ArtRx NYC
This week we remember the Armenian Genocide, celebrate queer cartoonists, debate the necessity of all-women exhibitions, think about how posters work, and much more.
This week we remember the Armenian Genocide, celebrate queer cartoonists, debate the necessity of all-women exhibitions, think about how posters work, and much more.
Armenian Genocide: A Dark Paradigm
When: Wednesday, May 6, 7:30pm (general $15/students $10; buy tickets online)
Where: School of Visual Arts Theater (333 West 23rd Street, Chelsea, Manhattan)
All that I have seen and heard surpasses all imagination. Speaking of “thousand and one horrors” is very little in this case, I thought I was passing through a part of hell.
These words were spoken by August Bernau as he witnessed the Armenian Genocide of 1915, during which nearly 1.5 million Armenians were killed and deported by the Ottoman Turks. The mass murder inspired Raphael Lemkin to coin the term “genocide,” but to this day the event remains unrecognized as such by the American government (among others). As part of its World Voices Festival, PEN is hosting a night of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide, which will feature a panel discussion with Armenian cultural leaders and include readings of work by Armenian writers killed in 1915. —Kemy Lin
Do We Need Women-Only Exhibits?
When: Thursday, May 7, 7pm (free)
Where: Museum of Arts and Design (2 Columbus Circle, Midtown, Manhattan)
Should there be art exhibitions and programming be solely dedicated to women artists? In conjunction with MAD’s current exhibition Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today, a group of curators, artists, and writers will gather to discuss the recent proliferation of women-only shows, conferences, and galleries. The panelists — including Hyperallergic’s own senior editor Jillian Steinhauer — will meditate on questions of institutional responsibility and of the necessity and/or limitations of gender-based categorization in art programming. —KL
Brancusi: Pioneer of American Minimalism
When: Opens Thursday, May 7
Where: Paul Kasmin Gallery (515 West 27th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan)
In 1926, perplexed American customs officials came across a thin, gold sculpture, purportedly of a bird, that had little resemblance to any avian creature. They classified it under “Kitchen Utensils and Hospital Supplies” and levied a 40% tariff against the work’s value. That sculpture, Constantin Brancusi’s “Bird in Space,” became the subject of the landmark case Brancusi v. United States, which established that nonrepresentational sculpture could be art. Brancusi’s clean, quirky (and sometimes obscene) sculptures paved the way for Minimalism in the US, and starting on Thursday some of them will be shown in close proximity at Paul Kasmin Gallery, similarly to the installation of his reconstructed studio “Atelier Brancusi” in Paris. —KL
Queers & Comics: LGBT Cartoonists’ Conference
When: Thursday, May 7–Friday, May 8 (check site for schedule)
Where: Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS), The Graduate Center-CUNY (365 Fifth Avenue, Midtown, Manhattan)
A conference to celebrate the craft and history of queer cartoonists will take over CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the CUNY Grad Center for two days. Panels will focus on such topics as “Trans Visibility in Imagined Worlds” and “Queer Memoir,” while artists Howard Cruse and Alison Bechdel (also a newly minted MacArthur fellow) will give keynotes. If you can’t make it, select events will be live-streamed and archived for posterity. —Vic Vaiana
How Posters Work
When: Opens Friday, May 8
Where: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Having trouble getting people to show up your shows, political actions, or gatherings? Take a look Cooper Hewitt’s new showcase of 125 posters from its permanent collection, exploring poster art through 14 design principles. With examples from World War II propaganda and the psychedelic era, this show aims to pin down the traits of captivating poster iconography. —VV
Memento Mori: A Love Story
When: Saturday, May 9, 8pm (free)
Where: Morbid Anatomy Museum (424 Third Avenue, Gowanus, Brooklyn)
Taking a slightly different path from other UCLA art history PhD grads, Paul Koudounaris spent years photographing places of death around the world. In his most recent book, Memento Mori, Koudounaris explores our diverse relationships with skeletal remains through mossy Indonesian burial caves, Roman catacombs, and a festival in Bolivia where skulls are honored with cigarettes placed between their bony teeth. Koudounaris is an engaging speaker, and this talk will likely put the seemingly macabre in its historical context. —Allison Meier
#Rawhide
When: Opens Saturday, May 9
Where: Venus Over Manhattan (980 Madison Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan)
In its latest exhibition, Venus Over Manhattan will showcase depictions of the cowboy from the 1890s to today, covering the period of the Hollywood Western and more recent erotic appropriations of American bravado’s avatar. The rugged stud of the frontier has inspired the likes of Warhol, Avedon, and Lichtenstein, all of whom are featured. Come check out images like Dennis Hopper’s portraits of John Wayne and the Marlboro Man, and other iterations of the Wild West’s wildest hero and sex symbol.—VV
Last Chance: Full Tilt
When: Closes Sunday, May 10
Where: Novella gallery (164 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan)
An exhibition curated by poet, critic, and Hyperallergic Weekend Editor John Yau is one not to be missed. Full Tilt features seven artists, all of whom make geometric paintings, some of whom do not have gallery representation — because, as Yau wisely writes, “I do not want to write only about what is being shown, as that renders complaints about the market moot.” In fact, Yau’s whole statement for the exhibition is terrific, so you should read it and then go see the show. And if you want to do further reading on any of the artists included, check out Hyperallergic pieces here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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With contributions by Kemy Lin, Allison Meier, and Vic Vaiana
