July 19 — Washington Square park
Walking home, in the warm breezes of this summer’s evening — Washington Square Park is alive! It seems more than one and one-half years that the variously located chain-link fences have kept us from crossing the square diagonally as required by Greenwich Village bohemian legacy. And the fear, the anticipation that the beloved park would be spiffed up beyond recognition is finally quelled. The fountain is huge, splashy, easily accessible, and centered on the Arch, allowing, as per NYC Parks and Recreation, “approximately 20 percent increase in unpaved green space”. The stone benches are smooth and inviting. And apparently we still have a rebuilt playground and dog runs and a performance space to look forward to. Also,
… the final phase will include a new park house with a new comfort station for the public and space for the Parks maintenance staff.
Hopper/Kertész/Pène du Bois ("Chess Tables")
The first fountain was built in 1852, the permanent arched monument to president Washington, in 1892. Hard to believe that traffic once rolled through the park, and 20th century historical figures like Robert Moses and Jane Jacob’s clashed there.
I do romanticize about the Village I never knew – of ballads and beatniks in the early part of last century – every time I cross the park.
Matt Peterson, Shukov's Tower, Leni, Cassim Shepard and musician
July 20 — Broadway Boogie Woogie: A City Unfinished at Brecht Forum
This post starts as a story about Facebook. I “fanned” Urban Omnibus the online organ of Architectural League. A film series, “Right to the City” caught my attention, so I disseminated the information to my Facebook friends and fans. Arriving super early, to get a front row seat, I had an opportunity to meet Matt Peterson, the Red Channels AV curator, himself. While chatting on a bar stool (sorry, no refreshments) I recalled my high-school days in Berkeley – as founder of Solidarity Films, a film distribution company with offices on Channing Way just off Telegraph Ave. The chutzpah! Young and dedicated to the idea of film as agent of change, my best friend and I rented out 16mm films to colleges and independent exhibitors – cleaning, tracking, repairing… and tried to build a mobile film truck for outdoor film showings.
Later, I encountered Cassim Shepard, the project director of Urban Omnibus. Mr. Shepard is involved in visual media, as well as the printed word, about architecture and urbanism. In his preview, he enjoined the reader to attend the silent double feature – six shorts made from 1903-1948 on New York City and a 59 minute feature, Moscow – accompanied by the Citizens Ontological Music Agenda.
Anyone with an interest in how the analysis and representation of New York’s built environment has changed in the past century should not miss this three-part event…. and as a special treat, after taking in some beautiful New York city films, stay for part two to check out Kaufman’s 1927 film Moscow. – Cassim Shepard, Urban Omnibus
Moscow WAS as thrilling as the early NYC films, I translated what I could using my Berkeley High School Russian sounding out the Cyrillic. The breathtaking moment was an ACTUAL SHOT of artist-engineer Shukov’s 1922-built radio tower. (Please see the spectacular 360-degree, interactive shot by Andrey Ilyin – from and onto the tower – here)
I look forward to seeing you at the August 3rd screening: Bridges and Tunnels: Art and Efficiency.
Chess NYC at Herald Square
July 24 — Chess NYC at Herald Square (and mid-town’s Broadway pedestrianization)
I was walking at high velocity to my Tai Chi class, choosing to walk in the road – the new pedestrian haven of midtown Broadway, Manhattan. To my right and left – home-grown sun umbrellas, pebbled-pavement and people sunning, talking, on the phone, reading – right in the center of Broadway! I walked by a giant chess set and checkerboard-festooned red tables [only just registering… hmm caught the traffic light]…. hmm – wasn’t that amazing? A quick pirouette and I turned back to the spectacle of children and adults of ethnic and racial variety concentrating on chess games… right in the street. I spoke to a man in charge; Mr. Ahmed. He told me the story, New York City Chess started on 112th and Broadway to enjoy chess, conversation, and community. They formed an itinerant crew, setting up further and further down Broadway, then they got a grant… now there are eight on staff!
From there we began to organize and see an opportunity to bring people together through chess. We ran tournaments, offered lessons, and developed merchandise that represented our vision. Chess is a perfect combination of body, mind, and soul! People of all races, ages, genders, and social status can sit across the 64 squares and be perfect equals. This concept epitomizes life in New York City. — from the Chess NYC website
Ahmed appeared to be writing and reading a foreign language dictionary. When asked if he was studying, he explained, that he was “pursuing intellectual freedom”. The street, chess and reading seem a perfect blend of subversive, an antidote to Sex in the City.
And Chess NYC would not have a prime middle-of-the-street venue, if it was not for 34th Street Partnership, Herald Square’s Business Improvement District, and New York City Department of Transportation‘s “Green Light for Midtown” plan, a pilot project to pedestrianize Broadway with the aim to improve midtown congestion and safety.
July 26 — John Kelly and Carol Lipnik, “The Escape Artist“, at Dixon Place
The rain was sheeting and spitting and the sun was glaring and lightning struck. The Manhattanite’s summer dilemma, should we get tickets to a friend’s show – even if it is raining? Off to see The Escape Artist, Caravaggio meets Contemporary Art Song + Video.
“The Escape Artist” considers the parallels between the unbridled creative spirit of the urban artist of the 17th and 21st centuries. — from the program
The fully equipped 120-person theatre has been recently constructed. The spaciousness, sound reinforcement and simple setting supported a mesmerizing performance. Mr. Kelly, playing a cast of Carvaggio’s painterly subjects, interacted with himself on screen – the tilt of a head, a simple red folded wrap… these gestures sparked immediate recognition.
Sitting toward center, stage-right of the band, Ms. Lipnik, swayed with the music and vocalized in haunting harmonic phrases.
We took the subway, the B-train, to the show and walked home, in the shadowy rain and lightning.
*dérive
One of the basic situationist practices is the dérive [literally: “drifting”], a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances. Dérives involve playful-constructive behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are thus quite different from the classic notions of journey or stroll. In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period drop their relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. Chance is a less important factor in this activity than one might think: from a dérive point of view cities have psychogeographical contours, with constant currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly discourage entry into or exit from certain zones. — Theory of the Dérive by Guy-Ernest Debord