This Week’s Must-See Art Events: Newscasters Make Art

Randy Cohen will interview Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith about something they like. Since the talk is part of Sharon Louden’s “Professional Practice” series, they may continue the course of established art world people speaking frankly about the problems facing artists. (We’re following that closely).

Good luck getting a seat to this. RSVP is required.

It’s hard to imagine photographs that reveal more about one person’s struggle with obesity than Jen Davis’s 11-year photography project exploring body image. As she’s lost weight, her work has opened up to include other figures and subjects; including men and sexual desire.

Free and open to the public

You can probably count Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst among the stars created by this year’s Whitney Biennial. Their documentation of their relationship, while both transitioned genders, has put them high in the profiles. See what all the praise is about at the screening of their short film “She Gone Rogue” (2012).

If you can’t find affordable studio space in New York, you’re not alone. Artists all over the city are being forced into increasingly remote locations due to increasing rent costs. This panel attempts to address some of these concerns with panelists, Tom Angotti, a professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College. Jenny Dubnau, an artist who lives and works in Queens and formed Artists Studio Affordability Project (A.S.A.P.) Together with Tamara Zahaykevich, Shawn Gallagher, an artist with a background in real estate who is an active member of Placeholder (formerly known as Stay in Bushwick), and Diana Reyna is the current Deputy Brooklyn Borough President and former city council representative for the 34th district including Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood. The discussion will be moderated by AFC’s Paddy Johnson.

From the theater that brings you North Korean propaganda, and horror movies on holidays, get a first look at a new Brooklyn indie film. “GO DOWN DEATH” looks like a tongue-in-cheek 1930s horror movie filmed in an abandoned warehouse in Greenpoint. Adding to the weirdness, Smell-o-Vision is promised.

Abstract painter Elizabeth Hazan has Brooklyn down; she’s shown at Storefront, Sideshow, and the Whitney Houston Biennial. A few years back Hazan even had the opportunity to show at the esteemed Tibor de Nagy gallery. This Friday, you can check out her paintings at Janet Kurnatowski, a gallerist known for her eye for abstraction. Lately Hazan’s colorful geometric abstractions seem a little less fragmented and more compositionally daring. It’s a direction we like.

Running Thursday through Saturday night, Liz Magic Laser has recruited professional newscasters to recite “2014 news highlights” dotted with a script of personal stories from New Yorkers. Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame, it seems, as told in news-anchor voice.

Abrons dedicates a day to understanding what it’s like to live with disabilities. Although we’re not really sure which disabilities they mean, the UK-based performance group “Access All Areas” promises to give us a more radical representation that we’re used to seeing. It’s a full day of performances, commissioned videos, and debates.

Get ready for awesome. A night of art world stand-up comedy is hosted by Ben Coonley, the man behind Valentine for Perfect Strangers, the NYUFF trailer starring Dr. Zizmor, and even Art F City’s “Sound of Art” Kickstarter campaign. Participants include a bevy of artists, writers and curators; Joel Holmberg, Cecilia Dougherty, Andrew Lampert, to name just a few.