this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: BEETHOVEN / EGMONT

Liev Schreiber narrates new English translation of Egmont with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (photo by Chris Lee)

Who: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Liev Schreiber and Karen Slack
What: Livestreamed world premiere
Where: IDAGIO Global Concert Hall
When: Saturday, October 17, $15, 8:00
Why: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra goes virtual and global with “Speaking Truth to Power,” an online performance of Beethoven’s Egmont, Op. 84, with a new English translation by Philip Boehm commissioned for the New York City ensemble, narrated by actor Liev Schreiber. A series of incidental music pieces written by Beethoven for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 1787 play, Egmont, the work has reunited the full orchestra, which has not been together since the pandemic began; they performed it recently as a socially distanced unit at the Beechwood Park bandshell in Hillsdale, New Jersey. “One of Beethoven’s masterworks, this work has yet to find its way into the major concert halls in the US and I believe that this new version will be worthy to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday this year,” Orpheus executive director Alexander Scheirle said in a statement. “Especially in a time where concert halls are closed, it will be a magical moment for our musicians and all the other family members of Orpheus. A spectacle not to be missed.”

Soprano Karen Slack performs with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in New Jersey (photo by Chris Lee)

The hourlong piece, which also features soprano and activist Karen Slack, will be available from the online hub IDAGIO Global Concert Hall beginning October 17 at 8:00 and continue through October 22 at midnight. In preparation for the concert, you can watch a “Thursdays with Thomas” chat between Slack and baritone Thomas Hampson here, and on October 15 at 7:00 a Zoom Concert Preview will take place with Orpheus artistic directors Christof Huebner, Dana Kelley, and Miho Saegusa along with Scheirle and Boehm at 6:00 and an opening night gala at 7:00 honoring Consul General of Germany David Gill. The new translation is rather timely, as evidenced by this quatrain: “Many wish their rulers nothing but good will / While others hope the current state won’t last, / Many just abide the present, keeping still, / While in their hearts they’re yearning for the past.”

LA TIMES COOK-A-THON

Who: Daniele Uditi, Dave Beran, Greg Dulan, John Cleveland, Roni Cleveland, Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, Jonathan Whitener, Ludo Lefebvre, Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, Nick Montgomery, Steve Samson, Wes Avila, Alice Waters, Ana Roš, Dominique Crenn, Éric Ripert, Ferran Adrià, Fuchsia Dunlop, José Andrés, Josh Niland, Lamar Moore, Musa Daĝdeviren, Zaiyu Hasegawa, Jenn Harris, Laurie Ochoa, Evan Kleiman, Lisa McRee, Phil Rosenthal, Danny Trejo, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eric Wareheim, more
What: Virtual food event benefiting World Central Kitchen and the Food Bowl Takeout & Give Back campaign
Where: Los Angeles Times YouTube and Facebook
When: Saturday, October 17, free with advance RSVP, 8:30
Why: Craving travel and good food? You can get a bit of both at the LA Times Cook-a-thon, taking place virtually on October 17 at 8:30. Several dozen chefs, gourmands, gourmets, food writers, and celebrity guests from LA and around the globe will share culinary tales, lead kitchen tours, give recipes, and discuss the dire situation the restaurant business finds itself in during the coronavirus crisis. A fundraiser for José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen and the LA Times Food Bowl Takeout & Give Back initiative, the cook-a-thon will feature appearances by Daniele Uditi, Dave Beran, Greg Dulan, John Cleveland and Roni Cleveland, Mary Sue Milliken, Alice Waters, Ana Roš, Éric Ripert, Musa Daĝdeviren, Zaiyu Hasegawa, Phil Rosenthal, Danny Trejo, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many more. Admission is free; be sure to come hungry.

ANTIGONE IN FERGUSON: BALTIMORE

Who: Bryan Doerries, Tracie Thoms, Jason Isaacs, Jumaane Williams, Marjolaine Goldsmith, Nyasha Hatendi, Willie Woodmore
What: Live Zoom theatrical production and discussion from Theater of War
Where: Zoom link sent with advance registration
When: Saturday, October 17, free with RSVP, 6:00
Why: On August 9, Theater of War presented a live Zoom reading of its 2016 project, Antigone in Ferguson, which was created in collaboration with community members of Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of the death of Michael Brown in 2014. The August presentation was part of the sixth annual “Michael Brown Memorial Weekend” and was followed by a discussion with Gwen Carr (Eric Garner’s mother), Valerie Bell (Sean Bell’s mother), Marion Gray-Hopkins (Gary Hopkins Jr.’s mother), and Uncle Bobby X (Oscar Grant’s uncle). Theater of War, which specializes in relating classic and classical plays to contemporary issues — from Sophocles’s Antigone and Ajax and Euripides’s Medea and The Bacchae to works by Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Conor McPherson, and William Shakespeare — is revisiting Antigone in Ferguson on October 17, partnering with Johns Hopkins to focus on how police brutality, community violence, and the Covid-19 crisis have impacted the city of Baltimore, where Freddie Gray died in police custody in 2015. The cast features Tracie Thoms as Antigone, Jason Isaacs as Creon, Jumaane Williams as the messenger, Marjolaine Goldsmith as Ismene, Nyasha Hatendi as Haemon, and Willie Woodmore as Tiresias in an adaptation translated and directed by Theater of War artistic director Bryan Doerries, who will facilitate the postshow talk with De-Andrea Blaylock Johnson. The play also includes live choral music composed and conducted by Dr. Philip Woodmore.

Theater of War has been busy during the pandemic, forging ahead with Zoom versions of The King Lear Project, The Oedipus Project, and other virtual events. On October 15 at 1:00, Theater of War teams up with the Brooklyn Rail for a live “Common Ground” Q&A with Carr and Bell of Mothers of the Movement, cohosted by Doerries and community liaison Dominic Dupont; you can register for free here.

AROUND DAY’S END: A CONVERSATION

Architectural model for David Hammons’s Day’s End sits outside related exhibition at the Whitney (Catherine Seavitt and Rennie Jones of Guy Nordenson and Associates, 2017 / photograph by Ron Amstutz)

Who: Elena Filipovic, Frances Richard, Judith Rodenbeck, Randal Wilcox, Laura Phipps
What: Online discussion about “Around Day’s End: Downtown New York 1970-1986” exhibition
Where: Whitney Museum of American Art Zoom
When: Thursday, October 15, free with advance RSVP, 6:00; Tuesday, October 27, free with advance RSVP, 6:30
Why: In 1975, land artist and anarchitecture specialist Gordon Matta-Clark deconstructed an abandoned industrial building on Pier 52 on the Manhattan riverfront, cutting into the walls, doors, and floors and turning it into a unique kind of performance art piece, at least until the police shut it down and arrested him. You can watch Matta-Clark’s twenty-three-minute silent film about the project, which he called a “temple to sun and water,” here. American artist David Hammons is revisiting Matta-Clark’s intervention, known as Day’s End, by constructing his own version on the same site for the Whitney, which is right across the street. It is expected to be completed in December; in the meantime, the Whitney is presenting “Around Day’s End: Downtown New York 1970-1986,” a small show in the first-floor gallery that explores art depicting the waterfront area at the time, when it was known as a gay cruising hotspot. Among the photographs, drawings, sculpture, video, and paintings in the exhibition, which continues through November 1, are Dawoud Bey’s David Hammons, Pissed Off performance photos, Christo’s Package on Hand Truck, Joan Jonas’s Songdelay video, Martha Rosler’s The Bowery photo and text series, David Wojnarowicz and Kiki Smith’s Untitled (Psychiatric Clinic: Department of Hospitals), Anton van Dalen’s Street Woman on Car, Peter Hujar’s Canal Street Piers: Fake Men on the Stairs, and Carol Goodden’s documentation of Matta-Clark’s Jacks, in addition to works by Alvin Baltrop, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jimmy Wright, and G. Peter Jemison and a vitrine of proposed projects for Pier 18 from Mel Bochner, Robert Morris, William Wegman, Richard Serra, Harry Shunk, János Kender, and Matta-Clark.

On October 15 at 6:00, the Whitney is hosting a virtual discussion about the exhibit, focusing on Baltrop, Hammons, Jonas, and Matta-Clark, with Elena Filipovic, author of David Hammons: Bliz-aard Ball Sale; Frances Richard, author of Gordon Matta-Clark: Physical Poetics; Judith Rodenbeck, associate professor and chair of media & cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside; and Randal Wilcox, who worked with Baltrop and is a trustee of the Alvin Baltrop Trust. The free Zoom talk will be moderated by assistant curator Laura Phipps, who organized the show with senior curatorial assistant Christie Mitchell. Phipps and Mitchell follow that up October 27 at 6:30 with the Zoom discussion “Community Conversation: Around Day’s End,” teaming up with the Hudson River Park Trust, the Meatpacking Business Improvement District, and Manhattan’s Community Board 2 to look at the project from a different angle.

HISPANICIZE #UnidosTogether VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Who: Jessica Flores, Enrique Sapene, John Leguizamo, Edward James Olmos, Jessica Alba, Oscar De La Hoya, Mario Lopez, Carlos Ponce, Melissa Fumero, Xolo Mariduena, Aymee Nuviola, Laith Ashley, Ellen Ochoa, Pitizion, Victor Ramos, RaqC, Rebecca Antonia Rodriguez, Kim Guerra, John Henry, Julian Castro, more
What: Live virtual gathering of Latinx influencers, content creators, entrepreneurs
Where: Hispanicize
When: Thursday, October 15, free with RSVP, noon – 6:00
Why: Hispanicize is following up its July 1 summit, which you can watch here, with another virtual gathering of Latinx creators and influencers, this time in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and with an eye to the upcoming presidential election. The Hispanicize #UnidosTogether Virtual Summit is taking place October 15 from noon to 6:00, including keynote addresses, roundtable discussions, performances, and breakout sessions featuring appearances by Jessica Flores, Enrique Sapene, John Leguizamo, Edward James Olmos, Jessica Alba, Carlos Ponce, Melissa Fumero, Xolo Mariduena, Aymee Nuviola, Laith Ashley, Ellen Ochoa, Pitizion, Victor Ramos, RaqC, Rebecca Antonia Rodriguez, Kim Guerra, Father Augustino Torres, John Henry, Julian Castro, and many more, hosted by Jessica Flores and Enrique Sapene. Below are only some of the special events; you can also check out Hispanicize’s VODcasts here.

DJ Mando Fresko Pre-Show, 11:30

Welcome & Blessing, with cohosts Jessica Flores and Enrique Sapene, noon

Keynote: Jessica Alba in conversation with Anne Vazquez, 12:15

Latinx Hollywood, with Julissa Calderon, Melissa Fumero, Ben Lopez, and Xolo Maridueña, 12:45

Latinx Unity & Empowerment, with Kim Guerra, John Leguizamo, Edward James Olmos, Monica Ramirez, and Claudia Romo Edelman, 1:15

Keynote: Oscar De La Hoya in conversation with Mario Lopez, 2:30

Latin Music Industry: Rising Stars, with Mariah Angeliq, Pitizon, Byron Salas, Anaid Quijada, and RaqC, 3:30

Hispanic Kitchen with Chef Eddie Garza, 4:15

Latinx Vote 2020, with Cristela Alonzo, Mayra Macias, Mike Madrid, Alicia Menendez, and , 5:10Henry Muñoz III

Meet Andrekza: Dim Mak En Fuego’s First Latina Artist, 5:45

DJ Chava & After Party, 6:00

GLITCH FEMINISM: A MANIFESTO BOOK LAUNCH WITH ZOE LEONARD AND AUTHOR LEGACY RUSSELL

Legacy Russell and Zoe Leonard will discuss Glitch Feminism and more at SVA talk

Who: Zoe Leonard, Legacy Russell
What: Virtual book launch
Where: School of Visual Arts Zoom
When: Thursday, October 15, free with RSVP, 11:00 am
Why: In December 2012, curator, writer, and artist Legacy Russell coined the term “Glitch Feminism,” writing in The Society Pages, “In a society that conditions the public to find discomfort or outright fear in the errors and malfunctions of our socio-cultural mechanics — illicitly and implicitly encouraging an ethos of ‘Don’t rock the boat!’ — a ‘glitch’ becomes an apt metonym. Glitch Feminism, however, embraces the causality of ‘error,’ and turns the gloomy implication of glitch on its ear by acknowledging that an error in a social system that has already been disturbed by economic, racial, social, sexual, and cultural stratification and the imperialist wrecking-ball of globalization — processes that continue to enact violence on all bodies — may not, in fact, be an error at all, but rather a much-needed erratum. This glitch is a correction to the ‘machine,’ and, in turn, a positive departure. This glitch I speak of here calls for a breaking from the hegemony of a ‘structured system’ infused with the pomp and circumstance of patriarchy, one that for all too long has marginalized female-identified bodies, and continues to offend our sensibilities by giving us only a piece of the pie and assuming our satisfaction.” Russell, a New York City native who is associate curator of exhibitions at the Studio Museum in Harlem, has expanded those ideas into a book, Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto (Verso, September 2020, $14.95), which focuses on online representation, gender, and the body and features such chapters as “Glitch Refuses,” “Glitch Throws Shade,” “Glitch Is Skin,” “Glitch Is Remix,” and “Glitch Survives.” She writes in the introduction, “A body that pushes back at the application of pronouns, or remains indecipherable within binary assignment, is a body that refuses to perform the score. This nonperformance is a glitch. This glitch is a form of refusal.”

On October 15 at 11:00 am, Russell will be joined by artist, activist, and New York native Zoe Leonard for a book launch hosted by the School of Visual Arts, discussing cyberfeminism and systems of oppression. Primarily a photographer and sculptor, Leonard is most well known for her 1992 poem “I want a president,” a large-scale version of which was installed on the High Line in October 2016. The poem was written in support of the independent presidential candidacy of poet Eileen Myles running against George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot and begins, “I want a dyke for president. I want a person with AIDS for president and I want a fag for vice president and I want someone with no health insurance and I want someone who grew up in a place where the earth is so saturated with toxic waste that they didn’t have a choice about getting leukemia.” Prepare for a lively and energetic talk; admission is free with advance RSVP.

PUBLIC ART FUND TALKS — SAM MOYER: DOORS FOR DORIS

Sam Moyer’s Doors for Doris is a tribute to public art champion Doris C. Freedman (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Who: Sam Moyer, Daniel S. Palmer
What: Public Art Fund livestreamed discussion about Sam Moyer: Doors for Doris
Where: Cooper Union Zoom
When: Wednesday, October 14, free with RSVP, 5:00 (sculpture on view in Doris C. Freedman Plaza through August 28, 2021)
Why: “Contemporary public sculpture presents a new visual and emotional experience, a challenge to our senses and sensibilities,” philanthropist Doris Chanin Freedman said back in the late 1970s. “Sculpture that confronts us on our way to work, or on our daily errands, is no longer the remote object belonging to the world of galleries and museums but a special component of our daily lives.” Freedman, who passed away in November 1981 at the age of fifty-three, was a champion of outdoor art in New York City, having served as the first director of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, president of the Municipal Art Society, and president of City Walls as well as being host of WNYC’s Artists in the City and founder of the Public Art Fund; since 1977, PAF has installed site-specific commissions on what was christened, after her death, Doris C. Freedman Plaza, which stands at the entrance to Central Park on Fifth Ave. at Sixtieth St. known as Scholar’s Gate. The dedication plaque reads in part, “As a pioneer in the field of public art, Doris Freedman labored tirelessly to enliven and humanize the urban environment. The people of the City of New York are the beneficiaries of her vision.”

Sam Moyer will participate in a virtual Public Art Fund Talk about her new sculptural installation on Doris C. Freedman Plaza (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Brooklyn-based artist Sam Moyer, who was born in Chicago shortly after Freedman died, has paid tribute to her with the three-part sculpture Doors for Doris, a trio of partially open entryways to the park on the plaza named for her. (You can see our online slideshow of the work here.) Constructed of indigenous New York granite and Bluestone, concrete slabs, and discarded marble from such countries as Brazil, China, India, and Italy that Moyer found around the city, Doors for Doris offers passersby a new way to walk into or out of the park, honoring the woman who fought for artists to be able to live in their SoHo studios and for civic construction projects to include public art in their budgets. The international nature of the material and the not-fully-open doors reference not only New York City as a melting pot but the need for immigration reform; it also outlines such issues as income inequality, combining standard concrete with marble scraps tossed away from kitchen redesigns and fancy building lobbies. Freedman’s father was architect and real estate developer Irwin S. Chanin, the namesake of the Chanin Building across from Grand Central, an Art Deco skyscraper that features a bronze relief of evolution scenes on its facade in addition to a bas-relief by Edward Trumbull and a terracotta frieze. So it’s more than apt that on October 14 at 5:00, PAF is hosting an artist talk in conjunction with the Cooper Union, home to the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. Moyer, who also makes abstract hand-painted canvases composed of stone, marble, terrazzo concrete, and travertine on MDF panels in addition to oil on Bristol and works made of fused glass, will be speaking with PAF curator Daniel S. Palmer.