Has the art world been getting lonely in a slow summer defined by gallerists and museums phoning it in from the beach? That might explain why so many art people seem to be planning something fun and social this week, from a Monday night campy screening of a Paul Morrissey film starring Warhol Superstars to open studios across Brooklyn. Wednesday, both BRIC and American Medium are hosting events for artists to relax and mingle, and out by the Hamptons, the Parrish Art Museum is throwing a Grey Gardens costume contest on Thursday. If you can’t make that trek, pass the time in Yiyang Cao’s debut New York exhibition. Friday, head to Bushwick for a night of openings at Tiger Strikes Asteroid and Underonk, both of which promise to be pretty fun. Saturday night, catch up on the latest episodes of fake reality TV show “Sad Girls Club” (trailer above) at the Anthology Film Archives, which is pretty much a party in and of itself. Finally, Sunday marks the last chance to score a smiley face portrait from Nobutaka Aozaki in Corona, followed by more open studios, DJs, and more at Red Hook’s Pioneer Works.
This might not be the best week for delving into heady art in Chelsea or museums, but it’s sure a good time to embrace campiness and fun, even in the stuffiest reaches of Long Island.
Mon
Women In Revolt
Director Paul Morrissey’s 1971 trash/art house masterpiece starring transgender “Warhol Superstars” is a bizarre lesbian-feminist romp from the golden age of subversive filmmaking. It’s so weird to think Morrissey (actually a conservative Catholic) is the one who introduced the film’s stars (Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Jane Forth) to Warhol. At any rate, it’s by far the most fun you can have on an otherwise sleepy Monday in Williamsburg.
Wed
Summer Art Social
A big art party! Check out open studios from BRIC’s visual artists in residence Ilana Harris-Babou and Jakob Kudsk Steensen, as well as activities and performances from AIRs Aisha Tandiwe Bell and Tahir Carl Karmali. There will be food, drinks, and an open mic tribute to David Bowie and Prince, followed by music from DJ Sol Nova.
Come As You Are 3
Billed as “a celebration of your hard work,” this evening offers stressed-out artists and their friends the chance to relax with some scorpion bowl drinks, stand-up-comedy, and “services” such as elixirs. Couldn’t we all use a well-earned break?
Comedy at 8:30PM – Organized by Sean J Patrick Carney
Seung-Min Lee
Lorelei Ramirez
Tim Graham – Emcee
Service: UFO, Dark and Stormy, REST IN POWER, Blue Dream, plus a medley of primordial elixirs
Thu
Grey Gardens Costume Parade, Screening, and Discussion
If you’re planning a long weekend in the Hamptons, head out early to catch this! There’s a panel discussion of the iconic 1975 cult documentary Grey Gardens including clips from the film and speakers Iris Apfel, Harlem historian Michael Henry Adams, Grey Gardens subject Jerry “the Marble Faun” Torre, Grey Gardens editor and producer Muffie Meyer, and Sara Maysles (daughter of filmmaker Albert Maysles and co-author of the book Grey Gardens).
The highlight: Iris Apfel will get to say “this is the best costume for the day!” to one lucky attendee who comes dressed as either “Big” or “Little” Edie. There’s cool prizes for the costume contest winner too!
Yiyang Cao: A Collection of Slow Happenings
You know those minivan headrests with built-in video screens designed to keep kids occupied with DVDs while their parents drive? They’re intended to help “pass the time” and detract from boredom, but Yiyang Cao uses them to demarcate time in a static, unentertaining manner. This installation repurposes the headrests as stationary objects, each playing a slowed-down video of boring things: a glacially moving tortoise or long, looping shot of a bush, for example. It sounds odd to recommend an art exhibition on the premise that it is designed to be boring, but in a scene dominated by sensationalism, this might be the most subversive move?
Fri
Fabulous You
This exhibition pairs work from all ten TSA collective members alongside a mentor, teacher, or peer who inspires them. This is a super cute concept for a group show, and knowing TSA, will likely be executed really well.
Featuring guest artists and TSA members:
Polly Apfelbaum – Sun You
Vince Contarino – William Crump
Angela Dufresne – Jackie Hoving
Logan Grider – Matt Phillips
Christopher Horton – Andrew Prayzner
Margo Margolis – Rachael Gorchov
Iain Muirhead – Vincent Como
Helen O’Leary – Alex Paik
Mark Shetabi – Norm Paris
Joshua Edwards + Lynn Xu/Architecture for Travelers – Naomi Reis
Osamu Kobayashi: Woogie
Osamu Kobayashi’s large abstract paintings recall 1970’s minimalism with just enough hints to suggest some representation. They’re pretty dreamy, and this new technicolor body of work is inspired by music and dance, so expect these to be even more fun than usual.
Sat
Sad Girls Club TV Finale Screening
Sad Girls Club is a bit like Bad Girls Club, the reality television show that inspired it, in that it’s a bizarre trainwreck you can’t look away from and don’t know why. Basically, it’s an art collective/fake television show that lives on the internet and explores all the basest desires for attention and competitiveness that characterize our 15-minutes-of-fame world. This screening, curated by American Medium, comprises episodes 4-6 of SGC’s fourth season and a performance by American-made K-pop band EXP. Lots of levels of weird pop commentary here.
Sun
Nobutaka Aozaki: Smiley Bag Portrait
Sunday is your last chance to get a free, personalized portrait (that you get to keep!) from artist Nobutaka Aozaki. Aozaki transforms the smiley faces on shopping bags into caricatures of strangers on the street, and the Queens Museum has commissioned the artist to do pop-up portrait studios all over the borough (you can also get one on Saturday from 1-3 at the Museum itself). These are so weirdly cooler than they sound.
Second Sundays
Second Sundays is Pioneer Works’ monthly series of music, open studios, and a general atmosphere of fun. This month, Oliver Conan has a curated lineup of DJs and we get to meet the new fall artists in residence, who are Doreen Garner, Miho Hatori, Sam Lavigne, Keunmin Lee, Lucia Love, MSHR, Fabrice Monteiro, Curtis “Talwst” Santiago, Willie Stewart, Xu Wang, and Emily Xie.
There’s a $10 suggested donation.
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