Last September, Bushwig sold out the Knockdown Center, that sprawling ex-manufacturing lot just on the Maspeth side of the Brooklyn/Queens border. It was perfect drag weather that weekend—a little overcast, finally cooling—and anywhere your eye flitted under those ancient exposed beams, there was color. More →
Now that it’s no longer an active venue, I can tell you the address of The Glove. The only problem is I never knew the address to begin with. It wasn’t listed online for safety reasons; I just knew it by its nondescript entrance, a gray metal door covered in graffiti, located somewhere on Lexington off of Bushwick’s Broadway. More →
Late on a Friday afternoon, right before things were sure to get busy, Zaida Soler-Williams and Roberto Williams welcomed me into their East Williamsburg apartment, which is also their place of business. The living space is furnished simply, with a couch, house plants, and a few black leather lounge chairs; less expected are the large speakers tucked in seemingly every corner, the dominant screen along one wall, and the disco lighting everywhere, illuminating even the countertops in phosphorescent blue. “We go all out,” Roberto told me. “We’re not the type to do things halfway.” More →
Constructing Her Universe
Opening Thursday, September 5 at Sean Kelly, 6 pm to 8 pm. On view through October 19.
Most of the exhibitions in New York’s galleries center living artists who are actively making work today, but not always. This week, Chelsea art space Sean Kelly will be presenting the first American retrospective of Loló Soldevilla, a Cuban artist who predominantly made work during the abstraction heyday of the 1950’s. Though Soldevilla has been at times overshadowed by more well-known (and male) artists, her contributions to art in Latin America and beyond were groundbreaking and noteworthy—in addition to her innovations in the field of geometric abstraction, she also curated shows, co-founded a gallery, and advocated against political corruption.
More →Thousands of people walk by them everyday, oblivious to their existence. But you’ll notice them if you’re looking. At eye height, two peepholes covered by sliding metal shutters allow passersby to watch one of the movies playing at IFC Center in Greenwich Village. The two holes look into an actual theater on the ground floor, allowing the peeper to surreptitiously observe the activity taking place inside. More →
THURSDAY
We’re Tired
Thursday, August 29 at Cobra Club, 8 pm: FREE
Thursday is a strange day. It’s not quite as close to the weekend as Friday is, but still gives you a looming sense of freedom. At the same time, it’s several days into the work week, which can make anyone feel weary. Comedians Irene Fagan Merrow and Amanda Hurley may very well be tired in the standard work week sense, but they’re also exhausted for another reason: seeing too many shows flooded with straight white men. Indeed, even in this day and age they still manage to find a way to populate, well, everywhere. As a counter to this, We’re Tired features performers who don’t identify as that. This time, they’re welcoming comedians Yedoye Travis, Alissa May Atkinson, Jordan Temple, Rachel Sennott, and Carolyn Castiglia.
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Shoebox Museum
Opening Thursday, August 29 at 198 Allen Street, 10 am to 7 pm. On view through August 31.
Sneaker culture has reached a bit of a fever pitch in the past few years, with people worldwide getting their kicks (figuratively and literally) from reselling and/or buying flashy shoes of all sorts, as long as they resemble a sneaker. Historically, shoes come in boxes, and aside from being a convenient storage method and material for your elementary school dioramas of yore, shoeboxes are an opportunity to showcase both function and creativity and design, just like the shoes inside it do. The Shoebox Museum understands this, and for a few short days will be filling the Lower East Side with shoeboxes aplenty, from recognizable classics to the innovative and even avant-garde.
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Some writers grapple with grand ideas, while others compose devastatingly satirical works of fiction. Nell Zink’s got both neatly covered. Her latest novel Doxology spans several decades in the lives of its characters—notably Pam and Daniel, a young couple with a daughter named Flora, and their friend Joe, whose musical career takes off in the 1990s. More →
Remember breadfacing? It became a thing in 2015 when a woman in her late twenties began posting Instagram videos in which she squished bread with her face. The videos are all the same: a sexy tune plays in the background as she sits at a table and lowers her face over a piece of bread, relishing its sponginess, softness or coarseness. Sometimes she gently smooshes the bread; other times she mashes it with a vengeance.
Even as Bread Face’s popularity has skyrocketed to nearly 200,000 followers, her real identity has remained hidden. Now, she’s heating up the wholesome entertainment by launching a Patreon account that’s all about… foot fetishes and findom? More →
THURSDAY
Ablaze: an A Capella Musical Thriller
August 22-24 at New Ohio Theater, 7:30 pm (Sunday shows at 2 pm and 8 pm): $20
Traditionally, the only music associated with the horror or thriller genres (well, aside from the actual song Thriller) is ominous background noise, or instrumental tracks featuring a lot of minor keys, creepy strings, and other such sounds. A cappella singing usually isn’t involved, or even considered. However, in Ablaze, a new musical thriller from Prism House Theater Company, it stands proudly front and center. Yes, this is an a cappella thriller musical, and it’s about a group of teens who survive a fire only to find themselves stuck in a secluded basement with a mysterious presence. What else to do but sing about it?
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