(Photo courtesy of Alan Gastelum)
Vice’s Former HQ Becomes a Workspace Where You Can Rent Shane Smith’s Old Office For $6,300
Williamsburg
A Sign of The Times, Russian Prison Tattoos, and More Art Shows
Rirkrit Tiravanija
untitled 2017 (tomorrow is the question, january 21, 2017), 2017
Acrylic and newspaper on linen
89 1/4 x 73 1/4 inches
Courtesy Rirkrit Tiravanija and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome
(c) Rirkrit Tiravanija
The Times
Opening Thursday, June 1 at The Flag Art Foundation. On view through August 11.
Hate it or love it, one newspaper that has rocketed even more to the forefront of the public eye in the past year is the Times. From the president’s dismissal of it as failing to its recent scoop battle with The Washington Post and even today’s announcement that it has eliminated its public editor position in favor of opening more of their articles’ comment sections, there is much to talk about.
This art exhibition goes even further than the paper’s recent goings-on, asking over 80 artists to use current and archival issues of the physical newspaper as a jumping-off point to create works of their own. Some imagine what the headlines would be in 2020, some insert themselves into the news, and others take a second look at press coverage of major historical and sociopolitical events. If the news wasn’t already on your mind constantly, this show could do the trick. More →
New Law Would Crack Down on Tenant Harassment, Put Slumlords in Jail
Renters, rejoice!
A new bill meant to hold New York landlords criminally accountable for harassing tenants was introduced today by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
It’s no secret that some landlords are less than easy to deal with. Because of high population and demand, New York City is a landlord’s playground. As a result, tenants are sometimes taken advantage of and suffer in shoddy living conditions.
Nick Zinner and James Murphy Remember When Being in a Band Was ‘Not a Very Good Idea’
L to R: Nick Zinner, James Murphy, Rob Sheffield, and Lizzy Goodman. (Photo courtesy of Strand Book Store)
Last night at Strand Book Store, Lizzy Goodman said she considered her new oral history, Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011, a “dirty high school reunion.” Which was weird, because I don’t remember going to high school with Aziz Ansari and Seth Meyers, who were in the audience.
Week in Film: Dinosaurus!, a Highly Accurate Prehistoric Epic, Stalker Returns
Combat Cops
Thursday May 11, 9:30 pm at Nitehawk: $12
Perhaps you’ve heard of The Deuce Jockeys, the resident VJs at Nitehawk whose film series has a very specific mission: “Excavating the facts and fantasies of cinema’s most notorious block; 42 Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.” If you’re wondering, that’s the Port Authority Bus Terminal, once the epicenter of violence in Fear City. Around 1970, the Times described the place as a sort of terrifying, tortuous God’s waiting room– another circle of Hades that Dante himself would have considered just a bit too far even for tax evaders. Its occupants went one of two ways: “Some are waiting for buses. Others are waiting for death.”
Week in Film: ‘Supernatural Comedy,’ Women Rule the World, and More
The Lost City Of Z
Now through Thursday May 11 at Sunshine Cinema: $14
I haven’t seen The Lost City of Z just yet, but what I can tell you is that the film takes place in 1925, a tumultuous time in the Western world when it looked like the sun might very well start to set on the British Empire. In fact, imperial order was starting to collapse around the globe, and would eventually be replaced by a new bipolar world order– divvied up into two supposedly opposite political instincts, nationalism and socialism. (If that sounds like a super mysterious process, that’s because it is. There are tons of fascinating theories about how and why this happened, and about WTF nationalism even is, man– none of which I will go into here.) So even though a bunch of landowning white men still ruled the day at this point, they were probably feeling a little insecure about their privileged position, which they justified by an unshakeable belief in white supremacy and fashionable pseudoscientific ideas/total BS concepts of the time. I mean, now we know that terms like “imperial expansion” and “colonization” are just fancy ways to talk about pirate stuff (e.g., raping, pillaging). Oh, and racism too.
Loosie’s Opens a Hammock-Happy Cafe, and They’re Giving Away Coffee All Summer
(Photo: Daniel Correa)
The team behind Loosie Rouge and Loosie’s Kitchen is opening a café inside of their Williamsburg mini compound, and they’re giving away free Toby’s Estate coffee all summer long. That’s right: Free. Coffee. From 7am to 8am, every day, starting with their opening on Friday.
4/20 Show at Don Pedro Ends in a Blaze as Fire Sparks Up Next Door
The facade of Don Pedro underneath the smashed-out windows of the second floor. (Photo: Nick McManus)
The ceiling damage in Don Pedro’s back room. (Photo: Nick McManus)
A fire broke out next to Don Pedro last night, seriously harshing a 4/20 show scheduled at the Williamsburg venue.
The blaze started at the closed Lantingua’s Deli Market shortly after 6pm, as Don Pedro’s patrons were enjoying happy hour, and raged on the first and second floors of the building at 92 Manhattan Avenue for an hour and a half, according to the FDNY. Four firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Sasha Velour on 4/20, The Postmen Move to Bushwick, and More Performance Picks
THURSDAY
(image via Sasha Velour / Facebook)
Sasha Velour’s Nightgowns
Thursday, April 20 at National Sawdust, 8:30 pm doors, 10 pm show: $18 advance, $22 doors
If you live in Brooklyn and are watching this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, there’s probably a pretty good chance you’re only a degree or two of separation from some of the queens competing. One of these hometown heroes is Sasha Velour, who has continued to host the unique drag variety show Nightgowns on a regular basis. The show is typically at Bizarre Bushwick, but is making the move to dear old Williamsburg and its funky, classy music hall National Sawdust.
Given that they’re moving to a bigger, swankier space, the lineup is pretty big too. You can see shows after fabulous show from Francesca, Hystée Lauder, Kandy Muse, Olive d’Nightlife, Pearl Harbor, Severely Mame, Scarlet Envy, Untitled Queen, and Vigor Mortis. And hey, it’s 4/20, so there’ll probably be some sort of relevant performance themes going on. More →
Week in Film: Viagra for Nursery Rhymes, Poitras Does Assange, and More
(Flyer via Spectacle)
Unkissed Bride
Saturday April 22, 10 pm at Spectacle: $5
OK, before you LMFAO at the premise of this Jack Harris film, put yourself in the shoes of either Ted or Margi, the young couple who find out on their honeymoon (of course) that there’s a roadblock standing in the way of (early) marital bliss. Like, that blows. Especially for such a young couple, because for the most part isn’t it true that marriage–am I pronouncing that right? may-raj…? mar-ridge..?–these days either ends in de jure divorce (courthouses, lawyers, and custody battles, etc.) or de facto divorce (separate beds, six-month yoga retreats, and the like).