ArtRx NYC
Learn about the long history of activist graphic design in New York, pick up zines by its contemporary practitioners, and read them while you ride a vintage 1940s city bus around Governors Island.
This week you can learn about New York’s rich history of activist graphic and poster design, pick up affordable art at both an artist’s garage sale and a book and zine festival, and ride around Governors Island in a city bus from the 1940s.
New York’s Truly Radical Design History
When: Wednesday, July 8, 6:30pm ($16)
Where: Museum of the City of New York (1220 Fifth Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan)
There are several coinciding exhibitions on graphic design and activism in New York, with Art as Activism at the New-York Historical Society, How Posters Work at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and Activist New York at the Museum of the City of New York. This evening is a hub for these ideas, with three decades of political poster creation in the city discussed by the Guerrilla Girls, Avram Finkelstein — a founding member of the Silence = Death Project — conceptual artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed, World War 3 Illustrated co-founder Seth Tobocman, and Caitlin Condell, assistant curator at the Cooper Hewitt. —Allison Meier
Drawing on All the Senses
When: July 8–10 at 7:30pm ($10)
Where: The Drawing Center (35 Wooster Street, Soho, Manhattan)
This week, the Drawing Center presents the first half of a two-part series, Drawing Sound, curated by artist Billy Martin and the violin duo String Noise. Throughout the three-day event, a selection of dancers, musicians, and writers will interpret Martin’s graphic scores — his loopy drawings that look like nonsensical sheet music. The range of performances includes ballet, electronics, 20 percussionists, gongs, cello, and even spoken word by the American author Paul Auster. To top off the multisensory experience, visitors can experience a “scentstallation” that incorporates odors with sound and visuals by Phaedra Martin in the Drawing Room. —Elisa Wouk Almino
Vintage Jules Vernes
When: Friday, July 10, 2pm and Sunday, July 12, 2pm ($12)
Where: Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria, Queens)
The Museum of the Moving Image is hosting the world premiere of the recently restored Invention for Destruction (The Fabulous World of Jules Verne). Directed by Karel Zeman, the feature-length 1958 Czech film is a take on science fiction pioneer Jules Verne’s 19th-century tale of pirates attempting to harness a device to destroy the world. While that certainly has some madcap plot appeal, the real draw are Zeman’s experiments with live animation to make the film look like an old engraving. —AM
A Crazy Amazing Garage Sale!
When: opens Friday, July 10, 7–9pm; continues Saturday, July 11, 12–8p; Sunday, July 12, 12–6pm (auction at 4pm)
Where: Auxiliary Projects (212 Norman Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
The anxiety of art storage is real, so artist Jade Townsend is delving deep into his back catalogue to liberate the art that has been in detention centers across the tri-state area. Come and buy a whole work (or just a part, depending on your budget), but regardless you should take the time to bask in the beauty of the American garage sale. Heehaw! The trailer is pretty great (did I mention I curated this?). —Hrag Vartanian
Art Books and Zines in Bushwick
When: opens Friday, July 10, 7–10pm; Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, 1–7pm (free)
Where: Signal (260 Johnson Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn)
The art book fair with the best acronym, the Bushwick Art Book and Zine Fair (or BABZ Fair) returns for its third iteration with over 30 participants ranging from small presses and non-profit art spaces to individual artists and conceptual zine projects. In addition to workshops, readings, dance, and stand-up comedy performances, this year’s edition includes a special presentation of publications by artists and authors living in Detroit, curated by Maia Asshaq of indie bookstore DittoDitto.
Latin Music and Poetry in a Crypt
When: Saturday, July 11, 7pm ($20 suggested donation)
Where: Crypt Chapel (550 West 155th Street, Washington Heights, Manhattan)
Son Jarocho — a Mexican musical style that features guitar strums like machete whacks, vocals that are almost like yodeling, lyrics that can be erotic or romantic, and a dance style that looks like a hybrid between flamenco and tap — came to the US with immigrants and trickled into Los Angeles, where it became firmly embedded as part of Latino identity, as well as one of the sounds of the Chicano movement. This concert in the cavernous Crypt Chapel features poet and Jarana player Zenen Zeferino, dancer and percussionist Esther Cruz Maranto, and members of New York’s Son Jaroncho community. —Carolina Drake
Bus Rides Back in Time
When: Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, 11am–4pm (free)
Where: Governors Island
The Transit Museum regularly offers nostalgia rides on its vintage trains, but the humbler bus deserves its day. This weekend four of the museum’s 1940s and ’50s buses are journeying to Governors Island, showcasing such under-appreciated wonders as the country’s first air-conditioned bus, and those mid-century fishbowl windows, perfect for gazing out at New York Harbor on a summer day. —AM
Self-Tracking, Alienation, and Self-Knowledge
When: Opens Monday, July 13, 6–8pm
Where: K. (334 Broome Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan)
Organized by Sarah Hromack, Egress features the work of artists Colleen Asper and Kate Cooper, and though there isn’t much information about the show — including what we will be looking at — the press release does include two loaded quotes, one by Jean Baudrillard and another from an article about self-tracking from the European Journal of Cultural Studies. That should give you some sense of what to expect. —HV
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With contributions by Elisa Wouk Almino, Carolina Drake, Allison Meier, and Hrag Vartanian
