Curtis Sliwa and Massive Hot Dog in Times Square
The absurdist elegy of “The Most American Pageant Ever!,” Brazilian modernist Chico da Silva, reclaiming a Thomas Jefferson statue, and more.
I can’t say I’ve ever dreamed of watching a recreation of Curtis Sliwa’s infamous 1992 kidnapping and assassination attempt in front of a 65-foot hot dog in Times Square, but that’s just because of a lack of imagination. Our Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian found all the above and then some — drag Melania, Epstein file cumshot, etc. — during a visit to The Most American Pageant Ever!, an absurdist performance event that felt like an elegy during this national moment.
Also in this issue, we unpack a quieter though no less symbol-laden event a ways uptown. In May, a quill snapped off a nearly two century-old statue of Thomas Jefferson that once stood in City Hall, while it was being moved at the New York Historical. Todd Fine argues that the Mamdani administration ought to reclaim it as an emblem of democratic, labor, and socialist movements. Elsewhere around the city, three generations of Amazonian artists, including the brilliant and misunderstood modernist Chico da Silva; a weaving circle at Abrons Art Center; an exploration of the gut at LES community center ABC No Rio; and so much more to fill your days.
I’m so very jealous. This is the last week you’ll find me in your inbox, as I’m moving to Iowa City this weekend — no place to write the New York newsletter from — and handing it off to my wonderful colleagues. Thank you for everything. Hope to be back soon — hold it down for me in the meantime, will you?
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
Giant Wieners, Drag Queens, and Curtis Sliwa at “The Most American Pageant Ever!”
Watching Curtis Sliwa watch comedian Spike Einbinder — brother of Hacks star Hannah Einbinder and son of Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman — get shot in a comedic recreation of the former New York City Republican mayoral candidate’s infamous 1992 kidnapping and shooting was the kind of experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Thankfully, the other parts of the performance were just as absurd, verging on the erratic, which was pitch-perfect for The Most American Pageant Ever!, an event billed as a “renewed portrait of America,” though it often felt more like an elegy during the nation’s semiquincentennial year. | Hrag Vartanian
Read MoreFrom Our Critics
Natalie Weis
Helen Levitt, book edited by Joshua Chuang
"Levitt didn’t work with any particular political agenda other than the belief, still somewhat radical for its time, that the city’s working-class communities of color possessed a beauty and drama all their own."
John Yau
Riverlines: Chico da Silva, Joseca Yanomami, and Kuenan Mayu, Three Generations of Amazonian Indigenous Artists at David Nolan Gallery
"By presenting da Silva with two Amazonian artists of different generations, the exhibition undermines the oppressive Western notion of the artist as an isolated genius."
Julie Schneider
Finding Here, 2026 SVA MFA Art Practice Thesis Exhibition at Art Cake
"With a rollicking DIY spirit, these handcrafted works offer a reminder that it’s possible to rewrite what came before, push back against harmful systems, and invent better ways of living together."
Opinion
Mayor Mamdani Should Reclaim the City’s Jefferson Statue
The fact that the quill of David d’Angers’s statue of the third US president broke during the nation’s 250th anniversary provides more than an irresistible symbolic trope. | Todd Fine
Read MoreWhat Else Is Happening?
- The New York Foundation for the Arts awards $903,000 to 132 artists across New York State in its joint fellowship program with the New York State Council on the Arts.
- New York Chinatown residents and activists protested outside a town hall event organized by the Museum of Chinese in America, condemning the leadership’s acceptance of a $35 million grant from the city tied to the construction of a borough jail.
- Two painters are suing The Hole Gallery, alleging that it owes them a combined sum of about $50,000 in outstanding sales proceeds.
- Just a few months after the reopening of the New Museum’s expanded building, a water leak shut down the Manhattan institution for a full weekend.
- Hyperallergic contributor Seph Rodney will moderate a conversation about entropy in artist Meg Webster's work, tied to her show at Paula Cooper. (Tues July 28) [impulsemagazine.com]
- The Bronx River Art Center is hosting an opening reception for Persona / Non Persona, a dynamic group exhibition by the queer art collective Magenta Lounge. (Thurs July 30) [bronxriverarg.org]
- Join Asia Art Archive in America for a screening, artist talk, and discussion featuring Christy Chan and Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya that confronts violent power structures. (Thurs July 30) [aartsalliance.org]
- Studio6 Gallery is hosting an opening reception for U&LC: Upper and Lower Case, an international exhibition celebrating the power of letterform, featuring work from three graffiti pioneers. (Thurs July 30) [Studio6]
- The opening reception of the Bower Gallery's Annual Juried Exhibition is this week. (Thurs July 30) [bowerygallery.org]
- At Abrons Arts Center, join a weaving circle led by artist Cyle Warner, exploring Caribbean breeze block patterns, conversation, repetition, and shared making. (Fri July 31) [Abron Arts Center]
- Come to the opening of ABC No Rio Visual Arts Collective's Lower Intestine at Onetwentyeight Gallery, where subterranean artists examine the guts and hidden mechanisms churning beneath the surface world. (Sun Aug 2) [abcnorio.org]
