COME OUT AND DANCE WITH LIVING DAYS! 10PM AT LE POISSON ROUGE

158 Bleecker Street New York NY 10012 (212)505 3474

listen to living days here.

BIG BAMBU ON THE MET ROOF!

I first read about Big Bambu in The World of Interiors (Nov 2009).. The Starn brothers, identical twins, and 15 mountain climbers were building this massive structure out of bamboo in a giant warehouse in Beacon NY. The piece was designed to constantly change, removing pieces from one end and adding them to the other it would appear to "walk" across the warehouse.. "Its like an organism", says Doug. "It's a reflection of what it is to grow, change and develop anything - a person, family, city.... whatever. Whether it's individual molecules in a body or entire societies, they are all made up of individual parts that are catalysts that affect and change one another. The progression of life is chaotic." Featured in todays NYTimes Doug and Mike Starn and their team of mountain climbers are currently installing Big Bambu on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Big Bambu will continue to grow and change from its opening on Tuesday April 27th reaching a final height of 50 feet by mid July!! Pathways will be open to timed guided tours only... So you know where I will be!!!

FILM: "EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP" OPENS. BANSKY STILL INCOGNITO.

Exit Through The Gift Shop a film about famed street artist Banksy... opens tonight in select theaters across the country.. And yes his identity is still unknown ....or is it. With so much hype surrounding this seemingly disaster of a film - I'm running out to see it asap!! In NYC at the Sunshine Cinemas.

Contributing Editor: Allison DuVal.

CHERRY WATCH! BLOSSOM STATUS!! BROOKLYN BOTANICAL GARDEN

The Cherry Blossom Esplanade is in PEAK BLOOM now at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens! Every year the BBG tracks the progress of the blooms on this handy little map posted on their website. This one was updated today! Nothing is more beautiful in the spring than full blossoms on a cherry tree.. and what could be better than 80 of them blooming together!! So get out there and check out those blossoms! My favorite garden in all the boroughs.

CIRKUS CIRKOR PRESENTS INSIDE OUT: LET GO OF YOUR PURSE AND STOP DRAGGING YOUR HEART AROUND

I mean really, this woman was holding onto her purse and dragging that heart around almost the whole performance... You could hear a general exhale from the audience when she finally LET IT GO. The Cirkus Cirkor performance last night at B.A.M. was packed full of amazing achievements of physical strength and discipline... but I was moved by the story and the theatre of the circus... The show began and I started wondering... should I really have left my warm comfy apartment??? By the end of the first act I was drawn in... The circus has an interesting structure with archetypal characters each possessing their own special skill and a general build up that reminded me of a firework display. bang bang BANG BANG BANG! But beyond the tricks, the stunts, the feats of courage, and vigor... the message of this show was... LET GO! DONT HOLD ON SO TIGHT! PLAY!! Like a circus performer each one of us has our own special talent, something we can contribute, something we must always explore. There is no judging in the circus.. just be yourself... let go of your purse and stop dragging your heart around..

ART IN THE HOOD

Yesterday I cruised by Brooklyn Art Studios open house to see my friend Trina Ongs paintings.. 276 Greenpoint avenue (Bldg 1 Flr 3) I guess I havn't been to an art open house since 1999!!! Which is a damn shame because there are so many people out there making great things!! First stop was Trina's Studio where I saw her in her fabulous dress... Her paintings were beautiful... romantic calm organic and somehow frenetic at the same time...

She offered me a glass of wine.. and I remembered right!! people drink at these things!! Fantastic! Almost every artist booth had their own little boozie situation, wine and candy, jameson and pretzles, beer and chips, the plastic cups were everywhere! Underneath Trinas wine display was a beautifully quilted patchwork of old plaid shirts, dress shirts, bowling shirts, suits jackets, jeans, all with the pockets on! Hello! Ralph Lauren eat your heart out.... Colin Adrian started sewing and these pieces are the result.. I love them. Especially the "F.U." pillow case above.

Down the hall I wandered into a dark room that was glowing with skulls crystals and razor wire... Apparently this artist.. Reverend Ian White Maher gets all these goat skulls from a butcher and puts them in a box with flesh eating bugs until they are clean.... GROODY! and AMAZING! I mean totally weird and fabulous.. why arent 10 of these hanging in some meat lovers restaurant??

A beautiful painting of New York City.. viewed from the Pulaski Bridge... painting NYC as I would imagine Van Gough might!! Ana Paola from ChiTown Thank you.

And Of course I could not resist DICK CITY by Cassandra Giacchi

And there was really so much more.. video, installation, sculpture, jewelry.... but after two cups of wine I was dizzy with it... Thank you Brooklyn Art Studios.. What a fun afternoon!

KIKU IN THE HOUSE!! At The New York Botanical Gardens thru Nov 15th

The Kiku exhibition is back at the New York Botanical Gardens. It is an astounding exhibition of 1500 years of history, complete patience, and total dedication to the cultivation of chrysanthemum plants. My mother who was once a florist and now a garden designer came to New York to see this show with me in 2007 on its first run.. This was the first time the Kiku technique had been displayed outside Japan... And now it is back!! I highly recommend a visit. The exhibition is incredible.. Who knew 229 flowers could grow and bloom on the same plant at the same time and in such order!! And dont forget to stop by the children's garden which is fantastic and full of imaginative ideas for kids gardens.... or the big kid in all of us!

A description of the show from the New York Botanical Gardens website:

"The chrysanthemum (菊 kiku in Japanese) is revered throughout Japan, where it has been carefully cultivated and expertly trained into codified forms through floricultural techniques developed over 1,500 years. Cultivating and training kiku is exceptionally difficult, requiring expertise and constant attention throughout a 12-month growing period, during which time the plants are vigilantly watered, pinched, staked, and tied to grow in a variety of highly specialized shapes."

For more information visit The New York Botanical Gardens website: http://www.nybg.org/kiku09/

Here is my mother posing with the "Sun Below The Mountain"...I'm sorry did you say this plant has 229 flowers??

The Children's garden!! So many fun fantastic ideas to get kids interested in the garden!!

ART LISTING: Matthew Ritche at Andrea Rosen Gallery. Oct 23 - Dec 2

Last week I wrote about Matthew Ritchie and this week I find out he has a solo show at the Andrea Rosen Galley!! Awesome! I love how he applies his particular form and style to many mediums... The man has a vision... I think that maybe it looks like this inside his head!

Andrea Rosen Gallery

Main Gallery

525 West 24th Street

New York NY 10011

212-627-5450

Matthew Ritchie

Matthew Ritchie. An artist who works in all forms it seems... and yet within his work there is a beautiful continuity... the sculpture the drawings the paintings the installations all bring you an organic clash with industrialism. He is currently directing The Long Count at Brooklyn Academy or Music. Here is a link to his site: http://www.matthewritchie.com/ All photos courtesy of matthewritchie.com

The Long Count at BAM : Beautiful Projections

An awesome show last night. Featuring Bryce and Aaron Dessner and Kim and Kelley Deal with a handball opener by local twin tweens Racquel and Joshua Garcia. A bit of a twin fest I guess you could say. Beautiful haunting music. Beautiful projections. A show loaded with symmetry. A projection screen unlike any I have seen before which was like a cross section of a geodesic dome...or the inside of a cut gemstone... The projections back projected on this beautiful screen stole the show.... by Matthew Ritchie, Nick Roth, James Case and Jim Caffrey. The projections were the result of a multimedia project by Matthew Ritchie called "The Morning Line" AMAZING PROJECTIONS. See video about Matthew Ritchie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja2CUVJmQ48

Photos of the show below courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/brassland/

MUSIC: A ROSE PARADE @ UNION POOL TONIGHT

A ROSE PARADE
10/28/09 - 11pm - Union Pool - 8$
final show of fall residency with Flowers of Flesh and Blood 9pm and My Best Fiend 10pm

A Film: Senso by Luchino Visconti 1954..... Love, Betrayal, War, Revenge ... all the good stuff really

Senso, 1954, by Luchino Visconti One of the most glorious color films ever made. Best to see in celluloid but the entire film can be viewed on youtube channel "La Mémoire Visuelle" in decent quality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKMq0cJbgKg&feature=related

"Let us not bother with heaven or hell." - Senso, 1954, by Luchino Visconti

The Waning Moon

And like a lady, lean and pale,
Who totters forth wrapped in a gauzy
veil,
Out of her chamber, led by the insane
And feeble wanderings of her fading
brain,
The moon arose in the murky East,
A white and shapeless mass-

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

Senso 1954 Film Still Slideshow (click on title to view)