Art Rx
This week, sound and street art, surrealist and queer Chinese short films, dance outdoors, and more.
Sometimes there’s a week in New York filled with great things to do, and you think it can’t get any better. And then it does.
To wit, this week: El Anatsui’s solo show at the Brooklyn Museum is extended, while one devoted entirely to sound art opens at the Museum of Modern Art; Anthology Film Archives screens surrealist shorts, and SVA shows queer Chinese cinema; street-art force Wooster Collective celebrates ten years; Creative Time brings artists’ sandcastles back to the Rockaways; and Norte Maar curates dance outdoors at Socrates Sculpture Park. Tell all your friends to come visit — summer in New York City is the best.
El Anatsui Extended
When: Through August 18
Where: Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn)
The solo show of Ghanian artist El Anatsui at the Brooklyn Museum was supposed to end this past Sunday — but luckily for anyone who hasn’t visited yet, it’s been extended! This is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition, and it’s a beauty: his shimmering tapestries and sculptural curtains resolve into intricate knots of bottle caps and wires up close. The show also includes lesser-known earlier works by the artist in wood and papier-mâché, which help round out the portrait of his practice.
Surrealist Cinema
When: Tuesday, August 6, 7:30 pm ($10)
Where: Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, East Village, Manhattan)
Tonight, Anthology Film Archives has what sounds like an amazing line-up of surrealist shorts. On tap are René Clair & Francis Picabia’s “Entr’acte,” a “feat of cinema magic” originally made as intermission entertainment for the Ballet Suédois; Luis Buñuel & Salvador Dalí’s “Un chien andalou,” which the Archives calls “the unsurpassed masterpiece of the surrealist cinema”; and Buñuel’s “Land without Bread,” apparently an ethnographic surrealist documentary, whatever that means.
10 Years of Wooster Collective
When: Opens Wednesday, August 7, 7–9 pm
Where: Pop-up location (525 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan)
No recent history of street art would be complete without mentioning Marc and Sara Schiller, the masterminds behind Wooster Collective. Now this dynamic duo will be curating a show to mark the decade since they began their work evangelizing about street art to the world. Few others have done so much for the field, and they desire lots of accolades for their tireless support. —HV
Artists’ Correspondence
When: Wednesday, August 7, 7 pm
Where: Whitney Museum (945 Madison Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Letter writing has been gaining renewed attention lately, perhaps in the face of all that email. Artist Park McArthur will explore artists’ letters and ephemera at the Whitney on Wednesday night, in conjunction with the permanent collection exhibition I, You, We (which ends September 1). McArthur will dig out “personal and professional correspondence” from the museum’s Library archive, hopefully giving attendees a more intimate view of some of the artists we adore and admire.
Queer China
When: Thursday, August 8, 7–9 pm ($10 suggested donation)
Where: School of Visual Arts (136 West 21st Street, 7th floor, Chelsea, Manhattan)
Another film night that sounds stellar: “Queer China for a Chinese Audience,” a program that will feature a lecture and three short film screenings on the topic of coming out in China. This event is part of a month-long series organized by New York–based artist Jane Hsu, a juror for the most recent Beijing Indepedent Film Festival, which was shut down by police. The films being shown at SVA were all made by students enrolled in the festival’s film workshop, which the Chinese government also tried to disband. RSVP to janevhsu@gmail.com.
Sandcastles in the Rockaways
When: Friday, August 9, noon (sandcastle building begins at 2 pm)
Where: Rockaway Beach, near the Beach 86th Street boardwalk
If you can play hooky on Friday — and provided it’s not raining — you should probably head out to Rockaway Beach for Creative Time’s second ever Artist Sandcastle Competition. Artists sculpting from sand is an undeniably fun impetus, and this year, there’s the added bonus of supporting the Rockaways in the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Sandy (by showing up and buying food and drinks). Plus judging and prizes don’t start til 5 pm, which means you can have a productive day before sneaking away from your desk at 4 o’clock …
Dancing at Socrates
When: Saturday, August 10 (also August 17, 24, 31), 3 pm
Where: Socrates Sculpture Park(32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens)
Contemporary dance in a waterfront sculpture park: what else could you ask for? This weekend kicks off with works by Gleich Dances, Brooklyn Ballet, Ian Spencer Bell, and Rainwater Dances. The whole month’s program has a healthy dose of female choreographers, which is exactly how I like my dance. —HV
Listen Up
When: Opens Saturday, August 10
Where: Museum of Modern Art (11 West 53rd Street, Midtown, Manhattan)
This weekend, MoMA opens Soundings, its first major exhibition devoted to sound art. Curated by the museum’s Barbara London, the show is an exciting undertaking, an attempt to survey the field of sound art, although at an admittedly small scale. While it doesn’t quite shake free of the reliance on visuals, a number of mesmerizing room-sized installations and other scattered pieces give visitors a chance to slow down, quiet down, and listen.
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With contributions by Hrag Vartanian
