tales

The Week/Weekend: Sept 13-20.

| The 22 Magazine

Exhibition / “Harry Smith: String Figures”
300 Nevins St (Cabinet)
20 September – 3 November 2012

Cabinet is pleased to present “Harry Smith: String Figures,” an exhibition drawn from the collection of John Cohen. Organized by painter Terry Winters, the show features twenty-two string figures created by Smith (1923–1991), the legendary artist, filmmaker, and ethnomusicologist.

BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL
Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012, 10am-6pm

On Sunday, September 23, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., a record 280+ top national and international authors and participants will join bibliophiles, booksellers and literary organizations on 14 stages at Brooklyn Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street) and Plaza, Columbus Park, St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights Public Library, Brooklyn Law School, the Brooklyn Historical Society and St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church for the seventh annual Brooklyn Book Festival.

Michael Chabon @Greenlight
Sep 17 2012 7:30 pm
Greenlight Bookstore

In his first novel in five years, beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author Michael Chabon provides a kaleidoscopic vision of urban America in transition, as witnessed by two intimately intertwined families in Oakland, California. Telegraph Avenue encompasses race, family, sexuality, gentrification, politics, jazz, funk, comics, kung fu, and a talking parrot, all with dazzling style and deep compassion. Chabon will read from his novel and answer audience questions before signing books.

Date the Time – Molly Dilworth
Reception: September 20, 6-8pm
Recess

On August 17, 2012 Molly Dilworth will begin work on Date the Time, as part of Recess’s signature program, Session. Session invites artists to use Recess’s public space as studio, exhibition venue and grounds for experimentation. For Date the Time, Dilworth will create a series of banners and flags, bearing patterns generated from user-submitted photos. Addressing digital content using traditional folk art techniques, Dilworth will distill issues of labor and consumer rights from unexpected sources.

Wendy White: Pix Vää
Leo Koenig
Opens September 13 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

In the large-scale “Fotobild” paintings, White continues to conjoin component canvases and then secures commercial storefront awnings above and atop painted canvases. These awnings and armatures, fabricated at a sign shop in Chinatown, feature human-scale snapshots that White has culled from her digital and print archives.

Stealth Reflections
Mighty Tanaka
September 14

Stealth Reflections pulls back the layers of consciousness and exposes the viewer to an awakening of self reflection.  Through his work, Miguel Ovalle seeks to reveal the inner psyche of the human condition through a myriad of interpretations and techniques.  His steadfast approach defines his meticulous attention for detail.

Tessa Farmer & Amon Tobin Control Over Nature
Spencer Brownstone Gallery
September 15 – October 6, 2012

Spencer Brownstone Gallery is pleased to present ‘Control Over Nature’, an exhibition by Tessa Farmer in collaboration with an acoustical installation by Amon Tobin. For her second show at the gallery, Tessa has teamed up with Amon Tobin to mark his September 14th performance at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. With his groundbreaking audio/visual live show ISAM 2.0, the electronic music pioneer joined forces with Farmer for an extraordinary collaborative installation combining his sound design and elements from ‘ISAM’, alongside Farmer’s trademark sculptures (constructed from bits of organic material, such as roots, dead insects and bones). Hovering with a rarefied, jewel-like beauty, Tessa’s tiny spectacles resound with a theurgist exotica: their specimen forms evolve as something alien and futuristic. The collaboration perfectly captures the themes surrounding ‘ISAM’: sensory deprivation, disorienting situationism and the mechanization of natural things.

Wondering Around Wandering
Saturday, September 15, 6:00–11:00pm
983 Dean Street

Join us for the grand opening of Wondering Around Wandering, and don’t miss Pulled: A Catalog of Screenprinting, making its final stop after a year of traveling.


Fishtank Ensemble/Baby Soda Jazz Band
Jalopy
Sat, Sept 15th

Fishtank Ensemble is a band that offers a unique blend of Gypsy, Balkan, Flamenco, Klezmer and original tunes. The arrangements are always surprising and include instruments from many countries such as violin, accordion, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, shamisen, bass, saw and voice./Baby Soda! Developed by hoboes, perfected through science… Baby Soda is on the cutting edge of a new movement loosely known as street jazz; with an eclectic set of influences ranging from New Orleans brass bands, jug music, southern gospel and hot jazz.

Who Gives a Sh*t About Literary Magazines?
Mon Sep 17, 7:00PM
BookCourt

Randy Rosenthal (editor of The Coffin Factory) and panelists Lorin Stein (editor of The Paris Review), Rob Spillman (editor of Tin House), and John Freeman (editor of Granta) discuss the impact of literary magazines in contemporary culture.

Survival
War of Words
Strange Tales of Liaozhai
Kris Bowers & Carson Adjacent
The NY Theremin Society Presents: GOOD Vibrations – Theremin X 4 FT Dorit Chrysler, Michael Evans, Rob Schwimmer and Allison Sniffin
Eleh (US Debut) + Lary 7
PRACTICE! W/ IKEBE SHAKEDOWN + OSEKRE AND THE LUCKY BASTARDS + THE FORTHRIGHTS + TUNDE ADEBIMBE/ OHAL GREITZER/ DAREN HO/ RYAN SAWYER/ C. SPENCER YEH QUINTET
Best American Poetry 2012
My Heart Is An Idiot: FOUND Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Tour!
LIGHT OBJECTS
MECANICA POPULAR
LIGHTNING BOLT
R. SIKORYAK & FRIENDS: CAROUSEL
The Channel
Joseph Keckler + Mac Wellman
ASBA’s 15th Annual International
NYC HONEY FESTIVAL
EatSleepDraw (5 Years)
Chris Watson + Marcus Davidson
AURAL DYSTOPIA
ALESSANDRO PESSOLI: FIRED PEOPLE
REYES & STEEL
Beth Cavener Stichter: Come Undone
Liza LaCroix
Masami Teraoka: Cloisters Inquisition    
Metropolis: Alexis Duque
Richard Estes / New York by Night
BARNEY KULOK: BUILDING
Ralph Humphrey
Assembly 2012
Sunday Paintings for a Rainy Day
Nate Wooley + Mazen Kerbaj
TAKESHI MURATA: SYNTHESIZERS
Crossing the Line 2012
Printed Matter, Inc. presents Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference in conjunction with The NY Art Book Fair
SHABOYGEN BY STEVEN AND WILLIAM LADD
Luisa Rabbia
INNER CIRCLE MUSIC FESTIVAL: PETROS KLAMPANIS TRIO
Wildlife in the Post-Natural Age
Thomas Hirschhorn “Concordia, Concordia”
ANDREA ZITTEL: Fluid Panel State
Alexander Hahn
Allison Evans
Sally Mann: Upon Reflection
POST NATURAL
Occupy Your BFF
Lucie Fontaine : Estate
New York School Artists
Respect Sextet and Loadbang
SIGHTLINES: HELEN SEAR
Opera on Tap: BRIDES ON FIRE!!!
Red Baraat w/ M.A.K.U. SoundSystem
Mount Eerie w/ Loren Connors
LIGHTNESS OF BEING
CARL MAGUIRE, FAR FROM ALMOST ALWAYS
Charles Jarboe   New Paintings
CALEB CAIN MARCUS: PORTRAIT OF ICE
FITZGERALD & STAPLETON: WAGE
Teresita Fernández & Mr.
HAIRY SANDS/SOURCE OF YELLOW
GUYI-GUYI by Pereferia Teatro
DAVE COLE
Miriam (BAM 30th Next Wave Fest)
BEAT FESTIVAL
Andra Ursuta: Aboveground Animation
Trey Speegle: Good Luck With That
THE JOSHUA LIGHT SHOW
Pictures from the Moon: A Symposium on Holograms and Art
MIVOS QUARTET
Nublu 10 Years w/ performances by Wax Poetic, Hess is More, Love Trio and Clark Gayton
Gallow Green

COMING UP:

The Secret City – NEW YORK
Cave Canem at The New School Presents: Natasha Trethaway and Metta Sama
Crossing the Line
Devotchka
The Mountain Goats
Adults in the Dark: Avant-Garde Animation (MAD)

Strange Tales of Liaozhai at HERE (Hanne Tierney.)

| The 22 Magazine

by Cat Gilbert

Strings break. They bend. They lead, and they follow (if prompted.) It was physical strings that brought me to Hanne Tierney’s most recent piece “Strange Tale of Liaozhai” at HERE arts center, (as it did many) and it was more metaphorical ones that lead me to learn her rich history as both puppeteer and person. Known for her elaborate puppet rig utilizing (this time) over 114 strings, even Tierney’s herself in an interview for her past work (My Life in a Nutshell) says “80 strings can tangle, can break, can slip out, it’s such a high risk business that I kind of say “Why am I doing this?” Knowing Tierney’s tragic history of losing her son in Sierra Leone and picking up his designated NY space to create a community art gallery (FiveMyles) that has won an Obie for its ability to energize a transition community, it’s easy to see there is very little that truly scares Hanne.

Whether the audience echos the sentiment of “why” or not, they certainly are aware of the elements of “danger” or at least the intricacy involved with watching three dedicated puppeteers manipulate the medieval mechanism (creaky as a ship but with no threat of storm) that Hanne has created. A self-professed “art performer,” who works in galleries as well as theaters, Tierney’s work, while sometimes autobiographical, is also the product of her love affair with Gertrude Stein’s ideal of theater without actors. “Strange Tales of Liaozhai” was aesthetically driven by Stein’s piece “A play called Not and Now,” which employed ball gowns and tuxedos to create a piece which deconstructed the foundations of theater.

“Strange Tales” uses 18th century folktales to tell the stories of a bad trade among a pigeon merchant, and the story of two lovers (one a fox spirit) who struggle for martial bliss. The pigeon piece does so through shadow screens and the hand drawn visual projections of Hannah Wasileski, while the lovers pieces utilizes the inanimate puppet players in the forms of scarves, bamboo, umbrellas and the like. Both pieces were joined by the complex, strange constructions of Jane Wang, who played a setup that rivaled the string mechanism of the puppeteers in its visual interest and sound. The stories though slow, are poignant and worth the patience of watching, however anyone who has seen (or heard) Hanne’s work, knows that a good portion of the engagement of the audience relies on her beautifully subtle, slightly accented narration, and on the puppeteer’s ghost within the machine movements. The genius behind creating something that resembles the interior of a grand piano, complete with string manipulators is almost enough to capture audience for the full hour in itself.

The “new” puppets in the piece (many of Tierney’s older “puppets”-bamboo poles, beaded curtains made appreciated cameo appearances), were mostly the silk scarves which made up the bulk of the cast. The stage itself was cloaked in purposefully laid cloth, and each main character was represented in choice colors, that changed pattern with movement and time across the stage and in the plotline; the overly doting mother in deep reds and pinks, the brash, fickle uncle in blacks and blues, the young lovers in pinks, sky blues and rainbows, and the fox spirit, a satiny silver.

Jane Wang’s setup included a variety of musical instruments (perquisite toy pianos included) but the most interesting moments came when she engaged the “space plates” (metal plates balanced on balloons, balanced in plastic containers), and more simply in her playing of the upright bass which she plucked to create beautiful movement and drama within the puppet pieces. Jamey McGilray and Shawn Lane helped manipulate the puppet strings and did so with a great amount of grace and ease.

“Strange Tales of Liaozhai” the book certainly relies on a great amount of history (with humans or no) to appreciate its tales and appropriately enough Hanne’s work is no different. Woven within the strings she pulls there are connections to both her past apprenticeship at a spinning wheel factory, her ability to see more than mundane in simple machinery, and her choice to move forward even and sometimes because of the great danger within.

Strange tales of Liaozhai runs through September 22nd at HERE Arts Center. Tickets are available here.

The Week/Weekend: August 23-Aug 30.

| The 22 Magazine


Exploring the Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek with Mitch Waxman
August 25, 2012, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Meetup at the corner of Kingsland and Norman Avenues in Greenpoint at 11

The 22 is headed out this Saturday to check out Atlas Obscura’s tour of Newton Creek. We’ll have a full update afterwards, but in the meantime buy your tickets and join us! We will be exploring the petroleum and waste transfer districts of the Newtown Creek watershed in North Brooklyn. Heavily industrialized, the area we will be walking through is the heart of the Greenpoint Oil Spill and home to scores of waste transfer stations and other heavy industries. We will be heading for the thrice damned Kosciuszko Bridge, which is scheduled for a demolition and replacement project which will be starting in 2013. Photographers, in particular, will find this an interesting walk through a little known and quite obscure section of New York City.

Battle for Bergen Street
Monday, August 27, 7pm
at the corner of Smith and Bergen Streets 

“Battle on Bergen” is a site-specific performance incorporating elements of dance, street theater, puppetry, and live music, depicting certain events from the Battle of Brooklyn and drawing parallels between the American Revolutionary War and events today. Sometimes forgotten in the very neighborhoods where it took place, the Battle was fought on August 27th, 1776 weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. “Battle on Bergen” is co-directed by Selene Colburn and features David Freeman, James Hannaham, Aaron Stanley, Willis Bigelow, Alan Balicki, Katie Merz, John Bauman, Tyler Sussman, and J.J. Hill-Wood.

Michael Hearst’s SONGS FOR UNUSUAL CREATURES
Sat 08/25
Barbes

A celebration of the under-appreciated creatures that roam the planet. From the Australian Bilby to the deep-sea Magnapinna Squid, to the Saddleback Caterpillar. The songs are brought to life by a gaggle of curious instruments and peculiar sounds including theremin, claviola, stylophone, and more.. With Michael Hearst, Ron Caswell, Allyssa Lamb Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller.

Day Joy/Gracie
Fri, August 24, 2012
Cameo Gallery

Day Joy is the creation of Peter Michael Perceval and Michael Serrin of Orlando FL. Their music began acoustically on the porch and recordings began with just the duo layering instrumentation together and and creating the lush and layered Dream Folk/Pop recordings you can hear now.

Art for Progress presents “Mixed Greens”
Saturday, August 25th
Paperbox Brooklyn

AFP returns to The Paper Box in East Williamsburg for a new monthly multimedia experience showcasing some of the finest emerging talent NYC has to offer. Most recently, AFP hosted “Brooklyn Beat Music and Arts Festival” at The Paper Box, and will continue the multidisciplinary arts experience with their new monthly series “Mixed Greens.” Taking place on Saturday nights the third week of each month, “Mixed Greens” will bring together a fresh new mix of musicians, artists, and DJ’s, creating an eclectic experience.

Sound Off Salon
16 Beaver St
Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sound Off is an intimate performance series of sound art and experimental music that connects audiences with composers, musicians, artists, and one another. It takes place in a simple loft: no stage, no curtain, and little distance between performer and audience.

LUSH Curated by Michael Hunt
Saturday, August 25 from 6-10pm
Klughaus Gallery

The Australian so-called “graffiti artist” LUSH is having his debut New York solo exhibition at Klughaus Gallery on Saturday, August 25, 2012. Following successful shows in Australia and London, LUSH is going to be bringing his “Art” to the Big Apple.

FLASH POINT/ NYC: WRITERS AND COMPOSERS
Thursday,  Aug 30 – 6:00PM
Cornelia St Cafe

A multidisciplinary call-and-response experience, the FLASH POINT/ NYC ensemble of writers and composers interweave new hybrid texts, flash fiction, micro memoir and prose poems across the harmonic rhythms, inversions, melodies and lines of original live jazz. Synchronicities and spontaneities emerge, converge and diverge to cross genres, provoke tradition and explore the territories ahead.

Gayle Young with Reinhard Reitzenstein
8/25 Saturday
The Stone

Young and Reitzenstein combine pre-recorded sounds — ranging from oceans to railways — with two of Young’s stringed instruments, one wood and the other a prototype in aluminum. Their approach is a playful exploration of sound that integrates soundscape with unusual tunings.

Butoh Electra
August 29 – September 8
Irondale Center

The magnificent, intense and intelligent Butoh Electra is created and performed by the highly acclaimed ensemble, The Ume Group. A “beautiful and disturbing” piece (NYTheatre.com), Butoh Electra presents Sophocles’ Greek revenge tragedy as the story of a woman whose vibrant inner life is corrupted by the world of walking dead in which she lives.

The Disposable Film Festival
Thursday August 23
Solar1

The DFF was created in 2007 to celebrate the artistic potential of disposable video: short films made on non-professional devices.

Veronica Klaus Sings The Peggy Lee Songbook with special guest Joey Arias
7:30 PM – August 29 
Joe’s Pub

Veronica Klaus delves into the amazingly broad songbook of the inimitable Miss Peggy Lee and brings her own sultry, smokey soulful style to some favorites and some lesser known gems from the Lee songbook, with the Tammy Hall Trio backing her, this is a great night of music for fans of jazz and the immortal Peggy Lee!

Neil Rolnick/Kristin Norderval
8/29 Wednesday
The Stone

Neil Rolnick works for violin, piano and computer, with violinist Todd Reynolds and pianist Vicky Chow. Including Hammer & Hair, Digits, Fiddle Faddle and Robert Johnson Sampler.

Harry Pussy Record Release Party with Bill Orcutt & Chris Corsano
Thursday, August 30, 2012 @ 8:00 pm
Roulette

Record release party for Harry Pussy’s Let’s Build A Pussy (1998) & One Plus One (1992-1993) with solo sets and a world premere duo performance by Bill Orcutt (one of the most influential noise artists of the 20th century) and “one of the most exciting drummers on the planet”, Chris Corsano.

Leland Sundries/Angela Perley and The Howlin’ Moons/Raquel Bell and David Marshall of Mesiko
Friday, 8/24
Pete’s Candy Store

Leland Sundries, a band from New York led by Nick Loss-Eaton, is dedicated to storytelling in a way that recalls Woody Guthrie and his Folkways brethren.Raquel and David are performing a rare duo set of past songs from their now defunct band, Norden Bombsight, and some of their new material from recently formed, Mesiko (Ray Rizzo, Chris Rodahaffer).”Taking her cues from the bold ladies of classic Americana country, Angela Perley’s vocal whippoorwill twang and down-home lyrics are so darling they will keep you up at night.

ICY & SOT IRANIAN STREET ARTISTS
Openhouse Gallery
August 23-25

Neverheard Inc and Klerkx Art Agency will be presenting ICY AND SOT’s Made in Iran at Openhouse Gallery. The street art duo will be debuting at Openhouse 379 Broome in Nolita. Made in Iran will expose viewers to site-specific installation and new stencil work that has been seen on the streets of Paris, Turin, San Paolo, New York, and many other cities.

Taka Kigawa, piano – performing J.S. Bach’s “The Art of Fugue”
Le Poisson Rouge
Mon., August 27, 2012, 7:00 PM

Critically acclaimed pianist TAKA KIGAWA will present a solo piano recital on Monday, August 27th, 2012, at 8:00 pm, at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Doors open at 7:00 pm. For this recital, Mr. Kigawa will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 (complete.)

The Snow / C. Gibbs/Annie and The Beekeepers with special guest Wilsen
Joe’s Pub
9:30 PM – August 30 

The Snow is a cinematic literary-pop quartet from Brooklyn, New York led by Pierre de Gaillande (Bad Reputation, Melomane, Morning Glories) and Hilary Downes. The Snow’s influences are as diverse as its sound – having been described in turns as post-apocalyptic French cabaret, gypsy pop, and carnival Americana.

BACHSTAR
KOTORINO
ANDY STATMAN
Creative Nonfiction Opening
VICTOR FRANGE PRESENTS GAS
Urban Food Waste Workshop
Braulio Amado’s: HOUDINI      
Cinema, Cinema/Bambara/Jackpot Tiger/Big Fur/Big Ups @Paper Box
Isle of Rhodes/Tough/Luck, Late Cambrian
Newtown Creek Celebration: Puppet Parade and Pageant
DAVE KADDEN/BAHAMA GIRL/CATFOX
N Y Moth Story Slam (Blunders)
BEAT Festival
SCHOOLNIGHT at the Bowery Hotel
Don’t Allow Fracking in New York State!
Nancy Beckman and Tom Bickley/Viv Corringham
GLOBAL LIVING ROOM FEST: JOSH RUTNER’S G’HOKTASAURUS
Jason Kao Hwang
Melanie Daniel: ECHO SHIELD
Skye Steele’s Glorious Sunshine Band
Crystal Bright and The Silver Hands

COMING UP:

Ryan Turley’s Hi/Lo
ELISA LENDVAY: Small Sculpture 
Strange Tales of Liaozhai
Thomas Allen: Beautiful Evidence
Wondering Around Wandering
Pauline Oliveros with Doug Van Nort and FILTER
Pictures from the Moon: A Symposium on Holograms and Art
Odd Job @Fowler Arts
SoundWalk 2012
THE NY ART BOOK FAIR
Next wave Festival
The Mountain Goats
Devotchka
 
 

THE WEEK/WEEKEND: August 16-23.

| The 22 Magazine

Screening with Director David Cronenberg: “Cosmopolis”
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Friday, August 17th

“Adapted from a Don Delillo novel, Cronenberg’s latest dystopian odyssey boats all three the ingredients for filmic greatness — sex, violence, and Robert Pattinson — in generous portions.” –Chloe Wyma

Tales of Social Activism
Museum of the City of New York
Saturday, August 18 at 2:00 pm

Activist New York includes an astonishing array of documents, historic artifacts, and personal items that transport us to iconic moments when grassroots movements changed the city’s history and culture. But the stories of New York activism are also woven through the lives and memories of countless New Yorkers. Join us for a gatherine during which we invite you to bring along a photograph, or just a story, that tells about your or your family’s involvement in the democratic process of change that occurs when citizens unite for common goals.

What Can You Do?/Remember, Dream v. 2.5
The Stone
Wens, August 22nd

All are invited to be present in Dream Time, listening into the moment, discovering who we are in this moment, within and without, listening, sounding, moving, seriously playing the moment, exploring the moment as a community of listeners/viewers. A sound/video dreamscape which has evolved from Norman’s prior Singing Mask ceremonies, his latest work “Mysterium Magnum,” home videos and recent electronic music by Ezra will accompany us in this journey. As a shared dream, Ezra, Caleb and Norman will explore and guide us into the present moment with sound/movement/Singing Masks as we are all interdependently interconnected within the intricate interwoven depths and delights of Dream Time.

JACOB GARCHIK
Barbes
Wed,  August 22nd

Trombonist and composer has worked with Slavic Soul Party, Lee Konitz and the Kronos Quartet but here he presents elegant and energetic compositions for his lithe trio. “Odd and excellent, taut with paradox” – Ben Ratliff, the New York Times. With Jacob Sacks, piano and Dan Weiss, drums.

Cassie Ramone/Deep Time/Turn to Crime
285 Kent Ave
Thursday, August 16th

Thursday August 16th @ 285 KENT AVE
11:15 || Cassie Ramone w/ Julie K-Holes
10:30 |||| Deep Time ——— formerly known as Yellow Fever
-9:45 |||||| Turn To Crime —- Derek Stanton from Awesome Color
-9:00 |||||||| Weird Rivers
-8:15 |||||||||||| I’m Turning Into

OurGoods:Barter: Theory and Practice
Eyebeam: Art and Technology Center
Saturday, August 18

From myths of haggling savages to accounts of societies run on mutual aid, “barter” occupies a grey area between gift giving and market transactions. In this workshop, participants will experience the theory and practice of barter. Participants will (1) learn about contemporary and historic barter communities, (2) connect with potential barter partners and (3) discuss the problems and possibilities of barter: building trust, negotiating value, communicating clearly, and getting projects done without money. Workshop Facilitator: Caroline Woolard is a co-founder of OurGoods.org and TradeSchool.coop, two barter networks for cultural production. She is currently a Fellow at Eyebeam. cost: bring drinks/food to share, or volunteer to help clean up. You must RSVP to attend: email info@ourgoods.org with your name and the item/service you plan to bring.

Poison Dartz/Robin Vote/Catfox/DJ Bloody Powes/ART
SPR
Saturday, August 18

A night of music & art brought to you by… Chandrikas. Music by Poison Dartz/Robin Vote/Catfox/DJ Bloody Powes/ART, the closing of “Growing the Garden,” a summer art exhibition of mixed media and mixed forms by David Shull.

Pressed And, It is rain in my face, Cuddle Formation
Cameo
Saturday, August 18

Sxip Shirey’s Hour of Charm
Joe’s Pub
Friday, August 17th

A brief history of a word I use allot by Jesse Sheidlower lexicographer and writer of “The F-Word, a detailed history of the word f*ck,” Turntablist/percussionist/producer VAL INC. who pulls beautiful ghosts from a table of machines, very very real, very very human and very very funny New York stories by GREG Walloch and CHRIS WELLS, Fascinating smart songs and live electronic compositions of composer AMY X NEUBERG, beautiful and compelling 4 part vocal music of TREVOR WILSON and ENSEMBLE and a new composition inspired by Ali Farka Touré by SXIP SHIREY performed with Rob C. (special appearance by Leron Peled!)

Sky-Pony/PitchBlak Brass Band
Joe’s Pub
Sunday, August 19th

Pitchblak Brass Band is a ten-piece brass collective comprised of composers, producers, artists, rappers, strivers, hustlers, and superstars. Hailed as NYC’s only hip hop brass band, PitchBlak has been rocking the city since 2010 with their original dance-worthy music, which combines robust horns, Afro-Caribbean beats, soaring jazz solos, and tongue-twisting raps. In addition to performing at notable venues such as 92YTribeca, Southpaw, and a packed headlining performance at Brooklyn Bowl, PitchBlak most recently played to enthusiastic crowds at the NXNE festival in Toronto. Because of each member’s diverse musical background and training, PitchBlak is active in teaching and mentoring young musicians in New York, and prides itself on giving back to the community. For more info, visit www.pitchblakbrassband.com.

“CORIOLANUS” (Shakespeare in the Parking Lot)
Municipal Parking Lot at the corner of Ludlow and Broome Streets, Manhattan
August 2-18

Coriolanus” has been re-envisioned as a modern day “election fable” in the second production of the Drilling Company’s 2012 Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot series. This “Coriolanus” is set during an election year, when money can buy power and working class citizens feel threatened by a dwindling patrician class who are seeking to solidify their political power by manipulating political figures. The title character, played by Arash Mokhtar, is a potential leader who is vaunted for his success as a warrior but is completely out of touch with the every day citizen’s experience of hunger and joblessness. 

Popular Culture/Ferns
Cameo
Wed, August 22nd

GEORGE BARBA YIORGI AND THE BYZAN-TONES
Zebulon
Wed, August 22nd

An Illustrated lecture and book signing with Rachel Poliquin, author of The Breathless Zoo and the blog “Ravishing Beasts”
Observatory
Friday, August 17th

In her new book The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing, Rachel Poliquin–best known for her blog “Ravishing Beasts”–explores the cultural history and poetic resonance of taxidermy from its rudimentary beginnings in cabinets of wonder to its revival in contemporary art. From hunting trophies to extinct species and kitten weddings to perpetual pets, The Breathless Zoo examines the meaning and matter of preserved animal-things and why anyone would want them to exist, and attempts to get to the heart of taxidermy by answering two fundamental questions: why would anyone want to preserve an animal, and what is this animal-thing now? Animal or object? Animal and object. This is the irresolvable tension that defines all taxidermy. As The Breathless Zoo demonstrates, with taxidermy there are no easy answers.

The Fall of the American Movie Palace
Observatory
Saturday, August 18th

There’s nothing remarkable about a movie theater today, but there used to be. When the great American Movie Palaces opened, they were some of the most lavish, stunning buildings anyone had ever seen. With the birth of the multiplex, theater companies found it harder and harder to keep these buildings open. Some were demolished, some were converted, and some remain to this day. “The Fall of the American Movie Palace” will take you through the history of these magnificent buildings, from their opening in the early 1900s to years after the final curtain.

Presentation Party Night 2 Year Blow Out
The Loom
Sunday, August 18th

Topics this month:
• Aesthetics
• L Train History
• Cider
• Self-Confidence
• History of Riddles
• PPN Past, Present, and Future!

OpenLab
Reverse
Saturday, August 17th

REVERSE invites you to the exhibition of OPEN LAB, the culmination of a month of work at REVERSE SPACE, during which six emerging artists use the 1010 sq ft gallery space and convert it into their own work-stations. The artists: Jin Joo Chae, Scott Fitzgerald, Hudson Lines, Francesca Padron, Gabriel J. Shuldiner, Jeremy Zierau

Microcosm: Sonic Territories
The Stone
Saturday, August 17th

Microcosm is Jonas Braasch’s new project. Expanding from his solo work, Microcosm is — in a nutshell — in a band with Jonas on the soprano saxophone, his alter ego on the Arturia Moog foot pedal, and Caira, an intelligent agent who improvises autonomously with the trio using auditory scene analysis techniques, machine listening, and logic-based reasoning. The agent is currently being developed through support from the National Science Foundation, together with team members Doug Van Nort, Pauline Oliveros, and Selmer Bringsjord. The Microcosm project was conceived to cross traditional boundaries between arts and science, and was conceptualized out of the desire to perform with an inspiring ensemble that can follow and provide musical cues very quickly. The concert will include adaptations from Jonas’ previous works: “Global Reflections”, “Sonic Territories”, and “Quartet for the End of Space”, which were released on Deep Listening and Pogus.

Quay Brothers: On Deciphering the Pharmacist’s Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets
August 12, 2012–January 7, 2013

The Gay Agenda Plays It Straight
Look at Me Now
Debasement
Painting in the Digital Age

The 7th Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party

COMING UP:

Wondering Around Wandering
Day Joy/Gracie
Gayle Young with Reinhard Reitzenstein
Obscura Society NYC: The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek

 

THE WEEK: APRIL 9-13.

| The 22 Magazine

EDITOR’S PICKS:

Adam Rudolph – Go Organic Orchestra
http://roulette.org/events/shelley-hirsch-simon-ho-3/
04/02/2012-04/30/2012
8pm-

Unique in the realm of approaches to improvisational conducting, Go: Organic Orchestra utilizes a composed non-linear score consisting of sound and motion elements. These include tone rows, synthetic scales, melodies, linguistic shapes, intervallic patterns, textural gestures, modes, ragas, maqams, and plainchant. The score serves to provide material for both the improvisations and the orchestrations. Motion and forms and are generated through the application of the composer’s rhythm concept “Cyclic Verticalism” whereby polymeters are combined with additive rhythm cycles.

JAMES GODWIN LUNATIC CUNNING
http://www.dixonplace.org/index2.html
04/06/2012-04/21/2012
7:30pm-

A semi-autobiographical “mockumentary” from a puppetry and performance art pioneer. Lunatic Cunning mixes experiences from Godwin’s own life—such as his work with Julie Taymor on Across the Universe and appearances on Saturday Night Live, Chappelle’s Show, PBS and with Jim Henson’s Muppets. It’s a humorous examination of the occult roots of puppetry and performance art.

I T I N E R A N T Performance Art Festival
http://www.qmad.org/itinerant/
04/06/2012-05/04/2012
3pm-6pm

QMAD, Queens Media Arts Development, presents ITINERANT, a citywide festival for Contemporary Performance Art to be hosted at various venues in the five boroughs of New York City. ITINERANT 2012 focuses on live performative works that treat notions of intimacy, self-reflection, and introspection. ITINERANT 2012 focuses on live performative works that treat notions of intimacy, self-reflection, and introspection. Artists working in Contemporary Performance Art were selected to participate from an open call that attracted more than 175 local, national and international submissions. Forty five artists will be featuring new and existing works that explore the program’s theme over a period of 5 weeks starting on March 30th through May 5th.

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THE WEEK: MARCH 12-16.

| The 22 Magazine

EDITOR’S PICKS: 

Fiction Magazine 40th Anniversary Celebration
http://www.housingworks.org/events/detail/fiction-magazine-40th-anniversary-celebration
03/15/2012-03/15/2012
7pm-

Celebrate the new issue and Fiction’s 40th anniversary with contributors Sheila Kohler, Jerome Charyn, Brendan Kiely, and Kesi Foster.

OPERA ON TAP.
http://barbesbrooklyn.com/calendar.html
03/16/2012-03/16/2012
8pm-

OPERA ON TAP. Opera is fun. Most people don’t seem to realize how much fun it really is. In order to prove it, Opera on Tap has taken its act to barrooms where they found out that beer on tap enhances the operatic experience. The company is made up of young singers and instrumentalists who relish the direct contact with audiences not inhibited in their reactions by the looming menace of giant chandeliers.

Kris Kuksi
http://joshualinergallery.com/index.php
03/08/2012-04/07/2012
11pm-6pm

With its cautionary title, Triumph skewers the hubris and folly of human ambition. This cavalcade of epic works references mythology, the occult, and organized religion, and uses age-old techniques of visual storytelling to voice personal angst. Depicting grand themes with extravagant embellishments, Kuksi’s assemblages of small, mass-produced materials are intrinsically narrative. Like gilt Baroque altarpieces, their stunning excess of detail is the ideal vehicle for the artist’s critique of power and piety. And like those early works of public art, they appeal to the viewer to transcend the strife and striving associated with greed.

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THE WEEK: Dec 5-9.

| The 22 Magazine

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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The Weekend:Dec 2-4.

| The 22 Magazine

FRIDAY:

TED BROOKLYN:
We’re living in what is commonly referred to as the “Information Age.” With the emergence of social networks, we build new communities by pressing the “Like” and “+1” buttons and becoming fans. As we become increasingly interconnected with the Brooklyn community in these new ways, we find ourselves grasping for a new common ethos. In other words, we are striving to refine and define “better.” On December 2 at Brooklyn Bowl, we will address these issues with talks from the best and brightest minds of Brooklyn and beyond.

OPERA ON TAP/Roulette Sisters.
Opera is fun. Most people don’t seem to realize how much fun it really is. In order to prove it, Opera on Tap has taken its act to barrooms where they found out that beer on tap enhances the operatic experience. The company is made up of young singers and instrumentalists who relish the direct contact with audiences not inhibited in their reactions by the looming menace of giant chandelier.The Roulette Sisters have been turning heads and stopping traffic since forming in the cold winter of 2003. Noticing that their warm velvet harmonies and spicy hot licks were melting the snow outside, the sisters realized that they had started something not only weather-altering but soul-stirring as well. The sexy sisters play a hip-shaking blend of American country blues, traditional songs, popular tunes and old timey music from the first half of the 20th century. With Mamie Minch: resonator guitar, Meg Reichardt: electric guitar, Megan Burleyson: washboard, Karen Waltuch: viola.

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