On Wednesday Stephanie [thank you!] invited me to see “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at Richard Rodgers Theatre (Broadway, New York) with Scarlett Johansson.
Although I had seen the movie, perhaps because I was too young to understand, or perhaps because in the movie the plot is not as clear, the truth is that I enjoyed and understood Tennessee Williams play much better this time. And it has a much broader appeal than what I initially guessed (being a _Southern Gothic_ work).
Although it may not be too obvious, I have been going through a few very hard weeks for several reasons. So someone who knows me well told me I should not be stupid, and should have fun. Let`s be it, then!
As part of their James Bond 50 years celebration, MoMA has been showing some of 007 movies in their collection (the largest by any museum in the world). So yesterday I was invited, and I of course invited Stephanie to be my guest, to the screening of the latest James Bond movie: “007 Skyfall”.
On Wednesday I was invited to the screening of the documentary “Gregory Crewdson Brief Encounters” at the Core Club (that has been called the “Portal of Power” by The New York Times, or “Where the 1 Percent Go to Lunch” by CNBC), with popcorn, M&Ms, wine bar and all.
Both Ben Shapiro and Gregory Crewdson (and his mother) were there introducing the film. But their shyness made them refuse a formal Q&A session, so to talk to them one had to go to the reception area after the film and mingle and chat.
On Tuesday I went to listen to Mitchell J. Feigenbaum and Albert J. Libchaber (mathematical physicists) discuss chaos theory at CUNY Graduate Center.
After that I went to McNally Jackson Books, a great book store in SoHo, and to the opening reception for “Rosemarie Trockel: A Cosmos", at the New Museum, organized by Massimiliano Gioni, Associate Director and Director of Exhibitions, and Jenny Moore, Associate Curator, in collaboration with Rosemarie Trockel and Lynne Cooke, chief curator of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (Spain).
On Thursday I went to 319 Scholes to attend the art opening of “Collect the WWWorld: The Artist as Archivist in the Internet Age”.
Beyond the anecdotal post/pre hispter crowd, the exhibition itself is a sad celebration of noise. Which, in itself is as valid, or invalid, as any other starting point in the endless debate about art (more so in regards with contemporary, electronic, net, etc).
But it is its legitimization attempt, with research project, curator, catalogue, and international tour, which brings the debate to a whole different level.
Tuesday, October 2nd I was invited to the member`s viewing and reception of “Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hoitsu” exhibition at Japan Society. This exhibition is the first American retrospective of Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828), a samurai aristocrat turned Buddhist monk who dedicated his life to art and poetry. On exhibit there were also a few works by his chief pupil Suzuki Kiitsu, although I must admit the difference between the two is quite notable.
On Friday I went to NY Comic Con, like everyone else, I guess, with the idea of having fun, of experiencing first hand one of the “major events” that a true nerdy geek can attend. I also wanted to meet Cory Doctorow (although we actually ended up not meeting). It has been years since I last met him, and it was the perfect “excuse” to attend the conference.
When I arrived, I was really surprised to see the size of it.
