Jeff Koons, “Play-Doh” (1994–2014). ‘Jeff Koons: A Retrospective,’ on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art, ends this Sunday. (photo by Michael Groth)
This week, delve deep into Stanley Kubrick’s archives, see the Koons retrospective before it closes at the Whitney, explore the archeological destruction of ISIS (aka Islamic State), check out Ryoji Ikeda in Times Square, and more.
Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes
When: Tuesday, October 14, 8–11pm ($15)
Where: Morbid Anatomy Museum (424 3rd Avenue, Gowanus, Brooklyn)
Tonight, author and filmmaker Jon Ronson introduces his 2008 documentary, Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes. Following Kubrick’s death in 1999, Ronson was invited to the director’s house, whereupon he discovered over a thousand boxes of archival material. Full of materials such as scripts, private notes, photographs, and fan letters, Ronson’s film rummages through Kubrick’s past, attempting to get closer to one of cinema’s most mysterious and fanatical directors.
Destruction & Documentation: Saving Syria’s Cultural Heritage
Photos showing what appears to be ISIS militants destroying ancient Assyrian statues. (via apsa2011.com)
When: Wednesday, October 15, 6:30pm (FREE)
Where: The Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue, Midtown, Manhattan)
In this free lecture, Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis introduces Manar-al-Athar, an open-access photography database charting the destruction of Syria’s heritage sites. As explained on the Graduate Center’s page:
Through a careful examination of pre-war photographs, archaeological reports, and other scholarship, in conjunction with a review of current social media, photographs, and video, the project attempts to assess the damage to archaeological sites and the validity of claims made by all sides.
Don Leicht: Organic
When: Friday, October 17, 7–9pm
Where: Mary Colby Studio (276 City Island Avenue, City Island, Bronx)
Don Leicht, dubbed the “original space invader” (a reference to French street artist “Invader”), joins painter Mary Colby for Organic, a joint exhibition of their work. Leicht is best known for his flat aluminum plate sculptures of video game characters, including Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man. On view at Mary Colby’s studio (which has recently been opened to the public), Organic officially opens this Friday, though the studio is also open for previews on Wednesday (2–7pm).
Necronomicon: The Films of H.R. Giger
When: Wednesday, October 15, 7:30pm & 10pm ($5)
Where: Spectacle Theater (124 South 3rd Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
For one night only, Spectacle presents a series of experimental films, music videos, and documentaries made in collaboration by H.R. Giger and his friends J.J. Wittmer and F.M. Murer. Highlights include Giger’s Alien (1979), a behind-the-scenes look at Giger’s work for Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), and Giger’s Necronomicon (1975), which charts the artist’s day-to-day life and working processes. Guaranteed to be weird and wonderful.
Ryoji Ikeda: Test Pattern
When: Thursday, October 16, 11:57pm (FREE)
Where: Times Square, Manhattan
Throughout this month, Ryoji Ikeda’s Test Pattern will appear on Times Square billboards every night between 11:57pm to midnight. The display is part of the series Midnight Moment, a collaboration between Times Square Arts and The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC). This Thursday, an additional audio component will be introduced to the film. Viewers will be handed headphones for a one-off “silent concert” of sounds that correspond to Ikeda’s patterned visuals. We particularly like Ikeda’s statement, which consists entirely of binary code:
“00110110 01100001 01100011 01100011 01100100 01100001 01100101 00110001 00110011 01100101 01100110 01100110 00110111 01101001 00110011 01101100 00111001 01101110 00110100 01101111 00110100 01110001 01110010 01110010 00110100 01110011 00111000 01110100 00110001 00110010 01110110 01111000.”
Btw, in text it reads, “6accdae13eff7i3l9n4o4qrr4s8t12vx.”
(Update 10/15/14: One of our readers, Terence Collins, has informed us that Ikeda’s statement is a reference to a coded message penned by Sir Isaac Newton to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1677).
Gowanus Open Studios 2014
When: Friday, October 17 – Sunday, October 19
Where: Gowanus, Brooklyn
This weekend marks the eighteenth edition of Gowanus Open Studios. 320 artist studios and arts venues will be open to the public on Saturday, October 18, and Sunday, October 19, from noon to 6pm. Make an itinerary of your own, or join one of the numerous tours led by GOS curators. GOS guides include Benjamin Sutton, and Jason Andrew. A full list of participating artists can be found here. Oh and be sure to check out the opening party this Friday at the Gowanus Ballroom.
Meme, You, and Everyone We Follow
When: Saturday, October 18, 10am–10pm (Free)
Where: Pratt Institute, Myrtle Hall (215 Willoughby Avenue, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn)
Interested in animations, cyborgs, and memes? Then Meme, You, and Everyone We Follow, a daylong festival organized by the Pratt Institute’s department of digital arts, should be for you. Everyone We Follow comprises workshops, panel discussions, and a “multi media after party.” A keynote speech will be given by media theorist Marisa Olson, perhaps best known for documenting the lead up to her American Idol audition. The event is completely free, though workshop availability is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Jeff Koons: A Retrospective
When: Closes Sunday, October 19
Where: Whitney Museum of American Art (945 Madison Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Some people loved it. Some hated it. One artist vandalized it. This Sunday, the Whitney’s final exhibition at the Breuer building — Jeff Koons: A Retrospective — closes. Thomas Micchelli described the show as “funereal,” while John Yau opined that Koons’s work exemplifies a growing “culture of hyperbole.” Whether you have a stance or not, this is not an exhibition to miss, even if it’s just to say goodbye to the Whitney before it moves to the Meatpacking District next year. For a visual introduction, see Michael Groth’s photo essay for Hyperallergic here.
Artist’s Books of Dorothy Iannone
(via Printedmatter.org)
When: Through Saturday, November 15
Where: Printed Matter (195 Tenth Avenue, Chelsea, Manhattan)
Printed Matter presents an exhibition of books, postcards, and printed ephemera by artist Dorothy Iannone. A committed champion of female sexuality, Iannone’s colorful work, which often incorporated biographical elements, including friends and lovers, regularly fell afowl of censors. It was Iannone’s suit against the US government that lifted the ban on Henry Miller’s novels in the United States. The artist’s first solo exhibition at a US institution was at the New Museum in 2009, an indication that Iannone remains a slighted figure in the art world. Printed Matter’s exhibition should be an excellent primer for the uninitiated.
