February 14, 2013 by collabcubed - 3 Comments

Heartwalk 2013: Situ Studio

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For the fifth edition of Times Square’s annual Heartwalk installation, which conveniently coincides with Valentine’s Day, Situ Studio has come up with an especially touching work. Using salvaged Hurricane Sandy debris from the numerous destroyed beach boardwalks, Situ created a heart-shaped “room within the city”. The weathered wooden planks lift in an elegant pattern to form an illuminated heart enclosure. I see it as a love letter to the local coastlines. If you’re in NYC, you can visit the installation at Duffy Square through March 8th.

Photos: Situ Studio; Ka Man Tse for Times Sq. Allicance; Inhabitat; and #HeartwalkTSq on Instagram.

February 12, 2013 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Fred Cray: Articulate

Brooklyn-based artist/photographer Fred Cray (previously here) completed his latest set of zany self-portraits last Fall. These, he says, are loosely based on the notion of Mr. Potato Head. Some of the self-portraits from this series are currently being exhibited as part of Articulate, an eclectic new show that, in addition to Cray’s, includes work by Tina Barney, Alfred Leslie, Robert Cumming, Donald Sultan and more.

Articulate is on view through March 30th at Janet Borden, Inc, NYC.

Photos courtesy of Fred Cray

February 11, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Les Ballets de Faile: NYC Ballet Art Series

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Looks like the ballet has developed an edge. For the inauguration of their NYCB Art Series, the New York City Ballet has commissioned the Brooklyn-based street artist duo Faile to create an installation for the special Art Series performances on February 1st and May 29th where each seat was/is available for $29 and each audience member takes home a limited edition work (seemingly in the form of a cube) made specifically for the event by the artists. Inspired by the old posters, playbills, and other past company-related ephemera that fits so well with their collage style work, Faile created a tower in the ballet’s main hall titled Les Ballets de Faile. Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller who make up the artistic collaboration see their participation as bringing together the “glamour and grime” of NYC under one roof.

There is limited availability left for the May 29th performance, but the installation is open to the public this week (2/10 to 2/17) for free. You can see the schedule here.

And here’s an interview with Faile on the project:

Photos: NYC Ballet; Faile; loftgallery, Kayellepea, and s0le1728 from NYCB’s facebook.

via wooster collective; video via animalny

February 8, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 2/8

Click on individual photos for official event page or use the corresponding numbered links below.

This weekend’s picks for Free & Cheap things to do in NYC (2/8 to 2/10) in art, music, theater, film, performance, dance, architecture and general fun.

1. ART: All Weekend & through 2/16 – Pratt Senior design student Stephie Miller (and our good friend!) has her Chelsea debut as part of Sweet N Low along with Hannah Antalek & Kelly McNutt at Studio 7D. Thurs through Sundays; noon to 6pm. FREE
2. TALK/FILM: Fri 2/8 – A Conversation with Jessica Chastain at 3pm Tkts FREE at the box office 1 hour before, first-come first-served basis.
3. FILM: All Weekend – Athena Film Festival: highlights the diversity of women’s leadership in real life and fictional world. FREE to $12 see schedule
4. CONFERENCE: Fri 2/8 and Sat 2/9 – Get Ready for the Marvelous: Black Surrealism in Dakar, Fort-de-France, Havana, Johannesburg, NYC, Paris, Port-au-Prince, 1932-2013 1 to 5:30pm FREE with RSVP
5. ART/ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING: All weekend & through 2/11 – Canstruction amazing structures created with cans that are donated to City Harvest. 10am to 6pm. FREE though a donation of a can of food per person is suggested.
6. MUSIC: Fri 2/8 – BadBadNotGood: jazzy electronic trio with hip hop breaks. 8:30pm $12.
7. FOOD: All weekend & through 2/28 – 21st Annual Hot Chocolate Festival
8. MUSIC: Fri 2/8 – Joseph Arthur and Martha Wainwright 6pm doors, 8pm show. $15 to $25
9. DESIGN/FASHION: All weekend & through 4/13 – Shoe Obsession: contemporary footwear designs. FREE
10. CONFERENCE/ARCHITECTURE: Sat 2/9 – Waterproofing New York 9am to 5pm all day confrence
11. ART/FOOD/MUSIC/FUN: Sat 2/9 – Lunar New Year Celebration: food, mahjong and music with Confettisystem & Gather. 3 to 6pm $10
12. FILM: All weekend & through 3/14 – Film series Amos Vogel and his text Film as Subversive Art $10
13. ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN: Sat 2/9 – Modern Architecture & Design Scavenger Hunt 11am to 7pm $30 (Postponed due to storm till 3/9)
14. ART PRESENTATION/RECEPTION: Sat 2/9 & Sun 2/10 – Aliya Bonar: PowerSuit Camp – What would your most courageous self would do, say, and wear? Public Presentation and Reception Sat 6 to 9pm Open house; Discussion Sunday 2 to 5pm. FREE
15. MUSIC: Sat 2/9 – The Rolling Tones deliver a rocking performance of songs from the Rolling Stones. 11pm $10 to $12
16. ART/ARCHITECTURE/TOUR: Sun 2/10 – Art and Architecture of the Subway Tour; 2pm $20
17. THEATER/INTERACTIVE: Sat 2/9 & Sun 2/10 – Trade Practices an interactive live art event drops audiences into a living market in the trade of short serialized performances. 8:30pm $10 to $15.
18. MUSIC: Sun 2/10 – Truth or Truffles Concert. Music by Strauss and Hartmann’s different approaches to the devastation of WWI & WWII. Concert at 2pm, Conductor’s Notes Q&A at 1pm. $25 to $50; half price tkts through 2/9 available here.

Also:
Sun 2/10: 14th New Year Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival. 11am FREE
Fri 2/8 and all weekend – Blues for Smoke at the Whitney FREE Friday evenings 6 to 9pm. $18 adults all other times
All weekend & through 2/17: Materializing ‘Six Years’: Lucy R. Lippard and the Emergence of Conceptual art. Pay what you wish
All weekend: CoolNY Dance Festival
Sat 2/9: High Line Snow Sculpt Off – Registration 2:30, Judging 4pm. FREE
Sun 2/10: Slow Food NYC – Foodopoly. Author Wenonah Hauter reads & discusses her book. 4 to 6pm. FREE
Sun 2/10: Grammy Awards Screened with full concert sound. Doors 6pm/Show 8pm. FREE

Check our previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing events and check back over the weekend for possible updates. Enjoy!

January 28, 2013 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

Aude Moreau: Sugar Carpet

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French-born artist Aude Moreau lives and works in Montreal. Her installation piece titled Sugar Carpet (Tapis de sucre) is made with two tons of refined white sugar spread out evenly across the floor in a carpet-like manner embellished with Persian rug motifs in activated charcoal and food coloring. Moreau plays with the idea of ‘refined’ both in the production of the sugar and its selection process, as well as describing a sophistication that the carpet represents.

The Sugar Carpet is presently on view at the Smack Mellon gallery in Brooklyn through February 24th.

January 25, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 1/25

Click on individual squares for official event page or use the corresponding numbered link below.

This weekend’s picks for Free & Cheap things to do in NYC (1/25 to 1/27) in art, music, theater, film, performance, dance, architecture and general fun.

1. ART/FILM: 1/25 & 1/26 and through 2/9 – Francis Alÿs: Reel-Unreel. 20-minute film and new paintings FREE
2. CLASS: 1/25 – Intro to the NYC Startup Community. 5:30 to 6:30pm. FREE
3. ART: All Weekend – Drawing Surrealism: 60 works on paper by such iconic artists as Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, and Joan Miró. Free Fri 7 to 9pm. Rest of times $15
4. DANCE: 1/25 and 1/26 – FlicFest of Dance $25
5. MUSIC: 1/25 – Ecstatic Music Festival Kick-off – Shara Worden & Brooklyn Youth Chorus 7pm $15
6. GOOFY FUN: 1/26 – Idiotarod 2013: Annual Shopping cart race 12pm FREE
7. MUSIC: 1/26 – Zammuto w/Miracles of Modern Science doors 6:30; show 7:30pm. $13 to $15
8. ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN: All Weekend & through 9/15 – Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers $6 to $10
9. MUSIC: 1/26 – Les Nuits de Montreal showcasing musical talent from Montreal. 10pm $25
10. TALK/LECTURE: 1/27 – Paul Krugman speaks about his Economy Fixes. 8pm $29
11. ART/PHOTOGRAPHY: All Weekend – Fire Escapes, Waterfronts & Rooftops as Urban Landscapes: Eugene Hyon Photography: 12 to 5pm FREE
12. THEATER: All weekend & through 2/10 – 20at20 $20 Off-Broadway Show tickets
13. ART/LIGHT: All Weekend – Light Cycles at World Financial Center light installation by artist Anne Militello of twinkling LED lights and mirrored discs in the Winter Garden FREE
14. THEATER/MUSIC: All weekend & through 2/2 – Can Themba’s The Suit directed by Peter Brook $25 and Up
15. FILM/PERFORMANCE: 1/27 – A Full Moon Afternoon: Bidoun Magazine’s afternoon of screenings & performance 4 to 6pm. $10.
16. WALKING TOUR: 1/27 – Walk: SoHo Then and Now: Recent Developments. 11am $20
17. ART INSTALLATION: All weekend Aude Moreau Sugar Carpet Installation through 2/24 FREE
18. PERFORMANCE/ART: 1/27 – Performance Heart: Mixed Potatoes Performance Art Show 7pm FREE

Check our previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing events and check back over the weekend for possible updates. Enjoy!

January 18, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 1/18

This weekend’s picks for Free & Cheap things to do in NYC (1/18 to 1/20) in art, music, theater, film, performance, comedy, architecture and general fun. Click through on the images above for their event page and more details, or use the links in corresponding numbered list below.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM
1. SPORTY FUN: All Weekend – J.P. Morgan Squash Tournament in Grand Central $5 and up.
2. MUSIC: 1/18 & 1/19 – Paris 1919 John Cale accompanied by the Wordless Music Orchestra to perform his 1973 pop-art landmark. 8pm $20 and up. Limited seats available
3. MUSIC: 1/18 – Rumours Live – A Fleetwood Mac Tribute with .357 Lover, Balthrop Alabama & Awkward Book Club. Doors 7pm Show 8pm $10.
4. MUSIC/MULTIMEDIA: 1/18 – The Naura Elegies w/ DJ Spooky performance/multimedia event 7pm
5. THEATER: 1/18 – Radiohole’s Inflatable Frankenstein, avant garde theater about the tragic life of Mary Shelley. Waitlist left. $20
6. ART/PRESENTATION: 1/18 – The Birth of a Scent: Viktor&Rolf Spicebomb; fully interactive presentation explaining the process behind the creation of this work by olfactory artist Carlos Benaim. 7:30pm. $15.
7. ART/THEATER: 1/18 & 1/19 through 2/3 – Flint and Tinder presents: Loss Machine by Kyle Loven. Part installation, part image-driven theater, intimate in scale, this wistful one-man show combines puppets, objects, sound, and original music, in a visual exploration of loss and discovery. 7pm $15
8. ART: 1/19 – Frozen Lakes Exhibit Opening at Artist Space 6 to 8pm. FREE
9. ART/TECH: 1/19 – Eyebeam Chats: Artists in Conversation 12 to 6pm FREE
10. ART/FUN: 1/19 – Ice Festival at Belvedere Castle 12 to 3pm FREE
11. MUSIC: 1/19 – Elysian Fields w/Marissa Nadler & Ramona Lisa. Doors 6:30pm Show 7pm $15
12. COMEDY: 1/19 – Greg Proops The Smartest Man in the World: 8:30pm $15
13. ART/FILM: 1/18 & 1/19 through 2/9 – Marilyn Monroe: The Lost Film of Peter Mangone FREE
14. ART/PERFORMANCE: 1/20 – Aki Sasamoto: Talking in Circles in Talking 7pm at Soloway FREE
15. THEATER: All weekend & through 2/17 – The Vandal by Hamish Linklater $45 Sat Mat. All other perfs: $50
16. ART/PRESENTATION: 1/20 – Taisha Paggett Hands On Blindfold Challenge 2 to 4pm (create art blindfolded) FREE
17. READINGS/DISCUSSION: 1/20 – A. Peter Bailey’s play “Malcolm, Martin and Medgar,” an imagined reunion of the slain civil rights icons, with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer & journalist Farai Chidaya. 3 to 5pm. FREE with reservation.
18. FILM: 1/20 – This is Not a Film: Documentary smuggled out of Iran in a flash drive in a cake. 3 to 5pm $12

MORE EVENTS & LAST CALLS
Last weekend to see Christian Marclay’s The Clock at MoMA. Also check out The Caravan Project “a museum by delivery” installation & performance by Eiko & Koma. Both FREE on Friday from 4 to 8pm
Last weekend to see Picasso Black and White at Guggenheim. Pay-what-you-wish Sat 5:45 to 7:45pm.
1/18 Discussion: Artist Judith Bernstein and Paul McCarthy New Museum 7pm $8
1/20 Architecture Workshop: Environmental Resiliency Workshop – Urban Ecology in the Face of Natural Disasters 1 to 3pm. FREE
All weekend in Dance: American Realness Festival at Abrons Arts Center. Various performances and showtimes. $20

Check our previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing events and check back over the weekend for possible updates. Enjoy!

January 11, 2013 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 1/11

This This weekend’s picks for Free & Cheap things to do in NYC (1/11 to 1/13) in art, music, theater, film, performance, comedy, architecture and general fun. Click through on the images above for the corresponding event page and details, or use the links below.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM (numbers will be added to photos next week, promise. This week I was struggling with iffy internet..)
1. TALK: Deborah Eisenberg and George Saunders Short Story Writers. Purchase of book or $10 gift card. 7 to 8pm
2. MUSIC/HUMOR: No Place to Go; Ethan Lipton & Orchestra 9:30pm $15
3. COMEDY: Funny Sh#t Comedy Fest. 8pm $10
4. TOUR/CONFERENCE: Charting the Road to Resilience. Site visits and conference to share lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy. FREE
5. MUSIC: Dirty Projectors and Andrew Bird at 8pm. $30 and up.
6. THEATER: Kristen Kosmas – “There There” Critically acclaimed play. $20
7. MUSIC/THEATER: Prototype Opera-Theater Fest, through 1/18. $15 to $20.
8. THEATER: The Improvised Shakespeare. 7:30pm $27.50
9. MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE: Emily Johnson/Catalyst Niicugni. $20
10. THEATER: Under the Radar Festival
11. STREET ART/FILM: NYC Street Pop. Opening reception film, photos and more by Ken Brown. Sat. 1 to 3pm. FREE
12. ART: Haroshi Virtual Reality, opening Sat 7 to 9pm.
13. ART: Aakash Nihalani – Portal. Opening Sat 7 to 9pm.
14. PERFORMANCE: New York City Pod Fest – Improv $8 for one $45 festival pass
15. THEATER: Urinetown the Musical $18.
16. FILM: Chasing Ice – Photographer James Balog captures images to show the Earth’s climate change in this stunning documentary. 6pm. $14 adults.
17. TOUR: Yale University Gallery & George Nelson Exhibit Tour: 11:30 am to 5pm $5 students $35 adults
18. MUSIC: Gregg Kallor Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert. 7:30pm $20

MORE:
Fri 1/11 & Sat 1/12 15th Contemporary Dance Showcase including Anarchy Dance Theater’s Seventh Sense (see post). 7:30pm. $28
Sat 1/12 Family Day: BankInk! 75-minute demo Sumi-e class. 1 to 2:15 pm. FREE
Sat 1/12, Documentary – The Atomic States of America at 7 pm. $10.
Sun 1/13 Improv Everywhere No Pants Subway RideFREE
Sun 1/13 Comedy/Music – Reggie Watts performs at 8:30. $10
Starting Monday – NYC Restaurant Week 2013. $25 Lunch; $38 Dinner

Sat 1/12 The All-Day Sandy Benefit with readings by Nick Flynn, Jonathan Ames, Emma Straub and more.
Sat 1/12 & Sun 1/13 Film: Clandestine Childhood (Infancia Clandestina) Argentine film with filmmaker Q&A’s.

Check back for possible updates throughout the weekend and peruse previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing events.

January 8, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Glenn Ligon: Neon

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Being a type and neon enthusiast, you can imagine my delight upon entering the Luhring Augustine Gallery in Chelsea last month and discovering Glenn Ligon’s Neon exhibit. Bronx-born Ligon still lives and works in NYC. His works explore themes such as race, sexuality, and language. He uses evocative text including quotes from historically relevant material that at times is culturally charged.

Neon will be on exhibit at Luhring Augustine through January 19th, 2013.

January 7, 2013 by collabcubed - 0 comments

How Much Do I Owe You?: No Longer Empty

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Friday, the three of us headed over to No Longer Empty’s (previously here) 14th exhibition titled How Much Do I Owe You? located in the former Bank of Manhattan in Long Island City’s Clock Tower. No Longer Empty aims to revitalize communities through art. They create site specific, socially-conscious public art exhibits usually in unoccupied yet interesting spaces.

Inspired by the Bank building, 26 artists from 15 countries take on the topic of money and its value during these tumultuous economic times of growing debt and job insecurity. The space is filled with large-scale murals, installations, and videos, in addition to interactive areas that are especially kid-friendly such as drawing your own “Fundred” dollar bill at one installation, and filling in forms on ‘Surplus’ and ‘Debt’, considering the concepts beyond the monetary significance, as well as offering up humorous buttons on the themes.

There’s way too much to go into here, but the three vaults downstairs should not go without mention…even empty they would be fun to experience, but each one, in very different approaches, makes great use of the space including the security boxes and balance sheets.

We had a lot of fun at this exhibit. Some of the highlights for us include Guerra de la Paz’s snake-like ties in his Sealing the Deal (top); Ghost of a Dream’s wall murals, both In Banks We Trust where the word TRUST drops out boldly from walls covered with handwritten questionably trustworthy bank slogans, and their other mural The Price of Happiness, a large-scale collage made up of losing lottery tickets and Buddhist afterworld money (second and third works from top); also, Theodoros Stamatogiannis’ Ping Pong table straddled tightly between two walls, symbolizing the lack of a level playing field in society.

How Much Do I Owe You? will be on exhibit through March 13th, 2013 and is only a block from the subway. We’re looking forward to seeing what No Longer Empty comes up with next.

Photos: collabcubed

January 4, 2013 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 1/4

This weekend’s picks for Free & Cheap things to do in NYC (1/4 to 1/6.) Click through on the images above for the corresponding event page and details, or use the links below.

From left to right, top to bottom:
1. ART: How Much Do I Owe You?: Sound installations, projections, immersive installations in the iconic former Bank of Manhattan in LIC.
2. FILM: 56Up – Michael Apted’s documentary following a group of people every 7 years. Should be excellent.
3. FILM/LECTURE: Ethics in Film – The Terminator.
4. COMEDY: 7th Annual 50 First Jokes – $10 advance. $12 door
5. THEATER/DANCE: COIL 2013 Performance Festival.
6. FILM/ART: Christian Marclay’s The Clock. FREE Fridays 4 to 8pm.
7. FILM: First Look Film Series $12 adults/$9 students
8. ART: Martin Soto Climent, Contemporary Sculpture. 5pm Sat Opening, FREE
9. ART: Lin Tianmiao: Bound Unbound, Chinese Contemporary Art. FREE Fri 6 to 9pm. Other times $10.
10. THEATER: Job by Thomas Bradshaw. A Tarantino-esque tale. $20 to $25
11. MUSIC/DANCE/ART: Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum w/ Lez Zeppelin, Heems from Das Racist and Occupy Wall Street writers. FREE
12. DANCE: Noche Flamenca. $35
13. GRAPHIC DESIGN: The Fifty and Fifty State Mottos Project. 50 posters by 50 designers depicting each state’s motto, graphically. FREE
14. FOOD: The Great CSA Smackdown. Citywide cooking competition. Sat 2 to 4pm. FREE
15. ART: Franck Yefeng Wang’s installation titled Impersonal. FREE
16. ART: Target Free Sundays at the Studio Museum of Harlem. Gallery Tour at 1pm. FREE
17. READINGS: Sunday Night Fiction – Readings by Alexandra Chasin, Dawn Raffel, John Dermot Woods and Halvor Aakhus. Sunday; 7 to 9pm FREE
18. ART: Paint the World Project – Over 20 artists will be creating multiple large scale canvases. FREE

Check back for possible updates throughout the weekend, and check out previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing events.

UPDATES:
Fri 1/4: Altnerative Histories: NY Art Spaces, 1960 to 2010, book launch & reception. 6 to 8pm. FREE
Sat 1/5: Hit and Run Shakespeare: “Twelfth Night” 7 to 8pm $10 to $20.
Sat 1/5: MUSIC – Bridges and Powerlines/Fan Tans/Crazy Pills: 8pm doors 9pm show. $8 to $10.
Sun 1/6: ART – Closing reception for Mike Rader ‘Below See Level’ 4 to 6pm & Man vs. Ultraman extended. FREE.

December 21, 2012 by collabcubed - 2 Comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 12/21

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This weekend’s picks for free and cheap things to do (12/21 to 12/23) in NYC. Holiday-themed as well as end-of-the-world ones too. Cultural events in art, music, film, dance, theater, design, walking, food, and general fun!

1. Fri 12/21 in Music/Participatory/Fun – The Gaits: A High Line Soundwalk. 3 to 4:30pm. Turn your footsteps into sound. Just one of the many Make Music Winter Events this Friday. See other events here. FREE

2. All weekend in Film/Art – Christian Marclay’s The Clock. Through 1/21/13. FREE Fridays from 4 to 8pm.

3. Fri 12/21 in Art/Film/Music/Magic/Comedy – The End of the World Party. 7pm to midnight. FREE (RSVP here)

4. Fri 12/21 in Comedy/Performance — The Afterlife Comedy Show at 8:30pm: Emily Heller, George Gordon, Erin Judge and more.$8

5. All weekend in Art – George Bellows Paintings through 2/18/13. Pay what you wish.

6. Fri 12/21 & Sat 12/22 in Music – Sō Percussion: Where (we) Live: crafting sonic landscapes from found objects, Brooklyn-based quartet Sō Percussion explores the idea of home with a bold experiment in collaborative art-making. At 7:30pm. $16 to $40

7. All weekend in Dance/Acrobatics – STREB- Forces! The Movical. Elizabeth Streb and her Extreme Action Company a theater of flight with big hardware and big muscles. Good for the whole family. $25 Adults $15 kids Check site for showtimes.

8. Fri 12/21 in Music/Participatory – Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace: Come together and sing John Lennon’s “Imagine” at the very moment Yoko Ono’s new video IMAGINE PEACE lights up sixteen Times Square billboards at 11:57pm. Meet 11:45pm at Times Square. Part of Make Music Winter. FREE

9. All weekend in Dance/Music/Light – iLuminate Artist of Light: extraordinary effects choreographed with phenomenal dance moves. You can see them in action here. $49.50 adults $30 Students Check site for numerous showtimes through 1/5/12.

10. Fri 12/21 in Music – JD Samson and MEN at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar. 6pm to midnight. FREE

11. Sat 12/22 in Walking/Fun – The Amazing New York Scavenger Hunt: fast-paced team event that is part scavenger hunt and part obstacle course. 12:30pm ~~$17.50~~ Holiday Edition is $35.

12. All weekend in Dance/Performance – The Butt-Cracker Suite: A Trailer Park Ballet, a funny and irreverent adaptation of The Nutcracker. Enter promo code flamingo for $25 tickets. 8:30pm.

13. All weekend in Theater/Multimedia – Reid Farrington’s A Christmas Carol. an imaginative and ghostly multimedia re-telling of Dickens’ seasonal tale. Fri 12/21 & Sat 12/22 at 8pm. Sun 12/23 at 3pm. $25

14. Sat 12/22 in Music – Everett Bradley’s Holidelic: this holiday funk-tacular blends the influences of P-Funk, Sly Stone and other 1970’s and ‘80’s funk and soul bands into original songs that celebrate diversity, mild familial seasonal dysfunction, individuality, and holiday booty shaking. 8pm $20 advance $25 at door

15. Sat 12/22 in Music – The Cecilia Chorus of NY: Mangia! Holiday Music with the Flavor of Italy. 8pm Tkts $25 and up.

16. Sat 12/22 in Music – David Johansen with Romans. 7pm $23 advance; $25 door

17. All weekend in Dance/Comedy/Performance – The Bang Group: Nut/Cracked: a comic/subversive, neo-vaudeville version of The Nutcracker. 7:30pm $24 in advance $30 day of

18. Sun 12/23 in Film – Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. 2pm and 6pm. $14

Also in Film all weekend – Zero Dark Thirty: The new Kathryn Bigelow film about the manhunt for Bin Laden. $13

UPDATES:
All weekend in Graphic Design – The Fifty and Fifty State Mottos Project at the Ace Hotel Gallery. FREE
Sat 12/22 in Music/Participatory/Holiday – Greenwich Village Caroling Walk at 4pm. FREE
Sat 12/22 in Performance/Improv – The Tarantino: Improvisers performing an improvised Quentin Tarantino movie before your eyes. At 10pm $5.
Sun 12/23 in Film/Holiday – It’s a Wonderful Life at 2pm. $10 tkts

December 14, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 12/14

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This weekend’s picks for free and cheap things to do (12/14 to 12/16) in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, film, dance, theater, design, walking tours, food, and fun!

1. Art – Henry Moore: Late Large Forms. Simply spectacular! Fri 12/14 & Sat 12/15 and through 1/19. 10am to 6pm. FREE

Also in Art – Ed Ruscha Bookworks (see post) Fri 12/14 & Sat 12/15 and through 1/12. 10am to 6pm. FREE

Also also in Art – Masterpieces: A Fact-Filled Coloring Book. Professional artists of various disciplines, as well as creative nonprofessionals, were recruited to reinterpret the book’s 60 pages, each depicting a famous work of art. Fri 12/14 at 8pm. FREE

2. Graphic Design – The Lustigs: A cover story an exhibit including 500 book, magazine and catalog covers designed by Alvin and Elaine Lustig. Fri 12/14 and through 2/15/13.11am to 5pm FREE

3. Food/Tour – Crosstown Pizza Walk, Fri 12/14 & Sat 12/15 at 11am. 3 hrs $35

4. Design/Talk — 3DEA Pop Up: Artist’s Talk. Artists speak about their 3D printed works. Fri 12/14 at 7:30pm FREE

5. Film/Talk – A Conversation with Ewan McGregor interviewed by NYTimes’ Melena Ryzik. Fri 12/14, 6:30 to 8pm. $35.

6. Music – Antibalas with special guests Red Baraat, Fri 12/14 at 8pm $25

7. Art/Internet/Talks & Multiple Events – #NYANCATCITY a good-humored, creatively diverse 4-day series of events that celebrates creativity and the influence of Internet culture—and cats. All weekend. FREE

8. Music – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Fri 12/14.

9. Food – Free Momofuku Milk Bar cookies from the roaming Holiday Cookie Truck and pastry chef Christina Tosi w/her mom. Sat 12/15 from 11am to 5:30pm. See locations.

10. Peformance/Art/Theater – What the Dickens Third Annual A Christmas Carol Marathon. Sat 12/15 at 1pm FREE

11. Fun/Goofiness – SantaCon. Put on your Santa suit and roam (and drink) with hundreds of others, hopefully bringing good cheer to all and not trouble. Sat 12/15 at 10am. Follow @SantaCon on Twitter for locations.

Alternatively in mellower Santa-ness: Santa Claus Association—the subject of the City Reliquary’s current exhibit. This group began in NYC in 1913, diverting children’s letters to Santa from the postal service’s “Dead Letter Office” and matching them with donors who could fill their requests. All weekend. $5

12. Music/Participatory Performance Art – Unsilent Night. Each participant gets one of four tracks of music in the form of a cassette, CD, or Mp3. Together all four tracks comprise Unsilent Night. Sat 12/15 at 7pm. Washington Sq. Park FREE

13. Dance – ABT’s The Nutcracker. There are $25 to $35 tickets available (and up, of course) at BAM. See showtimes and tickets here. All weekend.

14. Music – Medeski Martin & Wood. All weekend at the Blue Note. $30 tickets at the bar. Check showtimes.

15. Readings/Party/Music – Gigantic Magazine Launch Party with music, readings, booze and more: Sat 12/15 at 8:30pm. $10 in advance $12 door

16. Walking Tour – Chinatown: Culture and Change Walking Tour. Sun 12/16 at 1pm $20

17. Art/Multimedia Performances – Sunday Sessions Pier Paolo Pasolini: Intellecttuale, Sun 12/16, 12 to 6pm. $10.

18. Music – John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders. Fountains of Wayne, Ron Sexsmith and many more. A few bar stools left. $25. Sun 12/16 6pm doors; 8pm show

Additional ongoing events to keep in mind:
Ann Hamilton’s The Event of a Thread participatory installation all weekend. $12.
Brooklyn Night Bazaar continues every Friday and Saturday through 12/22. FREE
11th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central. All weekend. FREE
Holiday Nostalgia Train: Ride a Vintage Subway. Sundays through 12/30. $2.50

UPDATES:
The Museum of Mathematics opens Sat 12/15. $20 wkd $15 wkday
The Degenerate Crafts Fair: Featuring affordable wares from 50+ artists & designers. Sat 12/15 & Sun 12/16.FREE

Be sure to check back for updates and peruse previous COTC posts for some additional ongoing events.

December 10, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Ed Ruscha: Bookworks

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It’s hard for me to pinpoint what it is about Ed Ruscha’s large-scale book paintings that thrilled me, but walking into the Gagosian Gallery the other day, that’s just what they did to me. In my eyes, these recent works by the Nebraskan-born artist pay homage to the fast-disappearing tomes. While others are using books and/or their pages to create sculptures and installations, Ruscha is making them larger than life, focusing on the details of their bindings, endpapers, and moldy pages. The exhibit includes older works involving books and words, some with type bleached onto their linen bindings, and still others with writing on the paper side of closed books. Ruscha’s fascination with words is not new; he has been quoted as having said “Sometimes I wonder whether I am painting pictures of words or whether I’m painting pictures with words.” Either way, works for me.

The exhibit will be on view through January 12th.

Photos by Paul Ruscha and Rob McKeever courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.

December 10, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

LeChurro

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Here’s a fun, recently opened, spot in NYC for all kinds of churros: cones of churros, chocolate-dipped ones, mini, and filled churros. LeChurro, the small Upper East Side locale, seats approximately ten people in its nicely designed space. Boa Mistura (previously here and here) the Spanish street art collective, were commissioned to paint the type-driven wall mural. The rest of the shop has nice details from its tables and benches, to the bright orange and wood shelves. The shop’s identity works perfectly from logo to packaging. And if that’s not enough, LeChurro is the only place in NYC that sells Spain’s Chocolat Factory products such as the Mr. Chocolate mustaches and Give me Five chocolate finger tips.

LeChurro is located at 1236 Lexington Avenue near 84th St.

Photos courtesy of LeChurro and eurekasquirrel

via Marguerite

December 7, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 12/7

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Free and cheap things to do (12/7 to 12/9) in NYC. Cultural events in art, music, film, dance, theater, design, architecture, walking tours, food, and cool fun! Plus a smattering of holiday festivities.

1. Design – Art of the Book exhibit. Fri 12/7 & Sat 12/8. 11am to 6pm FREE

2. Music/Fun – Losers Lounge pay tribute to Stevie Wonder 7pm and 9:30pm Fri 12/7. $25.

3. Art/Music/Drinks/Holiday – Asia Society Holiday Celebration. Museum tours, Leotinis, Tea Tasting. Fri 12/7; 6 to 8pm. FREE

4. Music/Art/Drink/Holiday — Brooklyn Magazine Design Launch Holiday Party. Fri 12/7. 8 to 11pm. FREE

5. Film –TropFest Roughcut Film Symposium: the world’s largest short film festival. Fri 12/7. 10am to 4:30pm. $35.

6. Film – Screening of Amos Poe’s Alphabet City (1984): (whatever happened to the cute Vincent Spano?) Fri 12/7 at 7pm $8,

7. Tour/Architecture – Grand Central Tour, Sat 12/8 at 11am $20.

8. Dance – Movement Research Festival Fall 2012. Fri 12/7 & Sat 12/8 at 8pm. $12.

9. Art/Installation – the event of a thread by Ann Hamilton (see post). All weekend 12 to 7pm; Sat 12/8 FREE, other days $12.

10. Film & Festivities – Griswold Family Christmas: screenings of Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Gremlins plus festivities: Fri 12/7 & Sat 12/8 $25 check here for tickets and showtimes.

11. Art/Music/Food – Gowanus Nite Market, Artists, Music, Food. Sat 12/8, 7pm to midnight FREE

12. Art/Talk – African-American Artists and Conceptualism: Panel discussion with Naima Keith and Fred Wilson. Sat 12/8 at 2pm Pay what you wish

13. Art – Rosemarie Trockel: A Cosmos at the New Museum. All Weekend. $14 Thursday nights FREE

14. Comedy/Performance – Mike Birbiglia: Working It Out. Sun 12/9 at 10pm. $15

15. Theater – Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell. “Where one story ends, another begins. The same events are retold from different perspectives. Characters reappear, others disappear.” Fri 12/7 & Sat 12/8 at 8pm. Sun 12/9 at 2pm. $18

Check back for updates throughout the weekend. Enjoy!

UPDATES:

Music – Fri 12/7: Join Real Estate, RCRD LBL and MINI USA at a secret location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at 5:30. FREE

Film – Fri 12/7: Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival screening Brooklyn documentaries. 6:45. FREE
Music – Sun 12/9: 39th Annual Merry Tuba Christmas – hundreds of tuba players play holiday favorites. 3:30pm FREE

December 6, 2012 by collabcubed - 4 Comments

Ann Hamilton: the event of a thread

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Upon entering Wade Thompson Drill Hall at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC late this afternoon, I was struck by the dramatic quality of the lighting and staging of Ann Hamilton’s multisensory large-scale installation titled the event of a thread. With spotlights on the immense, billowing white cloth/curtain in the center of the hall, it’s hard not to feel that you’ve entered into some sort of theatrical performance. But the curtain is at the center of the “stage” suspended by ropes and pulleys, with all its movements attributed to the field of swings indirectly connected to it. The silky white cloth undulates as the swings’ velocities increase and decrease through the collective action of the swingers (aka the exhibition visitors.) There are bells that ring periodically, and harmonica-sounding noises all seemingly controlled by the swings. At the western end of the large hall, two people sit, surrounded by cages of homing pigeons, taking turns reading — at times reading in unison — philosophical phrases in a soft-sounding, almost whispery, tone that is heard through a series of speakers in paper bags throughout the hall’s floor. On the other end, a writer (Ann Hamilton herself, when I was there) sits with her back to the hall, viewing it only through a mirror, and responding through letters to the sounds and movements behind her. Oh, and the swings! Very fun and surprisingly, for me, not dizzying. Maybe it’s their very long chains that account for the slow and relaxing movement.

It’s hard to describe the soothing quality of the experience. Though entirely different in look, and much more low-tech in comparison, I had a very similar pleasant sensation swinging in the event of a thread as I did lying down in Ryoji Ikeda’s very electronic The Transfinite a year and a half ago in the same hall. It might, in part, be the space, or possibly the familiar dinging sounds, or it might just be the forced disconnection for an hour or two from computers, phones and the busy NYC streets. Maybe this is what yoga is like —I know, shame on me for never having tried it — but whatever the reason, the event of a thread is worth a visit. It will likely be even more fun this Saturday when it’s sure to be more crowded making the interaction between swings that much more evident.

And I almost forgot Emma’s favorite part: the pigeons! Starting next week (apparently they’re still new to the space and a bit intimidated) at the end of each day’s event (at 6:45pm) the pigeons will be released from their cages and they will fly across the hall to their large nighttime metal cage that hangs high up from the hall’s iron trusses on the other end, while a different singer will sing each evening. And the opposite will take place each day at noon in the other direction as the exhibit opens for the day.

The event of a thread will be at the Park Avenue Armory for the next month through January 6th. This Saturday, December 8th, admission will be free, otherwise it’s $12 for adults.

You can see the swings and curtains in action below:

Top photo by James Ewing courtesy Park Avenue Armory. All others collabcubed.

December 4, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

3DEA: 3D-Printing Pop Up at Eventi Hotel

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I stopped by the Eventi Hotel the other day here in NYC to explore the new 3DEA Pop Up Shop. 3DEA is all about the relatively new and amazing 3D-printing technology. The three of us have seen a few demonstrations of these increasingly more affordable machines over the past couple of years, but at 3DEA you get a hands-on experience (there’s a Doodle section that lets you draw an image with your finger on a tablet and then print it out in plastic in less than 10 minutes) admittedly on one of the lower-end models, but still fun and amazing.

The pop up is sponsored by Ultimaker, Shapeways, UP!, Fatboy and Openhouse and features rows of colorful printers to try out or purchase; there’s a 3D photo booth, body scanning and a Shapeways Shop with many 3D-printed products that could make for nice holiday gifts. There’s even a “Sexy Objects” section behind a curtain for those over 18. Also available are classes, seminars and presentations, some free and some not, but I found that all the people working there were eager to help and answer any and all questions.

3DEA will run until December 27th at the Eventi Hotel, 29th and 6th Avenue, every day except Mondays from 11am to 7pm and Sundays until 6pm. If you’re at all interested in 3D printing, it’s worth stopping by and picking the experts’ brains.