Culture Craver

Must-See Art Gallery Exhibitions in NYC This Week

lifeofcake — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:37:08 -0400

Craving art? Gallerist Meredith Rosen recommends amazing art shows in New York City that you don’t want to miss this week:

Leslie Thornton: Luna at Winkleman Gallery in Chelsea through June 22

Jannis Kounellis at Cheim & Read in Chelsea through June 22

Vittorio Brodmann at Leslie Fritz Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 22

Katherine Wolkoff: Deer Beds at Sasha Wolf Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 30

Alex Kwartler and Elke Solomon at Klaus Von Nichtssagent Gallery on the Lower East Side through June 23

A Super Timeline for Superman

lifeofcake — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:24:00 -0400

Superman — one of the most powerful and influential comic superheroes ever — is returning to the big screen this weekend in Man of Steel. As people who have always had a sinking suspicion that newspaper reporters are superheroes in disguise, we are clearly craving this movie and are excited to see Superman turn 75 years old.

To get ready, we’ve gathered up a Superman highlight timeline (with pictures, of course!):

1933: two Cleveland teenagers, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, created the first Superman. He was initially a bald telepathic villain. The teens created a non-professional fanzine about their character.

1938: The company that later became DC Comics bought Superman, and the cape-wearing, city-saving hero we know and love first appeared in print — in Action Comics #1. In 2010, the comic, which originally sold for 10 cents, was sold on the auction website Comic Connect for $1 million, according to BBC. ”The opportunity to buy an un-restored, high-grade Action One comes along once every two decades. It’s certainly a milestone,” the auction house owner was quoted as saying.

1951: Adventures of Superman, a TV series starring George Reeves, premiered. It ran from 1951-58. The first two seasons were filmed in black and white and the final four in color.

1966: It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman came to Broadway as a musical. (This year, it was reborn in the Encores! series at City Center)

1966: The New Adventures of Superman — a series of six-minute animated shorts — came to TV. It ran through 1970.

1973: Super Friends — a Sunday morning cartoon featuring Superman, as well as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, ran on ABC. It continued until 1986.

1978: Superman, the movie with Christopher Reeve, came to movie theaters. It earned more than $300 million worldwide at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo, and spawned three sequels.

1993: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman came to ABC. It ran through 1997.

1996: Superman: The Animated Series was on the WB through for four (super) years.

2001: Smallville, a TV series about Clark Kent as a teenager, had 10 seasons, running through 2011.

2006: Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh, came to movie theaters. It earned more than $390 million worldwide at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

2013: Man of Steel comes to movie theaters! Here’s a Q&A with filmmaker David S. Goyer from the LA Times and here’s a piece from Wired in which psychiatrists think about Superman’s emotional issues.

THINGNESS OF LIGHT: EXTRAS TO PREPARE YOU FOR JAMES TURRELL AT...

lifeofcake — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:02:43 -0400

THINGNESS OF LIGHT: EXTRAS TO PREPARE YOU FOR JAMES TURRELL AT THE GUGGENHEIM

When we think about the Guggenheim, we tend to imagine the long walk up the continuous spiral ramp — or conjure a mental postcard of the cylindrical museum building from Fifth Avenue.

Starting on June 21, however, James Turrell will give us a whole new way of looking at Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic building. He has re-imagined the museum’s rotunda, recasting it with shifting artificial and natural light in a large-scale, site-specific installation. This is a big moment for the contemporary artist, who is celebrating his 70th birthday and experiencing three simultaneous retrospectives — one at the LA County Museum of Art (May 26, 2013 - April 6, 2014), one at The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston (June 9 - September 22), and this one at the Guggenheim (June 21 - September 25).

The Guggenheim retrospective, which is the artist’s first solo show in New York since 1980, is one of our top craves of the summer. Culture Craver gathered up some context-building extras to help you get ready.

How James Turrell Knocked the Art World Off Its Feet

Wil S. Hylton writes a big profile of the artist for The New York Times Magazine: “It is difficult to say much more about the piece without descending into gibberish. This is one of the first things you notice when you spend time around Turrell. Though he is uncommonly eloquent on a host of subjects, from Riemannian geometry to vortex dynamics, he has developed a dense and impenetrable vocabulary to describe his work. Nearly everyone who speaks and writes about Turrell uses the same infernal jargon. It can be grating to endure a cocktail party filled with people talking about the “thingness of light” and the “alpha state” of mind — at least until you’ve seen enough Turrell to realize that, without those terms, it would be nearly impossible to discuss his work. It is simply too far removed from the language of reality, or for that matter, from reality itself.”

James Turrell Interview with the FT

The Financial Times’ Jonathan Griffin interviews Turrell: “Generally we use light to illuminate other things,” says Turrell. “I like the thingness, the materiality of light itself. So it feels like it’s occupying the space, making a plane, being something that was there, not just passing through. Because light is just passing through. I make these spaces that seem to arrest it for our perception.”

James Turrell in Interview Magazine

Michael Govan, the co-currator of the current LACMA exhibition, interviews the artist: “I feel that I want to use light as this wonderful and magic elixir that we drink as Vitamin D through the skin—and I mean, we are literally light-eaters—to then affect the way that we see. We live within this reality we create, and we’re quite unaware of how we create the reality. So the work is often a general koan into how we go about forming this world in which we live, in particular with seeing.”

James Turrell in PBS’s EGG the arts show

A wide-ranging interview with the artist about his work and inspiration: “Through light, space can be formed without physical material like concrete or steel. We can actually stop vision and the penetration of vision with where light is and where it isn’t. Like the atmosphere, we can’t see through it to the stars that are there during the day. But as soon as that light is dimmed around the self, then this penetration of vision goes out. So I’m very interested in this feeling, using the eyes to penetrate the space.”

Incredible Lightness

Julie L. Belcove profiles the artist for Harper’s Bazaar: “The way some children are obsessed with fire trucks, Turrell was always entranced by light. There was the metaphorical aspect—Quakers strive to “greet the light” when they pray—but the physical properties of light were just as compelling.”

A Trio of James Turrell Exhibitions in the US

A slideshow and blurb in Wallpaper Magazine

Everything You Need to Know About James Turrell’s Light Art Installations Through His Greatest Works

A slideshow and description of 20 of Turrell’s works in Complex

James Turrell at Guggenheim Museum

A description of Aten Reign, the site-specific installation that will be on display at the Guggenheim in Dexigner

WHAT TO DO AND SEE IN NYC: CULTURE CRAVER’S TOP PICKS JUNE...

lifeofcake — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:40:00 -0400

WHAT TO DO AND SEE IN NYC: CULTURE CRAVER’S TOP PICKS JUNE 14-21

Friday, June 14

See one of the weekend’s new movies. Twenty Feet of Stardom — about the life of backup singers — is getting lots of “stars” from the critics. If you’re craving a blockbuster, see This is the End, an apocalyptic comedy by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, or the new Superman movie, Man of Steel.

Craving dance? See Makeda Thomas’s 10^th anniversary season at New York Live Arts Friday or Saturday.

Feeling playful? See Great Small Works: 10th International Toy Theater Festival at St. Ann’s Warehouse. It runs through June 23.

Saturday, June 15

It’s time to see some Spontaneous Shakespeare in Central Park. The players, who use Elizabethan performance techniques, are performing Hamlet. The show is at noon on Saturday or 3 PM on Sunday.

Starting Saturday, see Grand Central Sketchbook: Designers Dream at the New York Transit Museum. The exhibition includes the creations of 20 artists, architects, and designers who reimagine Grand Central Station.

Sunday, June 16

It’s Bloomsday, an annual celebration of the life of James Joyce, during which the events of Ulysses (set on June 16, 1904) are relived. To celebrate, go to Symphony Space at 7 PM for the 32^nd annual Bloomsday on Broadway celebration, which features Broadway stars performing selections from the book. Or at 3 PM, head to the Culture Project to hear Eunice Wong read Molly Bloom’s monologue.

Monday, June 17

On Monday evening, learn from the newly announced NJ Senate Candidate, Cory Booker, and others at the 92^nd Street Y about How Cities are Leading us Out of the Great Recession.

Craving Tchaikovsky? Monday through Saturday, see ABT perform Swan Lake!

Tuesday, June 18

Starting Tuesday, Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective at the Met. The exhibition is fresh to NYC from LA where it was originally organized by LACMA and designed by the artist’s friend, architect Frank Gehry. It traces Price’s work from 1959 to his final year, 2012.

Wednesday, June 19

Starting Wednesday, see an NC-17-rated immersive art installation, Paul McCarthy WS. The artist takes over the Park Avenue Armory to create an immense, fantastical forest and explore myths, fairytales and icons — usually revered for their purity.

Thursday, June 20

Thursday is a good day for art. A few exhibitions you might want to check out are Jew York at Zach Feuer and Untitled, Woods, Lovely, Dark and Deep at DC Moore, or Cameron Gray: Birth of a Legend at Mike Weiss Gallery.

Craving musical comedy? Starting Thursday see Nobody Loves You at Second Stage. It’s about a philosophy graduate student who auditions for — and finds himself cast on — a reality TV dating show. The book and lyrics are by Itamar Moses and the music and lyrics are by Gaby Alter.

Friday, June 21

Starting Friday, visit the Public Library’s exhibition, The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.

It’s also the first day of the James Turrell exhibition at the Guggenheim. The artist is going to transform the museum with colorful light. Here’s an article from Complex Magazine to help you prepare.

Friday is also the first day of Swing Time: Reginald Marsh and Thirties New York at the New York Historical Society. It includes paintings, prints, watercolors, and photographs depicting New York street life in the 1930s.

By JULIA LEVY This morning, for the first time in my 11 years as...

lifeofcake — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:26:49 -0400

By JULIA LEVY

This morning, for the first time in my 11 years as a New Yorker, I (voluntarily) waited in line for four hours.

In a city of more than 8 million people, where lines are normal parts of most lives, I am generally passionately anti-line. I will leave a Starbucks, a restaurant, or a retail store if there’s a lengthy line. (I have no desire to add to the 37 billion hours a year that Americans are already spending waiting in lines — and with good reason: according to a recent New York Times piece on the psychology of queueing, waiting leads to “stress, boredom, that nagging sensation that one’s life is slipping away.”)

So why did I do it? I waited for free tickets to see Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare in the Park.

My friend and I arrived at the park at 8:30 AM. I know there are people who arrive even before the park opens at 6 AM (which strikes me as some serious Shakespeare desperation). There were already 170 people waiting in front of us in a line that started at the Delacorte Theater and snaked up the walkway into the Park. The Public Theater staff couldn’t guarantee that we’d get tickets (because the theater gives many tickets to corporate sponsors and other special interest groups), but they seemed pretty confident that our wait would be worth it. We set up shop — a scarf to sit on, another scarf to keep warm, coffee, computers, etc. to wait for the 12 PM ticket distribution.

What I noticed while waiting:

We were a captive audience, and some smart local business people tried to market to us: a guy was renting lawn chairs for the multi-hour wait, an Upper West Sider was trying to convice people to go to her shop for a haircut, and delivery guys were handing out menus (and making deliveries).
At least one mayoral campaign was also trying to take advantage of the line. A young man and woman came by, asking registered Democrats to sign a petition to help Bill de Blasio get on the ballot.
It seemed like every other person in line was studying for a standardized test. I noticed people with prep books for the GRE and GMAT. Good luck to them.
Many people came prepared: I saw multiple people playing cards, and a few with full board games. One pair seemed to be having fun with a game of Catan. (I wish I’d brought my Bananagrams.) People were also reading (both books and tablets) and working/playing on computers and other devices.

In the end, I didn’t mind the wait. It was a beautiful day, I got to hang out with an old friend, there’s a distinct and funny line culture (full of banter with “line neighbors”), I got a bit of work done, and, in the end, I get to go to a performance that I’ve been, well, craving!

I’m not revising my line opposition. I’m still anti. But Shakespeare is offically exempt.

Hi Broadway nerds! The biggest evening of the year is...

lifeofcake — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:40:00 -0400

Hi Broadway nerds! The biggest evening of the year is approaching on Sunday, and Culture Craver has prepared a fun game of Tony Awards Bingo so that you can pick your top winners and then play along with the show (which, by the way, starts at 8 PM Eastern on CBS).

Here’s the link to the Bingo Cards.

Good luck! And Tweet your successes with the hashtag #CraverBINGO!

P.S. The full list of nominees is here.

P.P.S. Our summary of the nominations is here.

Interested in creating a bit of your own culture this week?...

lifeofcake — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:25:44 -0400

Interested in creating a bit of your own culture this week? You’re in luck! There’s an impromptu talent show going on across the five boroughs.

Sing for Hope has invited visual artists to decorate 88 pianos, which are now open for amateurs and experts to play through June 16. After the public residencies, the pretty pianos will be donated to high needs schools, hospitals, and community organizations.

The pianos are scattered across the City — from Central Park in Manhattan to Coney Island in Brooklyn to the Unisphere in Queens to Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Staten Island. A full map of locations and information about the artists who created the beautiful musical instruments is on the organization’s website.

The piano in the video above is in Riverside Park and is created by Xu Zi, a Chinese American artist and opera singer who has performed across China and at Carnegie Hall. The piano is called “Flowers for the Peaceful World.”

What to Do and See in NYC: Culture Craver's Top Picks June 7-14

lifeofcake — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:58:04 -0400

Friday, June 7

Starting Friday, experience Manna-Hata, an immersive theatrical experience at the Farley Post Office created by Peculiar Works Project. You’ll rediscover New York City’s 400-year history (including the charismatic players who helped to transform New York into the City we love).

If you’re craving music, head to Randall’s Island Friday through Sunday for the Governors Ball NYC Music Festival. Headliners include Guns N’ Roses, Kings of Leon, and Kanye West. At the time we posted this, tickets were still available.

Often, we don’t even notice the sounds in theater — from chirping birds to street noise to approaching footsteps. Friday through June 29, the Brick (which has a brand new surround sound system) is hosting the sound scape festival to explore sound design. Some of the City’s most talented sound designers will create theatrical experiences that put their art in the foreground. This weekend, experience Dante’s Inferno, Lighthouse Triptych, The Theoretical Physics of Procrastination, and others.

Starting Friday, you can also see two new exhibits about AIDS at the New York Historical Society. One focuses on the First Five Years of AIDS in New York. It draws from the archives of the New York Public Library, NYU, and the National Archive of LGBT History. The other exhibition features black and white photographs that tell the stories of New York children with HIV and AIDS between 1990 and 2000.

Saturday, June 8

Saturday or Sunday, head to Governors Island for FIGMENT NYC 2013, a free annual celebration of participatory art and culture. There’s music, dance, theater, installations, sculptures, art, and more. We’re excited for the artist-designed Minigolf Course. You can see the designs online before hopping on the ferry. It’s rain or shine.

This is the first weekend of In Scena! — an Italian theater festival in New York City that runs through June 20 and features performances across the five boroughs. The opening weekend features Voices in the Desert (Voci Nel Deserto) from noon to 4 PM on both days on Governors Island. It’s a project that aims to collect fragments of thinking from the past (from literature, theater, and public speeches) to recycle memory. See the full calendar online.

Starting Saturday, MoMA members can visit Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes, a major exhibit about his work as an architect, interior designer, city planner, writer, and photographer. The exhibition opens to the public on June 15. If you want to dive in even deeper, AIA New York is hosting a conference called Le Corbusier/New York on Saturday at the Center for Architecture near Washington Square Park. Find all the details here.

Sunday, June 9

See one of this weekend’s new movies. We’re pretty excited about the new Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson movie, The Internship. When they lose their sales job, they land an internship at Google and have to keep up with the kids. We’re also craving Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, a modern retelling of the Shakespeare classic.

Monday, June 10

Craving romantic tragedy? See the American Ballet Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet at Lincoln Center from Monday through Saturday.

Tuesday, June 11

On Tuesday, see a preview screening of Twenty Feet From Stardom, which opens on June 14, and hear a conversation with the New York Times pop music critic Jon Pareles, as well as the film’s director and three of its stars.

Wednesday, June 12

On Wednesday or Thursday, see Oceania at La MaMa. It’s an interactive, multi-sensory dance performance that’s part of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, which features emerging and seasoned choreographers. The festival runs from June 7 through July 7.

Also starting Wednesday is El Museo’s seventh “La Bienal,” Here Is Where We Jump. It features work by 37 emerging Latino and Latin American artists who live in and around New York City.

Thursday, June 13

Starting Thursday, see a puppet show, Geppetto, at HERE. It meshes together Pinocchio and The Old Man And The Sea.

Friday, June 14

Craving another cinematic apocalypse? See This is the End, an apocalyptic comedy by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen.

Craving dance? See Makeda Thomas’s 10^th anniversary season at New York Live Arts Friday or Saturday.

CAN TRADITIONAL MEDIA LEARN FROM YOUTUBE? By JENNA BOND Special...

lifeofcake — Fri, 31 May 2013 09:27:36 -0400

CAN TRADITIONAL MEDIA LEARN FROM YOUTUBE?

By JENNA BOND

Special to Culture Craver

Do you watch your content exclusively online by now?

If you answered “no,” you must be over 25 years old.

Today, online programming — largely created by independent producers, who are not tied down by the costs of network and cable — are reaching large audiences (thanks largely to YouTube).

A few examples: Videos of Grumpy Cat, a mixed-breed Arizona-based feline with a perma-scowl, have been viewed and shared millions of times on the Web (resulting in book and movie deals). One of Grumpy Cat’s human counterparts, Jenna Marbles, makes low-budget videos of herself that have been viewed more than 1 billion times. Bob Johnson, who created BET in 1980, is creating subscription-based YouTube channels that he thinks will replicate his success on cable 30 years ago on the Internet.

“This is the first time there’s ever been a minority-owned channel that doesn’t have to please cable operators, cable networks, movie studios or advertisers,” Johnson told Variety. “This will be liberating.”

Web content is speaking to a new generation; it’s also speaking to sizable minority audiences who are not being well served by the mainstream video storytelling structure that has experienced little innovation since Desilu was the most powerful name in television. Online content is edgier, more ethnically diverse, and post-partisan.

Personally, as someone who has felt deserted by networks since the advent of cable, I have been watching trends in online video with the hope that it changes the realm of content and the possibilities of viewing — both in the online world and on broadcast and cable television.

It seems like this is starting to happen as online successes are beginning to cross over to television.

Each episode of Drunk History is viewed an average of 1.5 million times — and it’s moving from a website (Funny or Die) to mainstream cable (Comedy Central). The plot? A drunken storyteller narrates great moments in American History, reenacted by famous actors.

Issa Rae, the creator and star of the Internet phenomenon, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, is reportedly joining up with ABC mega-producer Shonda Rhimes to create a new TV comedy series.

New content by Vice (which The New Yorker recently deemed “The Bad Boy Brand”), gets anywhere from 300,000 to 8 million YouTube views. It is now running its documentary news program on cable powerhouse HBO.

The most successful online content isn’t just making the jump to cable and network TV. It’s hard to quantify, but it seems like it’s also having an impact on traditional media’s original programming.

For example, there was something that felt Web-inspired about Netflix’s resurrection of cult classic Arrested Development, and House of Cards felt so good I watched it non-stop, all 13 episodes, twice in a row. This past Sunday, I had my mind blown away watching Behind the Candelabra on HBO GO.

Would it be too crazy too see the Entourage reunion directly on my computer (rather than to have to go to a movie theater)? It seems unlikely that HBO would let that happen — right now — but I wonder if it might have a higher probability of success on the Web than at the cinemas.

In my opinion, this trend is only going to accelerate. It seems clear that cable, broadcast, and network TV can learn a lot from 500,000 views on YouTube.

Jenna Bond is a New York City-based writer and lifestyle guru. Last week, she curated a conversation for Internet Week New York on the emergence of Web series as the new mainstream of video storytelling, which brought together thought leaders from Fast Company, VICE, @radical.media, iamOTHER, and YouTube with the question: what is broadcast and cable learning from online?

6 Must-See Art Gallery Exhibits in NYC This Week

lifeofcake — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:52:02 -0400

Craving art? Gallerist Meredith Rosen recommends 6 amazing New York City art gallery exhibitions you don’t want to miss this week:

Vito Schnabel’s DSM-V at The Future Moynihan Station (this ends on June 4, 2013)

Jane Freilicher: Painter Among Poets at Tibor de Nagy Gallery (through June 14, 2013)

Gedi Sibony at Greene Naftali Gallery (through June 15, 2013)

Wolfgang Tillmans from Neue Welt at Andrea Rosen Gallery (through June 22, 2013)

Ellsworth Kelly at 90 at Matthew Marks Gallery (through June 29, 2013) Marcia Kure at Susan Inglett Gallery (through

Friday, May 31 Head to Bushwick for the Bushwick Open Studios...

lifeofcake — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:10:24 -0400

Friday, May 31

Head to Bushwick for the Bushwick Open Studios festival. More than 600 artists’ studios are open to the public from Friday through Sunday. The Launch Party for the weekend is on Friday night, starting at 8 PM at Shea Stadium, an event space at 20 Meadow Street in Brooklyn. Bands playing throughout the evening include Eula, Air Waves, Lodro, and the Darlings.

Saturday, June 1

Shakespeare inspired some Broadway favorites from “Kiss Me, Kate” to “West Side Story.” Tony-nominated director Mark Lamos — plus some fabulous vocalists — will explore those connections in The Bard and The Broadway Musical at the 92^nd Street Y on Saturday through Monday.

Sunday, June 2

Spend Sunday at the movies. We recommend The History of Future Folk, an imaginative, exaggerated origin story about the Brooklyn-based band; Now You See Me — a story about illusionists staying ahead of the FBI, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, and Morgan Freeman; or M. Night Shyamalan’s new science fiction action film, After Earth, which stars Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith.

Monday, June 3

Craving something new and fresh? Ars Nova’s sixth celebration of All New Talent (known as ANT Fest) starts Monday and runs through June 29. It features four weeks of comedy, music, theater, and trapeze. There are shows most nights at 7 PM, and many nights at 9 PM.

Tuesday, June 4

Were you secretly obsessed with The Following, too? If so, head to the Paley Center for Follow This: Kevin Bacon on Being Ryan Hardy on Tuesday evening.

You could also hear from Colum McCann at the Union Square Barnes and Noble. He’s talking about his new book, TransAtlantic. He previously wrote Let the Great World Spin (which won the National Book Award for fiction).

Wednesday, June 5

Starting Wednesday, see Gibraltar at the Irish Reparatory Theatre. It’s an adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Or head to the Union Square Barnes and Noble to get the chance to ask Ralph Nader a question. (He’s there discussing his new book, Told You So: The Big Book of Weekly Columns.)

Thursday, June 6

See Enemies, A Love Story — a play that is part of the Cherry Orchard Festival at Lincoln Center. It’s a play about a WWII survivor who lives a life of evasion with his three wives in New York. The play will be performed in Hebrew with English and Russian in-ear translation.

Friday, June 7

There were more Broadway shows in the 2012-13 season than ever...

lifeofcake — Wed, 29 May 2013 09:25:13 -0400

There were more Broadway shows in the 2012-13 season than ever before, according to new end-of-season figures released yesterday by the Broadway League.

There were 46 new shows, including a record-setting 26 plays. This total is nine shows more than the average number of new shows between the 1984-85 season and the current season.

But this was the only record-breaking news from the industry group’s end-of-year statistics roundup.

The number of Broadway theatergoers was 11.6 million, down 6% from the previous year. This is the third consecutive year of audience decline.

These theatergoers purchased $1.14 billion worth of tickets — the same amount as the year before. (This, of course, means that each ticket buyer spent more, on average, on each ticket.)

Many shows closed earlier than anticipated, driving down the total “playing weeks” by 6% to 1430 — the lowest number since the 1996-97 season.

The executive director of the Broadway League blamed the lackluster results on Hurricane Sandy: “The lost performances and the understandable slower return to Broadway by our Tri State area theatergoers contributed to the decline in both grosses and attendance,” Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement.

The good news is that Broadway remains a major industry in New York City ($1.14 billion isn’t pocket change!) that draws local theatergoers, as well as tourists from around the world.

Plus, there’s a lot to be excited about in the coming Broadway season. Here are a few shows opening in the coming months:

First Date (about the dreaded blind date)

Let it Be (about the rise of The Beatles)

Romeo and Juliet (a bi-racial version, with Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad)

The Glass Menagerie (the Tennessee Williams classic with director John Tiffany)

Big Fish (based on the 2003 film)

5 Must-See NYC Art Events This Week

lifeofcake — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:25:34 -0400

It’s another week of craveable art in New York City. Gallerist Meredith Rosen is joining us once again to recommend five must-see art events this week.

Paul McCarthy: Sculptures at Hauser & Wirth in Chelsea

Orly Genger: Iron Maiden at Larissa Goldston Gallery in Chelsea

Orly Genger: Red, Yellow and Blue at Madison Square Park

Sarah Braman Wallace Whitney at American Contemporary in the East Village

Michael Wang: Global Tone at Foxy Production in Chelsea

NYC MEMORIAL DAY ACTIVITIES 2013 Remember the men and women who...

lifeofcake — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:40:12 -0400

NYC MEMORIAL DAY ACTIVITIES 2013

Remember the men and women who died serving the United States this Memorial Day weekend with these New York City cultural events:

Memorial Day Commemoration

Attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument. Built in 1902, the Monument pays homage to the New Yorkers who served the Union in the Civil War.

When: Monday, May 27 at 10 AM - noon

Where: Riverside Drive & West 89th Street

Little-Neck Douglaston Memorial Day Parade

When: Monday, May 27 at 2 PM

Where: Northern Blvd in Queens

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

The screening of Top Gun was already canceled due to expected rain, but the museum is planning a weekend of performances, demonstrations, activities and various interactive displays to Celebrate Memorial Day.

Where: Pier 86, New York, NY

The Civil War and American Art and Photography and the American Civil War

There are two Civil War exhibitions at the Met. One explores how American artists responded to the Civil War and its aftermath. The other contains more than 200 poignant photographs of the American Civil War.

Where: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY

WWII & NYC

When World War II broke out, New York was a cosmopolitan, heavily immigrant city, whose people had real stakes in the war and strongly held opinions. This exhibit explores the impact of the war on the City and looks at how the city was forever changed. (This exhibit moves to Governor’s Island for the summer — from June 15 to September 2.)

Where: New York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West

Governors Island

The island, which is a quick, free ride from Lower Manhattan, opens Saturday for the season. If you visit the island, you can visit Fort Jay, which started in 1776, and Castle Williams, which served as a prison. In honor of opening weekend, the Governors Island Alliance is hosting arts and crafts, musical and theatrical performances, and educational activities for children.

Green-Wood Cemetery Memorial Day Concert

Hear the ISO Symphonic Band — featuring talented New York City students — perform in this annual concert. Featured songs include works by “Green-Wood’s permanent residents,” including Fred Ebb, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Leonard Bernstein.

When: Monday, May 27 at 2:30 PM

Where: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn

The New York Philharmonic’s Memorial Day Concert

Alan Gilbert conducts Bruckner’s momentous Third Symphony at the Orchestra’s annual, free appearance at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. First-come, first-served.

When: Monday, May 27 at 8 PM (tickets distributed starting at 6 PM)

Where: The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue

A TRIP BACK TO THE ‘80S By JULIA LEVY Remember when subway...

lifeofcake — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:36:00 -0400

Copyright Arlene Gottfried, "The Communion," 1984, Courtesy of ClampArt, New York City

Copyright Amy Arbus, "Flip Family," 1987, Courtesy of ClampArt, New York City

Copyright Gunar Roze, "Manhattan 1982 #2," 1982, Courtesy of ClampArt, New York City

Copyright Amy Arbus, "Madonna," 1983, Courtesy of ClampArt, New York City

A TRIP BACK TO THE ‘80S

By JULIA LEVY

Remember when subway cars were covered with graffiti? When street hustlers roamed Times Square? When hip hop was fresh? When phone booths were necessary?

The new photography exhibition, NYC, c. 1985, at ClampArt in Chelsea is a nostalgic trip back in time to that grittier, edgier New York City.

“There seems to be just a certain buzz in the air about the 1980s right now,” the gallery’s director, Brian Paul Clamp, said. “While there were a lot of terrible things going on at the time, there’s also a certain romanticism to that era before the whole city really got cleaned up and changed into what it is today.”

The exhibition is part of a definite moment for the 1980s, represented by the Punk: Chaos to Couture fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; I, You, We at the Whitney; Broadway’s Lucky Guy about the 1980s tabloid newspaper business; and even The Americans on FX, which is about two Russian spies living in 1980s Washington, D.C. Mr. Clamp suggested that our newfound fascination with the ’80s might stem from some sort of “collective consciousness” or from a desire to remember a time when the city had a “cultural energy that doesn’t exist today.”

The exhibition contains portraits of 1980s legends: there’s an Amy Arbus photograph of Madonna before the debut of Like a Virgin; a Janette Beckman portrait of Run DMC from 1984, the year the influential hip hop act release its eponymous album; and a series of Jeanette Montgomery Barron portraits of celebrities and socialites — from Warhol and Basquiat in 1980 to Cindy Sherman in 1986.

The show also features a refreshing and genuine array of no-name, anonymous 1980s New Yorkers, from Amy Arbus’s photograph of a girl with dramatically spiked hair to Janet Delaney’s picture of a man in a vacant lot overlooking a foggy Manhattan Bridge to Gunar Roze’s photograph of two brightly dressed women leaning into a public phone booth.

Taken as a whole, the exhibition is part history lesson, part time machine. When you exit the gallery, you’re a bit shocked to have entered the graffiti-free, low-crime era of 4G, hipsters, Twitter, and the iPad mini.

NYC, c. 1985 is at ClampArt on West 25^th Street through July 3, 2013. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM – 6 PM. The show coincides with the release of Jeannette Montgomery Barron’s book, Scene, which contains some of the featured photographs.

WHAT TO DO AND SEE: CULTURE CRAVER’S TOP PICKS MAY 24 -...

lifeofcake — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:32:26 -0400

WHAT TO DO AND SEE: CULTURE CRAVER’S TOP PICKS MAY 24 - 31

Friday, May 24

Craving a black comedy about a corporate retreat? Thought so! Head to Theatre Row for the start of previews of Gorilla, a new Danish play. For the sake of full disclosure, it’s directed by Culture Craver’s co-founder, Ari Edelson.

Friday is also the start of DanceAfrica at BAM — a Memorial Day Weekend tradition in Brooklyn, which celebrates African and African-American culture with dance, music, art, and film. It runs through Monday.

Starting Friday, you could also check out the New York City Ballet’s All Balanchine program, with ‘Hallelujah Junction,’ New Barber/Wheeldon, New Previn, Bernstein/Wheeldon and ‘Firebird.’

Saturday, May 25

Starting Saturday, see Ellsworth Kelly: Chatham Series at MoMA. The exhibition, which continues until September, celebrates the artist’s 90^th birthday this month.

Do you want to impress your friends with facts about the World’s Fair? Head to the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows on Saturday to learn about Historic New York from Urban Park Rangers. The tour starts at 1 PM.

Sunday, May 26

See one of the weekend’s new movies — Before Sunset or the animated film Epic. You could also see The Hangover Part III, but the reviews so far are pretty bad.

Monday, May 27

Starting Monday, explore the Civil War and American Art at the Met Museum. It includes work by Winslow Homer, Eastman Johnson, Frederic E. Church, and more.

Tuesday, May 28

If you’re like most New Yorkers, you’ve been craving Shakespeare in the Park since last summer. The first show of the season, The Comedy of Errors, starts Tuesday at the Delacorte. It stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Hamish Linklater.

On Tuesday, you can also hear from Tom Brokaw, the award winning anchor and author of The Greatest Generation at the 92^nd Street Y.

Wednesday, May 29

On Wednesday, see Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana — which has been performing flamenco for 30 seasons — at the Joyce. If you want to learn more about the art form, head to the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center to see the exhibition, 100 Years of Flamenco.

Thursday, May 30

On Thursday, see 10 Hairy Legs — arepertory company-comprised entirely of men — at New York Live Arts.

Friday, May 31

The Bushwick Open Studios — a celebration of Bushwick’s cultural scene — is Friday through Sunday. The kickoff is the BOS Launch Party at Shea Stadium.

The Muppets Take … Queens! What a great announcement from...

lifeofcake — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:32:34 -0400

The Muppets Take … Queens!

What a great announcement from the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria today: Jim Henson’s family has donated nearly 400 puppets, costumes, and props — which will be housed in a new gallery devoted to Henson’s creative achievements.

Puppets in the collection include favorites like Statler and Waldorf (pictured here), Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Elmo, Ernie and Bert, Count von Count, and Swedish Chef.

Read the full press release for more detail.

Christie's Inspired Shopping

lifeofcake — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:58:00 -0400

Christie’s auctioned off nearly half a billion dollars of art this week — beating all sorts of art world records. You might not have any abstract expressionist, pop, and contemporary masterpieces on your walls, but what follows are our suggestions of things that might (just barely) ease your art envy.

Roy Lichtenstein’s “Woman with Flowered Hat” went for $56,123,750 and his “Nude with Yellow Flower” went for $23,643,750. You could have your very own Lichtenstein-inspired iPhone case for less than $40.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Dustheads” went for $48,843,750. You could get Reebok Ex-O-Fit Plus Hi Basquiat sneakers for just over $100.

Mark Rothko’s “Untitled” (Black on Maroon) went for $27,003,750. This MaxMara dress has a similar palette and feel for $795.

Philip Guston’s ”To Fellini” went for $25,883,750. This colorful weekend bag from Kate Spade Saturday has a similar vibe. It goes for $160 (and it has an interior cell-phone compartment!)

(This is obviously created in jest. A bag or a pair of shoes cannot substitute for an artistic masterpiece. We sincerely hope the Christie’s bidders enjoy their purchases — and we hope they choose to share them with museums so that the rest of us can see more great art in person.)

A CRAVEABLE SUMMER: WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS SEASON’S...

lifeofcake — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:12:00 -0400

A CRAVEABLE SUMMER: WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS SEASON’S BLOCKBUSTERS

It’s nearly Memorial Day Weekend. You know what that means: it’s time to head to your local cinema, buy an extra large pail of popcorn, and sit back in a super-chilled theater to take in some crash-bang-boom blockbuster summer flicks. We’ve rounded up the biggest, loudest, funniest, and starriest coming attractions of the summer. And we’ve given you our take on why you should consider going to each.

Iron Man 3

May 3, 2013

Go because: You didn’t get enough of Robert Downey, Jr. (as a brash billionaire playboy, saving the world) or Gwyneth Paltrow (his girlfriend and associate) in the first two movies about the Marvel comic hero Iron Man.

The Great Gatsby

May 10, 2013

Go because: The costumes (Prada and Brooks Brothers) and the jewels (Tiffany) seem like reason enough.

Star Trek Into Darkness

May 16, 2013

Go because: You’re a Trekkie. You wouldn’t miss the 12^th installment of your favorite sci-fi franchise.

Hangover Part III

May 23, 2013

Go because: You didn’t get your fill of guys doing stupid, embarrassing, possibly life threatening things in Parts I and II.

Epic

May 24, 2013

Go because: It’s the newest 3D computer animated movie by Chris Wedge, who directed Ice Age. Plus, the hero is a young girl engaged in an epic battle of good vs. evil.

After Earth

May 31, 2013

Go because: (1) You’ve loved M. Night Shyamalan since his character uttered the phrase “I see dead people.” (2) It stars real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith. (3) Post-apocalyptic sci-fi is your favorite.

Now You See Me

May 31, 2013

Go because: It’s part Robin Hood, part magic, part caper, and stars some of your favorite actors — Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, and Isla Fisher.

The Internship

June 7, 2013

Go because: The Wedding Crashers duo is a little older, a little funnier, and engaged in one of our worst nightmares — when the digital age makes their jobs irrelevant, the men land Google internships and must compete against young tech-savvy digerati.

This is the End

June 12, 2013

Go because: You knew LA would be the first city to go in the apocalypse. Plus, you want to see how James Franco, Jonah Hill, and Seth Rogen cope with the end of the world.

Man of Steel

June 14, 2013

Go because: It’s Superman! Plus, Henry Cavill is Superman and Amy Adams is the intrepid Lois Lane.

World War Z

June 21, 2013

Go because: You didn’t get enough apocalypse yet this summer (between This is the End and After Earth). Here, you can see the heroic Brad Pitt as a UN worker searching the globe for a way to stop a zombie apocalypse.

White House Down

June 28, 2013

Go because: You can finally answer the question, “What guns does Hollywood think the Secret Service would use to defend the president from an assault on the White House?”

Despicable Me 2

July 3, 2013

Go because: You can reunite with Gru and the crew in the sequel to the beloved 2010 animated comedy Despicable Me.

The Lone Ranger

July 3, 2013

Go because: It isn’t every summer day when you get to see a western, starring Johnny Depp and based on a classic from the 1930s.

The Smurfs 2

July 31, 2013

Go because: You love those little blue guys. And it’s a sequel: who doesn’t love a sequel in the summer?

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

August 7, 2013

Go because: You loved the Rick Riordan book on which this series of fantasy adventure movies is based and/or you’ve always fantasized that you’re the child of a Greek God.

Elysium

August 9, 2013

Go because: You want to see Matt Damon and Jodie Foster (after that crazy speech at the Oscars, who doesn’t?). You are also interested in what the ravaged earth looks like in 2154.

Kick-Ass 2

August 16, 2013

Go because: Masked heroes and sequels make you happy.

WHAT TO DO AND SEE IN NYC: APRIL 17-23 Friday, May 17 Craving...

lifeofcake — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:04:16 -0400

WHAT TO DO AND SEE IN NYC: APRIL 17-23

Friday, May 17

Craving contemporary photography? Starting Friday, it’s the ICP’s triennial, featuring photographs by 28 artists from around the world.

Starting Friday, learn about the Eucharist’s centrality to medieval cultural life (religious and secular) through liturgical illuminated manuscripts at the Morgan Library and Museum in Illuminating Faith: The Eucharist in Medieval Life and Art.

Saturday, May 18

At 7 PM, see the Liars perform in the Met’s Temple of Dendur at the Met. It’s a special event, associated with the blockbuster fashion show of the season, PUNK: Chaos to Couture.

Sunday, May 19

See one of this weekend’s new movies. The best options include Star Trek into Darkness; Augustine, a 19^th Century period piece about a French neurologist and his star patient; and Frances Ha about a would-be dancer.

Tuesday, May 21

Craving British black comedy? Brits Off Broadway: Botallack O’Clock is coming to 59E59 Tuesday. It’s based on the life and death of the artist Roger Hilton.

It’s also a big day for dance. At Lincoln Center, see either ABT’s Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes or New York City Ballet’s Balanchine/Martins at Lincoln Center. Other options include Fresh Tracks, featuring emerging artists selected through open auditions, or New York City-based Gallim Dance at BAM.

Wednesday, May 22

David Hockney’s first video installation, The Jugglers, opens at the Whitney on Wednesday. It was filmed using 18 fixed cameras.

Good Television — a new play about the perils of reality TV — debuts at Atlantic Stage 2 on Wednesday. It’s a new play by Rod McLachlan.

Thursday, May 23

Learn about Edward Hopper’s drawing and creative process in Hopper Drawing at the Whitney starting Thursday.

Feeling nostalgic for the New York City of the mid-80s? Starting Thursday, go to New York City, c. 1985 at ClampArt to see a group exhibit of photographs of a grittier New York.