cityArts April 20, 2011

Apr. 20-MAy 3, 2011 Volume 3, Issue 8

IN THIS ISSUE: Why Jen Bekman’s art empire grows and prospers.

Rudy Wurlitzer’s films are re-discovered.

pLUS:

Haydn’s London!

Fri, Apr 29 @ 8 pM CArnegie HAll

tickets from $29

violin

O r C h e s t r a

with

C h a m b e r

Arabella Steinbacher

Supporting Ai WeiWei’s art Preparing for Tudor’s Shadowplay Living Creative Music Studio’s legacy the music in 140 characters or less…

follow us:

s t r a u s s Serenade (1881) Music for winds from Strauss’ pre-Wagner youth, shaped by his father—a horn player and Mozart devotee. h a r t m a n n Concerto funèbre (1939) Hartmann wrote Nazi-defying music from within Germany; this concerto mourned the Czech annexation. m o z a r t Rondo, K. 373 (1781) Composed in Vienna just before Mozart quit the Salzburg court; this concerto movement masks his frustration. m o z a r t Adagio, K. 261 (1776) Written for an uncouth Italian violinist who dismissed the young Salzburger’s Adagio from the Fifth Concerto. h a y d n Symphony No. 104 (1795) The final entry from “the father of the symphony,” composed in London and performed for healthy profit.

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InthisIssue

Juilliard OPERA

6 vISUAL ART

ELLEN AND JAMES S. MARCUS INSTITUTE FOR VOCAL ARTS

Jen Bekman Projects’ empire continues to expand; JerrY PortWood examines the growing market for the online art buying experience.

BRIAN ZEGER, Artistic Director

9 WINE

WED, APR 27 AT 8 FRI, APR 29 AT 8 SUN, MAY 1 AT 2 Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Juilliard

Malbec, the Bordeaux import that blossomed in south American soil.

10 THEATER / JAzz

MArK BLAnKensHiP speaks with John Kolvenbach as he takes the reins of his own hit play, Love Song; HoWArd MAndeL finds that the legacy of the Creative Music studio persists.

KERI-LYNN WILSON Conductor TOMER ZVULUN Director

R AV E L

JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA Singers from Juilliard Opera Donald Eastman Sets Vita Tzykun Costumes Jane Cox Lighting Tickets $30 JUILLIARD BOX OFFICE 155 West 65th Street M – F, 11AM – 6PM CenterCharge (212) 721-6500 1/2-price for students and seniors only at box office TDF accepted

L’heure espagnole PUCCINI

Gianni Schicchi A

CO

MIC OPER

A D OU

BLE- BIL

L

THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL | Joseph W. Polisi, President

12 AT THE GALLERIES

reviews: Hedy O’Beil at Gallery 307; Pink Moon at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects; Arp/Brancusi at Mitchell-Innes & Nash; Notes on “Notes on ‘Camp’” at Invisible-Exports; Zhang Dali at Eli Klein Fine Art; 70 Years of Abstract Painting at Jason McCoy Gallery; Neil Farber at Edward Thorp Gallery.

14 CLASSICAL

JAY nordLinger on the concerts conducted by James Levine, Yuri temirkanov and riccardo Muti at Carnegie Hall.

16 FILM

the unconventional films of rudy Wurlitzer are undergoing a much-deserved rebirth.

18 DANCE

to prepare for tudor’s Shadowplay, JoeL LoBentHAL watched the ABt’s silent footage recording.

19 ARTS AGENDA

galleries, Art events, Museums, Classical Music, opera, theater, out of town

23 PAINT THE TOWN By AMANDA GORDON

ON THE COvEr: William Powhida’s “Why You should Buy Art,” a featured piece from Jen Bekman’s 20x200.com.

EDITOR Jerry Portwood jportwood@manhattanmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Adam Rathe arathe@ manhattanmedia.com

BOB CLYATT SCuLpTure

exhiBiTiOn April 14 - May 1, 2011 An American Craftsman Manhattan at Times Square Hotel 7th Ave Corner of 52nd St 212.399.2555 AnAmericanCraftsman.com

HOURS: 10am - 11pm | 7 dayS a week 2

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InBrief Artists Speak Up

The first major public exhibition in New York by Chinese artist Ai WeiWei is scheduled to run from May 2 to July 15 at the Pulitzer Fountain outside the Plaza Hotel.

The exhibit, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, consists of 12 bronze animal heads said to be inspired by an 18th-century fountain-clock of the Yuanming Yuan imperial retreat outside Beijing. The exhibit is presented by AW Asia, a Chinese contemporary art organization, along with the City of New York. WeiWei’s success in America, however, has recently been highlighted due to the way it starkly contrasts with the reception he receives in his home country: WeiWei was detained by the Chinese government for undisclosed reasons April 10, and has not been heard from since.

The Chinese government targeted WeiWei and his work after he became interested in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. As Paddy Johnson of Art Fag City noted in a statement she sent to readers: “No official reason for his detention has been given, but the message is clear: contemporary art which challenges the status quo is unwelcome in China.”

Political activists, museums and artists have spoken against the arrest and calls for his release have spread around the world. As a response to his detention, Creative Time organized and hosted “1001 Chairs for Ai WeiWei” April 17 for WeiWei in solidarity for the artist.

Approximately 200 of WeiWei’s supporters brought chairs to the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, located on 12th Avenue, and were urged to gather outside Chinese embassies and consulates around the world to peacefully support his immediate release. The idea was developed by curator Steven Holmes and references WeiWei’s project Fairytale: 1001 Qing Dynasty Wooden Chairs that featured 1001 wooden chairs from the late Ming and Qing Dynasty. [Anna

Sanders]

Connecting With the Past

Interior designer Lars Bolander will transform Park Avenue Armory into an even more dramatic environment during the Art and Antique Dealers League of America Spring Show taking place April 28 through May 2. The historic building’s vaulted ceiling will be illuminated by spotlights, and the 7-and-a-half-foot tall obelisks, lining the aisles of the exhibition hall, will be painted in shades of gray, yellow, orange and green.

The benches? Covered in a zebra pattern. And bright yellow, blue and red tablecloths in the cafeteria will only add to the classy, springinspired makeover. “I’ve cheered everything up,” Bolander says. “Color reigns supreme.

Antiques are fun, after all.”

To further entice young art lovers to the show, organizers of the Art and Antique

The Exciting New Fine Art and Antiques Show

Artist WeiWei with one of the sculptures to be installed outside the Plaza Hotel.

Dealers League of America plan a very glamorous benefit preview and opening night gala for April 27, sponsored by the ASPCA. The 60 dealer booths will feature animalthemed artworks, such as R.M. Barokh’s 19thcentury English, shaggy, white-haired mutt, and Arnold Lieberman’s 19th-century statue of half-human, half-elephant Indian deity Ganapati, as well as many other tapestries and paintings celebrating the animal world.

These works will still be on view when the monumental oak Armory doors open to the public the next day. Moreover, visitors will discover new programs to further their appreciation of antiques. Clinton Howell, president of the League, initiated a program where designers advise new collectors, guiding them through the fair, by giving them background in the objects and paintings and explaining the qualities to look for. “When you start out, you don’t have a clue what you’re looking at,” Howell explains. “But when someone gives you a historical context, and you begin to think of something surviving 300 years, you begin to develop a connection with it. Unfortunately, antiques have had a rather austere and unattainable image in the past. But the moment you start browsing through the objects and furniture on display here, you’ll change your mind.”

Collectors don’t always go after what’s old. Ethan and Lisa Litwin love the paintings of Scottish artist Hugh Buchanan, who does watercolors of British houses and libraries. “In this abstract environment it’s challenging to find realism,” Ethan says. “We like him both for the beauty and subtlety of his work as well as the fact he is documenting these period buildings. It’s great that he is alive now and we can follow his work.”

Every collector tells a different story about what first spurred their interest in a certain area of the field. “I started collecting because of my fascination with a set of American crystal goblets my mother inherited from her mother,” Lloyd Zuckerberg says. “I loved its purity.” Since Charlotte, his English wife, already enjoyed collecting, they set out

Debuting at the Heart of New York’s Art and Antiques Week T H U R S D AY , S A T U R D AY , S U N D AY 1 1 : 0 0 - 7 : 3 0 ; F R I D AY 1 1 : 0 0 - 9 : 0 0 ; M O N D AY 1 1 : 0 0 - 5 : 0 0

English, Continental and American Furniture, Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, Ceramics, Glass and Decorative Arts • Asian Works of Art • Folk Art • 20th Century Decorative Arts • Aesthetic Movement and Arts & Crafts Furniture • Prints, Photographs, Maps, Posters and Wallpaper • Antiquities and Ancient Objects • Silver and Metalwork • Nautical Art and Objects • Jewelry • Garden Ornament • Books, Manuscripts and Autographs • Chinese Export Porcelain and Decorative Arts • Native American and Tribal Art • Carpets and Rugs • Tapestries • Textiles and Needlework • Clocks

S P R I N G S H O W N YC . C O M Opening Night Preview, Wednesday, April 27 A benefit for the ASPCA™ generously sponsored by

April 20, 2011 | City Arts

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Daniel Avila, NYC Parks

An area shot of the farm designed by Scott Dougan and Shane Neufeld using pieces of Big Bambú.

Big Bamboo On the Farm

In Battery Park this year, April showers will bring May flowers, then June radishes, lettuce in July and corn in August. On April 11, The New York City Parks Department and the Battery Conservancy celebrated the opening of the first public urban farm in Manhattan since the Dutch ruled the roost in the 1700s. Zelda the turkey, a Battery Park resident since 2003, was the inspiration for the shape of the fence around the new farm, constructed from thousands of stalks of bamboo from last year’s Big Bambú installation on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “It’s an improbable and unique thing to be happening down there, at the very tip of Manhattan,” says Scott Dougan, who designed the fence.

Dougan came on to the project several months ago, knowing only that the donated bamboo would be used as a design element of the fence. Instead of vertical pathways above Central Park, however, he would have to create a curvilinear space on a horizontal plane. “I didn’t want it to just be round. I wanted it to be more creative, and I had seen Zelda,” explains Dougan, adding that he thought the turkey design would be a playful and fun way to surround the plantings of the new farm. Using Zelda as the shape of the

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City Arts | www.cityarts.info

fence gave the farm “a narrative.”

Once Dougan landed on a concept, he had to figure out how to put it together. He recruited Shane Neufeld as an architectural consultant.

Together, they formed the design firm STUDIOperFORM to create the project and, hopefully, other similar projects in the future.

“With no money and no workers, we had to come up with the simplest, most powerful design for the space for the farm,” Neufeld says. “It’s easier said than done.”

One challenge of using the bamboo was the various lengths of the stalks. Because it had come from Big Bambú, they were already cut into short and long pieces. If they’d been working with new materials, the designers could have had the bamboo cut to their own specifications. Instead, they had the added challenge of fitting the existing pieces together. As a result, the fence has an almost wave-like quality, swelling and dipping down at different points in the structure. The entrances are the highest points, and benches will be installed at the lowest points so the farmers, local school children and volunteers can rest after tilling and harvesting.

“It acts as a sort of veil for the city,” Neufeld says. “It frames the buildings and is a really nice juxtaposition.”

The designers paid special attention to the entryways, in order to make coming into the space a special moment. “We wanted the entries to give kids a sense of liminal space as they go from the city to the farm,” Neufeld explains.

As with any farm, the labor involved is intense. The designers spent countless hours organizing and sorting bamboo, standing the stalks up through a grid-like fence and then wrapping twine around them in a herringbone weave. The fence had to stand up to the intensity of human use, especially by kids.

The students who work at the farm will be able to enjoy the vegetables they harvest, but other New Yorkers will also have a chance to taste the fruits of their labors at a new Fatty Crab annex at the Battery. “Our basic relation to food can be discovered here by kids or by anyone who comes to visit,” Dougan says.

“Whether they are growing or not growing, they can say: ‘There’s a radish or a pepper and there they are serving it at Fatty Crab.’” [V.L. Hendrickson]

Dance-Defying Strategy

Karole Armitage can be counted on for dances that are audacious and surprising. She’s a classicist, trained in ballet from her earliest years, but she’s also a boundary-breaker, the person who introduced a punk-rock sensibility into her earliest dances. Her career has been intensely international, focused in Europe for many years. But she’s been back—and more than busy—in New York since 2005, producing elegant, sophisticated, challenging works for her company, Armitage Gone! Dance, while also reinventing herself as a successful and innovative Broadway choreographer, with her work on Passing Strange and Hair (which returns to Broadway

for her movement in the concepts of relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory, locating beauty and possibility in what others might consider intimidating—and defying expectations once again. [Susan Reiter]

Building Blocks of Books

Van Alen Institute, the haven for architects in Chelsea, isn’t content with just offering support for design practitioners and scholars anymore. Later this month, it will be unveiling Van Alen Books, a new bookstore and public reading room located in its headquarters at 30 W. 23rd St. With a scarcity of bookstores dedicated to architectural tomes, Van Alen saw a chance to fill the void, taking up the slack left by the closing of Urban Center Books last year.

Offering that store’s remaining stock, while collaborating with publishers to create a selection of new titles, Van Alen Books hopes to become a destination for architects and fans, a focal point where they can gather with other like-minded men and women.

In addition to books, Van Alen will also be creating a series of programs to make itself a destination bookstore, where the past and present of architecture can be argued, debated and discussed. And, since it is a bookstore dedicated to the art of buildings, Van Alen Books will boast some dazzling architecture of its own.

Karole Armitage’s GAGA-Gagaku.

for a 10-week run in July).

Her troupe found a welcoming home at the Joyce Theater, but for the past few years has been seen in other venues. Now it returns to the Joyce for a two-week season (April 26-May 8) that, while it’s not billed as a retrospective, spans the entire three decades of her choreographic career.

The first of two alternating programs includes Drastic-Classicism, set to Rhys Chatham’s takeno-prisoners score, whose cutting-edge ferocity upended expectations in 1981. When she revised it two years ago for a program of her seminal 1980s works, the event became a hot ticket.

It will share the program with Armitage’s newest work, GAGA-Gagaku, inspired by ancient Japanese court music. Several young ballerinas from the Dance Theater of Harlem Ensemble will join Armitage’s own dynamic virtuosos in this premiere, for which Lois V Vierk has composed a score that, like Armitage’s choreography, alludes to the past but delivers a distinctively contemporary approach. Rounding out the program is the mesmerizingly hypnotic Ligeti Essays, first seen at the Joyce in 2007. Armitage was drawn to several song cycles by Gyorgy Ligeti; she was drawn to his music, she said at the time of the premiere, “not only for his mixture of classicism and innovation, but also for the deep humanity found in these A rendering of the Van Alen Books compositions.” bookstore designed by LOT-EK The second program is devoted to Three Designed by LOT-EK, Van Alen books Theories, first seen last June at Cedar Lake will feature a 14-foot-tall triangular platform under the auspices of the World Science Festival. Armitage, always interested in points of for seating (similar to the Times Square connection between art and science, here boldly TKTS booth), crafted out of 70 recycled doors from Build It Green! NYC, proving ventures into the rarified territory of physics. that Van Alen can put its money where its Drawing on ideas from Brian Greene’s book mouth is. [Mark Peikert] The Elegant Universe, she finds inspiration Courtesy LOT-EK

InBrief

together to find similar pieces, coming across a good deal of it in Kennebunkport, Maine, where wealthy people summered at the turn of the century. This led to a pilgrimage to Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York, to expand their education.

Their collection is very much a part of their lives. “We always use what we buy,” Zuckerberg says. “Things don’t sit off untouched in our house. It gives me real pleasure to hold a glass made by someone in 1790.” They also branched out into antique English furniture, introduced by Howell into the field. “You become a sort of detective as you look for pieces,” he says, “checking out what kind of glue was used and looking for telltale signs of age and the patina. Charlotte and I have lots of fun buying together. Living with old things greatly enhances your life.”

[Valerie Gladstone]

ArtsNews The 15th annual TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour, or TOAST, runs from April 29 through May 2. TOAST invites the public to take free, self-guided tours through over 100 artists’ studios in 36 buildings in Tribeca, where they will have the opportunity to talk to the artists, and view and purchase work... The Oratorio Society of New York announced the winners of its 35th annual Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition. Jonathan Estabrooks, baritone, took first place (and a $7,000 cash prize); Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano, took second place ($5,000); and Emily Duncan-Brown, soprano, won third place ($2,500)... Jazz pianist and composer Antonio Ciacca became artist in residence at Bar on Fifth at The Setai Fifth Avenue April 1. In addition to regular performances, the role gives Ciacca the opportunity to select jazz trios to perform at the venue...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announces Anthony Caro as the featured artist on its roof this summer. Sculptures from throughout his career will be featured in Anthony Caro on the Roof, from April 26 through Oct. 30, weather permitting...

On April 12, the House Appropriations Committee announced that the National

Kevin Spacey.

Endowment for the Arts would receive $155 million in federal funding as part of the final budget for fiscal year 2011, a cut of $12.5 million from last year, but a significant improvement over the previous House-approved budget of $124.4 million...

Gagosian Gallery, which occupies over 50,000 square feet of space at 980 Madison Ave., has renewed its lease with Jones Long LaSalle for another 10 years.

The gallery takes up the entire fourth and sixth floors, and a portion of the fifth floor of the building... The Collective School of Music moved to a new location at 123 W. 18th St., with twice as much space as its former location at 541 6th Ave., where the school was located for 26 years. The school will use the extra space to expand its bass, guitar, keyboard and piano programs… On May 19, The National Academy Museum and School holds its 2011 Spring Gala in the Academy’s recently renovated galleries, with honorees Stephen Antonakos, Morton Kaish and Kevin Roche. A silent auction will feature works from Tom Nozkowski, Susan Rothenberg, Dana Schutz and many others... The Young People’s Chorus celebrates the 10th anniversary of its commissioning and performance series, Transient Glory, with a retrospective concert May 6. YPC has also announced the upcoming Transient Glory Symposium event, to take place in February of 2012... Keys to the Future Piano Festival announces its 6th season, and a new location at Abrons Arts Center on the Lower East Side. The festival runs May 24 through 26 and features 27 works from 19 composers and 10 pianists... On May 14, Symphony Space presents Wall to Wall

FOR A SPECTACULAR SPRING BREAK

GUITAR HEROES

LEGENDARY CRAFTSMEN FROM ITALY TO NEW YORK

Through July 4

CÉZANNE’S CARD PLAYERS Final Weeks – Closes May 8

LaPlacaCohen 212-675-4106 Publication: CITY ARTS Insertion date: APRIL 20, 2011 10 x 5.541 4C, NP

IT’S TIME WE MET

Sonidos—this year’s installment of its annual Wall to Wall event—a free, 12-hour music marathon that begins at 11 a.m. The program features Mexican dance, and music from Puerto Rico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and more... New Dramatists announces Full Stage USA, a commission, development and production initiative in non-profit theater.

As part of the program, backed by the The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, playwrights will be eligible for grants of $25,000 and partner theaters can receive up to $50,000 to support production...

The Brooklyn Academy of Music announced a 16-month-long celebration of its 150th anniversary in September 2011.

Anniversary programming highlights include a performance of Jean-Baptise Lully’s comic opera Les Arts Florissants, The Bridge Project’s production of Richard III starring Kevin Spacey, and the Merce Cunningham Legacy Tour... Pace University has announced the appointment of Martin I. Kagan as director of cultural affairs. Kagan, who has over 30 years of experience in the field, has served as interim director since December 2010. He will be responsible for all significant cultural events, and for budget and administration of all University theaters and performing arts venues.

VISIT ON MONDAY, APRIL 25

RICHARD SERRA DRAWING

A RETROSPECTIVE

Through August 28

metmuseum.org Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York is made possible in part by Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Chilton, Jr. John Monteleone, Archtop Guitar, Sun King model (serial number 195), detail, Islip, New York, 2000, Private Collection. Photograph © Archtop History, Inc. from the book ARCHTOP GUITARS: The Journey from Cremona to New York by Rudy Pensa and Vincent Ricardel. Cézanne’s Card Players was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and The Courtauld Gallery, London. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Paul Cézanne, The Card Players (detail), 1890–92, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960. Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective is made possible in part by the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund. It was organized by the Menil Collection, Houston. Richard Serra, September, 2001, paintstick on handmade paper, Private Collection. © Richard Serra. Photo: Rob McKeever.

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April 20, 2011 | City Arts

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Doing Art’s Work

Jen Bekman’s growing empire of projects seeks to convert a new generation of collectors

By Jerry Portwood We’ve all been there: You walk into a gleaming white-box gallery where an elegant gallerina sits behind a designer table. She doesn’t seem to notice your entrance, doesn’t even deign to look up from her glowing computer screen as you walk through the hallowed rooms to see the art on the walls. If you ask her for a list of the works, she’s curt, dismissive. And you try to whisk by the expensive creations as efficiently and unobtrusively as possible.

You arrive back on the sidewalk feeling beat up, befuddled and a little... guilty.

That’s the problem with the art collecting experience, according to Jen Bekman. And it’s exactly the opposite of what she aims for with her various art-world projects. Bekman has quickly become an undeniable force in the art world, horrifying some of the cultural gatekeepers, while simultaneously creating a cult of admirers and spawning imitators—all around her mission to bring art to everyone.

“Almost everyone I know who has been to galleries much has had at least one bad experience,” Bekman explains on a recent Friday afternoon from her loft-like office space on the fringes of Koreatown. “Either made to feel bad, or being offended by being treated badly. Either you have to be really secure or able to put up with a lot of bullshit.

And most people aren’t like that. And then on the other end, you can go to Ikea. And so a lot of people have given up on it.”

In 2003, at the age of 33, Bekman cashed out her 401(k) and started a small storefront gallery with about $15,000 in an out-of-the-way space on Spring Street near the Bowery. Her mission: to create an opportunity to see work in an environment that was credible and professional—as well as welcoming and warm. “I went in blind. But I was extremely determined.

They should have never given me a lease,” Bekman says, with a chirpy chuckle.

Two years later, she launched a photography competition called Hey, Hot Shot! that has since proven a launch pad for many photographers into the fine art market. Then, in 2007, she created 20x200. com, a website with an emailed newsletter that promotes limited edition archival prints

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Mike Fernandez

to her cause

Jen Bekman in her office located on East 32nd Street.

starting at $20. She was looking for a way to lower the “risk” associated with art buying.

“I thought the price of lunch was low enough to feel the commitment without the risk,” Bekman explains.

She now employs a full-time staff of 25, contracts a number of printmakers around the country and various vendors and shippers to meet demand—since its start, 20x200 has shipped over 115,000 prints around the world—for distinctive art by actual artists.

A cheery blond who has an impish twinkle in her eye and a milky-white complexion, Bekman seems like your sassy friend who also happens to have really great taste. Born and raised in New York City (she graduated from Stuyvesant High School, followed by a stint at Hunter College), she speaks in a bouncy way that makes her feel like a product of a relaxed

West Coast upbringing: She’s not shy about saying something’s “awesome” or cute.

Fittingly, she found her way to the Bay Area and worked at a series of web jobs during the dotcom boom. “I was never a dotcom millionaire,” she says. “I don’t have a gajillion dollars.” But she did have a thing for mid-century furniture and did invest in Heywood-Wakefield pieces that are still in her East Village apartment.

The office on East 32nd Street is shared with a graphic design firm and has that quiet, low-lit atmosphere in which creative types seem to thrive. Editions from 20x200 are hung on the white walls, and young men and women sit along a long table staring intently at Macs, doing art’s work.

While many of those she employs have MFAs and create art in their spare time, Bekman never worked at a gallery prior to opening her eponymous space. “It wasn’t

even an aspiration,” she admits. But she had a friend who was an artist, and she saw how difficult it was for her to make work and present it professionally. She became aware of a huge gap, of a group of potential consumers who couldn’t access quality work. Then one day, she opened a Pottery Barn catalog and was horrified. “There was a $200 framed picture of pigeons in Venice or something,” she explains. “And it made me furious.”

Without any art network or clients, Bekman started with emerging artists in her bricks-and-mortar gallery, with the first exhibit consisting of photographers Dana Miller, Mara Bodis Wollner and Tema Stauffer. She chose Nolita, rather than Chelsea, because, as she explains, “I wanted people to feel like they could buy a pair of shoes and then they can still go look at art, and they don’t need a town car to take

them over to 10th Avenue.” But she still felt frustrated that she wasn’t reaching a wideenough audience.

“I always talk about the fervor of the newly converted,” Bekman says. “Living with art in my home is, like, this amazing thing, this fortifying thing. It makes my life better, and I’m sort of, like, everyone’s life should be better like that. It is a very cool thing to have in your life. But if I wanted everyone to collect art, I’m not going to do it from a storefront.”

With Hey, Hot Shot!, Bekman started employing the scale of the Internet and building an audience. At the same time, it allowed her to engage in a community of curators and publishers by creating a panel to select works from the submissions, lending them legitimacy.

But the big break came with 20x200.

A mix of the quixotic, quirky and cute: Browse the site, and you’ll encounter everything from witty text-oriented prints to moody photographs of baby animals to colorful graphic designs that look like album cover artwork. While much of it seems accessible and upbeat—the sort of stuff you could show your fuddy-duddy dad, while also appealing to your angsty teenage daughter—there are pieces that aren’t as easily digestible.

Bekman doesn’t shy away from being populist in her approach. “I’m not super cool, and I’m OK with that. And I’m not like a huge nerd,” she says. “And I’m not bland by any stretch of the imagination.

I always sort of prided myself as being mainstream enough to understand what most people will like. It’s also very important to me to engage people.” If it’s baseball season, there may be a piece that would appeal to fans (Don Hamerman’s photographs of found baseballs) or computer geeks (Mark Richards’ photographs of antiquated computer systems). They even offer gift-wrapping during holiday time, and have gotten into education regarding framing, an area that is also full of anxiety.

From the start, Bekman’s motto for the business has been “Live With Art, It’s Good For You,” which she knows can cause eye rolling among the culturati. “I feel like I have to defend it because it’s such a pat, almost cheesy statement. But I really believe that people’s lives are better because they have art around them,” she says. “I find it infuriating that art—which is such a joyful, emotional thing—is so fraught, that a lot of people have negative feelings around it.

And some of it a mistrust of artists and the mistrust is: Are you trying to fool me?”

Michelle Muldrow’s “Altar in Orange” on view at Jen Bekman Gallery beginning April 29.

Jeffrey Teuton, the associate director of Jen Bekman Gallery, explains how the work of a photographer like Colleen Plumb, which the gallery recently exhibited, can have really beautiful photos (a dreamy, sleeping lion) but also striking images like the one of her husband lying down with their dog after it was euthanized. “We work on getting people in the door, having them look at something they wouldn’t normally look at and perhaps work they weren’t very familiar with.”

The gallery had some very big success with photographer Nina Berman. Her work was selected as part of Hey, Hot Shot! and then the photo journalist’s “Purple Hearts” series was exhibited at the gallery. Holland Cotter of the New York Times reviewed the show, and later Berman’s “Marine Wedding” series was included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial. “Jen was the first person to take Nina out of the photojournalist category and elevate her to the fine art context,” Teuton explains.

Bekman says she expected an outsize level of narcissism and ambition from artists when she started, but discovered it wasn’t usually the case. “The fact is that most artists can’t not make art. And most artists are making art at incredible personal expense, just trying to keep a practice alive because they have something to say and they want people to hear it.” So 20x200 was also a way to create support for artists and their practice.

It provides a regular income and has financed new, expensive projects for some artists, and allowed some to simply pay the rent. “It’s good for artists, and it’s good for the world,” Bekman reiterates.

Now each artist exhibited in the gallery also selects a piece to have made into an edition of prints. And it is a two-way street: Bekman relates the story of one collector who so fell in love with a piece after she bought the $20 print that she then bought the $8,000 original. And the people collecting prints range from the neophyte to the savvy curator.

Painter Michelle Muldrow, 42, will have her first solo New York City show April 29 at Bekman’s gallery, with a series of “landscape paintings” of the interiors of big-box retail stores. A mid-career artist who is represented

in Los Angeles and in Ohio, where she has relocated, Muldrow explains that she first heard of Bekman through a museum curator friend in Cleveland.

“She had these beautiful prints on the wall; this great collection, and it wasn’t cheesy,” she explains. “And she said something like, ‘I belong to the print-of-themonth club on 20x200.’ And she says she refers a lot of people to it when they are just looking to collect and they don’t know how to begin.”

She says it has been sort of an adjustment, thinking about the archival prints of her work, since she was told all along, “‘You don’t reproduce your work in any way...’ These limited-edition prints kind of turns around the myth of what you’re supposed to do as a fine artist.” But she’s excited knowing that some of her friends, who may not always be able to afford her works, will be able to own one.

The curation of 20x200 has branched out from simply featuring emerging artists to include editions by Lawrence Weiner and Roger Ballen. In December of last year, an edition of Paula Scher’s celebrated “The World” painting was offered in various sizes and panels (the full, 30-by-40-inch edition of 10, offered at $2,000 each, has sold out), with a third of the proceeds benefiting the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

It’s the conversational tone and friendly approach that seems to have worked. On her Personism blog, Bekman often includes poetry and favored artworks—for example, she recently paired a Todd Hido photograph of a suburban lawn with a Raymond Carver poem (“Phone Booth”)—and in the newsletters she writes that feature art from the 20x200 editions, she doesn’t appear anxious or worried about her use of exclamation points. When she received the news that 20x200 artist Jorge Colombo’s work, created using an iPhone application, would be featured on the cover of The New Yorker in May 2009, she wrote it was “Officially awesome!”

Of course, with popularity and success come ruffled feathers, jealousy and even outrage. Part of it can be explained by the intimidation that Bekman’s projects are siphoning off funds from collectors that would otherwise be spent in a traditional gallery environment.

Brian Clamp, the director of ClampArt, feels it definitely has had an impact. The program of his 11-year-old Chelsea gallery features many emerging artists, including photographers, and if a collector is trying to build a comprehensive collection and can include a cheaper print of an artist, it may mean they won’t spend it on a more expensive edition. Five of the artists he represents have participated in 20x200 with varying degrees of success. “There’s certainly a discussion beforehand,” Clamp says. And he admits it does allow access to works for a demographic that may not always be able to afford works by admired artists, including his own gallery assistants.

Although he does see it as being more April 20 , 2011 | City Arts

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valuable than buying “some poster” that is easily discarded, he’s still wary of the fact that some collectors may forego the traditional gallery for one of the prints. “If they can get a $20 print by an artist they want to collect instead of a $2,000 one, then sometimes they will go for the $20 print.”

Elana Rubinfeld, the director of Fred Torres Gallery in Chelsea, says she doesn’t feel threatened by 20x200 or other online art-selling ventures and feels it’s a completely different experience. But she does go to the site to see work by new artists. She even bought a piece by William Powhida, his “Why You Should Buy Art” (featured on our cover), which she gave as a gift to an art advisor friend. “I don’t think

of it as art; I bought this little piece about the art world. And she has it hanging in her house,” she explains. “It was the message: I gave it as a gesture. It was a thank-you.

It wasn’t something you take seriously; it can’t replace the art-buying experience, so I don’t see it as a threat. No one’s thinking it’s buying a real piece of work.”

But that doesn’t mean that Rubinfeld doesn’t see the power of reaching a larger audience in this sort of medium. In fact, Rubinfeld partnered with Exhibition A, another online venture that launched in December that offers printed canvas editions of established artists’ works, to offer an edition of a work by George Rahme.

“He’s an artist we had one exhibition

with in 2009. And it was a successful exhibition,” she says. “His name is kind of out there, but this allows us to introduce his work to a larger audience. The [edition] is not precious, but it can found by people, it can be respectable. And young collectors who want to acquire a piece can do it and not feel like they’re going to be homeless.”

According to Rubinfeld, Rahme was excited and on-board from the start. The artist is from Detroit and, although his work is priced modestly—in line with an emerging artist’s work, and he’s fairly successful—many people who admire his work, including friends, are not able to own it.

It was this reason, much like Bekman’s

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initial impulse for starting her gallery, that Exhibition A co-founder Laura Martin, 27, came up with her concept, a tweak on the 20x200 formula. She had been working in fashion, as Cynthia Rowley’s business director, and fell in love with the work of artist René Ricard.

“I was 26, living in Downtown Manhattan in an apartment with high rent and a whole lot of blank walls. I wanted to collect art by these artists that I came to love, but I couldn’t yet afford their original works.” She knew other people who felt the same way, so she presented the idea to Rowley and her husband Bill Powers, coowner of Half Gallery, who thought it could work and gave their support and financing.

Although Martin says the focus is on more established artists—they have presented works by Terence Koh, Hanna Liden and introduced David LaChapelle this week—and the site has been likened to a “Gilt Group for art,” referring to the semi-exclusive fashion-oriented discount Web business, the impulse is an echo of Bekman’s creed. When Martin explains, “We want to introduce artists to a wider audience, and there are many people who are attracted to works but at this point in their lives could never dream of owning an original work... I sometimes say it’s a gateway drug,” she sounds like a Bekman convert. Martin goes on to explain, “It’s another way to support working artists; it’s an additional stream of revenue for them.

From my perspective that’s a good thing.

We are a business. We do make money. A lot of that goes to the artists.”

According to Martin, in the first month the site had over 13,000 members sign up, and since its Dec. 8 launch, it now has approximately 40,000 members. And her dream came true: She did work with Ricard, creating a limited-edition piece of one of his paintings, and it now hangs on her wall.

While Bekman says that a lot of dealers she knows have come around to what she is doing, and there are more and more sites imitating her concept, there remains a certain condescension and befuddlement at her achievements.

“Everyone is concerned with their pie; they want to hold on to their piece,” Bekman explains. “I’ve been sort of saying for years: I’m trying to make the pie bigger; I’m not trying to take any away from you. I’m trying to get more people coming though the door of your gallery. I’m trying to map a path for people from, starting with us, feeling much more confident and comfortable walking in and engaging because it’s an important thing to do.”

But her evangelical zeal doesn’t seem to have abated. “I don’t think we are so much about selling prints as we are about extending the experience of being an art collector to a bigger audience,” Bekman explains. “And while doing it, we’re very committed to ensuring that experience is authentic, whether someone is spending $20 or $2,000.”

WINE

Malbec Beckons

Bordeaux import that blossomed in South American soil

By Josh Perilo character all its own. outh America has been one of the rising If you’re a first timer with Malbec, stars in the wine world for the last two a great place to start is simple and decades. Unlike Australia, however, inexpensive. Enrique Foster Ique Malbec the prices of most South American wines 2008 is a fantastic basic Malbec that won’t have not risen significantly. Chilean Merlots throw your palate (or pocketbook) for a began showing up in North American loop. On the lighter side of the grape, it wine stores decades ago and they remain starts with ripe cherry and plum fruit. The bargains, while ultra-expensive wines like finish balances out the fruitiness with notes Australia’s “Australis” are becoming more of cinnamon and pipe tobacco. It’s great all and more common. by itself, but it’s even better with a chicken Even more of a mecca for bargain vino empanada. than Chile, however, is Argentina. Many The Malbec grape has a dark side to international grapes, like Chardonnay and it, as I mentioned before, even in sunny Sauvignon Blanc, thrive there, especially Argentina. When allowed to ripen to its on the sunny, fertile plateau of the fullest and spend time in oak to mature, you Mendoza area. can wind up with a serious wine that has These grapes, which were originally grown to produce “California-style” Softer and riper with telltale wines, are now coming tropical fruit flavors, the white into their own, and an Argentinean Chardonnay wines from Argentina are a surefire now tastes like, well, an bet when you need something Argentinean Chardonnay.

Softer and riper with refreshing and inexpensive. telltale tropical fruit flavors, the white wines from Argentina are bigger and bolder flavors. The Punto Final a surefire bet when you need something Malbec 2008 is darker and more muscular refreshing and inexpensive. than the Ique. With baked fruit flavors of As far as reds are concerned, however, black currant and blueberry, the intensity one grape rises above them all in Argentina: follows through the middle with smoky Malbec. A hundred years ago, Malbec notes, and finishes with a hefty dollop of was used much more prominently in the black pepper and vanilla. While there’s a lot blending of red Bordeaux wines. While it of fruit up front on this wine, it definitely is still legal to use small amounts of Malbec fares better with food. Preferably something in Bordeaux, it is very rarely done. At the grilled that was, at one point, attached to a same time, south of Bordeaux in the Cahors mooing animal. region, Malbec was being blended with the If you’re entertaining and you want rustic Tannat grape to make the namesake to share your South American find with “black wine” of that area. But once it your friends and family, the Astica Malbec traveled across the Atlantic to Argentina, 2008 comes in a party-friendly magnum. the grape took on a softer, less tannic and Remarkably full of flavor for the low price riper flavor profile. point, this Malbec has the signature dark The typical Argentinean Malbec can berry-driven fruit up front and zing of be anywhere from medium- to fullspice on the finish, but with a little less bodied, but it will always have dark fruit smoky oak. up front and a little spice on the finish.

For a grape that once played second Not as jammy as a warm climate Syrah or fiddle in Bordeaux, this storied berry needs Shiraz, spicier than Merlot and less tannic absolutely no help being delicious and than Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec has a inexpensive south of the equator. <

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April 20, 2011 | City Arts

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Theater

How To Direct Your Own ‘Love Song’ After five years, John Kolvenbach takes the reins of his own hit play

By Mark Blankenship ive years after he created it, John Kolvenbach is still learning things about the lamp.

This particular fixture is crucial to Love Song, his quirky comedy about a lonely man named Beane whose relationship with a thief named Molly literally changes his world.

Once he’s in love, Beane’s mood picks up, his hearing gets better, and his apartment gets bigger. And the lamp in his living room, which barely works in the first scene, gets brighter and brighter and brighter.

Kolvenbach’s had plenty of time to see the lamp in action: In 2006, his gently magical play had a successful run on London’s West End, starring Cillian Murphy and Neve Campbell as Beane and Molly, and that same year, it bowed at Chicago’s Steppenwolf.

But for Love Song’s New York debut— it’s running through May 7 as part of the Americas Off Broadway festival at 59E59— Kolvenbach is not just the playwright. For

F

the first time, he’s also directing the show, and that’s forcing him to confront the nuts-and-bolts reality of staging a play that operates by metaphorical rules.

“The biggest thing to tackle is the whole issue of collapsing walls and moving lights,” he says. “One of the themes in the play is that it looks at love as a kind of contagion, as a flu that gets passed from one character to another. And we wanted to look at, ‘What if love gets passed to Beane’s physical world, so that that kind of animation and change could happen to the set?’ We wanted to look at the set as a living thing that could be reactive.”

Originally, Kolvenbach imagined a floor lamp, and when the play was produced on the West End, the design team had the budget to make one that could crumple and move, depending on Beane’s mood. But Kolvenbach didn’t have the budget for that kind of gizmo, which presented a challenge.

His solution: Change to an overhead light fixture that can swing around the

ceiling like a puppet. And in fact, Director Kolvenbach likes that approach so much that Playwright Kolvenbach may add it to the script.

He thinks of his two jobs that way, as different identities that don’t necessarily overlap. “To me, directing is an application of practical principles,” he explains. “You’re like a mechanic more than you are an artist.

You’re just trying to make it work. And when you’re writing, you’re not thinking about [the practical principles] that much.”

That’s why Kolvenbach won’t helm his own material until it’s been produced a few times. “If it’s a new play, if it’s the first time out, I actually don’t like to direct them because it’s confusing to be the director and the writer,” he says. “It can be difficult to be sure if it’s not working because you’re failing the script or if it’s not working because the script is failing you. Once it’s been done and has been successful, then you know it can work, and you just have to keep trying until you can get it.”

By confining himself to the writer’s chair, Kolvenbach also got to watch Austin Pendleton (who directed this season’s Three Sisters at CSC) helm the show at Steppenwolf and John Crowley (A Behanding in Spokane) steer it on the West End. “I had a huge advantage as a director because I had seen what those guys did,” he says.

He also has a unique freedom to try new things with his production. When most directors tackle a new play that’s already been established, the script is essentially frozen. If they run across something that isn’t working, then they can’t do much to change it. “Fortunately for me, I don’t have to be too careful about heeding the writer’s intentions” Kolvenbach quips. “I can do whatever I want.” < Mark Blankenship is the editor of TDF Stages, Theatre Development Fund’s online performing arts magazine.

JAZZ

Improvisers’ Paradise Revisited The legacy of the Creative Music Studio persists—if you listen

By Howard Mandel ne upon a time, the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, N.Y., was the coolest place on the planet for musicians. Now the people who made that happen are trying again at The Stone, located on Second Street and Avenue C. It wasn’t so long ago—from 1972 to ’84—that pianist and vibraphonist Karl Berger and his wife singer Ingrid Sertso, advised by Ornette Coleman, ran a communal situation some 120 miles north of the city for about 50 “guiding artists” and “participants” (never “students”) per seasonal session. People came from everywhere to live together, teach and learn music fundamentals applicable across genre or style. They concertized frequently, and sometimes took the show on the road.

John Cage, Olatunji, Cecil Taylor, Ursula Oppens, Anthony Braxton, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Lee Konitz, G.S. Sachdev, Paulo Moura, Naná Vasconcelos, Aïyb Dieng, Ismet Siral and Pauline Oliveros were among the visitors, so fresh, strong ideas especially useful for improvisation took hold. Concepts and practices emerged that were employed in jazz, electronica, chamber works and fusions leading to “world music.”

CMS tenets endure in the sounds of dozens of the original, still active attendees

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and uncounted players and listeners they’ve influenced. Few of the originators are still living, but enough participants remain that a day-long symposium about CMS produced last weekend by Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies (whose director George Lewis was at CMS) served as a reunion. I moderated a panel on CMS history on which saxophonists Oliver Lake and Don Davis, bansuri flutist Steve Gorn and African tambin flutist Sylvain Leroux, pianist Marilyn Crispell, guitarist James Emery and percussionist Adam Rudolph remembered being at CMS, and are now carrying its lessons forward.

As often occurs when survivors of paradise convene, talk of revival was in the air. As happens less often, current initiatives

by Berger, Sertso and their supporters substantiate the possibility that CMS has new grounds in which to grow. Composer/ saxophonist John Zorn, a guest performer in Woodstock, has agreed to let Berger start a Stone Workshop Orchestra in his East Village recital room; it’s scheduled to rehearse and perform every Monday night for months to come. Non-profit Innova Records will release a series of CMS compilation CDs beginning next fall. Nearly 400 boxes of old, quarter-inch tapes are being prepared by engineer Ted Orr, another CMS graduate, for digitalization. The

archives, including oral histories, posters and other ephemera, will be stored and archived in Columbia University libraries.

Berger, who is now 76, is pleased. Born in Heidelberg, Germany, in the mid ’30s, he was a professor with a PhD in music aesthetics when he and Sertso heard This Is Our Music, the breakout album of Ornette Coleman’s quartet, and decided they must travel to the U.S., where such music was made. In Paris, they bumped into cornetist Don Cherry, whom they recognized from Ornette’s album cover.

“I’d like to play with you,” Berger, usually shy, told Cherry. “Rehearsal is at four, tomorrow afternoon,” Cherry replied.

So Berger joined a band with Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri, French bassist J.F. Jenny Clark and Italian drummer Aldo Romano, although they shared no spoken language. In 1968, with personnel shifts (drummer Ed Blackwell replacing Romano, the addition of bassist Henry Grimes and Pharoah Sanders on tenor sax and piccolo), they recorded Symphony For Improvisers, a beautiful blend of melodies with collective improv, “free” but in two suites, each with four themes.

Berger describes Cherry, who died in 1995, as “wearing short-wave radio earphones, picking up melodies from everywhere.” He became a guru at

the Creative Music Studio, though he typically said little more than: “Listen,” and, “You can do it.” Indeed, attention to sense perceptions and encouragement of imaginative play remain touchstones of the CMS method, along with study of the rhythmic exercise called GaMaLa Taki (for its syllabic division into three beats, and two), the overtone series and harmonics.

“These are more basic, ground level elements of music than Western tradition teaches, starting with pitches written on staffs,” says Berger. “Many musics, jazz included, emphasize oral transmission of information, rhythms and dynamics first, having students sing the music before they play it.”

Berger has introduced the CMS approach in music education programs such as the Banff Center’s in Alberta, Canada, and festivals in Istanbul, besides collaborating with Jeff Buckley, Natalie Merchant, reggae’s Sly and Robbie, Bill Laswell and Angélique Kidjo. CMS participants Steve Bernstein and Peter Apfelbaum use CMS techniques in their own ensembles and in arrangements for Levon Helm, Sting, Elton John and Phish.

The CMS gospel has spread to California Institute of the Arts, Austin’s Creative Opportunities Orchestra and the Chicagobased Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

According to Berger, CMS in Woodstock faded due to Reagan-era arts budget cuts. It could, should and will (we can hope) be reinvigorated by the do-ityourself spirit in this digital age. <

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4/14/11 11:10 AM

AttheGALLERIES O’Beil: On Paper 2006-2011

It is always interesting to view the work of art critics. Most often, the soul of their criticism—its preferences and loyalties—is encapsulated in their own art. Hedy O’Beil has been a guide to the art world for close to 40 years. She contributed to Arts Magazine in its heyday, from 1976 to 1985, when it was under the editorship of Hilton Kramer and, later, Richard Martin. She has lectured, taught and written on art and artists in various venues in the quarter century since. All the while, she has maintained an impressive exhibition schedule in and around New York City.

At the beginning of her career, she gave herself over to the fluid, robust moves of gestural abstraction. Tacked to the walls of Gallery 307 is a series of works on paper, many in monochrome, produced in the last five years. They could have been painted at any time since critic Harold Rosenberg coined the phrase “action painting” in the late 1950s. She never strayed from her initial attachment to the reigning fashion of the day. It was an etiquette of improvisation and vagrant mark-making that, at the time, carried the frisson of a challenge to established norms of painting. By now, the vocabulary of gestural abstraction—its dribbles, splashes, blotches and drips— represents a vintage formalism that abandoned its germinal attitude of dissent quite some time ago. This is a very conventional exhibition.

Emulating de Kooning in the 1940s, O’Beil dispenses with color in roughly half the work on show. The discontinuities of accidental mark-making dominate the monochrome pieces. The most effective and loveliest paintings here are the ones that, like “Eternal Sky” or “Orange Storm Coming,” frolic with color. Clear blues, pinks, orange and yellow bob and weave in concert, lending coherence to a surface of quick, unpredictable strokes. Where O’Beil keeps her line delicate, it tends toward calligraphy and aspires to drawing. Heavier lines, made with oil stick or a broader brush, acquiesce in the self-dramatizing, random display we have come to think of as painterliness.

Some years ago, in one of her reviews, she quoted abstract painter George McNeil, who died at the age of 87 in 1995: “There are three basic periods in a painter’s life. First studying and learning up to age thirty-five. Then consolidating until you’re fifty-five. Mature work follows to sixty-five. But, there’s a fourth period, where you don’t give a damn!” On the evidence of this ensemble, O’Beil herself has entered her fourth period. She does not give a damn that fashion moved on.

[Maureen Mullarkey] Through April 28, Gallery 307, 307 7th Ave., 646-400-5254.

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Pink Moon

Some touchstones are more esoteric than others. By portending an intimacy that can be shared by thousands (if not millions) and still seem like a secret treasure, they amass cult appeal. Given the fragmented nature of contemporary society, there are any number of passionately held artifacts that remain outside the purview of mass culture. Pink Moon, the third album by the British folk musician Nick Drake, is one of them.

It was Drake’s final album—he died from an overdose of anti-depressants in 1974, at the age of 26. As with many figures who underwent untimely deaths, Vincent Van Gogh and James Dean, say, or Francesca Woodman, a romantic mystique subsequently came to surround, intensify and obscure Drake’s achievement. Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects has organized an exhibition predicated on Drake’s hushed and mystical songs. It seeks to explore “the hidden dimensions of connectivity between music and art.”

How well Pink Moon the exhibition embodies Pink Moon the album is best determined, I suppose, by Drake devotees. Though the gallery, along with the Estate of Nick Drake, “encouraged contemporary artists to develop an ongoing dialog with Drake’s work,” the exhibition itself seems unsettled, by turns vague and obvious. Michael Trevithick’s original album art is on display, and the album itself is depicted several times over in Gideon Bok’s cubist-inspired “From The Morning Diptych.” Then there’s Paul Villinski’s sculpture of butterflies emanating from a burnt guitar. These are straightforward, one-to-one markers.

But how does one square all that with the almost imperceptible irony filtering through Duncan Hannah’s painting of the British countryside or Sangram Majumdar’s atypical but fetching “Moonlight”? Oh, wait: Drake was from Britain and the moon is right there, up front in the album title.

Would that the curatorial choices had been more specific to the tone of Drake’s music, as is the case with Kurt Knobelsdorf’s moody dioramas and the overripe romanticism of Stuart Shils’ landscape. Still, there’s not a piece at Harvey that feels extraneous or arbitrary, and the overall eccentricity of choices should divert even those unfamiliar with the fragile charms of Drake’s music.

[Mario Naves] Through April 31, Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, 24 E. 73rd St., 212-2812281.

Arp/Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and Jean Arp (1886-1966) both count among the great pioneers of modern abstract sculpture, and barely a decade separates their ages. And yet, temperamentally they

seem generations apart.

Brancusi transported the simple lifestyle of his Romanian peasant background to Paris, where he devoted himself to distilling the geometric essences of a few favorite motifs. By contrast, the peripatetic Arp engaged a maelstrom of avant-garde movements—Blaue Reiter, Dada, Surrealism, AbstractCréation; his whimsical wit explored media ranging from collage to relief sculpture to poetry.

Arp expressed his profound admiration for the elder artist, but only deigned to visit his studio once. He was in fact to give organic abstraction a distinctly different flavor.

Mitchell-Innes & Nash’s inspired pairing of these two masters brings together works on loan from several institutions and private collections. The exhibition suffers from one significant limitation: Brancusi is represented only by two of his small, highly polished ovoid bronzes. Both of “Rise,”

by Paul these “heads,” Villinski. however, are major works.

The strained tilt and small, textured welt on “Prometheus” poignantly suggests its subject’s ordeal by gnawing eagle. With a single ridge and curving indentation, “The Newborn (version I)” neatly sums up the compact energy of a crying baby. Still, one does miss Brancusi’s hands-on love of wood and stone surfaces, and the strangely elegant obtuseness that characterizes his larger works.

Eight sculptures spanning more than three decades capture Arp’s movement from two to three dimensions. The sinuous shapes of an early wood relief from 1929 condense as a tiny female torso within a streaming ribbon of pink: a mother-form within a birth canal, perhaps? A wood sculpture from the same year, consisting of irregular disks set on sturdy columns, marks the artist’s transition towards the inthe-round sculptures that flesh out the rest of installation.

As exercises in plastic energy these later sculptures feel at once whimsical and formidably focused. Their allusions to the “real” arise not from descriptive detail but from rhythmic, interior impulses that seem to propel masses towards their extremities.

The bronze “Winged Being” (cast in 1996

from a 1961 plaster sculpture) defies anatomical logic as it swells from the robust, slippery bulk of a torso to its terminations in a head and a single shoulder—and yet it vitally conveys a human-like presence, mute but alert. A completely different energy animates another bronze (cast in 1971 from a 1930 plaster sculpture) which resembles a squat mass topped with miniature, elaborated versions of itself; one thinks of an opossum carrying its young on its back. Elsewhere, “La Sirène,” a supple ribbon of bronze, coils indulgently through space before a final vertical surge.

(And if this sounds lewd, it reflects the peculiar blend of innocence, cunning and compulsion that is Arp.) So what does Arp tell us about Brancusi, and vice versa?

Among other things, the exhibition confirms my own impression that Brancusi proceeded from ideas of form and sensations of surface, and Arp from empathetic rhythms of masses.

Arp surely learned from Brancusi, whose two small works remind us of how boldly he broke new stylistic and conceptual ground. But Arp fixed onto something else as well, something prior to Brancusi, and primordial in the plastic language of form. [John Goodrich] Through May 6, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 1018 Madison Ave., 212-744-7400.

Notes on Notes on “Camp”

In 1964, a young Susan Sontag penned what would become a treatise on “bad taste.” In “Notes on ‘Camp,’” largely crediting “the homosexuals” for their aesthetic and stylistic sensibility, Sontag detailed the many specificities that constitute “camp taste”: essentially overthe-top sincerity, artifice, and how “to be a dandy in the age of mass culture.”

So what has become of camp in this, the age of unbridled, self-mocking mass culture and unfettered irony? Invisible-Exports attempts to answer this question with a sparse yet rewarding group exhibition, fitting work from 12 artists into its cramped Lower East Side gallery. Camp stalwarts like John Waters and Karlheinz Weinberger are balanced with lesser-known artists like the opportunely named Vaginal Davis

(who is, it should be noted, quite famous in certain circles).

Two early-’70s photographs by Bob Mizer provide a little history of camp taste.

“Tony Rome & Ron Nichols” is like a still from a gay, safari-themed version of On the Town. The models, clad in military uniforms, radiate such excessive machismo that it’s impossible not to appreciate the picture’s underlying eroticism and sexiness.

Jeremy Kost’s “If My Sister Only Knew” picks up a contemporary, DIY thread of hyper-masculinity turned awry. Seventy-two Polaroids, arranged in a Grindr-like grid, depict a grown man playing with a heap of Barbies. That, as Sontag wrote, “what is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine” seems to be a safe refuge for 21stcentury camp.

Perhaps the most authentic work of camp is a “painting” of seven smeared faces

by Davis. “No One Leaves Delilah” was created using make-up counter products with ridiculous names like “Pinkham health tonic” and “Wet & Wild nail polish.” The title recalls Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 Samson and Delilah, in which Hedy Lamarr stars as the beautiful Philistine. The fact that Lamarr distinguished herself as a scientist and inventor only adds to her camp appeal.

After all, she’s the one who summed up her movie career by saying, “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.” [Nicholas Wells] Through May 8, Invisible-Exports, 14A Orchard St., 212-226-5447.

Zhang Dali: New Slogan

The men and women in Zhang Dali’s exhibition New Slogan, now on view at the Eli Klein gallery in Soho, stare out at us from within their big frames. They’re compelling. But what do they have to tell us? New Slogan is an exploration of the way that rules and propaganda can mute ordinary human beings. Unfortunately, the show itself ends up nearly as muted as its subjects.

“Rush,” by John Waters.

To make the pieces, Zhang Dali first took a series of photographs of Chinese migrant workers living in his hometown, Beijing. Then he painted over them with Chinese government slogans. Finally, he super-imposed grids or concentric rings over each face.

The people in these pieces look buried, lost under a thick layer of words. And apparently this was Zhang’s purpose: to show how relentless propaganda eventually obscures individuality. The slogans he chose are the same ones plastered all over Beijing. If they wear away at people’s spirit in reality, then in New Slogan they wear away at people’s very faces.

There is something hypnotic about these works. I spent a long time studying one young woman stuck in the shadow behind an Olympic slogan, her gentle features melting into the background. Across the room, a young man on a purple background looked trapped behind concentric circles, targeted.

The trouble is that I, at least, wasn’t able to get anything from these pieces beyond a sense of alienation. Some of this is because of language; all but one of the slogans are in Chinese, and the gallery doesn’t provide translations. And sure, the show’s message is still clear. But it’s an almost painfully simple message. There is little beauty in the execution to give it depth, and there is nothing personal in the work to give it poignancy. Zhang Dali never connects with his impoverished subjects. Instead, he treats them like blank canvases on which to paint his concept. [Kate Prengel] Through May 8, Eli Klein Fine Art, 462 West Broadway, 212-255-4388.

70 Years of Abstract Painting: Excerpts

Excerpts is the subtitle to 70 Years of Abstract Painting, an exhibition of 40-some artists at Jason McCoy Gallery. As such, it serves as a convenient hedge against complaints about the patchwork selection of works on view. As an organizing conceit,

Thomas, Sharon Horvath, Thomas Nozkowski, Martin Mullin and Jennifer Riley, 70 Years of Abstract Painting argues for abstraction as an ideal forum for intimacy and idiosyncrasy. Which may mean that the exhibition is more of an accurate gauge of the genre’s 21st-century standing than we might, at first, realize.

[MN] Through May 20, Jason McCoy Gallery, 41 E. 57th St., 212-319-1996.

Neil Farber: Slugging

“Slogan 76,” by Zhang Dali.

Excerpts beats Hodgepodge or Airing Out The Storage Racks, both of which are closer to the truth, but that’s not to say the exhibition doesn’t beg interesting questions.

Any show purporting to explore abstraction, let alone 70 years of the stuff, has to contend with the genre’s current marginal status. At this date, it’s difficult to imagine that abstract painting was once a driving force of culture, a chief proponent of the avant-garde and, in the spacey heads of its earliest practitioners, a stimulus for social change.

Nowadays, “pictures of nothing” are one sideline of many, with no greater claim on public attention than other avenues of aesthetic pursuit. Probably lesser claim, given that the pleasures of abstraction have always been somewhat esoteric and are fast becoming removed, if not completely divorced, from a fast-paced, technointoxicated pop-wise culture.

Take, for instance, Helen Miranda Wilson’s “Time Away,” a diminutive painting of lustrously applied horizontal stripes. With no tangible image to latch onto, the viewer has to switch his proverbial gears and take in the picture on its own terms—through a sonorous array of color, fugitive light, steady if not unchangeable rhythms and an elusive sense of, not so much time away, as time passing. The picture is, in other words, anti-immediate.

It functions at a different pace than Google, on which it takes .37 seconds to retrieve information on, yes, Helen Miranda Wilson.

Most of the paintings at McCoy center less on the experiential than on things, even if they aren’t readily identifiable. Jackson Pollock and big brother Charles channel pictographs, albeit in dissimilar manners, and Paul Pagk and Al Held riff on isometric perspective. There are artists here without whom no survey of abstraction would be complete—not only the younger Pollock and Held, but also Hans Hofmann and John McLaughlin.

At its best, in the work of Gwenn

The paintings in Neil Farber’s Slugging can be divided into a few camps.

There are those featuring a multitude of indistinguishable individuals, those in which heavy black outlines and block shapes add up to childlike depictions of animals, and still others built from delicate ink lines and shapes repeated again and again into nine-legged alligators or treedwelling pachyderms. A founding member of the now-defunct Royal Art Lodge—a Winnipeg-based arts collective which included Marcel Dzama and Michael Dumontier—Farber’s first solo show at Edward Thorp Gallery shows developing technical abilities, but an unfortunate lack of focus.

Viewers familiar with the Lodge’s whimsical style and tongue-in-cheek sense of humor will be disappointed by Slugging, but the exhibition indicates Farber’s development as an artist. New techniques hint at a progression from the intentionally bland-yet-wry paintings of the Lodge.

For example, “Cram” contains rows of ghost-like characters, suspended over a red background in such a way as to appear that they are applied on layers of overlapping glass. The visual depth is striking and makes the painting seem to shift focus between layers.

A surprisingly pleasing moment in Slugging is an “Untitled” in which white paint drops on a black background become little, individual faces. It looks like Farber grabbed a paint splash tray and went to town, inspired by the Kodama (Japanese tree spirits) from Princess Mononoke.

Utilizing axonometric (or “vertical”) perspective, two more “Untitled” paintings liven up the end of the exhibition. Each is a mass of people, shoulder-to-shoulder up to the edge of the paper. Originally used in Asian scroll painting, axonometric perspective presupposes composition as narrative and depicts a scene from around 45 degrees off the ground. The angle encourages the eye to freely scan the painting, unrestricted by a single, static point of view. The two “Untitled”s carry the eye around in a sweep of activity and bustle, and you’re left wondering why you were looking at it in the first place. [NW] Through May 21, Edward Thorp Gallery, 210 11th Ave., 212-691-6565.

April 20, 2011 | City Arts

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ClassicalMUSIC&Opera

Conductors on Parade James Levine, Yuri Temirkanov and Riccardo Muti at Carnegie Hall

By Jay NordliNger aking the stage at Carnegie Hall, James Levine received hearty and heartfelt applause. Audiences have always greeted him with enthusiasm. But they are greeting him with extra enthusiasm now, for this reason: Owing to health problems, Levine has had to cancel many engagements. So every appearance seems gift-like.

When we last saw him on this stage (I believe), he was using a cane. Now he was using a combination of walker and cane. The walker had wheels, and he moved pretty speedily with it. His task this afternoon was to conduct his Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in a program of Schoenberg, Chopin and Brahms.

The Schoenberg was Op. 16, the Five Pieces for Orchestra. The first was suitably kaleidoscopic and kinetic. Levine knows how to achieve clarity, even in a busy, complicated score. The second piece was wonderfully mysterious, and so were the following ones: Mystery is a hallmark of this opus.

Next came Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor, with Evgeny Kissin as soloist.

The orchestra’s role is supposed to be a relative nothing. Chopin is supposed to have been a flop at orchestral writing. You would not have known it from the way Levine conducted. The long, orchestra-only opening was superb. Brawny and rigorous, it has seldom been more Beethoven-like.

Levine was intensely engaged in the piece all through. He seemed to be loving every measure of it. This time, the concerto was not merely an occasion for piano display.

I wish you could have seen the look on the conductor’s face, and his left hand balled into a fist, before he began the Rondo. He was ready to get maximum emphasis from the orchestra, and he did.

The concert ended with Brahms’s Second Symphony. What are the qualities of this work? It is warm, loving, stirring,

T

consoling, muscular, tender, life-affirming.

That’s what we got, all of it. Not everything went perfectly: For instance, there was some lack of togetherness in the third movement.

But the performance was what it should have been, a glorious bath in D major. The main flaw was that the swivel chair in which Levine was sitting squeaked and creaked.

Someone needed to oil that baby up.

Levine has now left his post as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but he still has his post at the Metropolitan Opera. A big question around town has been, How long can he keep this post?

How long should he? It must be a hassle for Met management to find replacements for him, when he has to cancel. Dependability is important to an arts organization, as to other organizations.

I understand the headaches. But I would keep Levine for as long as possible— to the very last trump. “The graveyard is full of indispensable men,” goes the old line.

But Levine has been the strength of the Met for decades. Opera is very lucky that this great conductor has chosen to spend the bulk of his career in the opera pit. For many years now, I’ve said, “The sight of James Levine’s afro, bobbing above a pit, is the most reassuring sight in opera.” True.

A Batonless Wonder

Y

uri Temirkanov came to Carnegie Hall with his St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been with them since 1988, which means he is almost halfway to Mravinsky’s record: Yevgeny Mravinsky led the St. Petersburg Phil.— actually, the Leningrad Phil.—for an astounding 50 years.

In the 1998-99 season, Temirkanov guest-conducted the New York Phil. The critic sitting next to me said, “He’s so weird.” He did not mean this as a putdown, necessarily; it was merely an observation.

Temirkanov has a very unusual baton

Mon, May 2 at 8 pm —

technique, or no-baton technique: He is one of those conductors who use their hands and arms, only. In sports, we would call Temirkanov a “feel player.” He is instinctual, streaky and very, very musical. Some nights, he falls flat. Other nights, he is a wizard.

Temirkanov opened the first of his two concerts in Carnegie Hall with Kikimora, a tone poem by Liadov (or Lyadov, if you like). This piece is spooky, exotic, beguiling and beautiful. It is also right up Temirkanov’s alley. He can coax the magic out of it. In this account, Kikimora was a dream, taking place far, far away from W. 57th St. At the end of the concert, we had Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov’s enduring hit. The big picture was better than the details. The orchestra opened with a lousy entrance, and there were many lousy entrances to follow. Pizzicatos were hopeless, absolutely hopeless. Some of the playing was out of tune. But overall, the dynamism and allure of the piece came through. Rimsky-Korsakov has great imagination, and so does Temirkanov.

He loves to conduct Elgar for encores, and on this evening he offered Salut d’amour. This is one of the dearest pieces in the literature. Temirkanov had a beatific look on his face as he conducted, and that’s just the way the music sounded.

Sock It to Me

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ast in our maestros’ lineup, Riccardo Muti. He has an exalted reputation, and he has been given some exalted posts: the leadership of the Philadelphia Orchestra, for example, and the leadership of La Scala in Milan. Now he is music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Like other critics, I have heard him very frequently, for 30-some years. And I have often wondered at his reputation. Some nights, however, he is inarguably great.

One such took place at the Salzburg Festival in August 2008. Muti conducted

Verdi’s opera Otello, and it was extraordinarily orchestral, almost an operatic symphony. The drama was conveyed from the pit, more than from the stage.

Throughout the night, Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic covered the singers, which is wrong, but I found myself not caring: This Otello was thrilling.

The rap on Muti used to be, “He conducts everything like Verdi.” Well, there’s nothing wrong with conducting Verdi like Verdi.

Muti delivered another thrilling Otello in Carnegie Hall the other night. For a concert performance (i.e., an unstaged one), he had with him his Chicago forces, including even the Chicago Children’s Choir. Muti brought everyone but Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The orchestra must have enjoyed playing an opera, which it almost never gets to do.

Similarly, the Met Orchestra must enjoy playing a symphony now and then.

Much of the Muti-Chicago Otello was tight and fast, which was fine—but some of it was cold, which was less fine. In spots, Muti might have allowed more air, more bloom. Might have unclenched his fist a little. “Sì, pel ciel marmoreo giuro,” the great tenor-baritone duet, was almost sped through. It could have used more of its character, more of a swagger. But this Otello at large? A brilliant sock to the chin, and an example to all.

By the way, Muti is one of the great glarers at an audience of all time. I have noted many instances of this. During Otello, as he was conducting the opening of Desdemona’s “Ave Maria,” a couple of people coughed, and he duly turned around to glare at them. He did not stop conducting, however, as he has been known to do.

At various points throughout the evening, a distinguished woman sitting near me shook her head, not in disapproval, but as if to say, “I can’t believe how good this is, how right this is.” You couldn’t argue with her. <

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Written and hosted by Scott Siegel. Proceeds benefit The Town Hall Educational Outreach Program.

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No Easy Road

The unconventional films of Rudy Wurlitzer are undergoing a much-deserved rebirth

By Craig HuBert Within the history of Hollywood, it’s fair to say, exists a not-so-secret history of novelists being chewed up and spat out.

Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Huxley, West: none achieved the same success at the movies, and rarely did they have nice things to say as the door swiftly hit them on the way out. In the shadows, less notable writers got tangled in the bureaucratic rigmarole, never to be heard from again. Presumably, they’re stuck in that never-ending development meeting from hell. Others have heeded the warning and stayed far away from its seductive pull.

All this makes the film career of novelist Rudolph Wurlitzer much more remarkable—and unbelievable. His small but notable work in film (a smattering of film scripts, a few detours into directing) slipped through the cracks at a time when such a thing was still possible, when a studio would still finance a film that was built to break every constructed convention.

Slow as opposed to fast. Less instead of more. Destruction before construction.

After a long break from work, Wurlitzer’s career is once again being discussed and his influence acknowledged. Drag City will be issuing an audio version of his novel Slow Fade this summer (read by Will Oldham), marking the first time in a long time that all his writing will be available. Most of his film work can now be seen on DVD, when five years ago almost none of it could.

For a writer working within an industry

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that has made a habit of undervaluing the role, there is an unusually clear persistence of vision throughout Drop Edges of Yonder, the new series at Anthology Film Archives.

The most notable is Two-Lane Blacktop, an existentialist road movie with no clear destination. Two characters, the Driver (James Taylor) and the Mechanic (Dennis Wilson), embark on the open highway in a 1955 Chevy, where they occasionally cross paths with another traveler, G.T.O. (Warren Oates), in the guise of a cross-country race.

The stakes are naught in this anti-romantic vision of the myth of freedom, which ends with an anti-climatic destruction from within.

Wurlitzer’s characters are constantly on the move, as if compelled by some outside force or preternatural view of the future.

In Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, the two main characters (James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson), former friends, one now a lawman while the other a crook, embark on a dangerous path toward death. The tone often shifts from elegiac to nihilistic; a romantic vision of the West contrasted by a breakdown of character identity: who the hero or the villain is becomes pointless. In Glen and Randa, the most troubling film of the series, the titular characters roam a barren post-apocalyptic landscape in search of “the city,” which may or may not exist. The tone and spirit closely resembles Wurlitzer’s novel Flats, in which a host of characters traverse a similar landscape in order to keep moving, where

they came from and where they are going constantly changing, the distance from each expanding and collapsing.

The must-see Candy Mountain (May 3 and 5), co-directed by Wurlitzer and the photographer Robert Frank, is the apex of a fruitful collaboration that also produced two shorter works, “Keep Busy” and “Energy and How to Get It.” If two artists were destined to work together, it was these two: both share a fascination with the ineffable modes of travel and transformation, of aimless wandering, of a road open at both ends. Candy Mountain revolves around the opaque search for a legendary guitar craftsmen named Elmore Silk, who was once revered but is now largely forgotten.

The wandering Julius (Kevin J. O’Connor), after spreading the lie that he knows Silk, promises to bring some of the expensive prized instruments back with him to New York in exchange for some capital to start his career. Frank’s formal photographic eye offers a counterpoint to Wurlitzer’s mannered, bone-dry dialogue, giving the film an offbeat, disjointed musical rhythm. It makes sense that the film is peppered with musicians: Arto Lindsay, Tom Waits, Dr. John, Joe Strummer and David Johnansen all make brief appearances along the way.

The road in Walker is one toward invasion and expansion. The madcap film, at once Wurlitzer’s most political and comical, tells the story of William Walker, who marched his way into Central America

Courtesy robert Frank

FILM

Agnes Moon (above) featured in Robert Frank, Rudy Wurlitzer and Gary Hill’s “Energy and How To Get It.” in the 1850s and, by force, became president of Nicaragua. The film is no historical epic or burdensome lecture. Filmed in Nicaragua during the United Statessupported armed struggle in the 1980s, Walker uses techniques such as humor, stylized violence and blatant anachronisms to highlight its connections to the (then) present. Audiences were initially put off by the intentional breaks in the fantasy on screen. Now, the distancing techniques seem pertinent, even essential.

What you won’t find in the series is conventionality. In Wurlitzer’s work, the road is not a place for characters to come of age, to attain a long-sought goal or reach a cathartic point they never thought they would reach.

Characters are blank slates in which identities can shift and transform; identification with them is not desired. Wurlitzer’s work defies easy meaning and has no intention of gently leading you in that direction. The process of viewing the films in Drop Edges of Yonder closely mirrors the states of being on screen.

The trick: just go with the flow.

April 29–May 5, Anthology Film Archives, 32 2nd Ave., anthologyfilmarchives.org.

Wurlitzer appears April 29, along with Will Oldham, for a reading and conversation to mark the release of Oldham’s recent audio book version of Wurlitzer’s Slow Fade.

ALCHEMY & INQUIRY April 3–June 19

PHILIP TAAFFE FRED TOMASELLI TERRY WINTERS W 249 & Independence Ave • Bronx, NY • www.wavehill.org • 718.549.3200

Philip Taaffe, After Alcyonaria I, 2011 Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY | Photo: Jean Vong Support for exhibitions is provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State’s 62 counties.

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Not Even the Half of It

Budapest is double the travel fun—in more ways than one Whether it’s for an extended weekend or longer, Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is full of attractions to keep you enthralled and wanting to return for more. Luckily American Airlines is now offering the only year-round direct service between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, offering more convenient travel options for New Yorkers traveling to Hungary and beyond. In fact, in celebration of the Budapest launch, American Airlines passengers between JFK and Budapest can earn 15,000 bonus AAdvantage miles for round-trip travel in Business Class, 10,000 bonus miles for full-fare Economy Class, and 5,000 bonus miles for discounted Economy Class through June 30.

Full details and registration can be found at www.aa.com/offers using the promotion code NYBUD. The city of Budapest, split by the waters of the Danube, is beautiful and perfect for walking around. It draws travelers with a magnificent array of castles, museums, churches, restaurants and its dozen spas, fed by 100 natural warm springs.

On a recent trip, my friends and I saw the magnificent Parliament building, Matthias Church, St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Jewish Quarters, the Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum, a Hungarian flea market and an indoor food Central Market. This market has two floors: food on the bottom floor and hand-made goods, local crafts and clothing items on the second floor. Some of the things they had for sale were amazing—tablecloths, painted eggs, crystal figurines—we could have spent the entire day walking around and looking at stuff for sale, but instead the three of us went off to see more of the city.

We meandered our way up to a World War II monument and museum that looked over the whole of the city and offered a wonderful view. We then worked our way back down hill and found our way to the castle. Buda Castle now houses a museum and the National Gallery, and was also playing host to a Sausage Festival (that was taking place that weekend).

We decided it was too nice a day to spend in a museum or art gallery, so we

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moved on, working our way to St. Matthias Church—an ancient and beautifully painted church. After the church, we wended our way back down to the river and to Margaret Island. The island includes many walking trails and tree-covered park spaces, a swimming pool, a full size track, and sidewalks covered in all-weather track material for long-distance jogging.

Depending on how much time you have, and how much of a culture vulture you are, check out a show at the Hungarian State Opera House. Housed in one of Europe’s architecturally most breathtaking buildings, the op-

era company performs traditional opera and ballet. Open to the public in 1884 and famous for its acoustics, guided tours are available in six languages.

Sunday morning found us at the thermal baths at the Gellért Hotel. While the Kiraly baths may be a more authentic Turkish bath experience, those at the Gellért can’t be beat for style and were wonderfully relaxing. The bath area included saunas and steam rooms, outside was a full-size pool.

For about $10, you get unlimited access to a bathhouse that has steam rooms, saunas and pools.

You can eat like a king here for less. We filled up on: crepes, goulash, beets, lots of chicken/yogurt, matzo cake and my favorite, langos (a pastry filled with poppy seeds). After the baths, feeling less stiff and quite relaxed, we made our way back up to the Buda Castle. Most of the medieval castle had been destroyed, but parts of the wall, a chunk of flooring and a few other portions remain.

After some last-minute purchases, we took off for the airport, and it was great knowing we had that direct flight on American Airlines to unwind and relax. I’ll probably be booking to visit Budapest again soon!

Dance

The Tudor Era Preparing to redefine and rediscover ‘Shadowplay’

By Joel loBenthal

Choreographer Antony Tudor was insistent that his dancers utilize every physical and imaginative resource at their disposal.

Working on his ballets, nobody got away with coasting or complacency or excessive selfregard. Having watched him rehearse during the final years of his life—he died at age 79 in 1987—my critical response falls between cringe and outrage when I see his ballets performed with anything less than optimum commitment and understanding.

Tudor’s ballets usually depict individuals trapped by internal as well societally imposed constriction. The emotion is seismic, cavernous: He loathed sentimentality on stage.

There was often a specific emotional intent to almost every step and a spotlight trained on quasi-realistic behavioral details. But he saw red if any dancer tried to make these substitute for full-throttle physicality.

When American Ballet Theater revives Tudor’s Shadowplay this spring at the Metropolitan Opera, I won’t be able to make comparative judgments. I’ve never seen the ballet (which ABT performs four times May 24 to 26), marking the first time they’ve done it in over 30 years.

Shadowplay was originally created for London’s Royal Ballet in 1967 (therefore making all the more inexplicable the fact that the Royal ignored Tudor’s centennial in 2008).

It was suggested in part by Kipling’s Jungle Book, and it shows a semi-animalistic youth’s rite of passage. Wanting to know more, I recently went to Lincoln Center’s Library for the Performing Arts and watched silent footage recording about one-third of the ballet, filmed during ABT’s performances in the mid-1970s.

Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland led the cast, and this was Baryshnikov’s rare foray into Tudor. The fact that it doesn’t come easily to Baryshnikov in some sense makes his performing all the more authentic. Tudor’s ballets were about struggle, and he did like to see the dancers themselves reaching to find their way. Kirkland was probably cast because her partnership with Baryshnikov made the box office sing: She is too tiny for her dominating role as Celestial Goddess. And yet they are each of course marvelously watchable. Tudor admired them both. As much as he was insistent that his works be done exactly as he wanted, I’m sure he was intrigued about where they would take the work, what they might bring to it that was different than what he’d seen.

Created by princely Anthony Dowell, Shadowplay’s lead has customarily been danced by long-limbed, usually tall men. ABT is casting it now with the shorter and more boyish Herman Cornejo and Daniil Simkin, thus indicating another end point, perhaps a qualitatively different full estate into which

Soirée Musicale. they come of age. So the work may be redefined as well as rediscovered.

One of the greatest of all choreographers, Tudor spent most of his life not choreographing. He was notoriously slow in working to begin with, and by the time of Shadowplay he had long stopped making ballets at regular enough intervals to satisfy ABT or any other company’s need for novelty. Instead, he made ballets very infrequently, when he felt that he had something to say. From both an aesthetic as well as commercial—as in brand-protection—point of view, that is vastly preferable to the assembly-line methodology of today’s choreographers.

Things were a little different back in the 1930s, when Tudor, a latecomer to ballet, was cutting his choreographic teeth in London.

Created for tiny stages, the works were smaller scaled than his later ones. It may simply have been considerations of finance or career momentum that kept Tudor’s work flowing so freely at this time, or perhaps it was his absorption in the exhilarating process of honing his craft. This is the period from which his delightful Soirée Musicale dates, a thumbnail gloss on various modes of 19th-century theatrical dance. On May 13 and 14, the New York Theatre Ballet performs it as part of a mixed bill at the Florence Gould Hall.

NYTB has been conscientious about keeping this and other Tudor rarities in their repertory, and it’s always rewarding to watch the more whimsical side of Tudor that they bring to the fore. Something else yet again is Tudor’s 1936 Lilac Garden, also on NYTB’s program. It is perhaps his best-known and most popular work. Here, Tudor makes the hardly-new theme of external circumstance forcing lovers to part seem shockingly new and vital. <

Read Joel Lobenthal at Lobenthal.com.

ArtsAGENDA Exhibition opEnings FlomenhaFt Gallery: John Henry: “Poetic Builder.”

Opens Apr. 28, 547 W. 27th St., Ste. 200, 212268-4952.

Gallery henoch: John Evans. Opens Apr. 21, 555 W. 25th St., 917-305-0003. heidi cho Gallery: Gregory Botts: “Paumanok Reeds.” Opens Apr. 21, 522 W. 23rd St., 212255-6783. the homeFront Gallery: Rona Chang: “Breathing In.” Opens Apr. 23, 26-21 Jackson Ave., Queens, 347-827-0553. icosahedron: “In Man’s Land.” Opens May 3.

“Faith.” Opens May 3, 606 W. 26th St., 212966-3897. leica Gallery: Nicholas Vreeland: “Return to the Roof of the World.” Opens Apr. 22, 670 Broadway, 212-777-3051. lohin Geduld Gallery: Ying Li: “Recent Paintings.”

Opens Apr. 20, 531 W. 25th St., 212-675-2656. luise ross Gallery: John Dilg: “Primitive Pets.”

Opens Apr. 23, 511 W. 25th St., #307, 212-3432161. maGnanmetz Gallery: “Resurfaced.” Opens Apr. 22, 521 W. 26th St., 212-244-2344.

Phoenix Gallery: Gretl Bauer: “Works On Paper/ Sculpture.” Opens Apr. 27, 210 11th Ave., Ste. 902, 212-226-8711. rhV Fine art: Noah Loesberg. Opens Apr. 28, 683 6th Ave., 718-473-0819. tyler rollins Fine art: Jalaini Abu Hassan. Opens Apr. 28, 529 W. 20th St., 10W, 212-229-9100.

Exhibition Closings .no Gallery: “North Stars Series: Red.” Ends Apr.

28, 251 E. Houston St., 646-580-6535.

aG Gallery: “CLUSTER.” Ends May 1, 107-A

North 3rd St., Brooklyn, 718-599-3044.

alleGra laViola Gallery: Jennifer Riley: “Fire-Fan-

gled Feathers.” Ends Apr. 30, 179 E. Broadway, 917-463-3901. allen stone Gallery: James Grashow: “Corrugated Fountain.” Ends Apr. 23, 113 E. 90th St., 212987-4997. an american craFtsman Gallery: Bob Clyatt. Ends May 1, 790 7th Ave., 212-399-2555. andrea rosen Gallery: David Altmejd. Ends Apr. 23. Erik Wysocan: “A Thousand & One Nights.”

Ends Apr. 23, 525 W. 24th St., 212-627-6000. anita shaPolsky Gallery: “’50s & ’60s Abstract Artists.” Ends Apr. 23, 152 E. 65th St., 212-4521094. artGate Gallery: Miya Ando & Seung Wook Sim: “Metamorphosis of Imaginations.” Ends May 4, 520 W. 27th St., 646-455-0986.

BaBcock Galleries: Margaret Bowlands: “Excerpts from the Great American Songbook.” Ends May 3, 724 5th Ave., 212-767-1852.

Bernarducci.meisel.Gallery: David Dewey: “New Watercolors & Works on Paper.” Ends Apr. 30, 37 W. 57th St., 212-593-3757.

BlackBurn 20/20 Gallery: “Abstract & Personal.”

Ends May 1, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, 323 W. 39th St., 5th Fl., 917-753-4045. camel art sPace: “Restore Defaults.” Ends May 1., 722 Metropolitan Ave., 2nd Fl., Brooklyn, camelartspace@gmail.com. clamP art: “Mark Morrisroe (1959-1989).” Ends Apr. 30, 521-531 W. 25th St., Ground Fl., 646230-0020. d. WiGmore Fine art: “Structured Color.” Ends Apr. 22, 730 5th Ave., 212-581-1657. daVid Findlay Jr Fine art: Walter Kuhlman: “Bay Area Abstract Expressionist.” Ends Apr. 30, 41 E. 57th St., 212-486-7660.

dieu donnè: Michele Oka Doner: “Neuration of the

Genius.” Ends Apr. 23, 315 W. 36th St., 212226-0573. dillon Gallery: “Nihonga: New Traditions.” Ends Apr. 30, 555 W. 25th St., 212-727-8585. edWynn houk Gallery: Sebastiaan Bremer. “Nudes & Revolutions.” Ends Apr. 23, 745 5th Ave., 212-750-7070.

Frederico sèVe Gallery: Mariana Vera: “Gathering Parts.” Ends Apr. 23, 37 W. 57th St., 212-3347814.

GaGosian Gallery: “Malevich & the American Legacy.” Ends Apr. 30, 980 Madison Ave., 212-744-2313.

Galerie lelonG: Kate Shepherd: “And Debris.” Ends Apr. 30, 528 W. 26th St., 212-315-0470.

Gallery 307: Hedy O’Beil: “On Paper: 2006-2011.”

Ends Apr. 28, 307 7th Ave., Ste. 1401, 646-4005254. hauser & Wirth: Berlinde De Bruyckere: “Into OneAnother to P.P.P.” Ends Apr. 23, 32 E. 69th St., 212-794-4070. hirschl & adler Galleries: “Bouguereau & His Milieu.” Ends Apr. 30, 730 5th Ave., 212-535-8810. hPGrP Gallery: “Foil.” Ends Apr. 23, 519 W. 20th St., 212-727-2491. hollis taGGart Galleries: Manierre Dawson. Ends Apr. 30, 958 Madison Ave., 212-628-4000. hosFelt Gallery: Lordy Rodriguez: “The Map Is Not the Territory.” Ends Apr. 30, 531 W. 36th St., 212-563-5454. hoWard GreenBerG Gallery: Philip Jones Griffiths: “Maelstrom.” Ends Apr. 23, 41 E. 57th St., Ste. 1406, 212-334-0010. huh What artist studio: Oscar Dotter: “the huh what show.” Ends May 2, 175 7th Ave., oscardotter.com. icosahedron: “A Foot in The Grave.” Ends Apr. 23, 606 W. 26th St., 212-966-3897. iVy BroWn Gallery: Tim Groen: “Captions.” Ends Apr. 22, 675 Hudson St., 4th Fl., 212-925-1111.

J. cacciola Gallery: Janet Filomeno & Hollis Heichemer. Ends Apr. 30, 617 W. 27th St., 212462-4646.

Jen Bekman: Colleen Plumb: “Animals Are Outside Today.” Ends Apr. 24, 6 Spring St., 212-2190166. klomPchinG Gallery: “Exposed.” Ends Apr. 22, 111 Front St., Ste. 206, Brooklyn, 212-796-2070. knoedler Gallery: Richard Fleischner: “Material/ Process/Place.” Ends Apr. 30, 19 E. 70th St., 212-794-0550. krause Gallery: Jordan Eagles: “BARC: Blood, Acrylic, Resin, Copper.” Ends May 1, 149 Orchard St., 212-777-7799. laurence miller Gallery: Bruce Wrighton: “At Home.” Ends Apr. 30, 20 W. 57th St., 212-3973930. lehmann mauPin: Tim Rollins & K.O.S. Ends Apr. 30, 540 W. 26th St., 212-255-2923. leslie Feely Fine art: “Recent Acquisitions.” Ends Apr. 26, 33 E. 68th St., 5th Fl., 212-988-0040. lomBard Freid ProJects: Lee Kit: “1,2,3,4....” Ends Apr. 30, 518 W. 19th St., 212-967-8040. ltmh Gallery: Roya Farassat: “A Mirror Has Two Faces.” Ends Apr. 22, 39 E. 78th St., 3rd Fl., 212-249-7695. marc Jancou contemPorary: Michael Cline: “Arcardia.” Ends Apr. 23, 524 W. 24th St., 212-4732100. marlBorouGh Gallery: Kenneth Snelson: “New York City Panoramas.” Ends Apr. 23, 40 W. 57th St., 212-541-4900. mckenzie Fine art: Laura Sharp Wilson: “Utah.”

Ends Apr. 30, 511 W. 25th St., 212-989-5467. michael mut Gallery: “Weigh It/Pay It: Art by Michael Mut.” Ends Apr. 23, 97 Ave. C, 212-

“Ghosts XI,” by Sam Taylor-Wood at The Brooklyn Museum.

677-7868.

mike Weiss Gallery: Marc Séguin: “Failures.” Ends

Apr 30, 520 W. 24th St., 212-691-6899. milton J. Weill art Gallery: Yael Ben-Zion: “5683 miles away.” Ends May 2, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-415-5500. nancy marGolis Gallery: Kim Simonsson: “Ponytail.” Ends Apr. 23, 523 W. 25th St., 212-2423013. nohra haime Gallery: Hugo Bastidas: “Fin de Siècle.” Ends Apr. 23. Gregg Louis: “Everyday UFOs.” Ends Apr. 23, 730 5th Ave., 212-8883550. ny studio Gallery: Zev Jonas: “Passage.” Ends Apr. 30, 154 Stanton St., 212-627-3276. orchard WindoWs Gallery: Eddie Rehm: “Belligerence.” Ends May 1, 37 Orchard St., 917-6000807.

P.J.s exhiBitions: “Transformation.” Ends Apr. 22, 238 W. 14th St., 212-242-2427. the Pace Gallery: James Siena. Ends Apr. 23, 510 W. 25th St., 212-255-4044. the Pace Gallery: Elizabeth Murray. Ends Apr. 30, 534 W. 25th St., 212-929-7000.

PerloW Gallery: “Five Artists - Five Paintings.”

Ends Apr. 28, 980 Madison Ave., 3rd Fl., 212644-7171.

Phoenix Gallery: Pamela Bennett Ader: “Photo Flower Collage.” Ends Apr. 23, 210 11th Ave., 212-226-8711.

Purumé Gallery: “Landscape Re-Imagined.” Ends Apr. 29, 11 E. 13th St., 212-206-0411. raandesk Gallery oF art: “Optical: Staged.” Ends Apr. 23. Niklas Klotz & Karsten Kraft: “From Germany.” Ends Apr. 23, 16 W. 23rd St., 212696-7432. rachel uFFner Gallery: “Drawings, Drawings, Photographs.” Ends May 1, 47 Orchard St., 212-264-0064. roGer smith hotel: Deborah Wasserman: “Lobby Series #19: Far Away, So Close.” Ends Apr. 30, 501 Lexington Ave., 212-339-2092. salmaGundi cluB: “The Best of the Best.” Ends Apr. 22, 47 5th Ave., 212-255-7740. salomon arts Gallery: Bill Claps & Richard Brown: “From Line to Pixel.” Ends Apr. 22, 83 Leonard St., 4th Fl., salomonarts@earthlink.net. salon 94: Betty Woodman: “Front/Back.” Ends Apr. 29, 12 E. 94th St., 646-672-9212.

salon 94 BoWery: Katy Grannan: “The Happy

Ever After: The Believers.” Ends Apr. 30, 243 Bowery, 212-979-0001. salon 94 Freemans: Katy Grannan: “The Happy Ever After: Boulevard.” Ends Apr. 30, 1 Freeman Alley, 212-979-0001. set Gallery: Irina Danilova & Hiram Levy: “Project 59.” Ends Apr. 23, 287 3rd Ave., Brooklyn, 718-852-709. soho20 Gallery chelsea: Celeste Rapone: “*Costume Required.” Ends Apr. 23, 547 W. 27th St., Ste. 301, 212-367-8994. sPutnik Gallery: Boris Smelov: “Retrospective.”

Ends Apr. 30, 547 W. 27th St., 5th Fl., 212-6955747. steVen harVey Fine art ProJects: “Pink Moon.” Ends Apr. 28, 24 E. 73rd St., #2F, 917-861-7312. sue scott Gallery: “Paper A-Z.” Ends Apr. 22, 1 Rivington St., 212-358-8767. sundaram taGore Gallery: “Space Embraced.” Ends Apr. 30, 547 W. 27th St., 212-677-4520. susan teller Gallery: Peggy Bacon: “Drawings & Prints.” Ends Apr. 30, 568 Broadway, 212-9417335. team Gallery: Marilyn Minter: “Paintings from the 80s.” Ends Apr. 30, 83 Grand St., 212-279-9219. tnc Gallery: “Painters X 10.” Ends May 2, 155 1st Ave., tncgallery.com. tyler rollins Fine art: Agus Suwage. Ends Apr. 23, 529 W. 20th St., 10W, 212-229-9100.

Visual arts Gallery: “Poisoned Apples & Smoking Lamps: Interpreting Fairy Tales & Adventure Stories.” Ends Apr. 23, 601 W. 26th St., 15th Fl., 212-725-3587.

Von lintel Gallery: Antonio Murado: “Ophelia.”

Ends Apr. 30, 520 W. 23rd St., 212-242-0599.

MusEuMs american Folk art museum: “Perspectives: Forming

the Figure.” Ends Aug. 21. “Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum.” Ends Oct. 16, 45 W. 53rd St., 212-265-1040. american museum oF natural history: “Brain: The Inside Story.” Ends Aug. 15, Central Park West at W. 79th Street, 212-769-5100. asia society & museum: “A Prince’s Manuscript Unbound: Muhammad Juki’s ‘Shahnamah.’” Ends May 1. “A Longing for Luxury.” Ends Sept. 11,

April 20, 2011 | City Arts

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ArtsAGENDA 725 Park Ave., 212-288-6400.

Austrian Cultural Forum: “Alpine Desire.” Ends

May 8, 11 E. 52nd St., 212-319-5300.

Bronx Museum: “Stargazers: Elizabeth Catlett in

Conversation With 21 Contemporary Artists.”

Ends May 29. Alexandre Arrechea. Ends June 6, 1040 Grand Concourse, Bronx, 718-681-6000.

Brooklyn Historical Society: “Home Base: Memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.”

Ends Apr. 24. “It Happened in Brooklyn.”

Ongoing, 128 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn, 718-2224111.

Brooklyn Museum: “Tipi: Heritage of the Great Plains.” Ends May 15. Sam Taylor-Wood: “Ghosts.” Ends Aug. 14. “Lorna Simpson: Gathered.” Ends Aug. 21. “reOrder: An Architectural Environment by Situ Studio.” Ends Jan. 15, 2012, Eastern Pkwy., Brooklyn, 718-638-5000.

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum: “Color Moves: Art & Fashion by Sonia Delaunay.”

Ends June 5. “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels.” Ends June 5, 2 E. 91st St., 212849-8400.

Frick Collection: “Rembrandt & His School: Masterworks from the Frick & Lugt Collections.”

Ends May 15, 1 E. 70th St., 212-288-0700.

International Center of Photography: “Wang Qingsong: When Worlds Collide.” Ends May 8.

“Jasper, Texas: The Community Photographs of Alonzo Jordan.” Ends May 8. “Take Me to the Water: Photographs of River Baptisms.” Ends May 8. “The Mexican Suitcase: Rediscovered Spanish Civil War Negatives by Capa, Chim & Taro.” Ends May 8, 1133 6th Ave., 212-8570000.

Japan Society: “Bye Bye Kitty!!! Between Heaven & Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art.” Ends June 12, 333 E. 47th St., 212-832-1155.

Jewish Museum: “The Art of Matrimony: Thirty Splendid Marriage Contracts from the Jewish Theological Seminary Library.” Ends June 26.

“Maria Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World).” Ends July 31. “The Line & the Circle: Video by Sharone Lifschitz.” Ends Aug. 21, 1109 5th Ave., 212-423-3200.

Merchant’s House Museum: “New York’s Civil War Soldiers - Photographs of Dr. R.B. Bontecou, Words of Walt Whitman.” Ends July 31.

“Lessons Learned: The Books that Taught the Tredwells.” Ends Apr. 25, 29 E. 4th St., 212777-1089.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: “Anthony Caro on the Roof.” Apr. 26-Oct. 30. “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.” May 4-July 31. “The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City.” Ends May 1. “Cézanne’s Card Players.” Ends May 8. “Katrin Sigurdardottir at the Met.” Ends May 30. “Rugs & Ritual in Tibetan Buddhism.” Ends June 26. “Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century.”

Ends July 4. “Haremhab, The General Who Became King.” Ends July 4. “Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York.”

Ends July 4. “Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art.” Ends Aug. 14. “Richard Serra Drawing: A Restrospective.” Ends Aug. 28. “After the Gold Rush.” Ends Jan. 2, 1000 5th Ave., 212-5357710.

Montclair Art Museum: “Engaging with Nature: American & Native American Artists (A.D. 1200-2004).” May 16-Sept. 25. “Warhol & Cars: American Icons.” Ends June 19. “Will Barnet: A Centennial Celebration.” Ends July 17. “Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers.” Ends July 17. “What Is Portraiture?” Ends Nov. 4, 3 S. Mountain Ave., Montclair, N.J., 973-746-5555.

The Morgan Library & Museum: “Mannerism & Modernism: The Kasper Collection of Drawings &

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City Arts | www.cityartsnyc.com

Photographs.” Ends May 1. “The Changing Face of William Shakespeare.” Ends May 1. “The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives.” Ends May 22, 225 Madison Ave., 212-685-0008.

El Museo del Barrio: “Luis Camnitzer.” Ends May 29, 1230 5th Ave., 212-831-7272.

Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators: “R. Crumb: Lines Drawn On

Paper.” Ends Apr. 30, 128 E. 63rd St, 212-8382560.

Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology: “His & Hers.” Ends May 10, 7th Ave. at W. 27th Street, 212-217-4558.

Museum of American Finance: “Scandal! Financial Crime, Chicanery & Corruption That Rocked America.” Apr. 29-Oct. 29, 48 Wall St., 212908-4110.

Museum of Arts & Design: “Are You A Hybrid?” May 3-Oct. 2. “The Global Africa Project.” Ends May 15, 2 Columbus Cir., 212-299-7777.

Museum of Jewish Heritage: “Last Folio: A Photographic Journey with Yuri Dojc.” Ends late summer. “Fire in My Heart: The Story of Hannah Senesh.” Ends Aug. 7. “The Morgenthaus: A Legacy of Service.” Ends Sept. 5, 36 Battery Pl., 646-437-4200.

Museum of Modern Art: “On to Pop.” Ends Apr. 25. “Abstract Expressionist New York.” Ends Apr. 25. “Counter Space: Design & the Modern Kitchen.” Ends May 2. “Contemporary Art from the Collection.” Ends May 9. “Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914.” Ends June 6. “Looking at Music 3.0.” Ends June 6. “German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse.” Ends July 11. “Impressions of South Africa, 1965 to Now.” Ends Aug. 14.

“I Am Still Alive: Politics & Everyday Life in Contemporary Drawing.” Ends Sept. 19, 11 W. 53rd St., 212-708-9400.

Museum of the City of New York: “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment.” Ends May 1. “Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce & the NYC Green Cart Program.” Ends July 10, 1220 5th Ave., 212-534-1672.

Museum of the Moving Image: “Real Virtuality.” Ends June 12. Chiho Aoshima: “City Glow.” Ends July 17.“Behind the Screen.” Ongoing, 36-01 35th Ave., Queens, 718-777-6888.

New Museum: “Museum as Hub: The Accords.”

Ends May 1. “George Condo: Mental States.”

Ends May 8. “Lynda Benglis.” Ends June 19, 235 Bowery, 212-219-1222.

Noguchi Museum: “On Becoming An Artist: Isamu Noguchi & His Contemporaries, 1922-1960.”

Ends Apr. 24, 33rd Rd. at Vernon Blvd, Queens, 718-721-2308.

Rubin Museum of Art: “The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting.” Ends May 23. “Body Language: The Yogis of India & Nepal.” Ends July 4. “Patterns of Life: The Art of Tibetan Carpets.”

Ends Aug. 22, 150 W. 17th St., 212-620-5000.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: “The Deutsche Bank Series at the Guggenheim: Found in Translation.” Ends May 1. “The Great Upheaval: Modern Art from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910-1918.” Ends June 1. “Kandinsky at the Bauhaus, 1922-1933.” Ongoing, 1071 5th Ave., 212-423-3500.

Studio Museum: Stephen Burks: “Man Made.” Ends June 26. Benjamin Patterson: “In the State of FLUX/us: Scores.” Ends June 26. “Sculpted, Etched & Cut: Metal Works from the Permanent Collection.” Ends June 26. “Collected.

Vignettes.” Ends June 26. “VideoStudio: Playback.” Ends June 26. “StudioSound: Ojo.” Ends June 26. “Harlem Postcards Spring 2011.” Ends June 26, 144 W. 125th St., 212-864-4500.

WaveHill: “Alchemy & Inquiry: Philip Taaffe, Fred Tomaselli, Terry Winters.” Ends June 19, W.

Out of Town EVENTS & ATTRACTIONS STORM KING ART CENTER: The beloved sculpture

park in the Hudson Valley, with over 100 large-scale sculptures, opens for its 2011 season, and features two special exhibitions—“5+5: New Perspectives” and “The View from Here: Storm King at Fifty”—honoring its 50th anniversary. Ends Nov. 13, 1 Museum Road, New Windsor, N.Y., stormkingartcenter.org.

YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART: “Art in Focus: William III” examines an 18th-century lead sculpture of King William III, and will also feature portraits of William III, coins, medals and contemporary sculptures in various media, exploring the contested image and legacy of William III (1650-1702). Ends July 31, 1080 Chapel St.‚ New Haven‚ Conn., 203-432-2800.

ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM: “Timothy White: Portraits,” an exhibition focused on powerful and engaging photographic portraits of iconic film and music figures. Ends June 5, 258 Main St., Ridgefield, Conn., 203-4384519.

MONTCLAIR ART MUSEUM: “Robert Mapplethorpe Flowers: Selections from the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection,” a retrospective of the famous 249th St. at Independence Ave., Bronx, 718-4593200.

Whitney Museum of American Art: “Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection.” Ends May 1, 945 Madison Ave., 212-570-3600.

Studio Museum: Stephen Burks: “Man Made.” Ends June 26. Benjamin Patterson: “In the State of FLUX/us: Scores.” Ends June 26. “Sculpted, Etched & Cut: Metal Works from the Permanent Collection.” Ends June 26. “Collected.

Vignettes.” Ends June 26. “VideoStudio: Playback.” Ends June 26. “StudioSound: Ojo.” Ends June 26. “Harlem Postcards Spring 2011.” Ends June 26, 144 W. 125th St., 212-864-4500.

Auctions Christie’s: Prints & Multiples. Apr. 26, 10 a.m. & 2.

Picasso Ceramics: An Important Private Collection. Apr. 27, 2. Fine Musical Instruments. Apr. 29, 10 a.m. Impressionist & Modern Evening Sale. May 4, 7 p.m., 20 Rockefeller Plz., 212636-2000.

Doyle New York: Photographs. Apr. 20, 10 a.m.

Old Master, Modern & Contemporary Prints.

Apr. 20, 10 a.m. Coins, Bank Notes & Postage Stamps. Apr. 20, 4. Doyle @ Home. May 4, 10 a.m., 175 E. 87th St., 212-427-2730.

ROGALLERY.com: Fine art buyers & sellers in online live art auctions, rogallery.com.

Swann Auction Galleries: Autographs. Apr. 21, 1:30.

Old Master Through Modern Prints. Apr. 28, 1:30, 104 E. 25th St., 212-254-4710.

Art Events 25th Anniversary Performance Mix Festival: New

Dance Alliance brings together over 30 dance, music, video & interdisciplinary artists. Apr. 26-May 1, Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St., newdancealliance.org; times vary, $15+.

Curator’s Tour of The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden: Learn how unassuming objects in the

museum collection document the means, tastes & values of New Yorkers of the 1820s & 1830s.

Apr. 27, 421 E. 61st St., 212-838-6878; 6, $10.

Downtown Urban Theater Festival: In its 9th season, the festival features new theater works highlighting the diversity & spirit of urban life. Ends Apr.

photographer’s lesser-known studies of flowers, which he viewed as “[not] very different from body parts,” connecting them to his other bodies of work. Ends July 17. Also on display is “Warhol and Cars: American Icons,” which examines Warhol’s interest in cars as products of American consumerism. The show features more than 40 drawings, prints and photographs spanning 1946-1986. Ends June 19, South Mountain Ave., Montclair, N.J., 973-746-5555.

THE RICHARD B. FISHER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: Directed by Benjamin Mosse, “La

Ronde” is a play written in 1900 about the morals and social classes of the era. Ends Apr. 10, The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-onHudson, N.Y., 845-758-7900.

FRANCES LEHMAN LOEB ART CENTER: “Thomas Rowlandson: Pleasures and Pursuits in Georgian England” displays a humorous insight into the mentality of Georgian society through 72 watercolors and prints that examine both private and public pleasures of the era. Ends June 12, 124 Raymond Ave., Box 703, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 845-437-5237.

23, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, 249 W. 60th St., downtownurban.net; 8, $18+.

Lower East Side Art Gallery Tour: Enjoy a guided tour of this week’s top 7 gallery exhibits in the downtown center for contemporary art. Apr. 23, 196 Bowery, nygallerytours.com; 1, $20.

The Roses: Paul Kasmin Gallery, in conjunction with New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation & the Fund for the Park Avenue Sculpture Committee, presents Will Ryman’s “The Roses,” a site-specific installation of towering rose blossoms. Ends May 31, Park Ave. Mall betw. E. 57th & E. 67th Streets, paulkasmingallery.com.

Sing New York!: The New York Choral Consortium announces the inaugural year of a new annual choral music festival, with 2 months of performances from over 50 New York City choral groups. Ends June 15, singnewyork.org; times, prices & locations vary.

Summer on the Hudson: Riverside Park announces the 11th year of New York’s largest free festival— which this year extends to West Harlem Piers Park—offering over 75 blocks of free summer events, including films, live performances, an open-air dance party & more. Opens May 1, Riverside Park. Visit nycgovparks.org for schedule & information.

The Tribeca Film Festival Art Awards Exhibition: The Tribeca Film Festival invites the public to view works—which will later be awarded to winning Festival filmmakers—by 11 contemporary artists.

Apr. 20-23 & 25-27, New York Academy of Art, 111 Franklin St., tribecafilm.com; times vary, free.

Tribeca/SoHo Art Gallery Tour: Enjoy a guided tour of this week’s top 7 gallery exhibits in 2 adjoining downtown neighborhoods. Apr. 30, 13 Jay St., nygallerytours.com; 1, $20.

TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour: Now in its 15th season, TOAST invites the public on a 4-day series of self-guided tours through over 100 artists’ studios in 36 buildings in TriBeCa, where visitors will have the opportunity to speak with artists & view & purchase work. Apr. 29 - May 2, toastartwalk.com; times & locations vary, free.

WestFest: Dance Collective & Flexicurve present a 4-day dance event with performances from 25 companies, plus dance-related film & site specific work. Apr. 28-May 1, westfestdance.com; times, prices & locations vary.

Music & Opera 92Y Tribeca: The Princeton Laptop Orchestra—

combining instrumentals, wireless networks, live 3-D video & hacked video game controllers—performs 6 world premieres from New York-based composers. Apr. 29, 200 Hudson St., 212-601-1000; 9, $10.

The abigail adams smiTh audiTorium: Salon/Sanctuary Concerts presents “Music from a Young Republic,” featuring soprano Julianne Baird, with works

by Gluck, Reinagle & others. Apr. 29, 417 E. 61st St., 212-866-0468; 8, $25. alice TullY hall: Julliard415 performs 17th-century Italian music, featuring works by Cavalli, Gabrieli, Monteverdi & others. Apr. 21, 70 Lincoln Center Plz. 212-769-7406; 8, free with advance tickets. alice TullY hall: The Afiara String Quartet performs works by Hadyn & Beethoven & the U.S. premiere of Brett Abigaña’s “String Quartet No. 2” for the 18th annual Lisa Arnhold Memorial Recital. May 3, 70 Lincoln Center Plz., 212-7697406; 8, free with advance tickets. american academY of arTs & leTTers: Flanders Recorder Quartet performs in “Reclaiming Bach for the Recorder,” as part of Miller Theatre’s “Bach & the Baroque” series. Apr. 28, 63 W. 155th St., 212-854-7799; 8, $35. averY fisher hall: Alan Gilbert & The New York Philharmonic with pianist Emanuel Ax perform works by Debussy, Messiaen & Mahler. Apr. 28-30, 10 Lincoln Center Plz., 212-875-5656; times vary, $35+. averY fisher hall: The National Chorale ends its gala 43rd season with Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” Apr. 29, 10 Lincoln Center Plz., 212875-5656; 8, $32+.

The church of The TransfiguraTion: Bacchanalia Baroque Ensemble presents “French Baroque Gems for Flute, Violin & Harpsichord.” Apr. 28, 1 E. 29th St., 212-684-6770; 8, $15. howard gilman Performance sPace: New York Festival of Song ends its season with “NYFOS Next: Phil Kline & Friends,” a program of progressive original songs. May 3, 450 W. 37th St., 212-8684444; 7, free with advance reservations. immanuel luTheran church: Ensemble Calandra performs a program of Italian Baroque duets for soprano & countertenor, with works by Monteverdi, Hasse & Handel. Apr. 27, 122 E. 88th St., 212-967-9157; 1:15, free.

The meTroPoliTan oPera: James Levine conducts Robert Lepage’s new production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” Opens Apr. 22, Lincoln Center, 212-362-6000; times vary, $25+.

The morgan librarY & museum: Orchestra of St. Luke’s performs “Bohemian Rhapsodies,” with works by Mahler, Arensky & Schumann. May 4, 225 Madison Ave., 212-685-0008; 7:30, $35+.

PeTer JaY sharP TheaTer: Juilliard Opera closes its season with a double bill featuring Ravel’s “L’heure espagnole” & Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” Apr. 27 & 29, 155 W. 65th St., 212-7697406; times vary, $30.

The rubin museum: Classically trained Indian vocalist Falu performs new all-acoustic songs fusing her Hindi music roots with an inventive rock sound as part of the Naked Soul concert series. Apr. 29, 150 W. 17th St., 212-620-5000; 7, $18+. sainT andrew’s ePiscoPal church: Antara Ensemble performs works by Bizet, Debussy, Ravel & others. May 1, 2065 5th Ave., 212-866-2545; 2:30, $25. sTern audiTorium: The New York Choral Society performs Dvorák’s “Stabat Mater, Op. 58” with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. May 1, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 2, $30+. sTern audiTorium: The New York Pops celebrates its

28th birthday with a gala concert, “Celebrating Hope,” honoring the legacy of Bob Hope with Brooke Shields, Angela Lansbury & others. May 2, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 7, $30+. sTern audiTorium: The Philadelphia Orchestra with conductor Charles Dutoit concludes its 2010-2011 Carnegie Hall concert series with an all-Stravinsky program. May 3, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave., 212-247-7800; 8, $19.50+. weill reciTal hall: Yale in New York presents “Stylus Fantasticus” featuring Robert Mealy & the Yale Baroque Ensemble, with a program of 17thcentury experimental music. Apr. 25, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, 212-247-7800; 8, $15+. wmP concerT hall: Lunatics at Large Series presents a 4th installment of “The Sanctuary Project,” a multi-disciplinary performance with original chamber works & poetry. Apr. 21, 31 E. 28th St., 212-582-7536; 7:30, $20.

Jazz dizzY’s club coca cola: Duduka Da Fonseca &

Helio Alves perform “Samba Jazz & The Music of Jobim” with special guest Toninho Horta.

Apr. 26-May 1, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St., 5th Fl., 212-258-9595 1; times vary, $30+. flushing Town hall: Antoinette Montague Group & Queens Jazz Orchestra perform. Apr. 29, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Queens, flushingtownhall.org/ events; 8, 40+.

Jazz sTandard: The venue celebrates the 50th anniversary of Impulse! Records with a dynamic 5-night performance series featuring the music of John Coltrane, Ray Charles & others. Apr. 20-24, 116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232; times vary, $35+.

Jazz sTandard: Quincy Jones presents the Alfredo Rodriguez Trio, with Peter Slavov & Francisco Mela. May 3, 116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232; times vary, $20+. la lanTerna di viTTorio’s bar nexT door: The Sean Smith Trio performs music from their new CD, “Trust.” Apr. 29, 129 MacDougal St., 212-5295945; times vary, $12+. miles cafe: Matt Panayides & others perform to celebrate the release of his new CD, “Tapestries of Song.” Apr. 23, 212 E. 52nd St., 3rd. Fl., 212371-7657; 9:30, $19.99+. nYu skirball cenTer: Vijay Iyer, whose music blends African, Asian & European styles, & Robert Glasper, whose style fuses acoustic & hip-hop oriented music, perform with their respective trios. Apr. 28, 566 LaGuardia Place, 212-3523101; 8, $25+.

April 13-May 15, 2011 Gallery 1: Elisabeth Condon Climb the Black Mountain Gallery 2: New Monuments Liz Atzberger, Jesse Bercowetz, Ben Godward, Audrey Hasen Russell, Letha Wilson

54 Orchard Street NY, NY 10002 212 410 6120 lesleyheller.com gallery hours: wed-sat 11am-6pm, Sun 12-6pm

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Dance aniTa cheng dance: The company presents

“Habitats,” an evening of dance, music & video performance, featuring work by Cheng, Gordon Beeferman & Ronaldo Kiel. Apr. 28-May 1, Abron Arts Center, 466 Grand St., 212-352-3101; times vary, $15. armiTage gone! dance: The post-modern ballet company performs two programs, at once embracing & defying classical values. Opens Apr. 26, The Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave., 212-242-0800; times vary, $10+. barnard college: Choreographers premiere new works prepared specifically for Barnard College dancers during the semester. Apr. 30, Minor Latham Playhouse, Broadway at W. 119th St., 212-845-7799; 2 & 7, $20. chen dance cenTer: The center presents “newsteps,” its semi-annual emerging choreographers’ series.

Apr. 21-23, 70 Mulberry St., 2nd Fl., 212-349-

Elisabeth Condon, White Lines, 2011 Acrylic on linen 84” x 90”

THE FOUR AGES OF ELIZABETH A century of English music for voices & viols.

In honor of Early Music America’s 25th Anniversary.

Parthenia Julianne Baird, soprano, and Cheryl Bensman-Rowe, soprano and Daniel Swenberg, lute with

Friday, May 6, 2011 at 8:00 pm Corpus Christi Church 529 West 121st Street, New York, NY Tickets: $25/$15 (212.866.0468) www.parthenia.org April 20, 2011 | City Arts

21

ArtsAGENDA 0126; 7:30, $12.

DanceBrazil: The high-energy, Capoeira-based

company performs Jelon Vieira’s “A Jornada.”

Ends Apr. 24, The Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave., 212-242-0800; times vary, $10+.

John J zullo Dance: The company presents the world premiere of “How Brief Eternity,” which deals with the torture & genocide of gay men in Iraq.

Apr. 28-May 1, Theater for the New City, 155 1st. Ave., 212-352-3101; times vary, $20. laura Shapiro: The choreographer performs “Letter from Poland,” a movement work incorporating text, music, video, mirrors, maps & photographs.

Apr. 30, The Construction Company, 10 E. 18th St., 212-924-7882; 8, $10. luiS lara MalavacíaS/ThirD claSS ciTizen: The Venezuelan choreographer & multidisciplinary artist performs “Amanda & The Blank Void of Space” on two consecutive evenings, & “Red That Planet” on the third. Apr. 28-30, Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer St., 212-242-0800; 8, $18.

MMc Dance DeparTMenT: Marymount College Dance Department presents its spring repertoire, with excerpts from John Butler’s “Carmina Burana” & a variety of other works. Opens Apr. 30, Theresa Lange Theatre, 221 E. 71st St., The Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave., 212-242-0800; times vary, $12. pilar rioJa: The Flamenco dancer’s spring engagement includes the premiere of “Habanera,” a new Flamenco dance highlighting the creative influences of African & Caribbean rhythms on Spanish dance, set to music by Cuban composer Guillermo Portabeles. Ends Apr. 24, Repertorio Español’s Gramercy Arts Theater, 138 E. 27th St., 212-225-9999; times vary, $25. venTi peTrov: The choreographer presents “EL CID,” a two-act, classical-style story ballet based on the life of Spanish noble Rodrigo Díaz Vivar

& inspired by Jules Massenet’s 1885 opera “Le Cid.” Apr. 23, Mason Hall, Baruch College, 17 Lexington Ave., 212-352-3101; 8, $30+.

TheaTer awake in a worlD ThaT encourageS Sleep: Raymond

J. Barry’s tense three-character play examines love, politics & economic hitmen in a world of endless war. Ends Apr. 24, Theater for the New City, 155 1st. Ave., 212-254-1109.

The BaD SeeD: Nicu’s Spoon announces its production of Maxwell Anderson’s classic “The Bad Seed,” about an 8-year-old girl for whom murder is just child’s play. Ends Apr. 24, Spoon Theater, 38 W. 38th St., spoontheater.org.

BooM Town: Las Vegas-based circus troupe Cirque Mechanics presents the New York premiere of a high-flying, Wild West-themed adventure where performers use props & settings as circus equipment. Ends Apr. 24, New Victory Theater, 209 W. 42nd St., 646-223-3010.

Bring uS The heaD of Your DaughTer: The Amoralists present the world premiere of Derek Ahonen’s unconventional & non-judgmental examination of the lives of two lesbian partners—one black, one Jewish—& a daughter accused of cannibalism. Ends Apr. 24, 9th Space at P.S. 122, 150 1st Ave., 212-352-3101.

The BukowSki proJecT: Ute Lemper presents her “theatrical poetic project in music” drawing from Charles Bukowski’s life & work. Apr. 21-23, Abron Arts Center, 466 Grand St., 212-352-3101.

DannY & SYlvia: The DannY kaYe MuSical: Brian Childers & Kimberly Faye Greenberg star in this adaptation of the real-life love story of creative partners Danny Kaye & Sylvia Fine. Open run, St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St., 212-239-6200.

en el TieMpo De laS MaripoSaS: “In the Time of the

Butterflies,” based on Julia Álvarez’s historical novel, tells the story of the Mirabal sisters & their fight against a dictatorial regime in the Dominican Republic. Ends June 25, Repertorio Español, 138 E. 27th St., 212-225-9999.

The faMilY ShakeSpeare: MTWorks presents the world premiere of David Stalling’s tale of innocence, imagination & censorship. Ends Apr. 30, June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th St., 212-352-3101. fuerza BruTa - look up: A visual dance-rave, technoride, Latino walking-on-the-ceiling fiesta from Buenos Aires. Open run, Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 E. 15th St., 212-239-2600. helen on 86Th STreeT: This new full-length family musical, based on Wendi Kaufman’s popular New Yorker short story, follows 12-year-old Vita Calista as she struggles with the pressures of growing up in New York City. Opens Apr. 28, American Theatre of Actors/Chernuchin Theare, 314 W. 54th St., helenon86th.com. la caSa De BernarDa alBa: Tyrannical mother Bernarda Alba attempts to dominate her five unmarried daughters, all of whom harbor a secret passion for the same man. Ends May 27, Repertorio Español, 138 E. 27th St., 212-225-9999.

Mr. M: The Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre performs the first American stage adaptation of “Mr. Theodore Mundstock,” a psychological drama, at times darkly humorous, about a man who hardens himself & his mind in preparation for the concentration camps. Opens Ends May 1, Theater for the New City, 155 1st. Ave., 646-505-5708. oreSTeia: Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Arts Program presents a visceral reworking of Aeschylus’ ancient Greek trilogy. Apr. 20-23, The Riverside Theatre, 91 Claremont Ave., 212-8700-6784.

raven: La MaMA & Yara Arts Group, with Virlana

Tkacz & Ukrainian artists, present a performance piece inspired by Oleh Lyshesha’s poem of the same title. Ends Apr. 24, La MaMa ETC, First Floor Theatre, 74 E. 4th St., 212-475-7710.

The Shaughraun: Irish Repertory Theatre presents Dion Boucicault’s over-the-top, melodramatic comedy set against a background of the secret Fenian Uprising in Ireland in 1866. Opens April 21, 132 W. 22nd St., 212-727-2737.

SiuDY - BeTween worlDS: The production explores a new form of story-telling that incorporates the emotive power of Flamenco dancing with crosscultural percussion. Ends May 22, New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., 212-239-6200.

The TenanT: Turtle Mountain Production Company presents Bill Donnelly’s Twilight Zone-y tale of sexual tension revolving around a young couple, their pet parrot & a Korean immigrant who finds her way into all of their lives. Opens Apr. 29, The Producers’ Club Theaters, Crown Theater, 358 W. 44th St., 212-868-4444.

The Tragical life of cheeSeBoY: Slingsby Theatre Company presents the tale of a young boy forced to embark on a remarkable journey when his home planet melts into fondue. Opens Apr. 29, New Victory Theater, 229 W. 42nd St., 10th Fl., 626-223-3010. unDer conSTrucTion: SITI Company presents “Under Construction,” an exploration of the ever-changing landscape of American culture.

Opens Apr. 21, Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., 212-691-6500. when a prieST MarrieS a wiTch: The Chocolate Factory continues its spring season with Suzanne Bocanegra’s multimedia “artist’s talk,” voiced

by Bocanegra & performed by actor Paul Lazar.

Apr. 28-30, The Chocolate Factory, 5-49 49th Ave., Queens, 718-482-7069.

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PainttheTOWN

By Amanda Gordon

Clockwise from top left: Duffy, owner of LES salon Tommy Guns, with Dree Hemingway; Gilbert & George; George and Anna Condo.

SpRIng FlIng There were many happy pairs at the New Museum Spring Gala April 6 in Manhattan’s Financial District.

Duffy, a hairstylist to models and actresses, chatted with Dree Hemingway, model, actress and great-granddaughter of Ernest.

Dakis Joannou, billionaire Greek industrialist, ate dinner with Jeff Koons, the artist entrusted with curating a show of Joannou’s collection at the New Museum last year.

Alex Katz, who is working on a series of “the faces of flowers,” stuck close to his wife and muse, Ada Katz. Artist George Condo and his wife, Anna, were similarly welded.

The couples garnering the most attention were the event’s honorees: collectors Gael Neeson and Stefan Edlis and the artists Gilbert & George, who have been working, dressing and talking in sync since the 1960s.

The duos accepted their awards at a Lucite lectern.

“We are so happy that we are smiling at both ends,” Gilbert & George said in unison.

The party, on the 45th floor of 7 World Trade Center, featured an inventive menu by Bite restaurant, especially the foie gras bread pudding and elderflower custard. East Village mixologists Death & Co. provided cocktails made with Prairie Organic Vodka.

Tobias Meyer, worldwide head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, auctioned off a photographic portrait sitting with Chuck Close for $250,000. The 33 collages that Josh Smith made for the gala, some of which were exhibited next to a red carpet as guests arrived, sold out.

A nIght In ‘pARIS’

From left: James Houghton, Joyce O’Connor and Edward Norton; Calvin Trillin and A.M. Stern.

When In Rome A speech invoking Cicero was the highlight of the American Academy in Rome centenary gala at the Plaza Hotel April 13.

The president of the New York Public Library, Paul LeClerc, quoted the Roman statesman as he accepted an award from the academy.

A highlight: “Read at every wait; read at all hours; read within leisure; read in times of labor; read as one goes in; read as one goes out. The task of the educated mind is simply put: read to lead.”

The architect Frank Gehry also received an award, presented by actor Edward Norton.

“David Childs roped me into this and he’s not even here,” Gehry said, referring to the architect who is a trustee of the academy.

The orchestra played the theme song to Gone With the Wind. A culinary highlight was an elegant appetizer featuring a thin slice of pumpernickel bagel wedged next to a swirl of smoked salmon, accompanied by a cucumber lime gelée.

As a presenter at the Paris Review gala April 12, Fran Lebowitz recalled a plane ride with Robert Redford in the 1970s when he was surrounded by stewardesses who ignored every other passenger.

“I’m very sorry to bother you,” the humorist said to the actor.

“Would you please order me a club soda?”

When it was his turn to present an award, Redford responded.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember you,” he said, looking just as sexy as his ’70s self. “I remember the stewardesses.”

Robert Redford.

At the Cipriani 42nd Street event, Lebowitz awarded the Terry Southern Prize for Humor to Elif Batuman. Ann Beattie, in one amazing pair of strappy sandals, gave the egg-shaped Plimpton Prize for Fiction to April Ayers Lawson. Redford presented the Hadada Award to James Salter, a writer of fiction and screenplays, including several Redford films.

Guests included Julia Stiles, Michael Imperioli, Joshua Steiner, senior adviser at Quadrangle Group LLC, and Yves-Andre Istel, benefit chairman with his wife, Kathleen Begala.

Courtesy of Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News; agordon01@bloomberg.net. Photos by Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

April 20, 2011 | City Arts

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