossing the Line festival, the work, alternately referred to as a play and an event, features seven local actresses in white costumes on seven white beds on Pier 15 in the park. One audience member is invited onto each mattress (shoes off, please), where the actress whispers childhood memories to them. Each cycle lasts fifteen minutes; admission is five dollars, and you must reserve a spot in advance here, selecting English or Spanish as your language of choice. (There is an onsite wait list as well.) A professor of dramaturgy at Escuela Metropolitana de Arte Dramático in Buenos Aires, Rubio has been creating theatrical events, installations, and interventions with his company, INTIMOTETROITINERANTE, since 2001. Everything by my side should be a fascinating, intimate experience, whether you are participating or merely watching from the wings.

Fernando Rubio’s EVERYTHING BY MY SIDE offers an intimate, personal experience September 26-28 in Hudson River Park is part of Crossing the Line festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Fernando Rubio’s EVERYTHING BY MY SIDE offers an intimate, personal experience September 26-28 in Hudson River Park as part of Crossing the Line festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: For Everything by my side, Argentinian artist Fernando Rubio has set up seven white beds in a horizontal row at the southwest end of Hudson River Park’s Pier 45. Directly behind the beds and across the water are downtown Manhattan and the Freedom Tower, with New Jersey off to the west. As the piece begins, seven actresses (Nanda Abella, Lenora Champagne, Kate Douglas, Rachel Lin, Hannah Mitchell, Rebecca Robertson, and Jessica Weinstein), dressed in white, walk slowly to their respective beds, sit down, pause meditatively, then crawl under the covers. Then seven audience members, instructed to remain completely silent throughout the performance, are each assigned to one of the beds, and in unison they walk over, take off their shoes, and get under the covers as well. Each actress then relates a scripted story, told in four parts in the second person, exploring good and bad childhood memories. The dialogue is general enough that it can evoke real, powerful memories in the listener — at least it did in me, as Douglas (a singer and musician who is also currently appearing in the interactive, immersive Sleep No More at the McKittrick Hotel) guided me to recollections that were both sad and happy and wholly unexpected. For most of the time, we looked deep into each other’s eyes, studying each other’s faces, making for a deep, intimate experience despite the very public setting. For those moments, it was as if we were the only two people in the world, especially as she stroked my face and placed a hand gently on my chest. (Although we could have done without the shrill, noisy Water Taxi that passed by at an inopportune moment.) For a few minutes, a warm, caring connection was made between complete strangers, but it’s likely to be different for each person, as some other audience members spent the duration of the performance on their back, eyes closed, and also had strong emotional reactions, while others reported little effect. As with most interactive theater pieces, the more you open yourself mentally and psychologically, the more you can get out of it. I ended up getting a whole lot out of Everything by my side, which I’m extremely thankful for.

WORKS & PROCESS AT 30

WORKS & PROCESS AT 30: ARTISTS AT WORK, ARTISTS IN PROCESS
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza
Monday – Saturday through October 25, free
Thursday, September 25, “Three Choreographers Celebrate,” free with advance RSVP, 6:00
917-275-6975
www.nypl.org

WORKS & PROCESS
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Peter B. Lewis Theater
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
October 5 – December 15, $30-$35
212-423-3500
www.guggenheim.org

For three decades, the Guggenheim has been presenting illuminating performances and discussions in its groundbreaking program Works & Process, in which emerging and established dancers, musicians, composers, and choreographers share their creative inspiration with glimpses at upcoming productions. The New York Public Library is honoring the series with “Works & Process at 30: Artists at Work, Artists in Process,” a collection of photographs, costumes, and printed ephemera from past events featuring some of the greatest directors, choreographers, and performers of the last thirty years. On September 25, the library will host “Three Choreographers Celebrate” in the Bruno Walter Auditorium (free with advance RSVP), bringing together a trio of W&P veterans, Karole Armitage, Larry Keigwin, and Pam Tanowitz, to talk about the importance of the program with Dance Theatre of Harlem artistic director Virginia Johnson; the event will also include footage from the library’s archives of nearly five hundred W&P performances. Meanwhile, tickets are now on sale and going fast for the fall 2014 W&P season, which continues October 5 with “The Kennedy Center: Little Dancer with Susan Stroman” (with Stroman, Boyd Gaines, Rebecca Luker, Tiler Peck, Lynn Ahrens, and Stephen Flaherty) and also includes Brian Brooks Moving Company on October 19-20, “Harlem Stage: Makandal” on October 27 (with Carl Hancock Rux, Yosvany Terry, Edouard Duval-Carrié, and Lars Jan), “In Process with Pam Tanowitz and David Lang” on November 2, and “Jerome Robbins: Fancy Free to On the Town” on November 9-10 (with Robert LaFosse, John Rando, Joshua Bergasse, Phyllis Newman, and Jamie Bernstein, moderated by Amanda Vaill).

CHILE PEPPER FESTIVAL 2014

Prepare to dive into some pretty hot chocolate at Chile Pepper Festival (photo by Jason Gardner)

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
900 Washington Ave.
Saturday, September 27, $15-$20 (children under twelve free), 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s twenty-second annual Chile Pepper Festival, a celebration of all things spicy and hot, takes place Saturday, September 27, promising “sizzling sounds,” “fiery delights,” and “7 hours of chocolate debauchery,” which certainly gets our attention. Beginning at 11:00 and continuing through 6:00, the festivities include live performances by Talavya, Tipsy Oxcart, Shiro & the Raw Dogs, Cumbiagra, Tee Chaoui Social Club, and Alidu; food from more than three dozen culinary artisans, from Brooklyn Delhi and the Jam Stand to La Newyorkina Mexican Ice & Sweets and Pelzer’s Pretzels, from Beyond the Spice and Queen Majesty Hot Sauce to Holy Schmitt’s Homemade Horseradish and TorchBearer Sauces; chile tours with BBG curator Maeve Turner; hot books for sale; chile pepper paintings by Jonathan Blum; and pepper plants for kids to pot and take home.

MEET THE AFRICA CENTER

Emeka Ogboh’s “Lagos State of Mind II” is part of Africa Center celebration on Saturday (photo by Steven John Irby aka stevesweatpants, © Emeka Ogboh)

The Africa Center: Africa’s Embassy to the World
Saturday, September 20, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
1280 Fifth Ave. between 109th & 110th Sts.
www.theafricacenter.org

The former Museum of African Art has gone through a dramatic transformation that will be revealed to the public on September 20 at a free festival celebrating the renamed Africa Center, also known as Africa’s Embassy to the World. As part of “its mission to become the world’s leading civic African institution . . . [the center] aims to transform the international understanding of Africa and promote direct engagement between African artists, business leaders, and civil society and their counterparts from the United States and beyond.” The museum will open permanently in late 2015, but on Saturday visitors can get a taste of what’s to come with the immersive sound-art installation “Lagos State of Mind II” by Emeka Ogboh involving a Danfo bus; the unveiling of Meschac Gaba’s hanging sculpture, “Citoyen du Monde,” in the atrium; live performances by the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, Chop and Quench, Mamadou Dahoue & the Ancestral Messengers Dance Company, Nkumu Isaac Katalay, and DJs Rich Medina, Underdog, and Birane; screenings of The Power of Protest Music; arts and crafts workshops; traditional storytelling; grill tastings from chef Alexander Smalls of the Harlem brasserie the Cecil; and other cultural activities. The revelry will conclude with a private-event Festival-in-Exile concert that focuses on the musical connections between America and Africa, particularly Mali, with performances by Amanar, Amkoullel, Rocky Dawuni, Salif Keïta, and Samba Touré and Vieux Farka Touré.

MAD. SQ. EATS / MAD. SQ. MUSIC / MAD SQ. ART

People will be flocking to the Madison Square Park aread this month for food, art, music, and more (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Worth Square and Madison Square Park
Broadway & Fifth Ave. at 24th St.
Mad. Sq. Eats open daily through October 3, free, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Mad. Sq. Music takes place Saturdays at 3:00 through October 4
Mad. Sq. Art opens September 18
www.urbanspacenyc.com
www.madisonsquarepark.org

The fall edition of Mad. Sq. Eats is up and running in the pedestrian plaza known as Worth Square at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Ave. at 24th St., where more than two dozen gourmet vendors are serving culinary delights through October 3. People flock to the area, just outside of Madison Square Park, to amass their own international multicourse tasting menu. Among the many tantalizing options are oysters from Brooklyn Oyster Party, chili salted shrimp from Hong Kong Street Cart, fish tacos from Calexico, a personal pizza from Roberta’s, bulgogi burgers from Asiadog, truffled mozzarella crepes and fries from Bar Suzette, gluten-free dishes from Two Tablespoons, charcuterie from Charlito’s Cocina, the pressed chicken sandwich and Phoenician fries from ililli, empanadas from La Sonrísa, the short rib brisket sandwich from Mayhem & Stout, mini rice balls from Arancini Bros., the lobster BLT from Red Hook Lobster Pound, Tostilocos from Mexicue, Frenchman Street Creole gumbo from the Gumbo Bros., and meatball sliders with Not Your Average Brown Sauce and Gorgonzola cheese from Mighty Balls, in addition to culinary fare and flair from Pig and Khao, the Cannibal, Turan, Breads Bakery, Lunch Box by Takumi, and Seoul Lee Korean BBQ. And then comes dessert, which features ice-cream-cookie sandwiches from Melt, corn-flake and compost cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar, truffles from Nunu Chocolates, truffle-cheddar pretzels from Sigmund’s, cannoli from Stuffed Artisan Cannolis, apple cider donuts from Doughnuttery, and the splendid macarons from Macaroun Parlor. To enhance your visit, plan on going during one of the free Saturday afternoon Mad. Sq. Music concerts in the park from 3:00 to 5:00; Suzy Bogguss and Miss Tess & the Talkbacks perform on September 13, Aoife O’Donovan and Cahalen Morrison & Eli West on September 20, and Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge and Front Country on September 27. (Dom Clemons and the Brain Cloud take the stage on October 4.) And on September 18, Mad. Sq. Art will unveil Tony Cragg’s three-sculpture installation “Walks of Life,” which will remain on view through February 8.

GOVERNORS ISLAND ART FAIR

You’ll have to think hard to answer Sean Boggs’s perplexing and engaging “Slow Phones” (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Colonel’s Row, Governors Island
September 13-14, 20-21, 27-28, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-673-9074
www.4heads.org
www.govisland.com

The seventh annual Governors Island Art Fair is up and running, spread across one hundred rooms in decommissioned army barracks and former military residences along Colonel’s Row and outside on the grounds. Sponsored by 4heads, a nonprofit founded in 2008 by Nicole Laemmle, Jack Robinson, and Antony Zito to offer free space to artists to explore their vision, the fair features painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, video, installation, and sound works. Each artist or independent gallery/collective is assigned his or her own room where they can create to their heart’s content.

Taezoo Park’s “Digital Being” repurposes technological waste to look at the future (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Our favorite home is 404B, where you are greeted on the ground floor by Sean Boggs’s “Slow Phones,” with “Ear Piece” and “Mouth Piece” on either side of the fireplace, offering an intriguing foray into deceleration, perception, and peripheral vision. Get right up close and try to figure out how the single bead in the former and the multiple beads in the latter move, as the two large-scale circles seem to be at a stand-still; of course, younger people might not even recognize them as parts of an old rotary phone. Also worthy of close examination is Boggs’s “Ten Digits,” a wall sculpture consisting of a bed of pins based on a color-blindness test, the pins representing the numbers zero to nine, organized by size, texture, density, hue, and distance. Walk through the kitchen and take the stairs to Taezoo Park’s “Digital Being,” what he enigmatically describes as “a series of the kinetic installations of technological garbage based on the hypothetical existence of an invisible and formless creature born within the circuits of electronic waste.” Influenced by Nam June Paik — Park worked on the “Becoming Robot” Paik exhibition that just opened at Asia Society — the enthusiastic young artist has repurposed old television and computer monitors and programmed them to show scrambled signals, alongside questions and statements about singularity and the future of technology: “Digitize conscious through scanners — Human Being faces this ethical question before death. What is your choice?”

Hao Ni’s “Night II” sets the mood for the curious third floor of 404B (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

There’s lots of cool strangeness going on farther upstairs on the third floor, including Hao Ni’s “Night II,” in which water drips down monofilament, lit by car headlights; Sangjun Yoo’s “Synchronicity (i),” a plastic sculpture hanging from the ceiling in a dark room; and Sabrina Barrios’s “How to Build a Pyramid — Part II: Understanding the Connections to Constellations,” a construction of strings and nails that glows under black light. There’s also a corner installation that looks like something pretty weird happened there. It all comes together under the creepy rafters to feel like a room being investigated by Scully and Mulder.