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MONDAY:

Photographing the Dead: The History of Postmortem Photography from The Burns Collection and Archive
Postmortem photography, photographing a deceased person, was a common practice in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These photographs, from the beginning of the practice until now, are special mementos that hold deep meaning for mourners through visually “embalming” the dead. Although postmortem photographs make up the largest group of nineteenth-century American genre photographs, until recent years they were largely unseen and unknown. Dr. Burns recognized the importance of this phenomenon in his early collecting when he bought his first postmortem photographs in 1976. Since that time he has amassed the most comprehensive collection of postmortem photography in the world and has curated several exhibits and published three books on the subject: the Sleeping Beauty series. Tonight, Dr. Burns will speak about the practice of postmortem photography from the 19th century until today and share hundreds of images from his collection.

FIRST BOOK BROOKLYN HOLIDAY PARTY & FUNDRAISER
first book–brooklyn is a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting new books to children in need. join us tonight for their first annual holiday party and fundraiser.

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PROJECT FUKUSHIMA! BENEFIT CONCERTS @ THE STONE.
8/15 Monday 8 and 10pm

PROJECT FUKUSHIMA! BENEFIT CONCERTS
John Zorn, Ned Rothenberg (sax) Uri Caine, Shoko Nagai, Karl Berger (piano) Ikue Mori (electronics) Ha Yang Kim (cello) Nels Cline, David Watson (guitar) Yuka Honda (keyboards) Satoshi Takeishi (drums) Shayna Dunkelman (percussion) Chuck Bettis, Michael Carter (electronics) Kato Hideki (bass) and many special guests!
TWO SPECIAL SETS OF IMPROVISED MUSIC AS PART OF A WORLD-WIDE INITIATIVE FOR THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF FUKUSHIMA. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO PROJECT FUKUSHIMA!—TWENTY DOLLARS

THIS NIGHT WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE OVER WEBSYN RADIO BY DOMINIQUE BALAY—THE LINK http://droitdecites.org/2011/06/08/websynradio-en-direct-de-the-stone-new-york-fukushima/

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The New York International Fringe Festival
Friday, Saturday and SundayFringeNYC? The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues. In addition to 1200 incredible performances, FringeNYC includes…..(READ MORE.)

Maya Zack: Living Room
The Jewish Museum
July 31, 2011 – October 30, 2011

In the installation, Living Room, artist and filmmaker Maya Zack uses large-scale computer-generated 3D images accompanied by sound to evoke a Jewish family’s apartment from 1930s Berlin. While listening to the stories and memories of Manfred Nomburg, visitors can experience the apartment visually. 3D glasses enhance the oversized images reimagining rooms in the apartment and give them immediacy and depth.

Everybody Loves the Monster!
Thursday, August 18, 2011, 10 a.m.

In 1818, when Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus was published for the first time, Mary Shelley could not have imagined the monster she was unleashing on the world. The creature in Shelley’s novel is remarkably sympathetic and an eloquent speaker, capable of measured, intelligent, and articulate argument. But based on Boris Karloff’s 1931 film performance and confirmed by countless other films, comics, and illustrations, the general perception today is that Frankenstein’s creature is a “monster” who grunts or speaks—if he talks at all—in disjointed monosyllables.

Why has popular culture largely denied the creature his reasonable voice? This symposium brings together four scholars and the curator and bibliographer of The New York Public Library’s Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection to reflect on graphic and film representations of the “monster” from the past two centuries. The first half of the day will feature presentations on key visual adaptations of the creature, while the latter half will engage questions about what these appearances mean for understanding him as a political and historical subject.

Yana Dimitrova and Angela Washko: Cheap Paradise of Familiar Tasks and Places
Opening reception: August 19th, 6:30 pm on
Flux Factory

Consider escaping your common, everyday tasks and places without using your common, everyday devices. Through installation, painting, drawing, and video, Yana Dimitrova and Angela Washko portray the mundane patterns and structures of everyday experience and consider models of living that exist outside of our “to-buy-is-to-gratify” mentality. Stripping fast food architecture and smart phone technology of it’s branding and context, Washko and Dimitrova present what remains – hollow monuments to consumer culture.

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