Gallery/Exhibits
A Gathering of Geeks
Cameras flashed and cosplayers struck poses, grinning as others recognized their costumes. Bags were laden with posters, figurines, T-shirts, and other merchandise. Fans pointed and laughed as they identified yet another Iron Man, Eleventh Doctor, or Katniss. Held annually at the Javits Center, a vast convention center in Manhattan, this reunion of fandoms gathers thousands [...]
Learn to Speak Geek
Following the New York City Comic-Con, we’ve created a list of terms to help you communicate in the world of geekdom. Canon: anything stated directly in the fandom’s source material, or by the creators themselves Cosplay: short for “costume play”; generally entails the painstaking work of replicating every piece of clothing worn by your favorite [...]
A Roomful of Cheer
Holidays are times of beauty and wonder, days when the small is made big and the ordinary, extraordinary. Year-round, these special days are celebrated. Holiday House NYC, a seasonal design show located at 2 East 63 Street in Manhattan, is one such place where the magic happens. In 2008, breast cancer survivor Iris Dankner founded [...]
Revolutionary By Chance: A Closer Look at John Cage
To many, John Cage seems the archetypal modern artist – a self-indulgent pseudo-intellectual who justifies his pretentious work with esoteric notions. Given that his most famous musical work is “4’33’’,” a piece in three movements consisting of four minutes and 33 seconds of the performer playing absolutely nothing, it’s understandable that his work invites eye-rolling [...]
Origins of Originality
One would never assume that the rhinestone, considered tacky and cheap by many, could be used as an art tool. Viewing the work of Mickalene Thomas can easily change this perception. In the Brooklyn-based artist’s newest exhibit, “The Origins of the Universe,” rhinestones adorn many larger-than-life works. They sparkle under dim lights, accentuating the subjects’ [...]
Wandering Around Wondering: Straying from the Classics
In the rather empty neighborhoods around Dean Street, Brooklyn, graphic designer Mike Perry managed to brighten up the atmosphere with his recent exhibit “Wandering Around Wondering,” which surrounds his book of the same title. Perry is a multi-media designer who is known for his imaginative drawings, patterns, prints, books, and much more. A man of [...]
Death, Consumerism, and Cat Litter: 50 Years of Pop Art at the Met
The term “Pop Art” calls to mind giant images of Campbell’s soup cans, colorful silk screened images, and the eclectic group of transvestites, junkies, and artists lounging around the Factory, Andy Warhol’s New York Studio. Perhaps most immediately, it calls to mind Warhol himself, the leading figure of the movement. However, familiarity with Andy Warhol [...]
The World Through A Lens: Redefining Art
The ghostly silhouettes of two faces and two hands leap off the empty black medium of Man Ray’s “Rayograph.” American 20th century industrialism is captured in a second by the gleaming smokestacks of Charles Sheeler’s “Ford Motor Company.” The horrors of nuclear war are encapsulated in a nuked beer bottle, the subject of Shomei Tomatsu’s [...]
A Look Back At A Summer Of Art
For the Modernist: If you’re not one for huge and demanding museum exhibitions that fill room after room with weighty art, head over to the Guggenheim and see the ongoing “Kandinsky 1911-1913” show, which features only five finished works by the influential Russian painter. The rest of the exhibition consists of two paintings by his [...]
A Matter of Tension
Half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water-related illness, and every day, 4,400 children under the age of five die as a result of living with poor water sanitation. Inspired by the impact water has on the world and the elegant nature of water itself, artists, researchers, designers, and [...]
