November 28, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Pablo Lehmann: The Scribe’s House

Click to enlarge

Argentinean artist Pablo Lehmann (previously here) has been developing his installation The Scribe’s House (La casa del escriban) for two years, and it is scheduled to debut at Art Basel in Miami this December. In the meantime, the NYC Rockefeller Center Anthropologie store has a variation of The Scribe’s House on exhibit. Composed of browned and torn book pages, the studio-like apartment installation has a collapsed bed, bookcase, and picture frame all made with thousands of book pages cut into strips and hanging from the ceiling, walls and covering the floors as well as in the shapes of the collapsed furniture. By cutting and layering, Lehmann creates texture and dimension.

Anthropologie is also selling a limited edition beautifully bound boxed set of photographs of the Scribe’s House installation, complete with white gloves for handling.

You can see photos of the more limited Anthropologie installation here and you can buy the boxed photos here.

Photos courtesy of the artist and Black Square Gallery.

November 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/23

Click to enlarge

Free and Cheap things to do in New York City this post-Thanksgiving weekend. Quieter than usual, with so many people out of town, but here are some possibilities to squeeze in, in lieu of, or in between, the shopping madness:

1. Walking Tour – Cross Park Promenade Tour. Discover many surprises in and about our beloved Central Park in this slightly over-an-hour tour. Fri 11/23, 12:30pm to 1:45pm. FREE

2. Art – Ira Eduadovna: That. There. Then. Based on an iconic Soviet Television show, this six-channel installation recreates the architecture and staging of the original TV studio through four viewpoints. All weekend. 12-6pm at Momenta Art. FREE

3. Art/Music/Food/Crafts – Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Fri 11/23 & Sat 11/24 and all Fri & Sats thru 12/22. 6pm to midnight. FREE

4. Art — Picasso Black and White at the Guggenheim. Sat 11/24 (and all Saturdays) 5:45 to 7:45pm is Pay-what-you-wish. All other times through 1/23 $22 adults.

Also in Art – Sebastian Black at Karma.

5. Theater – Ingenious Nature a play written and performed by Baba Brinkman about online dating and the personality clashes that ensue. All weekend at 7:30pm. Use code SOHO for $25 tickets.

6. Photography/Art – Joel Meyerowitz Photographs Part I at Howard GReenberg Gallery. Fri 11/23 & Sat 11/24. FREE

7. Comedy/Music/Performance – GASHOLE: Hole-O-Matic 2012 …the “you pick ’em” very random pop show! Sat 11/24 at 8pm. $20

8. Film – Laurel and Hardy at Anthology Film Archives: 4 films 20 to 30 minutes each, Sun 11/25 at 4:15pm $10

9. Music/Performance – This is actually post-weekend – Sirens in Surround Sound: an acoustic evening. Mon 11/26 at 7pm $15.

Also in Music: Joe’s Pub is having a 24-hour Black Friday Discount sale on select events. Check it out here.

UPDATES:

Performance Art: Situation Zero – Sound and performance artists from all over the country come together for a night you won’t forget! Sat 11/24, 9 to 11pm. $10 suggested donation.

Performance/Music/Fundraiser – Gowanus Ballroom Fundraiser and FlutuArteNY, a night of live music to help raise funds for the Gowanus Ballroom and Serett after Hurricane Sandy. Sat 11/24 at 6pm. $15 donation.

Music – Signature Riff’s Festival of the Unknown: Think of it as a “secret” or “blind” lineup of bands. Sun 11/25 at 7pm. $10 advance; $15 door.

Enjoy!

November 21, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Martynka Wawrzyniak: Smell Me

Click to enlarge

I popped into Envoy Enterprises the other evening, after The Silent History Walking Tour, intrigued by the spare-looking gallery and the title of the exhibited show – Martynka Wawrzyniak: Smell Me. The Polish artist, living in NYC, in essence (no pun intended) created an olfactory self portrait. What exactly is an olfactory self portrait you ask? Working with a research team of Hunter College Chemistry students under the guidance of professor Donna McGregor, Wawrzyniak underwent multiple experiments to collect aromatic elements from her body, and ultimately exhibited them. Partly displayed in elegant perfume bottles/vials that held the scent of her sweat in one, tears in another, nightshirt in a third, and hair essence in the last, while on a separate stand were three candles in beakers titled Martynka Candle #1-3 which were made from paraffin that had been applied and then scraped off of the artist’s body and would emit her scent if burned. If this wasn’t odd enough, there was a type of smell chamber in the back with a little diagram outside, indicating the different scents emanating from holes in the small private room. Presumably the extractions on view outside the room were intermittently sprayed into the chamber one scent at a time, but the result was more of a general unpleasant odor, though I did not react as negatively or extremely as the woman who stepped in right after me and ran out gagging.

All in all, a strange exhibit. Not since Peter De Cupere’s work have I come across anything like this. Upon looking up Martynka’s other work I saw this piece called Chocolate that, though mildly disturbing, at least must have had a more pleasant scent while filming:

November 19, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

The Silent History

Click to enlarge

The future of publishing is here and it is good. This from a book designer who feels sadness, and a tinge of resentment, at the displacement of the printed page for the electronic one. This past Saturday I attended The Silent History Walking Tour on the Lower East Side led by the e-book/app’s immensely appealing publisher and editor Eli Horowitz, who took us to three locations where ‘field reports’—short location-based storylines written by readers and fans of the serialized novel—were read live by their authors. But taking a step back, here’s the description of The Silent History from the website:

The Silent History is a groundbreaking novel, written and designed specially for iPad and iPhone, that uses serialization, exploration, and collaboration to tell the story of a generation of unusual children — born without the ability to create or comprehend language, but perhaps with other surprising skills of their own.

The multimedia aspect of the downloadable futuristic novel is very intriguing (I’ve yet to get the app due to my own iphone issues but did view it on another attendee’s phone) allowing the reader deeper levels of engagement. With the purchase of the $1.99 app, daily downloads are delivered automatically to your iPhone in segments short enough to read in roughly 15 minutes. The interactive quality of the field reports not only allows people to write their own, it also teaches the readers to observe their surroundings in a different way; noticing details that usually go unnoticed by making them relevant to the text. A flagpole and the security camera next to it, both hanging from a storefront, are integrated into the story and place you right there as you take note of them in person. A gold-painted brick in the wall at the Allen Street Mall bathrooms is written into the report, and a reference to a yogurt and vodka party point you to the empty containers found in the planters. It all makes for good fun; a literary treasure hunt of sorts and completely immersive.

Published by Ying Horowitz & Quinn, (all three having worked at McSweeney’s; Horowitz as the former publisher) with a list of credits that truly impresses, The Silent History revolutionizes the novel as we know it. Matt Derby and Kevin Moffett, writers and collaborators on the project, were on the walking tour as well, reading their latest field notes on location. If all this wasn’t enough of a treat, the 20-or-so of us on the tour were treated to a mini private tasting at the very popular and hard to get into Mission Chinese Food on Orchard Street where we experienced the deliciously spicy and unique plates in the company of interesting people, some already hooked on The Silent History.

These three guys, and I imagine all their collaborators as well, are truly inspiring with their creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. There’s an instant happiness that kicks in, as if contagious, listening to them describe the project. Check out the trailer below and download the app here.

November 16, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/16

Click to enlarge

Free and cheap things to do this weekend (11/16 to 11/18) in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, film, dance, theater, design, food and fun.

1. Art – Sinister Pop at the Whitney Museum focuses on the darker side of the 60s and 70s Pop art scene. All weekend, but pay-what-you-wish on Fri 11/16: 6 to 9pm.

2. Graphic Design – ADC Young Guns Exhibit at the Art Director’s Club Gallery. 106 W. 29th St. Fri 11/16 10am to 6pm. FREE

Also in Design & Illustration – Creative Carnival: 100 illustrators and photographers will be creating new original work throughout the night, accompanied by a live DJ, with carnival-style food and a bar. Fri 11/16, 5:30 to 10:30pm. FREE RSVP

3. Talk/Discussion – Free to Be Blasphemous? A Conversation on the Legal Principles of the Freedom of Expression. Fri 11/16 FREE.

4. Talk/Book/Cartoonist — Legendary Underground Cartoonist Aline Crumb Discusses Her New Book, Drawn Together. Fri 11/16: 7-8pm: $10 Strand Gift Card or Purchase of Book.

5. Readings/Photography – Lines of Sight: Readings of photography in fiction. a public reading of passages from fiction that describe photography explicitly, as a subject, or adopt photographic strategies of framing, staging, or manipulation. Fri 11/16. 7pm $5

6. Film/Talk – Meet the Filmmaker: Edward Burns talks about his new film The Fitzgerald Family Christmas. Fri 11/16. 6pm FREE

7. Dance –The Barnard Project at New York Live Arts. Fri 11/16 $20

8. Reading – Moby-Dick Marathon: first-ever marathon-style reading in New York City of Herman Melville’s American classic, Moby-Dick, Or, the Whale. All weekend. Check listing for locations and times. FREE.

9. Theater – Critically acclaimed Skin Tight: encompasses dance, an original score and extreme physicality. All weekend and through 12/1. $25.

10. Arts/Crafts/Food – Renegade Crafts Fair Holiday Market in Williamsburg. Sat 11/17 & Sun 11/18; 11am to 6pm. FREE

11. Peformance/Party/Theater/Music/Cool Fun – Lucent Encounter: Experiential nightlife experience. An immersive nightlife party featuring roaming performance artists dressed in costume who interact with guests, a fortune teller, as well as DJ duo EC Twins and much more. The entire Liberty Theater is a Transformation Station, to renew the soul and the spirit. Sat 11/17 (and every Saturday through 1/26) $30

12. Art/Installation – The Glass Sea a Rikers Island Jail Cell installed in Soho. Open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Petrosino Square. By artist Jessica Feldman with designer Steven Gertner. All weekend. Through 11/25. FREE

13. Dance/Performance/Circus – Donka: A letter to Chekhov Renowned circus artist Daniele Finzi Pasca presents this imagistic love letter to Chekhov. All weekend. Tkts start at $25

14. Walking Tour/Experiment – The Silent History. short walking tour of Lower East Side field reports, presented live by Kevin Moffett, Matt Derby, and Eli Horowitz. Refreshments to follow. Sat 11/17 at 3:15pm. Details here. FREE.

15. Theater –The Exonerated at Culture Project tickets $25 All weekend with code SANDY.

16. Music – Fall Open House and Sunday Sessions, filmmaker-turned-guitar shredder Jim Jarmusch and Dutch lutist Jozef Van Wissem are releasing their second album, The Mystery of Heaven. Sun 11/18, 5 to 6pm. $10.

17. Food –10th Anniversary Chili Takedown. Sun 11/18 at 2pm. $15

18. Music –Sunday Night Live Music Series at the Ace Hotel. Sun 11/18 at 10pm. FREE

UPDATES!

Dance/Performance – Pivotal Works: The Vilcek Foundation Project, Sat 11/17 & Sun 11/18 Joyce Soho. $15

Dance Party/Fun – Soul Clap and Dance-off with Jonathan Toubin. Sat 11/17 at 11pm. $7

Art/Donation/Interaction – Load OUT!: A Reuse and Repurposing RIOT Sat 11/17, 11am to 3pm. $5 to participate.

Readings/Performances/Fundraiser – Sandy Hates Books Hurricane Relief Fundraiser with Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Paul Auster and many more… Sat 11/17. 12 to 9pm. $10 suggested donation. RSVP.

Art/Music/Performance/Food/Fundraiser – Queens Museum of Art Rockaway Fundraiser, with artists, performances and food with proceeds going to the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. Sun 11/18, 12 to 4pm. No donation is too small or large.

Music/Benefit – From Brooklyn with Love Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert at Union Pool. Sun 11/18, doors at 4:30pm. $20 min donation.

Film – Short & Sweet: Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective. Sun 11/18 at 7:30pm. $9.

Check back for more updates!

November 14, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Maison Martin Margiela at H&M

Click to enlarge

We don’t usually post about fashion, but Maison Martin Margiela is more than just fashion; it’s avant garde fashion that blurs lines between fashion, art, and design. Plus, Em has been a big fan for years and is the one who alerted me to the collaboration with H&M — which goes on sale tomorrow, November 15th — as well as introducing me to Margiela’s existence and work.

From H&M’s site:
Maison Martin Margiela is a French fashion house which has always followed its own path, often outside the conventional fashion framework.

Constantly questioning the norms of fashion and presenting its pieces through the technique of deconstruction and transformation, the collections reinvent volumes, modify shapes, change the original use and movement of garments and derail classic notions of fashion.

In addition, Margiela himself has maintained a very low profile throughout his career. He’s a bit of an enigma, never having had his picture taken publicly and remaining backstage after his runway shows. It has also been stated that Martin Margiela left the company in 2009 with no replacement appointed, but the company has continued and is now doing a Re-edition of previous seasons’ products for H&M.

Most of the designs are full of wit along with edginess. Many of them use trompe l’oeil effects; the strapless bra body suit and the fishnet leggings are prime examples of these, as are the plexiglass heeled shoes and boots that seem to float in mid air.

The Candy Wrapper Clutch is definitely goofy fun, as are the jacket made of belts and the Keyring Necklace. All the pieces in the collection are not your everyday clothes and accessories, and especially not typical of H&M’s, even in their prices, but it should be interesting to see what happens. All I know is that Em will be there at 8am on Thursday, with or without her sister.

Photos: H&M; Refinery 29; and Sandra’s Closet

November 12, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Johanna Unzueta: Felt Industrial Sculptures

Click to enlarge

Chilean artist Johanna Unzueta, now living and working in New York, uses felt as a sculptural material to build structures and objects that bring attention to the history of labor. Increasingly interested in site-specific installations that engage with the space,Unzueta has been constructing pipes that go in and out of corners, or ladders that lead to an imaginary attic. It would be fun to have that oversized felt hinge as an area rug.

Unzueta will be having a show at NYC’s Vogt Gallery this January 2013.

Photos artdaily; vogt gallery; virtualia; and la nube loca.

November 9, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/9

Click to enlarge

This weekend we suggest freely supporting, in a not-so-cheap way, any of the numerous Hurricane Sandy relief efforts throughout the city. You can donate your time, money, or supplies, but we challenge you to be proactive and for every fun thing you do this weekend, do at least another charitable or supportive one for all those struggling in the aftermath of the storm. In some cases you can be supportive WHILE having fun. I’ve included links to some of these events along with regular entertainment ones. Come on NYC!

1. Food – EAT OUT!! Yes, it doesn’t have to be expensive, but support the many restaurants south of 39th Street and those in Brooklyn that lost almost a week’s business plus all their perishables. Take your pick, but do it! All weekend.

2. Volunteer/Donate – There are an impressive amount of places to drop off donations, or volunteer your time sorting supplies. Check out WNYC’s list; SandySucks; OccupySandy; Caaav in Chinatown and Rockaway Relief. If volunteering, from personal experience, I recommend calling first (if a number is provided) to find out which shifts are low on volunteers. If making donations, stick to what is requested: right now blankets, batteries, flash lights, and groceries are high on most lists. All weekend.

3. Volunteer – Nighttime shift volunteers are needed at the Park Slope Armory Shelter. Food Prep and social support for a mostly senior population from 2 nursing homes in Rockaway. All weekend.

4. Art/Benefit – Ed Osborn (previously here) Albedo Prospect. Closing Reception & Fundraiser at Bitforms. Fri 11/9 at 6pm. FREE

5. Theater – Wild With Happy at the Public Theater. All weekend and through 11/18. Tkts $25 with code STORM.

6. Art –Clintel Steed Aerial Views Sandy Relief Project Fri 11/9 from 6 to 9pm at 379 Broome and Sat 11/10 11am to 7pm.

7. Film – DOC NYC New York Documentary Festival at IFC and SVA. All weekend and through 11/15. $9 to $16.50.

8. Sweep/Beach – Rockaway Project Operation Sand Sweep: Sat 11/10 from 10am to 1pm. If you’ve enjoyed the beach now it’s time to give back! Some ride shares here.

Alternatively: Sign up to help Coney Island.

9. Art/Graphic Design – Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival. Sat 11/10. 12 to 7pm. FREE

10. Donate – Two Boots in Park Slope is taking donations. See list of supplies needed and who to make checks out to. All weekend.

11. Music – Jazz & Colors in Central Park. 30 Bands. 30 Locations. Sat 11/10. 12 to 4pm. FREE

Also in Music: Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival. Fri 11/9 & Sat 11/10. $35 for an all day pass.

12. Food – Help Chinatown recover by eating at your favorite Chinatown restaurant. If they haven’t been washed away, I recommend the delicious Green Sandwiches (mustard greens on sesame roll) at a stand under the Manhattan Bridge: 75 East Broadway. $1.50! Also at Waloy Bakery. All weekend.

Alternatively in Food – East Village Meat Market will be sampling cooked/smoked meats on Sat 11/10 as part of Meat Week NYC. FREE.

13. Performance/Comedy – Rob Delaney at Skirball Center part of New York Comedy Festival. Sat 11/10 at 7:30. $35

14. Art/Drinks/Performance – Recess at MoMA PopRally.Eleven emerging artists “intervene” in MoMA’s Painting and Sculpture Galleries with objects and performances created specifically for this night. Sat 11/10 8pm to 11pm $13 in advance $16 at door 21+

15. Interactive Performance/Fun – Halloween TOO. “Killers” Haunted event — come in costume to the 107 Suffolk St. location and stay for a Halloween party. Fri 11/9 and Sat 11/10. 10pm $20.

16. Music/Drink/Food/Benefit –Fuck. Off. Sandy. Benefit for NY Cares with Heliotropes and three more bands. Sun 11/11. 3 to 7pm. 21+ $10.

17. Food –Peck Slip Pickle Festival at the New Amsterdam Market with a fundraiser for NYC residents and small businesses affected by the storm. Sun 11/11. 11am to 5pm. FREE.

18. Host/B&B – Offer any extra space/room/bed to a Sandy victim. Over 100,000 people are still stranded by Hurricane Sandy. Airbnb has partnered with the City of New York to connect those in need with people who are able to provide free housing.

Check back for possible updates throughout the weekend!

November 7, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Tempting Typography: Studio Airport

Click to enlarge

Here’s a nice event that took place during the Graphic Design Festival in Breda, Netherlands. Design firm Studio AIRPORT held a three-day-long workshop called Tempting Typography based on window-typography.

Every participant worked with a shop on St.Annastraat to create a typographic window display/signage to the satisfaction of the retailer and with the idea of staying on the shop’s window for an extended period of time. The end result was a beautiful street with lovely handwritten window typography.

Photos: Studio Airport and Olga Mishyna

via studio airport

October 29, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

James Turrell at the Guggenheim

Click to enlarge

UPDATE: See the post-visit post on this exhibit here.

Yes, it’s true! It seems like such a natural fit…Guggenheim rotunda… James Turrell skyspaces and skyscapes… but somehow it hasn’t happened until now. Well, not really now, but next summer: June 2013.

This is James Turrell’s (previously here, here, and here…yes, I’m a fan) first exhibition in a New York museum, though he’s had exhibits at galleries such as Pace, in addition to the long-term and ongoing site-specific installation at PS1 titled Meeting, and the very cool installation in 505 Fifth Avenue’s lobby. The top two renderings above give a pretty good idea of how the museum’s central void will look filled with Turrell’s signature style mood- and color-changing light in this new work. Other works from throughout the artist’s career will be displayed in the museum’s Annex Level galleries.

It should be noted that the bottom photo is not from the Turrell renderings, but rather a photo of the exterior taken years ago when the museum had their Dan Flavin exhibit. One can only assume that there will be a similar glowing effect (likely with a different color palette) from Turrell’s skyspace.

James Turrell will run from June 21–September 25, 2013.

Top two renderings courtesy James Turrell and the Guggenheim Museum. Third photo: Bridget´s Bardo, 2009, Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, Germany.Bottom photo of the Dan Flavin exhibit by David Heald © Guggenheim Foundation

via GalleristNY and Guggenheim Museum’s facebook

October 26, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: HalloWeekend

Click to enlarge

This weekend! Free and cheap things to do 10/26 to 10/28 in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, film, dance, theater, design, food and general fun. This week’s listings include a smattering of spooky Halloween-related events.

1. Design/Architecture/Talks – Designers & Books Fair 2012 is a live New York City event at the intersection where design, architecture, and books meet. All weekend at FIT. Tickets range from $25 to $50. See schedule.

2. Architecture – The brand spankin’ new FDR Four Freedoms Park is now open to the public (see post). All weekend. 9am to 5pm. FREE

3. Art/Technology/Science – ReGeneration: an exhibition that explores the connection of cultural vitality to immigration, urbanization and sustainability through art, technology & science. All weekend (starting Sat 10/27 through 1/13). $11 Adult $8 Kids & Students. FREE Fridays, 2-5 pm; Sundays, 10-11 am

4. Architecture/Art – Past Futures, Present, Futures presents 101 unrealized proposals for New York City. 2nd Part of the exhibit (Present Futures) opens Fri 10/26 with reenactments. 7pm. Through 11/4. FREE

5. Film/Discussion – Encore screening of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night. Fri 10/26, 7pm. $25.

6. Theater – How to Break at Here Theater. All weekend. Check schedule for times. $10 in advance. $18 less than 24-prior. Students with ID FREE.

Alternatively: Tim Burton Burlesque, Fri 10/26, 9pm to midnight at Bar Matchless. $5 in costume; $7 if not.

7. Film –Holy Motors at Walter Reade & Film Forum. All weekend. $13.

Alternatively: Scary Movies at Walter Reade Theater Fri 10/26 and Sun 10/28. See schedule. $13

8. Film – Friars Club Comedy Film Festival. Fri 10/26 & Sat 10/27. See schedule for films & times. $10.

9. Art/Architecture – The blps Project (see post). Spot pill-shaped stickers on and around the High Line—from smokestacks to the Standard Hotel—on surfaces that usually go unnoticed. Kind of like an Easter egg hunt without the chocolate. In conjunction with the Richard Artschwager! retrospective at the Whitney. All weekend. FREE

Alternatively — Leo Villareal’s Buckyball light installation in Madison Square Park (see post). All weekend. FREE

10. Walking Tour – Haunted Tours of NYC. All weekend. Nightly at 8pm. $20 Adults $15 Kids. 90-minute tour.

Alternatively — Walking tour of Green-Wood Cemetery: Celebrate the fall season with tales of murder, mayhem, spirits and ghosts on our annual autumn tours led by Green-Wood’s historian Jeff Richman. Includes a visit to the Catacombs, usually closed to the public. Sat 10/27 & Sun 10/28 at 1pm. $20

11. Comedy – Jos Houben: The Art of Laughter. Renowned actor from Théâtre Complicité and longtime collaborator of Peter Brook presents a hilarious comedy about comedy. Sat 10/27 at 7pm. $20 with Code FIAF20.

12. Music – Justin Townes Earle with Low Anthem and Joe Pug at Pace. Fri 10/26 & Sat 10/27. At 7:30pm. $5 for Students. $25 and up everyone else.

13. Readings/Fun – Utilities Included: A Night of Brooklyn Writers. Six local writers kick out the jams for Halloween weekend Brooklyn-style. Sat 10/27 7pm at the Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick. FREE

14. Art – One of our favorites! John Baldessari Double Play at Marian Goodman. Fri 10/26 & Sat 10/27 through 11/21. FREE.

15. Tour – A Very Spooky Boat Tour of Newtown Creek. Sat 10/27 from 4:30 to 6:30pm $20 Leaves from South Street Seaport.

Alternatively – Halloween Dead Celebrity Ball: Costume Ball aboard the Jewel Yacht. Fri 10/26 at 8pm.

16. Food/Fun – 11th Annual Pickle Day will celebrate the rich history of pickle vendors of the Lower East Side and this time they are bringing back the pushcarts! Sun 10/28 on Orchard Street. 12 to 5pm. FREE

17. Food – Landhaus Farm to Sandwich Grand Opening Party at the Woods. Sun 10/28, 2 to 6pm. FREE with RSVP

18. Readings/Comedy – Bare! True Stories of Sex, Desire & Romance with John Flynn, Amy Sohn & many more. Brings together storytellers, comedians, sex educators and others to share true tales from their own experiences of sex, desire and romance. At the Bell House. 8pm $10

Art/Fun/Interactive – Bird on a Wire: a projected interactive display created for a pair of storefront windows at the corner Mercer St. and Washington Pl. By calling a number a passerby can set birds perched on telephone wires into motion. Cool! All weekend through 10/29. Opening Fri 10/26 at 8pm. FREE

AND Coming up this week – The Gay Death Halloween Variety Show, Tues, 10/20 at 8pm at The People’s Improv Theater with Scott Schachter and his Fun, Fab Weirdo Friends for a Macabre filled Sinful Night of Devilish Comedy: Nick Cobb; Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting and more. $5

Check back for updates and take a look at our previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing suggestions. Have fun!

October 25, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Umbrellas vs. Flash Mob

Click to enlarge

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it seems that people have moved on from simply sporting a pink ribbon on their jacket lapel. Two, very different, creative approaches to raising awareness took place this past week, among many others I suspect. One, though bright pink and hard to miss, was a little more subdued and consisted of an installation created with 400 pink umbrellas forming a canopy over the street (much like an Ingo Maurer installation) in Sofia, Bulgaria. The other, a bit more of an in-your-face and slightly controversial approach, was a “bouncing boobie” flashmob in central London supporting the breast cancer charity Coppafeel!. From the mouths of Coppafeel!: “The whole point of Coppafeel! is that we go about awareness in different and engaging ways – we like causing a bit of a stir.” And cause a stir they did.

via voa and onenews

October 24, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Cracking Art Group: REgeneration in Milan

Click to enlarge

Cracking Art Group is a collective made up of 6 international artists that was formed in 1993. The group considers “cracking” the process which transforms the natural into artificial; organic into synthetic. Their interventions involve huge colored plastic animals invading spaces, usually as a cry for awareness. By selecting recycled plastic and adapting it to their own purpose, Cracking Art Group is attempting to hold back control of the process and turn it towards fulfilling the movement’s social and environmental commitment to reinstating humanity as part of nature, not apart from it.

Their most recent intervention titled REgeneration took place earlier this month (October 5th through 13th) in Milan at the Duomo. In collaboration with the cathedral and Opera d’Arte, Cracking Art Group created and placed 50 blue snail sculptures on the Duomo’s roof to call attention to the much-needed repairs and restoration. 100 smaller limited edition snails were also created and sold at the Glauco Cavaciuti Gallery with net proceeds going towards to the restoration of the cathedral.

via tribeart

October 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Leo Villareal: Hive, Cosmos, & Buckyball

Click to enlarge

Well, artist Leo Villareal (previously here) has certainly been busy these past few months with two of his public art installations debuting in NYC and another one in upstate NY at Cornell University. Last month his Hive installation — a series of LED tubes that playfully reference games, in particular John Conway’s Game of Life, the best known cellular automata program — was unveiled at the Bleecker Street transfer station. Hanging from the ceiling, the illuminated hexagonal honeycomb has bright colored lights moving across the sculpture, exploring the brain’s compulsion to recognize patterns and make sense of them.

Up at Cornell University, Villareal’s installation titled Cosmos was just debuted last night at the I.M.Pei-designed Johnson Museum. The constantly changing work is composed of nearly 12,000 energy-efficient LEDs on a grid hanging from the ceiling of the museum’s Mallin Sculpture Court. Software designed by the artist and his team will generate new patterns throughout the life of the installation. The work was named Cosmos in honor of Carl Sagan whom Villareal admired and who spent a lot of time at Cornell.

Last, but certainly not least, the Buckyball, a Buckminster Fuller-inspired installation of a geodesic sphere within another geodesic sphere will light up Madison Square Park in NYC starting this Thursday, October 25th through February 1st, though some have already caught glimpses as the artist set up the work this past week. Part art, part science & technology, part structural engineering, all three installations are sure to appeal to most everyone.

Here’s a preview of the Buckyball in action as well as the Hive below that:

Photos: MTA; Lindsay France/Cornell; Madison Square Park Conservancy; artinfo; and inspir3d

October 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Blps Project! Richard Artschwager

Click to enlarge

Here’s another fun art-around-town event happening in NYC starting this week. In conjunction with the Whitney Museum and their retrospective Richard Artschwager! which opens this Thursday, High Line Art is installing a series of blps in various locations on and around the High Line. The blps were introduced by Artschwager (who is now 88) in the late 60s; the name was coined by the artist and is pronounced “blip”. This is not the first time that blps will be adorning NYC, or any other urban landscape for that matter. Artschwager’s black and white caspule-shaped blps — ranging in size from 1 to 5 feet high — have been part of many public interventions over the decades with the purpose of highlighting and drawing people’s attention to architecture and surfaces that usually go unnoticed.

So far, High Line Art has installed a large blp on a smokestack (see top 5 photos), one of their glass elevators (6th photo from top), and one of the glass windows that overlook the street from the High Line (bottom), in addition to others at the Standard Hotel and at least one other uptown by the Whitney. Many more are planned to go up, so keep an eye out. Should be fun to find them all.

And if you’d like to own your own blp, you can purchase one here.

Photos courtesy of High Line Art; Whitney Museum; Steven Holl Architects; artnet; db-art; and baeditions.

via @HighLineArtnyc

October 19, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 10/19

Click to enlarge

Free and cheap things to do this weekend (10/19 to 10/21) in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, film, dance, theater, design, food and fun.

1. Design/Technology/Workshop – Making Things Possible: hands-on workshops and demos in 3D Printing (Makerbot plus more), metal lathes, and scrap-metal constructions at Story in Chelsea in conjunction with GEGarages. All weekend, check schedule for workshops and times. FREE

2. Architecture – Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park exhibition opening (see post), Fri 10/19 at AIA Center from 6 to 8pm. FREE

3. Walking Tours/Design – WalkaboutNYC’s Tour of Creative Agencies, Fri 10/19, 12 to 6pm. FREE with RSVP. Check schedule. Some are sold out others still available.

4. Art – Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone at MoMA through 1/28, nbd that we’re related to, and big fans of, one of the people who worked on the exhibit. Free Fridays 4 to 8pm.

5. Music – John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders, Stephin Merritt, Aaron Neville, Nick Hornby, just to name a few. Fri 10/19 at 8pm. $25 to $35. Just a few seats left, last I checked, so hurry.

6. Architecture/Design/Film – The Architecture & Design Film Festival at Tribeca Cinemas. All weekend. Check schedule for films and times. Tkts $14/$11 for AIA members.

7. Music – Ponderosa and Neighbors Live, Fri 10/19, 6pm & 8pm, respectively at the Apple Soho Store. FREE

8. Art/Improv/Comedy – ARTPROV is a unique hilarious and entertaining show that brings together different artistic mediums to inspire each other and create new works of art together. Fri 10/19 at 9:30pm at The Tank. $7 to $20.

9. Art/Fun – BYOB (see post) at The Autumn Bowl, Fri 10/19. Artists bring their own laptops or slide projector of work. $5 before 10pm. $10 after. Free with beamer.

10. Theater – Doubt at Gloria Maddox Theater W. 26th St., Fri 10/19 & Sat 10/20, through 11/18. Check for times: $20

11. Music – CMJ Party Day at Pianos, Sat 10/20, 12pm. Bands include The Orwells, Born Ruffians, Ava Luna and more. $3 Bloody Marys. FREE entry. 21+

12. Food/Fun – Social Soup Experiment at the High Line. Communal style meal on the High Line. Last year was lots of fun! Gave tickets away this year for a visit to my daughters, which beats soup any day. Sold out online, but last year there were tickets available at the event. Sat 10/20, 12pm at the 14th St. $7.

13. Theater/Reading – R.A.W. Reading Series and the presentation of Lindsay Joy-Murphy’s Rise, Fall by LabRats Theater Co. Sat 10/20, 8pm in Ft. Greene. $5.

14. Dance – Monica Bill Barnes & Company at Skirball Center with Ira Glass. Sat 10/20 at 8pm & Sun 10/21 at 3pm. $26

15. Comedy – Comedy Outliers: Stand-up Comedy Show, Sat 10/20 at 7pm. Lilly O’Briens. Murray St. FREE (Get there early for seats!)

16. Art/Lecture/Food/Music/Performance – Fall Open House and Sunday Sessions, Sun 10/21, 12 to 6pm at PS1 in LIC. $10.

17. Graphic Design/Lecture – The Public Side of Paula Scher the Pentagram partner talks about her 18 yr collaboration with the Public Theater‬ Sun 10/21, 2:30pm at the Public. Call 212-967-7555 for tkts. FREE

18. Food – 3rd Annual Havemeyer Sugar Sweets Festival, Sun 10/21, 10am to 4pm in Williamsburg to benefit the City Requilary. FREE

Check back for updates and take a look at our previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing suggestions. Have fun!

UPDATES:

Art – High Line Open Studios Chelsea, All weekend, 12pm to 6pm. FREE

Food – The Brooklyn Curry Experiment: Sample around 20 of the best curry dishes Brooklyn has to offer plus every ticket entitles you to one free Brooklyn Brewery beer. Sun 10/21, 1 to 4pm at Public Assembly in Williamsburg. $15.

Readings – Drinking Diaries: Women Serve Their Stories. Sun 10/21 at 7pm. FREE

Music – The Sea and Cake / Matthew Friedberger. Sun 10/21 at doors at 7:30, show 8:30. $15 to $18. 21+

October 18, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Four Freedoms Park: Louis Kahn

Click to enlarge

I haven’t been to Roosevelt Island in several years, and the times I’ve been were usually to pick up my daughters from their friends’ homes when they were younger. But now, starting next week (and for a select few, even this weekend) there’ll be another reason to head on over to the sliver of an island via tram or train. The Four Freedoms Park—a memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt designed by the architect Louis Kahn before his death in 1974—is scheduled to open to the public on October 24th. Looking at the photos, I think it’s safe to say that there is nothing even remotely close to this park’s design in NYC to date and it’s especially exciting that this is the first and only Kahn work in the city. (If you are not familiar with Louis Kahn’s work, I highly recommend watching the documentary My Architect by Kahn’s son which is a lovely film on both an architectural and emotional level.)

Michael Kimmelman from the New York Times has previewed the park and calls it “…pure abstract art, a virtual walk-in sculpture that does more than honor the 32nd president…” Apparently there are polished inch-wide gaps between the huge blocks of granite that play with the natural light creating reflective slits that, through them, enhance the already spectacular views.

I’m sold, and love that NYC keeps making the most of its many beautiful waterfronts. And the Four Freedoms? You can read what they are in the extract from FDR’s 1941 speech engraved in the granite slab in the bottom photo—an appropriately peaceful sentiment that matches its surroundings.

You can read the rest of Mr. Kimmelman’s article here and you can see more photos here.

Photos: Robert Wright/NYTimes; Paul Warchol; and Yuka Yoneda/Inhabitat

October 15, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Breathing House/La Maison Respire

Click to enlarge

With the premise of functional habitation wherein houses are set up by way of a pre-determined relationship between space and occupant, artist Jean-Pascal Flavien has created several houses—the viewer in Rio; no drama house in Berlin; and two persons house in Sao Paulo—and now his breathing house, la maison respire, in the Parc Saint Léger in France. On the one hand an exhibition, the project is experienced in three stages: before, during, and after. Before: the artist lives in the house defining the relationship to the exhibit space. During: the artist invites people close to him to live in the house for a few days, leaving behind a testimonial of their experience in the form of a document. After: all the contributions are collected as a publication and considered a constitutive part of his work practice.

I find the whole conceptual aspect interesting, but I have to admit that what drew me to the project was the house itself, with its sliding panels and coordinating furniture.

You can read more about Jean-Pascal Flavien’s work here.

Photos courtesy of the artist and Galerie Catherine Bastide.

via galleristny

Click to enlarge

Photos courtesy of the artist and Black Square Gallery.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

From H&M’s site: Maison Martin Margiela is a French fashion house which has always followed its own path, often outside the conventional fashion framework.

Constantly questioning the norms of fashion and presenting its pieces through the technique of deconstruction and transformation, the collections reinvent volumes, modify shapes, change the original use and movement of garments and derail classic notions of fashion.

Photos: H&M; Refinery 29; and Sandra’s Closet

Click to enlarge

Photos artdaily; vogt gallery; virtualia; and la nube loca.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Photos: Studio Airport and Olga Mishyna

Click to enlarge

Top two renderings courtesy James Turrell and the Guggenheim Museum. Third photo: Bridget´s Bardo, 2009, Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, Germany.Bottom photo of the Dan Flavin exhibit by David Heald © Guggenheim Foundation

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Photos: Reuters; Снимка © Булфото; Coppafeel!; National Pictures; Rex Features; Habermonitor.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Photos: MTA; Lindsay France/Cornell; Madison Square Park Conservancy; artinfo; and inspir3d

Click to enlarge

Photos courtesy of High Line Art; Whitney Museum; Steven Holl Architects; artnet; db-art; and baeditions.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Photos: Robert Wright/NYTimes; Paul Warchol; and Yuka Yoneda/Inhabitat

Click to enlarge

Photos courtesy of the artist and Galerie Catherine Bastide.

From H&M’s site:
Maison Martin Margiela is a French fashion house which has always followed its own path, often outside the conventional fashion framework.