November 30, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/30

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This weekend’s picks for free and cheap things to do (11/30 to 12/2) in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, film, dance, theater, design, walking tours, food, and fun!

1. Art – Egon Schiele’s Women. Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 and through 12/28. 11am to 5pm. FREE

Also in Art – Lee Friedlander: Mannequin at Pace/MacGill Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 through 12/22. FREE

2. Design/Learn/Shop – 3DEA is a Pop-Up with 3D printing classes, demonstrations, and shop. Make it or buy it, either way sounds like fun. All weekend and through 12/27. 11am to 6pm. FREE

3. Art – Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde at MoMA through 2/25. Fridays 4 to 8pm are FREE.

4. Art/Shop — Art in Boxes 2012: a large group exhibition which shows/sells one of a kind artwork – an idea for unique holiday gifts at affordable prices. All weekend and through 1/27/13 at AG Gallery. Noon to 9ish. FREE

5. Dance – Lucy Guerin’s Untrained: Four dancers (two trained, two untrained), a square taped to the floor, and instructions on stage for them to follow as best they can. Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 at 7:30pm. Post-show artist talk on Friday. $20.

6. Film – ADC Butter: Night of Pop Culture and Popcorn – This month they’re screening two short films that have graced quite a few international audiences. Plus, a surprise or two. Fri 11/30 at 7pm. $10 advance, $15 at door

7. Film – Drivers Wanted a documentary about taxi drivers directed by Joshua Weinstein. All weekend. Friday’s screening followed by panel discussion with director. $10. Showtimes and tickets here.

8. Music – Men without Hats. SSSS…AAAA…You can Dance! Fri 11/30, doors at 6pm; show 8pm. $10.

9. Dance – Portraits in Time: Amy Kail & Lesya Popil dance highly original movements with humor and pathos. Fri 11/30 at 7:30pm. $15

10. Music – The Sweetback Sisters/Hadley: part country, part B52s. Fri 11/30 at 9pm. $10.

11. Peformance/Art/Theater – Aki Sasamoto – Centripetal Run the sculptural arrangement is a theatrical cosmology, and the performer unfolds, negotiates, and psychologically challenges its matter of factness. Fri 11/30 & Sat 12/1 at 8pm. $15.

12. Art – Transmission of Thought | works by Ivan Rickenmann Amazingly realistic paintings of electrical outlets and cables by the Colombian artist. All weekend. FREE

13. Talk/Lecture – Space to Create: Panel discussion on topic of temporary usage models for nontraditional commercial space in arts programming. Sat 12/1 from 2 to 4pm. FREE

14. Theater – We are Proud to Present… a critically acclaimed and unique play. All weekend but some shows sold out. At the time of this post there were still tickets available for Sat 12/1 matinee.

15. Walking Tour – Flatiron Walking Tour Sun 12/2 (and all Sundays) at 11am. 23rd St. and Broadway. FREE

16. Fun/Transportation/History – Vintage Subway Train Rides, Sun 12/2 (and all Sundays) from 10am to 4pm through 12/30. $2.50

17. Music –Francois 5+1: François Houle is a virtuosic and original avant-jazzimproviser and a notable composer as well as one of Canada’s premier clarinetists. Sun 12/2 at 9:30pm. $10 advance; $15 door

18. Art/Installation/Fun – OPENS MIDWEEK – Ann Hamilton: The Event of a Thread – A multisensory installation, that draws together readings, sound, and live events within a field of swings inviting visitors to connect to the action of each other and the work itself. Opens Wed 12/5 through 1/6/13. Tues – Sundays 12-6pm. $12. Next Sat 12/8 will be FREE.

Additional events to keep in mind: Brooklyn Night Bazaar continues every Friday and Saturday until 12/22.

Discovering Columbus ends this weekend, so if you haven’t been, this is your last chance! All weekend.

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

UPDATES:

Art/Performance/Music – Emergency Cheesecake: an evening of performance featuring young, New York City–based artists. Fri 11/30, 6 to 9pm. Pay-what-you-wish.
Art – NYU MFA Student Open Studios. Sat 12/1, 6 to 10pm. FREE
Music/Art – Sunday Sessions to benefit Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts presented by Pitchfork and MoMA PS1. An afternoon of multimedia performances. Sun 12/2 from 4 to 7pm. $12

November 29, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Grand Central’s Next 100: SOM

Click on top photo to see animation. Click rest to enlarge

Nope, it’s not the set design for a Jetsons revival film; not even for the upcoming Blade Runner 2. These renderings are SOM’s (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) response to the Municipal Arts Society’s (MAS) invitation to re-envision Grand Central and its environs on the occasion of the terminal’s centennial anniversary next year: Grand Central…The Next 100 project. The three firms asked to participate were SOM, Foster+Partners, and WXY. All three came up with interesting proposals offering relief from overcrowding and traffic, as well as being committed to the pedestrian and public space, focusing on converting Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) to Privately Funded Public Spaces (PFPS). SOM went futuristic and monumental, a plan that is hard to ignore with its dramatic panoramic ring rising and lowering above Grand Central—like a halo elevator—between two new towers.

It’s definitely out there, but you never know…

Photos courtesy of SOM, Architect’s Paper, and bdonline.

via observer via Breger

November 26, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

CMYPlay: A\V Studio

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I came across this fun competition entry by A\V Studio (Adam Hostetler and Virginia Melnyk) in response to a 3Dimensional Front challenge for the space located outside the Milavec Hakimi Gallery at the base of 41 Cooper Square, the relatively new Cooper Union Building and one of my personal favorites in NYC. The competition brief was as follows:

anonymous.d is looking for original responses… We are looking for something simple but powerful enough to intrigue the passer by. We want people who see the work to question the visual but to be even more surprised the unique architectural/human experience this work will offer. We are also looking for the technical intelligence of mounting a relatively small structure by the use of simple materials assembled together in a sophisticated way leading to a unique aesthetic expression. Parametric design methods are encouraged.

Hostetler and Melnyk’s proposal, very cleverly titled CMYPlay, offers an interactive playground type solution for children and adults alike, composed of three intertwining networks of colorful tubes neatly packed into the sheltered space of the façade, hugging the base columns and converting the functional space into an activity-filled one, while still allowing easy entry to the gallery. The idea is to encourage play in the busy urban environment. Once the exhibit/installation ends, the tubes would be distributed to local schools and parks eliminating waste and continuing the fun.

You might want to also take a look at Melnyk’s Ice Womb and Sukkah Shift hut made entirely of cardboard packing tubes. Nice work!

via bustler

November 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/23

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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

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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 20, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Enzo e Nio: Armed Women & Girls

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Enzo and Nio are New York based street artists whose work has been appearing throughout the city, as well as in Europe, and as far as New Zealand (see second photo from top.) They have several series and recurring themes in their work. The one above of saint-like women and girls armed with weapons (often accompanied by a Latin phrase) is one, but they also have fake “Pull in Case of Emergency” boxes as well as a series of monogrammed bombs with their own initials. In some cases there’s overlap, as in the top photo. They’ve collaborated with Olek and Jilly Ballistic as (see fourth photo from top) and their Cocksharks rarely go unnoticed.

Apparently, they don’t like discussing their work, leaving it to each person’s own interpretation…so interpret away.

Photos from Enzo and Nio’s facebook and tumblr pages; Toirock’s flickr; Dave Krugman; Modica-Way; Cinde Meade.

via buzz patrol

November 16, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/16

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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 15, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Timothy Goodman: Writing on the Walls

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New York based Timothy Goodman is a designer, illustrator, art director and teacher. For the Ace Hotel in NYC, Goodman hand drew 99 picture frames creating a dense wall of ‘discovery’ about NYC for the common tourist staying in the room. Each frame contains a different fact/love/thing/tidbit/or place that the artist likes in the city. At roughly 120 feet, the art was drawn imprecisly to capture the spontaneity of the city, using markers and opaque black paint.

Just this past August, Goodman, in a similar style, created a wall mural for FlexFit Headwear at the Magic S.L.A.T.E. trade show in Las Vegas which he drew in real-time during the first day of the show. He came up with the idea of hand-lettering Tupac Shakur lyrics to Keep Ya Head Up on 500 sq. ft. of wall space, going round and round for about 9 hours. Apart from the great illustrated type, I’m amazed at how perfectly aligned he keeps it all. You can see a video of the FlexFit installation below:

November 12, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Johanna Unzueta: Felt Industrial Sculptures

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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

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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 2, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 11/2

We will not be posting Culture on the Cheap this weekend. Power outages and limited transportation as a result of Hurricane Sandy are keeping things quiet. Hope that most of you are doing all right and safe. We expect that things will be relatively up and running in NYC by next week’s COTC post.

Photo: Charles Sykes/AP via gizmodo.

October 29, 2012 by collabcubed - 1 Comment

James Turrell at the Guggenheim

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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

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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 23, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

Leo Villareal: Hive, Cosmos, & Buckyball

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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

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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

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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

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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 12, 2012 by collabcubed - 0 comments

NYC Culture on the Cheap: Weekend 10/12

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Our picks for free and cheap things to do this weekend (10/12 to 10/14) in NYC. Cultural events in art, architecture, music, dance, theater, design, food and fun.

1. Music – It’s a little soon to think about the holidays but if you want to get tickets for Sufjan Stevens concert SurfJohn Stevens Christmas Sing-a-Long on 12/21 and 12/22 tickets were scheduled to go on sale Fri 10/12 at 12pm for $20 here. (Not sure this is still the case, but worth checking.)

2. Art/Photography – Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop at the Metropolitan Museum. All weekend and through 1/27. Pay-what-you-wish.

3. Art – Alexandra Spaulding’s percOlating sculptures downstairs and Jenna Mazza’s wonderful paintings of books upstairs at Stephan Stoyanov Gallery on Orchard St. All weekend. Noon to 6pm. FREE

Also in Art – Brian Tolle’s (previously here) timely exhibit Commander in Chief at CRB Gallery in Chelsea. Fri 10/12 and Sat 10/13 through 11/10. FREE

4. Film – Debut screening of “Sheer,” directed by Ruben Mazzoleni at reBar in Dumbo. Fri 10/12, 6:45 or 9:30. $9. Tkts here.

5. Talk/Film – Meet the filmmaker of “Hyde Park on Hudson” Fri 10/12 at the Apple Store Soho. 6pm FREE

Also at the Apple Store: Coheed and Cambria. Sat 10/14 at 7pm. FREE

6. Talk/Science/Performance –Splendors and Miseries of (Un)conscious thoughts: A story of psychology, neuroscience and live performance. French neuroscientist Lionel Naccache at New York Live Arts. Fri 10/12 at 7:30pm. FREE with RSVP.

7. Music – Doveman at Le Poisson Rouge. Fri 10/12 at 7pm. $15.

8. Theater/Performance – Brooklyn Bred: Performance Art with Jennifer Miller at BAM. Fri 10/12 at 7:30pm. $20.

9. Music/Fun –Losers Lounge tribute to Dusty Springfield at Joe’s Pub. Fri 10/12 and Sat 10/13. $25

10. Art – Gowanus Open Studios at Brooklyn Art Space. Sat 10/13 and Sun 10/14. 12 to 6pm. FREE

Also in Gowanus: Warehouse of Horrors Gowanus explores the seedy underbelly of 1970’s Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Lyceum, Fri 10/12 and Sat 10/13, $20 tickets include three curated cocktails per person.

11. Art/Music/Light – Whispers at The Autumn Bowl: artists working in experimental, dance, pop, new music, and sound art with visual artists illuminating new connections and presenting vibrant explorations of sound in an intimate setting. Fri 10/12 and Sat 10/13 at 8pm. Greenpoint. $10 tickets.

12. Theater/Music/Fun/Food – Public Theater Block Party, Sat 10/13, noon to 5pm. FREE

13. Food/Talk – Chefs Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, and Magnus Nilsson talk about the Future of Restaurants at the Bumble & Bumble Theater. Sat 10/12, 11am to 12pm. $20.

14. Art/Interactive – Stillspotting/Improv Everywhere event Audiogram. An Mp3 Audio Adventure in the Bronx. Sat 10/13 and Sun 10/14. Multiple times. Check-in at Bronx Museum of the Arts $12.

15. Fun – Fluff’s Annual NYC Big Wheel Race in Central park. Sat 10/13 from 3-5pm, FREE

16. Music/Art/Fashion – BowieBall pays homage to the definitive rock icon: David Bowie, in an anything-goes charity extravaganza bringing together the best in music, art, fashion, and entertainment. Sat 10/13 at 10:30pm. $20 in advance. $25 at door with RSVP or costume.

17. Walking Tour/Architecture – Downtown Brooklyn’s New Livability Tour. Sun 10/14 at 11am. $20

18. Music – Sunday Night Live Music Series in the lobby of the Ace Hotel. Sun 10/14 at 10pm. FREE

Also, in Architecture: Landscape Architecture Design Speed Dating (aka Portfolio Reviews) & Open House Brunch at the Van Alen Institute. Sat 10/13, 12 to 2pm. FREE with RSVP.

UPDATES:
Music – 50th Birthday Celebration of the American Symphony Orchestra. Tickets on sale now for Friday 10/26 concert at 1962 prices of $1.50 to $7.00.

Film/Music/Food – Minor/Major: A TV on the Radio Tour Documentary, Sat 10/13 at 7pm at 3rdWard’s Moviehouse. Empanadas included. $5 suggestion. RSVP.

Film – Red Hook International Film & Video Festival, Sat 10/13 & Sun 10/14, 1 to 6pm. Schedule here. FREE

Art/Street Art – Inaugural street art auction preview/exhibit at Doyle New York (175 E. 87th St.) Sun 10/14, noon to 5pm, (even if you don’t go, check out the work online.) FREE

Food/Culture – Japan Block Fair on the UWS. Food vendors, Japanese merchants and a Ramen contest. Sun 10/14, 11am to 6pm. FREE

Check back for updates and take a look at our previous Culture on the Cheap posts for ongoing suggestions. Enjoy the weekend.