this week in art

AAF NYC 2010

John Baeder, “John’s Diner, Center Moriches” (courtesy All things Bob and Denise)

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR
7 W New York
7 West 34th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
May 6-9, $20
www.aafnyc.com

Looking to become an art collector without having to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars? More than seventy-five galleries from all over the world will be selling their wares for $100 to $10,000 at the Affordable Art Fair, taking place this weekend at 7 W New York, across the street from the Empire State Building. The fair will feature sculpture and photography demonstrations and workshops, including “Armature and Modeling” with Bob Spring on May 7 at 6:00, “Small Plaster Casts” with Jeffrey Spring on May 8 at 1:00, “Molding from Life” with David Baskin on May 8 at 4:00, and daily Foto Focus tours focusing on photography. On Friday, there will be a “Landscape Collage” workshop, and on Saturday and Sunday, Nathalie Trovato will show kids how to make books in “The Book Factory.” In addition, the I (Heart) Brooklyn party ($30) on May 6 celebrates the inclusion of half a dozen Brooklyn galleries in the fair.

KIM IN SOOK: INSIDE OUT

Kim In Sook, “Saturday Night,” C-print, Diasec, 2007

Gana Art New York
568 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through May 8
Admission: free
212-229-5858
www.ganaart.com

We were terrifically excited when we heard that Korean photographer Kim In Sook was having her first solo show in New York this spring, at Gana Art in Chelsea. Kim’s large-scale “Saturday Night” was a hit at several art fairs over the last few years, a giant shot of a colorful hotel in which various activities are taking place in each room, usually involving some form of sex and violence. It’s like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” taken to the extreme, mixed in with a little Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Struth, and Thomas Ruff as the viewer becomes the voyeur. Last fall, we were invited to a private showing of more of her outstanding, provocative work at Gana, celebrating the publication of some of her architectural photos in the New York Times Magazine, where we got the opportunity to meet the charming Kim, speaking with her outside as she nervously smoked cigarettes to get away from the adoring crowd. So it was with great disappointment that we finally made our way to Chelsea to see her series on the all-glass German museum the Langen Foundation and her “Kokain” and “Heroin” duo only to be told that those pictures, which were in the upstairs gallery, had already been taken down in preparation for Gana’s next exhibition, even though this one was not scheduled to end until May 8. Still, seeing “Saturday Night” again is a delight, as are her other frontal shots of buildings in New York and Germany filled with people in the midst of carefully choreographed activities and “Die Auktion,” a stunning shot of a nude woman standing on a pedestal on a red carpet, surrounded by men in suits bidding on her. If you’ve never seen her work, it’s absolutely worth a visit, but we can’t help feeling that it’s now only half an exhibit.

EVENING LECTURES AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM

David Goldblatt, detail, “The farmer’s son with his nursemaid, on the farm in Heimweeberg, near Nietverdiend in the Marico Bushveld. Transvaal (North-West Province),” silver gelatin print, 1964

IN CONVERSATION: DAVID GOLDBLATT AND JOSEPH LELYVELD
GIDEON SHIMONI: THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE IN APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA
Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St.
May 4 & 13, $15 each, 6:30
212-423-3337
www.thejewishmuseum.org

For decades, South African native David Goldblatt has been documenting the people of his home county; more than 150 of his black-and-white images are currently on view at the Jewish Museum in the exhibition “South African Photographs: David Goldblatt,” which runs through September 19. In conjunction with the show, Goldblatt will be participating in a special program on May 4, in conversation with New York Times executive editor and South Africa correspondent Joseph Lelyveld. The South African theme continues on May 13 when author Gideon Shimoni presents the lecture “The Jewish Experience in Apartheid South Africa.” And on May 17, Richard Turnbull’s Daytime Lecture Series will look at “David Goldblatt and the South African Condition,” part of the series “Conscience and the Camera: The Rise of Social Documentary Photography.” (Also through September 19, the museum is screening four films by William Kentridge in “South Africa Projections.”)

WORLD NOMADS LEBANON

Bernard Khoury will give a free talk on Lebanese architecture and public space at FIAF on May 6

French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St.
Le Skyroom, 22 East 60th St.
Tinker Auditorium, 55 East 59th St.
May 1-29, free – $40
212-355-6100
www.fiaf.org

This year FIAF’s annual spring journey heads to Lebanon for a month of live performance, film screenings, art, talks, and more. The festival, which covered Africa in 2008 and Haiti in 2009, begins May 1 with the Bassam Saba Ensemble playing in Florence Gould Hall, followed on May 2 by three consecutive free talks at Le Skyroom, with writers Elias Khoury, Rawi Hage, and Alexander Najjar in conjunction with the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. On Tuesdays from May 4 through May 25, CinémaTuesdays will present such films as Maroun Bagdadi’s HORS LA VIE, Jocelyne Saab’s ONCE UPON A TIME: BEIRUT, and Simon El-Habre’s THE ONE MAN VILLAGE in Florence Gould Hall. Meanwhile, the Film Society of Lincoln center will be hosting “The Calm After the Storm: Making Sense of Lebanon’s Civil War,” more than thirty films that give a fascinating overview into the history of the embattled nation. On May 21, Wajdi Mouawad and Jane Birkin will team up for staged readings of his “Je t’embrasse pour finir” (in French) and “La sentinelle” (in English); admission is free but advance reservations are required; author, actor, and director Wajdi will also be giving a free talk May 19 in Le Skyroom. World Nomads will also feature a trio of architecture talks on successive Thursdays, with Bernard Khoury on May 6, “Public Space: Memory, Boundary, Catastrophe” on May 13, and “Modern Architecture in Beirut: Reconstruction & Cultural Identity” on May 20. During the festival, the FIAF Gallery will be displaying “Cedrus Libani: Roots & Memory,” an exhibition of new and old work by Lebanese-American artist Nabil Nahas, while “My Umi Said . . . New Work from Lebanon” features multimedia pieces by five progressive Lebanese artists, held off-site at Kleio Projects (May 7-28, 153½ Stanton St.).

SAKURA MATSURI

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
900 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway
Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2, $10-$15
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org/sakura2010

There is nothing quite like hanami in Brooklyn, the annual cherry blossom viewing at the botanic garden. More than two hundred flowering Japanese cherry trees are expected to be in bloom this weekend for the Sakura Matsuri, a two-day festival of dance, music, art, workshops, food, workshops, and nature that always attracts large crowds excited to experience the pure beauty of it all. Among this year’s participants are Soh Daiko, Nihon Buyo Classical & Ryukyu Buyo Okinawan Dance, the Spring Street Haiku Group, happyfunsmile, Samurai Sword Soul, poet Enta Kusakabe, Dean Street FOO Dance, Kagero Japanese Gypsy rock, Pokémon voice artist Veronica Taylor, DJ Saiko Mikan, stand-up comic Uncle Yo, woodblock artist April Vollmer, children’s Taiko drummers Genki Daiko Team, Masayo Ishigure and the Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, and the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY. Special events and activities include a Mataro Ningyo dollmaking demonstration, a Sohenry-style tea ceremony, the Manga & Anime Artist Alley, a cosplay fashion show, origami paper folding, ikebana flower arranging, a children’s tattoo parlor, a high tea with the Parasol Society, Japanese hot-pot cooking, bonsai advice for home gardeners, and so much more. It’s really one of the best weekends of the year, a must-see for every New Yorker that will become an annual ritual once you experience its charm.

JOURNEY INTO BUDDHISM: DHARMA RIVER

DHARMA RIVER begins John Bush’s Yatra Trilogy at the Asia Society on April 23 (photo by John Bush / Direct Pictures)

THE YATRA TRILOGY: DHARMA RIVER (John Bush, 2004)
Asia Society
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
Friday, April 23, free, 6:45 (free tickets available beginning at 6:00)
212-517-asia
www.journeyintobuddhism.com
www.asiasociety.org

In conjunction with the exhibition “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art,” the Asia Society is presenting John Bush’s Yatra Trilogy, three films that journey to sacred Buddhist locations, revealing little-known, seldom-seen sites to Western audiences. The free series begins April 23 with DHARMA RIVER, in which Bush, who will introduce the screening, travels to remarkable temples and shrines in Laos, Thailand, and Burma. He uncovers treasures in Wat Po in Bangkok, Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Swedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, and Pak Ou Cave and Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang, among other stops. Bush’s narration places the fascinating iconography in proper Buddhist context, avoiding oversimplification while not getting too deep into the intricacies of the different philosophies in each country. His trip along the Mekong River is particularly memorable. From 1970 to 1972, Bush studied Buddhism in India, first spending several months learning vipassana meditation in a Burmese monastery, so DHARMA RIVER is, for him, “a flowing revelation linking a personal past with an intimate present.” The film is accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack by David Hykes with the Harmonic Chant Choir. The trilogy continues April 30 with PRAJNA EARTH (2005) and concludes May 7 with VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET (2006); the Asia Society is free on Friday nights from 6:00 to 9:00, so there should also be time to pay quick visits to the exhibitions “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art” as well as “Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea.”

WHAT MATTERS MOST?

Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL is part of special ecoartspace Earth Day celebration on April 21

Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL is part of special ecoartspace Earth Day celebration at Exit Art on April 21

Exit Underground
475 Tenth Ave. at 36th St.
Wednesday, April 21, 5:00-9:00
Gallery open Tuesday – Saturday through April 28
Suggested donation: $5
212-966-7745
www.ecoartspacewhatmattersmost2010.blogspot.com

Exit Art is currently hosting special ecoartspace programming through April 28 in its Underground gallery, focusing on the exhibit “What Matters Most?” which consists of earth-friendly art from more than 275 artists. On April 21, a trio of events will pay tribute to Earth Day, with eco-artist Jackie Brookner reading from URBAN RAIN at 7:00 and Elizabeth Thompson presenting information about the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award finalists at 8:00, but things kick off at 5:00 with a screening of Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL. The exhibit concludes on April 28 with a benefit auction and party ($35-$150).

CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL (Joe Berlinger, 2009)
www.crudethemovie.com
Documentarian Joe Berlinger has a way of making a strong impact with his films — which include BROTHER’S KEEPER, PARADISE LOST, and METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER — and his latest is no exception. In CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL, Berlinger heads to Ecuador to detail the “Amazon Chernobyl” case, centering on a 1993 class-action lawsuit brought by thirty thousand indigenous people who live in the rainforest and claim that their land and water are contaminated by years of illegal dumping by Texaco-Chevron, leading to severe illness and death for many in their community. Ecuadorian attorney Pablo Fajardo and American consulting attorney Steven Donziger go face-to-face with Chevron attorneys Diego Larrea and Adolfo Callejas, who argue that any wrongdoing was done by PetroEcuador’s takeover of the oil fields in 1992. As such high-profile people as Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and Rainforest Foundation cofounder Trudie Styler get involved, the fight heats up, but there’s still no end in sight for the sixteen-year-old lawsuit. Berlinger does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the story, even though the bulk of the evidence continues to build for one side.