this week in art

THINKSWISS: GENÈVE MEETS NEW YORK

Foofwa d’Imobilité will pay tribute to Pina Bausch, Merce Cunningham, and Michael Jackson as part of ThinkSwiss festival

A FESTIVAL OF GLOBAL IDEAS BORN IN GENEVA: JEAN CALVIN, JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU, ALBERT GALLATIN, HENRY DUNANT
Multiple locations
March 6-12, free – $35
212-599-5700, ext 1061
www.thinkswissny.org

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless,” Geneva philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote nearly three centuries ago. The Social Contract author’s native country is celebrating the three hundredth anniversary of the master thinker’s birth with a series of events around the world, including this month’s ThinkSwiss Festival of Global Ideas Born in Geneva. Examining issues that impact both America and Switzerland, the week-long festival includes live music and dance, panel discussions, literary readings, film screenings, and art exhibits, most of which are free but require advance RSVP. Things get under way on March 6 ($10) with a screening of Swiss director Jacob Berger’s 2002 feature film Loving Father (Aime Ton Père) and his 2002 short I Think About Alain Tanner (Je pense à Alain Tanner) as part of FIAF’s weekly CinémaTuesdays series, with Berger on hand to participate in a Q&A at 7:00. On March 7, the American Red Cross will host “Can the Geneva Conventions Still Protect Civilians and Non-Combatants in Contemporary Warfare?” a roundtable with Philip Gourevitch, Colonel (ret.) Dick Jackson, Roger Mayou, and Gabor Rona, moderated by Walter A. Füllemann. On March 8, the exhibition “L’Esprit de Genève by Its Posters” will open at Posters Please, and the NYU Presidential Medal Ceremony will include a conversation between honoree Michel Butor and Lois Oppenheim examining “L’Esprit de Genève: From Albert Gallatin to Michel Butor.” On March 9 ($35, lunch included), Adam Gopnik will moderate the discussion “A la Table de Rousseau: What Is Progressive About Education Today?” at FIAF with Butor, Megan Laverty, Jean-Michel Olivier, and Shimon Waronker, followed by “How to Read Rousseau in the 21st Century,” led by François Jacob. Also on March 9 ($25), Pascal Couchepin, Thomas Kean, Eliot Spitzer, Benjamin Barber, Guillaume Chenevière, Victor Gourevitch, Amin Husain, Laura Flanders, Nannerl Keohane, Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, and Simon Schama will occupy the Celeste Bartos Forum at the New York Public Library for “Occupy Rousseau: Inequality & Social Justice,” which seeks to answer the question “What would Jean-Jacques Rousseau say about our democracies if he were among us today?” On March 10, pianist Louis Schwizgebel, cellist Lionel Cottet, and violinist François Sochard will perform the U.S. premiere of “Variations on a Theme by J.J. Rousseau” by Friedrich W. Kalkbrenner and André-François Marescotti, Ravel’s “Ondine,” Brahms’s “Scherzo in C Minor” and “Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 7,” Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49,” and Liszt’s “Les Cloches de Genève” in the program “Soloists from L’Orchestre International de Genève” at Merkin Concert Hall. On March 11 at 4:00, Foofwa d’Imobilité will pay tribute to dance legends Pina Bausch, Merce Cunningham, and Michael Jackson in “Pina Jackson in Mercemoriam” at the Kitchen, and the Marc Perrenoud Trio will perform at 7:00 at the Allen Room. And on March 12, Rebecca MacKinnon will moderate “Breaking Through Internet Censorship” at the Cooper Union with Stéphane Koch, Ebtihal Mubarak, Thérèse Obrecht, Anas Qtiesh, and a surprise guest, and journalist and writer Jean-Michel Olivier will give a lecture in French at the Haskell Library at FIAF.

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

The final draft of George Washington’s 1796 farewell address is among the many amazing artifacts in NYPL exhibit (photo by Jonathan Blanc/New York Public Library)

New York Public Library
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Gottesman Exhibition Hall
Fifth Ave. at 41st St.
Through Sunday, March 4, free, 1:00 – 5:00
www.nypl.org

Today is your last chance to catch the New York Public Library exhibit “Celebrating 100 Years,” featuring a treasure trove of more than 250 items of literary paraphernalia. Divided into Observation, Contemplation, Creativity, and Society, the display honors the centennial of the landmark Beaux-Arts building on Fifth Ave. between 40th & 42nd Sts., built by Carrère and Hastings and dedicated by President William Howard Taft in 1911. Curated by Thomas Mellins, “Celebrating 100 Years” includes a bevy of fascinating memorabilia, from a Gutenberg Bible to a copy of Mein Kampf, from Jack Kerouac’s glasses and rolling paper to Charles Dickens’s letter opener, from a lock of Mary Shelley’s hair to Charlotte Brontë’s traveling writing desk, from Malcolm X’s briefcase and hat to Virginia Woolf’s walking stick and diary, showing a page she wrote just four days before her suicide. There are photographs, prints, and drawings by Diane Arbus, Man Ray, Faith Ringgold, Lewis Wickes Hine, Otto Dix, Francisco Goya, and Vik Muniz, marked-up manuscripts, speeches, and scores from Jorge Luis Borges, George Washington, Ernest Hemingway, John Coltrane, and T. S. Eliot, a copy of “The Star-Spangled Banner” with a bad typo, letters from Pablo Picasso, Harry Houdini, and Groucho Marx, and self-portraits by Kiki Smith, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Chuck Close, and Käthe Kollwitz. The exhibit, a kind of wonderful self-portrait of the library’s holdings, looks at the past, with cuneiforms dating back to the third century BCE, as well as aims forward, with a peek into their impressive digital archives.

MICHAEL SAILSTORFER: TORNADO

Michael Sailstorfer’s “Tornado” welcomes visitors to Central Park (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Scholars’ Gate, Doris C. Freedman Plaza
Central Park entrance, 60th St. & Fifth Ave.
Extended through April 1
646-862-0933
www.publicartfund.org
tornado slideshow

Berlin-based multidisciplinary installation artist Michael Sailstorfer creates scenarios that appear to be trapped in time, with a mysterious past and an uncertain future. Such works as “1 zu 43 bis 47,” in which a broken popcorn stand has left food on the floor, and “Forest Cleaning,” a collaboration with Alfred Kurz in which a rectangular forest area has been shorn of its greenery, pose questions about physical space and the surrounding environment as well as life and death. For “Knots Like Clouds” in 2010, Sailstorfer repurposed truck tire inner tubes, which are associated with motion, by twisting them together and hanging them from gallery ceilings, ominous black clouds threatening just overhead. For his first U.S. commission, Sailstorfer has brought together dozens of these black clouds and placed them on a narrow, angled base for the site-specific installation “Tornado.” Rising more than thirty feet high at the Scholars’ Gate entrance to Central Park by the Plaza, “Tornado” evokes the trees around it as well as the taxis, buses, and trucks that zoom past all day long, once again melding physical space and its environment. In heavier winds, the piece shifts ever so slightly, suddenly bringing these urban materials to life, if only for a few seconds. Although it has a weightless appearance — it is, of course, filled with air — closer inspection reveals the metal rods and wires holding it in place, not allowing this playful storm system to wield its damage on an unsuspecting city.

SUNDAY SESSIONS

Mårten Spångberg will be at MoMA PS1 for a special performance and book signing (photo by Gaetano Cammarota)

MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Ave. at 46th Ave.
Sunday, March 4, 1:00 – 6:00
Series continues through May 13
Suggested admission: $10 (free for MoMA ticket holders within thirty days of ticket)
718-784-2084
www.ps1.org

MoMA PS1’s weekly Sunday Sessions continues on March 4 with another afternoon of diverse, cutting-edge programming. Darren Bader, whose sculptures are on view in “Images” (and where salad is served on Saturdays and Mondays), will present “E-Party” under the Performance Dome, an exploration of the letter E[e] with Enya and Ed Hardy at 1:00, Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Eclisse at 2:30, and an experimental dance party at 4:30 with DJs Justin Strauss, Darshan Jesrani, and Domie Nation. At 3:00 in the Mini-Kunsthalle, dancer-choreographer Maria Hassabi has invited Swedish multidisciplinary artist Mårten Spångberg to give an hour-long comedic lecture in conjunction with the publication of his latest book, Spangbergianism, followed by a discussion moderated by André Lepecki. “It’s an exorcism, an attempt to engage in the lowest and dirtiest truths, delusions, opportunisms and what we don’t talk about. It shows no mercy,” Spångberg writes in the preface. Also at 3:00, ARTBOOK @ MOMA PS1 will present Lars Müller in conversation with Steven Holl in the museum lobby, followed by a book signing of Steven Holl: Color Light Time and Steven Holl: Scale. In addition, be sure to check out the current exhibitions, which include “Darren Bader: Images,” “Clifford Owens: Anthology,” “Frances Stark: My Best Thing,” and shows by Henry Taylor, Surasi Kusolwong, Rania Stephan, and the art collective Chim↑Pom.

FIRST SATURDAYS: FIERCE, PHENOMENAL WOMEN

Rachel Kneebone, “The Descent,” porcelain, 2008 (© Rachel Kneebone; photo by Stephen White, courtesy White Cube)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, March 3, 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 honors “Fierce, Phenomenal Women” in its March First Saturday programming with a series of events celebrating the second sex. The evening will feature live performances by Alakande! Spread Joy!, Making Friendz, Fredericks Brown, the Brooklyn Ballet, and Queen Godis, artist and curator talks with Mary Lucier, Kate Gilmore, and Catherine Morris, a book talk with author Sara Marcus, a presentation of “The Bad Feminist Readings,” a newspaper illustration workshop, a dance party hosted by DJs Reborn, Moni, Selly, and shErOck, and an action station where visitors can contribute to a community panel inspired by Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party.” In addition, the galleries will be open late, giving visitors plenty of opportunity to check out “Playing House,” “Rachel Kneebone: Regarding Rodin,” “Raw/Cooked: Shura Chernozatonskaya,” “Newspaper Fiction: The New York Journalism of Djuna Barnes, 1913–1919,” “Question Bridge: Black Males,” and “19th-Century Modern.”

WHITNEY BIENNIAL 2012: LIVE EVENTS

Dawn Kasper has moved into the Whitney and will present live performances May 23-25 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Ave. at 75th St.
March 1 – May 27, $18 (pay-what-you-wish Fridays 6:00 – 9:00)
212-570-3600
www.whitney.org

The seventy-sixth Whitney Biennial opens today with an entire floor dedicated to live performance and performance-based installation. The premier events include a series of residencies beginning March 1-11 with Sarah Michelson’s “Devotion Study #1 — The American Dancer” and continuing March 14 – April 8 with a new multimedia piece by Michael Clark in collaboration with Charles Atlas. The specially commissioned works, which take place on the fourth floor in a white space with rows of folding chairs, require advance tickets for some performances while at other times are first come, first served with regular museum admission. Atlas will also screen several of his films April 11-15, participate in a conversation with biennial curators and Robert Swinston on April 12, and present the live audio-visual show “Atlas/Basinski” on April 20-21. The rock band the Red Krayola will perform ensemble music and a free-form freakout on April 13 and opera on April 14, while Richard Maxwell will hold open rehearsals for a new play April 25-29. Alicia Hall Moran and Jason Moran’s “BLEED” involves five days of live music May 9-13, while K8 Hardy will examine the state of fashion with a unique runway show on May 20. Buster Keaton fan Dawn Kasper has taken all of her possessions from her L.A. studio apartment and moved into the Whitney’s third floor, where she will be rearranging her cluttered space and hosting performances with friends May 23-25. From May 23 through June 3, Lutz Bacher, whose “Celestial Handbook” framed pages hang on walls throughout the museum, will be scattering hundreds of baseballs to redefine her space. Arika’s philosophical foray “A survey is a process of listening” invites audiences to share their thoughts May 2-6, while Yair Oelbaum and Kai Althoff will perform the play There we will be buried May 16-19. On Sundays and other select days, Georgia Sagri will create a book with the concept “Working the No Work.” And Tom Thayer’s third-floor installation will come to life May 20 and 27.

Laida Lertxunde will be at the Whitney April 1 to screen and discuss such works as A LAX RIDDLE UNIT

Curators Elisabeth Sussman, Jay Sanders, Thomas Beard, and Ed Halter have put together a wide-ranging film series that runs throughout the biennial, with programs dedicated to shorts and feature-length works by Luther Price, Michael Robinson, Jerome Hiler, Nathaniel Dorsky, Laida Lertxunde, Thom Andersen, Moyra Davey, Kelly Reichardt, Matt Porterfield, Wu Tsang, Kevin Jerome Everson, and Laura Poitras, all of whom will participate in individual conversations; films by the recently deceased George Kuchar and Mike Kelly will also be screened, as well as the very much alive Frederick Wiseman’s 2010 Boxing Gym. With all of these special programs, you should allow yourself plenty of time to experience this year’s biennial — or even set aside a few days, because there’s a whole lot to see and experience.

WEEGEE: MURDER IS MY BUSINESS / NAKED CITY

Weegee, “At an East Side Murder,” ca. 1943 (copyright Weegee/International Center of Photography

WEEGEE: MURDER IS MY BUSINESS
International Center of Photography
1133 Sixth Ave. at West 43rd St.
Tuesday – Sunday through September 2, $12 (pay-what-you-wish Fridays 5:00 – 8:00)
212-857-0000
www.icp.org

A true New York City original, Ukraine-born Usher “Arthur” Fellig, better known as Weegee, revolutionized the art of photojournalism during the 1930s and ’40s. A freelance photographer who used a police-band radio to often get to crime scenes before the NYPD, Weegee snapped black-and-white pictures of murder victims, fires, and other tragedies, capturing not only the dead bodies but interested bystanders as well as friends and family of the deceased. His emotion-packed photos, which appeared in daily newspapers and magazines, gave viewers the feeling that they were there at the scene, his use of flash illuminating his subjects in the foreground against a dark, gritty background. ICP chief curator Brian Wallis has gathered together more than one hundred photos for the exciting exhibition “Weegee: Murder Is My Business.” Named after a show Weegee held of his work at the Photo League in 1941 — which is re-created here, along with a room in his studio — “Murder Is My Business” features shots of dead bodies lying lonely on the street, chalk outlines, rubbernecking crowds, firemen going into burning buildings, and a policeman holding a pair of rescued kittens. Weegee also took photos of New York nightlife and street scenes, including a New Year’s Eve party at Sammy’s Bar, two smiling Bowery entertainers, a Santa Claus balloon being inflated for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and huge crowds at Coney Island. There is also a fun series, “Weegee Procedural,” in which Weegee photographed himself being handcuffed, taken to a station house, posing for a mug shot, and ending up behind bars. ICP debunks the idea that Weegee got his name from a Ouija board because of his ability to magically appear at scenes before anyone else; according to the exhibit text, the name actually came from when he was a squeegee boy at a photo house. Arranged thematically, the photos offer a thrilling look at a New York gone by and will have visitors crowding around not unlike the people seen in much of Weegee’s work. (ICP will be hosting a series of “Weegee’s Night Walks” through Times Square, the Bowery, the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Lower Manhattan from February 24 through March 30; registration is $75.)

Weegee, “Self Portrait,” vintage gelatin silver mounted to board, ca. 1945

WEEGEE: NAKED CITY
Stephen Kasher Gallery
521 West 23rd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through February 25, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-966-3978
www.stevenkasher.com

In conjunction with “Weegee: Murder Is My Business,” Steven Kasher Gallery in Chelsea is presenting “Weegee: Naked City,” comprising more than 125 prints that reveal Weegee’s wide-ranging subject matter. In his 1945 tome, Naked City, Weegee wrote, “For the pictures in this book I was on the scene; sometimes drawn there by some power I can’t explain, and I caught the New Yorkers with their masks off . . . not afraid to Laugh, Cry, or make Love. What I felt I photographed, laughing and crying with them.” The exhibit does include a handful of photos that are also in the ICP show, and it does not have any accompanying text, but there is still lots to see: shots of a woman in tears at a Frank Sinatra concert, famous clown Emmett Kelly sadly waving his hat, children crammed into a tenement penthouse, advertising signs, Stanley Kubrick on the set of Dr. Strangelove, a close-up of a woman’s stockinged leg at the Bowery Savings Bank, a big dog in a Greenwich Village hangout, and several experimental self-portraits using multiple images. Together, they offer a fabulous adventure through the New York of old. “The people in these photographs are real,” Weegee went on to explain in Naked City. “To me a photograph is a page from life, and that being the case, it must be real.”