Art Rx
The fall art season is in full swing in New York, and we can barely keep up. It's a good week in particular for the bookish types, with both the New York Art Book Fair and the Brooklyn Book Festival coming to town, plus fall festivals launching in spades and two artist lectures.
The fall art season is in full swing in New York, and we can barely keep up. Two of the most coveted art events of the week are already sold out — Yves Klein’s “Monotone-Silence Symphony” at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and Philip Glass’s performance in the James Turrell installation at the Guggenheim — but have no fear. There’s so much more to do.
It’s a good week in particular for the bookish types, with both the New York Art Book Fair and the Brooklyn Book Festival coming to town. Fall festivals are launching in spades as well, among them Photoville in Dumbo and the interdisciplinary Crossing the Line throughout New York City. We also recommend lectures by Thierry de Duve and Theaster Gates, a celebration of John Zorn, and a dance performance at the Drawing Center. You probably can’t do it all, but you can try!
Thierry de Duve & Kant’s Free Play
When: Tuesday, September 17, 6 pm (free with RSVP)
Where: NYU Institute of Fine Arts (1 East 78 Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Thierry de Duve is always pretentious but often totally on target. This lecture at NYU appears to be the latter. About his lecture, he writes: “Taking my clues from minimal art, I shall examine whether postmodernism invalidates Kantian aesthetics altogether, or whether it does not offer another model of how the interplay of imagination and understanding operates, a model that forces us to displace, or amend, or update Kantian aesthetics and, in so doing, deepen our understanding of its implications.” —HV
NOTATIONOTATIONS
When: Tuesday, September 17 & Wednesday, September 18, 7 pm
Where: The Drawing Center (35 Wooster Street, Soho, Manhattan)
Although the premiere was last night, there are still two nights left to catch “NOTATIONOTATIONS,” a first-time collaboration between artist Susan Hefuna and choreographer Luca Veggetti. According to the description, the piece is based on the premise “that if a line is the trace of a point in motion, then the human body moving through the space of the observed world is also a drawing.” There will be a video installation, a network of chalk lines, and dancers making repetitive gestures and “swooping whorls.” Neat!
A Conference on Theaster Gates
When: Wednesday, September 18, 10 am–2:30 pm, with opening reception 5:30–6:30 pm; Thursday, September 19, 10 am–noon
Where: The Vera List Center for Art and Politics (The New School, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor, Greenwich Village, Manhattan)
With the Gramsci Monument recently closed, questions surrounding public art are in the air. So it’s fitting that the Vera List Center is hosting a two-day forum on Theaster Gates and his “Dorchester Projects,” for which he bought and transformed a series abandoned buildings on Chicago’s South Side. The conference will focus on the myriad questions surrounding politically engaged art, with a series of panels, a gallery show devoted to Gates’s process and work, and a lecture by the artist on opening night.
Crossing the Line
When: Starts Thursday, September 19
Where: Various venues throughout New York
The French Institute Alliance Française’s (FIAF) annual Crossing the Line festival has, in the past few years, been piquing our interest every fall. The lineup usually includes a wide range of participants and types of art, all exploring the different ways artists engage with the public. The festival runs for the next month, but two of the events we’re most looking forward to kick off this weekend: Steve Lambert’s “Capitalism Works for Me! True/False,” where you can vote on that statement in Times Square, and Annie Dorsen’s “Spokaoke,” which offers karaoke with famous speeches instead of songs.
New York Art Book Fair
When: Thursday, September 19–Sunday, September 22
Where: MoMA PS1 (22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens)
It’s that time again: time to get your nerd on the New York Art Book Fair! This is one of our favorite events of the year, hands down. You can find everything from collectors’ editions of rare artists’ books to handmade zines for $1. It’s totally overwhelming and totally awesome. Here is the international list of exhibitors. Here is the schedule for the related two-day conference. Here is the list of exhibitions, events, and signings. Better make do your homework and take some notes before you go.
Photoville
When: Opens Thursday, September 19
Where: Pier 5, Brooklyn Bridge Park (off Furman Street and next to One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Dumbo, Brooklyn)
Photoville, Brooklyn’s newest photography festival returns for a second run, after a solid showing in 2012, where work on view that was mixed but some of it good enough to merit the trip. They’ve pulled in some big names for this year’s many exhibitions, and we’re particularly excited about some of the talks, including this one on the future of copyright and this one on the ethics of photojournalism. There are also screenings and interactive installations, like a tintype portrait booth!
The Big Question Answered
When: Opens Thursday, September 19, 7–9 pm
Where: The Church of St. Paul the Apostle (405 West 59th Street, Columbus Circle, Manhattan)
This is the seventh annual group exhibition at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. Hosted by the art collective Openings, 1). All of the Above: The Big Question Answered? features 37 artists exploring the connection between creativity and transcendence. We don’t recognize many of the names on the list, but that’s often a good thing — plus how often do you get a chance to go to an art opening in a big, beautiful church? Exactly.
The Film Scores of John Zorn
When: Starts Friday, September 20
Where: Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Ave., East Village, Manhattan)
Another entry in the citywide John Zorn@60 fete, this series at Anthology Film Archives (where Zorn is currently composer-in-residence) is more than a retrospective. Part film screening, part performance, part looking back, it includes a number of standout shows, including two of Zorn’s live musical scores for short works by Harry Smith, Maya Deren, Joseph Cornell, and even author Jean Genet, in his only foray into film. —JP
Brooklyn Book Festival
When: Sunday, September 22
Where: Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza (209 Joralemon Street, Downtown Brooklyn)
As if the New York Art Book Fair wasn’t enough, this Sunday is also the Brooklyn Book Festival. It’s not an art event, per se, but with its myriad of events and tables and talks, it’s great for culture and Brooklyn lovers of all types. On the day of the festival alone, there’s everything from a panel about Prince — cleverly titled “Purple Reign” — to a conversation between cartooning legends Art Spiegelman and Jules Feiffer. There are also dozens of “bookend” events in the week leading up to Sunday. As wth the NYABF, advance planning is recommended.
Last Chance: Ken Price Sculpture
When: Closes Sunday, September 22
Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Striking a space between molten abstraction and drippy, sci-fi-esque imagery, Ken Price’s sculptures are wholly original while still feeling somehow familiar. Sunday is your last chance to view the Met’s retrospective, the first ever large-scale exhibition of the artist’s work in New York. Who knows when the next time will be? —JP
Immigration Panel for Artists
When: Monday, September 23, 5:30–7:30 pm ($25 & up)
Where: Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Auditorium (1 East 53rd Street, Midtown, Manhattan)
If you’re an international artist living and working in New York, this might be good for you. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts offers a panel on the various types of visas you can apply for and what qualifies as permissible work under each. It costs a bit of money to attend, but hopefully the advice you’ll receive will be worth way more.
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With contributions by Jeremy Polacek and Hrag Vartanian
