this week in art

NEW YORKER FESTIVAL

Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg will kick off the New Yorker Festival with a screening of their new film THE SOCIAL NETWORK, which will be followed by a Q&A with the two stars and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin

Multiple venues
October 1-3
Tickets: $25-$150 (most events $25-$35)
www.newyorker.com/festival

And they’re off! The race to get the hottest tickets to this year’s New Yorker Festival will begin September 10 at 12 noon, as literary snobs, wanna-be writers, and the glitterati battle it out to see conversations, lectures, book readings, live music, panel discussions, film screenings, and other events featuring such stars as Steve Carell, James Taylor, Justin Timberlake, Lorrie Moore, Yo-Yo Ma, Stephen King, Regina Spektor, Paul Goldberger, Ian Frazier, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Clarkson, Michael Chabon and Zadie Smith, David Simon, mumblecore masters Andrew Bujalski, Greta Gerwig, and Joe Swanberg, and many others. Good luck getting tickets for “Living History,” in which Peter Carey, E. L. Doctorow, and Annie Proulx share their thoughts with moderator Simon Schama; Paul Reubens talking about life, with Susan Morrison; Werner Herzog telling tales with Judith Thurman; Calvin Trillin’s annual tasting walk from Greenwich Village to Chinatown; a private tour of the Frick with Peter Schjeldahl; and “The Cartoon Caption Game,” in which audience members participate in a live caption-writing contest in the Condé Nast executive dining room.

HOWL! FESTIVAL 2010

Live painting surrounds Tompkins Square Park during Howl! Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Tompkins Square Park
Ave. A between Seventh & Tenth Sts.
September 10-12
Admission: free
www.howlfestival.com

The on-and-off Howl! Festival, celebrating the seminal work by Allen Ginsberg, is back in Tompkins Square Park this weekend, with free events September 10-12 on two stages, beginning with the group reading of “Howl” on Friday at 5:00, featuring Anne Waldman, John Giorno, Jennifer Blowdryer, Steve Dalachinsky, Mariposa, and many more, emceed by Bob Holman. Saturday and Sunday will include live art installations, yoga, a circus, Butoh dance, performance art, a musical tribute to Arthur Russell, poetry readings, and other very cool events, culminating with the “House of Howl!” variety show and “Low Life 4: Beat Girl.”

YOSHITOMO NARA: WHITE GHOST

Park Ave. median at 67th St.
Park Ave. median at 70th St.
Through November 5
Admission: free
www.artproductionfund.org
67th st. slideshow
70th st. slideshow

In conjunction with his upcoming exhibit at the Asia Society, “Nobody’s Fool,” which opens September 9, Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara has installed “White Ghost,” two giant fiberglass-and-steel statues on the Park Ave. mall, one in front of the Asia Society on 70th St., the other in front of the armory on 67th St., where he recently held an open studio as he constructed “Home” for the show. A joint venture of the Asia Society, the Art Production Fund, and the Sculpture Committee of the Fund for Park Ave., the sculptures depict an enormous white girl, the one on 67th looking north, the other looking south, like sentinels or guards called komainu, both smiling slyly.

Yoshitimo Nara’s “White Ghost” sculpture still has umbilical cord connected to its head during installation (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The sculptures were installed on September 4 by Dun-Rite and SRI; it was especially exciting watching the head being added to the body as the sun shined down on the glistening work. (One of our three videos can be seen above.) The two girls will continue watching over Park Ave. until November 5.

OUT AND ABOUT: THE FINAL SHOW AT GIANT ROBOT NEW YORK

Artist Kelly Tunstall is part of the last show at Giant Robot New York, which is closing later this month (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

NEW WORK BY SUSIE GHAHREMANI AND KELLY TUNSTALL
Giant Robot
437 East Ninth St. between First Ave. & Ave. A
Through September 23
Admission: free
212-674-4769
www.grny.net

It was with great sadness that we attended the opening of “Out and About: New Work by Susie Ghahremani and Kelly Tunstall” on September 4 at Giant Robot in the East Village, and it had nothing to do with Ghahremani’s adorable gouache paintings on paper and wood of animals or Tunstall’s surreal portraits of women with elongated features. Instead, we were horrified to learn from store manager Mark Gilson that this would be the last show at Giant Robot, which will be closing its doors on September 23, a victim of the bad economy. (Ghahremani was also part of the second-ever show at Giant Robot New York.) “It’s been a fun ride and it’s all smiles,” company founder and Giant Robot magazine publisher Eric Nakamura wrote on his blog that night. “Imagine, as a much younger man, I’ve always wanted to have a shop in New York City and I did it.” Sure, that’s easy for Nakamura to say; he still has stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco, while we here on the East Coast will now have to look elsewhere to find unique and unusual toys, art books, and clothing and to see exhibitions by such artists as Matt Furie, Evah Fan, Scrappers, Deth P. Sun, Keith Shore, Souther Salazar, and many others. Giant Robot was a great place to start personal art collections, as most shows had prices that began at $100 or less for original pieces. Beginning September 8, Giant Robot will be holding a clearance sale, with items selling for thirty percent off, and there will be a series of special events leading up to the closing, so keep watching this space for more information as it becomes available.

DOUG + MIKE STARN ON THE ROOF: BIG BAMBÚ

“Big Bambú” installation by Doug + Mike Starn is continually evolving and growing (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

YOU CAN’T, YOU DON’T, AND YOU WON’T STOP
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden
1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd St.
Tuesday – Sunday through October 31 (open Monday, September 6)
Recommended admission: $20 adults, children under twelve free
212-535-7710
www.metmuseum.org
phase 1 slideshow
phase 2 slideshow

New Jersey twins Doug and Mike Starn are in the midst of creating a seemingly living installation on the roof of the Met, a twisting, anarchistic environment made of thousands of bamboo poles lashed together with colored nylon rope that will ultimately rise fifty feet high and one hundred feet long, offering spectacular views of Central Park and the surrounding buildings. The first phase of the six-month project opened April 27, followed by the second phase on August 16. The brothers, whose “See It Split, See It Change” was installed in the South Ferry subway terminal in the spring of 2009, will continue to expand the massive structure through the end of October, adding new paths that visitors can watch being constructed, as the Starns, along with a team of rock climbers, can often be seen working on “Big Bambú” during the day, even while people wander through on the free guided tours. (Museumgoers must sign up at the registration desk in the Uris Center for Education at the 81st St. entrance for the tours; make sure to read the very specific rules before going.)

“Big Bambú” offers Cyclone-like thrills and chills on Met roof (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

“Big Bambú” features benches with cup holders, handrails, steps, viewing platforms, and twists and turns that are reminiscent of the Coney Island Cyclone, offering its share of thrills and chills; in fact, the guidelines do not recommend the tour for people with a history of seizures, fear of heights, vertigo, claustrophobia, balance problems, or other physical or psychological conditions. “Big Bambú” is as chaotic as it is spontaneous, connecting the viewer-participant to a fascinating new world growing atop one of the most famous art institutions on the planet. Also on view at the Met now are such special exhibits as “An Italian Journey: Drawings from the Tobey Collection, Coreggio to Tiepolo” through September 19, “Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players: Leon Levinstein’s New York Photographs, 1950–1980” through October 17, “Epic India: Scenes from the Ramayana” through October 3, and “Between Here and There: Passages in Contemporary Photography” through February 13.

MASTER CLASS WITH ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY

Eclectic iconoclast Alejandro Jodorowsky will lead a seminar at the Museum of Arts & Design on September 25

ART AS A WAY OF TRANSFORMATION
Museum of Arts & Design
2 Columbus Circle at 58th St. & Broadway
Saturday, September 25, $60-$85, 3:00
212-299-7777
www.madmuseum.org
www.clubcultura.com

The Museum of Arts & Design is quickly becoming a major player in the world of independent, foreign, and avant-garde film in the city. In July, they presented “Zombo Italiano: The Italian Zombie Film Movement, 1972-1985,” which included screenings of works by George A. Romero, Lucio Fulci, Lamberto Bava, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Later this month, they are featuring the hypnotic, surreal films of one of the twentieth century’s most bizarre characters in the series “Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky.” While the museum will be screening such cult favorites as EL TOPO, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, and SANTA SANGRE, the premier event will be a master class with the Chilean-born Mexican filmmaker, who is also a prolific playwright, poet, puppeteer, performance artist, psychoshaman, philosopher, comic-book writer (with Moebius), composer, mime, novelist, musician, tarot interpreter, and anarchist. The eighty-one-year-old Jodorowsky will be focusing on “the power of film and art, with attention given to art-making as a means for enlightenment.” Advance registration is a must, as space is extremely limited, so sign up quickly to be part of what should be an eye-opening experience.

WHY DESIGN NOW?

E/S Orcelle cargo carrier, concept model. No Picnic AB. Client: Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. Sweden/Norway, 2005, to be completed 2025

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
2 East 91st St. at Fifth Ave.
September 4-6
Admission: free
212-849-8400
www.cooperhewitt.org

We’ve never quite understood why the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum isn’t free all the time, like the National Museum of the American Indian downtown and all the Smithsonian museums in DC. But we don’t have to worry about that over Labor Day Weekend, when the institution opens its doors for free Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. (Admission is usually $15.) Currently the Cooper-Hewitt is in the midst of its fourth National Design Triennial,“Why Design Now?” which continues through January 9. The exhibit focuses on such themes as energy, mobility, community, health, communication, and simplicity, looking at social housing, charging stations, cargo carriers, LED replacements, tableware, threshers, and the ripple effect. Also on view is “Ted Muehling Selects: Lobmeyr Glass from the Permanent Collection.”