still points

some stolen moments of calm amid the storm that is New York.

sitting on a bench, watching the world. there's good, and beauty in it.

Sabrina

The plot of this classic 50s caper is all light and fluffy, but Audrey Hepburn is exquisite as the chauffeur's daughter who goes off to Paris and comes back transformed into an elegant sophisticate, fought over by two wealthy brothers (Humphrey Bogart wins, of course). Her clothes, makeup, hair, are genius in every scene.

surreal-ish

A lucky confluence of sunset and lack of camera flash produced these eerie photographs of a carnival I wandered through one evening in Paris. I did not re-touch these photos in any way.

Puts me in a Halloween mood.

Vermont Sunset

Took these a while ago with an iphone of all things. They make me happy while I slog through my research on this dark and stormy New York day.

Dorothea and Max

Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst: he a famous Surrealist and quite the ladies man, arrived in New York in exile from war-torn Europe. She an artist, freshly in New York and becoming quite successful, totally entranced by the European avant-garde. Legend has it he heard about her paintings and paid a visit to her studio. He stayed for a game of chess and they were inseparable until his death.
They built a house in Sedona Arizona, entertaining the art-world luminaries of their time. Eventually they moved to France, shuttling between Paris and a place in the country.

I'd say they cut quite a dash. Portrait above by the great Irving Penn.


I was researching Dorothea for work today and couldn't tear myself away from these amazing photos - they really evoke a nostalgia for an artistic period of this past century that I'd love to visit.

Dorothea herself now lives here in New York. She is 101 years old. I highly recommend her autobiography.

Performa 11 · RoseLee Goldberg in conversation with Shirin Neshat and Wangechi Mutu

I am very much in geek mode over this event tonight.

(Image and text from: http://11.performa-arts.org/event/roselee-goldberg-shirin-neshat-and-wangechi-mutu)

"In celebration of the newest Performa publication Performa 09: Back to Futurism, the New York Public Library will host a conversation between Performa Founding Director and Curator RoseLee Goldberg, Performa 09 Commission artist Wangechi Mutu, and Performa 11 Commission artist Shirin Neshat, in which they discuss what it means to commission a new work in live performance and the impact the Performa biennial has had on the history and future of live performance.

Written and edited by legendary performance art historian RoseLee Goldberg, Performa 09: Back to Futurism is the definitive document of the unforgettable Performa 2009 biennial. It is the third volume to draw content and inspiration from the world-renowned Performa biennials, and features creative documentation by the 150 artists who made Performa 09 so extraordinary¬among them Guy Ben-Ner, Candice Breitz, Omer Fast, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Mike Kelley, Arto Lindsay, Wangechi Mutu, Christian Tomaszewski and Yeondoo Jung (all of whom presented special Performa Commissions) and Keren Cytter, Tacita Dean, Alicia Framis, Loris Greaud, William Kentridge and Joan Jonas (who brought US premieres to the biennial). Photographs of each artist¹s performance and texts contributed by curators and critics provide accounts of every show, as well as an understanding of the importance of each work within the artist¹s individual career and in relation to larger artistic trends. Taking place at over 80 of New York¹s most exciting art and cultural venues, Performa 09 was created as a collaboration between all of these moving parts, so a portrait of the city¹s remarkable history of cultural innovation also emerges from these pages. Performa 09: Back to Futurism is not only a gorgeous document of a remarkable biennial, but also an invaluable reference guide to the most significant artists of our time, for art historians and fans alike. Copies of Performa 09: Back to Futurism are available for purchase and signing at the event.

RoseLee Goldberg, Founding Director and Curator of Performa, is an art historian, critic, and curator whose book Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present, first published in 1979, pioneered the study of performance art. Former Director of the Royal College of Art Gallery in London and Curator at The Kitchen in New York, she is also the author of Performance: Live Art Since 1960 (1998) and Laurie Anderson (2000), and is a frequent contributor to Artforumand other publications. Recent awards and grants include two awards from the International Association of Art Critics (2011), the Agnes Gund Curatorial Award from Independent Curators International (2010), Curatorial Research Fellowship from the Warhol Foundation (2008), and Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Government (2006). In 2004, she founded Performa, a non-profit arts organization committed to the research, development, and presentation of performance by visual artists from around the world, and launched New York's first performance biennial, Performa 05 (2005), followed by Performa 07 (2007), and Performa 09 (2009). In 2011, Performa will present its fourth biennial, Performa 11 (November 1¬ 21, 2011). Since 1987, Goldberg has taught at New York University.

New York-based artist Shirin Neshat (b. 1957, Qazvin, Iran) works primarily in photography and video, often dealing with the alienation of women in repressed Muslim societies. Major solo exhibitions include the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, (2009); Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum Für Gengewart, Berlin (2005); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2001); Serpentine Gallery, London (2000); and the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (1999), among others. Awards and accolades include the Silver Lion, Venice Film Festival (2009); Hiroshima Freedom Prize, Hiroshima City Museum of Art (2005); Grand Prix, Kwangju Biennale (2000); Visual Art Award, Edinburgh International Film Festival (2000); and First International Prize, Venice Biennale (1999).

Wangechi Mutu (b. 1972, Nairobi, Kenya) has trained as both a sculptor and anthropologist. Her work explores the contradictions of female and cultural identity and makes reference to colonial history, contemporary African politics, and the international fashion industry. Major solo exhibitions include Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin (2010); Gladstone Gallery, New York (2010); Performa 09, New York (2009); Kunsthalle Wien Museum, Vienna (2008); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (2005), and Art Pace, San Antonio (2004). Awards and grants include Deutsche Guggenheim Artist of the Year, Berlin (2010); Cooper Union Urban Visionaries Awards, Emerging Talent Award, New York (2008); The Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Award, New York (2007); and the Studio Museum in Harlem Artist in Residence, New York (2003).

This event is free. Entry will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 5:30pm."