Author: Peter

this is one of those weeks that flies by, so much so that i’ve done one of the things i want to do this week as i’m writing this.
‡ Maly Theatre’s production of Uncle Vanya at BAM was superb. I like Uncle Vanya a lot to start with and the easy treatment of the play by this Russian company showed the true humor of that nation’s artists: witty, dark, absurd, sentimental, and bound to end up drinking.
‡ Pieter Hugo at Yossi Milo. This portraiture show features bizarre archtypal characters from Nigeria’s film culture, which is the third biggest in the world behind bollywood and hollywood. Aptly named, Nollywood, it looks karayzeee!

Easter according to my upbringing was a recognition of the rising of Christ from the dead. From my own spiritual study, it’s changed into a holiday that could celebrate the birth of higher consciousness and in yoga it is something done every time one meditates to bring awareness from the mortal to the immortal plane. My traditions, though, include dyeing easter eggs in geometric patterns (Ukranian) and eating chicks of bright yellow marsmallow (American) and hunting (White House lawn, et al); all of which I gave up long ago, though I still appreciate the colorful results. It was nostalgic today to see the pair of brightly-colored shoes on Union Street as I went for a stroll. I couldn’t help thinking they looked like hidden easter footwear!

The whole episode reminded me of two Christ-centric studies. The first is Gospel Truth, by Russell Shorto, which discuses current bible scholarship and is surprising in what it says about what the Catholic Church now believes. The second is Jesus of Montreal, a smart film that tells of a modern-day christ in the role of an actor-director of a passion play.

Happy easter!

My friends at Double Edge Theatre always keep me engaged in deep conversation. One young daughter of the clan is reading Herodotus (for fun), and in my skim of the front page of quotes, I see some explanation for our discussion:

They are wont to deliberate when drinking hard about the most important of their affairs, and whatever conclusion has pleased them, this on the next day, when they are sober, the master of the house where they happen to deliberate lays before them for discussion. If it pleases them when they are sober also, they adopt it, but if it does not please them, they let it go. Whatever they have had the first deliberation on when they are sober, they consider again when they are drinking.
— Herodotus, The Histories

‡ Faye Driscoll at DTW. I love Faye’s work. It’s smart and funny and grabs you down where you thought your thoughts were private. I can’t wait to see her new piece, There is so much mad in me. Here’s a teaser.
‡ Alice in 3D land. Wen is still gathering the endurance required to make it though Avatar, so I’m going to get my intro to 3D v.2.0 with the looking glass gang. Should be fun, as is anything where one gets to watch J. Depp…

My buddy Charley and I popped over to Barbes last night and sat nearly on top of two superb guitarists in a duo setting of jazz, rag, and pop classics. As a duo, Adam Levy and Jim Campilongo were ideally matched; the former an understated quirky explorer of the silence between delicious notes and the latter a straightforward wizard of multi-picked scalar improv. Both have new CD’s out, but also a boatload of catalog, including album credits with the likes of Norah Jones and Cake in addition to their own diverse projects. I am looking forward to following these guys.

‡ LES. While it’s been growing and growing, it’s still off my beaten path. That changed a bit when Stephan Stoyanov opened his new larger space for Luxe (having first been a LES pioneer when real estate was less, well realistic).
Today I hope to start with a set of paintings touching on my favorite yoga topic: tantra. Sue Gurnee: “The Fulgent Cadences” and “Tantra” is at Feature Inc. Gurnee creates paintings that purport to balance the mind for the best decisionmaking. Sounds like yoga, and Gurnee knows it. This show includes paintings from tantric gurus alongside hers.
From there, we’ll for sure hit Stephan’s Luxe and whatever else we can find before the late lunch options seduce us to stop…

‡ Art FAIRS! It’s always a debate whether to try to take in this much art in one swoop. But there is an undeniable buzz. Thanks to Sky Pape (whose excellent show Water Works: Surface Tension is up through Saturday at June Kelly) I got to head to the ADAA Art Show with Joel Adas. Lots of great painting and drawing. Seems Marsden Hartley is the hot ticket. He and Burchfield were everywhere (and that’s a good thing!). I think I only saw one video in the whole show.

If my luck holds, I’ll be at the Armory Show with Kate Peila this weekend.

if sarah palin strikes terror into the hearts of liberals and fosters fear among her followers, is she, ergo, a terrorist? must explore…

This week I want to get on wit it. These seem like excellent places to start:

‡ Sky Pape Water Works: Surface Tension at June Kelly Gallery. I got a preview of this work in person this summer and Sky showed me the portfolio online for the show last week. This work is gorgeous. I missed the opening night, but I’ll get a less obstructed view this week — my consolation prize.

‡ Single Man. I heard Terry Gross‘s outstanding interview with Colin Firth about his latest role. Firth takes understated to a new level of intensity, and this film seems like a perfect showcase for it.

Though I appreciate economics, business, and the rule of law, our lawmakers failed to see the implications of the law that gave corporations protections without requiring of them responsibilities beyond making profit. This situation has to change if the world is to ever move beyond its status quo of greed-based life.

corporation ≠ person

The Wall Street Journal reported in September on Justice Sotomayor’s swearing in:

But Justice Sotomayor suggested the majority might have it all wrong — and that instead the court should reconsider the 19th century rulings that first afforded corporations the same rights flesh-and-blood people have.

Judges “created corporations as persons, gave birth to corporations as persons,” she said. “There could be an argument made that that was the court’s error to start with…[imbuing] a creature of state law with human characteristics.”

There is a facebook cause, Abolish Corporate Personhood. Check it out.