THE WEEK/WEEKEND: May 31-June 7.

Three Colorists: curated by Michael Walls — Eozen Agopian, Alan Kleiman, Diane Mayo
Where: Lesley Heller Workspace
When: June 6 – July 6, 2012, Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 6, 6-8pm 

Three Colorists, curated by Michael Walls, highlights the work of three artists who have several things in common: they began their professional life as painters; the oeuvre of each importantly involves the role of color; and the work of each is not only labor intensive, but also revealing of a hard-won mastery of the chosen craft.

LABAPALOOZA! MINI FESTIVAL OF NEW PUPPET THEATER FROM THE LAB
Where: St. Ann’s Warehouse
When: MAY 31-JU­NE 3  

It’s the last show before we move to our new location at 29 Jay Street! What better w­ay to say goodbye to 38 Water Street than with our 14th annual Labapalooza Festival? This year’s line-up of works-in-progress ranges from the traditional to the irreverent, from the ground breaking to the nostalgic, and from delightful to downright punk-rock.

Masterpiece Theater Curated by: Geoffrey Young
Where: Morgan Lehman 
When: May 31  – June 30 

If theatrical is the question, masterpiece is the answer.  Modesty in art is over-rated, as anyone with a Schnabel complex knows, so be prepared for the challenge of ascertaining the significance of what these artists have been cooking up over the past four months.  Yes, each can draw, paint, and employ color to bold effect, but that’s of secondary importance (the least we can expect of an artist).  What drives these artists is Imagination.  Another word for imagination is risk, another word for risk is danger, another word for danger is aesthetics.  And aesthetics, as we know, is for the birds.  But these artists aint tweeting.

Thurston Moore + Bill Nace + Joe McPhee
Where: Roulette
When: May 31, 8pm 

Three pillars of the noise and avant-jazz scene collide : Thurston Moore, singer/songwriter/guitarist for Sonic Youth, teams up with free-noise guitarist Bill Nace and avant-jazz saxophonist Joe McPhee for an evening of mind bending cacophony.

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Snakes, a Big Apple and the Garden (of Eden) State

Snakes, a Big Apple and the Garden (of Eden) State
Tuesday, May 10 at 7pm
Proteus Gowanus

MAP

Photo by Sarah Brigden {http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahb365/}

Join us for a multimedia tour of the decadence and divinity of two New Jersey Utopian communities founded in the 19th century: one for pleasure, the other for purity.
Edith Gonzalez presents two faces of the utopian mind of the 19th century: Ocean Grove, which remains to this day a “religious resort”, while Asbury Park, a secular pleasure zone, has faced more worldly ups and downs. Since their respective founding side by side on the NJ coast, these two communities have been engaged in a dynamic dialogue of morality.

Edith Gonzalez is an historical anthropologist specializing in nineteenth-century systems of power, and a native New Yorker with a deep and abiding love for New Jersey.