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

A NIGHT OF JEWISH BASEBALL

Benefit features the unveiling of new Jewish Baseball Player Lithograph by Ron Lewis

American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Wednesday, February 27, $50-$150, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
www.ajhs.org

Yeah yeah yeah, everyone knows the jokes about the book on Jewish athletes being a slim volume, yadda yadda yadda. Well, you might be surprised that it’s actually bigger than you think, especially when it comes to baseball. On February 27, the American Jewish Historical Society is celebrating Jewish involvement in a different kind of diamond district with “A Night of Jewish Baseball,” a fundraiser benefiting more than three dozen charities, including the Jewish United Fund, the Wounded Warrior Project, B’Nai B’rith, the Anti-Defamation League, the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, United Israel Appeal, and many organizations founded by baseball teams and players. There will be a reception with stadium-style food, a display of Jewish baseball memorabilia, a silent auction, a collection of uniforms autographed by Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg, and Team Israel, a panel discussion with Ira Berkow, Ron Blomberg, Jane Leavy, Franklin Foer, Art Shamsky, and John Thorn, and the debut of the limited edition “originally autographed” Jewish Baseball Player Lithograph by Ron Lewis, featuring the likenesses and signatures of a roster of former and current Hebrew Hammers: Ruben Amaro Jr., Brad Ausmus, Ross Baumgarten, Blomberg, Ryan Braun, Craig Breslow, Ike Davis, Mike Epstein, Scott Feldman, Sam Fuld, John Grabow, Shawn Green, Adam Greenberg, Joe Horlen, Ian Kinsler, Koufax, Jason Marquis, Norm Miller, Al Rosen, Richie Scheinblum, Shamsky, Norm Sherry, Steve Stone, Steve Yeager, and Kevin Youkilis. The crowd in the background of the two-feet-by-three-feet artwork includes national pastime enthusiasts and executives Billy Crystal, Theo Epstein, Derrick Hall, Larry King, Marvin Miller, Rob Reiner, Jerry Reinsdorf, Bud Selig, Charley Steiner, and Michael Weiner.

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY: MYTH AND TRANSFORMATION

The Martha Graham Dance Company rehearses for its Joyce season, which runs February 20 – March 3

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
February 20 – March 3, $10-$59
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.marthagraham.org

It’s been nearly twenty-two years since legendary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, one of the most influential people in the history of American modern dance, passed away, in 1991 at the age of ninety-six, but her company has continued her vast legacy with both old and new pieces that fit her vision. “A dance reveals the spirit of the country in which it takes root,” she wrote in 1937. “No sooner does it fail to do this than it loses its integrity and significance.” The Martha Graham Dance Company, under the artistic direction of Janet Eilber since 2005, will be at the Joyce from February 20 through March 3, presenting three programs called “Myth and Transformation,” which examine aspects of contemporary storytelling through movement. Program A pairs two Greek myths retold in provocative ways: Graham’s 1962 sexually driven Phaedra, with music by Robert Starer and sculptural décor by Isamu Noguchi, and 2002’s The Show (Achilles Heels), a dance-theater piece commissioned by the White Oak Dance Project and created, directed, and choreographed by Richard Move, with a score by Arto Lindsay, songs by Debbie Harry, and scenic art by Nicole Eisenman. Program B features three postwar Graham pieces that also relate Greek tales, beginning with 1946’s Cave of the Heart, inspired by the story of Medea and featuring music by Samuel Barber; 1947’s Night Journey, which examines the Oedipus myth from the point of view of Jocasta, with music by William Schumann; and a new, spare version of that same year’s Errand into the Maze, loosely based on the Theseus myth, with music by Gian Carlo Menotti, directed by Luca Veggetti and performed by Miki Orihara and others without the usual costumes and set design, as those elements were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Program C includes Cave of the Heart; the New York premiere of Doug Varone’s Lamentation Variation, set to Ravel, along with previous Variations by Yvonne Rainer (2012) and Bulareyaung Pagarlava (2009); the world premiere of Veggetti’s From the Grammar of Dreams, with music by Kaija Saariaho and text from Sylvia Plath; and an excerpt from Graham’s 1948 ensemble piece Diversion of Angels, with music by Norman Dello Joio and introductory film by Peter Sparling.

There will be several special events during the season, including a gala on February 21 featuring the “Moon” duet from Graham’s Canticle for Innocent Comedians and The Show (Achilles Heels), introduced by Patricia Field and with live musical accompaniment by Harry; a dance chat following the February 22 performance; a University Partner Showcase on February 23 with Graham classics performed by college and high school students; a preshow talk on February 28 led by Susan Thomasson; and the Fall and Recovery benefit on February 26, which will raise funds to help restore the costumes and sets destroyed by the hurricane, consisting of From the Grammar of Dreams; “Moon”; an excerpt from The Show (Achilles Heels); excerpts from Rust, a work-in-progress by Nacho Duato with music by Arvo Pärt; Graham’s 1935 Panorama performed by three dozen local high school students; and the 1935 Graham solo Imperial Gesture, reimagined by Kim Jones. Among the participants at the benefit will be Wendy Whelan and Ask la Cour (performing an excerpt from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain), Michelle Dorrance (improvisation), Maria Kowroski and Martin Harvey (George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue), Irina Dvorovenko (Mikhail Fokine’s Dying Swan), David Neumann (DOSE), and Francesca Harper (TBA).

STRANGER THAN FICTION: A MAN VANISHES

A MAN VANISHES (NINGEN JŌHATSU) (Shôhei Imamaura, 1967)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Tuesday, February 19, $16, 8:00
Series runs Tuesday nights at 8:00 through February 26
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com

Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura blurs the lines between reality and fiction in his cinéma vérité masterpiece, A Man Vanishes. The 1967 black-and-white documentary delves into one of Japan’s annual multitude of missing persons cases, this time investigating the mysterious disappearance of Tadashi Ôshima, a plastics wholesaler who vanished during a business trip. Imamura sends out actor Shigeru Tsuyuguchi (The Insect Woman, Intentions of Murder) to conduct interviews with Ôshima’s fiancée, Yoshie Hayakawa, who develops an interest in her inquisitor; Yoshie’s sister, Sayo, who quickly finds herself on the defensive; business associates who talk about Ôshima’s drinking, womanizing, and embezzling from the company; and several people who remember seeing Sayo together with Ôshima, something she adamantly denies despite building evidence. Throughout the 130-minute work, the film references itself as being a film, culminating in Imamura’s pulling the rug out from under viewers and calling everything they’ve seen into question in an unforgettable moment that breaks down the fourth wall and explodes the very nature of truth and cinematic storytelling itself. It also explores individual identity and just how much one really knows those closest to them. Originally supposed to be the first of a twenty-four-part series exploring two dozen missing-persons cases, A Man Vanishes ended up being such a challenging undertaking that it was the only one Imamura made, but what a film it is; it would be more than a decade before he returned to fiction, with 1979’s Vengeance Is Mine, which led the way to a spectacular final two decades that also included The Ballad of Narayama, Eijanaika, Black Rain, The Eel, Dr. Akagi, and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge. The amazing A Man Vanishes is screening February 19 at the IFC Center as part of the Tuesday-night series “Stranger than Fiction,” followed by a Q&A with documentarian Amir Bar-Lev (The Tillman Story, Fighter) and John Walter (How to Draw a Bunny).

OSCAR BUZZ: DETROPIA

Performance artists find their muse in downtrodden Detroit in Oscar-nominated documentary

DETROPIA (Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing, 2012)
Maysles Cinema
343 Malcolm X Blvd. between 127th & 128th Sts.
Friday, February 15, and Saturday, February 16, $10, 7:30
212-582-6050
www.mayslesinstitute.org
www.detropiathefilm.com

In his 1994 autobiography, Hard Stuff, former Detroit mayor Coleman Young wrote, “In the evolutionary urban order, Detroit today has always been your town tomorrow.” That’s precisely the warning that permeates Detropia, the latest documentary by director-producers Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, who have previously teamed up on such films as The Boys of Baraka, the Oscar-nominated Jesus Camp, and the Peabody-winning 12th & Delaware. Detroit native Ewing and former private investigator Grady examine the current sad state of the once-proud city, which has seen its population plummet, unemployment skyrocket, and its infrastructure being torn away piece by piece. At one point, Mayor Dave Bing, an NBA Hall of Famer who played for the Pistons, talks about downsizing the city as a whole — but not wanting to use that exact word when revealing the plan to the people. Grady and Ewing, along with cinematographers Tony Hardmon and Craig Atkinson (who also served as a producer), follow around such fascinating characters as UAW local 22 president George McGregor, who speaks with union members and retirees and describes in detail the loss of jobs and plants; Crystal Starr, a young video blogger giving her take on the city’s myriad problems; and Tommy Stevens, a former schoolteacher who now runs the popular Raven Lounge and wonders, at an auto show, how Detroit can possibly keep up with China, especially regarding the electric car known as the Volt. In one particularly poignant scene, a group of men tear down an old Cadillac repair shop, saving the metal to resell and burning the rest to keep warm. The film regularly cuts back to performances at the Detroit Opera House, which is struggling to stay alive, desperate to bring culture to what is quickly becoming a ghost town visited by tourists interested in gawking at the immense decay. Even a performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Mikado slyly references the fall of the automobile industry. The soundtrack mixes hip-hop from the Detroit-based Blair French, better known as Dial.81, along with old-time R&B and songs from experimental band Victoire, providing unique sounds to the extraordinary visuals. It’s hard not to watch the film and see Detroit as a microcosm for America, which is trying to pull itself out of a deep, dark recession that won’t seem to go away. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Detropia is screening February 15 & 16 as part of the Maysles Institute series “Oscar Buzz,” with the Saturday show followed by a Q&A with Grady and Ewing; the series culminates with a free Oscar viewing party on February 24 that includes unlimited organic popcorn.

BOOK LAUNCH: LOUISE LAWLER

Louise Lawler, “Still Life (Candle),” digital cibachrome on aluminum museum box, 2003

Metro Pictures
519 West 24th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Thursday, February 14, free, 6:00 – 7:30
212-206-7100
www.metropicturesgallery.com

For more than forty years, Pictures Generation artist Louise Lawler has been appropriating works through installation and photography, recontextualizing art and the art market in shots of paintings taken in auction house, in collectors’ homes, and before shows are hung, taking them out of their element, where they are usually seen on walls in galleries and museums. Now sixty-five, the New York-born conceptualist will be at Metro Pictures on Valentine’s Day, where she has shown since 1982, to celebrate the release of Louise Lawler: October Files (MIT Press, February 8, $35) as well as last year’s Louise Lawler and/or Gerhard Richter (Schirmer/Mosel, June 2012, $59.95). She will be joined by Helen Molesworth, editor of the former tome, and Tim Griffin, who contributed an essay for the latter. While at Metro Pictures, be sure to go upstairs to see some early works by Lawler, in addition to the main-floor exhibition featuring Trevor Paglen, which continues through March 9.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: “DO THE STRAND” BY THE BRYAN FERRY ORCHESTRA

The most elegant man in the history of rock has now made his most elegant album yet in a career of elegant albums. In 1999, Bryan Ferry, who cofounded seminal British art rockers Roxy Music, released As Time Goes By, a collection of 1930s standards featuring Ferry on vocals, backed by an old-fashioned big band. Now sixty-seven, Ferry is releasing his latest record, The Jazz Age (BMG/Chrysalis), in the U.S. this week, thirteen songs selected from throughout his career, performed by the Bryan Ferry Orchestra. “After forty years of making records, both in and out of Roxy Music,” Ferry explains on his website, “I thought now might be an interesting moment to revisit some of these songs, and approach them as instrumentals in the style of that magical period — bringing a new and different life to these songs — a life without words.” For The Jazz Age, Ferry has chosen such Roxy favorites as “Do the Strand,” “Virginia Plain,” “Love Is the Drug,” and “Avalon” along with such solo hits as “Slave to Love,” “This Is Tomorrow,” and “The Only Face,” played in the style of the Roaring Twenties by longtime Ferry musical director Colin Good on piano, Robert Fowler on clarinet, Malcolm Earle-Smith on trombone, John Sutton on drums, Martin Wheatley on guitar, banjo, and ukulele, Alan Barnes on baritone sax and clarinet, Enrico Tomasso on trumpet, and Richard White on bass saxophone. The songs take on a new life indeed, bursting with fresh energy, together forming a soundtrack to a period film that doesn’t actually exist, except in the listener’s imagination. Some are more recognizable in relation to their original incarnations than others, but each one is a delight, playing off elements of their rock versions with genius and even a touch of mystery. “Slave to Love” is particularly effective, liable to cause you to start whirling around, humming along and dancing. Ferry will be touring the UK in the fall of 2013 with his rock band as well as the Jazz Age orchestra; there are no US dates announced, but you can meet the ever-elegant gentleman on Tuesday, February 12, when he’ll be at the Union Square Barnes & Noble at 7:00, signing copies of the new album. (He will not be performing.) The event space opens up at 5:00, and you must purchase the CD at B&N in order to join the line. In the meantime, you can check out the record, the best album of the year so far, for free on his website here.

VALENTINE’S DAY COOKIE SWAP AND COOKBOOK SIGNING

Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen will one of several Brooklyn cookbook authors taking part in cookie swap and signing at powerHouse Arena on February 12 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen will be one of several New York cookbook authors taking part in cookie swap and signing at powerHouse Arena on February 12 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

powerHouse Arena
37 Main St. at Water St., Brooklyn
Tuesday, February 12, free, 7:00
718-666-3049
www.powerhousearena.com

DUMBO’s powerHouse Arena is doing its part in trying to make sure everyone has a sweet Valentine’s Day with a cookie swap and cookbook signing on February 12 featuring four of the hottest baking enthusiasts around. On hand to talk about their favorite recipes and to sign copies of their books will be Deb Perelman and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (Knopf, October 2012, $35), Dawn Casale and One Girl Cookies (Clarkson Potter, January 2012, $22.50), Adam Roberts and Secrets of the Best Chefs (Artisan, November 2012, $27.95), and Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito with Baked Elements (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, September 2012, $32.50). Attendees who bring their own homemade cookies will go home with a tin of other cookies in what should be a rather tasty swap.