VETERANS OF ART: A Walk Through Chelsea

Autumn weather makes us want to wander. Since we had to pick up some catalogs, we strolled through Chelsea. While trawling through the galleries, we saw:


Joan Mitchell @ Cheim & Read (547 W 25) - Entitled "The Last Paintings", these twelve pictures are from the last five years of her life and show the artist at the top of her game. Large and ambitious, these giddy abstract canvases are both stark and bold. The innate presence of Nature in them is almost taken for granted (Mitchell moved to Paris, France in 1959 then to the outskirts of the city in 1967). But as with her other AbEx compatriots, her works seem deceptively simple but are actually rather complex. Walking up close to them you appreciate her mastery of the surface of her canvas and the complexity of her brushwork. A nice breath of Spring in NYC as Autumn approaches. Check it out!!



Richard Pousette-Dart @ Luhring Augustine (531 W 24) - "East River Studio" is a spectacular mini-retrospective of the youngest of the AbEx painters that he produced during the five years at his E 56th Street studio, an old brewery. Pousette-Dart exemplifies the post-WWII collision of art history with the fracturing of surrealism and abstraction. Sculptures that seem like rusting wires and metal plates are actually dreamy takes on Nature. Canvases are worked, cut apart, reworked, then tacked to stretchers. And many of these canvases are WORKED!! Another side of the AbEx obsession with surface, I can see their influence on artists like Terry Winters and the later work of Brice Marden. Curated by Christopher Wool, many of these works have not been seen in NYC since the early 1950s. Definitely worth a visit!!

Matta @ The Pace Gallery (534 W 25) - This "Centennial Celebration" focuses on the later years of this Surrealist master. Almost museum-like in its adoration, one see's the essence of his earlier work on a much larger scale. No work dates from before 1975, so all the canvases are large, yet the scrambled biomorphic blobs and explosions are all there. Like Mitchell's work, the surfaces of the pictures are even more intriguing viewed up close. And once again we see the artist's influence on others, not only AbEx artists but those of the Eighties' as well. There's nothing extremely surprising here but well worth a peek.



Yoko Ono @ Galerie Lelong (528 W 26) - Another titled installation, "Uncursed", is Ono's way of "re-creating" an action that she performed in Hiroshima. Just in time for Performa 11 and it's Fluxus Weekend, Ono provides a thoughtful and droll view of life in New York with large rubber centipedes crawling up the back corner. Large old doors without their locks stand and recline around the rear gallery with small glossy puddles of sky nearby. Random quartets of identical holes lead you to that gallery. Dramatic in its presentation, I didn't come out feeling blessed. Worth a peak.

Also Seen:


Peter Hujar @ Matthew Marks (523 W24) - "Three Lives: Peter Hujar, Paul Thek, & David Wojnarowicz" is a charming exhibit of mostly vintage prints Hujar took of his two best-known lovers along with self-portraits from as early as 1957. The loveliness of the prints is offset by the decay of the body. A very heartfelt installation.


Sarah Braman "Yours" @ Mitchell-Innes & Nash (534 W26) - In her first NYC show, the artist presents sculptural and wall works. The stars of the show are the sculptures, all of which meld large pieces of a mobile home with very formal modern boxes. I found the pieces very droll, sort of taking a home apart to create a series of garden follies. Be sure to check out the vanity mirror that's incorporated in the piece entitled "Coffin"!!

Anh Duong @ Sonnabend Gallery (536 W22) - An interesting and provocative exhibit of self-portraits. A queasy blend of Balthus, German Expressionism and Alice Neel, the artist peers out at us constantly in beguiling yet mundane scenerios. Paranoids should avoid, otherwise go!

Back in the saddle again: A Walk thru Chelsea

On a recent rainy Friday we found ourselves delivering art to W 26th St. While in the neighborhood we saw:


Deborah Butterfield @ Danese (535 W 24) - It took an artist of Butterfield's stature and reliability to get to go up to the top floor of this building to see this gallery's premier show. Elegant and austere, Butterfield continues to produce her equine sculptures from found wood. The pieces convey the strength and tenderness of these beautiful animals.

Agnes Martin @ Pace (524 W25 St) - A small survey of Grey Paintings from the 80's. Martin was able to captured the veiled quality of the second string color field painters and tie it into the Minimalist movement that the 60's and the earthworks of the 70's. Working in New Mexico, Martin's work reflects the majestic meditative landscape there. Most impressive are the canvases who's greys are lovely washes of blues.


Social Media @ Pace (510 W25 St) - This group show just closed but took an interesting look at the way social media is changing the artist's way of seeing. One got the sense of media overload and the virtual became visceral. Penelope Umbrico used thousands of images off of Flicker to create images of sunsets. Emilio Chapela's "According to Google" is a multi-volume collection of images gleaned off of the search engine, each volume titled singularly like "Sex" and "Love". While thumbing through these bound books one can't help but chortle at some of the unusual images that crop up. Christopher Baker's "Murmur Study" places thermal printers high on the wall and printing out reams upon reams of tweets referencing emotional sounds like "ooo" and "aahh". The output is funny and frightening.


Richard Serra @ Gagosian (555 W24) - Two enormous new works, Junction and Cycle. The artist continues to explore the juxtaposition and nesting of his huge cor-ten steel walls. Vertiginous and scary, Serra is at the top of his game.

Also seen:
David Byrne @ Pace (508 W 25) "Tight Spot" - An enormous inflatable globe stuffed into a tight spot under the High Line that emitted some low thrumming sound. Huh?


Paul Winstanley @ Mitchell-Innes & Nash (534 W 26) Paintings - A second US show by this British painter. Using photography as a jumping off point, these pictures are too hazy to be photo-realistic and too real to be expressionist. A bit too mundane in their imagery, the most interesting works tend to come in pairs of similar images executed in slight variations in color and representation. Worth a peek.


Lari Pittman @ Gladstone (515 W 24) - As Pittman's "prestige" moves up, his paintings become more and more about less and less. Thin and flashy, the artist obviously took a trip to Brazil and these canvases are the result. Ho-hum.

November is National Novel Writing Month

November is National Novel Writing Month!


We are taking the plunge..... Are you?

15 Film I Must Own - Pt 3

Least I forget some foreign favorites:

11) Amarcord (1973) – Fellini, Fellini, Fellini! How could I pull up a list of “must-haves” with at least one! (I own over a half dozen btw) When I recently upgraded to a Blu-Ray player this was the second disc I upgraded (see the next entry for the first)! This heartfelt memoir of the filmmaker’s hometown and family is so charming and affecting I dare anyone to say it isn’t the Maestro’s masterpiece. His meticulous recreation of place, his synthetic imagination, the music, the characters… How can you argue against it? Magali Noël, is ageless as the eternal Grandisca, Pupella Maggio and Armando Brancia as the filmmaker’s mother and father and the gorgeous Bruno Zanin, make Fellini’s past gorgeous, impeccable and heartfelt! A masterpiece!!

12) Topsy-Turvy (1999) – Mike Leigh is without doubt the renaissance of English Cinema. I have been watching this director for some time and I knew I had to include a film by him. My gut instinct was to go with “Secrets and Lies”, with Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. But when I go to my DVD library, the very first film I updated to Blu-Ray was Leigh’s “Topsy-Turvy”. Leigh is an actors’ director if ever there was one. Most of his work is placed in the present or near distant past, so to undertake a serious piece of historical drama for this filmmaker was unconventional, at least. This amazing piece of history re-creates the moment in time when W. S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) and Sir Arthur Sullivan IAllan Corduner) come to a crossroads in their collaboration only to overcome the obstacles and produce, perhaps, their most endearing work, The Mikado. Period detail, incisive performances and love of the music helps the director to produce a monument to a faded empire. Hats off to the two stars as well as Leslie Manville as Gilbert’s stifled wife and Shirley Henderson.

13) Mon Oncle (1972) Of all the French masters, Jacque Tati is France’s pre-eminent director. A French Hitchcock with a comic bent and Welles’ misfortune. My early film memories have Tati tattooed all over them. It doesn’t really matter what “version” of this film you see (there was an “International” edition in the States), it’s a true synthesis of mise en scene. What the characters say is unimportant, the humor plays out on a simple pantomime level, but also rises above mere physical comedy to social commentary through its longing for a France that was rapidly disappearing. Mr. Hulot’s relatives and their comically cold house are consuming the land that Tati loves (by the time that Tati made “Playtime” Paris is a memory reflected in windows). Gorgeously shot and played it, it has some of the best performances by dogs in a film in the 20th Century!

14) Russian Ark (2002) – A technical marvel and a monument to a people and a culture that I will never see in my lifetime. Aleksandr Sokurov’s journey through time, space, and Russia’s Winter Palace and Hermitage is a testament to the long rich history of the country. With over 2000 actors and three orchestras, this seamless 100 minute journey was shot in one take over a 36 hour period (it took three tries to complete the film), utilizes historical characters that mingle with those in other eras and well as current times. The cinematography by Tilman Büttman is seamless, dizzying at moments, and allows the majesty of the building to unfold before the viewers eyes kaleidoscopicall! I’m sure serious Russian aficionados might find flaw in it, but I continue to find this film stunning. Do NOT miss the last twenty minutes of this film: they are luscious, amazing and unforgettable.

15) Grey Gardens (1975) – The Maysles Brothers (along with Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer) created an epic documentary when they wandered into the lives of two women, Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith (aka Little Edie). A study of a mother and daughter, famous and infamous, once high in society, by the mid-70’s forgotten by most everyone. Though shot on a “documentary budget” this little film provides more drama and “real life” than any Hollywood creation. Frightening, hilarious, sad and scary, the mother and daughter open up to the camera with a heartfelt desperation at real “actor” can only hope to achieve. A horrid musical and 2009 film adaptation by HBO pay poor homage to this steely eyed look into an American window. Perhaps the echt-reality show, it will always make you feel better about your life after watching it.

15 Films I Must Own – part 2

I know I dwelt on the comedies in my first installment so I will try and sober up in this next installment:

6) Hobson’s Choice (1954) – David Lean co-wrote and directed his adaptation of a popular stage play about the eldest spinster daughter (Brenda de Banzie) of a Sulford boot merchant, Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) and her marriage to the shop’s boot hand, William Mossop (John Mills). Lean went on to produce some of cinema’s most lush, epic films but you can already see his great sense of place in this charming tale set in Manchester. Laughton delivers a truly great screen performance of the inebriate Hobson, Mills is endearingly charming as Mossop but the day goes to de Banzie. Maggie Hobson is a strong, smart, business-minded, unapologetic woman who makes good for herself and those around her. It’s a proto-feminist tale done deftly with style and charm.

7) Stage Fright (1950) – Hitchcock supposedly felt he let down his audience by presenting a lie as a flashback. Given time and taste many have come to love this fact about it. I find it to be one of the master’s most synthetic works; the juxtaposition of “real life” versus “theatrics” constantly turns in on itself as this murder mystery plays out. All the Hitchcock bits are here (the camera following a character off the street and into a house, rear projection, his cameo) plus he had a cast that could breathe life into the material. Marlene Dietrich is pretty much Dietrich and I’m sure her fastidiousness worked well with his. He had his blank-slate leading lady in Jane Wyman (who does some of the best “back acting” in cinema history) but filled the gapes with English staples Alistair Sim and Sybil Thorndike (a disarmingly funny cameo by Joyce Grenfell). It’s a lovely balance of mystery, comedy and romance that I never fail to enjoy.

8) A Streetcar Named Desire (1972) – I’ve always depended on the kindness of Streetcar! Whenever I’m feeling down, nothing makes me feel better than watching Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) go at it. It’s not just the “fact” that my life is sooo much better than theirs, but every time I return to this movie I find these two gigantic performances fresh and engrossing. They are like to tops battling it out on a schoolyard: the forces that drive them together, the whine and the whirr and someone’s ultimate defeat. Kazan was wise to open this stage play just enough while remaining true the basic plot (Tennessee Williams’ film adaptations were often watered down by Hollywood due to their sexual content). Beautifully photographed by Harry Stradling, Jr. and scored by effectively by Alex North, this movie reaped four Academy Awards.

9) A Lion in Winter (1968) – As dysfunctional then as they are now, the English royals never cease to provide excellent entertainment. Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn reign as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in James Goldman’s adaptation of his stage play. Though from very different schools of acting, these two create sparks as they thrust and parry their way through this unconventional holiday drama. Director Anthony Harvey does an adequate job of keeping this topsy-turvy tale on track but he has a hard time keeping up with his stars and his location (the film was shot on location in France and Ireland). Hepburn snagged her 4th Oscar for this film. It’s also first film appearances by Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton, as Richard and Phillip II, respectively, two powerful men with a rather close past! I wonder if you wonder why I chose it?

10) Nashville (1975) – I remember seeing this film with my father in Philly when it first came out. I had never seen anything quite like it then and haven’t seen anything quite like it since. Robert Altman is the ultimate American film auteur; his style is unique, the aural quality lush and, whether or not the film has succeeded, you were taken on a unique journey. This film finds Altman in the right place at the right time and holds up a mirror to America that is still relevant and a little scary. Politics, religion and pop culture converge and collide (literally) in an American industry capital Drama plays out large and small with a stunning cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Henry Gibson, Altman muse Shelley Duvall, Geraldine Chaplin, a hilarious Barbara Harris and a silent Jeff Goldblum. The music sung is original and written by cast members, as well as others including Gary Busey. And the opening K-Tel credits are a hoot!

Up next, we go overseas…..

Oh Howard, My Howard

October 1999 was the tail end of the 20^th century and as we all prepared to enter the future; I was totally unprepared to enter the realm of Howard Stein.

My entrée into this wondrous world was arranged by my friend, teacher and mentor Jeanne Anselmo. Jeanne is a holistic nurse and works with Howard’s wife Janet on her Balm Foundation. It seemed that Howard had a private family foundation that was in need of a new assistant. Would I be interested in meeting him? At that point in my work life I was floundering a bit, rebounding from a Systems Manager position at a tony downtown museum to the corporate anonymity of investment bank presentation work. He was looking for someone who was technologically savvy. And we shared a mutual love of collecting photography.

I had caught the bug back in the mid-80’s when the East Village exploded into a mythological art beast: galleries, performance spaces and cafes sprang up around Tompkins Square and the Queen, Pat Hearn, firmly enthroned at it’s easternmost extreme. My first piece was an appropriation photo from the Tim Greathouse Gallery for $75, which included a hand-made frame. It was my first contact with the sublimely satisfactory moment of art possession. It’s a buzz that makes a collector a genuine collector and it’s a feel Howard and I both understood and shared.

I imagine that entering the world of the rich is akin to going through a time portal; you are still you but you are definitely someplace else. My first “interview” was held over breakfast (Howard was the master of the “power breakfast) in the Steins’ kitchen on the upper east side. It was my initial exposure to the Orientalism that was woven through their lives. They were having their morning congee and green tea, but had coffee and something bready for me! My seat was along the wall on a tall tasteful bamboo banquet. The wall was lined with a dusty maroon fabric and right above the banquet hung a lovely Dutch still-life. The napkins were damask. I had fallen through the rabbit hole.

After breakfast I was escorted by Howard to the office of his not-for-profit, Joy of Giving Something, Inc., one floor down. An odd name for a foundation centered on photography, I was informed it was named in honor of his wife Janet Gelder Stein. JGS. It was endearingly romantic and spoke volumes about their relationship. It also said NOTHING about the foundation

I must take a moment now to discuss the building in which I spent the next six years. I had no idea that morning just what kind of architectural landmine I was falling into. It didn't dawn on me that morning as I passed the enormous marble fireplace in foyer nor when I entered the office area and was ushered into an enclosed atrium with lead floors.

It wasn’t until I was hired and ensconsed that I sensed I was someplace different. Shortly after my arrival I told my friend Richard about my new job. “I must come see your office”. It seems I was in a McKim, Mead and White mansion of a very famous robber baron and when it was divided up into coops they took extreme care. Who knew?

So here I was at the gateway, the entry into the inner lair. Mr. Stein didn’t bring me to the innermost circle (ie the living room) but into the Photo Room. This appeared to be a former formal dining room; not extravagant in size but lush in its décor, fabric-lined walls, full window treatment and a small fireplace. On a long table covered in beige ultra-suede in the center of the room sat two long thick stacks of paper. These two stacks were the Themes Book. The Themes Book was Mr. Stein’s unique way of “cataloging”. The general idea was to take four to six images and group them around a thought or idea; Atrocity, Food, Children, Water, Sex. Flipping through these stacks and their pasted on copy prints, titles cards and famous quotes, it wasn’t hard to start noticing certain works; Isn’t that a Brassai? That’s definitely an Arbus.. and another Arbus… And an Adams… And so on and so forth. Julia Margaret Cameron, Harry Callahan, Cartier-Bresson, Bourke-White, they were all there. He even owned an early black-and-white work by my uncle Saul.

It was this quirky, nightmarish system that often defined Howard as a collector. It seems he caught the bug while launching his advertising campaign for the Dreyfus Funds, the famous lion prowling around Wall Street. In order to brighten the walls of the office he started to buy pictures of lions. How exactly it went from that to the collection I was going to meet I presume was brought about by money and wise collaboration. He had a 19^th century collection that made major curators drool. During our fruitful years together I saw this collection grow ten-fold. As the prices of early prints skyrocketed (during my term a copy of a Le Grey the foundation owned sold at auction for over $800,000. There are only three prints of that image and one hung on the walls of a warehouse in Long Island City, NY!) he turned his eye to the future. Howard was known for having a nose for the new. I often heard the story of his trip to Dr. Land’s office and his first viewing of Polaroid images. As I entered the picture his eye was turned towards science imaging and the genome. The latter produced the amazing exhibition Paradise Now: Picturing the Genetic Revolution, a group show of almost 40 artists whose work dealt with ideas and issues the genome’s unlocked might mean to us. Curated by Marvin Heiferman and Carole Kismaric at Exit Art in SoHo and done in collaboration with Creative Time, it quickly became a phenomenon that traveled the country for years.

Where Howard’s eye would aim next was hard to predict. What would walk through that door, or come over the telephone wire or fax machine could NEVER be predicted. One of my favorite Howard moments was probably mid-career with him. It was winter time and the Steins’ always spent the winter in California, over in Oprah’s neighborhood. I was also fortunate enough at the time to have two part-time assistants, a luxury that came and went in the office. Our office was in a former apartment unit of the Steins’ and therefore had it’s good points and bad points: good points, we had a full kitchen and nice surroundings, bad points, the filing cabinets were in the bathroom and you had to turn the AC on via the closet in the upstairs bedroom. In the kitchen was a small wine cooler where Howard stashed his wines. This particular morning he calls and asks me how much room is there in the wine fridge? How many bottles can fit? What exactly is in there? About an hour later I am faxing over a typed list of 20 bottle of wines in the cooler. Ten minutes later a faxed copy of the list returns with four bottles circled. The phone rings. It’s Howard.

“Did you get my fax?”

“Yes, Mr. Stein. What’s going on?”

“I’ve decided we’re collecting California wines from now on, so you can get rid of those bottles of French stuff in the kitchen.”

“Well what do you want me to do with them?”

“Take them home. Give some to the girls! I can’t really vouch

for any of it but I will say this ‘The St. Emillions are ready to open.’”

That was Howard; out with the old, in with the new. That day I took home practically a case of free French wine, including two bottles of Chateau Palmer Margot 1964, which turned out to be heaven in a bottle.

He was also wonderful to work for because he was a complete foodie. There was no high-end restaurant in town that did not know him or want him. Board of

Directors meetings were often at Le Bernadin or Café Boulud. Lunch meetings could be at Masa or Ducasse and breakfasts were ALWAYS at Fifty-Seven Fifty-Seven at the Four Seasons. A dinner for two at THE restaurant of the moment was not unheard of as a birthday or Christmas present. Then there were the lunches in the “inner sanctum”; the living room of the office is where Howard conducted “business”. With its 18 foot high ceiling, gold-leafed molding and French modern furniture, this was the room where the maestro entertained. The private chef came in and wine was always served with lunch and a generous tasting glass was always provided for me.

(A lovely Dora Maar Howard gave me as a gift)

Please, life was not all peaches and cream at JGS, inc. Howard suffered from what I have come to call “CEO Syndrome”. This syndrome is usually found in retired executives. They are used to being surrounded by large staffs, staffs who are more than willing to say ‘yes’ because there are many more below them to complete “the vision”. Howard still acted as though he were still in this world. Though he was aware of changes in the way people worked and communicated, he never grasped the concept that being a Web Designer could be a full-time job.

During my six years with Howard I had the great good fortune to meet a large number of talented artists, bigwig curators and one special crazy. Birdie as she was referred to was an ex- Dreyfus employee who sent Howard a card twice a year that reeked of cigarettes and include one very fancy holiday chocolate (they were all delicious). And I know Howard appreciated that I appreciated them. Thank you Howard!

15 Films I Must Own – part 1

As the end of NetFlix as we have known it rapidly approaches and the avenues through which we receive our diversions multiply like a mythological hydra, I’m reminded that having a DVD library becomes more and more like a marriage; it requires a genuine commitment to owning a copy of a film.

Here are ten films I that are staples of my library:

1) The Apartment (1960) – Billy Wilder cut a wide and unique swathe through Hollywood. Austrian by birth, he was already writing film scripts in Berlin when Hitler came to power prompting his emigration to the US via Paris. Writing and producing with partner Charles Brackett, and directing these films he was a true Hollywood auteur. Picking one of his many many movies is difficult, but time and time again I come back to this particular bittersweet comedy. His second film with Jack Lemmon (there were eight in toto), this dystopian look at New York City through the life of a huge corporation never fails to appeal to this jaundiced eyes! Besides Lemmon as the tender-hearted schnook C. C. Baxter, Shirley MacLaine delivers an open honest performance as an elevator operator in an unsuccessful romance with big cheese, Fred MacMurray in his finally “Baddie” role in a long acting career. Shot in widescreen black-and-white (by Joseph LeShelle), Wilder uses the format to his advantage to capture the numbing regularity of corporate offices. Since the action takes place over the holiday season, I also love this movie as a Holiday Antidote Film! (5 well deserved Academy Awards )

2) The Awful Truth (1937) - Jerry and Lucy Warriner (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne) both do their best to ruin each other's plans for remarriage in this classic Thirty’s comedy via director Leo McCarey. Mostly improvised, the two stars have undeniable film chemistry (they teamed up for three films all together) and the pacing and set-ups are timeless. Dunne is stunning (hers gowns are 30’s classics) and funny, a combination to often seen these days and Grant gets an opportunity to show his prowess at physical comedy. The battles over Mr. Smith, their dog played by the famed Asta, are hilarious and the dog even steals a scene or two, so it appeals to me as a dog lover. It also features Esther Dale as Mrs. Leeson, the stuffy mother of Dan Leason (Ralph Bellamy), Lucy’s beleaguered suitor, an actress who holds the title of appearing in more Academy Award winning movies than any other actor! This film received 6 Award nominations and won Best Director for McCarey.

3) What’s Up Doc (1972) – This screwball comedy directed by Peter Bogdanovich, written by Buck Henry and starring Barbra Streisand as Judy Maxwell, a charming cloud of bad luck, is one of the few successful attempts at the genre since its heyday in the Thirties (Frank Oz succeeded in the Early 90’s with “Housesitter”). Ryan O’Neal also stars as the vacant musicologist Howard Bannister in Cary Grant role and never looks so gorgeous. His bow tie and underwear scene spawned the Chippendale dancers! This madcap 90 minute romp also featured Madeline Kahn in her first feature film as Howard’s uptight fiancée Eunice Burns along with a wonderful turn by Kenneth Mars as Howard’s rival for a major grant, Hugh Simon. It also features one of the most magnificent car chases through the streets (and bay) of San Francisco. A laugh riot every single time and a lovely valentine to a bygone era.

4) Zelig (1983) – People may mock me for this choice, but I love this film. Woody Allen’s take on the “mockumentary” is a work of masterful genius and proves that film making is a truly collaborative art. It also catches the Woody Allen/Mia Farrow years at a high (Allen and Farrow’s collaborations follow a similar path to that of Von Sternberg and Dietrich) in a charming comedy about a simple lonely man, Leonard Zelig, who so badly wants to be accepted he literally changes to fit into his surroundings. Allen produces the kind of fakery that makes you wish this peculiar character that ricocheted through history were true. The “real talking heads” who discuss Zelig are the crème of the intelligentsia and provide the icing on this romantic charmer. It also contains one of my favorite Allen quotes, “It just shows what you can do if you’re a complete psychotic!”

5) Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) – A road picture unlike any other. The convergence of Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) and Tim Burton was Syzygy at its finest. As visually quirky as his star, Burton overcomes the seemingly impossible task of taking a Saturday Morning TV star who never left his playhouse and putting him into the real world. Using the road film as their genre they produce a view of this country through rose-colored X-Ray glasses. A strong supporting cast help raise Pee-Wee’s misadventures to a level of unique comic genius that rivals some of Tati’s majestic moments. You may quote me!

More to come…..

RIP Amy Winehouse

The Go-With-You-Anywhere, Good-To-Eat-Anytime Phone!

An Excerpt from Flux Zig-Zag, an art action event

Sing a Simple Song: Lee Hoiby 1926-2011

Late last month I was extremely saddened during one of many daily NY Times obituary check-ins to see a name I not only recognized but knew. Lee Hoiby, the composer and musician had died from metastatic melanoma. I knew Lee was not well. He had mysteriously materialized on Facebook recently. To my knowledge he had a largely inactive account there for years. I had tried to friend him some time back, but received no reply until last month. Not only was my request accepted, but he actually started to chat with me. As it turned out, Lee was not really Lee, but his long-time partner and collaborator Mark Shulgasser. He and Lee were down from upstate and staying with my last ex so that Lee could receive radiation in the Bronx.

It was Mark and his bookstore, Who Killed Kenny? in Callicoon, that allowed my path to cross with Lee's.

I was thrust into the environs of Sullivan County, New York in the Summer of 2006 when I rented a van and helped my to-be-ex move his instrument up to Jeffersonville for a fund-raising concert for a local Summer music festival. The site of the fund-raiser was at the home of a couple of teachers from the city. It was originally the farmhouse of the local Behr family, big area dairymen in their days. The house was situated on several acres which included many outbuildings and a large pond. The concert that evening took place in the barn. While the musicians rehearsed, I skinny-dipped in the pond. As I relaxed after my dip in the pastoral setting it conjured memories of summers spent in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, usually in the company of my friend Kathleen. I called her on my mobile to tell her where I was and that she must come down and enjoy this spot with me later that season. As my dutiful friend, Kathleen did show up later that summer so while to-be-ex rehearsed, we explored.

I had already discovered a few interesting shops in Callicoon so I knew I needed to bring Kathleen into this sleepy burg on the Delaware River. That day we stumbled into Mark's stop, an amusing mix of used books and music along with some interesting Modern furniture pieces. It's the kind of store that encourages browsing and Mark is the type of shopkeep who informs you he'll be out on the back porch smoking in case you need anything. Convivial and smart, we all spent the afternoon chatting about art, literature and music. Kathleen had been browsing through the boxes of CD when Mark ask if she was looking for something special. French horn music was her reply. Coincidentally, Mark's boyfriend had composed a piece for French horn. Did we know his work? I had a vague memory of seeing the name Hoiby amongst the stacks of scores at the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center but could not name a piece or hum a tune. Kathleen had no idea. Come back tomorrow, Mark suggested, and he would have some books for me and some music for Kathleen. Returning back to the house where we were staying, we relayed our experience to to-be-ex who went limp and apoplectic! LEE HOIBY!! Shivers ran down his spine. Kathleen and I went for a swim.

Coincidence followed coincidence after that meeting. To-be-ex didn't get to meet Mark until his engagement was done, but when I did finally bring him to the store Mark needed a ride home and guess who had a car. In the car was my CD copy of Ruth Draper's monologues which Mark discovered. Did I know that Lee had set The Italian Lesson to music? Turns out it's quite a popular one-act opera. Did I know he wrote a musical setting of a Julia Child cooking show that was composed for Jean Stapleton?

The property that Lee and Mark occupied was along a meandering country road north of Long Eddy nicknamed "Fairy Lane" for the inordinate amount of gay men who lived on this particular road. It contained a simple house the two had expanded and a studio where Lee worked and slept; but most of all it contained a waterfall! Far down from the house and secluded from the road I spent many happy hours there naked on a warm summer day and every Rosh Hashanna for three years I went there for ablution.

Lee was tall and thin with thinning white hair, a crooked smile and the large hands of concert pianist, shovel-like with long fingers. He bore all the traits of Lutherans from the upper mid-west: watery coffee and cheap liqueur. But he was also full of amazing tales: trips to Europe with Menotti, scoring for Barber, lunching with Leontyne Price in Greenwich Village. His warmth would sometimes flair up into a mean heat, not unexpected in great artists, but grudges were never held and the both of them were encouraging during our encounter to move to the area.

I also got to know Lee's music and learned to appreciate his expansive knowledge of Western Music as we know it, his love of melody and beauty. He had a homespun style on the grand scale. Singers adored him and he adored them.

I don't think Lee ever thought of me as a "music person". My skills were too plebeian. But one evening while I was "composer sitting" for Mark while he was away Lee came back from town to announce he had met an interesting young man in town, a performance artist, Preston Toscano. As a young man he had grown up in the area quite in the closet, so a lot of his performance work dealt with sexuality and acceptance. He was also a vegan! I was the chef, of course. Dinner rolled around, Preston brought things, I had experience with vegetarians so the evening went well except for Lee's obvious mooning over this moon-faced doughboy. After Preston insisting we all give impromptu performances, the two were a bit startled when I pulled out my accordion and sang "The Kitchen Song". Afterwards, Lee looked at me a bit dumbfounded and announced "You have a wonderful sense of time! REALLY!!".

Thank you Lee.

Here, Abroad, & a Cup of Coffee: Reports from NYC and FL

Dear Reader,

Forgive my absence. February is a time of highs and lows. February 2nd brought good news from Staten Island Chuck that Spring was due early (again) this year. February 14th left an empty mailbox and an empty box of self-bought chocolates!

Family obligations (my mother's 85 birthday party) forced me to spend the President's Day weekend in Florida. But before I went, I did happen to take in a few shows before I left. Here are a few notables:

Christian Marclay @ Paula Cooper: "The Clock" was THE media event of February in Chelsea. Once more Mr. Marclay exercises his skill as editor and craftsman in this 24 hour long video. Seamlessly composed of film clips from the medium's earliest to most recent moments, Marclay not only chronicles the movement of time through cinema, but literally created a clock that takes the viewer through the history of cinema.

During the 48 hour non-stop screening of the video, people lined up down W 21 St in the freezing cold to experience this cinematic monument. An well worth it. But the piece definitely required return visits. And I did find it a bit strenuous to take in long stretches. By the end of 30-45 minutes I found I needed to stretch my legs and get some relief from the seamless editing! The piece strikes viewers in different ways at different times as clips become recognizable then vanish to re-emerge minutes later.

I must say that no matter how impressive this project is, I did not find it half as engaging and disturbing as his "Crossfire" piece which I saw at White Cube a few years ago (WC also screened "The Clock" to record crowds in London). That piece, which provided little escape from its onslaught, was more exacting and demanded a much more visceral response from the viewer

visually and aurally. Though I admired the technical and editorial savvy of "The Hours", I never felt bad about leaving it!

Tony Feher @ Pace Wilderstein - "Next On Line"

is Tony Feher's recent show. Tony was an artist I encountered early in his career at the Richard Anderson Gallery many moons ago. Richard had an uncanny eye for spotting new interesting work (Bill Jacobson's first blurry portraits were also displayed with Richard). I have a seminal memory of an early show of Mr Feher's there involving a grid of old milk bottles on the floor which contained a blue liquid portrait of a shark. Over the years Mr. Feher has toyed with various arrays of objects that were reminiscent of Barry Le Va with a post-modern twist. This show at Pace Wilderstein has the artist back in an element that he is most comfortable in: liquids. These witty, deliciously simple works return to the artist's most basic element: liquids and the line. It was infectiously fun yet scientifically precise. I loved these 'drawings' but would hate to have one in my collection!!

Martin Kersels @ Mitchell-Innes & Nash - "Charms. Stacks & Flotsam". The big man of CA art comes to NYC with an all out sensual assault! I've been a big Kersels fan from way back. His latest one-man show in NYC has him at a smart sassy apex! The artist's interest in weight and balance is still in the foree, but Kersels has used an fun and imaginative array of materials to intercede for the physical premise of the artist. The exhibit of beautifully rendered drawings and silly/serious objects dangling from the ceiling were lovely, but my true interests were in the "Stacks", small sculptural objects made up out of books. Hewn, cut, divided and re-assembled, these pieces showed the artist at great reserve yet working in his classic arena! I want two!!

Don't miss the Flotsam drawings along the back walls: delicate, intricate and negative, they show the artist as not merely material in a commercial sense but as a human one as well. Beautifully rendered, I never imagined this bumptious artist could produce drawings so heart-felt and delicate!

Fate (and family) brought me down to the Ivory

Coast of Florida this February (ie Fort Lauderdale) but fortune brought me to the Girls' Club of Fort Lauderdale. A private family foundation house in a fabulous home in the Las Olas Downtown art area. I stumbled upon two intriguing shows: Frances Twombly: Paintings and "Facsimile:, a group show. Beautifully designed, this alternate artists' space presented these two long-term installations that were both provocative and mutually stimulating. Ms. Twombley presented a series of canvases installed specifically in the Girls Club space.

Minimalist in their appearance, these canvases are all hand woven and develop a cultural dialogue between art and design. The more time I spent in the space, the more fascinating these monochromatic works became. Brava!! The group show upstairs collected a various and intriguing group of artists whose work mirrored Twombley's focus on production and the art of the material. Showcased in the gallery above Twombley's, it parallels the artists' fascination with material, production and art history. Stand outs include Tim Davis' "Rainbow Bread" and Jonathan Rockman's "Expand and Contract".

I was particularly smitten with Elaine Reichek "Swatches, Albers 1-3", 2007. Using programmed embroidery machines to recreate Albers' 'Homage to a Square', these works reflects upon art history while distilling it into a digital age. Ghada Amer, Orly Genger, and Jonathan Seliger add a sensible, sensual gravitas to an excellent group exhibit.

If in the FTL area, not to be missed!!

Cold Times in Brooklyn Heights

Dear Reader,

The enticement of food and friends lured me out of my bear cave on a freezing cold Saturday afternoon. Ferrying across the harbor always reminds me why I love living where I do, but I wasn't quite prepared for the rush of nostalgia I felt as I came up out of the R Train at the corner Montague and Court Streets. I spent many years marching around these streets and it was fun to have an opportunity to revisit.

I was meeting a friend, fellow writer and former PW colleague Amy Holman on Smith St. Foregoing a miracle, I knew it would be faster to walk than wait for a bus, so I began a brisk stroll down Court Street.

There's still a grittiness to this section of Court Street that stretches back to Chemical Bank, Lamston's and further. Is it due to the preponderance of lawyers and cops? The specific names of establishments change but their activities remain the same.

So it was fun to see that the Queen Italian Restaurant, 84 Court St, sitting where it always has amids McDonalds and KFCs. Don't let the looks deceive you; the interior might be a bit "plain" but the food is very good. This is the restaurant that taught me to love sauteed broccoli rabe. Not too oily, with just the right amount of garlic.

Where some mercenary landmarks make me smile (Perelandra on Joralemon), most of the others are mall-like chains and multiplexs that established themselves long ago only adding to the congestion of strollers.

It's a relief to arrive at Atlantic Avenue, wide and spacious, its brownstone faces hanging on, though a glance eastward shows the edges of the rising Downtown Brooklyn skyline. I dreamed of stopping in at Sahadi's, 187 Atlantic Ave, for pistachios and olive oil (and tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes) but I was behind schedule and had to push onward.

I did take a quick moment to peek into the old Republic National Bank which has now been taken over by Trader Joe's!! Although not nearly as spectacular as it was in its banking days (there a scene in "For Pete's Sake" that was filmed in this bank), TJ's has maintained the splendor of the medallioned ceiling and arched windows.

As with all the city, Cobble Hill has changed with time. Gone are the days of four Italian pork stores that serviced 16 city blocks. Some chains have moved in but it was nice to see the amount of neighborhood business that was still working hard. Book Court, 163 Court St, has soldiered on even with an enormous Barnes & Noble just a few blocks up as well as the Neighborhood Bookstore, the scariest, most-likely-to-die-in bookstore in the US. It was also nice to see long time street regulars like Staubitz and Jim & Andy's Produce.

This family business give you an opportunity to step back in time. "Only a produce stand", it is the place to get fruit and veggies, plain and exotic, in Cobble Hill. Be sure to venture into the back and ask what's in the refrigerator. If you like real fresh mushrooms, these are your guys; I always knew Spring was here when the Morels arrived at Jim & Andy's. If you don't see it, ask; it may be downstairs. And the scales are still suspended from the tin ceiling. I waved in to the owner and we caught up in 30 seconds. that is a neighborhood store!

My rendezvous with Amy was taking place at Cubana Cafe, 272 Smith St. Cutting over to Smith Street via DeGraw allowed me to pass by the Cobble Hill Cinema, the neighborhood cinema which still offers $7 bargain days on Tuesdays & Thursdays. DeGraw was an excellent choice because no soon than I turned the corner onto Smith than bam!! I literally walked into the entry awning of the restaurant. Cabana is a bright, cheerful spot and has a Latin flavor. Though in a location that has housed a good number of earlier restaurants, it is one of a series of establishments by this group so should be able to have some neighborhood staying power. Tasty ample portions at reasonable prices work in its favor as well. They also do Desayuno (breakfast) anytime! Yeah!! I had a Cuban Benedict, poached eggs and chorizo on Cuban bread with a chipotle sauce and found it immensely satisfying. They also offer a lovely array of cocktails, most featuring rum or tequila. Sitting at the window chatting, watching the strollers go by, and discussing the Carroll Garden "Dialect of Discretion" my heart panged a bit for the old neighborhood.

But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep!! Making my way back up Court St with a quick pit stop in Marquet Patisserie, 221 Court Street, some the best croissant and pain au chocolat in town, I made my way back up to beautiful Borough Hall to meet my friend Robert.

Robert had gotten us some tickets to the Heights Players production of Tom Eyen's "Women Behind Bars". This wacked-out trash-fest of a theater work originally ran off-broadway for 331 performances and had brain-etching performances by Divine and Brenda Bergman. A show rarely resurrected, it would be interesting to see what this hardy local theater company would do with it.

But before we would do that, Robert and I explored a new neighborhood restaurant in lower Brooklyn Heights. Bread and Butter, 46 Henry Street, classifies itself as New American with a lean towards the south. Southern Fried Chicken dinner for two and three kinds of macaroni and cheese are highlights of the menu. The long dark room has exposed brick and seemed very empty before dinner service picked up. The owners should consider their volume level for music, if needed at all. Seasonally driven, the menu is simple and fresh. We shared the Medjool Dates stuffed with Cambozola

cheese and wrapped in bacon. It's a very nice starter with a lot going on but not overwhelming! I had their Chipotle braised beef short ribs topped with tomato jam. The accompanying savory bread pudding was lovely for mopping up the juices and the wilted greens were a lovely addition to the plate. My companion had a grouper special of the night and proclaimed his meal a qualified success. I would totally agree with him!

And as for the Height Player's production of "Women Behind Bars"... well it's a great camp romp that was not greatly served. Though many individuals had moments or characters that shone, it never rose to the manic level it needed. Better luck next time, Pauline.