The New York Times claimed The Garden of Earthly Delight “ one of the most eerily hypnotic spectacles of flesh in motion ever put on a New York stage.” Martha Clarke brings Hieronymus Bosch’s painting to life. Through dance, theater, and music the cast of The Garden of Earthly Delight tells the story of creation, sin, damnation and salvation. This show is an experience you don’t want to miss. Closing night is March 1, 2009.
While taking photographs for recognized magazines such as the New York Times Magazine, Interview, Rolling Stone, and GQ, Danielle Levitt never lost sight of her dream to photograph portraits of the American youth. She has traveled the country stopping in metropolitan, suburban, and rural areas alike looking to capture the passions of our prime.
The detailed and systematic exposition of photography has been published by PowerHouse Books making this Levitt’s first monograph. We Are Experienced has been out on shelves since November 2008.
Moved to tears, I sit with my eyes unable to blink in fear of missing even a second of the brilliance that lay before me. The stage opens on set of an old theater house where Mama Rose has entered her girls in a talent contest. From city to city, town to town they travel with dreams of Stardom.
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Running two hours and 30 minutes, the play never once leaves you antsy. Gypsy’s stellar cast, including Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines, satisfies your eyes and ears. The dynamism of Patti LuPone in the broadway revival Gypsy beckoned a standing ovation at numerous times throughout the performance. Her stage presence was devastatingly poignant, well deserving of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The St. James Theatre in NYC’s Times Square, home of the first uncut broadway production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the original Oklahoma!, has been hosting the award winning play since March.
The living and singing sculptural duo, Gilbert and George have been creating art since the late 60′s while the two were still studying in London at the University of the Arts. Upon meeting, the two had a compelling attraction that molded one highly controversial and innovative unit that has been internationally acclaimed. They made a name for themselves in 1969 for their project, “The Singing Sculpture”, where the two stood on a table, covered their heads and hands, and sang the popular WWII song ”Underneath The Arches” by Flannagan and Allen. After that they were asked to recreate this experience, sometimes standing and singing for eight hours or more. Gilbert and George, based on these performances, decided to film their living sculpture projects to reach a broader population. They currently reside in London’s East End and many of the images used in their art work is taken from the neighborhood surrounding them.
Tate Modern of London has organized a retrospective by the awarded duo and the Brooklyn Museum will be hosting the exhibit through January 11th, which marks over twenty years of Gilbert and George’s work.
Pushing the envelope is nothing new to Catherine Opie, her photography “leaves no man (or woman) behind.” She has collections that include surfers, members of the LGBT community, football players, landscapes, children, basically she captures life as it is being lived. Catherine Opie’s work pushes boundaries, captivates the on-looker with her documentary photography, and reminds us that true beauty is every where.
The Guggenheim is currently hosting a mid-career survey of Opie’s photography, which includes all of her work from 1988 on up to 2008. Check it out, the exhibit is open until Janurary 5th, 2009.
If you happened to pick up the holiday issue of H&M magazine while out buying gifts you may have noticed that H&M has opened a new store in Barcelona. So, if you have money laying around this winter season and want to take a little vacation, grab a plane ride to the Kingdom of Spain (wouldn’t it be nice). The new space is designed by Javier Mariscal, one of the most acclaimed Spanish artists of the last century. His artistic versatility spans from painting and sculpture to interior design and landscaping. Mariscal’s construction of the new H&M had flexibility in mind, allowing for different layout combinations depending on the shop’s necessities, a concept Mariscal describes as ‘removable design’.
Born into the Southern Californian surf culture of the 1940s Mary Heilmann brings a laid back, no fuss kind of attitude to her work. One of the handful of female abstract painters of her generation, Heilmann paints as if the canvas is in fact a piece of pottery. ”To Be Someone,” marks the first solo exhibition and retrospective of Heilmann’s work, and includes sculptures, furniture, and paintings from her years of being in the business of art. The Exhibit will be open until January 26th at The New Museum in New York.
No One Belongs Here More Than You is a brilliant 224-page compilation of short stories by Miranda July, which won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story award in September of 2007. I was enthralled page by page with the witty, organic language and the instability of character which made each story so thought provokingly relatable. After finishing the collection in one sitting I had to find out more about this author who could write with such raw sophistication.
Miranda July is not only an accomplished writer, she produced an award winning 2005 film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, recored an EP and two full length albums with Kill Rock Stars in the late 90′s, and with two other friends founded an online arts community Learning to Love You More. Established in 2002 this site provides assignments for amateur artists to submit in order to be part of a communal arts project. Some assignments include make the saddest song, draw a picture of the back of your friend’s head, and make an encouraging banner. Miranda July feels that the most affecting art exists when “it’s so imperfect you know it’s true.”
The pieces from this abstract expressionist painter can brighten up any room. Morris Louis used acrylic oil paints to create vibrant, linear, eye catching compositions. The images are psychedelic, symmetrical, colorful, and always up for interpretation. All of Morris’ work comes out of the late 1950′s early 1960′s.
Jack of all trades, a master of none? In this case Enrique Martínez Celaya defies the saying, he is a painter, sculptor, photographer, writer, and poet and is a master of all. 
Through his art Enrique pushes the limits of literature, religion and philosophy. It is obvious to the on-looker that his work has a deeper meaning behind it all.
Enrique already had a BS of Physics, and MS in Quantum Physics under his belt, and was on the verge of finishing his doctorate in physics when he quit and took on painting full-time. His work can be found in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Museum of Contemporary Arts in LA.
“What I have tried to do with my works is to observe–poorly, but better than I would’ve without art–who I am, who others are, and what the world is (Enrique Martínez Celaya)” 
