[note: many, if not most, of these links may no longer be working, but such is the nature of the digital. hopefully, the url and context are enough to help you find any further information you want. if not, feel free to contact me, and i’ll try to help.]
septiembre 2014
¡hola, difus@s!
apologies for the delayed arrival (and consequent brevity) of this month’s missive. the last week of august had me rather disconnected from most things digital (one of fire island’s charms…and frustrations). clearing the fog of that week’s excesses and combing through all the fall events calendars has taken a little longer than i’d hoped…
though august’s offerings were more limited than june and july’s, they were among the summer’s best. jean genet’s the maids was definitely *the* event, and its reception (both critically and casually) was rather polarized. i’ve found most of the criticism fair, but i absolutely loved it. the set design was stunning, and the live video was far more effective than, say, jay scheib’s platonov, or the disinherited at the kitchen earlier this year. the actresses were all fantastic—feral, ferocious, and devastatingly gorgeous. even if blanchett’s performance wasn’t a radical departure from a streetcar named desire and blue jasmine (essentially the same role) and even if huppert’s accent seemed bafflingly exaggerated (at first—after a while, though, it added another layer of derangement to her character), they were both such a joy to watch live, bringing such rare intensity, energy, and devotion to their craft. huppert and blanchett have very, very few peers, but elizabeth debicki is indisputably one. her performance was just revelatory. (and, no, meryl streep is not their peer but their antithesis: “streep isn’t interested in inhabiting a character as much as presenting her latest incarnation in the manner of a student presenting the flawlessly constructed jigamajoo she’s rigged up for the science fair, waiting for the ribbons to be pinned to her chest,” as charles taylor so aptly put it.)
my personal experience with mark morris dance group’s acis and galatea was as mixed as the maids’ reception. i found the first half frustratingly pretty, with some fine baroque opera surrounded by mostly decorative, yet neither illustrative nor supportive, movement. the second half of the piece, though, brought the music and dance into a much fuller, richer, and more deeply satisfying relationship. granted, the movement was still subordinate to the music—which feels entirely appropriate for most of mr. morris’ choreography, except the hard nut—but that made the whole work a fantastic production of baroque opera, far superior to the met’s the enchanted island (#hotmess). should mr. morris move into directing operas, i’ll start following him more closely.
michel gondry’s mood indigo was almost enough to make me stop following him at all. (eternal sunshine of the spotless mind will always be a favorite and, perhaps, proof that he should stick to directing and leave the writing to others.) the rest of the films i caught in august, though, were terrific. jean genet’s un chant d’amour at anthology film archives was amazing, both in its beauty and its erotic candor. the queen, at IFC, was a poignant, eye-opening history lesson—and living history at that, as flawless sabrina herself was on hand for Q&A. (i can’t understand how paris is burning became so canonical without drawing more attention to this film…) joaquim pinto’s what now? remind me was elegant, witty, and heart-breaking. the film’s deliberately leisurely pacing did have me wishing for tighter editing as i left the cinema…but i later appreciated his refusal to cut the film down as a statement (an act of defiance, really) of his own will to live, despite being ravaged by AIDS and hepatitis-c.
the year’s best summer movie was also its worst marketed and most underrated: snowpiercer. i’d seen (and loved) the director’s (bong joon-ho) first film, the host, but i didn’t feel any sense of urgency to see this one (which is saying a lot, given my love of tilda swinton). fortunately, a good friend is an ardent fan of bong joon-ho and insisted we go. it’s every bit as big and entertaining as you could want in a summer (would-be) blockbuster, but it’s also so thoroughly thought-through, gorgeously imagined, terrifically paced, and socially relevant. (the acting is pretty good all-around, too; chris evans is definitely the weakest link…but woof.) if only hollywood could make more of this stuff!
the fall season is packed, as you’ll note from the full listing (again, purely idiosyncratic and by no means comprehensive) at the bottom of this e-pistle…but the following are my priorities for the month:
dance: christopher wheeldon’s alice’s adventures in wonderland at lincoln center and kyle abraham’s the watershed and when the wolves came at new york live arts should all be great shows. trajal harrell’s complete series of twenty looks or paris is burning at the judson church is playing at the kitchen and is inarguably worthwhile if you’re interested in race, sexuality, and dance history—but, i’d recommend seeing it in “xs” or “s,” as the larger version (“m” or “l,” i can’t remember) i saw two years ago got a bit tiresome. if you didn’t catch streb this spring at their space in willliamsburg, you can see them on film at film forum, where born to fly: elizabeth streb v. gravity will be showing for one week.
theater + performance: trade practices, which i’d booked last fall (but was cancelled due to a venue problem), is now on governors island. the other show that’s got my (social scientific, academic) attention is bruno latour’s gaïa global circus at the kitchen. nature theater of oklahoma is at fiaf for one day this month, and, having missed them too many times already, i feel like i have to make this one. bootycandy at playwrights’ horizon comes highly recommending by a very discerning friend, and, if it’s as good as he says, tickets will probably sell out soon. the valley of astonishment also seems both worth seeing and buying early, especially since the run is rather short.
music: the miller theater, whose early music series is excellent this year, opens its season with eight blackbird and a very promising program. for classical music in intimate spaces, inon barnatan plays subculture (where the ariel quartet kicks off their monthly beethoven cycle), and oliver coates plays le poisson rouge. for more experimental offerings, check out laurel halo at the kitchen’s synth nights or the minor musics japan tour 2014 at issue project room. though i generally refuse to see (much less, promote) anything with beth morrison’s imprimatur, i love david lang enough to go see “the difficulty of crossing a field” at roulette this month…and will blame ms. morrison for anything i dislike about it (because, having seen her wreck so many other productions, the fault will undoubtedly be hers).
film: tickets to the john waters retrospective at the film society at lincoln center (or at least the best of it) may be difficult to find now, but that’s always the problem with the new york film festival, which opens later this month. if you’re hell-bent on partaking in the festival scene, buy a membership and get in on the pre-sale…because the website ALWAYS crashes the day tickets go on sale to the public. (but you really don’t have to worry because the best films at nyff are already slated for distribution…which is also almost always the case.) a life in dirty movies and the series lines and nodes: media, infrastructure, and aesthetics at anthology both look great. films with live scores are a rare treat, and september offers us two: the new york philharmonic playing with charlie chaplain’s modern times and wordless music’s screening of there will be blood.
art: suzanne bocanegra’s “12-hour sculptural dance installation,” which kicks off danspace project’s 40th year, is something i don’t want to miss, especially after seeing a fragment in last fall’s performance-lecture bodycast at BAM. at team gallery, i’m curious to see what cory arcangel is up to (his schoenberg-played-by-cats piece is a personal favorite) while ryan mcginley will probably show us everything that’s wrong with the artworld…again. pretty much every gallery in town will try to open the season with a strong show, but keep an eye out for the following: roxy paine at marianne boesky, doug aitken at regen projects, allora & calzadilla at gladstone, jenny holzer at cheim & read, nick cave at jack shainman, and roger hiorns at luhring augustine.
abrazos,
p
septiembre / september
1-22: bootycandy (theater)
1-19: dead behind these eyes: a karaoke play (theater)
1-22: smoke (theater)
1-21: trade practices (theater)
3-6: dancenow joe's pub festival (dance)
5-14: 50 years of john waters: how much can you take? (film)
8: olivier saillard: models never talk (performance)
9-14: alice’s adventures in wonderland (dance)
9: synth nights: laurel halo (music)
10-16: born to fly: elizabeth streb vs. gravity (dance, film)
10-13: imagining o (theater)
11: interpretations: a tribute to robert ashley (music)
11-: justin vivian bond: the drift (music, performance)
12-20: minor musics japan tour 2014 (music)
12: the sun ra arkestra directed by marshall allen + nate wooley quintet (music)
12-19: ryan raftery is the most powerful woman in fashion (music, performance)
12: nature theater of oklahoma: the great nature theater of oklahoma is calling you! (theater)
13: fiesta flamenca (dance)
14-20: trajal harrell: twenty looks or paris is burning at the judson church (dance)
14: the meeting* hosted by justin sayre (performance)
14-: the valley of astonishment (theater)
15: john zorn improv night—a stone benefit (music)
17-30: 20,000 days on earth (film)
17-20: embers (theater)
17-24: illusions (theater)
18: eighth blackbird: heart & breath (music)
19-25: a life in dirty movies (film)
19-21: lines and nodes: media, infrastructure, and aesthetics (film)
19-26: the zero theorem (film)
19-20: charlie chaplin’s modern times: the tramp at 100 (film, music)
19-20: there will be blood screening + live film score wordless music orchestra with jonny greenwood (film, music)
23-26: kyle abraham / abraham.in.motion: the watershed (dance)
23: inon barnatan (music)
24: nyc10 dance initiative (dance)
24-25: bruno latour: gaïa global circus (performance)
25: justin vivian bond: love is crazy (performance)
25-: kyle abraham / abraham.in.motion: when the wolves came in (dance)
26-: new york film festival (film)
26- 28: fernando rubio: everything by my side (performance)
26-28: queer ny international arts festival (performance)
27: suzanne bocanegra: little dot (art, performance)
28: the difficulty of crossing a field (music)
29: john lahr and tony kushner: on tennessee williams (theater)
29: oliver coates, cello (music)
29: richard reed parry with ymusic featuring nico muhly: music for heart and breath (music)
30-: big dance theater: alan smithee directed this play (dance)
30: ariel quartet's beethoven cycle (music)
30-: the fortress of solitude (theater)