[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.]
julio + agosto 2019
¡hola, difus@s!
apologies for the delay (and for the inevitable typos resulting from lack of editing time)! with the academic year over, i got to pack more into june than usual. the bulk was, of course, pride-related, but some of the best was not. much has been made of the casting in carlos reygadas’ our time, which has done a great disservice to the film (and done much to reveal the intellectual lassitude of so many critics). not only is the film remarkable on its own, as much for its formal qualities as for its exploration of gendered power relations, but it is even more so within the context of the director’s oeuvre. i’m now more a fan than ever. the dead don’t die similarly complements jim jarmusch’s later films (e.g., his dissection of american identity in broken flowers, his obsession with material history in only lovers left alive) and sustains his wry, deadpan humor.
sarah michelson’s contribution to the river-to-river festival gave me a new appreciation for her work (and a new understanding of the performance i’d seen last year). i found doug varone and dancers’ in the shelter of the fold / epiloguea bit uneven (despite being quite engaged with the questions the work pursued), but i still love watching much of his company and listening to his music selections (he has a superb ear). also a bit uneven, a people’s history of silicon valleywas, on the whole, a delightful song cycle with serious potential—and a reminder of why we need more venues like arsnova and the tank (and fewer like their neighbor to the south). also brimming with potential but much more fully realized was the debut feature diamantino, which really defies categorization. the david hockney “documentary”, a bigger splash, certainly confounded genre expectations when it was realized (and, to a large extent, still does); what makes the film especially poignant now is that two of the works featured, portrait of an artist (pool with two figures) and henry geldzahler and christopher scott, yielded spectacular prices at auction in the past year. working around the time of those hockney portraits (but worlds away in the market), corita kent’s show at andrew kreps was a gem. also working with andrew kreps, hito steyerl’s drill at the park avenue armory is one of the most satisfying art installations i’ve seen there—and one of the more satisfying i’ve seen this year.
all of the pride-related work i saw felt necessary (especially under this administration) but, apart from the public art fund’s felix gonzalez-torres billboard and much of the grey gallery’s portion of “art after stonewall” (focusing, as it did, on the 1980s), little of it really felt urgent. the leslie lohman portion of “art after stonewall” did convey the ferment and fervor of the 1970s, a sense of liberation as freedom from all constraint and license for relentless experimentation…which contrasted sharply with both cabin (frustratingly refusing, with its engrossing storytelling and polished stagecraft, any real engagement with the narrative’s subtending / animating issues of gentrification, repression, compassion, and polyamory) and stonewall (accessible and affecting in many ways but avoiding any nuance or complexity). in this regard, the documentaries i saw fared much better, especially before stonewall with its extraordinary archival footage and phenomenal soundtrack—which has me obsessed with ruth wallis. (the sequel, after stonewall, feels somewhat quaint now.) the lavender scare was quite polished and informative; it’s bound to be streaming soon and is well worth your time. for me, the highlights of pride week (apart from fleeing to millbrook saturday and sunday), were the golden girls musical parody at here and justin vivian bond at joe’s pub, which were much more effectively political than so much of the world pride festivities.
though things generally quiet down during these months of july and august, we’ve got a lot to tempt us away from the beach (or pool or wherever you do your estival lounging):
performance / theater: several plays of note have extended their runs through (or beyond) july—fairview, in the green, the secret life of bees, a strange loop—but the end of the season is a excellent time to experiment with work by less established (or conventional or commercial or whatever) artists. ice factory, the players festival, east to edinburgh 2019, the fresh fruit festival 2019, and the short play festivals at the tank, red bull theater, and 59E59 offer a wide variety of new work. in light of the recent g20 summit, ivankaplay feels like a must-see. other shows that have my interest piqued are bad husband //\\ bad homo, in the penal colony, how we love / f*ck, and tell me what i want. (and if you haven’t seen it before, penny arcade’s longing lasts longer is back on stage and well worth your time.)
music: lincoln center’s mostly mozart festival brings a rich array of music (and other performances) to the city this month and next, and the chamber music society at lincoln center presents three evening concerts. among lincoln center’s outdoor concerts in august is personal favorite patty griffin), and joe’s pub presents shows by two other artists i quite like, amber valentine and jason lytle. le poisson rouge has an epic peter murphy residency (go, goths!) and an evening with the crazy world of arthur brown. other performances i’d like to catch are j hoard, joseph keckler, the westerlies & theo blackman, philip markle, and at least some of brasil summerfest.
film: i am a huge fan of new romanian cinema, so i’m really excited to see “i do not care if we go down in history as barbarians” at ifc, along with end of the century (which, based on the promotional stills, i’m hoping will be something akin to stranger by the lake — which is one of my favorite summer films). sea of shadows, honeyland, and one child nation are all documentaries i want to catch. among this summer’s series worth looking into are “pier paolo pasolini: a future life, part 2” and “secret histories: the films of kevin rafferty & friends” at metrograph, “prison images: incarceration and the cinema, part 2: art by inmates” and “a real young girl: coming of age” at anthology, and “sundance festival short film tour” and “real, quick: short docs 2019” at ifc. the museum of the moving image closes out its “grit and glitter: before and after stonewall” series with tropical malady, which was my introduction to apichatpong weerasethakul’s work (for more, see this book).
dance: lincoln center and the joyce deserve much credit for keeping dance on stage during the summer. the mostly mozart festival brings mark morris dance group, blak whyte gray, and under siege while the joyce presents maria kochetkova, its annual ballet festival, and freddie falls in love. elsewhere, dixon play offers “an evening of hot dance,”symphony space hosts “rhythm in motion,” and here has “dances for solidarity: dancing through darkness.”
art: carmen herrera’s estructuras monumentales opens this month, and the new york times (whose policies, politics, and personnel are increasingly problematic) has a convenient checklist of public art on view. the other list worth working through this summer is condo new york 2019, a fantastic chance to see galleries from outside the city. two museum shows on my list are artistic license: six takes on the guggenheim collection and julie becker: i must make a master piece to pay the rent. there’s also some great art(-related) film for those days when you’d rather be sitting down in the air condition rather than walking around: “david hockney on film” at metrograph and a bigger splash at the museum of the moving image (which also has “barbara hammer, superdyke”), “collision / coalition” at the shed, and films from / about carolee schneemann, joseph cornell, and maya deren at anthnology.
a full listing of events for the remainder of the summer follows, and anyone is welcome to sign up for the new season, starting in september, here.
abrazos,
p
julio / july
1-20: long day's journey into night (film)
1-21: the secret life of bees (theater)
1-28: fairview (theater)
1-28: a strange loop (theater)
1-: collision / coalition (art, film)
1-: ice factory (theater)
1-: in the green (theater)
2-7: personhood (theater)
5-14: pier paolo pasolini: a future life part 2 (film)
5-: the cat rescuers (film)
5-: sundance film festival short film tour (film)
5-: the return of martin guerre (film)
6-7: duras & godard part one (film)
7: david hockney on film (art, film)
7: ufos in zacapa (ovnis en zacapa) (film)
8: an evening of hot dance (dance)
8-11: mahogany brown and the case of the disappearing kid (theater)
8-21: the 2019 fresh fruit festival (performance, theater)
8-28: east to edinburgh 2019 (theater)
9-11: chapter 1, section 1 of the dancing mania (performance)
10: my diary: secret journey to tipping utopia // yoshiko chuma and the school of hard knocks (performance)
10: summer evenings i (music)
10-11: six chick flicks...or a legally blonde pretty woman dirty danced on the beaches while writing a notebook on the titanic (theater)
10-13: mark morris dance group (dance)
10-: mostly mozart festival (dance, film, music, theater)
11: rhythm in motion (dance)
11: the death of the master (film)
11: self discovery for social survival (film)
11: vocal concert with amirtha kidambi, jean carla rodea, jasmine wilson and stephanie lamprea (music)
11: rena anakwe: fast forward to silence (music, performance)
11: celisse (music)
11-17: hedwig and the angry inch (film)
11-28: in the penal colony (theater)
11-: merril mushroom’s bar dykes (theater)
12: pretty girls don't light their own cigarettes (performance)
12: never sleep alone starring dr. alex schiller (performance)
12-18: christ stopped at eboli (film)
12-18: the cranes are flying (film)
12-19: secret histories: the films of kevin rafferty & friends (film)
12-21: a bigger splash (film)
12-: general magic (film)
12-: the sweet requiem (film)
12-: rojo (film)
12-: sea of shadows (film)
13: jumping turnstiles (and other misdemeanors) (theater)
13-14: swell (performance)
14: summer evenings ii (music)
14: tropical malady (film)
14: flipside (theater)
14: explore modern myth part 1 (a short play festival) (theater)
14-28: international keyboard institute and festival (music)
15: in memoriam: carolee schneemann (art, film)
15: cocoon central dance team: the garden party (performance)
15: ivankaplay (performance)
15: 2019 short new play festival: the evil plays (theater)
15-17: bridget everett & the tender moments (music)
16: taggart & wittert: lawyers at law (theater)
16: the evan sherman big band featuring joy brown: a tribute to dinah washington (music)
16-20: maria kochetkova: catch her if you can (dance)
17: how do i share this all with you // a common language (performance)
17: living music with nadia sirota (music)
17: samita sinha & grey mcmurray (music)
17: summer evenings iii (music)
17-: real, quick: doc shorts 2019 (film)
18: those musclebound cowboys from snake pit gulch (performance)
18: my diary: secret journey to tipping utopia // yoshiko chuma and the school of hard knocks (performance)
18-25: the potemkin play (theater)
18-26: prison images: incarceration and the cinema part 2: art by inmates (film)
18-: tender napalm (theater)
19: diary of a country priest (film)
19: “i do not care if we go down in history as barbarians” (film)
19: michael morley: music for the never quartet / natacha diels: sad music for lonely people (music)
19: j hoard (music)
19-20: the martha graham cracker cabaret (performance)
19-25: fresh meat: giallo restorations part ii (film)
19-28: barbara hammer, superdyke (film)
19-: rosie (film)
19-: a faithful man (film)
20: onyx ashanti (music, performance)
20: michael morley: music for the never quartet / ursula scherrer & michael schumacher: exotica (music)
20: liquid light lab & ricardo romaneiro (music, performance)
20-21: roulette’s 40th anniversary closeout party (music, performance)
21: diary of a country priest (film)
21: onyx ashanti (music, performance)
21: philip markle: at the gay bathhouse (music)
21-25: apologies to the bengali lady (theater)
21-31: brasil summerfest 2019 (music)
22: bad husband //\\ bad homo (theater)
23: diary of a country priest (film)
23-: freddie falls in love (dance)
24-30: angels are made of light (film)
25: viennale extravalue film award winners: wolfgang fischer’s ‘styx' (film)
25: underneath the skin (performance)
26: my diary: secret journey to tipping utopia // yoshiko chuma and the school of hard knocks (performance)
26: amber martin: three women - joplin, midler & nyro (music)
26-28: danny lyon: then and now (film)
26-28: hemispheres (theater)
26-28: the players festival (theater)
26-: summer shorts 2019 - series b (theater)
26-: the ground beneath my feet (film)
26-: the mountain (film)
26-: honeyland (film)
26-: for sama (film)
27: special guest (tba) / susie ibarra / speaker music (deforrest brown jr.) (music)
27: for black trans girls who gotta cuss a mf’er out when snatching an edge ain’t enough (performance)
27: joseph keckler (music)
27: nyu sandbox percussion showcase (music)
28: front porch, jeff siegfried, & hayley boggs (music)
28-: classicalbridge festival (music)
29-: cherry picking 2019 (performance, theater)
30-: translations (dance)
31: the village, or a fag, a hag, a drag, a hustler, a junkie, a john and jew walk into a bar (performance)
31: brian chase (music)
agosto / august
1: the disciple of speed (film)
1: young dancemakers company (dance)
1-3: blak whyte gray (dance)
1-3: brasil summerfest 2019 (music)
1-3: merril mushroom’s bar dykes (theater)
1-4: freddie falls in love (dance)
1-4: tender napalm (theater)
1-9: mostly mozart festival (dance, film, music, theater)
1-10: ice factory (theater)
1-25: collision / coalition (art, film)
1-31: classicalbridge festival (music)
1-31: summer shorts 2019 - series b (theater)
1-: in the green (theater)
2-4: the heresy machine (performance)
2-18: a real young girl: coming of age (film)
2-19: peter murphy residency at le poisson rouge (music)
4: desi:now (music)
6: fast and furious (theater)
6: penny arcade: longing lasts longer (performance)
6-8: passageways: songs of connection, abnormal & sublime (performance)
6-18: ballet festival (dance)
7: jesús carmona: amator / arooj aftab (dance, music)
8-10: under siege (dance)
8-11: sing, goddess (theater)
8-18: shenanigans (theater)
9-11: parisa khobdeh dance company presents: nevertheless (theater)
9-: one child nation (film)
10: amber martin: three women - joplin, midler & nyro (music)
10: patty griffin / yola (music)
11: jason lytle (music)
13: penny arcade: longing lasts longer (performance)
13-15: music lesson (theater)
13-15: the andersons play ellington (music)
14: never sleep alone starring dr. alex schiller (performance)
14-27: los reyes (film)
15: viennale extravalue film award winners: sara fattahi’s ‘coma’ (film)
15-18: ancient greek corn (theater)
16-18: moses (theater)
16-: cold case hammarskjöld (film)
16-: the end of the century (film)
18: viennale extravalue film award winners: sara fattahi’s ‘chaos’ (film)
19: joseph cornell (film)
20: penny arcade: longing lasts longer (performance)
20-21: first violin (performance)
21-23: the andersons play armstrong (music)
22: the crazy world of arthur brown (music)
23: maya deren (film)
23: unknown pleasures: a post-punk extravaganza (film)
23-25: dances for solidarity: dancing through darkness (dance)
23-30: quo vadis havana (film)
25: quartet (music)
25: the westerlies & theo bleckmann / the nychillharmonic (music)
26: how we love / f*ck (theater)
26: taka kigawa plays beethoven – late piano sonatas (music)
27: penny arcade: longing lasts longer (performance)
28: tell me what i want (theater)
29: boukman eksperyans (music)
29-: give it a go (dance)
29-: tech support (theater)
30: the load (film)
31: the passion of joan of arc (film)