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Several months ago, I was talking Marie Vic about her project, "Popcorn." The installation she was working on was really simple (it involved handing out bags of freshly-made popcorn to passersby in the Chelsea gallery district), but her preparation was really intense, and so even though all she wanted me to do was write a brief artist's statement for the show, we talked for hours about relational aesthetics, institutional critique in Chelsea, and loads of other topics that I hadn't had to think about (as part of my job, at least) since I was in college.

It was fun as hell. Hoping to give Marie some further background, I suggested a blog post I'd written for Hard to Reach about a show at Murray Guy that was relevant to her new project. Reading stuff for this blog has been like hearing my own voice played back to me, but eventually I did give the post a look, and I ultimately decided that most of what I wrote here between November 2010 and January 2012 was nothing to be ashamed of.

Now that I'm freelancing full-time, it's come up that I should try to revive this thing. I've decided to start by re-posting some recent articles in The Forward and The New York Times, as well as a mix I made for a friend's wedding in the fall. Here they are.

Landmark Synagogue Seeks Right to Demolish Itself

Is 1850 Lower East Side Shul Crumbling Beyond Repair?

Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, considered to be the oldest Russian Jewish congregation in the United States, is looking to reverse the landmark status of the venerable structure in which it once prayed in order to demolish it and make way for a multi-use development. Architectural preservationists have expressed dismay at the idea of losing a building that has been among the Lower East Side’s most prominent houses of worship since the mid-19th century.

Read the full article on Forward.com

Photo by Kirsten Luce, via NYTimes.com

Before Word Can Spread, Party’s Over at a Brooklyn Speakeasy

Later, Sully, who was serving as a bartender, projected a 1980 Sonny Chiba film, “Shogun’s Ninja,” on a screen opposite the bar. Sully had been toting an archaic Walkman cassette player for music, and played mix tapes he had prepared especially for the evening. The alternative, he said, would have been flipping records over a turntable. But there was simply no room.

Read the full article on cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com

And finally, my wedding gift Isaac Plumb and Erin Mesa, a tribute to His Awesomeness Al Pacino.



More to follow. Promise.

Is “The City Dark” Self-Parody?

Image via Wicked Delicate Films

There’s nothing immediately offensive about the premise of Ian Cheney’s new documentary, The City Dark. Living in New York, I can believe that Cheney, an amateur astronomer since his teenage years in Maine, might miss seeing the stars at night, and feel deprived. When he attempts to stretch that wistfulness into an authoritative documentary, however, the results are less than convincing.

Read the full post on Art Fag City.

Who Knew? Some Artists Write in Support of SOPA

While alternative media sources continue to describe the SOPA debate as a David conflict with the Goliath of larger, better funded counterparts, some of the bill’s support comes from people working for small, independent companies – not NBC or Viacom. “Today’s piracy isn’t about ’sharing’ or distribution,” says one user writing in a comment thread on the Kickstarter post, describing herself as an indie filmmaker. “It’s about theft for profit.”

Read the full post on Art in the Air.

The Show That Has Everything: The Language of Less at the Chicago MCA

Brice Marden, Grove Group V, 1973-76. Photo courtesy MCA Chicago.

At The Language of Less (Then and Now), visitors get a well-balanced primer on Minimalism and Post-Minimalism with no glaring omissions or gaps. Like any greatest hits album, it aims to please, and it usually does. But it will never succeed in satisfying a true fan.

Read the full review on Art Fag City.

Hard at Work, Tikunning the Olam, Part II

Filmmaker David Lynch has laid his fair share of original tracks in 2011. In February, Beatport staged a well-attended remix contest for his single "Great Day." In September, Lynch and long-time collaborator Chrysta Bell cut an 11-track album "This Train," retaining the affections of film buffs, novices, and Au Revoir Simone.


Lynch recently approached Zola Jesus about doing a remix of her creaky, shuddersome, "In Your Nature." Surprise! She was into it. We are, too.


Zola Jesus - In Your Nature (David Lynch Remix) by myblogcliche

Remembering the Artists Who Died in 2011

"A photograph that inspired countless young men to hunch their shoulders, look distant, and let the girl do the clinging" - Janet Maslin

Albeit indirectly, Steinweiss can take some measure of credit for the cover art of “The Freewheein’ Bob Dylan.” One of the most recognizable album sleeves of all time, it depicts the young singer-songwriter digging his chin into his jacket to stave off the cold as he walks down the middle of a street in Greenwich Village. While he looks down with both hands in his pockets, a girl clings to Dylan’s arm and looks up towards the camera, smiling. The woman is Suze Rotolo. She passed away this year, too.


Read the full article on ArtInfo.com.