“new york had a way of doing that. every now and then the city shook its soul out. it assailed you with an image, or a day, or a crime, or a terror, or a beauty so difficult to wrap your mind around that you had to shake your head in disbelief.”
-colum mccann, let the great world spin
mr. paul auster; ankles crossed; brooklyn sweet brooklyn. by sv
i am an operatic neophyte; fresh-faced and open-armed to the medium that dates back to the late fifteen hundreds. being fortunate enough to attend two operas in the past several weeks (the first being a twin peaks-ish, almost proto-cubist interpretation of britten’s a midsummer night’s dream) i have been hypnotized by these stunning librettos. this past weekend was two boys, nico muhly’s (genius boy) groundbreaking interpretation of an enigmatic disaster that takes place largely in internet chatrooms. paul appleby as the lead exudes the quintessence of an awkward teenager; portraying normalcy with his varsity jacket and aloof attitude, meanwhile scavenging through the doldrums of adolescence with his webcam. with alice coote’s unnerving intensity as a wounded but dauntless detective, the show’s lowly pulsating rhythms juxtapose seamlessly, while dropping internet slang and making references to fellatio. perhaps not what you would expect in an opera, but what do i know, i am a newcomer after all. i strongly recommend going to see this if you are in new york at any point before november 14th. you can read more about the despondently true tale that inspired muhly’s composition in the vanity fair article here. by sv
Jem Cohen: We Have An Anchor from EMPAC @ Rensselaer on Vimeo.
i attended the friday night screening of jem cohen’s we have an anchor at BAM. the film had a three-night run at the harvey theater, a beautiful space for both film and performance. many moons ago nick cave scored a rendition of kafka’s metamorphosis there, and i had a lovely august saturday seeing woody allen’s summer ode to a streetcar named desire, blue jasmine. shown on five screens and featuring a seven member musical ensemble, cohen’s film is a melancholy ode to cape breton, the island off the northeastern coast of nova scotia. the ensemble featured such musicians as jessica moss, efrim manuel menuck, sophie trudeau, mira bilotte and jim white; all painstakingly present in the score they also composed. a film of few words with noteworthy exceptions, such as the poet elizabeth bishop, it is a quaint, convalescent mixture of past, present and future–beautifully depicting a graveyard of ideas. cohen came out and gave a little wave of his cap after the performance; many were moved, as i overheard in both the corridors and the front of the theater. what’s certain, to me, is that this film undoubtedly belongs in the permanent collection of moma, or maybe criterion, if they’re feeling arty. to learn more about the “unusual but accessible” mr. cohen, read here. by sv
for all ya white boys wishing you were black… not that i’m claiming i am, but just sayin’ cause i’ve done that… by dd
not only florent was the soul of the meatpacking district, but it was also the best restaurant identity/graphic design in the city. designer tibor kalman traded food against graphic design with florent morellet, the owner of the restaurant and an eccentric figure of the neighborhood. the collaboration came out to be so great and witty that it lasted until kalman passed away in 99′. restaurants surely don’t look like that in the city anymore… by pp.
here’s a specimen of your common new york hipster, clearly working overtime. by dd
“well, fuck that. i don’t need to pay $2,000 a month to share a doghouse-sized apartment with some random craigslist dipshit to prove my worth. i want to live like a goddamn human being.” i could have written that quote. check out this hilarious article. by lil
directed in 1964 by alfred leslie featuring the landscape and encompassing surroundings of new york city, the last clean shirt is a beautiful short film. broken finnish overrode by the quaint subtitles penned by no other than frank o’hara. the moma featured this film back in 2009, honoring leslie and o’hara as well, who used to be employed there in his heyday. this film transcends many barriers, most of which you can read about here. it irks me a bit that leslie does not give o’hara credit; perhaps a lapsed jealousy but nevertheless, this is worth a watch. i threw in the eliot shout-out for good measure. by sv
great to have YSL back in soho as it once was when hedi originally took over back in 1400’s. i bought half the collection then and have not since bought a single YSL, except for a 70’s vintage suit at resurrection. well i’ll be back in there soon… albeit for a tux. p.s. love the chairs. soft launch was this last week soon to be open to public. by uh
twice a year, our omnipotent star, the good ol’ setting sun aligns with the east/west streets of new york city’s grid. the origin of the word manhattanhenge, popularly dispersed by the enigmatic astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson, comes from stonehenge (their silhouettes and reactions are parallel). this event occurs annually during the end of may and july 12th and 13th. in 2013, it occured in half-sun form on may 28th and full sun form on may 29th around 8:15PM respectively. if you missed this beautiful cosmological event, you will have another chance to witness it in july (the 12th and 13th) around 8:20PM. how appropriate for science week… by hk
woody by ruth orkin by sv
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