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julio 2017
¡hola, difus@s!
uffff… i had sincerely hoped to get this done before the long weekend (to which i added a few days’ vacation), but más vale tarde que nunca… i did manage to see more dance last month, which was mostly wonderful. kyle abraham is always a joy to watch, and his dearest home was the most narratively abstract yet emotionally direct work of his i’ve seen so far. biba bell’s hustle in the park was joyous and democratic in a way that reminded me of jéröme bel (and that’s high praise); i’m eager to watch her continued exploration of social dance. l.a. dance project was worth seeing for the merce cunningham and ohad naharin pieces on its programs; alastair macaulay’s review of the show is almost perfect (i differ on peck’s qualities as a choreographer).
the theater i saw was also quite good. the half of no great society that elevator repair service presented at bushwick starr was a thrilling reminder of what extraordinary actors they are (when they’re not wasting their talent); i’d love to see them reprise this show in its entirely and pair it with wooster group’s town hall affair. the antipodes wasn’t as taut or affecting as the flick, but i thoroughly enjoyed it and was left wanting to see more of annie baker’s work (especially the way she deals with contemporary labor). maps for a war tourist was beautifully written and rigorously thought out, but the intentionally slow pacing felt enervated (and enervating) where it should have felt vitally resistive. of government, part of wildprojects’ “summerworks” festival, was excellently acted and utterly charming but felt more inchoate and less artfully incoherent (which seemed its intent).
among the month’s other highlights, meredith monk’s cellular songs was sublime, already quite accomplished despite being a work in progress. new york city opera’s angels in america also featured a good score and some great singing, but it needed at least another hour or two to do the source material justice (even ivo van hove, a master at stripping works to their essence, only pared it down to five hours). the ornithologist is a profoundly strange film, more so than to die like a man but not as aggressively so as o fantasma. i’m now a committed fan of director joao pedro rodrigues. thanks to the summer classes i taught, i had the chance to hit quite a few galleries; some of the best shows were felix gonzalez-torres (i’m an ardent fanboy), roni horn (for her glass sculptures), daniel buren, willie doherty, sylvia pilmack mangold, “monochrome,” and michel houellebecq (which, honestly, was ok as a visual art, but i quite like him in general).
even though summer is now in full swing, we have plenty of great art, visual and performing, to see.
performance + theater: summer’s a great time to see newer, often more experimental work in smaller, more intimate spaces (as opposed to joining the tourist hordes chasing the tony nominees and winners before they close, change casts, etc.). joe’s pub has unitard’s latest (catch it if you haven’t already!), bridget everett & the tender moments (whom i must see), and don giulia (whose show’s title is more than a little poignant for some of us). dixon place has a number of topical shows: queerly single in a chaotic universe (another poignant title), some men, him and him and him and him, to t or not to t, and the dog died: a midwestern case study. joel kim booster’s model minority at arsnova, unpacking at here, and the “fresh fruit festival” at wildproject also look good.
film: while i’m usually not much for either horror or science fiction, both genres tend to make for good summer movies. so moma’s “future imperfect: the uncanny in science fiction” and metrograph’s showing of suspiria pique my interest. quad’s summer series, “cool movies,” features the insane (read “so bizarrely bad it’s actually kind of amazing”) lost horizon from 1973 (liv ullmann sings!), as well as its 1937 predecessor. film forum has a pretty extensive series on new york in the 1970s, and anthology has a more focused selection of films centered on the latter years of that decade. two other compact series that look great are the “rural route film festival” at museum of the moving image and “in chris marker’s studio” at metrograph. other films on my to-see list include 500 years, almost sunrise, kékszakállú, santoalla, the girl without hands, and farrebique, or the four seasons (which seems like an unacknowledged influence on or inspiration for the seasons in quincy).
music: the mostly mozart festival kicks off at the end of the month and brings a lot of great music…but there’s plenty south of lincoln center that’s worth your time. at national sawdust, anthony constanzo (a phenomenal countertenor) presents handel’s aci, galatea e polifemo, and there’s more of the new york city electroacoustic music festival. dixon place brings part of a new opera, the contract player, and nowadays brings some new (mostly electronic) music from spain. meow meow and okkervil river perform at joe’s pub this month, and le poisson rouge has two potentially awesome tribute shows: “20th anniversary tribute to portishead roseland nyc live” (yes, it’s been that long, but their albums still sound fresh) and “new york loves whitney”.
dance: the two dance shows i most want to see come at the end of the month, #instaqueer at dixon place and analogy trilogy at new york live arts. before that, the joyce (which deserves much credit for programming throughout the summer) brings emery lecrone dance, cirio collective, and gemma bond to its stage. though i’m a bit loathe to head up to lincoln center, karas and il n’est pas encore minuit might be worth the trip.
art: having actually gotten to a number of galleries last month, i should prioritize museum shows like rei kawakubo, lygia pape, and adrián villar-rojas at the met; ian cheng, louise lawler, and tomáš rafa at moma; paul ramírez jonas at the new museum; and rembrandt at the frick. if i can find the time, i’d also like to check out the following gallery shows: satoshi kojima, hadassa goldvicht, pauline boundary / renate lopez, “sites of knowledge,” and kameelah janan rasheed.
more options are below, and, as always, you can share this information by subscribing your friends here.
abrazos,
p
july / julio
1: beyond the frame: international cinema by magnum photographers (film)
1: jody oberfelder projects: the brain piece (dance)
1: slowdancing/trioa (dance, film)
1: whipped cream (dance)
1-2: kyle abraham/abraham.in.motion: dearest home (dance)
1-2: film movement: a 15th anniversary celebration (film)
1-2: burnt machine (performance)
1-2: the second wedding of yasmin blessing to jeff jackman, jr. (theater)
1-3: filipa césar’s spell reel (film)
1-6: jules dassin’s the law (film)
1-8: pergolesi and vivaldi (music)
1-11: southern gothic (film)
1-22: the enchantment (theater)
1-: hansel & gretel (art)
5-27: new york in the 70s (film)
6: pilobolus (dance)
6: toxic city music: evan caminiti & paul clipson / sadaf (music)
6: almodóvar dystopia material + boi do(et) + entre deux/last one for the road (performance)
6: this place (performance)
7-8: angel (film)
7-13: cool movies (film)
7-13: the rehearsal (film)
7-22: to t, or not to t (performance)
8-9: in transit (film)
8-9: jeans from old show (performance)
9: the westerlies & friends featuring theo bleckmann (music)
10: the contract player (music, performance)
10: queerly single in a chaotic universe (performance)
10: alive! the zombie musical (theater)
10-12: opening skinner's box (theater)
10-23: fresh fruit festival (performance, theater)
11-12: joel kim booster: model minority (performance)
11-13: bridget everett & the tender moments (music, performance)
11-17: the loveless (film)
12: some men (performance)
12-13: 500 years (film)
12-13: anthony roth costanzo: aci, galatea e polifemo (music)
12-18: in chris marker's studio (film)
12-23: alain tanner (film)
13: him and him and him and him (performance)
13: she was a great dad (performance)
13-14: spain-brooklyn music series 4 (music)
13-15: saburo teshigawara – karas (dance)
14: david rosenboom / viv corringham (music)
14-16: new york city electroacoustic music festival (music)
14-18: go nightclubbing!: downtown new york 1977-80 (film)
14-20: the wrong light (film)
14-25: mondo bava (film)
14-27: almost sunrise (film)
14-27: chasing coral (film)
15-16: rural route film festival (film)
15: new york loves whitney (music)
16-18: meow meow (music)
17: the dog died: a midwestern case study (theater)
17-18: mashrou’ leila (music)
17-: future imperfect: the uncanny in science fiction (film)
18: fast forward (dance)
18: world listening day 2017: listening to the ground with stephan moore, scott smallwood & suzanne thorpe (music)
18-20: emery lecrone dance (dance)
19: bishoujo + twisters & witches-sneak peek! + memorias (dance)
19-20: anthony roth costanzo: aci, galatea e polifemo (music)
19-22: il n’est pas encore minuit (dance)
19-22: while i was waiting (theater)
19-27: desert hearts (film)
19-: santoalla (film)
20: carmita (film)
20: the prize, a twisted horror play in four acts (theater)
20-27: magnum photos – 70th anniversary (film)
21: bayard & me: a shorts program with matt wolf (film)
21: olive d’nightlife: on a disco high (performance)
21-22: the unarrival experiments – #1 (performance)
21-27: kékszakállú (film)
21-: the girl without hands (film)
22: she was a great dad (performance)
22-: singing beach (theater)
23-24: cirio collective (dance)
24: 20th anniversary tribute to portishead roseland nyc live (music)
25: intimate eye screening: 4 films at the intersection of theatre & cinema (film, theater)
25-26: gemma bond (dance)
25-26: bridget everett & the tender moments (music, performance)
26: unitard: tard core - there are no safe words (performance)
26-: escapes (film)
26-: unpacking (theater)
27: okkervil river w/ opener jesse hale moore (music)
27-29: amy seiwert's imagery (dance)
27-29: bill t. jones/arnie zane company: analogy trilogy (dance)
28: nsa (theater)
28-30: animation block party 2017 (film)
28-: le gai savoir (film)
28-: suspiria (film)
28-: blow-up (film)
28-: farrebique, or the four seasons (film)
28-: mister universo (film)
28-: shot by carlo di palma, from rome to new york (film)
29: #instaqueer (dance)
29: in the shadow of words (music)
29: seasoned (performance)
30: lois weber: first auteur (film)
30: faggy at 50 (performance)