[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.]
mayo 2015
¡hola, difus@s!
spring has finally arrived, which makes me loathe spending time indoors…so this issue’s retrospective content will be (perhaps, mercifully) brief. april felt like the weakest month this year, but a lot of the work was good. some of it was great.
among the best of the month were two performances i’d forgotten to include—either due to bad spreadsheet management or simple ignorance—in the last edition of this monthly missive. justin vivian bond’s earth day performance at rockwood featured mostly original songs (e.g., a riveting version of “the new economy”) and v’s endlessly fascinating stage persona (e.g., v’s alchemical transformation of a mid-song memory lapse into a self-reflexive monologue). dynasty handbag’s good morning evening feelings at the kitchen was brilliant comedy that delivered a deceptively trenchant critique of contemporary therapeutic and mediatic cultures. both dynasty and vivian’s performances have a kind of (potentially) unhinged quality—a certain relationship to risk, perhaps—about them that feels genuinely raw (in marked contrast to so much performance that desperately wants to be “real” or “edgy”).
after seeing gideon irving’s living here again i’m even more impressed; his performance was every bit as heartfelt and moving as the first time i’d seen him. the change in venue (this time, a *very* williamsburg loft) brought out different layers of the project as a whole, moving it from a “tour” or a “show” and towards “practice”—with all the attendant connotations of selfless commitment and dedication. though i’ve seen the tallis scholars at least five times, their devotion to early music never ceases to amaze me; the "spem in alium" project they presented at st. ignatius loyola (what a gorgeous setting!) was sublime. the wayward cloud and stray dogs in tsai ming-liang’s retrospective at the museum of the moving image were absolute proof that he’s one of the most fearless and uncompromising filmmakers of our time. the endings of both movies (radically different in so many ways) left me speechless. i only wish i’d been able to see more, and, note to the museum, multiple screenings of the films would have helped.
(though he didn’t put on a full show, i have to mention ab soto’s jaw-dropping performance of his ultra-infectious single “cha cha bitch” at spunk magazine’s latest issue launch. there’s so much going in that video—and his others—that make him a wry commentator on current queer culture…watch his space.)
as for theater, i enjoyed ghosts far more than expected, largely because i’m averse to period pieces. (setting a play in the time it was written often strikes me as lazy or thoughtless…because, as a directorial choice, it usually is, and it caters to a lazy audience’s fantasy of historical verisimilitude.) ibsen’s script, though, is still searingly relevant. david neumann / advanced beginner group’s i understand everything better and animalparts’ revenge of the popinjay at dixon both plumbed their writers’ struggles with a loved one’s passing (and so were interesting counterparts to richard maxwell's the evening at the kitchen in march), and they shared the same postmodern sensibility of witness relocation’s daily life everlasting at la mama. of the three, revenge of the popinjay stuck with me most for its ability to pull the audience into the protagonist’s dark delirium (and hats off to anthony johnston for a tour-de-force performance).
this month the performing arts calendar is in full bloom. the following are the ones that most have my attention, but there’s much more on the full list (at the end) that i want to try to see:
dance: i haven’t seen nearly enough dance this year, so i’ve got to make up for it this month. wendy whelan: restless creature at the joyce is the month’s top billing (everything but the saturday matinee has already sold out). at the other end of the spectrum are ship of fools at abrons and the venus knot at invisible dog. the crossing boundaries show at dixon and moriah evans: studio series at new york live arts could also be worthwhile.
art: the frieze art fair brings most of the world’s best contemporary galleries and artists to randall's island, and a host of other fairs to the rest of the city (e.g., nada, select, spring masters, and art miami). the new museum’s triennial closes this month, the new whitney has opened to great acclaim, the met has a wolfgang tillmans exhibition, and moma has three shows i want to see (scenes for a new heritage: contemporary art from the collection, one-way ticket: jacob lawrence's migration series and other works, and simon denny: the innovator's dilemma). a day trip to storm king to see jonathan van dyke’s performance would be ideal for this coming saturday. back in the city, the following gallery shows are among my priorities: erin shirreff, martin beck, carol bove, richard serra, michael heizer, and “street life: weimar works on paper, 1918–1933.”
music: both international contemporary ensemble (ice) and the jack quartet (two personal favorites) are well represented on this month’s calendar: claire chase (of ice) performs at subculture with anthony roth costanzo, ice performs a free show at abrons, jack premieres new work by john zorn at the cloisters, and the two groups perform together at roulette. for more new music, check out the tectonics festival at issue project room, kronos quartet and hotel elefant at roulette, or david rosenboom at the whitney. for more traditional and popular fare, ariel quartet continues its beethoven cycle, diego el cigala performs at carnegie hall, and bam hosts mexrissey: mexico loves morrissey and master mix: red hot + arthur russell!. if you're in town for memorial day weekend, justin vivian bond’s love is crazy! will be at joe’s pub (and you should be there).
theater + performance: the elevator repair service’s the sound and the fury opens at the public (i’m a huge fan), and the belarus free theatre has returned to la mama (i’m eager to see them for the first time). the performing garage presents two shows from their residency program, emerging artist and marisas. a human being died that night, the flick, and heisenberg all open this month and will play into the summer. the floatones and unitard – house of tards (which i’ve seen twice and will probably see again) are may-only shows.
film: anthology brings the latest tsai ming-liang film for too short a run, as well as a four-day series of film on downtown theater. the film society at lincoln center presents its annual african film festival and a retrospective of argentine director martin rejtman. bam geeks out on 3d in the 21st century, and the summer onslaught of quality features begins…
abrazos,
p
mayo / may
1-9: bloowst windku (dance)
1-17: 3d in the 21st century (film)
1-17: belarus free theatre: trash cuisine (theater)
1-17: let us now praise susan sontag (theater)
1-24: grounded (theater)
1-25: haute couture on film (film)
1-: la mama moves! dance festival (dance)
3-: the duchamp syndrome (theater)
4-7: tsai ming-liang: journey to the west (film)
5-10: alonzo king lines ballet (dance)
5-10: radiolovefest (performance)
5-: the flick (theater)
6: synth nights: helado negro & vhvl (music)
6-8: icp orchestra and friends (music)
6-12: new york african film festival 2015 (film)
7: claire chase & anthony roth costanzo (music)
7: glasser, missy mazzoli and victoire, and noveller (music)
7-9: damagedance (dance)
7-9: techtonics festival 2015 (music)
8: diego el cigala (music)
8: ensemble signal: sofia gubaidulina + bach (music)
8-9: lang dance: spring performance (dance)
8-9: sophia cleary: emerging artist (performance)
8-10: the floatones (theater)
10: mexrissey: mexico loves morrissey (music)
11: 24th anniversary celebration of downtown music gallery (music)
11: contact!: new music from italy (music)
12: ariel quartet's beethoven cycle (music)
12: silent cranes: the music of mary kouyoumdjian, performed by kronos quartet and hotel elefant (music)
13-19: sounds like music: the films of martín rejtman (film)
13-30: heartbreak (theater)
14: glass ghost (music, performance)
14-16: yve laris cohen: fine (performance)
14-17: downtown new york theater: behind the scenes (film, theater)
14-28: unitard – house of tards (performance)
14-: the sound and the fury (theater)
15: spanish dances (music)
15-: in the name of my daughter (film)
16: mito hatori, et al: "pseudo matto" and "where the boys aren’t" (music)
16-17: the venus knot (dance, performance)
17: the meeting* hosted by justin sayre (performance)
18: ”glass & blood": concert works from the bloodiest film scores by philip glass (music)
19: international contemporary ensemble and jack quartet: jason eckardt’s “subject” (tzadik cd release party) (music)
19-24: aram bajakian (music)
19-: heisenberg (theater)
21-24: kimberly bartosik: ecsteriority4 (part 2) and dylan crossman: bound (dance)
22-23: george lewis: afterword, the aacm (as) opera + international contemporary ensemble (music)
22-24: david rosenboom: propositional music (music)
22-25: justin vivian bond: love is crazy! (music, performance)
22-31: titanus: a family chronicle of italian cinema (film)
22-: the qualms (theater)
23: prism quartet: wall to wall world premieres (music)
26: crossing boundaries (dance)
26-31: wendy whelan: restless creature (dance)
27: open ice (music)
27-29: marisas (performance)
27-: 10 out of 12 (theater)
27-: the old masters (theater)
28-29: studio series: moriah evans (dance)
29: story time with bill t. jones (dance)
29: glass farm ensemble presents new chamber works (music)
29-30: niv sheinfeld & oren laor: ship of fools (new york premiere) (dance, performance)
29-30: master mix: red hot + arthur russell! (music)
29-: a human being died that night (theater)
30: john zorn's sacred visions (music)