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

TONY CONRAD: AT THE EDGES OF ART

Multimedia performance artist Tony Conrad will present a free illustrated lecture about his fascinating career on May 3 at the SVA Theatre

SVA Theatre
333 West 23rd St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Tuesday, May 3, free, 7:00
212-592-298
www.schoolofvisualarts.edu
www.tonyconrad.net

For nearly fifty years, experimental sound and visual performance artist Tony Conrad has been making minimalist drone music and short films that reexamine and reinvent form, content, and structure. He has collaborated with such musicians and filmmakers as John Cale, Rhys Chatham, Tony Oursler, and Jack Smith, and he is also a faculty member of the Department of Media Study at the University of Buffalo. “My personal work feels like an oil slick on this flowing current, spreading in two or three directions at once,” he notes on his UB faculty page. On May 3, Conrad will present a free multimedia lecture at the School of Visual Arts Theatre on West 23rd St., discussing his long and varied career in a multitude of disciplines. He will also premiere newly edited versions of experimental videos he made back in the 1970s and 1980s. This is a fabulous opportunity to get inside the mind of one of the twentieth century’s most intriguing and influential underground artists.

WORLD NOMADS MOROCCO

Najia Mehadji’s “Mystic Dance,” from the series Volutes, will be part of multidisciplinary site-specific Moroccan exhibit at FIAF Gallery

French Institute Alliance Française (and other venues)
Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St.
Le Skyroom, 22 East 60th St.
Tinker Auditorium, 55 East 59th St.
April 30 – May 31, free – $40
212-355-6100
www.fiaf.org

in its annual World Nomads celebration of global culture, the French Institute Alliance Française journeyed to Africa in 2008, Haiti in 2009, and Lebanon last year; this year’s destination is Morocco, where the festivities began April 30 with a sold-out concert featuring the Orchestra of Fes with Françoise Atlan. Special events continue throughout May, with a pair of free literature talks Sunday with Abdellah Taïa (1:00) and Mahi Binebine (5:00) at the Cooper Union, screenings of Nour Eddine Lakhmari’s controversial 2008 film, Casa Negra, which deals realistically with contemporary social problems in Morocco, on May 3 ($10), a free concert with multi-instrumentalist Brahim Fribgane and trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf on May 5 at 8:30 at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium, the New York debut of Rabat rapper Soultana at Joe’s Pub on May 6 ($15), and the installation “Untangling Threads: Soundwalk & Kantara Crafts” on May 7 that is also part of the Festival of Ideas for the New City. Other highlights include the panel discussion “Regenerating Morocco’s Architecture” on May 9 at 7:00 in FIAF’s Tinker Auditorium ($15), the May 11 keynote talk “Essaouira and Fes: Sustaining Cultures” with Royal Advisor André Azoulay and cultural critic Faouzi Skali at Le Skyroom (free with RSVP), a Master Gnaoua Musicians concert May 21 at 8:00 at Florence Gould Hall ($20, preceded by the free talk “Stories from the Gnaoua and World Music Festival”), and pianist Marouan Benabdallah performing at Zankel Hall on May 26 at 8:00 ($25). Additional screenings of Moroccan film will take place every Tuesday as part of FIAF’s regular CinémaTuesdays series, and the FIAF Gallery will hos the site-specific exhibition “Senses and Essence: Amina Agueznay, Safaa Erruas, and Najia Mehadji,” focusing on the work of three leading woman contemporary artists from Morocco (May 5-28, free).

BEYOND BULLETS: GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

BULLETS IN THE HOOD is part of special Maysles Institute program examining gun violence in America

Maysles Cinema
343 Malcolm X Blvd. between 127th & 128th Sts.
Wednesday, April 27, suggested donation $10, 7:30
212-582-6050
www.mayslesinstitute.org

Last month Sylvia Savadjian curated a True Crime program at the Maysles Institute that looked at homelessness in New York City; she will be back on April 27 with an examination of gun violence, with all proceeds going to Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E. The evening will consist of three documentary shorts, Kevin Breslin’s Living for 32, Terence Fisher and Daniel Howard’s Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story, and Ivana Todorovic’s A Harlem Mother, followed by a panel discussion with Breslin; Living for 32 subject Colin Goddard, who survived being shot four times at the Virginia Tech massacre; Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E. cofounder Jean Corbett-Parker, whose son was shot and killed outside a Harlem nightclub in 2001; and Stephanie Skaff, the director of Downtown Community Television’s “Beyond Bullets” media campaign.

PEN WORLD VOICES FESTIVAL OF AMERICAN LITERATURE 2011

David Foster Wallace’s unfinished novel, THE PALE KING, will be explored in depth at the seventh annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature

Multiple locations
April 25 – May 1, $5 – $30
866-811-4111
www.pen.org

Celebrating the written word and freedom of expression while fighting censorship and human rights abuses, the seventh annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature will feature more than one hundred writers and artists from more than three dozen countries participating in seven days and nights of panel discussions, conversations, readings, and live performances. In addition, the Celluloid Literature Film Series will screen documentaries every night at the Instituto Cervantes New York, including such shorts and full-length works as Paul Bowles: Creating a Legend (Karim Debbagh, Coon Prager, 2006), Out of Place: Memories of Edward Said (Sato Makoto, 2006), Seamus Heaney: Out of the Marvellous (Charlie McCarthy, 2009), and The Erotic Man (Jørgen Leth, 2010). “We live in a time of great changes and challenges, and the need to remind ourselves of our basic values is as important as ever,” explain director László Jakab Orsós, chair Salman Rushdie, and PEN American Center president K. Anthony Appiah. “We have to reinforce our power to be able to analyze and understand the turbulent phenomena of our culture.” The festival runs April 25 – May 1, with the hubs the Standard, New York and the High Line, and consists of multiple events each day; below are our recommended highlights.

Monday, April 25, the Standard, $20, 11:00 pm: Yael Hedaya, Honor Moore, Irvine Welsh, Edmund White, and others will take part in the PEN Speakeasy “Sex; Erotic Readings,” hosted by Katie Halper, re-creating the feel of a speakeasy and sharing erotic stories.

Tuesday, April 26, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral Gymnasium, 268 Mulberry St., $15, 7:30: Rick Moody, Michael Silverblatt, Sandro Veronesi, Michael Pietsch, and others will delve into the fascinating story behind the publication of David Foster Wallace’s unfinished final novel in “Everything and More: The Pale King by David Foster Wallace.”

Wednesday, April 27, Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave., $15, 7:00: HBO’s outstanding series In Treatment, starring Gabriel Byrne as a therapist in need of some treatment of his own, is based on the Israeli television series Be-tipul, written by novelist Yael Hedaya; Hedaya will be in Astoria to talk about therapy and television and screen an episode of the show.

Thursday, April 28, Westbeth Home of the Arts, Community Room, 155 Bank St., $12, 6:30: For “A Literary Safari: A Unique Experience,” sixteen writers will be situated throughout the Westbeth Center, reading from their works, including Nathacha Appanah, Rahul Bhattacharya, Abdelkader Benali, Amélie Nothomb, Ksenia Shcherbino, Teresa Solana, John Burnside, Mircea Cărtărescu, Manuel de Lope, Deborah Eisenberg, Marcelo Figueras, Jonas Hassan Khemiri, Hervé Le Tellier, Daniel Orozco, Gunnhild Øyehaug, and Lynne Tillman.

Friday, April 29, 92nd St. Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., $25, 7:30: Multidisciplinary artist and musician Laurie Anderson has curated “Poetry: The Second Skin,” an evening that explores the connections between poetry and music with John Burnside, Ernesto Cardenal, David-Dephy Gogibedashvili, Hasina Gul, Yusef Komunyakaa, Juan Carlos Mestre, Piotr Sommer, Joachim Sartorius, and Pia Tafdrup.

Saturday, April 30, the Cooper Union, Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Sq., $15, 12 noon: For “Get Super Lit: Comic Books Come Alive on Stage,” Jeff Newelt has put together a multimedia presentation of works that feature a wide range of superheroes created by Kate Beaton, Nick Bertozzi, Kevin Colden, Mike Dawson, Ludovic Debeurme, Dean Haspiel, Michael Kupperman, Benjamin Marra, R. Sikoryak, and Harvey Pekar, all of whom, save for the late Pekar, will participate in the program.

Sunday, May 1, New York Public Library, Celeste Bartos Forum, Fifth Ave. at 42nd St., $25, 3:00: Literary critic and deconstructionist Harold Bloom will talk with the NYPL’s Paul Holdengräber about writing and read some of his favorite poems, including his own, in “From the Anxiety to the Anatomy of Influence: A Conversation with Harold Bloom.”

ROB PRUITT: THE ANDY MONUMENT

Andy Warhol looks over Union Square in Rob Pruitt’s sparkling sculpture (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

A TRIBUTE TO A NEW YORKER
Union Square, 17th St. & Broadway
Through October 2, free
Artist Talk: Wednesday, April 20, the New School, 66 West 12th St., $10, 6:30
Guide by Cell: 646-862-0945
www.publicartfund.org/robpruitt
the andy monument slideshow

In 1968, Andy Warhol moved the Silver Factory from East 47th St. downtown to the Decker Building overlooking Union Square Park, where he and his many superstars and artisans would remain until 1974. New York City visual artist Rob Pruitt pays tribute to Andy and those years with “The Andy Monument,” a glittering chrome statue of Drella standing on a modest pedestal in the pedestrian plaza near the northwest entrance to the park. Warhol, his ever-present Polaroid camera around his neck and carrying a Macy’s shopping bag in his right hand, is scanning over the swirl of life rushing in and out of the park, right where he used to give out signed copies of Interview magazine. Commissioned by the Public Art Fund, the silver statue recalls the aluminum foil Billy Name wrapped the inside of the original Factory in as well as the Mylar balloons Warhol called “Silver Clouds.” Pruitt, who was born in Washington, DC, in 1964, explains in the press release, “Like so many other artists and performers and people who don’t fit in because they’re gay or otherwise different, Andy moved here to become who he was, to fulfill his dreams and make it big. He still represents that courage and that possibility. That’s why I came to New York, and that’s what my ‘Andy Monument’ is about.” The second Factory was also where Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas on June 3, 1968, but Warhol survived, soon able to get back to partying at the nearby Max’s Kansas City and hanging around with Lou Reed, Holly Woodlawn, Joe Dallesandro, Candy Darling, Joe Campbell, and Jackie Curtis, all referenced in Reed’s 1972 downtown anthem, “Walk on the Wild Side,” as well as so many others. It’s a beautifully crafted statue honoring the revolutionary American Pop artist and iconic figure whose work is as beloved as ever these days. On April 20, Pruitt will participate in the Public Art Fund Talk “Andy Touched Me” at the New School with PAF director and chief curator Nicholas Baume, cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum, and artist and writer Rhonda Lieberman.

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2011: FREE EVENTS

Elton John will perform at the Tribeca Film Festival following free screening of THE UNION, Cameron Crowe’s documentary about his collaboration with Leon Russell

Tickets are now on sale for American Express cardholders only (downtown residents can buy tickets on April 17 and the rest of us April 18) for the tenth annual Tribeca Film Festival (April 20 – May 1), a more streamlined, manageable version of the festival that initially tried to be all things to all people, but there are a host of events that you don’t need tickets — or any money at all — for. On April 20 at 8:15, Cameron Crowe’s The Union, a documentary about the recent collaboration between Elton John and Leon Russell, will have its world premiere, screening for free at the World Financial Center, followed by a live performance by the former Reginald Kenneth Dwight; the only way in is by getting a wristband (two per person) beginning at 4:00 that day at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The Tribeca Drive-In, also held at the World Financial Center, will show four films, all preceded by special activities and programming, beginning with Fame (Alan Parker, 1980) on April 21 and continuing with When the Drum Is Beating (Whitney Dow, 2011) on April 22, followed by a live performance by documentary subjects Septentrional, and The Muppets Take Manhattan (Frank Oz, 1984) on April 23, with face-painting, sing-alongs, trivia, and surprise guests. The free series of Tribeca Talks: Industry panel discussions, which take place at 2:30 at the SVA Theater on West 23rd St., consists of “Amplify the Message: Social Media,” moderated by the Wooster Collective’s Marc Schiller, on April 22; “Meet the Documentary Broadcasters” on April 23; “Are Documentary Films Changing the World?,” moderated by Sandi DuBowski, on April 24; “Digital by Design” with Edward Burns on April 26; “The Business of Entertainment,” with Charlie Rose interviewing Jeff Bewkes and Joe Roth, on April 27; “Shooting Film on a Budget” with Michael Cuesta on April 28; and “Shooting Anamorphic” with cinematographer Frederick Elmes on April 29. Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper, at the Union Square Barnes & Noble, will examine “Based on True Events” on April 23 and “Writing the Documentary” on April 25, while Peter Bart will be in conversation with Geoffrey Gilmore on April 24, all at 1:00. On April 29 at 5:30 at the SVA Theater, Jared Cohen will moderate “Youth Radicalization Redefined,” speaking with six former extremists who are now dedicating their lives to community and youth education. The annual Family Festival Street Fair is scheduled for April 30 on Greenwich St. between Hubert and Chambers Sts., including a free family screening at 3:00 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, while Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day will feature sports activities and personalities on North Moore St. between Greenwich and West Sts. the same day. In addition, the Apple Stores on Prince St. and West 14th St. will be hosting free workshops and Meet the Filmmakers programs April 22-30; among those participating at the SoHo location are Will Ferrell (April 26, 6:00), Ed Burns (April 27, 6:00), Zach Braff (April 28, 5:00), Eva Mendes (April 28, 6:00), Michael Rapaport (April 29, 6:00).

WALLS AND BRIDGES 2: FREEDOM AND RIGHTS

Artist Laurel Nakadate will talk about her work at UnionDocs with philosopher Ruwen Ogien as part of Walls and Bridges festival

Multiple locations
April 11-21, most events free
www.wallsandbridges.net

Earlier this year, the inaugural Walls and Bridges festival, organized by the Villa Gillet and the Conseil de la Création artistique, held a series of special thought-provoking programs all over the city. Now it’s back for the second part, focusing on personal and artistic freedom and rights, beginning tonight with a free round-table at the Aperture Gallery in Chelsea at 6:30, “What Is Engagement Today?,” with Miguel Benasayag, Nina Berman, Didier Fassin, and George Packer, hosted by Mark Greif, and continuing tomorrow at 6:00 at NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge with “What Does the Brain Do? Questioning Perception, Consciousness, and Free Will,” with Susan Barry, Howard Engel, Rodolfo Llinas, Pascal Mamassian, Israel Rosenfield, Luc Steels, and Edward Ziff. On Thursday night at 6:30, the New School hosts the free discussion “(Self) Censorship: Art, Morality, and Decency,” with Nan Goldin, Ruwen Ogien, Carole Talon-Hugon, and Lynne Tillman, hosted by Robert Polito and Benjamen Walker. On Saturday afternoon, “Fair for Knowledge: Clouds” will take place at Jo’s Restaurant, where diners (reservations required) can eat while listening to Deborah Coen, Pierre Pachet, Lytle Shaw, Luc Steels, Ginger Strand, Carole Talon-Hugon, and Sina Najafi talk about various aspects of clouds. The festival has quite a lineup scheduled for Saturday night’s free “Overboard! An Evening of Music and Storytelling” at Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog Center, with performances by Wally Cardona, Francisco Goldman, Arnon Grunberg, Trajal Harrell, Virginia Heffernan, Romain Huret, Annie-B Parson, Julia Preston, Ned Rothenberg, and many others. Since January 23, Laurel Nakadate’s “Only the Lonely” exhibition has been knocking out visitors at PS1 in Queens; on April 18, Nakadate will show some of her recent work at UnionDocs and talk about it with philosopher Ogien in “Get What You Want: An Artist and an Ethicist Discuss Manipulation and Desire,” hosted by Christopher Allen and Steve Holmgren (suggested donation $9). There will also be intellectual events at the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Cooper Union, the Heyman Center for the Humanities, and the French Institute Alliance Française; look for season three of Walls and Bridges this fall.